Czech Republic post match thread

[livehead1]

andy o'brien....
if your reading this...
I, and every other true Irish fan is 100% behind you. You are living out our dream by playing for our country. Everyone makes mistakes, yours is a job like any other, you can't get everything perfect. I've watched you over the years since you were a centre-back at Bradford. you have masses of ability that i believe this country will thrive on for the next 7 years. Those who doubt you now, ignore them, because one good performance later and you will be the best centre back in the world. Just keep your chin up, keep training hard, and the good form will come again, and I for one, am looking forward to seeing you turn it on for Ireland, and watch these doubter's come crawling one by one.

[Donal81]

Way off the mark those slating Keane, first time I have seen him do effective closing down, performance had to be compromised to achieve result, he suffered for that more than most and battled to the end.
An averagely confident Ireland with a secure manager would have won. Only getting a draw hurt.
Plaudits to Kilbane, left free of main defensive responsibilities he will run through a brick wall, if only he could pass.
What remains though is what Stan makes of it all. Lee isn't just for Christmas.
McShane, he's the Kenny replacement, intelligent and articulate.
I've never seen Brady so alive and energetic on RTE, like he had woken up after a 5 year slumber.

I'll stand by my criticism of Keane. One chance in a game which came in injury time is not good enough for a professional striker. He ran a hell of a lot but that's just not good enough.

[Billsthoughts]

eh thought we played as well as we have in last few years.good game. mcshane played well. some of the tackles were great. begs the question why not all the time? but still only complaint was equaliser. fair play to understrength team. delaney and your poxy stewards **** off and die.:mad:

[mountie]

McShane,without doubt the best performance by a debutant since Liam Brady. Might have been the occasion, but he sure took his chance. A definite starter along with the honey monster. Douglas also took his chance and deserves to hold onto his place. Henderson could have done better on the goal, but at least he was very cool under pressure and IMO looked confident in himself. Kelly did ok , still needs to mature and gain confidence in himself. Playing first team football at Birmingham will do him the world of good. Cannot understand the critism of Andy Reid on this site. I understand the perception of him being overweight, but in reality he is not. Gazza was IMO heavier when he was regarded as the player of his generation and Rooney is at least the same weight (and younger) is regarded as world class. Martin Jol said he was one of the most talented players he has worked with,but, according to my Spurs friends Jol had no choice to sell him cause he is injury prone.I thought whenever Reid got the ball something would happen for us, similar to whenever Liam Brady got the ball. Reid just needs a consistent season without injury. Keano huffed and puffed badly needs a goal to get his confidence back. Duff was excellent badly needs a finisher along side him to really make him world class. Overall a good performance, but how I hate the term morale victory, as was bandied about tonight. Shoulda,coulda, and woulda is no longer good enough. When at home beat we must win, don't care who they are...

[Kingdom]

right this will probably be a long one! Lots to think about after the game. Bare in mind I've only seen the game in the flesh no replays or any of that.

First thing has to be we're out of the running? No qualification for us this time. We had to win tonight for that to happen. Without trying to upset anyone here, with 15 mins to go, does it matter whether we draw or lose? By drawing we've gained nothing on the top two. I was dissapointed that Alan O'Brien came on for Kilbane. I really am. I've seen nothing from him that merits being in the team. I'd have liked to have seen the second forward on, be it Morrison or Lee. I feel the Czechs had settled for the draw and were happy to allow us hoof ball after ball towards Keane and Alan Quinn. Duff got the ball three times in the second half and three times got the ball into the danger area, leading to one goal, one astonishing miss and another good effort.
The crowd upped the ante tonight. Excellent everybody. Not that Staunton or Delaney should take the crowds exuberance as a measure of the collective feeling for them, rather an outpouring of support for OUR team. I was on the East Bucket level with the 18yd line at the North end. All of the fans around me stood from start to finish and sung whenever prompted, oldies and cripples included. Fair play nobody sitting down or hindered by height disadvantages complained. Stewards initially started to tell people to stand down, but one look at the mass of bouncing Czechs in the North Terrace told them where to go.

Many positives and still a few negatives from the game. The positives.
Our tempo was impressive throughout, bar a 15 minute spell midway through the first half.
I thought we might adopt a 'kick-them-off-the-park' approach and it wasn't far off. Douglas, Carsley, Kilbane, McShane and to a lesser extent Kelly all were robust on several occasions. Which is what has been missing. It is kinda ridiculous when certain tackles last in your mind (i.e. showing up that we haven't consistently got into teams over the last few years), Kav on Gilberto against Brazil was a stand out one. Tonight there were several. Kilbane absolutely creamed Ufjalusi and Polak in quick succession just before his goal while Carsley caught Koller with a peach mid air.
We got about them and the crowd responded, which the players responded too in kind. To resort to a old tactic, we put em under pressure. There did seem to be a team ethic. If someone made a mistake there was nothing but pats on the back or re-assuring words by the looks of things.
In other words the passion was back. Our set-pieces were good. Which is crazy cinsidering we were up against giants. McShane will be an excellent foil for Killer and Dunne offensively.

As for the bad things. When I heard the team I will admit I was disappointed to hear Stephen Kelly name on Tuesday. I thought he was dire. Has no sense of being able to read the game. Caught out many times. Is a hard tackler but seemed to stand off his man quite often and allow his pace get him out of trouble. I wouldn't be troubled if he doesn't get near the team again. I still believe Killer can be a great full back for us.
Our use of the ball. Terrible. Terrible. Once Reid went off everything went airborn. When Killer went off it still stayed in the air. Once again no through balls for the CF to feed off. Our finishing. We could easily have had 3 goals before our actual goal. Douglas should have scored. As should Duff (when we could have been awarded a penalty).
John O'Shea. Shown up by his junior partner and one wonders if John O'Shea wasn't such a puff and put it up to Fergie a year ago like McShane did last season, would the waterford man actually have a tangible career to talk about in a few years. He doesn;t seem to have an aggressive bone in his body and I'm afraid if he doesn;t have one then I'm not sure what he can offer to this team. I felt that deoending on tonight one of himself and Killer would be dropped. It won't be Killer I'd hope.

Henderson - 6. Poor positioning I felt for the goal. Had nothing to do apart from one fumbled effort in first half.

Finnan - 6. Not composed last night. Needs to have a regular slot in team and have a regular partner in front. A player who needs the arm round the shoulder, I wonder what has Carr's recall done for his confidence.

Kelly - 5.5. Poor imo. Cannot pass, doesn't offer anything offensively. Hasn;t and doesn't look like an international player.

O'Shea -5. At fault for the goal, as gave away free which led to goal and then lost concentration for the goal itself. Should be dropped against San Marino.

McShane - 9. Man of the match. How a player of 5'11" continually beat Liberty Hall in the air amazed me. Did everything right from actions to talking, passing was top notch also. Here to stay.

Duff - 8. Played well, albeit didn't see much of the ball. Control is second to none and crossing with both feet excellent.

Douglas- 6. Lots of bite, won great header which started the motions for the goal. Needs a few games but has potential. Should have scored.

Carsley- 7. Did everything that was expected. If he'd been in the squad last week, I think we'd be 5 points better off. Composed the middle 4.

Killer- 8. The occasional pass stray pass aside, back to playing the way for which he won so many caps consecutively. No player, not one, matches his commitment, effort and industry. If you put a scanger Dub accent on him he wouldn't get half the abuse.

Reid. - 7. Needs to work on the finishing as the goal opened up 5/6 times for him. Technically the best player in the squad, unfortunately he seems never to get fit enough. Is there room for a player who we can get 50 mins out of in the first XI? Fraid not.

Keane. - 6. Poorly marked purely because he didn't get much ball. Ran the boll*x out of himself and rightly so as he's captain. One clear cut chance, and should have scored. Some people think he's world class, I dont. If he's world class he'd take the chance.

Subs. Neither did anything when they came on.

[shakermaker1982]

I think you lads are being harsh on young Kelly. Personally I thought he was excellent, good in the tackle and covered a lot of ground.

[macdermesser]

From our friends on youtube

Kilbanes goal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2JGsNe_2Gk)

Tribute to Kilbane (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3Jr6ZDOZXk&mode=related&search=)

[Emmet]

Also, Alan O'Brien did nothing tonight.

He came on in the last ten minutes and only got the ball once I think ... what were you expecting?

Overall, it was a good battling performance ... a lot more than I was expecting to be honest. The key question is will we be able to sustain that sort of effort against all of the teams especially the 'lesser' sides. Keane's miss at the end was a shocker but he worked very hard all night closing down. Duff seemed to be given more licence to move around the pitch and was a lot more effective because of it.

[Calcio Jack]

So we put in a strong pasionate performance... regretfully the motivation for it seems to of being caused by the "hurt" Stan and the players felt after Saturday. For me that is so typical and sums up why Staunton should be fired... a half decent manager who knew what he was about wouldn't of let Saturday happen in the first place.Indeed we'd of won on Saturday if we had a professional at the helm , instead of our sulking schoolboy of a manager banished in the stand due to his own childisness. Also a decent manager would have the team tuned properly so that (yet again Stan) we wouldn't concede within momnets of scoring.

So today we should be looking 6 points on the board not "une pointe" and a genuine chance of competing down to the wire for second spot and qualification.

So Yes it was good to see some pride restored... but I'm in the Roy Keane camp on this one...last night we failed to take the 3 points that were on offer so nothing to celebrate there !!

Finally, is it me, but I'd also like to see Mick Byrne gone... having to enjure the sight of him coming on the pitch at the end of the game and kissing the badge on his track suit and generally acting as if he had just played/scored made me want to vomit.... what that's all about .... oh yes I forgot , he's another of Stan's so called brilliant cunning tactics and his job is to act as some sort of overpaid "cheerleader" for the "boys".... genius Stan.

[shakermaker1982]

Henderson 7

Kelly 8
Finnan 7
O'Shea 7
McShane 9

Carsley 8
Duffer 8
Douglas 8
Kilbane 8
A Reid 7

Keano 7

[drinkfeckarse]

We restored a bit of pride but the campaign is over now in my eyes. 1 point from 3 games is what it is despite the renewed optimism from last night. That's the downside along with the fact we have still to beat a top ranked team for the first time in years in a competitive game.

The up side was the performances of the young lads. I'll not mention anything as it's all been said but they've shown they have a future with us. I've never saw a lot in Kelly but he did well last night and McShane's performance belied his years.

Carsley added a bit of steel and presence to the midfield again without doing anything great. Still, I will admit he made a difference when I didn't think he would make that much.

[First]

No offence to him as a person, but I hope he does not play again for Ireland.
He is an accident waiting to happen:eek:


Waiting to happen:confused:

[DeNiro]

John O'Shea. Shown up by his junior partner and one wonders if John O'Shea wasn't such a puff and put it up to Fergie a year ago like McShane did last season, would the waterford man actually have a tangible career to talk about in a few years. He doesn;t seem to have an aggressive bone in his body and I'm afraid if he doesn;t have one then I'm not sure what he can offer to this team.

He'll struggle to get in for the next game. McShane is certainly here to stay. O'Shea loves skirting around. It's nearly like he used to only play well when Roy Keane was around. I reckon if Keane was his manager he'd nail him. He's a luxury in my eyes. A lazy one at that!

[craigdublin]

It was great to see the way people got behind the team from the start. It was quite emotional, cause clearly it was born from hurt and pain.. The team kept us singing till the end too, which was impressive, cause i dont think it would have taken much for us to turn on them if they hadnt performed.

It was the first night since saipan that we were all one (united) again I felt.

I think its been a good week. The team have learnt whats required. They can never treat the green jersey with disrespect again. Friendlies matter. International football matters... Its good to see for the future, and we've a few good games coming up..

Never mind the qualification. There were bigger things being worked on.

[cullenswood]

Good performance by the team, but we should be expecting that enthusiasm and passion for EVERY game. Thought Henderson positioning was at fault for the goal, plus he looked nervy for most of the game, his kick outs from back passes weren't great.

McShane was excellent, hopefully he keeps it up.

Keane should have stuck that chance in at the end. He was only two yards out!!

[First]

Good performance last night, restored some of my faith in the team.
A typical battling performance , though we will probably be little more than a team of spoilers not allowing the better teams to play.
Impressed by McShane, Carsley and Kilbane. John O'Shea has to go he is just not intereseted.

Now the question that needs to be answered , what the **** was going on in Cyprus , last night will not and never should make up for that debacle and I stick by my view that Staunton should go.

[Paddy Garcia]

andy o'brien....
if your reading this...
I, and every other true Irish fan is 100% behind you. You are living out our dream by playing for our country. Everyone makes mistakes, yours is a job like any other, you can't get everything perfect. I've watched you over the years since you were a centre-back at Bradford. you have masses of ability that i believe this country will thrive on for the next 7 years. Those who doubt you now, ignore them, because one good performance later and you will be the best centre back in the world. Just keep your chin up, keep training hard, and the good form will come again, and I for one, am looking forward to seeing you turn it on for Ireland, and watch these doubter's come crawling one by one.

Totally agree. As far as the bank balance goes we are far more in debt to Andy O'Brien than he is to us. The entire back 5 played poorly on Saturday, as did most of the rest of the team.

What amazes me is that in his interview last night Stan said the difference bwtween last night & Cyprus was that the defence played poorly on Saturday. Can he not see that this was, in the main, due to the absence of a midfield.

[leonardodog]

Watching the performance against the Czechs made last Saturday in Nicosia even moe inexcusable. Staunton (who claims he is jinxed with bad luck) is actually a very fortunate man to have stumbled across a situation where he had no other choice but to play those guys that played so heroically last night. Carsley, McShane, Kelly et al saved his bacon big time. The big question is: Can he learn from it? On the eveidence of the campaign so far, the answer is: No

[cavan_fan]

Agree it was much better (though any better than our home draws in the last campaign????0

Unfortunately I don't believe that some of these players will play like that in every game. Maybe we shoudl arrange for Cyprus to play us before every game!

Seems to be some grudging praise of Carsley on here, i.e he's not a match winner. That's the point. I dont want to see him haring up into the box whenever we have the ball. I want him to be intelligent enough to sit and wait to break up attacks.

I'd love to hear Stan tell us what he's learned from this week. If he has learned that:
You need a defensive/holding midfielder
Your defenders need to be coached properly
We need to play more friendlies so we dont have to risk new players in competitive matched
then I'm happy. However I can see him not picking McShane and Carsley next time.

[Paddy Garcia]

However I can see him not picking McShane and Carsley next time.

Carsley will be lucky to make the squad, never mind the team.

[elroy]

Great performance last night, am amazed how a team such a shambles a few days ago could put together such an organised performance last night. I think its unfair to be overly critical of anyone last night, I thought all players deserved at least a 7. I thought Kelly did quite well at left back, douglas held his own and McShane was superb. Keane is not a lone striker but it was a terrible miss at the end. I also thought JOS showed last night his best position for us is CB, put in a decent performance although always prone to one or two errors.

However, I'm a bit concerned with people getting carried away. Last night was points dropped in my opinion, yet again we've failed to win a big game at home. This day last week we all would have been of the opinion that at least 4, but 6 points was necessary. We've got one!!
Optimist for the future perhaps, but still alot of work to do. Just got to take one game at a time for now and see where we end up at the end of the group.

[drinkfeckarse]

Carsley will be lucky to make the squad, never mind the team.


Really that shouldn't happen but now Stan has left himself open to one of his many contradictions now. He originally said he wanted to go with the young players and snubbed him twice.

I don't think he can win now with this one and it's his own fault. Include him at someone else's expense the next time and some will say "what happened to your original statement of sticking with who you have". Leave him out and they will say that he helped cover over a problem area for us.

[BradyIsMyHero]

Who to drop from last night's team, assuming we have a full squad ?

Henderson - Shay Given
Finnan - Steve Carr to right full (Finnan to left full ? or O'Shea ?)
Kelly - ok game, but Finnan or O'Shea would get in ahead of him
O'Shea - looked like a real defender for most of game, but went walkabout for Koller's goal. Not a definite starter anymore. Richard Dunne back at centre back, alongside McShane
R. Keane - Kevin Doyle (Keane could stay in a 4-4-2, but if its 4-5-1, it has to be Doyle)
Douglas - good performance, but still not fully up to the standard required. Will go if its 4-4-2; otherwise, Stephen Reid would be a contender.

Only definite starters for next game (all being fit):

Given
Carr
McShane
Dunne
Carsley
A.Reid
Duff
Kilbane
Doyle

[Pauro 76]

Battling peformance, and had a gut feeling they'd do well. delighted for the youngsters McShane and Douglas, both homegrown and both will be regulars in the future. By the way, slightly off topic, hard to get some of the irish papers in my part of town, but Stan had a go at some of the media to leave his parents alone. which papers was he having a go at? i have my guesses...

and this is from the Guardian’s online minute by minute report...

’’GOAL! Republic of Ireland 1 - 1 Czech Republic (Koller 64)

All that good work is undone in an instant. My colleagues are in hysterics as O’Shea seemingly stops and waves to his mum in the crowd, while the Czechs play a quick free-kick to Rosicky. Rosicky turned and relayed the ball on to Koller, who held off the challenge of McShane and hit a clinical shot across Henderson and into the bottom corner. To quote Staunton on the touchline: "Oh, for feck’s sake!" ’’

cant be true. can it?

[Dr. Ogba]

Faith restored a bit now after an all-time low on Saturday.

As was mentioned before, the worry now is whether the performance last night was a kind of "point to prove" one-off performance or can they consistently show that passion that is expected of them? I hope so, I just don't think I could face another lethargic performance from them against San Marino.
Mc Shane is the obvious positive to come out of this but the main thing is that hopefully Stan can see now what the team is capable of if he {shock, horror} plays a central midfielder in central midfield!!!
Yes a lot of positives but it comes down to the same old story again, we're throwing away games that we should be winning and it just smacks of a bit of inexperience and a little lack of self-belief...we have to stop getting moral victories...

[youngirish]

I'm surprised at all the optimism after the Czech game. I'm very disappointed myself. Granted it was a far better performance than the Cyprus game (in fairness it couldn't have been any worse) but the game was 100% there for the taking and we threw it away due for the most part to that same tactical naivety that we showed against the Dutch, Germans and Cypriots. Giving the goal away a couple of minutes after we finally got the breakthrough in the manner we did is inexcusable. Would have we conceeded that goal if Charlton, Mc Carthy or even Kerr was in charge? I seriously doubt it.

O'Shea strolling back while the Czech's were taking the free kick like he was out for a walk in the park was a joke. That should be the final nail in the coffin of his Ireland career. Also fat Robbie Keane moaning all match due to the poor service he was receiving and then missing a guilt edged simple chance to win the game was another big negative. Too often again we were too quick to resort to the lumping it up the pitch to our midget forward which Staunton still hasn't realised never seems to get us anywhere.

Another minus was Staunton's substitutions. He doesn't seem to have a clue how to go and win the game and I honestly believe he wanted to play for the draw rather than risking a loss and losing his job. Unfortunately any chance of qualification went out the window due to that negative approach. He took off Andy Reid who was by all accounts our most dangerous player and brought on Alan Quinn who's input was marginal at best. Also Alan O'Brien is not good enough. I don't know how many times I've said this but why Staunton persists with this Newcastle reserve team player I'll never know. All he does is run blindly with his head down.

The worst thing about the result was that it achieved nothing besides allowing that muppet Staunton to keep his job for another few matches. The Czechs and Germans are now 100% certain to qualify after only 3 matches. It's a joke. We'll be fighting for fourth and fifth spot with Wales.

At least McShane looked good and was faultless for the goal IMO.

[Istabraq]

Lee Carsleys effect on the team and the performance cannot be underestimated. He set the tempo from the off and gave the fans the first cheer of the night with his determined tackle. When the rest of the players witnessed this hunger and the response of the crowd to it, they followed suit. Killer and Douglas went in hard within 5 mins and got huge cheers. Us long suffering fans dont need to see fancy passing football (though it would be nice) to get behing our team. Just an honest effort will do. I fear with the players we have at our disposal we will have to revert to our old way of playing under Jack. This will give us a platform to build on once we start getting results. Its like the whole of Irish soccer has done a 360, and we are back where we started in mid 80s.

Just a note on Kelly. I thought he had a decent enough game, but he nearly got himself in trouble several times due to his unwillingness to use his left foot. He kept turning on to hi right, so clearly he is not happy there. He should have played Finnan on the left as he has experience there.

[an_ceannaire]

Robbie Keane, no thanks. A fit elliot and Doyle ANYDAY

[bmozza]

My 2 penny's:-
Henderson 7 - Great save to get down to his left from very close range, maybe could have done better for the goal but played well throughout and was a presence.
Finnan 6 - Back to the steady defender he's come to be for us after shocking display in Cyprus. Could have done better going forward.
McShane 9 - The main man in what looked like a solid defense for 89 mins. Future star for Ireland definately.
O'Shea 6 - Was steady enough with McShane alongside him, unforntunately characteristic mistake cost us the equaliser. STAY AWAKE!!!
Kelly 8 - Thought he done very well getting in some well timed challenges in dangerous positions.
Duff 7 - Didn't do too bad, as our most creative player opposing teams makes sure he gets plenty of attention, but still at times showed his quality.
Carsley 8 - Why the hell wasn't this man in Cyprus??! Stan, always pick your best side available. We simply can not afford to be choosey.
Douglas 7 - Plenty of running and energy. Unlucky not to score in first half.
Kilbane 7 - Much better performance from Saturday, although that wouldn't be hard. Great finish for the goal.
Reid 6 - Looked a bit fat to be honest! Glimpses of quality though. Get the slimfast out, put down the pie.
Keane 6 - Plenty of running an effort, bottled it from the keeper in the last minute though on the chance which should have won us the game.

Subs:
Quinn 6 - Not bad, not great
O'Brien 6 - Ditto

Stan 7 - Thought he done well. Made some bold decisions and bought himself a bit more time in the hot seat.

Myself 9 - Eight pints in 2.5 hours.

[OwlsFan]

O'Shea was NOT at fault for the Czech goal. McShane let HIS man turn and score. I am no fan of O'Shea's but I thought he had an excellent game in the middle of the defence. O'Shea's foul was on the touchline. The Czech's took the free kick 15 yards infield and passed directly to Kohler. Whether O'Shea was running back facing the ball or with his back to the ball he wouldn't have been able to do anoything about it. If they had been made take the free from the right place he would have been back in position. Blame where blame is due.

Pleased with McShane's performance but one swallow doesn't make a summer. Let's see how he progresses. Usual knee jerk reactions here. Greatest thing since sliced bread etc etc

Delighted for Kilbane. Devasted that we dropped 3 points that should have been ours. Was not happy going home. 2001 since we last beat a major team at Lansdowne in a competitive game. The 3 points and a kick start to the campaign were there for the taking. Czech's illegal free kick and Robbie's miss at the end - a dagger in my heart.

[casso36]

Robbie Keane was all over the pitch ran his heart out for the team!! Well Done!.

Thought duffer was pretty poor did'nt do an awful lot during game.

O'shea T w at! kept playing the them onside when rest pushed out!! Stocking of s hi te!!

Andy Reid Looks as fat as me, Lacks pace and it showed last night.

McShane excellent last night, until that T wa t ruined his night by giving the free kick away. Well done Mcshane great debut!!!

[elroy]

Ya was a bit bemused by Mick Byrne waving his hands in the air at the end alright. I dont think Stan did anything particularly wrong last night, remember we had 14 players missing. There's optimism for the future from last night, although we should've won! I think its a case of taking one game at a time and hopint that going in to the final 3 games we are in with some sort of realistic chance.
We really need for Germany to beat the Czechs home and away and if we are going to qualify we will need to beat the Czechs away........unlikely but not impossible.

As I said, one game at a time, next focus San Marino and three points.

[Dr. Ogba]

O'Shea was NOT at fault for the Czech goal. McShane let HIS man turn and score. I am no fan of O'Shea's but I thought he had an excellent game in the middle of the defence. O'Shea's foul was on the touchline. The Czech's took the free kick 15 yards infield and passed directly to Kohler. Whether O'Shea was running back facing the ball or with his back to the ball he wouldn't have been able to do anoything about it. If they had been made take the free from the right place he would have been back in position. Blame where blame is due..

Great post Owlsfan, agree with your point on O'Shea, I actually genuinely feared for us before the game when I heard he was playing CB (actually had more faith in McShane than O'Shea) but thought he put in his most consistent performance for us in a long time. However saying that, I'd go for McShane and Dunne (barring injuries) for the next match.




Delighted for Kilbane. Devasted that we dropped 3 points that should have been ours. Was not happy going home. 2001 since we last beat a major team at Lansdowne in a competitive game. The 3 points and a kick start to the campaign were there for the taking. Czech's illegal free kick and Robbie's miss at the end - a dagger in my heart.


Was right in line with Keane's miss at our end...I'm still lost for words :(

The match was there for the taking and we were the only team that looked like winning it which is even more disappointing.

Also maybe would have brought on Alan Lee instead of O'Brien for the last 10, definitely would have offered something different...

[Calcio Jack]

Calcio Jack, if that is your real name;) , I regularly disagree with you about the traitor, but that post is magnificent. I agree with every word especially with regard to sacking the gypo Mick Byrne.


However, I won't be surprised to see the traitor in charge for the WC campaign.

Well it's hardly my real name...sure doesn't the enigma fiction factor create a bit of crack on notice boards such as this... ;)

As for calling Roy Keane a traitor...well now he and Mrs Quinn have moved on maybe we all should.

[McGinty]

i thought that once again Stephen Kelly showed he is not able to perform at International level. Panics when he gets the ball past the half way line, and takes stupid touches at the back. he's going to cost us goals if we continue to play him.

thought mcShane was magnificent, pity his concentration dropped after the goal but he put in a stellar display, has to start the next few qualifiers to see if he's up to scratch!

thought people expected too much of duff, everytime he got the ball, in the first half anyway, there were two men on him, they marked him out of the game, but still if duff doesnt beat 4 players and score its not good enough.

all in all i'm disappointed with the result, we should have won, and now staunton is stayin to add to the misery. best part of the night was the crowds reaction when we scored, havent experienced that in landsdown in years! people goine ape sh1t, we were only coming down from it when Koller (the biggest bitch i've seen play in landsdowne) put a good chance away

[kingp35]

be fore the team was announced for the Cyprus game I was screaming for Douglas to start in midfield. He has some limitations skill wise but he is 100% commited to the cause and puts in tackles all over the shop. I thought he was bloody excellent last night. He kept the ball on the deck and spread the play well, put in some solid tackles and won loads of headers. I think he was as good, if not better, than Carsley in what he did. Carsley is getting the attention because of all the press surrounding his inclusion. Douglas is a far better player that Liam Miller or Stephen Ireland and should be at least on the bench for games however I would start him. Miller was nothing compared to Douglas at Leeds last season and I really dont understand how many people on this thread have said that Douglas wouldnt even be in the squad for them but Miller would. Obviously none of you watch Championship football.

Another huge plus was the performance of Paul McShane. He was immense at the back bar the one slight lack of concentration for the Kohler goal. He looked like he was real leadership qualities and lead by example all night. I think the criticism being said of O' Shea on here is a bit harsh. I thought he did well and saying it was his fault for the goal is very harsh. Stephen Kelly did well but he obviously isnt a left back. He was great defensively but offered nothing going forward. Maybe he would have been better on the right.

Kilbane was excellent tonight. Its plain to all of us that he is not a central midfield player but when you play him on the left he give sit his all and will always cause the other team problems. He was committed from the off, put in some great tackles and scored the gaol. Im delighted for him. The entire midfield was much better and as soon as the team was announced I knew we would do much better because the team had a proper shape about it. Carsley would hold and help out the defense. Douglas would go from box to box. Kilabe would do his usual stuff and Duff could roam around a bit. I thought Duff had a quiet enough game but he still put in some great crosses and got another assist.

Andy Reid looked good but he was obviously lacking some match fitness due to being injured of late. If he gets himself fit then I think he will be very good playing in the hole. That was his best position at Forest when he was playing some great stuff. Robbie Keane put in plenty of running but again was largely ineffective. He should have scored at the death but I cant fault him too much.

The only disappointment was that we didnt win the game when we could have. It was a much better and spirited performance and Stan will have learned alot, especially about how to set up your midfield. Spirited performance and pride has been restored but there is still a long way to go for this team.

[kingp35]

O'shea T w at! kept playing the them onside when rest pushed out!! Stocking of s hi te!!


There was a valid reason for this. Ireland were afraid of Kohler winning flick ons and O' Shea was definitely told to drop off to cover any flick ons that were won.

[blobbyblob]

No offence to Henderson and Kenny but Given is irreplaceable for now. Come back soon.

Stephen Kelly was marvellous winning tackles he had to right to win and chasing and covering well when he had to. Finnan will never set a night on fire but he will do you a job and thats all we want back there.

Stan needs to be brave and stick with him for the next game. I dont see how any other player should be a shoe-in for the other centre half slot. Dunne, O'Shea, O Brien have a lot to prove between now and November.

The difference between Saturday and last night was Carsley. Not sure if it was visable on TV , from the first minute, he organised from front to back, roaring instructions and telling people where to pick up and where to cover. It was great to see and something thats been absent for quiet a while. A few scene setting tackles early on got the crowd going and more players reacted to this.

McGeady will lose out next time out. Kilbane will occupy the right with Duffer (who grew in confidence as the game went on) taking the left. Who will sit in with Carsley will be anyones guess. Well done to Douggie last night but but Stan wont be that brave.

As for Robbie - For all his endeavour his confidence looks shook. He always seemed to heistate for that millisecond that let the defenders cover back. Maybe San Marino will be the perfect game for him to get his confidence back. Doyle to partner him.

As for Staunton. The media have backed off. Cyprus still hurts. I just hope that last night wasnt just delaying the inevitable and could the path the greater glories for him and the team. I hope Carsley got an apology. We need players like him to build for the future. Also - the same fans should be selected in the same position apart from your man who punched me in the face celebrating the goal.

PS - Referee was a scum bag

[Paddy Garcia]

The difference between Saturday and last night was Carsley. Not sure if it was visable on TV , from the first minute, he organised from front to back, roaring instructions and telling people where to pick up and where to cover. It was great to see and something thats been absent for quiet a while.


Yes it was


Who will sit in with Carsley will be anyones guess.

Worth trying S Reid



As for Robbie - For all his endeavour his confidence looks shook.

Won't have been helped by Stauntons threat to drop hhim before the Cyprus game.



Also - the same fans should be selected in the same position apart from your man who punched me in the face celebrating the goal.

He also poked Kilbane in the eye. Were you sitting next to Stan ?

[geysir]

After McShane, I thought Kelly a lad making his comp. debut, out of position, did very well. Defensively, time and time again he made the right decisions, it's a long time since I could relax about what the LB was doing.
Other parts of his game were weaker but the bottom line performance of a LB was easily met.
O'Shea, after the soft foul was awarded, he continued to needlessly follow the ball instead of backtracking to pick up the nearest Czech in plenty of space who received the ball to set up Koller
It looked to me that he turned off completly for 5 seconds.It was a big starting point for the goal to happen.

[dfx-]

They were never going to be hammered and a 1-1 draw helps me financially;) ....but the cracks are nicely papered over.

The Czechs weren't that interested in going for the win, there was never any urgency about their play, they know the gulf in class is too big for Ireland to be a threat and when they scored, they still didn't go for it and went 451 and held out easily enough.

I'd be very disturbed by the amount of people with their faith restored and people even wondering about qualifying. One point out of nine. We couldn't beat a team at home who were quite negative. And for all Keane's chance waffle, Baros missed a sitter as well in the first. That could've changed it as well. I think people are just looking for any positive, desperate to regain any positive out of the game. If we had lost 0-3 but played with spirit blah blah, then faith would've been restored, I'm sure. Amazing how you can go from not wanted to manage this match to managing the entire tournament again with a 1-1 draw. Are things that bad?

I'd love to see how team might get on in Prague if the Czechs need the win. Or the Slovaks...or the Germans. Meanwhile, bagsy the front of the bandwagon - it might get a little crowded again.

[dynamo kerry]

last night- good game- the czechs were clearly up for it

pity abut the result we could indeed have won but then.. so could they

thought kelly did ok but he was a bit slow to release the ball

kilbane- solid stuff. pleased for him..

keane and duff - mmiddling games.. they can do better but I can't beleive some people calling for robbies head.. he was never going to be loooking fab as a lone striker.

andy o'brien.. mostly on this site has been referred to as someone who although not great in his lcub career has rarely let ireland down- until now.. give the guy a break. it's like gary breen everyone started saying he should be dropped for years but apart from macedonia he wasn't awful and in fact rarely made huge errors

and to suggest clinton morrison doesnt care is fairly silly. anyone who has watched the guy play live can tell he does

as for mcshane - great game

they all looked pretty composed though and looked like they were trying to play decent ball. really enjoyed the middle third of the game

[McGinty]

do people just forget about kelly losing the ball easily twice and giving the czechs what could have been a goal scoring opportunity?

[pineapple stu]

The Czechs weren't that interested in going for the win, there was never any urgency about their play, they know the gulf in class is too big for Ireland to be a threat and when they scored, they still didn't go for it and went 451 and held out easily enough.
That makes no sense. The Czechs realised that they were much better than us and could win comfortably but didn't? Ireland put in a decent performance for once, and it's down to the other team not wanting to win even though the could easily for some bizarre reason?

Here's those Guardian updates (http://football.guardian.co.uk/minbymin/report/0,,1893428,00.html) Pauro was on about earlier - quality! :D

[kingp35]

do people just forget about kelly losing the ball easily twice and giving the czechs what could have been a goal scoring opportunity?


Both occasions Kelly was totally isolated on the left hand side and had nobody moving for him and nobody to pass to. You have to look at the bigger picture when it comes to mistakes like Kelly made. It wasnt entirely his fault although he could have just ballooned it up the pitch.

[Fear Manach]

I think McShane shows the benefits of leaving a big club, going to a smaller one, but playing week in week out in a proper position. Just wish the likes of O;shea and Miller had done what he did

McShane has not been playing week in week out.

No. NAME GS SB G SH SG A FC FS YC RC

20 Paul McShane 5 0 0 1 0 0 5 6 2 1


GS: Games started, SB: Used as substitute, G: Goals, A: Assists, SH: Shots, SG: Shots on goal, YC: Yellow Cards, RC: Red Cards, FC: Fouls Commited, FS: Fouls Suffered, SV: Saves, GC: Goals conceded, W: Wins, L: Losses, D: Draws

[Dun Laoire]

Last nights game was predictable. We can only up our games when we play against the better teams. If we drop a few seeds we'l have a better chance of qualifying. I know that sounds stupid but i actually believe that.

[Calcio Jack]

Last nights game was predictable. We can only up our games when we play against the better teams. If we drop a few seeds we'l have a better chance of qualifying. I know that sounds stupid but i actually believe that.

Well you said it yourself it is stupid... what next we let teams have a 1 goal lead just to get our boys motivated:confused:

[Billsthoughts]

Well you said it yourself it is stupid... what next we let teams have a 1 goal lead just to get our boys motivated:confused:

Have you sneaked a peak at "Stans Gameplan"?????

[passinginterest]

Looks like Staunton has stumbled on some quality players much like McCarthy in his early days, forced to experiment Cyprus was a disaster and Czech came good. If Staunton can learn quickly from his mistakes, he might make a manager yet. McShane was like Paul McGrath in disguise, great composure, hardly ever just hoofed it, took it down and played in simple and effective. O'Shea left him isolated for the goal, terrible lack of concentration by him. Had doubts about Kelly at left back, but he was exceptional. Carsley and Douglas always looked a stronger option than Ireland Kilbane and this proved to be the case. Kilbane regained some pride on the left, he's no central midfielder but he does an effective job on the left. Overall a decent performance, still a bit too direct from midfield at times, Keane needed more ball to feet. Worked some nice passing moves in last 15mins when we played it short, proved that there was more to the team than just a new found heart. Real potential, McShane beside Dunne should be first choice centre half. And so ends my first epic post!