Republic of Ireland V Finland - Sunday, September 6th - 2020 - UEFA Nations League

[Stuttgart88]

What exact team?

[Fixer82]

3-5-3 would be good to look at with Coleman on the right of the 3 with Duffy and Egan.
Stevens and Doherty wing backs and maybe McCarthy, Arter and one of Hourihane/Hendrick/Brady

Then McGoldrick as 10 with Connolly, Long, Obafemi, Parrott, Robinson and Idah vying for the top two spots.

Brady could also do a job at LWB if Stevens injured.

[Eminence Grise]

Did anybody really expect Kenny to have a magic wand that could turn us into Brazil overnight?


You thanked a post not too long ago with the exact team mentioned!

You might have misread my post, Paul. I referred to Brazil in metaphor (synecdoche, really I suppose, but who cares for pedantry?) the way others refer to free-flowing silky football. Not literally Brazil. We're definitely more Enniscrone than Copacabana! Not necessarily a bad thing...

[Eirambler]

3-5-3 would be good to look at with Coleman on the right of the 3 with Duffy and Egan.
Stevens and Doherty wing backs and maybe McCarthy, Arter and one of Hourihane/Hendrick/Brady

Then McGoldrick as 10 with Connolly, Long, Obafemi, Parrott, Robinson and Idah vying for the top two spots.

Brady could also do a job at LWB if Stevens injured.

As mentioned above though, the lack of a goalkeeper is going to cause an issue with this otherwise excellent formation.

[Stuttgart88]

You might have misread my post, Paul. I referred to Brazil in metaphor (synecdoche, really I suppose, but who cares for pedantry?) the way others refer to free-flowing silky football. Not literally Brazil. We're definitely more Enniscrone than Copacabana! Not necessarily a bad thing...ah so that was the post. Crikey...

[Fixer82]

As mentioned above though, the lack of a goalkeeper is going to cause an issue with this otherwise excellent formation.

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[youngirish]

Give this team a try after the playoffs:


GK Randolph
RWB Doherty
CB O'Shea
CB Duffy
CB Egan
LWB Stevens
CM Molumby
CM Hendrick
CM Arter
ST Mc Goldrick
ST Obafemi

Lacking replacements at Centre Back but other than that worth a try.

[paul_oshea]

You might have misread my post, Paul. I referred to Brazil in metaphor (synecdoche, really I suppose, but who cares for pedantry?) the way others refer to free-flowing silky football. Not literally Brazil. We're definitely more Enniscrone than Copacabana! Not necessarily a bad thing...

With all due respect your Eminence, it was the allusion to us playing decent passing football in the style of Brazil or other such teams. We weren't even near what Georgia have provided the last few games we've played them.

[Diggs246]

---‐----‐---------Randy
Coleman Duffy egan Stevens
Doherty cullen McCarthy Connolly
---‐------------ mcgoldrick
‐----‐-------------obafemi

4-5-1
This is our best team guys
If troy turns into a star in the next 3m4 weeks great, but if we are to play Slovakia tomorrow. Imo this team could win the match

[mark12345]

I think I'd be worried if there weren't gloom merchants on here calling for us to feed everyone who's ever played midfield for us to be feed into a woodchipper and the pulp used to nourish some teenagers who can't get a game in the Championship. It's the natural order when we lose, draw, and frequently when we win too.

True enough about the gloom merchants. And to be honest I have been among them for years. But I have a good feeling about Stephen Kenny. Kenny made an excellent point prior to yesterday's game. He said Finland are (in their development) where Ireland wants to be. That is so true. And you can add Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark to that list. All smaller countries who pass and move into space and can transition from defence to attack quickly. Kenny will get it done for Ireland but he needs to be given the time to do it.

[Olé Olé]

I listened to some of the reaction across media outlets.

I actually found Dunphy and Giles to be the most fair commentators on these games. Giles says that he would have liked the results to be better but he's not surprised by the performances due to experimentation. Dunphy said it would be easy for Kenny to come in and set a team up to earn results against Bulgaria and Finland but he didn't do that, to his credit.

[Stuttgart88]

That's encouraging to hear

[Bielsa´s irish]

Your proposed 3-5-3 formation would be very interesting, though I think we would struggle without a goalkeeper.

jhon b good i meant 3-4-3 with a false 9. To go deep. If you place a playmaker like Connor Ronan, Crowley or Johansson, then u play two up front.

[Olé Olé]

That's encouraging to hear

They were very sympathetic regarding the fitness levels of the players and the difficulty for a new manager trying to find his best team.

They do say that both would prefer Coleman to Doherty. And commended Kenny for "having the courage to try" Doherty right back over Coleman.

It was a breath of fresh air, to be honest. I'm finding the conflicted views of some on Newstalk to be tough listening.

I'm appreciating Dunphy and Giles a lot. Another example is that they speak about Stevens having two poor games. But they qualify it by saying he's had a good year for Sheffield United and is a good footballer. On the other hand, some poster on here said Stevens was poor and will be dropped for Max Lowe at Sheffield United. You just couldn't write some of the kneejerks. Incredible.

[seanfhear]

They were very sympathetic regarding the fitness levels of the players and the difficulty for a new manager trying to find his best team.

They do say that both would prefer Coleman to Doherty. And commended Kenny for "having the courage to try" Doherty right back over Coleman.

It was a breath of fresh air, to be honest. I'm finding the conflicted views of some on Newstalk to be tough listening.

I'm appreciating Dunphy and Giles a lot. Another example is that they speak about Stevens having two poor games. But they qualify it by saying he's had a good year for Sheffield United and is a good footballer. On the other hand, some poster on here said Stevens was poor and will be dropped for Max Lowe at Sheffield United. You just couldn't write some of the kneejerks. Incredible.
Has Newstalk brought woke to the Football ? It has brought Woke to everything else !

[youngirish]

I'm appreciating Dunphy and Giles a lot. Another example is that they speak about Stevens having two poor games. But they qualify it by saying he's had a good year for Sheffield United and is a good footballer. On the other hand, some poster on here said Stevens was poor and will be dropped for Max Lowe at Sheffield United. You just couldn't write some of the kneejerks. Incredible.
That was me. So why are Sheffield United spending 11 million on Bogle and Lowe? So they can sit on the bench? Stevens is another very average player. 1 good part of a season in the Premiership at 30 (he was poor after the restart) and the rest of his career in the lower divisions. He couldn't even establish himself in a terrible Aston Villa side.

I'd say its incredible you think he's good enough to keep Lowe out of the team indefinitely. I doubt you know anything about Lowe.

Dunphy, what an authority on football that man has proven to be over the years. He still banging on about bringing Stephen Ireland and Andy Reid back into our team to turn us into world beaters?

It amazes me with all these brilliant players how we keep getting beaten comfortably by teams like Finland, Wales and Denmark. We should be winning World Cups with our squad.

[Olé Olé]

That was me. So why are Sheffield United spending 11 million on Bogle and Lowe? So they can sit on the bench? Stevens is another very average player. 1 good part of a season in the Premiership at 30 (he was poor after the restart) and the rest of his career in the lower divisions. He couldn't even establish himself in a terrible Aston Villa side.

I'd say its incredible you think he's good enough to keep Lowe out of the team indefinitely. I doubt you know anything about Lowe.

Dunphy what an authority on football that man has proven to be over the years. He still banging on about bringing Stephen Ireland and Andy Reid back into our team to turn us into world beaters?

Amazes me with all these brilliant players how we keep getting beaten comfortably by teams like Finland, Wales and Denmark. We should be winning World Cups with our squad.

That post reads like something that would come from a drunken Dunphy.

[youngirish]

That post reads like something that would come from a drunken Dunphy.

Good one. Another intellectual powerhouse with the wit to match.

Let's give it a few months when Stevens is sitting on the bench and and I'll repost your nonsense above so you can dine on some humble pie.

[Olé Olé]

Good one. Another intellectual powerhouse with the wit to match.

Let's give it a few months when Stevens is sitting on the bench and and I'll repost your nonsense above so you can dine on some humble pie.

I like drunken Dunphy though. In fact, your post was better than anything he's produced in an RTE studio. It had the usual hallmarks (an incoherent stream of points, the tendency to self-contradict) but you somehow managed to bring it all to life - on an internet forum, no less - through a scattergun approach to punctuation and grammar. Hats off.

As to the actual points, I was going to contend with the point regarding Stevens not getting into the Villa side in 2014 but then I stopped myself. If seeing an Irish player dropped after a good season provides you with enough satisfaction and a childish "I told you so" then far be it from me to get in the way.

[youngirish]

t had the usual hallmarks (an incoherent stream of points, the tendency to self-contradict) but you somehow managed to bring it all to life - on an internet forum, no less - through a scattergun approach to punctuation and grammar.
Yes, punctuation on an internet forum. Its very important to highlight the lack thereof when your footballing knowledge is called into question. The classic misdirection technique when you can't rebuke the points made.

Maybe if you spent less time worrying about punctuation in your own posts and more time thinking about the football content, then those said posts wouldn't be a source of such ill informed drivel. Look up Max Lowe yet? Doesn't look bad does he?



As to the actual points, I was going to contend with the point regarding Stevens not getting into the Villa side in 2014 but then I stopped myself. If seeing an Irish player dropped after a good season provides you with enough satisfaction and a childish "I told you so" then far be it from me to get in the way.


Not really but it would be almost worth it so you could see that miracles can happen because wouldn't it be incredible if a lower league journeyman was dropped to make way for a newly signed, highly rated, England U21 left back?

Also Stevens was crap after the season restart. But you know that don't you?

[Bielsa´s irish]

lads for Finland goal there were like 6 mistakes before Stevens got anticipated at the 2nd post. Will explain in my mother tongue.

Primero Arter queda al revés de la jugada con un finlandés, luego Molumby y Brady son superados por el mismo contrincante vikingo, o sea un tipo le gana a tres! Tres de los nuestros (Arter, Molumby y Brady), Brady en un último intento puntea la pelota hacia Duffy, en el camino Puuki intercepta ese pase atrás, y mete un pase en profundidad entre el hueco entre Doherty (que no corre al tipo de su espalda) Y Duffy que se queda parado pidiendo off-side! Egan tiene que salir a cruzar en diagonal para atrás pero no puede cortar el centro al ras del piso hacia el segundo palo, Stevens no se da cuenta que tiene un tipo atrás que le gana la espalda, lo anticipa.... y la mete al fondo de la red.

So mistakes from arter, brady, molumby, doherty, duffy, egan (in a lesser extent) and Stevens. 6 irish players made a mistake there, of course a goal.

[pineapple stu]

Seriously - what use do you think a post in Spanish is?

[brine3]

My Spanish is better than my Irish

[seanfhear]

Franco was not 100% bad.

[Eminence Grise]

Seriously - what use do you think a post in Spanish is?

I don't speak a word of Spanish, but it still makes more sense than most of youngirish's recent diatribes...

[Bielsa´s irish]

Franco was not 100% bad.

Did you know he was a celtic gaelic?

Plus, he invented their tourism industry there just to avoid recession, anyway Spain is a Monty Python joke for a country. The celtics, basques and catalans those guys speak different languages and they want to be independent, plus they hate the average spaniards, but the kingdom and europe wont allow that, so they flood them with euros to their local economies for those provinces.
And all of them they discard the people from Andalucia as "lumpenproletariats", it is a joke for a country.

I highly recommend you this spanish movie "My twelve basques surnames", and its sequel "My twelve catalans surnames"

[Bielsa´s irish]

lads for Finland goal there were like 6 mistakes before Stevens got anticipated at the 2nd post. Will explain in my mother tongue.

Primero Arter queda al revés de la jugada con un finlandés, luego Molumby y Brady son superados por el mismo contrincante vikingo, o sea un tipo le gana a tres! Tres de los nuestros (Arter, Molumby y Brady), Brady en un último intento puntea la pelota hacia Duffy, en el camino Puuki intercepta ese pase atrás, y mete un pase en profundidad entre el hueco entre Doherty (que no corre al tipo de su espalda) Y Duffy que se queda parado pidiendo off-side! Egan tiene que salir a cruzar en diagonal para atrás pero no puede cortar el centro al ras del piso hacia el segundo palo, Stevens no se da cuenta que tiene un tipo atrás que le gana la espalda, lo anticipa.... y la mete al fondo de la red.

So mistakes from arter, brady, molumby, doherty, duffy, egan (in a lesser extent) and Stevens. 6 irish players made a mistake there, of course a goal.

First of all Arter is reversed with a finn who outmuscled him, then Molumby and Brady are overcome by the same Viking opponent, that is so that one guy beats three of us! Three of us (Arter, Molumby and Brady), Brady in a last attempt, taps the ball towards Duffy, on the way there Puuki intercepts that back pass, and puts a deep pass through between the gap of Doherty (who does not run to his guy ) And Duffy who stands still asking for an off-side!
Then Egan has to go out to cross diagonally back, in a rush,,,,but he cannot cut the low pass at the ground level towards the far post, Stevens does not realize that he has a guy behind, who is lurking and beats his positioning, he anticipates Stevens ... and he puts it to the bottom of the net.

six player in my opinion made a mistake....arter, molumby, brady, doherty, duffy, stevens. Egan in a lesser extent

[Diggs246]

lads for Finland goal there were like 6 mistakes before Stevens got anticipated at the 2nd post. Will explain in my mother tongue.

Primero Arter queda al revés de la jugada con un finlandés, luego Molumby y Brady son superados por el mismo contrincante vikingo, o sea un tipo le gana a tres! Tres de los nuestros (Arter, Molumby y Brady), Brady en un último intento puntea la pelota hacia Duffy, en el camino Puuki intercepta ese pase atrás, y mete un pase en profundidad entre el hueco entre Doherty (que no corre al tipo de su espalda) Y Duffy que se queda parado pidiendo off-side! Egan tiene que salir a cruzar en diagonal para atrás pero no puede cortar el centro al ras del piso hacia el segundo palo, Stevens no se da cuenta que tiene un tipo atrás que le gana la espalda, lo anticipa.... y la mete al fondo de la red.

So mistakes from arter, brady, molumby, doherty, duffy, egan (in a lesser extent) and Stevens. 6 irish players made a mistake there, of course a goal.

I got this far into Google translate before breaking my ass laughing

"First Arter is reversed with a Finn, then Molumby and Brady are overcome by the same Viking "

[paul_oshea]

lads for Finland goal there were like 6 mistakes before Stevens got anticipated at the 2nd post. Will explain in my mother tongue.

Primero Arter queda al revés de la jugada con un finlandés, luego Molumby y Brady son superados por el mismo contrincante vikingo, o sea un tipo le gana a tres! Tres de los nuestros (Arter, Molumby y Brady), Brady en un último intento puntea la pelota hacia Duffy, en el camino Puuki intercepta ese pase atrás, y mete un pase en profundidad entre el hueco entre Doherty (que no corre al tipo de su espalda) Y Duffy que se queda parado pidiendo off-side! Egan tiene que salir a cruzar en diagonal para atrás pero no puede cortar el centro al ras del piso hacia el segundo palo, Stevens no se da cuenta que tiene un tipo atrás que le gana la espalda, lo anticipa.... y la mete al fondo de la red.

So mistakes from arter, brady, molumby, doherty, duffy, egan (in a lesser extent) and Stevens. 6 irish players made a mistake there, of course a goal.

Love this. This isn't actually a Google translate job. It's perfect Spanish. I can't stop laughing.

[paul_oshea]

First of all Arter is reversed with a finn who outmuscled him, then Molumby and Brady are overcome by the same Viking opponent, that is so that one guy beats three of us! Three of us (Arter, Molumby and Brady), Brady in a last attempt, taps the ball towards Duffy, on the way there Puuki intercepts that back pass, and puts a deep pass through between the gap of Doherty (who does not run to his guy ) And Duffy who stands still asking for an off-side!
Then Egan has to go out to cross diagonally back, in a rush,,,,but he cannot cut the low pass at the ground level towards the far post, Stevens does not realize that he has a guy behind, who is lurking and beats his positioning, he anticipates Stevens ... and he puts it to the bottom of the net.

six player in my opinion made a mistake....arter, molumby, brady, doherty, duffy, stevens. Egan in a lesser extent

Finn's aren't Vikings. Or scanadavian for that matter.

[paul_oshea]

Only thing I'm confused about is this. Perhaps it's football slang I'm not aware of "Que no corre al tipo de su espalda" . What is this?

[Insidetherock]

Slovakia drew 1-1 tonight with Isreal.. and got turned over at home at the weekend by a Czech team, who got beat tonight by Scotland.

They are no great shakes, no more than we are.. people here talking about getting turned over by the North.. who just took a drubbing 1-5 at home to the footballing powerhouse that is .. Norway

Right now, until the NL became four team groups, we're a third tier side.. along with Slovakia and Northern Ireland, so once players have some games in their legs and a bit of fitness, we're at the very least a match for those two.

Bosnia, rightly are a second tier team.. but are they that far ahead of us? Hardly.

Qualifying will be difficult.. but not impossible. I am more worried to be honest about ensuring we stay in the B path for 2022, where we can have a right go at qualification for Germany in 2024.. being honest, how many of us are really gearing up to follow the team in Qatar in 2022?

Get 4 more NL games.. 2 qualifying games for Euro 2021.. hopefully qualify for that and get 3-4 games in next years tournament, plus 8-10 WC qualifiers. If we don't get to Euro 2021, maybe 2-3 friendlies against teams that do.

6 more NL games in late 2022, and 8-10 more Euro 2024 qualifying games..

By the time the Euros in 2024 come around.. Ireland will have played 32-40 games.. then judge the man and the team

[Bielsa´s irish]

Finn's aren't Vikings. Or scanadavian for that matter.

Thank you for this insight. I thought they were tatars from the Volga,
It doesnt matter, what matters is the errors made by 6 of our players in the lead-up to the 0-1

[Bielsa´s irish]

Only thing I'm confused about is this. Perhaps it's football slang I'm not aware of "Que no corre al tipo de su espalda" . What is this?

yes its football slang.


Doherty tried to play the finn in an off side position so he was further on the pitch, so the finn was behind Doherty, when the pass came from Puuki between doherty and Duffy's position, Doherty turned around and there was that finn left forward behind his position going through with the ball, he didnt try to chase him, he was perplexed.

[seanfhear]

Finn's aren't Vikings. Or scanadavian for that matter.
What about Finn McCool and the other Irish Finns ?

[jbyrne]

Slovakia drew 1-1 tonight with Isreal.. and got turned over at home at the weekend by a Czech team, who got beat tonight by Scotland.

They are no great shakes, no more than we are.. people here talking about getting turned over by the North.. who just took a drubbing 1-5 at home to the footballing powerhouse that is .. Norway


to put a bit of perspective on it..... the czechs had to use an entirely home based team and manager due to covid concerns.
i only saw highlights but slovakia looked decent but wilted at the end due to the heat. israel hit the post in injury time.

norway were very good against the North and had the added bonus of having Haaland up front. his two goals were absolute belters

[DeLorean]

True, NI v Norway is probably a close match without Haaland. I suspect he'd have done significant damage to us too over the past week. Was pretty cool he asked his one of his heroes Stuart Dallas to swap jerseys at full time. :)

[youngirish]

I genuinely believe that we’re going through a cultural reset. Kenny is the first manager I can recall talking about building something resembling a philosophy of play, of breaking from the English game and creating an Irish brand of play.

Repeating some sound bites you heard on a Kenny interview? This Irish style sound byte, if you thought about it, actually doesn't mean anything. Its nothing more than a slogan. Do Denmark or Wales have a Danish or Welsh style of play? Did Finland have a specific Finnish style of play when they beat us the other night? England don't even have an English style of play anymore.

There's been no such thing in international football for about 30 years since players began to move in large numbers from their domestic leagues to the richer European leagues. English clubs and therefore their players, play various different styles depending on the managers preference, the opposition and the personnel available to them. They don't play an English style and haven't for years.

What do you mean? Are you talking about passing the ball more? How is that an Irish style? Are we going to play that way against all opposition? The same style for Brazil away and Gibraltar at home? It means nothing but hey, keep believing and Let's Make America Great Again.

[Stuttgart88]

I think there are roughly two styles of play in international football. How Ireland currently plays (and has done since Trap), and how the rest of the world plays. The two are quite far apart at the moment. The Austrian commentary for one of our goals in our 2—2 draw a few years ago was funny (or not funny). One of our full backs hoofed it up the channel, and Walters or Long chased after it like a mad thing, and it ultimately somehow led to a goal. The hoof passage of play was described in real time “Ireland, mit kick and rush….”! When I watch virtually any other NL game at any level (League A down to League D) I don’t see any other team as inept in the basics as we are at times.

There are variations in how the RoW plays, but almost universally, from France down to the minnows, teams and players are quite good on the ball and have some defensive discipline and keep a good shape. Georgia outplayed us. Gibraltar kept us at bay easily enough.

I don’t think we were particularly primitive pre-Trap. We mixed good footy with Charlton era directness and it was generally successful. To Stan’s credit, he didn’t mistrust players who could use the ball well. Other managers did.

[seanfhear]

I think there are roughly two styles of play in international football. How Ireland currently plays (and has done since Trap), and how the rest of the world plays. The two are quite far apart at the moment. The Austrian commentary for one of our goals in our 2—2 draw a few years ago was funny (or not funny). One of our full backs hoofed it up the channel, and Walters or Long chased after it like a mad thing, and it ultimately somehow led to a goal. The hoof passage of play was described in real time “Ireland, mit kick and rush….”! When I watch virtually any other NL game at any level (League A down to League D) I don’t see any other team as inept in the basics as we are at times.

There are variations in how the RoW plays, but almost universally, from France down to the minnows, teams and players are quite good on the ball and have some defensive discipline and keep a good shape. Georgia outplayed us. Gibraltar kept us at bay easily enough.

I don’t think we were particularly primitive pre-Trap. We mixed good footy with Charlton era directness and it was generally successful. To Stan’s credit, he didn’t mistrust players who could use the ball well. Other managers did.
Charlton did plenty of Kick and Rush but with better players.

[tetsujin1979]

My thoughts on the two games: http://irish-abroad.appspot.com/Blog?id=8639365780694182082

[Diggs246]

My thoughts on the two games: http://irish-abroad.appspot.com/Blog?id=8639365780694182082

U hit the nail on the head" I dont see us winning in Bratislava " I think we could via penos but that's it

[Eminence Grise]

Repeating some sound bites you heard on a Kenny interview? This Irish style sound byte, if you thought about it, actually doesn't mean anything. Its nothing more than a slogan. Do Denmark or Wales have a Danish or Welsh style of play? Did Finland have a specific Finnish style of play when they beat us the other night? England don't even have an English style of play anymore.

There's been no such thing in international football for about 30 years since players began to move in large numbers from their domestic leagues to the richer European leagues. English clubs and therefore their players, play various different styles depending on the managers preference, the opposition and the personnel available to them. They don't play an English style and haven't for years.

What do you mean? Are you talking about passing the ball more? How is that an Irish style? Are we going to play that way against all opposition? The same style for Brazil away and Gibraltar at home? It means nothing but hey, keep believing and Let's Make America Great Again.

Contemptible, conflating claptrap.

Why are you so angry all the time?

[Stuttgart88]

Total claptrap indeed. It's "Keep America Great" now.

[Stuttgart88]

Too lazy to go back over the thread(s) but I think it was Diggs who said 433 will never work while we have two “traditional” CBs rather than ball playing CBs. This ties in with my own point that at times the gaps between our own three lines was just massive. Kingdom likes to make the point that often this is because Randolph’s positioning - even when we are in possession - is quite deep, which draws at least one CB back towards him.

When I watch other good teams play, and regardless of whether it’s 433 or anything else, the outfield 10 are generally compact and move up and down the pitch as a unit. At the famous home game vs Germany I watched Germany’s back 4 and at times they were stationed in a line more than 10m into our half. As a team they sensed danger together and put on pressure together. Of course they then got undone by a long hoof over their heads!

But that’s what I want to see from us. I’ve seen our underage teams do it. The senior team doesn’t do it yet. And I think there’s something in the “ball playing CB” theory that explains why we don’t / can’t do it.

[Bielsa´s irish]

Too lazy to go back over the thread(s) but I think it was Diggs who said 433 will never work while we have two “traditional” CBs rather than ball playing CBs. This ties in with my own point that at times the gaps between our own three lines was just massive. Kingdom likes to make the point that often this is because Randolph’s positioning - even when we are in possession - is quite deep, which draws at least one CB back towards him.

When I watch other good teams play, and regardless of whether it’s 433 or anything else, the outfield 10 are generally compact and move up and down the pitch as a unit. At the famous home game vs Germany I watched Germany’s back 4 and at times they were stationed in a line more than 10m into our half. As a team they sensed danger together and put on pressure together. Of course they then got undone by a long hoof over their heads!

But that’s what I want to see from us. I’ve seen our underage teams do it. The senior team doesn’t do it yet. And I think there’s something in the “ball playing CB” theory that explains why we don’t / can’t do it.

that is why i say lets try a back 3. England played a back 3. with Coady.

Yesterday Croatia was the best team, played grass football were winning and got defeated by a guy who wasnt muscular at all, wasnt fast or strong, it is a street player, also looked out of shape...ben yedder but won it for France with football brain. A lovely pass to the left backbdraw the game, and trick the croatian left back in a one -two and assisted the second.

what i mean what is good brand of football? tiki taka? yesterday croatia were playing tiki taka...and France looked very, pedestrian and ordinary the center backs specially the Upamecano lad was shaky. midfielders incoherent yet the game was unlocked by a guy with football brain.

Ireland needs intelligent football brain players, street wise players as we had in the past with Brady, the two Keanes, duff, tony galvin and hoolahan

[Stuttgart88]

Tony Galvin :)

[nigel-harps1954]

That was me. So why are Sheffield United spending 11 million on Bogle and Lowe? So they can sit on the bench? Stevens is another very average player. 1 good part of a season in the Premiership at 30 (he was poor after the restart) and the rest of his career in the lower divisions. He couldn't even establish himself in a terrible Aston Villa side.



Stevens, by your estimation, has had one good half season in the Premier League.

Isn't that more than Lowe, who has played all of his career in lower leagues? One good half a season in the Championship last year?

[Charlie Darwin]

Yer spot on! But purely from watching SK in LoI he does not waiver away from his ummm philosophy. He will rarely if ever decide to go 442 or say go long ball. His teams play the same fron minute 1 to 90+ and often to good effect. Late goals are a feature of his sides, this seemed to be that playing a possession game and forcing opposition to press, eventually they broke rank in frustration or tired. This would be an area maybe that at international level discipline and fitness is top notch. But we have been on the recieving end (France Euro 16) where we were out of puff by 60 mins.
From a Rovers perspective, I remember one game three or four years ago in Tallaght where Kenny brought on Kilduff to play alongside McMillan for the last 20 minutes. Was absolutely delighted because I knew it meant he'd abadoned plan A and we'd win the game (which didn't happen often).

[Olé Olé]

I liked the 3-4-3 formation England played against Denmark. It probably made them defensively too solid and it was a dour game as a result. But it is a formation that could suit us. You could effectively fix this problem of O'Dowda (or his replacement) and Connolly almost getting in the way of Stevens and Doherty because they would be forced to play a little narrower. And we wouldn't be picking 3 midfielders in a flat bank of 3 like appeared to be the case versus Finland.

Coleman Duffy Egan
Doherty Hendrick McCarthy Stevebs
Brady Connolly
McGoldrick

Pie in the sky stuff probably and much of the chat about 3-5-2 is. Just something I thought could work for us.