Slovakia v Republic of Ireland - 8th October 2020 - Euro 2020 Playoff Semi Final

[geysir]

I'd take from that that they were tied into a ridiculous contract by Delaney with no simple way out. But they can't say as much in case Delaney ever faces a reckoning in court (oh please, oh please!) and he gets off because they prejudiced his case. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it.
Mick did not get the team to the play offs, so what gentleman, by any standards of gentleman standards, could feign a sense of deservedness about the prospect of such reward should Ireland get to the finals.
We are told repeatedly about Mick's genuine fervor, just how Mick was not about money but genuine patriotism. Sorry, but that's a pile of dung.

[tetsujin1979]

Unless someone else was managing the team when they finished in the play off positions, Mick McCarthy was the manager who got the team to the play offs.

[ColourfulPeanut]

Unless someone else was managing the team when they finished in the play off positions, Mick McCarthy was the manager who got the team to the play offs.
We didn't finish in the "play-off positions". We got a play-off spot based off our Nations League ranking, which was in effect based off our coefficient ranking prior to kicking a ball in this campaign. A play-off was more or less a guarantee with the ridiculous new format.

[Eminence Grise]

Gentlemen? Football? The 1880s have been on to say their thread's been hijacked.

None of us know the fine details of the contract, how loose or vague the criteria for paying out might have been, or how reckless it could be to chance breaking it, get dragged to the Four Courts and end up paying the million anyway and McCarthy's costs. Or whether it's the negotiated price to pay for McCarthy stepping down - I'm sure he could argue that the FAI have denied him a chance to earn the bonus. I just hope it's the last bloated pay-out of the Delaney era.

[geysir]

Gentlemen? Football? The 1880s have been on to say their thread's been hijacked.

None of us know the fine details of the contract, how loose or vague the criteria for paying out might have been, or how reckless it could be to chance breaking it, get dragged to the Four Courts and end up paying the million anyway and McCarthy's costs. Or whether it's the negotiated price to pay for McCarthy stepping down - I just hope it's the last bloated pay-out of the Delaney era.
You can request it all be moved to the FAI thread, that wouldn't bother me. Better that than not to discuss it, wrap it all in a fudge box and move on.
That's what the FAI would like you to do and seeing that Mick the honorable has already departed the stage with his swag, further discussion could be presented as pointless.

The details of McCarthy's contract had been leaked by 'deep throat' to the Sunday Times, printed out with certainty and in some detail. If one standard to determine veracity that we can use is 'precedent', all the other information that the ST printed about the FAI finances has turned out to be accurate, gone unchallenged and become an accepted truth. It's clear McCarthy had an exit payment written into his contract.
The Eur1m contracted payment to McCarthy, should Ireland get to the Euros, admittedly has some uncertainty, not least because the journalist involved failed in an interview to extract a definite answer from the stand-in FAI Ceo. Nevertheless the clear implication from the CEO was that McCarthy would be paid this Eur1m bonus.


I'm sure he could argue that the FAI have denied him a chance to earn the bonus.
Now you have a certainty?:)
Mick was not denied the chance to lead us to the Euros, his contract had expired.

Certainly the original contract plans got disturbed by u turns, revisions and sweeteners, belatedly made by Delaney in band aid survival panic mode.
Robbie was with a 4 year contract and a manager in waiting promise. But Mick already had Terry Connor as assistant manager.
Mick was kept in the dark in regards to promises made to Robbie. Sometime after, Delaney in political survival mode shafted Robbie to the sideline and brought in Kenny. McCarthy was handed a sweetener in order to belatedly accept a non-extendible contract and be supportive of Kenny his successor. Mick arrived to discover Robbie was lurking around Abbotstown with a 4 year contract pinned to his track suit.
No wonder the FAI want you to move on. I think a good 4 part documentary would be in order, with the full cooperation of the ST journalists.

[Eminence Grise]

All right – I admit, you got me. You know as much as I do about all this.*



You can request it all be moved to the FAI thread, that wouldn't bother me. Better that than not to discuss it, wrap it all in a fudge box and move on.
That's what the FAI would like you to do and seeing that Mick the honorable has already departed the stage with his swag, further discussion could be presented as pointless


No wonder the FAI want you to move on.

Dammit! Did you have to out me? For years I’ve been out of the FAI’s reaches, their nemesis, the one person who scares them more than a ST hack with a deadline looming, as they keep their secrets in a volcanic underwater lair a few miles from Bull Island. Instead of outing me and this conspiracy could you not have spent your time more productively – there must be a 5G mast nearby you could shout at instead?

But how did you know I like fudge? Just who are you, exactly, geysir - if that is your real name? Which I doubt....


I think a good 4 part documentary would be in order, with the full cooperation of the ST journalists.

Why stop there? Why not give it the seven-season big budget Sky Atlantic treatment – Game of Throw-Ins with Andrew Scott as Kenny, Sean Bean as Mick, Robert Sheehan as Robbie, Scarlett Johansson as Claudine, and any former Gaiety Panto villain as Jawn D - the uglier the better!

Five weeks into lockdown, you hardly expected a serious response, did you?

* Given that I know SFA, I wouldn’t get too excited about that.

[tetsujin1979]

Play off games to possibly be played in October
https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/october-date-likely-for-euro-2020-play-off

[Closed Account]

Play off games to possibly be played in October
https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/october-date-likely-for-euro-2020-play-off
I, for one, can wait to watch it from my armchair as a true fan.

[Kingdom]

There isn't any hope whatsoever that we'll be playing any International football in Dublin before a crowd without limitations this year. Not a hope.

[Fixer82]

There isn't any hope whatsoever that we'll be playing any International football in Dublin before a crowd without limitations this year. Not a hope.

I agree

[Diggs246]

I actually think there will be no premier league next season. Unless played without fans. Which would ruin their brand

[Olé Olé]

I actually think there will be no premier league next season. Unless played without fans. Which would ruin their brand

Really? You think that matters more than TV money?

[Diggs246]

My understanding is sky/BT etc are threatening to sue the premier league for breach of contract. I might be wrong but that's what I thought

[Olé Olé]

Hence why I think they would go ahead and play games behind closed doors if they need to, regardless of how it may or may not "ruin their brand."

[seanfhear]

My understanding is sky/BT etc are threatening to sue the premier league for breach of contract. I might be wrong but that's what I thought
Is Covid-19 not an Act of God ? Tricky for atheists I suppose. I suppose Sky / BT will be atheist if it is better in Court ! !

[irishfan86]

I imagine TV rights holders and the league will want to get closed door matches going as soon as possible. Don’t see how anyone but idiots would hold it against the brand.

Any revenue better than no revenue — and TV money— not gate receipts, now makes up bulk of revenue given international viewership.

[Kingdom]

I actually think there will be no premier league next season. Unless played without fans. Which would ruin their brand

As crazy as it sounds, at this point in time, there has to be a chance of this being correct.


Hence why I think they would go ahead and play games behind closed doors if they need to, regardless of how it may or may not "ruin their brand."

Problem is bar-stoolers, are bar-stoolers. If they can't see that Burnley vs Southampton is **** football, before a crowd, they won't notice it without a crowd.
they won't end up at a loi ground as a result - unfortunately. TV companies know this. They have the football fans hooked, "live" football in your pub/sitting room is a thing, it is the established norm now.


My understanding is sky/BT etc are threatening to sue the premier league for breach of contract. I might be wrong but that's what I thought
I'm surprised it has lasted this long to be honest. The only thing that has prevented it from happening I would imagine is seanfhear's comment below re Act of God. I assume that there are certain clauses written into these contracts, to protect against delays in seasons, but nothing on the potential scale of seasons being cancelled or reduced etc.
That said, surely tv companies sell their packages at the start of the season anyway, and customers who have purchased a package at the start of a season need to hold the contract for 12 months anyway, so there probably is protection in that?


Is Covid-19 not an Act of God ? Tricky for atheists I suppose. I suppose Sky / BT will be atheist if it is better in Court ! !


I imagine TV rights holders and the league will want to get closed door matches going as soon as possible. Don’t see how anyone but idiots would hold it against the brand.

Any revenue better than no revenue — and TV money— not gate receipts, now makes up bulk of revenue given international viewership.

I'm exhausted, so probably not getting what you are saying. If it isn't safe to attend football games, then it can't be safe to play football games. This shouldn't be hard to comprehend - I don't think anyway.
What annoys me about our current situation...it's an inconvenience, absolutely; but it's not a war. There are no food shortages, no rations. People can booze, eat ****e, watch tv, read books, order things online. There is no threat to life, if you apply a bit of common sense, and those around you do the same.

[Diggs246]

"There is no threat to life"

I know you didn't mean this, but still !!!

[Stuttgart88]

As crazy as it sounds, at this point in time, there has to be a chance of this being correct.



Problem is bar-stoolers, are bar-stoolers. If they can't see that Burnley vs Southampton is **** football, before a crowd, they won't notice it without a crowd.
they won't end up at a loi ground as a result - unfortunately. TV companies know this. They have the football fans hooked, "live" football in your pub/sitting room is a thing, it is the established norm now.


I'm surprised it has lasted this long to be honest. The only thing that has prevented it from happening I would imagine is seanfhear's comment below re Act of God. I assume that there are certain clauses written into these contracts, to protect against delays in seasons, but nothing on the potential scale of seasons being cancelled or reduced etc.
That said, surely tv companies sell their packages at the start of the season anyway, and customers who have purchased a package at the start of a season need to hold the contract for 12 months anyway, so there probably is protection in that?





I'm exhausted, so probably not getting what you are saying. If it isn't safe to attend football games, then it can't be safe to play football games. This shouldn't be hard to comprehend - I don't think anyway.
What annoys me about our current situation...it's an inconvenience, absolutely; but it's not a war. There are no food shortages, no rations. People can booze, eat ****e, watch tv, read books, order things online. There is no threat to life, if you apply a bit of common sense, and those around you do the same.I'm not sure about the Act of God thing but TV rights are sold on a multi-year basis usually. The Premier League will have missed a trick if they didn't have some Catastrophe or "unable to provide service" clause. Or if not they could/should have insurance. FIFA always insures the WC being unable to be staged because of terrorism for example, and Wimbledon cashed in $140 million recently from an insurance policy with Lloyd's of London. They had been paying $2 million a year premium to the Lloyd's market for insurance against a major disruption. Not sure if it was pandemic specific or a range of disruption events.

UEFA has decided to overlook FFP for this season I hear.

I think footballer's contracts should be structured roughly as follows:

A club earns 3 revenue lines: match day, commercial (ie sponsorship, merchandising betc.) and broadcasting
Broadcasting revenues are centrally distrubuted. For example, SKY pays the EPL, the EPL pays the clubs depending on a formula. UEFA sells rights to broadcasters and distributes to clubs according to a formula based on participation and performance

So,

A players joins a club on X salary. At the outset the club determines whether the amortisation of the transfer fee and the annual salary is affordable under FFP and if it's decent value. That's how things are currently.

But I think contracts should be constructed so that the salary is Miniumum Amount + (Additional Amount * Adjustment Factor).

Adjustment factor = something like: take Expected or ("base case") Match Day Annual Revenue and Expected Broadcasting Distributions, and adjust according to actual outcomes.

So if a club misses out on CL and CL was expected then wages adjust. If EPL performance is better than expected, wages adjust. If both fall off a cliff, then wages adjust dramatically.

Of course players unions won't go for it but it would introduce an automatic stabiliser. The leagues, clubs or players could collectively buy pandemic or other insurance against their income falling drastically due to an insurable event, but not a "bad footballing performance" event. Relegation would adjust wages down because a club would now be on a new TV deal, and this would avoid the Parachute Payment debacle which distorts balance in the lower leagues.

[backstothewall]

My theory on this is that it won't be possible to complete the Premier League in any real way. Liverpool's title is legitimate, but relegation isn't really fair under these circumstances. They should maybe allow Liverpool to play a few games behind closed door to make it mathematically secure, then decide final league positions on the basis of points per game.

Then have a 22 team Premier League starting in August or Sept, played behind closed doors if needs be, and don't have PL clubs in the cups next season (if they even take place). Have 4 down, and 2 up in 2020/21, then get back to normal in 2021/22.

Every league in every country will need a bespoke solution depending on how things were when football was suspended. E.g. Serie A might want to hold a 'final' between Lazio & Juve to decide the scudetto

[Insidetherock]

My theory on this is that it won't be possible to complete the Premier League in any real way. Liverpool's title is legitimate, but relegation isn't really fair under these circumstances. They should maybe allow Liverpool to play a few games behind closed door to make it mathematically secure, then decide final league positions on the basis of points per game.

Then have a 22 team Premier League starting in August or Sept, played behind closed doors if needs be, and don't have PL clubs in the cups next season (if they even take place). Have 4 down, and 2 up in 2020/21, then get back to normal in 2021/22.

Every league in every country will need a bespoke solution depending on how things were when football was suspended. E.g. Serie A might want to hold a 'final' between Lazio & Juve to decide the scudetto

Basically you want the EPL to finish in a way that suits Liverpool, Leeds and West Brom, right?

Either you finish out the league, or you don't. You cannot "look after" a few teams, by engineering a finish that suits them, but leave other teams hanging

PPG if the league stopped today, would put Sheffield United ahead of Man United, something that could decide a CL spot, if City are banned for next season.

And then why aren't Wolves/Spurs/Arsenal, even Burnley/Palace/Everton allowed a fair chance of making 5th, all are within 6 points, with 9/10 games left

And why only Leeds and West Brom going up? 11 teams are within 6 points of a play off spot. Are they not all entitled to have a fair chance of promotion too?

I wonder are you a Liverpool supporter? Because the league does not revolve around Liverpool.

Either finish it, or nullify it.

[pineapple stu]

Either finish it, or nullify it.
I don't think the options can be limited to just these two. In fact, I don't think either of those are options at all.

It's looking increasingly likely that "finish it" isn't going to be doable; France has suspended all professional sport until September for example. But if there is an EL/CL next season, then there needs to be some decision on who takes part, and UEFA have said nullifying a season isn't an option (https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/52399043) either.

Points per game is a reasonable way to decide things. It's obviously far from ideal - but then there is a killer pandemic on the rampage, and a bit of perspective is needed. SO when you say "why aren't Wolves/Spurs/Arsenal, even Burnley/Palace/Everton allowed a fair chance of making 5th", the answer again is that there's a killer pandemic going around. There is no ideal way to do things. Basing things off 30 games is better than your suggestion of basing things off no games.

[backstothewall]

Basically you want the EPL to finish in a way that suits Liverpool, Leeds and West Brom, right?

Either you finish out the league, or you don't. You cannot "look after" a few teams, by engineering a finish that suits them, but leave other teams hanging

PPG if the league stopped today, would put Sheffield United ahead of Man United, something that could decide a CL spot, if City are banned for next season.

And then why aren't Wolves/Spurs/Arsenal, even Burnley/Palace/Everton allowed a fair chance of making 5th, all are within 6 points, with 9/10 games left

And why only Leeds and West Brom going up? 11 teams are within 6 points of a play off spot. Are they not all entitled to have a fair chance of promotion too?

I wonder are you a Liverpool supporter? Because the league does not revolve around Liverpool.

Either finish it, or nullify it.

I'm not a Liverpool supporter as a matter of fact. But a blind man could see that they had the league won.

Points per game isn't ideal, but it's the best of a bad bunch. Given their massive lead it's definitive enough to give Liverpool their title, but for me the obvious weaknesses make it impossible to use it to relegate anyone. Contracts are going to start expiring soon, some players will be looking to retire in the summer etc. With no end in sight to the pandemic it won't be possible to end the season before then, and it won't be fair to attempt to bring it back after the agreed end date.

Sooner or later it's going to be called off, and when that time comes it's going to be lawyers at dawn unless nobody ends up feeling hard done by. The only way to square that circle is finding a way of allowing Leeds and WBA to come up without relegating anybody.

The premier league had 22 teams from 92 to 95 so it's feasible to do it - especially considering travel restrictions will mean we're unlikely to have much in the way of European or International football for a while

[elatedscum]

i personally think the best thing to do is finish the remaining games, whenever they can be played... get through the 38 games... have your winner and your top 4 and top 7 and bottom 3. the biggest stumbling block i can see is individual player's contract situations.

i'd abandon the european cup. when there's still 12 possible teams that can win something, it's hard for any one team to get too displeased, especially when the group stages are often a formality.

take a 4-6 week break or whatever you need and then do a curtailed season the next year, presumably no european football, no cups. just league games. should be able to re-unite everything in time for summer 2021 and the euros...

presumably the rest players are getting now should help avoid burnout over the next 18 months...

[Fixer82]

I would finish the season from September to Dec.

Then have a 19 game season from Jan - May. One game against each team as opposed to home and away

[tetsujin1979]

Game confirmed for October 8th: https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/kenny-welcomes-clarity-on-uefa-fixtures

[Diggs246]

Can we go to the f**Ker!!!

[geysir]

Can we go to the f**Ker!!!
Uefa will probably discuss that issue at the next Uefa meeting in july.
As of now there's no word at all about attending Nations League in sept or the play offs in oct.

[jbyrne]

slovakia on the end of a 1-3 beating at home tonight against the czech rep

[Razors left peg]

slovakia on the end of a 1-3 beating at home tonight against the czech rep

The same Czech team that were beaten last time out by what some people have said is a hopeless Bulgaria team.

[geysir]

Slovakia were poor, but Bosnia looked very decent.

[DeLorean]

The same Czech team that were beaten last time out by what some people have said is a hopeless Bulgaria team.

They are very, very limited though, wouldn't you agree? But it's amazing what a new manager can do just by getting a team organised. It will be interesting to see how they get on in Cardiff tomorrow, might be a better gauge of how good or bad our result/performance was.

[Eirambler]

So then... how does SK turn all of that into a team that can win in Slovakia in a month's time and get us to the playoff final? I think the answer is that he probably doesn't to be honest, but he needs to find a functioning team and game plan in the next four weeks to at least give us a chance.

In terms of setup he is, as expected, wedded to a 4-3-3 type formation so there is little chance of him changing that to a 3-5-2 or any other formation for the playoff game. I do think he needs to tweak the setup down the right hand side though, especially if Doherty is going to continue in the team. We have also left our centre forward looking very isolated in the last two games - we really need a second forward in there to offer some support in attack.

I would want us to look at something like this:

----------------Randolph---------------
-----------Duffy-----Egan-----Stevens
Doherty--------------------------------
----------Arter-----McCarthy----------
-----------------Brady------------------
--------Long---McGoldrick---Connolly

It looks a bit lopsided, but basically the idea is that you keep the 4-3-3 but in attack you give Doherty (or Coleman) the space to bomb up and down the right flank all game by not playing an out-and-out right wing forward, where O'Dowda has played the last two games. It's a bit of a problem position for us anyway, but I'm starting to think we don't actually need anyone there in any case, O'Dowda was more in the way at times tonight than anything else.

Instead you play someone like Long as a second forward to make sure your centre forward isn't as isolated as Idah has been for the last two games. Having the second forward also helps as McGoldrick will likely be up there and he likes to drift back and get involved in possession in midfield throughout the game.

In defence you need Stevens to stay back and tuck in alongside the centre backs to help cover the space when Doherty goes forward, Stevens was hopeless going forward tonight anyway so no big loss there. Also at least one of the midfielders needs to sit deep to protect against the counter attacks we have been picked off with the last two games. The players we pick, especially in midfield, could change depending on who starts the season well at club level, we have six or seven realistic central midfield options at the moment with nobody standing out unfortunately - the three I have gone for there are just examples to fill the positions.

Hopefully giving more space to allow us to attack from right back would also build a bit more energy into our play, at the moment we look like we are trying to force a setup that doesn't suit the players we have and they don't seem to be able to pass the ball quickly enough to create any openings. So I think we have to try something different against Slovakia to have any chance of causing what would, at this point, be a shock result.

[seanfhear]

Are we really good enough to play Three Forwards. I don’t think so. Your Midfield would want to have a few Frighteners ( to the Opposition ) to be playing Three Forwards !

Better Midfielders would have a field day against us with that system.

[brine3]

Yes, a recurring theme in Irish football is that we get outnumbered in the centre of the park by teams playing with three central midfielders.

SK doesn't get it either, it seems. A shame.

4-3-3 isn't the only way to play nice football.

[Olé Olé]

Yes, a recurring theme in Irish football is that we get outnumbered in the centre of the park by teams playing with three central midfielders.

SK doesn't get it either, it seems. A shame.

4-3-3 isn't the only way to play nice football.
I don't get it. What's your suggestion? Play four central midfielders?

[brine3]

4-2-3-1

[geysir]

No matter what the formation, players have to be clued in, but 4231 is blatantly obvious to try for a new manager for a team like ours. Our starting point is midfield and cover for the back 4. We won't win anything with 433, never mind playing debutants like Molumby in an important competitive game next month as one of three midfielders.
Taylor made hay in midfield yesterday, exploiting gaps, making runs. and eventually setting up the goal.

The future for this team is to beat Slovakia.

[DCWA]

Is there really a great deal of difference between a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-3-3?

The two wide men push up a little bit and the behind the striker midfielder drops back a little bit and that 4-2-3-1 is a 4-3-3 anyway.

[seanfhear]

Yes, a recurring theme in Irish football is that we get outnumbered in the centre of the park by teams playing with three central midfielders.

SK doesn't get it either, it seems. A shame.

4-3-3 isn't the only way to play nice football.
Our Midfield is no way good enough for the luxury of there forwards. They would need to be three exceptional good midfielders for that. We don’t have midfielders of that quality.

[seanfhear]

A Variation of 4-2-2-1-1 with us using our good attacking Full Backs as we happen to have good attacking Full backs. But it seems that you need very well drilled teams to have attacking full backs ( wing backs and can it be done at International Football with the time available )

[DeLorean]

There was a bit of a reaction pre-match to our whole midfield being 'dropped', but realistically I think McCarthy & Hendrick were shoe-ins for Slovakia regardless of what happened last night, and probably safer still now. I feel Hourihane may be less sure of his place, Arter might just have done enough to get in instead.

It's a little concerning that SK is picking a team to suit his preferred system, rather than choosing a system to suit his players. Even if 4-3-3 does turn out to be the way to go, he'll need to be more flexible than he appears at the moment, whether that's a tweak within a match or an adjustment for different types of opposition.

He has said he's not married to any particular system though, so time will tell, very early days obviously.

[brine3]

Our Midfield is no way good enough for the luxury of there forwards. They would need to be three exceptional good midfielders for that. We don’t have midfielders of that quality.

I think we have some very decent midfielders, but yes, teams that have successfully pulled off 4-3-3 at the highest level would be the likes of Ajax last season, who had Frenkie de Jong in midfield, who is a step above our best midfielders. Or Barcelona in 2011, where Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets in midfield did the work of five players.

This isn't to say I think our players are bad. I think they are capable of playing very good football, and that potential showed for many parts of the Bulgaria match. In that way, I don't mind 4-3-3 being a long-term target for Irish youth and senior teams to strive for. Morten Olsen implemented it across all age levels of football in Denmark, and it really worked out well for them. But it might be a bit too soon for us. And, as I said, we can't afford to play a system where we have to drop one of Coleman or Doherty. World class Irish players don't grow on trees...

[seanfhear]

I think we have some very decent midfielders, but yes, teams that have successfully pulled off 4-3-3 at the highest level would be the likes of Ajax last season, who had Frenkie de Jong in midfield, who is a step above our best midfielders. Or Barcelona in 2011, where Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets in midfield did the work of five players.

This isn't to say I think our players are bad. I think they are capable of playing very good football, and that potential showed for many parts of the Bulgaria match. In that way, I don't mind 4-3-3 being a long-term target for Irish youth and senior teams to strive for. Morten Olsen implemented it across all age levels of football in Denmark, and it really worked out well for them. But it might be a bit too soon for us. And, as I said, we can't afford to play a system where we have to drop one of Coleman or Doherty. World class Irish players don't grow on trees...
Didn’t Germany move Lahm to midfield successfully for a few years. Ok none of our full backs are Lahm ! It will be interesting to see how Coleman goes this year. If he returns to form it would seem stage that a relative small footballing country like Ireland cannot make good use of Coleman and Doherty.

[Stuttgart88]

Is there really a great deal of difference between a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-3-3?

The two wide men push up a little bit and the behind the striker midfielder drops back a little bit and that 4-2-3-1 is a 4-3-3 anyway.Yeah I was saying on the Finland thread that they're just different nuances of the same thing but they require slightly different types of player, or at least slightly different roles are given to the same players.

[brine3]

Didn’t Germany move Lahm to midfield successfully for a few years. Ok none of our full backs are Lahm ! It will be interesting to see how Coleman goes this year. If he returns to form it would seem stage that a relative small footballing country like Ireland cannot make good use of Coleman and Doherty.

Happens all the time. Dwight Yorke played midfield for Trinidad & Tobago. I myself would have played Damien Duff as a roaming attacking midfielder. If he was Croatian it's possible he would have been moulded like a Modric...

[seanfhear]

Happens all the time. Dwight Yorke played midfield for Trinidad & Tobago. I myself would have played Damien Duff as a roaming attacking midfielder. If he was Croatian it's possible he would have been moulded like a Modric...
Could Coleman play as 1 of two screeners in front of the back four and these screeners could fill in for the attacking full backs. Surely Coleman would have enough of a defensive mindset to do that ? Ok who would be the other one ?

[paul_oshea]

They are very, very limited though, wouldn't you agree? But it's amazing what a new manager can do just by getting a team organised. It will be interesting to see how they get on in Cardiff tomorrow, might be a better gauge of how good or bad our result/performance was.

Ya i felt like watching them yesterday they were even better at it than against us. The georgian has them playing like Ireland under Trap. He even reminds me of him looking at the sideline. And just like Traps Ireland they have very little interest in getting up the pitch or trying to score.

[paul_oshea]

No matter what the formation, players have to be clued in, but 4231 is blatantly obvious to try for a new manager for a team like ours. Our starting point is midfield and cover for the back 4. We won't win anything with 433, never mind playing debutants like Molumby in an important competitive game next month as one of three midfielders.
Taylor made hay in midfield yesterday, exploiting gaps, making runs. and eventually setting up the goal.

The future for this team is to beat Slovakia.

I would say, at this stage, the future of this team is to beat Slovakia.

If we didnt win the next game then i think there would be forgiveness. But 2 losses in a row and effectively a get out of jail draw in the first 3 games, is not going to endear to the Irish footballing public, by that then the media. Players might themselves start to doubt the whole approach.

[paul_oshea]

Could Coleman play as 1 of two screeners in front of the back four and these screeners could fill in for the attacking full backs. Surely Coleman would have enough of a defensive mindset to do that ? Ok who would be the other one ?

I asked this in another forum. Exactly what i was wondering too. Hes quick over a couple of yards, and hes pacey, tenacious, and not easily beaten off the ball, can receive in tight spaces and still not be dispossessed(switzerland exception), hes also a very good tackler generally.