Denmark vs Ireland - Match Thread

[OwlsFan]

Everyone has slated keane for so long, that it'll be a few matches before they can praise him with integrity. Same with Stan. Give them time to get over their embarrasment! After the Welsh game someone behind me in the crowd said and I quote "keane should go and die". I was fuming at the time (see my blog) and now he's coming back, so fair play to him.

"Everyone" hasn't slated Keane. Some people with negative attitudes have but by and large most genuine football people know what a class act we have in Robbie (if he could cut out the annoying hand waving). See the Robbie Keane thread elsewhere.

Players that did well were Reid, Keane, Long, Keogh, Dunne, Finnan and Carr. Ok were McGeady (still gets knocked off the ball too easily), Hunt, Kelly and Potter. Worried for O'Shea (it was always Dunne getting in the last foot or the last covering tackle), Henderson, Kilbane (who just gave the ball away when he came on).

In the beginning we couldn't keep the ball and were fortunate not to go behind. If we start like that in Bratislava and Prague, we'll be toast. Based on history we'll be doing very well to take 4 points from the 2 away games but confidence is priceless so fingers crossed. In those games I'd start with the same team except for McShane for O'Shea and Carsley for Potter. Not sure about Henderson though. Do we have any other option?

[Dr. Ogba]

Baileban - dig up a video of Holland's demolition of us in Lansdowne and compare it to last nights match...no comparison. The Dutch completely and utterly destroyed us and probably had 70-80% of the possession whereas I think in all fairness, last night's scoreline flattered us (their keeper gifted us 3 for God sake!)

Saying that there's some major positives to be taken from the match - Andy Reid is starting to live up to our hype and should be a definite starter alongside Carsley in September. Robbie showed some good touches, granted his goals were fairly jammy but I think he's starting to realise that there's some pretty decent youngsters breathing down his neck. McGeady, Gibson, Potter all acquitted themselves well which is really encouraging for the future.

My only fear now is that Stan completely ignores the positives from this match and reverts to type with KK at the centre of midfield with Carsley which would be a disaster...

And Stephen Carr...what a useless pile of £"£$"^£!"!

[livehead1]

Didn't realise Denmark were that rubbish...

Seems Scandinavian football as a whole is in a bit of a decline

I don't really agree with Scadinavian football being in decline. Sweden are currently top of Group D, 2 points ahead of Northern Ireland, and 3 points ahead of Spain.

Denmark's last competitive game was a 2-0 away win in Latvia, a result a believe we may struggle to acheive. They have also recently acheived a 1-0 away win in Germany, a result we almost certainly would not acheive, and a commendable 3-1 win against Australia, also away from home turf.

I feel theres damn all wrong with Scandinavian football and Irish football could learn a hell of a lot from it. They manage to hold onto their best players untill their early to mid 20's, something the Eircom League has consistantly failed to do over the last few years.

[livehead1]

Not sure about Henderson though. Do we have any other option?

Colin Doyle is a very good keeper. Made a couple of mistakes in the premiership this season but then again so has Edwin Van Der Sar and Jens Lehmann.

If Given isn't fit, an astute decision by Staunton may be in persuading Dean Kiely to help us out for a couple of games; I'm sure he'd relish the chance to represent Ireland again and would let nobody down.

Paddy Kenny is also a very good goalkeeper, made an error against Cyprus but has shown time and again that he is reliable.

[paul_oshea]

there is too much here to read, but lads please dont get carried away, Denmark were not at the races and didnt seem to care at all.

A few things I noticed though, as soon as kilbane was moved into midfield, we looked like we always do, flat, and moving backwards. Its like we have played for the last few years, slow build up play in the hope that we score from a cross or set-piece, whereas when kilbane was not in the centre we were moving forward far more and passing the ball forward rather than remaining stagnant and giving denmark the chance to re-group.

What is it with left-foot maestros? Is it because most players expect or are more comfortable defending onto their right shoulder than left, whatever it is I dont know, but that ball by reid with the outside of his foot to mcgeady was UNREAL. It was cross-field inch ( and height ) perfect. Genius.

Keane on MOnday touched on the fact that he and reid have a great understanding and reading of the game, it showed again here, like it did against israel. Reid should start in the centre ahead of Ireland ( if we need to substitute then fire ahead ) for this reason alone, it takes as much inclination and incisiveness of a striker to make those runs as it does the player making those passes and keane deserves credit for this too.

Ye gotta love oshea, wasn't happy with not getting in the action so trys to lob his own keeper with a header and then makes out he was clearing it out for a corner :D

Potter looked decent, but was a little over-ran at times. Mcgeady looked better, wasn't shoved off the ball as easily and that pass to Long was vintage, hopefully this gives him the confidence that EB reckons he requires.

Keogh has some greeat touches and really held up the ball well, hunt reminds me of kilbane breaking through, we all loved kilbanes darting runs and taking the man on, and holding onto the ball, but he does look limited just kilbane too.

Dunne again proved he is the same, savage game against City, great game last night, but he still mis-hit a ball and it went straight across the defence.

Terrible shaky start. The only real thing that I think we can take from this, is that the players showed they can hold onto the ball when away from home and this shouldnt change. We should have a great support in slovakia so heres hoping that spurs them on as well. Denmark were very poor.

[Billsthoughts]

agree with all of the above. time to let the likes of oshea and kilbane sit on the bench. kilbane is not and never was a centre midfielder. he is a limited player who gives it his all but when he is in the centre he loses the ball too much and we then have to win it back.
reid and keane seem to have an understanding alrite. only problem is we need everyone else to play well. cuter teams will just man mark reid out of the game. and if thats all we have then we will need a plan b.
i suppose the only thing to take from the result is that its better wining freindlies 4 nil than losing them 4 nil.
with the right team selection we will have a chance in the next two games and thats all we can ask for. to see lads that have never performed come back into the team tho would be a step backwards.

[paul_oshea]

to see lads that have never performed come back into the team tho would be a step backwards

Ya, cant agree more, but I think staunton is the only manager of the last two who is NOW picking the players that the majority of posters on here feel should be picked ( finnan ) and in the right positions when fully fit and available. Thing is though, do you want a great full back playing out of his preferred position or an average left back playing in that position?! Or is it a case of not wanting carr anywhere near the team?

[NeilMcD]

My head hurts. Great night in Aarhus. Danish fans were a good laugh. Well worth the trip just to see Andy Reid ping the ball out to Mc Geady and his ball for Keane was great too. Mc Gead had a great game i thought too. And O Shea and Dunne were great and they really wanted to keep a clean ****e. Dunnes attitude was shown when he made a great tackle even when the whistle had gone. Good night all round.

[Sligo Hornet]

My head hurts. Great night in Aarhus. Danish fans were a good laugh. Well worth the trip just to see Andy Reid ping the ball out to Mc Geady and his ball for Keane was great too. Mc Gead had a great game i thought too. And O Shea and Dunne were great and they really wanted to keep a clean ****e. Dunnes attitude was shown when he made a great tackle even when the whistle had gone. Good night all round.

Christ......didn't think you would be back so soon!:eek:You and the rest of our fans ( although not great in number ) could be heard and outsung the home fans.....of course the display helped your enthusiasm.:)

[wallis]

There are a lot of people on this thread that need to sit down , pull out the knife and fork and then tuck in to some humble pie.

It might have been a friendly but it was still 4-0 away to Denmark ! Its a terrific result and hpoefully gives the team and the fans a real shot in the arm going into the toughest week of the euro campaign.

The argument that this was just a friendly and doesnt matter is total garbage. If we had been on the receiving end of a 4-0 defeat , fans and journos would be sharpening the knives yet again demanding Stauntons head. Its not a fair balance to come away after such a great result and shrug it off as a meaningless match - you cant have it both ways.

The facts are that it was a terrific win despite the negatives of losing possession too often. We have learnt a few more things about our new boys (Long, Henderson etc) and we got confirmation that we still have one of the best strikers in the business in Keane. For the first time in a long while we even seem to have some backup options in the centre forward and midfield positions.

We have nothing to fear from the double header and four points from the next two away games looks like the least we are capable off. Bring it on.

[NeilMcD]

Christ......didn't think you would be back so soon!:eek:You and the rest of our fans ( although not great in number ) could be heard and outsung the home fans.....of course the display helped your enthusiasm.:)

Made it much easier to make the tv too.

[paul_oshea]

The argument that this was just a friendly and doesnt matter is total garbage. If we had been on the receiving end of a 4-0 defeat , fans and journos would be sharpening the knives yet again demanding Stauntons head. Its not a fair balance to come away after such a great result and shrug it off as a meaningless match - you cant have it both ways.


To do, what you are saying is to do what the ENGLISH do and we are not English, we are realistic. We have always been moderate but there is still no excuse for the results against cyprus and san marino, even if you and I were managers.

We are being level-headed as anyone SHOULD be, it was a MEANINGLESS friendly that had the added benefit of being played away from home, for far too long we have been the world beaters of friendlies. When we start performing and drumming up score lines like that in competitive matches come back and gloat wallis, until then we will all just sit back relax, take a long hard look and realise we are nowhere yet. :)

[tetsujin1979]

Clips from RTE's analysis of the game: http://www.rte.ie/sport/2007/0822/soccer_av.html

[youngirish]

To do, what you are saying is to do what the ENGLISH do and we are not English, we are realistic. We have always been moderate but there is still no excuse for the results against cyprus and san marino, even if you and I were managers.

We are being level-headed as anyone SHOULD be, it was a MEANINGLESS friendly that had the added benefit of being played away from home, for far too long we have been the world beaters of friendlies. When we start performing and drumming up score lines like that in competitive matches come back and gloat wallis, until then we will all just sit back relax, take a long hard look and realise we are nowhere yet. :)
Too true. If we beat the Czechs next month 4-0 then I'll give Stan the credit he deserves.

[NeilMcD]

Lads there will always be disputes between the pessimists and the optomists. Some people like to see the glass half full and others half empty. In the wise words of Paul McCartney, Let it be.

[paul_oshea]

optomists

what are they are they like people that do stuff to your eyes?


Some people like to see the glass half full and others half empty. In the wise words of Paul McCartney, Let it be.



Ya, but I can see a little of what he is saying, a lot of people on here ( the less regular posters i might add ) are yoyo men, yoyo to the extreme, in actual fact they are like Manic depressives in that they can go from one extreme to the other when it comes to slating/gyrating etc.....but i think the more frequent of us here are more grounded etc.

[cavan_fan]

To do, what you are saying is to do what the ENGLISH do and we are not English, we are realistic. We have always been moderate but there is still no excuse for the results against cyprus and san marino, even if you and I were managers.

We are being level-headed as anyone SHOULD be, it was a MEANINGLESS friendly that had the added benefit of being played away from home, for far too long we have been the world beaters of friendlies. When we start performing and drumming up score lines like that in competitive matches come back and gloat wallis, until then we will all just sit back relax, take a long hard look and realise we are nowhere yet. :)

But there was huge criticism of Stan after the Chile and Holland games so you have to treat this the same

[paul_oshea]

cavan_man read my last post!

[cavan_fan]

cavan_man read my last post!

Our posts seem to have crossed each other. Can't beat the day after a match for high activity on the boards, after a summer of the Ian Harte thread I'm glad we have something real to talk about

[paul_oshea]

I'm glad we have something real to talk about

We always have stuff to talk about :D

[Thomo]

2023: GOAL Denmark 0-4 Republic of Ireland
Clever play from Aiden McGeady before a very nice turn and finish from Shane Long. That's the substitute's second of the night. Denmark are supposed to be good.

and who knew long and mcgeady would be playing in 16 years time! bloody clairvoyant bbc! :)

[Noelys Guitar]

Lads there will always be disputes between the pessimists and the optomists. Some people like to see the glass half full and others half empty. In the wise words of Paul McCartney, Let it be.

How dare you tell me to Let it be!

[Stuttgart88]

Just a bit of nitpicking: I don't think the first goal was against the run of play. We had an awful first 10 minutes but had settled and actually started to gain control by the time Robbie scored.

I was in email contact with one of the posters here earlier and said that I think that despite a generally good showing I still am unsure about that midfield in a physical competitive game. My criticism of the Cyprus midfield was that Ireland needs to be accompanied by a physical AND comfortable ball player. KK is physical but not a CM. Potter is accomplished with the ball, and tall but wasn't tested in the cut & thrust of a "real" match.

I maintain that Henderson was unlucky eraly on - a great catch but he had to come through a few players on the way down with his hands well ahead of him. Only if he'd had time to take it into his chest could he have held it. I'm being generous here I suppose but the error was very understandable.

Hunt wasn't great which is a shame. I still think I'd have him in there though. Stan's got a tough job on his hands picking the best XI & he definitely has some decisions to make.

I only saw the last 30 mins of Germany and thought they were poor. Wasn't impressed by Kuranyi at all. Ball retention was appalling and they conceded a handful of gilt-edged chances. Maybe they were better early on, but of course they were missing a few of their best players. They were bloody big though.

Wales had a very good win, it's worth pointing out.

[paul_oshea]

I maintain that Henderson was unlucky eraly on - a great catch but he had to come through a few players on the way down with his hands well ahead of him. Only if he'd had time to take it into his chest could he have held it. I'm being generous here I suppose but the error was very understandable.

There is two ways of reading this, and i never really played in goals, but coming from a gaelic football viewpoint, when jumping for a ball you dont jump behind someone, you put your foot in front of them and use your bodyweight to get in front and THEN jump. Henderson jumped from behind oshea with his arms outstrechted above ( and around ) osheas head, rather than catching from a dropping height ( the ball wasnt coming down rather across ), he needed to step a half a foot further forward before jumping and he would have prevented this. Thats experience though, so if he has learnt from it its the most important thing.

I can see why the indo possibly gave reid only 6, because a lot of his passes did go astray at the same time, i think we read into those 2 goals and assumed he was man of the match, though they were sublime!



I only saw the last 30 mins of Germany and thought they were poor. Wasn't impressed by Kuranyi at all. Ball retention was appalling and they conceded a handful of gilt-edged chances. Maybe they were better early on, but of course they were missing a few of their best players. They were bloody big though.

Yes, but they still won. They always do ( or at least draw ).

Hunt would be good in a game where we are trying to hold onto a lead, rather than a game where we are trying to create scores( so i wouldnt have him starting in slovakia at least ).

[Wolfie]

Just a bit of nitpicking: I don't think the first goal was against the run of play. We had an awful first 10 minutes but had settled and actually started to gain control by the time Robbie scored.

I was in email contact with one of the posters here earlier and said that I think that despite a generally good showing I still am unsure about that midfield in a physical competitive game. My criticism of the Cyprus midfield was that Ireland needs to be accompanied by a physical AND comfortable ball player. KK is physical but not a CM. Potter is accomplished with the ball, and tall but wasn't tested in the cut & thrust of a "real" match.

I maintain that Henderson was unlucky eraly on - a great catch but he had to come through a few players on the way down with his hands well ahead of him. Only if he'd had time to take it into his chest could he have held it. I'm being generous here I suppose but the error was very understandable.

Hunt wasn't great which is a shame. I still think I'd have him in there though. Stan's got a tough job on his hands picking the best XI & he definitely has some decisions to make.

I only saw the last 30 mins of Germany and thought they were poor. Wasn't impressed by Kuranyi at all. Ball retention was appalling and they conceded a handful of gilt-edged chances. Maybe they were better early on, but of course they were missing a few of their best players. They were bloody big though.

Wales had a very good win, it's worth pointing out.

I was impressed with how they weathered the early pressure and began to get a foothold in the game and resisted the temptation to play deep. Danish mistakes helped them gain the foothold yet there was much to be encouraged about.

This will stand them in good stead for the Eastern games as I'd imagine the Slovaks will throw everything at us from the start. The confidence to retain possession and be creative will be crucial.

For the first time in what seems like literally years, he's a couple of options in relation to who populates centre midfield - Andy Reid, Stephen Reid (may not be match fit in time) Carsley, Ireland, Potter, Kilbane.

I thought the full backs were below par last night. Finnan, in fairness, was played on the wrong side and Carr continues to add evidence to the view that his better days are behind him.

In relation to the Germans - Germany's second goal was a great strike from distance. I suppose we'll worry about negotiaing the Eastern games before we contemplate Germany but I've a sneaking suspicion we could cause their back four problems. We'll come back to that one....................

[antrimgreen]

Great result last night glad to see Keane on the score sheet and having a very good game.
My main concern last night was Finnan playing on the left, the Danish cross that resulted in a header that hit the crossbar early on, a left footed player wouldn't have let him go round so easy or get the cross in. It is nothing against Finnan, you can see on the replay he just pokes a right foot at it then is off balance and skinned. Hopefully we can get at least 4 points out of the next 2.

[Réiteoir]

Lads there will always be disputes between the pessimists and the optomists. Some people like to see the glass half full and others half empty. In the wise words of Paul McCartney, Let it be.

The real issue here - is that the glass is twice the size it needs to be...

[TheBoss]

It was a solid enough proformance against a real poor Denmark side, but for once, Ireland took their chances, Ireland rarely score 2 goals away from against any decent opposition, so it is good from that point of view. The defence looked pretty firm, Dunne was super again, O'Shea was a bit lazy at times and Dunne had to cover for him a few times.

[tetsujin1979]

The real issue here - is that the glass is twice the size it needs to be...
Could be that the atmospheric pressure on the water is too high...

[Lionel Ritchie]

Pretty much concur with what TheBoss said a couple of posts back. Great to see us win a game comfortably but we shouldn't let ourselves get carried away over it either.

The lad in goal for Denmark had a bad night and they should have had a honky-tonk piano going whenever he was shown.

He was actually quite unlucky for Robbies second -he'd got his hands to it, Robbie had dived at fresh air and the keeper went and bounced it off Robbies face and in it went.

[geysir]

Who is to say that Robbie was not following the natural instinct of "anticipating the mistake" :)

Anyway, it was good move with the ball hit into a danger area, Robbie flying in, a distraction plus a hinderance to the goalkeepers attempts to clear.

[Stuttgart88]

Who is to say that Robbie was not following the natural instinct of "anticipating the mistake" :)

Anyway, it was good move with the ball hit into a danger area, Robbie flying in, a distraction plus a hinderance to the goalkeepers attempts to clear.Even I couldn't claim he was anticipating that!

Very good football though. I thought our opening goals were all down to McGeady, Reid and Keane understanding each other which has got to be good. For the second, it was a good cross, Keane attacked the space well and we got a bit of luck for it to go in.

I think McGeady deserves great credit for the first, effortlessly taking down and turning after a waist high pass from Carr (?).

[Stuttgart88]

The lad in goal for Denmark He played in goal for Rangers in a CL game a few years back. Venables was on ITV and kept referring to him as "Simonsen" as if all Danes were called Simonsen. God I hate Venables, Stan may have his critics but I couldn't have tolerated Venables.

[Ordinary Fan]

I really enjoyed the game and especially the result. What is rare is wonderful.

The good
Reid's passing (even if it was a bit hit and miss)
Dunne's attitude (a great tackle in the penalty area after the whistle went)
McGeady first time he has 'played' for Ireland
Keane's goals
Long's goals

The bad
Finnan at 'left' fb (must play right)
Carr sad to see him play so poorly
Potter never ruled midfield (how long can Carsley keep going)

[billybunter]

Just curious . . . but what would Keane fetch now if he was transferred? Yakubu is going for £11m and Bent goes for £16m. Just curious. 31 international goals, not far off Michael Owen standards.

i would say he's valued at the 8m mark (which is probably also true of Doyle) The calc is simple, just figure out the real value, then subtract 6m cos he's irish.

[paul_oshea]

Dunne's attitude (a great tackle in the penalty area after the whistle went)


rozendhal (or am I making that up?) had slowed way down, thats the only reason he was able make the tackle!!!

[paul_oshea]

Bendtner then. :)

Btw i didnt mean rommedahl, he left charlton didnt he?

[Nailer77]

Last nights game reminded me of the Sweden one from February last year, in that for all the good things that can come out of a 4-0 victory a better side on a better night could have scored a few against us. The positives were the new lads on show, they all looked full of confidence and like to get on the ball and play, Reids return was encouraging as was the performance of Richard Dunne. The negatives were Carr and the fact that we're having to resort to O'Shea at CB due to a lack of options. I can handle O'Shea at fullback or even grafting in midfield but at CB I just think he's an accident waiting to happen.

[geysir]

I doubt it.
Pity Stan did not play Kilbane at LB a bit longer.
It's ominous that Finnan is playing at LB.

Carr could be sharper but I thought in the 2nd half he improved

[Nailer77]

The sight of Carr in an Ireland shirt pains me. One prize **** if ever there was one. Hope we've seen the last of him.

You'd hope but I doubt it meself. Personally I don't have a massive problem with Finnan at LB, he's done it before and he's fairly comfortable on his left foot but if its being done for the sole purpose of accomodating Carr in the side then whats the f**kin point?

[Noelys Guitar]

I hope Given is back as I do not believe Henderson is good enough for the next 2 games. Potter impressed for me of the recent caps. Reid played well. Momentum for this team is good. With Carsley and hoprefully Given back we have some real hope of 4 points atleast from the next 2 games. We need to start with a quicker tempo. The slowmo stuff we played against Germany away and last night for the first 10 mins will see us a goal down and chasing the game.

[Saint Tom]

I have been a critic of the farcical performance of the team (particularly in the early stages) but I have to say credit where credit is due. With the right attitude going into the big ones in two weeks, we can really take a big step towards qualification. The key is three points in slovakia and then we wont be beaten in Prague, I guarantee

[theworm2345]

two of the goals are online already .. looks like the work of our very own david connolly fan club (the
Worm ;-)

http://www.attachmax.com/Denmark_vs_Republic_of_Ireland_Keane.html

http://www.attachmax.com/Denmark_0_2_Republic_of_Ireland_Keane.html
I didn't upload them, another member of my site (http://www.footballclips.net/forum), FootballHeaven did, herlonger posted these as well
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ve3o2z

[Sligo Hornet]

I have been a critic of the farcical performance of the team (particularly in the early stages) but I have to say credit where credit is due. With the right attitude going into the big ones in two weeks, we can really take a big step towards qualification. The key is three points in slovakia and then we wont be beaten in Prague, I guarantee

In the highly unlikely event you are wrong Tom.......what's the procedure for making a claim against the Guarantee......?;)

[paul_oshea]

LOL great reply hornet!

[Paddy Garcia]

btw, people said our midfield was too light weight in Cyprus which is why we were destroyed. Tonight's midfield was just as light weight imo. What we did have was a tactical awareness though. Reid is just a bloody genius.

Correct & we got away with it tonight cos the Danes were so poor. It will need to be much tighter & more comptitive in the qualifiers. Carsley will be needed. Reid can't do it all on his own.

[onceahoop]

I hope Given is back as I do not believe Henderson is good enough for the next 2 games. Potter impressed for me of the recent caps. Reid played well. Momentum for this team is good. With Carsley and hoprefully Given back we have some real hope of 4 points atleast from the next 2 games. We need to start with a quicker tempo. The slowmo stuff we played against Germany away and last night for the first 10 mins will see us a goal down and chasing the game.

You're right about the tempo Noely. We need to pick it up straight from the start. We're putting ourselves under pressure when we don't, particularly away. Thought Keanes two goals were excellent. Great ball by Reid for the first (good runs make good passes though). Second goal came from great crossfield pass by Reid to McGealy who delivered a great ball to the near post where Robbie Keane did what all great centre forwards do and what heir managers want hem to do. He attacked the post, distracted the keeper and got the bit of look he deserved. At the final whistle it doesn't matter how you got the goals it's how many you got. For the next game Carsley CM to start with Potter as option. Back four Finnan, McShane, Dunne and O'Shea. Hunt was disappointing last night. What's the option? Andy Reid on the left? Kilbane? I think I'd take a chance with Hunt to start. Plenty of options if it doesn't work. As for the result. Success breeds success. Haven't spoken to my Danish friends yet but I bet their not saying "sure it was only a friendly".

[craig7042]

Too true. If we beat the Czechs next month 4-0 then I'll give Stan the credit he deserves.

what if he gets a 1-0 win there?
Did you give him credit for 1-0 v Wales and Slovakia when everyone said we'd be thumped in those games?

Will anyone ever give him credit for anything??

What about credit for the following?

-He's brought a lot of good youngsters in
-He hasnt reacted to the abuse negatively like Mclaren did
-He has kept going through the abuse and got some good results.
-The team spirit is clearly excellent after all the abuse
-good result the other night

[theworm2345]

what if he gets a 1-0 win there?
Did you give him credit for 1-0 v Wales and Slovakia when everyone said we'd be thumped in those games?

Will anyone ever give him credit for anything??

What about credit for the following?

-He's brought a lot of good youngsters in
-He hasnt reacted to the abuse negatively like Mclaren did
-He has kept going through the abuse and got some good results.
-The team spirit is clearly excellent after all the abuse
-good result the other night


We played like **** against Wales and luckily got a result, we certainly did not play great against Slovakia and got a result. We played OK last night but Denmark were just god awful. Against decent opposition maybe Robbie's first could've happened (though I think it could've been saved). As for the youngsters, Doyle was first called up by Kerr, Ireland has been good but he would have been in before if he and Kerr hadn't argued, and Hunt is the only other guy to make his debut under Staunton who I can really remember has made an impact (Long has 3 very fortunate goals, I haven't been overly impressed by him). Stokes, Alan O'Brien, Kelly, etc. have still failed to do anything domestically or internationally (I guess Kelly has done decently but has never been great for Ireland). Don't be blinded by the light, he has done well not responding badly to the criticism but otherwise I will wait until November to judge.

[eirebhoy]

Long has 3 very fortunate goals
:rolleyes:

(For the first time in my life I've felt the need to use that terrible smiley without words)