Armenia v Republic of Ireland - Tuesday, 9 September 2025 - 2026 World Cup Qualifier

[elatedscum]

I feel like that was the worst game of football I’ve seen Ireland play in my adult life. It was really bad from both the manager and the players.

In terms of team selection, it was a mistake to not play an actual left winger. We are not privy to training but it was clear early in the game that a lot of those players were incredibly tired and shouldn’t have started. Cullen looked gassed, as did the centre backs in the second half. Ogbene is clearly not match sharp, even if he’s fit. He’s a raw player at the best of times and when he’s not match sharp, and his touch isn’t right, then he’s half the player he normally is. It was clear on Saturday even if he was still effective at times and it was worse tonight with more minutes. Pretty clear in the first half why Ipswich have shipped him out. When you think of Ebosele sitting at home watching the TV, the mind boggles.

When it came to substitutions at half time, we left the midfield bare bringing on Idah for Taylor. Taylor was really poor but the sub didn’t help. Obviously two up top worked late on against Hungary but we were dominating against 10 man and they were just dropping deep. I don’t think anyone in their right mind can honestly tell me they’d prefer Phillips coming on chasing the game over McGrath, or Scales over O’Dowda when you need a creative spark from left back. What was the point of calling up Honahan and Kenny (and Dunne). It was obvious that there was literally no chance they’d be used unless we were cruising cause if there was then we would have used them. The brave thing to have done would have been to start Lawal over Cullen given how leggy Cullen was. I honestly think he would have been able to handle himself. He’s playing against better players than these Armenia players and I’ve seen enough of him to think he’s more likely to handle himself ok than the rest. Obviously it should have been Molumby in the squad and then we don’t need to take a risk with Lawal - but even still…

Does anyone think it was a good idea to leave Seamus Coleman out for Jimmy Dunne? Seamus’ leadership was missing across the two games and he played 90 minutes on the Wednesday before the squad met up and came off the bench the day before the squad met up.

I remember us being beaten by Luxembourg and Armenia under Kenny but in both games we were the better team and were rocked by a sucker punch from distance while being totally dominant. Tonight we were totally outplayed.

Kelleher was a saviour. Manning and Ferguson were ok. Everyone else was degrees of poor to awful.

The darkest of nights…

[brine3]

Looking back on that team, there are times I think they actually achieved less than they should. Controversial but if that talent had been allowed really play who knows, we could have been a bit of a Croatia in recent years. Its kinda funny that after that disaster tonight were discussing the 1994/2002 sides..

That's not controversial at all. A better manager in 2002 flies us straight into a world class training setup in Japan, and has the foresight to pack the midfield

Given

Finnan - Breen - Cunningham - O'Shea
Keane Kinsella
Reid Holland Duff
Keane

Mick's problem is that he valued his friendships over everything else. Gary Kelly started ahead of Finnan. McAteer ahead of Steven Reid. Duff on the wrong side to accommodate Kilbane. Staunton in the starting XI despite being well past it.

[brine3]

We actually could potentially undo tonight's damage by winning the return game and winning the 6 pointer in Budapest, as Hungary lost at home to Portugal in the end. But obviously there's nothing in our performances to suggest that's even a remote possibility at this point. Mathematically though, the group could yet end up staying alive until the last game.

Wouldn't be surprised if Armenia finish second

[Eirambler]

I wouldn't be surprised if Armenia didn't win another point in the group.

[Jd2793]

cant believe im saying it but.... we need Duff

[placid casual]

No.

No they don't

We done with that? Good

PS, I don't tend to take your opinions too seriously, but thanks for making an effort anyway. More effort than the Ireland "captain " made last night anyway

[Trequartista20]

We actually could potentially undo tonight's damage by winning the return game and winning the 6 pointer in Budapest, as Hungary lost at home to Portugal in the end. But obviously there's nothing in our performances to suggest that's even a remote possibility at this point. Mathematically though, the group could yet end up staying alive until the last game.

That's obviously not going to happen. We are being run by a bunch of incompetents.

We really need to demand better.

[Neish]

One of the worst display I've seen from an Ireland team, TBH I thought too much had been made of the Hungary draw, Hungary are well above us in the FIFA rankings and yes Irealnd were terrible in first 30-45 min but Hungary had been time wasting and doing everything to slow the game down from 10-15 min in. But last night was truly shocking couldn't string more than 2 or 3 passes together , lacking imagination up front and lacking concentration at the back. Being out played my a team almost 50 places below you in the ranking is dreadful.

Is it the manager, is it the players or what but our hopes of qualifying for the world cup have gone from slim to almost non existent



Would Troy Parrott have made, the difference / a difference, over the two games ?

Does he have a bit more guile than Ferguson and Idah ?

Well Ferguson scored in both game and Idah scored in one, I doubt having Haaland & Isak up front would of made much difference we created very little.

[ontheotherhand]

I feel like that was the worst game of football I’ve seen Ireland play in my adult life. It was really bad from both the manager and the players.

In terms of team selection, it was a mistake to not play an actual left winger. We are not privy to training but it was clear early in the game that a lot of those players were incredibly tired and shouldn’t have started. Cullen looked gassed, as did the centre backs in the second half. Ogbene is clearly not match sharp, even if he’s fit. He’s a raw player at the best of times and when he’s not match sharp, and his touch isn’t right, then he’s half the player he normally is. It was clear on Saturday even if he was still effective at times and it was worse tonight with more minutes. Pretty clear in the first half why Ipswich have shipped him out. When you think of Ebosele sitting at home watching the TV, the mind boggles.

When it came to substitutions at half time, we left the midfield bare bringing on Idah for Taylor. Taylor was really poor but the sub didn’t help. Obviously two up top worked late on against Hungary but we were dominating against 10 man and they were just dropping deep. I don’t think anyone in their right mind can honestly tell me they’d prefer Phillips coming on chasing the game over McGrath, or Scales over O’Dowda when you need a creative spark from left back. What was the point of calling up Honahan and Kenny (and Dunne). It was obvious that there was literally no chance they’d be used unless we were cruising cause if there was then we would have used them. The brave thing to have done would have been to start Lawal over Cullen given how leggy Cullen was. I honestly think he would have been able to handle himself. He’s playing against better players than these Armenia players and I’ve seen enough of him to think he’s more likely to handle himself ok than the rest. Obviously it should have been Molumby in the squad and then we don’t need to take a risk with Lawal - but even still…

Does anyone think it was a good idea to leave Seamus Coleman out for Jimmy Dunne? Seamus’ leadership was missing across the two games and he played 90 minutes on the Wednesday before the squad met up and came off the bench the day before the squad met up.

I remember us being beaten by Luxembourg and Armenia under Kenny but in both games we were the better team and were rocked by a sucker punch from distance while being totally dominant. Tonight we were totally outplayed.

Kelleher was a saviour. Manning and Ferguson were ok. Everyone else was degrees of poor to awful.

The darkest of nights…

Yep. While some of the players/options have arguably improved (at club level), we've gone backwards from a bad position. Kenny probably would have lost that game, but we wouldn't have been outclassed from start to finish. Absolutely humiliating.

We actually have an in form Ferguson and we can't set up a team behind him to beat Armenia. I know he's scored in both games but only by being clinical.

Id agree that that's the worst I've seen us play in my lifetime. Selection wrong, set up wrong, tactics wrong, subs wrong and players awful.

The rest of the campaign is now an exercise in damage limitation. If we could afford to pay off Heimir I'd do it but.....what's the point really? Wouldn't trust the FAI to find a manager on our budget who can do much anyway. Duff might do it on the cheap but I doubt he'd work for this FAI and I'm not sure he'd be any use regardless.

[ifk101]

HH needs to step down. He talked up 6 points and delivered 1. If that’s the culmination of one year’s preparation, he’s not doing his job. I like him as a person, and think he talks a lot of sense, but let’s be real here and move on.

[passinginterest]

You’d have to wonder how a team with three club captains starting can have so little leadership. It feels like they’re all captains because they’re “good pros” rather than traditional leaders.

I’d question the managers decisions in terms of the wider squad too. He’s left out Molumby who seems to be a character, loud a bit obnoxious on the pitch. He’s left out Festy, another lad who’s not afraid to fight his corner. I thought he was the type who’d go looking for those qualities, the bit of a ******* for want of a better term. But he’s gone the other way and picked the quiet and obedient types ahead of them.

I never thought I’d see the day I’d try to make a case to have James McLean recalled but at least he’d bring that bite. The same with Coleman, he might not be fit but he brings real leadership. As has been pointed out, he’s included players like Dunne and Kenny, who it seems he was never going to give any minutes to, so why not go with the experienced characters who bring urgency to the squad. I know it’s a hard sell and I’d have probably been moaning about it at the time, but it certainly looks like something that needs to considered for the next squad.

Just on taking Taylor off, I did say during the first half that he was bringing some much needed physicality in the middle, but was sloppy with it and giving away silly fouls. Taking him off just made it worse. It looked like there was a last minute decision to try something different with the shape of the team and they hadn’t trained it at all. I think it was a panic response to the awful start against Hungary rather than a considered tactical decision and it really showed in the complete lack of coherence.

[ifk101]

It looked like there was a last minute decision to try something different with the shape of the team and they hadn’t trained it at all.

Was it? 😊

Same shape as before?

Out of possession:
Kelleher;
O’Brien, O’Shea, Collins, Manning;
Ogbene, Cullen, Knight, Azaz;
Ferguson, Taylor.

In possession:
Kelleher;
O’Brien, O’Shea, Collins;
Ogbene, Cullen, Knight, Manning;
Azaz, Taylor;
Ferguson.

For me, it’s on the coaching. I feel we were way too stretched and leaving too much space between our lines. It made it difficult for us to play combinations and get momentum, and made it easy for Armenia to play through us. Of course, lack of pace, urgency, aggression, coherent plan of attack, individuals having nightmares etc etc plays into it as well but the buck stops with the coaching and HH.

[pineapple stu]

HH needs to step down. He talked up 6 points and delivered 1. If that’s the culmination of one year’s preparation, he’s not doing his job. I like him as a person, and think he talks a lot of sense, but let’s be real here and move on.
His contract is up in November isn't it?

Could easily be back into another 8 months of managerless limbo ahead of the Nations League in September.

Yay.

The only argument in favour of him staying on is that last night was the first real bad competitive result. Up to now we've done what was expected - beat Finland and Bulgaria home and away, recovered to take a point off Hungary, even held England scoreless in Wembley until a silly red card.

Equally though, the last three games have been pretty dismal - the draw in Luxembourg (a June friendly), the first half against Hungary, and now last night. Eloratings has us 5 points lower now than after Kenny's last game, and 1 point lower than our lowest rating under Kenny (after the draw with Azerbaijan)


Ogbene is clearly not match sharp, even if he’s fit. He’s a raw player at the best of times and when he’s not match sharp, and his touch isn’t right, then he’s half the player he normally is. It was clear on Saturday even if he was still effective at times and it was worse tonight with more minutes. Pretty clear in the first half why Ipswich have shipped him out. When you think of Ebosele sitting at home watching the TV, the mind boggles.

Does anyone think it was a good idea to leave Seamus Coleman out for Jimmy Dunne? Seamus’ leadership was missing across the two games and he played 90 minutes on the Wednesday before the squad met up and came off the bench the day before the squad met up.
Coleman and Festy are hardly march sharp either in fairness. Coleman has six league appearances in the last year, mostly as a late sub. That recent 90 minutes was against Mansfield. Festy has started only four games all year and was taken apart more than once when Basaksehir lost to Craiova in the Conference League last month.

Not to say you don't have either in the squad - though if we're relying on a practically finished 37-year-old Coleman to turn things around in Portugal next month then we're clearly in big trouble - but just that I think the problems are way deeper than just one or two squad selections. And how you fix a problem that big, I really don't know.

But I still expect that squad not to be torn apart by Armenia.

[Stuttgart88]

HH's substitutions just felt totally random to me. It's really hard to see how Molumby and Ebosele could have been left out completely, Ebosele's fitness maybe a mitigant.

Collins, O'Shea, Azaz and Cullen were just dreadful. Ferguson and Kelleher were very good. Idah showed some quality early in his stint but got dragged down to everyone else's level. The rest meh at best.

As said by others, HH is very likeable but he had one clear job and already it's virtually over for us. I wouldn't be sad if he went but we don't have a functional FAI so what chance is there of getting anyone better? I have seen nothing in John O'Shea that makes me think he has any managerial credentials at all.


Separately, I was watching the Armenian build up to their disallowed third goal. They played it short at the back, we pressed and their left back passed the ball under pressure to a midfielder deep in that corner. The midfielder took a difficult pass with ease, quickly turned 180 degrees and suddenly he had the whole pitch to attack. They worked the remaining passage of play well but that was the moment that did it. I thought all night our midfielders laboured with their first touch and rarely had the courage to turn. We really lack technique and courage on the ball in midfield, one of the real basics of the game. We slow everything down and can never find space between lines. It's been the same since 2002 or shortly after.

[Kingdom]

Scanning Stutts, it's called scanning. Irish players have an issue with it, whether it's at centre-back or centre-midfield. It's either not being taught, or it's not being heard. Because the Hungary goal on Saturday to put them ahead doesn't happen with cb's scanning, and we - whether its the MNT vs Armenia, or the U21s vs Andorra - don't have a problem creating, if we scan and communicate.

[Kingdom]

he had one clear job

What was that clear job?

[Stuttgart88]

Qualify for the World Cup. He was hired specifically for this campaign.

[Stuttgart88]

Scanning Stutts, it's called scanning. Irish players have an issue with it, whether it's at centre-back or centre-midfield. It's either not being taught, or it's not being heard. Because the Hungary goal on Saturday to put them ahead doesn't happen with cb's scanning, and we - whether its the MNT vs Armenia, or the U21s vs Andorra - don't have a problem creating, if we scan and communicate.

Ah that's part of it. But it's also the bravery to show for and receive the ball, and the technique to pull it off. It's a fundamental part of the game. I mean even yer man Styles (WBA) looked like a proper midfielder on Saturday. Maybe it's just my lack of confidence in them, but our midfielders never seem to relish having the ball. Wales' and Northerrn Ireland's players look more comfortable than ours.

[Eirambler]

It's almost certain the FAI will try to (re-)install O'Shea when Hallgrimsson goes, isn't it? There will be no stomach for another long search, and they seem to (possibly mistakenly) think we're automatically qualifying for Euro 2028, so I suspect their perspective will be why bother searching for another manager when there's little to go after in a competitive sense.

[Stuttgart88]

Can any patriotic benefactor subsidise Carsley? Conor McGregor maybe? :)

[Jd2793]

It's almost certain the FAI will try to (re-)install O'Shea when Hallgrimsson goes, isn't it? There will be no stomach for another long search, and they seem to (possibly mistakenly) think we're automatically qualifying for Euro 2028, so I suspect their perspective will be why bother searching for another manager when there's little to go after in a competitive sense.

the whole oshea thing has been a farce from the outset. if they give him the gig after this.... jesus wept.

[pineapple stu]

It's almost certain the FAI will try to (re-)install O'Shea when Hallgrimsson goes, isn't it?
If that goes as badly as it potentially could, then at least it'll be out of the way before too long.

Just our home Euros wasted...

[backstothewall]

Ahh. We're awful.

From what I saw of it we certainly deserved to lose that game by more than the odd goal in 3. I say 'from what I saw of it' as I simply could bear putting it back on for a good while after half time.

If there was one problem that stood out to me above all others it was the lethargic way we went about everything. That's true of all but 45 minutes over 2 games unfortunately. Every possession seemed to begin with a couple of meaningless passes around the back. Collins would give it to O'Shea, who would give it to O'Brien, who would give it back to Collins, then they would either play a ball into midfield and we would lose it, play it long, or on a number of occasions they make a complete pigs ear of it and a misplaced pass would go out for a throw in.

I saw someone above saying we need to embrace chaos, and i agree with that. There's no point playing a long ball after giving the opposition 20 or 30 seconds to get in position and get organised. Any international team will have enough about them to deal with that. A long ball needs to be played early while the opposition are in transition. Under those circumstances we have a cracking centre forward who is capable of winning a ball that's been played long and bringing other supporting players into the game, then getting into the box and being ready to take a chance if/when the opportunity comes his way.

If we can afford it HH should be relieved of his duties. I doubt we can afford to do that, but if we can I'd say Damian Duff or Jim Goodwin should be the front runners.

As to the future, there were very few positives over the 2 games, but Kelleher and Ferguson have both done well. And i thought Manning was the best of the rest in a problem position for us. If Brady is available again for Portugal he should start, with Manning playing ahead of him on the left side. There's no doubting the ability of Collins, but he looks a shadow of the guy who plays for Brentford when he finds himself in a green shirt. With the repeated mistakes I don't think we can take a chance on putting him up against the 2nd best player who ever laced up a pair of football boots. And Doherty should never be called up again. Coleman may not have to many games left, but he should come back for this one. We need his experience, and a way to take the armband away from Collins without humiliating the guy.

Oh. And I know he plays there for Everton, but Jake O'Brien is never a right back.

So for the next tine out I'd go with a back 4 of Coleman, O'Brien, Omobamidele, Brady.

Omobamidele has only played 45 minutes this season, but he's always looked decent in an Ireland shirt, and quite frankly the guys ahead of him have played their way out of the team.

I think maybe now is the time to experiment with Collins in midfield. If nothing else it would be nice to know that there's another line of defence behind him given his performances in this round of games. And I'd like to see Smallbone come back into the side beside him. He offers the same physicality as Taylor, but with the added threat of being able to make something from set pieces.

On the right I think it's between Ogbene, Ebosele and McAteer. Ogbene is a loose cannon, but maybe there's a place for that. Perhaps with Coleman behind him keeping him in check it would work. McAteer is a more conservative option and i can see the argument for either of them tbh. But i would go with Ebosele. It would be good to get a look at him against a strong standard of opposition, and he could do a lot of running for Coleman.

With Ferguson up from that leaves one spot for someone who will be the 3rd body in midfield, but also be the first to offer support to Ferguson. It's maybe a job for Szmodics. I know I've seen all I want to see of Jason Knight for quite a while.

Kelleher
Coleman O'Brien Omobamidele, Brady
Ebosele Collins Smallbone Manning
------------- Szmodics ---------------
------------- Ferguson ---------------

Of course this means nothing without a change in our approach to play with a lot more urgency. That's far more important than the individuals chosen to play.

[Kingdom]

Qualify for the World Cup. He was hired specifically for this campaign.

You will be aware this is not directed at you specifically,
If that was the M.O. then the M.O. was wrong to begin with and he was hired to fail - because this team, and it's clearly this team, is grossly incapable of achieving that goal through the means we are trying to employ.
I would love if it was possible to FOI the selection process that resulted in his appointment.

Our target must be - and this cannot be stressed enough - putting together a team that is uninhibited crossing the touchline, who will not embarrass the country at EURO28. That we are involved in hosting is a disaster because it stops the real shift necessary in Irish football.

[Kingdom]

Ah that's part of it. But it's also the bravery to show for and receive the ball, and the technique to pull it off. It's a fundamental part of the game. I mean even yer man Styles (WBA) looked like a proper midfielder on Saturday. Maybe it's just my lack of confidence in them, but our midfielders never seem to relish having the ball. Wales' and Northerrn Ireland's players look more comfortable than ours.

It's courage.

I've referred to it in the 21s thread in this post https://foot.ie/threads/297838-2027-UEFA-European-Under-21-Championship?p=2231145&viewfull=1#post2231145

[brine3]

It's courage.

I've referred to it in the 21s thread in this post https://foot.ie/threads/297838-2027-UEFA-European-Under-21-Championship?p=2231145&viewfull=1#post2231145

I would say it's a combination between technical ability and confidence to pull off that ability. All of that comes through years of practice where you've been able to learn these things in an environment where there isn't a fear of failure. Like learning a language, you get there by practicing, mistakes and all and making a fool of yourself, until the mistakes disappear. I know multiple languages, and while the teachers were a help, I ultimately learned the languages by failing over and over again. Fluency in languages and fluency in football are similar.

Did these guys get the opportunity to practice playing proper football growing up without the fear of making a mistake? Did they get that opportunity when they moved over to England? Yeah, they might have good coaches that have badges and everything, but what is the culture like at training and during youth matches? Is it all about winning at all costs? This can be a problem with "elite" academies.

Because you see the same issues with the England team, just with better players. The same happens to them as what happens to Ireland, just in the finals part of the tournament. Suddenly England get found out, some team ranked lower of them passes them off the pitch, etc.

Also, when Ireland are playing at home in Dublin (or England in London) and they have the ball on the edge of the box, 50,000 fans are screaming at them to whip the ball into the box. That adds further pressure. Are the Spanish fans doing that?

[third policeman]

It's almost certain the FAI will try to (re-)install O'Shea when Hallgrimsson goes, isn't it? There will be no stomach for another long search, and they seem to (possibly mistakenly) think we're automatically qualifying for Euro 2028, so I suspect their perspective will be why bother searching for another manager when there's little to go after in a competitive sense.

Personally I'd rather have Mick back. It wouldn't be a progressive move, but it would hopefully enable us to put out a team with a plan and a shape that would mitigate against further shameful embarrassment. The most depressing thing is that no-one has any faith in the FAI's ability to recruit the right new manager or restructure the game in Ireland in a way that would radically improve our talent pool. They are a failed and irredeemably unsalvageable organisation. So here's a desperate option. The FAI should dissolve. They should finally admit that the schism with the IFA was a tragic mistake for which they are now heartily sorry. They should beg to be reconciled with the one legitimate and seemingly semi-competent football association on the island - throw in their lot and humbly ask FIFA if they would allow it to transfer the allegiance of all their players to the mother association. OK this is shocking and unconscionable, but I have now reached a point where playing all our games at Windsor Park and seeing our team standing respectfully while they play GSTK could hardly be any more shameful than this ongoing national humiliation.

[brine3]

Join the IFA, why not. Surely we can come up with an anthem that we can all get behind. And I like their kit.

[Kingdom]

I would say it's a combination between technical ability and confidence to pull off that ability. All of that comes through years of practice where you've been able to learn these things in an environment where there isn't a fear of failure. Like learning a language, you get there by practicing, mistakes and all and making a fool of yourself, until the mistakes disappear. I know multiple languages, and while the teachers were a help, I ultimately learned the languages by failing over and over again. Fluency in languages and fluency in football are similar.

Did these guys get the opportunity to practice playing proper football growing up without the fear of making a mistake? Did they get that opportunity when they moved over to England? Yeah, they might have good coaches that have badges and everything, but what is the culture like at training and during youth matches? Is it all about winning at all costs? This can be a problem with "elite" academies.

Because you see the same issues with the England team, just with better players. The same happens to them as what happens to Ireland, just in the finals part of the tournament. Suddenly England get found out, some team ranked lower of them passes them off the pitch, etc.

Also, when Ireland are playing at home in Dublin (or England in London) and they have the ball on the edge of the box, 50,000 fans are screaming at them to whip the ball into the box. That adds further pressure. Are the Spanish fans doing that?

100%.

We don't take shots at goal outside the box anymore, we don't work opportunities to take shots from any kind of distance. We are easy to defend against. Opponents can defend deep, crowd Ferguson, not worry about second ball loss and possible shots at goal and can focus on breaking at speed because they know we'll be stretched. It's criminal.

[Eirambler]

Backstothewall - surely our midfield problems are bad enough without putting a centre back who has never played in midfield and seemingly can't even competently play in his own position when he puts on a green jersey in there? If I was moving Collins anywhere it would be onto the subs bench.

[nr637]

Collins had a shocker, what is it with him, you never see him being so poor when with Brentford, while O'Shea was very poor as well, both are Championship average players!

[EalingGreen]

The most depressing thing is that no-one has any faith in the FAI's ability to recruit the right new manager or restructure the game in Ireland in a way that would radically improve our talent pool. They are a failed and irredeemably unsalvageable organisation. So here's a desperate option. The FAI should dissolve. They should finally admit that the schism with the IFA was a tragic mistake for which they are now heartily sorry. They should beg to be reconciled with the one legitimate and seemingly semi-competent football association on the island - throw in their lot and humbly ask FIFA if they would allow it to transfer the allegiance of all their players to the mother association. OK this is shocking and unconscionable, but I have now reached a point where playing all our games at Windsor Park and seeing our team standing respectfully while they play GSTK could hardly be any more shameful than this ongoing national humiliation.Thank you, tp.

But let's be honest, wouldn't that just be adding to your embarrassment after Yerevan, not alleviating it?

For our answer would surely be "Thanks, but no thanks, we're quite happy as we are..." :wink:

[Fixer82]

Didn't Kenny try Collins as a DM and it was a disaster?

[Kingdom]

How many people will watch the game back/have watched the games back and consider what they previously thought regarding individual performances? And the managers role (or the coaching ticket role to be more precise).
- I think back to the post-Hungary clamour about the substitutions and how they were pivotal. Ogbene this, Doherty that.
- then think to the selection yesterday. and the pre-match talk of must-win, positivity etc.
The most obvious selection was Idah. New move, match-saving goal, fit and willing to run channels. Start him, feed off that positivity. Because one thing is we did start positively yesterday. The selection of Jack Taylor was correct, but he's not a number 10 and playing him there was stupid. Just as it was stupid moving Finn Azaz wide to accommodate this. Taylor was by no means the player who should have been sacrificed at h/t yday. He worked a really good chance (about 15 mins in maybe?) that the keeper saved, where he could possibly have looked for a penalty. To me, he's an old style 8 who'll get up and down. Asking him to do an 10-8 hybrid job is not just funny, it's retarded. He runs like a dog and was covering space that was no coincidence that when he went off we got filleted.
There was no need to play Cheap-ball and Knight together yday*. Knight is a quicker, Cullen with more stamina (like-for-like if you will). Play Taylor beside one of them and keep Azaz central.

* My bias for Molumby is undiminished and not in a Wes/Reid/Healy cause de celebrité way. He's a ****, but he's taken totally undeserved flak on here and elsewhere for other short-comings. of the current crop, he would be my go-to CM player, whether that's holding to allow two licence further forward or as part of a two traditional with one further forward. He also actually passes the ball forward and progressively, something sorely lacking. That he has been jettisoned from the squad is not just short-sightedness, it's reckless imo.

If one was to look at an Ireland first 11 right now, assuming all are fit, there are 3 players* who must on the teamsheet - that nobody can argue with - and that leaves 8 players playing for their spot.
Kelleher, Parrott, Ferguson.

Either Ferguson plays off Parrott, or Parrott plays off Ferguson.

I'm specific about players rather than positions, because no formation seems to work for us.

[EalingGreen]

Collins had a shocker, what is it with him, you never see him being so poor when with Brentford, while O'Shea was very poor as well, both are Championship average players!I see a lot of Collins and I can tell you, he's better than Championship, much better. Dunno about O'Shea, but I saw Cullen play earlier this season at Brentford and thought him actually very good in an otherwise average Burnley team - their best player in fact. (Ironically, both NC and JC were captaining their respective teams that day i.e. no shortage of leadership there, I must say)

Anyhow I didn't see the Armenia game, but from reading the various comments etc, my guess is that this ROI team is sorely lacking in conviction, not ability. And this is probably a culmination of a gradual decline from the last days of O'Neill/Keane, then Kenny, with O'Shea unable to stop the rot either. And now finally it's HH who, whatever his other qualities, has stepped into a mess that he's unsuited to turn around.

Whereas - and I'm sure you won't thank me for saying this - with NI it's the opposite. That is, whether we're up against weaker, equal or stronger opposition, we usually have a plan which the players all believe in, designed by a manager in whom they certainly believe, such that we don't get too far ahead of ourselves if we win, nor do we get too downhearted when we lose, we just give it a go. Which if I may say so, is pretty remarkable in such an incredibly young team, drawn as it is from a level below that of ROI i.e. Championship, League One or SPL also-rans.

To which the answer for the FAI must be, appoint the right manager and give him time to turn around the present players and/or replace them with new faces, so that in another campaign or two, the team can start to get back on track. As for who that manager might be, I can't really say, but it needs to be someone who "gets" ROI football, and has a real care for it, rather than some outsider who's only taking it because he can't get a better gig elsewhere.

Robbie Keane perhaps?

[mark12345]

Scanning Stutts, it's called scanning. Irish players have an issue with it, whether it's at centre-back or centre-midfield. It's either not being taught, or it's not being heard. Because the Hungary goal on Saturday to put them ahead doesn't happen with cb's scanning, and we - whether its the MNT vs Armenia, or the U21s vs Andorra - don't have a problem creating, if we scan and communicate.

Good point. There was no scanning or awareness of their surroundings or call it what you will versus Hungary on Saturday. For what it's worth I played in a team for eleven years. We had 2 simple rules for defending corners - pick up the man closest to you and attack the ball. It resulted in the concession of only 2 goals in eleven years. It was a badge of honor of sorts. Point is, I didn't see any of that in evidence by this Irish team for Hungary's second goal. Basic basic stuff.

[Kingdom]

Thank you, tp.

But let's be honest, wouldn't that just be adding to your embarrassment after Yerevan, not alleviating it?

For our answer would surely be "Thanks, but no thanks, we're quite happy as we are..." :wink:

What the North have done over the past 10-12 years has not just been admirable, superb, yadda yadda, it's a template - maximising of resources, taking short-term pain where it's needed and capitalising where they can. Not all the time, but enough of the time to be admired.

[ifk101]

If one was to look at an Ireland first 11 right now, assuming all are fit, there are 3 players* who must on the teamsheet - that nobody can argue with - and that leaves 8 players playing for their spot.
Kelleher, Parrott, Ferguson.

Either Ferguson plays off Parrott, or Parrott plays off Ferguson.

Do Parrott and Ferguson work as a partnership? Just wondering if Ferguson, Parrott and Idah are all best as lone strikers (with wingers flanking). Of the three, Parrott has shown an ability to work in a 2, Parrott and Obafemi showed promise, but has felt a bit lukewarm combinations of the three listed strikers.

[backstothewall]

Backstothewall - surely our midfield problems are bad enough without putting a centre back who has never played in midfield and seemingly can't even competently play in his own position when he puts on a green jersey in there? If I was moving Collins anywhere it would be onto the subs bench.

He's looked shocking, but he's undoubtedly a quality player which is something we are very short on. We simply have to find a way to get a tune out of him.

And against a team as good as Portugal it might be good to have a central defender in that position. Given how deep we are likely to get the player in that position is likely to have to drop in beside the 2 central defenders at times anyway. It's an idea that worked for us and other teams in the past.

[Stuttgart88]

TOD asked HH on RTE if a sports psychologist was needed. Maybe, because I for one can't fathom how players who can play at a very high level week in week out can serve up such utter mush when playing for us. It used to be that lads who were mediocre at club level raised their game playing for Ireland. It's the other way around now. It's not just lack of technique or ability.

Armenia actually started showboating against us. No fear in them whatsoever.

[Stuttgart88]

I opened my hotmail account on my iPhone at lunchtime to find an email from the FAI:

The Boys in Green continue their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Tuesday 14th October at the Aviva Stadium against Armenia and we are delighted to confirm that a limited number of single tickets are now available for this fixture.

Your presale is live tomorrow, 10th September, from 10am and it will end on Friday 12th September at 9am, subject to availability.

Gotta admire the FAI's optimism :)

[seanfhear]

We are going to have to kidnap Michael O'Neill without the Six County team noticing it !

Do we have a looky-likey that we could just slip in to fool those Nordies ? !

[Eirambler]

O'Neill, of course, is back with the north because he's a failed Championship manager. There are probably a dozen others like him who could be brought in, but I suspect a large element of our support would turn our noses up at a Mick McCarthy/Tony Pulis type of appointment, even now.

[SkStu]

Didn't Kenny try Collins as a DM and it was a disaster?

He did it against England in Wembley and it worked really well until Scales got sent off. Then it all fell to pieces.

[Eirambler]

That was Hallgrimsson. And Collins was playing centre back and stepping out at times, he wasn't actually playing DM. And that probably contributed to Scales getting sent off and by extension us getting beaten 5-0 and the experiment being canned ever since.

[sbgawa]

That's not controversial at all. A better manager in 2002 flies us straight into a world class training setup in Japan, and has the foresight to pack the midfield

Given

Finnan - Breen - Cunningham - O'Shea
Keane Kinsella
Reid Holland Duff
Keane

Mick's problem is that he valued his friendships over everything else. Gary Kelly started ahead of Finnan. McAteer ahead of Steven Reid. Duff on the wrong side to accommodate Kilbane. Staunton in the starting XI despite being well past it.


Ive always said this McCarthy fecking setting up a row in front of the whole team with Keane and the mismanagement of going to Saipan to start with cost us a place in a semi final against Korea, possibly a final.

[mark12345]

TOD asked HH on RTE if a sports psychologist was needed. Maybe, because I for one can't fathom how players who can play at a very high level week in week out can serve up such utter mush when playing for us. It used to be that lads who were mediocre at club level raised their game playing for Ireland. It's the other way around now. It's not just lack of technique or ability.

Armenia actually started showboating against us. No fear in them whatsoever.

It is a psychological thing. My take on our players' attitudes is:
"ah sure we're not going to win the World Cup anyway but let's give it a shot at qualifying and if we don't make it it's not the end of the world ." The glory is in qualification and anything else is a bonus. With a few exceptions, their minds appear to be on not getting injured every time they pull on the green shirt.
The honorable thing to do for those lads involved yesterday would be to step away from international game. How can any of them hold themselves up as credible in front of the Irish people after yesterday?

[Eirambler]

Ive always said this McCarthy fecking setting up a row in front of the whole team with Keane and the mismanagement of going to Saipan to start with cost us a place in a semi final against Korea, possibly a final.

I can put that one to bed for you - it would have been a quarter final against Korea, and we'd have lost it. South Korea were getting everything that year and there was no way Ireland was going to be allowed to spoil the party.

[SkStu]

That was Hallgrimsson. And Collins was playing centre back and stepping out at times, he wasn't actually playing DM. And that probably contributed to Scales getting sent off and by extension us getting beaten 5-0 and the experiment being canned ever since.

Sorry. Yes... I read Fixers post incorrectly.

[Fixer82]

The truth is, this result has been coming for a long time.

We had the poor Luxembourg result only a few years ago, Cyprus a bit longer ago and Macedonia a good while ago and some other poor ones along the way but we've been getting away with getting results from really poor teams for a long time.

Against Georgia we've had a dodgy penalty go our way, McGeady getting us out of jail, Gary Doherty getting a last minute jammy goal and Glenn Whelan scoring a jammy long ranger that the keeper made a mess of.
Against Armenia we've had Keith Fahey getting us out of jail late on, Robbie Brady with a last minute penalty at home to get 3 points.
Against Kazakhstan, Kevin Doyle scoring very late on to rescue 3 points.
Stephen Ireland scoring last minute to rescue a win against San Marino.