Dunphy

[tetsujin1979]

Took all of 2 paragraphs in his review of the game in the Star yesterday to mention Roy Keane. Can't think of the exact quote but it was something along the lines of "Ireland would never have lost a 2 goal lead had Roy Keane been playing and should not have done it without it him anyway". He must have not watched the previous game against Israel, with Roy in the team, when we lost a 1 goal lead against them.

[Stuttgart88]

Amsterdam, Basle.

[eirebhoy]

What a load of crap. Unless Roy could have stopped Israel from coming into our half we would have lost those 2 goals. A fair tackle and a penalty. How would Keane have stopped that? Go **** yourself Eamon.

have you got his e-mail address btw?

[tetsujin1979]

I think it's eamon.dunphy@thestar.ie or eamondunphy@thestar.ie (no dot in the second one)

[NeilMcD]

I think if you read the rest of the article though it seems to be pretty fair and balanced. I think he does have a point about Keane but its not worth making as Keane was suspended. But To think that Israel only scored cause of those 2 freak incidents is naive. Israel were let back into the game due to the irish midfield stepping back and in turn the defecne stepping back. In addition the wind cause some sloppy passing in teh defence and central midfield positions and the whole area was panicky and unsettled. From this Israel grew and got their lucky goals. I do think Keane would have settled teh game down. He would have calmed them down and as Kerr said we suffered from 20 mins of madness.

[OwlsFan]

He said the same on RTE after the game having been led to the comment by Laughing Bill. Perhaps we mightn't have lost the lead. Perhaps we mightn't have had the lead. Perhaps we might have lost the game - who knows.

A bizarre game. He criticised bring on Doherty and then said it had been effect. Ah well, let's hope all is well this Wednesday.

[Captain Tinrib]

my signature says it all :o

[Irish Pride]

What a stupid comment to make. How does he know that? Ireland was 2-0 against Holland when Keane was playing and we drew 2-2 he didnt stop anything there.

Sometimes Dumphy should read what he writes.

[onenilgameover]

Dunphy is a spoon with a big spoon head...as much of the dick as Dudu Awat...Those that get a kick out of ****ing lots of people off are the scum of the earth. If fact the fool isn't even worth discussing.

[TonyD]

Humpty Dunphy is a clown. Always has been, always will be. He's called more matches wrong than any other pundit on the box that I can think of, and he changes his opinion on things more often than the rest of us change our socks. After Kerr's first match in charge Dunphy claimed he was the best Irish coach in twenty years, in fact the only proper coach in twenty years. Now he's just waiting for him to fail, so he can say, "Ah, but he only came from the League of Ireland". On the Roy Keane subject Humpty just gets funnier and funnier. Anyone else recall before the game in Israel when he was giving it loads as usual about how Keane would set the tempo for Ireland, etc,etc. When it was pointed out by Liam Brady after the match that Keane had been as guilty as anyone else of slowing the game down, Eamo's response was "he's only one man!" Priceless.

[Glapots]

I think if you read the rest of the article though it seems to be pretty fair and balanced. I think he does have a point about Keane but its not worth making as Keane was suspended. But To think that Israel only scored cause of those 2 freak incidents is naive. Israel were let back into the game due to the irish midfield stepping back and in turn the defecne stepping back. In addition the wind cause some sloppy passing in teh defence and central midfield positions and the whole area was panicky and unsettled. From this Israel grew and got their lucky goals. I do think Keane would have settled teh game down. He would have calmed them down and as Kerr said we suffered from 20 mins of madness.


Crap! Dunphy can't write a fair/balanced article to save his life. The man's all over the place. He's a joke - he's just trying to stand out from the rest, to be different.

[mypost]

Well, what a difference 3 days make!!

In his newspaper column on Monday, Dunphy said that the two dropped points against Israel would cost us automatic qualification. By Thursday however, he had changed his tune after the win in Torshavn, by declaring that the destiny of the group was in our own hands. Oh how fickle, journalists can be.

Before anyone starts booking tickets to Germany, let's put things in perspective. A win in the Faroe Islands was expected, and achieved. But it merely covers up the cracks in the side. This team can't be trusted to defend a 2-0 lead at home to Israel. It can't be trusted to defend a lead for 10 minutes against Russia, it can't be trusted to defend an advantage in Switzerland, the manager doesn't know how to play an attacking game, or treat weaker teams with the respect they deserve, i.e. none. The team minus R. Keane, is leaderless. The guy is in his thirties and will retire next year. Where are the leaders in waiting? We don't score enough goals. Without Robbie Keane, we seriously struggle to score goals. The team has no confidence, admittedly not helped when the coach constantly talks up the opposition, there is no character in the side for dealing with pressure from the opposition. We just roll over. It happened in Switzerland in the last campaign. While in Basle last year, the team fell apart when put under pressure, and conceded an equalizer inside ten minutes. The team couldn't hold on for 90 minutes in Israel under limited pressure from the home side. Israel apply 10 minutes of sporadic pressure at Lansdowne, and we throw a 2 goal cushion in the process. Any side can beat the Faroe Islands, half the NL sides could too.

In the first 25 minutes at home to Israel, we showed how we can destroy teams if we put our minds to it. Often we don't do that though, and if we can't put Israel away when 2-0 up at home, then we have no chance at home to France and the Swiss, who will come out to play some football, knowing that this Irish defence colllapses under any sort of persistent pressure. The end result will be us watching the World Cup at home, Kerr out of a job, and the team going back to the drawing board, while winning meaningless home friendlies.

[eirebhoy]

Israel apply 10 minutes of sporadic pressure at Lansdowne, and we throw a 2 goal cushion in the process.

No they did not. Israeil got into the game after 15-20 minutes and not once did they have a "spell" of pressure. The only team that has had a spell of pressure against us in this group has been Switzerland. Jesus, even the Faroes had more shots than Israel did in 2 games I'd say. OK, Kerr made the wrong substitution probably but the most nervous I got (and I'm pretty sure the most nervous the rest of us got other than the peno of course) was when the Israeli walked through our defence. That was before the substitution was made.

[NeilMcD]

Crap! Dunphy can't write a fair/balanced article to save his life. The man's all over the place. He's a joke - he's just trying to stand out from the rest, to be different.

Did you read the article.

[NeilMcD]

my signature says it all :o


I think that comment he said was right. It could have ended up 5 or 6 to milan in the 1st half. Just because one of the most bizarre and strange 6 minutes of football was played does not mean he was right to say it. Anybody that saw the first hafl would think liverpool were out of it. Sure some of those great liverpool supporters even left the ground in Istanbul.

[eirebhoy]

The France game is the one game I can hardly remember. I usually tape games but didn't tape this one.

[OwlsFan]

I just keep on hoping that one day we will learn the lesson that defensive substitutions (or starting with a defensive line-up) are just about the worst thing you can do if you want to avoid conceding.

It's not just Kerr or McCarthy though. Many managers take off a forward and bring on a 5th midfielder to try and kill the game. All it usually means is extra pressure because the ball keeps coming back. Worst example I can remember was McCarthy against Portugal. 1-0 up and we take off a forward and the Portuguese camp in our half and equalise. He then changes it back to 4-4-2 (horse and stable door spring to mind). I remember Fergie doing this a few times as well and many other European managers.

As for France and our "attacking options", I still believe the choice of Finnan wide right is a negative tactic which will also be adopted at home with Reid dropping to the bench. If we want to try and beat the French we must play Reid. If we want to secure a draw and hope maybe somehow perhaps squeek a win, Kerr will play Finnan.

[OwlsFan]

He has also said that it may have been a mistake to bring on Doherty as Ireland then went a bit too route 1. I don't recall McCarthy ever acknowledging he may have made a mistake.

But was bringing on Doherty a mistake in this particular instance ? The Route 1 worked and he created 3/4 chances which weren't taken. From a purest football (whatever that might be) point of view, it wouldn't be approved of but it was effective and with Robbie still on we would have scored.

But ifs and buts.....

[OwlsFan]

Yes, Mick was stubborn to a fault (eg persisting with Harte in Japan/Korea when most people could see he was struggling). I think Mick's strengths were motivation and passion. Tactically he got it wrong a lot of the times but his record was good for Ireland so he was the veritable curate's egg: good in parts.

Kerr is more clinical and I can't see him being a great motivator but he has also got it wrong a few times tactically as well but as you say, if he learns from his mistakes, then that's for the best. Playing Elliott against the Faroes was good because if he'd been stubborn he wouldn't have played him - standing over his decision against Israel of not bringing him on.

[dancinpants]

I agree with you.

I'm just saying though that Kerr does seem to be the sort of person who can acknowledge that he makes mistakes (even if this maybe wasn't a mistake!) That makes me hope that he will learn from his mistakes against Israel

But could it be said that he should have learned from the Swiss match? Or the first Israel match? Why should we believe that he has (or will) learn from the second Israel game? (Just throwin' it out there)

[eirebhoy]

But could it be said that he should have learned from the Swiss match? Or the first Israel match? Why should we believe that he has (or will) learn from the second Israel game? (Just throwin' it out there)
What did Kerr do wrong against Switzerland? Every team gets a bashing every now and again but we seem to blame Kerr whenever we get one. And he did learn from the 1st Israel match. We attacked every time we had the ball on Saturday...

[thejollyrodger]

IM SICK OF EVERYONE IN IRELAND TALKING UP OPPOSITION WHEN CLEARLY THERE CRAP!!!its cost us so many matches. No other country spends so long looking at the opposition.

On Kerr, I think the critisim leveled at Kerr (me included) was all a bit harsh. In switzerland it was a bit hard, we couldnt have done much out there, we didnt know much about how Reid would do. Israel at home was a mistake for Kerr, in hindsight he should have brought on Elliott but Kerr does seem to learn from his mistakes so it might be ok.

This Ireland team is a good team, nothing special. But if we pick up 3 injuries or bookings with Duff, Robbie and Keano were screwed.

[mypost]

IM SICK OF EVERYONE IN IRELAND TALKING UP OPPOSITION WHEN CLEARLY THERE CRAP!!!its cost us so many matches. No other country spends so long looking at the opposition.

Agreed.


On Kerr, I think the critisim leveled at Kerr (me included) was all a bit harsh.

Not when he upsets the balance of the team, playing conservative tactics while making bad substitutions when we could have finished the opposition off, costing us 4 points from winning positions against one of our qualifying rivals.


Israel at home was a mistake for Kerr, but Kerr does seem to learn from his mistakes so it might be ok.

You've just contradicted your own statement. Not only did he not learn from his mistakes in Israel, he repeated them in the very next game, having had 9 WEEKS to sort them out. He doesn't learn from his mistakes. He's straight out of the Gerard Houllier coaching school; if Plan A fails, stick rigidly to Plan A.

[eirebhoy]

Not when he upsets the balance of the team, playing conservative tactics while making bad substitutions when we could have finished the opposition off, costing us 4 points from winning positions against one of our qualifying rivals.
C'mon FFS. How did he play conservative??? Elliott was in crap form, he played crap against Celtic, hadn't started in 2 months and Kerr said he didn't look sharp. Duff had played up front twice under Kerr before (Georgia and Russia). He scored in both games (and his partner scored the other against Georgia) and was our best player in both games. Kerr thought it was the safer bet to play Duff up front. He changed the balance of the team because Israel had got back into the game 10 minutes before the substitution.


You've just contradicted your own statement. Not only did he not learn from his mistakes in Israel, he repeated them in the very next game, having had 9 WEEKS to sort them out. He doesn't learn from his mistakes. He's straight out of the Gerard Houllier coaching school; if Plan A fails, stick rigidly to Plan A.
What are you talking about? What Ireland did 9 weeks ago was keep possession instead of going for the second (Kerr said after the game that he wanted the players to try and get the second but if you want to blame Kerr for it so be it and you're probably right). But, every single time we got that ball on Saturday we attacked. Off the top of my head I can think of one where Robbie scored from offside and another as soon as Keane went off Harte and Kilbane linked up (something Harte didn't do with Duff) to set up Morrison who fluffed his shot. It was clear he had learnt from the previous Israel game.

Get off Kerr's back ffs and look at the team as a whole. Kerr probably made 1 mistake in the group before this game in not getting the players to really attack in Tel Aviv (although he said he did). He learnt from that mistake.

[thejollyrodger]

June 12, 2005

Ireland can afford no more slips
DAVID MCKECHNIE
Brian Kerr's team are still in with a fighting chance of topping Group Four but their weakness in depth must worry the manager

When news reached the Ireland dressing room after Wednesday’s match in Torshavn that the players were marooned there for another night, they reacted angrily and desperately. “Get Milo!” shouted one, apparently in all sincerity, and others laughed at the notion that the FAI president, Milo Corcoran, might be able to transform his blazer into a cape and lift the fog over the Norwegian Sea all by himself.

There was nothing for it but to unwind in a bar, retreat to the hotel and try to regain their perspective. For these players it was asking a lot during a week when a sense of perspective got it in the neck. The nature of the turnaround against Israel blew away Ireland’s optimism, their sense of invincibility at Lansdowne Road and seemingly all hope of finishing top of Group Four.

Nonetheless, in the months before Ireland line out against France at Lansdowne Road, it would be a wonder if perspective failed to recover to shine a kinder light on Group Four. It would be a surprise if Ireland dwelt on their failings against Israel instead of considering an unbeaten home record in World Cup qualifiers that stretches back 12 years and it would be a shock if they couldn’t recall the performances that brought them to the 2002 World Cup and initially put them in such a promising position in these qualifiers. Pedigree should be more lasting and relevant than form in these campaigns.

Football has developed a culture of one-eyed extremism and so it’s natural for Ireland fans to exaggerate their team’s failings as though they have a monopoly on the troubles in Group Four. Would Ireland swap places with the Swiss, who must face France in Berne and then travel to Dublin within the space of four days? Would they prefer to be France, who have shown over a long period that they have deteriorated under Raymond Domenech, who have scored less than a goal a game in this group, yet who must travel to play their two main rivals away from home? “If someone told us before the group we’d be top at this stage with this number of points we’d have laughed,” said Kenny Cunningham on Friday. “Experience tells you there will be ups and downs in a qualifying group, you have to take it on the chin. The week was a disappointment but we’re professional enough, the summer will help. Physically we’ll be at our peak and I think we’ll be ready.”

The only ones to have excelled themselves in Group Four are the Israelis, who are floating on a cloud of elation out of keeping with their poor display at Lansdowne Road and their real prospects of progressing to Germany. As his team’s coach made its way to last Saturday’s game, Avraham Grant, the Israel manager, had the inspired idea of showing a tape of Liverpool’s Champions League final comeback, uncanny considering the events about to unfold. As the players waited in Heathrow airport on the way home last Sunday, Yossi Benayoun drew the comparison. “For a team like Israel to pull off something like this at a stadium like Lansdowne Road is an even greater achievement,” he said. Grant concurred. “This team is driving Europe crazy,” he reckoned. Brian Kerr could not disagree.

KERR may have been driven more demented by his own players last weekend but, in light of the criticism that came his way after the first-half substitution he made, he may also have considered the comparison with the Liverpool-Milan match.

A manager’s performance can be judged in two ways: how he prepares his team before a game and how he reacts during it. Analysis of Ireland’s playing options in the autumn can wait for another day but this is the time to consider how the manager has employed them so far. Given how well Ireland have started all of their matches in this qualifying group — four times they have scored in the first 14 minutes — Kerr is entitled to feel his pre-match preparation and team selections have been vindicated. He might also feel that before last weekend, at least, he had proved himself adept at introducing his substitutes and altering his tactics.

He might think back to Basel, for instance, at the adjustments he made at half time after Hakan Yakin had cancelled out Clinton Morrison’s opening goal and Switzerland threatened to take control of the match. “We spoke at half time about playing narrow and trying to make them play wide,” said Steve Finnan, “and they didn’t really get through us in the second half.”

Switzerland had just one shot on goal after the break that night, while the introduction of Graham Kavanagh for Andy Reid with 17 minutes remaining essentially killed the game. While it was hardly a virtuoso performance by Kerr, it boosted the impression of a manager skilled enough to instruct and influence his players wisely.

Wednesday’s clumsy win in the Faroes may have lifted Ireland to the top of the group but last weekend’s game against Israel was the most damaging of Kerr’s tenure and the most worthy of scrutiny. His introduction of Kavanagh for Robbie Keane and subsequent reshuffle plainly didn’t work. Damien Duff was ineffective up front, Kevin Kilbane neutralised on the left and Kavanagh and Matt Holland looked like two men politely trying to carry out the same job.

But what were Kerr’s alternatives? Should he have introduced Gary Doherty so early and changed the playing style that had worked so well up to that point? Should he have brought on Stephen Elliott, who Kerr later claimed had lost his sharpness since the season ended? It is unarguable that however far he might have been off the pace — and his display on Wednesday suggested it might not have been far at all — Elliott’s introduction would have caused the least disruption. But was it really so ridiculous for Kerr to believe that Duff could thrive up front, where he has played many times for Ireland, or that Kilbane could offer a real alternative in a position where he has earned the majority of his 63 caps? Whichever way you look at it, when Robbie Keane left the pitch after 26 minutes last Saturday, the Irish players were guilty of bringing to life one of football’s most overused cliches — letting down their manager.

Kerr’s sense of betrayal was impossible to conceal after the match, for he knows what it really means when it is said that players let a manager down. It means they are prepared to let him down. For all the progress he has made, Kerr hasn’t yet created the conditions in which his players aren’t prepared to let him down. Where they simply won’t allow it, no matter what. Perhaps they react sluggishly to his cautious, forensic approach, perhaps they don’t fear him enough. The quality of their performances in Paris and in the first 25 minutes against Israel were no illusion, but Kerr has yet to prove beyond doubt that he is capable of getting the very best from these players, the one and only job of any Ireland manager.

As this campaign has shuffled along, one other fact has become more and more obvious; without Kerr’s three blue-chip outfield players — Damien Duff, Roy and Robbie Keane — fit and available, Ireland lose their conviction and their way. In those ruinous minutes before half time last Saturday, two of them were off the field and the third was struggling out of position. Ireland’s margin of error has shrunk so much in Group Four that the loss of even one of them in the autumn could be terminal.

Nobody needs to remind Kerr of this stark fact but, when the dust settles on the past week and he calmly considers the challenge to come, it may be the thought that troubles him most.

I dont want to post too many articles but I think they are all pretty relevant. I think everyone can agree that without Duffer, Keano and Robbie were screwed.

Elliott wasnt that far off the pace against the Faroes so in hindsight maybe he should have been thrown on. Kerr threw all the excuses at the media, but it did cost us 2 points.

Kerr's preperation is very good, we do start very well and do score early. But the worrying part is that the team do not "want to let him down". I never thought of this before but clearly its a worrying sign. The players dont have complete confidence in him.

[eirebhoy]

Jolly, your opinion is changing with every article you read. jesus, stop taking these journalists words as gospel.

[thejollyrodger]

i guess it wont be until October when we play the swiss that a proper assesment of Kerr can be made. I am not changing my opinion each day and reckon Kerr is good for football in Ireland but there is defintely shortcomings with the man and I just hope he can learn from past mistakes.

3 wins please Brian. ;)

[CollegeTillIDie]

Well, what a difference 3 days make!!

In his newspaper column on Monday, Dunphy said that the two dropped points against Israel would cost us automatic qualification. By Thursday however, he had changed his tune after the win in Torshavn, by declaring that the destiny of the group was in our own hands. Oh how fickle, journalists can be.

Before anyone starts booking tickets to Germany, let's put things in perspective. A win in the Faroe Islands was expected, and achieved. But it merely covers up the cracks in the side. This team can't be trusted to defend a 2-0 lead at home to Israel. It can't be trusted to defend a lead for 10 minutes against Russia, it can't be trusted to defend an advantage in Switzerland, the manager doesn't know how to play an attacking game, or treat weaker teams with the respect they deserve, i.e. none. The team minus R. Keane, is leaderless. The guy is in his thirties and will retire next year. Where are the leaders in waiting? We don't score enough goals. Without Robbie Keane, we seriously struggle to score goals. The team has no confidence, admittedly not helped when the coach constantly talks up the opposition, there is no character in the side for dealing with pressure from the opposition. We just roll over. It happened in Switzerland in the last campaign. While in Basle last year, the team fell apart when put under pressure, and conceded an equalizer inside ten minutes. The team couldn't hold on for 90 minutes in Israel under limited pressure from the home side. Israel apply 10 minutes of sporadic pressure at Lansdowne, and we throw a 2 goal cushion in the process. Any side can beat the Faroe Islands, half the NL sides could too.

In the first 25 minutes at home to Israel, we showed how we can destroy teams if we put our minds to it. Often we don't do that though, and if we can't put Israel away when 2-0 up at home, then we have no chance at home to France and the Swiss, who will come out to play some football, knowing that this Irish defence colllapses under any sort of persistent pressure. The end result will be us watching the World Cup at home, Kerr out of a job, and the team going back to the drawing board, while winning meaningless home friendlies.

The fact that we cannot protect two goal leads proves if anything we are incapable of playing defensively. Otherwise have no problems with what you posted of which 98% well said!