Republic of Ireland V Bulgaria - Wednesday, 18th November 2020 - Nations League

[weldoninhio]

I agree with this 10000% but I cant see Jack Taylor coming and taking his place :D

Again I agree that Duffy should be replaced but with Egan, Coleman, Stephens and Doherty already out then it wont happen for this game.

We've discussed the keeper situation before but I had a thought about it this morning. When Guardiola took over City the 1st thing he did was get rid of Joe Hart. There was media outcry at the time that you couldnt do this to "Englands Number 1", but Guardiola wanted to play out from the back and Hart couldnt play that type of game. Id imagine Kenny would like to do similar and get Kelleher into the teams ASAP for distribution reasons. I think if he had gotten some good early results, beating Slovakia especially, we might have already seen Randolph being replaced to have a look at other keepers but theres no way he can do that when Randolph is making saves that keep us in games that we are not scoring goals in, and since none of the 3 keepers in the squad at the moment are playing 1st team football nobody can point to any club form as justification for being in the team and so the status quo with Randolph continues. I absolutely think that this time next year either Kelleher or Bazunu will be 1st choice though.

I wouldn't have Kelleher anywhere near the squad. O'Hara, Banuzu and Travers are all better goalies than him. Lad looks like an outfield player having a go in goals any time i've seen him.

[BonnieShels]

Btw, this NL qualifiers is important i thought - unless my info is old - as the best two group winners are guaranteed a play-off in the World cup.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(UEFA)

You're right.

The two best group winners in the NL 20/21 (this edition) that have not finished in the top two of their group of European WCQ, based on the NL ranking, will go into the play offs.

You would expect these teams to come from League C all things being equal.

Only 2.5 weeks 'til the WCQ draw; December 7th @ 5pm Dublin time.

[DCWA]

Neil O'Riordan tweeting that Kenny wanted to call up Michael Duffy but his international switch hasn't been ratified yet. I can't go onto social media at work so can't add the source.
1328836320970625027

I assume McEneff had already switched then? I haven’t kept track of his international ambitions but I know he played underage for the north.

[tetsujin1979]

Yeah, the switch was only completed about two weeks ago

[ColourfulPeanut]

Wasn't Rice's switch to England completed basically instantly? Can see where their priorities lie.

This could be Duffy's best ever chance to get a run in a competitive game. Really have to feel for him

[elatedscum]

I assume McEneff had already switched then? I haven’t kept track of his international ambitions but I know he played underage for the north.

I spoke to someone tangentially involved in the international setup at a Rovers-Dundalk match early 2019 about Jordan and Aaron. Bit hazy now, but I took it that he had already switched at that point. Obviously Aaron mentioned that it only came through 2 weeks ago but he was waiting ages for it.

Madness Duffy has had to wait over 2 years, absolutely taking the ****. Genuinely would have had an opportunity to play tonight and contribute.

We sorted Rice in 3 weeks. Imagine if Rice’s change still wasn’t processed by us now, imagine the uproar...

I hope Mallon’s change isn’t processed until Duffy’s is...

[zero]

The Duffy situation seems completely unfair, I can't imagine what possible reason there could be for the hold up. This might be his best - maybe only - chance to feature for Ireland and he is being denied it.

[backstothewall]

David Kelly in today's Indo:

"He (the Bulgarian manager) is the lucky one. His squad has been shorn of a mere 10 players through injury and Covid-relkated concerns. Kenny is down to an eye watering 25 players all told".

So I'm not sure what version of reality ""they are getting it much worse" comes from.

It's not easy to keep track of the comings and goings, but David Kelly is certainly wrong to describe the Bulgarian boss as "the lucky one"

Captain Vasil Bozhikov, goalkeeper Hristiyan Vassilev and full-back Dimitar Velkovski have all tested positive for coronavirus in the latest round of PCR testing. Bulgaria were already without Georgi Terziev, Martin Raynov, Nikolay Mihailov, Kiril Despodov, Plamen Iliev, Georgi Kostadinov, Todor Nedelev, Anton Nedyalkov, Ismail Isa, Georgi Georgiev, Dominik Yankov and Georgi Yomov.

In addition Georgi Milanov & Aleksandar Tonev, experienced players with 43 & 29 caps respectively, aren't in the squad as they find themselves without a club.

We are missing Matt Doherty, John Egan, Séamus Coleman, Enda Stevens, Derrick Williams, James McClean, Jeff Hendrick, Jayson Molumby, Alan Browne, James McCarthy, Harry Arter, Adam Idah, Callum Robinson & Aaron Connolly. But we've been left with enough seasoned international players to form the spine of a team. Darren Randolph, Shane Duffy, Cyrus Christie, Ciaran Clark, Robbie Brady and Conor Hourihane are all still there. These are all guys who have played in the Premier League (overated as it is, it's still one of the highest quality divisions in the world). Some of them might not have been great for Ireland recently, but they are not bad players.

Getting better performances out of them is something I really hope Stephen Kenny is capable of doing. Because that's his job.

Edit: Add O'Dowda to our missing list.

[centre mid]

I dont know if its just an irrational feeling but I think it will come together tonight and we will get a win. We've played relatively well, England game apart. We're creating enough chances and just have to continue do the right things.

[Diggs246]

I dont know if its just an irrational feeling but I think it will come together tonight and we will get a win. We've played relatively well, England game apart. We're creating enough chances and just have to continue do the right things.

I think when the opposition are so poor, regardless of anything, there is always a chance.

Tonight we could win 3-0, draw 0-0 or lose 0-1... honestly who knows

[Razors left peg]

I wouldn't have Kelleher anywhere near the squad. O'Hara, Banuzu and Travers are all better goalies than him. Lad looks like an outfield player having a go in goals any time i've seen him.

As I've said on another thread Kelleher is consistently rated higher by his coaches than fans on here. I'd actually agree with you that I've never seen why he's rated so highly but he must have something we aren't seeing

[Bielsa´s irish]

As I've said on another thread Kelleher is consistently rated higher by his coaches than fans on here. I'd actually agree with you that I've never seen why he's rated so highly but he must have something we aren't seeing

Sean McDermott or the irish-american Rogers. McDermott will flourish for Eire.

Sad about odowda thought it was his chance

how is our eleven?

[John83]

As I've said on another thread Kelleher is consistently rated higher by his coaches than fans on here. I'd actually agree with you that I've never seen why he's rated so highly but he must have something we aren't seeing
I expect the gap between how well a casual fan and a professional coach gauging potential is even bigger than the gap between how well they judge performance, and so I'd guess that they see Kelleher has the potential to be excellent. Whether he fulfils it or not ... well, see the Darren Potter thread.

[backstothewall]

I dont know if its just an irrational feeling but I think it will come together tonight and we will get a win. We've played relatively well, England game apart. We're creating enough chances and just have to continue do the right things.

If we get a goal in the first half hour and the players get that monkey off their back, they could really expose the frailties of Bulgaria and run up a score.

[pineapple stu]

Can't remember where the recent discussion on expected score is, but extratime reckon it as 1.04 goals per game (https://www.extratime.com/articles/26130/the-statistics-behind-irelands-recent-form/). We're actually scoring 0.17. Defensively, we're doing fine, conceding 0.8 goals per game as against an expected score of 0.66.

So effectively, with the chances we're creating, we should be scoring a goal a game more than we are doing. That would obviously change the results quite dramatically. Although 1 goal per game is still on the low side of course.

Why would expected score be so far ahead of actual? Three reasons - poor forwards, good goalkeeping, or just bad luck. Over 7 games, bad luck should start to even itself out, and I don't recall too many great saves. So while all three are probably factors to some extent, I think we can once again echo back to the fact that we have no forwards.

[Razors left peg]

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Front 3 of Curtis, Collins and Horgan. Byrne on bench

[Olé Olé]

Would liked to have seen Byrne start and Brady forward, or even Cullen for Hourihane. Glad to see Manning start as a proper full back and adds attacking strength there, given that O'Shea is right back.

Can't complain much o

[Bielsa´s irish]

is the eleven, released, would play Manning for Odowda

[Bielsa´s irish]

For me it is a mistake to play left back with Manning, he is a left midfielder or a 10, but he earns his money as a left wingback.

[Razors left peg]

Would liked to have seen Byrne start and Brady forward, or even Cullen for Hourihane. Glad to see Manning start as a proper full back and adds attacking strength there, given that O'Shea is right back.

Can't complain much o

Knight in Center midfield is about the only thing Im looking forward to seeing from a progress point of view

[Kingdom]

What time is kick-off gents?

[Razors left peg]

What time is kick-off gents?

7.45 Irish time

[elatedscum]

He really doesn't seem to rate either Byrne or Cullen

[Razors left peg]

He really doesn't seem to rate either Byrne or Cullen

I suppose Brady was decent against Wales so Byrne would struggle to replace him today.

[Olé Olé]

I suppose Brady was decent against Wales so Byrne would struggle to replace him today.

The alternative would be to move Brady forward and I'm not sure if he's gone that way so far. Brady might not have the legs for 90 minutes having played a lot this run.

[tetsujin1979]

Who is the DM in that midfield? Hourihane?

[Razors left peg]

Who is the DM in that midfield? Hourihane?

Has to be, god help us!

[placid casual]

Clearly Jack Byrne is not rated by the current Ireland manager. Luckily he won't be the manager for much longer so Jack has time on his side to take his rightful place in the Ireland midfield.
0-1 Bulgaria and a P45 for the mumbling failure.

[tommy_c12000]

Who is the DM in that midfield? Hourihane?

I’ve seen Knight play the holding role quite well for Derby. And still make some dynamic runs forward. Hopefully it’s him and not Hourihane in the role anyways. Would make the most sense to me

[Razors left peg]

Clearly Jack Byrne is not rated by the current Ireland manager. Luckily he won't be the manager for much longer so Jack has time on his side to take his rightful place in the Ireland midfield.
0-1 Bulgaria and a P45 for the mumbling failure.
Because previous managers played him every minute.....

[BonnieShels]

Despite what's gone before, I'm very much looking forward to this. I stupidly and optimistically feel tonight's the night when the tide will turn. And the 2010/12 shirt is on for good measure.

[pineapple stu]

Ah - my usual stream not working (probably cos the channel's changed)

Any links going?

[backstothewall]

It's exactly a year since there was last a crowd in for an Ireland match.

😥

[jbyrne]

its on sky sports arena but channel not working for some reason

[pineapple stu]

liveonscore.tv has it

[backstothewall]

liveonscore.tv has it

Excellent news. Hesgoal have it, but with Bulgarian commentary unfortunately.

[backstothewall]

We perhaps look a bit naive about then numbers we're pushing forward. Bulgaria have had 2 counter attacks. I can tell you the Bulgarian commentators were getting very excited about the first one!

[Colbert Report]

Definite tactical change in this match. None of this knocking it about the back nonsense so far.

[backstothewall]

0-0 but this looks better after a nervy start

[BonnieShels]

If that was at the other end it would have ended up in the net.

[John83]

Manning is trouble. He's made a number of mistakes, and booked now for a daft sliding tackle.

[Colbert Report]

Ryan Manning might be up on a murder charge for that tackle.

[Colbert Report]

Hourihane lucky there, should be 1-0 Bulgaria for sure.

[backstothewall]

Just as I'm typing that Manning looks decent he flys into a tackle and picks up a yellow.

What is going on with Shane Duffy?

[pineapple stu]

Commentator looks at it says "He got the ball"

Yeah, that's not really the point in a tackle like that. A red might have been harsh, but not by much.

[John83]

Sweet Jesus. Can we switch to a system where we play short passing, except Duffy who just lumps it up-field?

[shakermaker1982]

Pedestrian football will punish us eventually.

We do not know how to get the ball from the back 4 to midfield. I know team is low on confidence but they look clueless.

[backstothewall]

If we keep giving the ball to them in front of our own goal like this eventually they won't be able to avoid scoring.

[sbgawa]

Lucky not to be behind bulgaria getting a grip

[passinginterest]

Good lord. Maybe we really don't have 11 players capable of passing a ball to each other. Stick Duffy up front and hit everything at him!!