Republic of Ireland V Brazil - Wednesday, 6th February 2008 - Friendly

[Wolfie]

Last night confirmed that there's certainly the nucleous of a decent team for the new manager to work with.

That said - I thought Carsley and Miller failed to impose themselves on the game from an offensive point of view, but they were up against lads of particular technical ability.

If Carsley had a wider range of passsing I think McGeady and Duff may have stole a march on the Brazilian defence on a couple more occasions.

Was encouraged to see Duff show the early signs of regaining the old swagger. He looked somthing remotely near the player he once was in the 2nd half and I'm hoping its match fitness that's keeping from hitting top gear so far.

The next few months are crucial for Duff. A further run of poor performances could see him consigned to the bench for Newcastle as the pressure begins to mount on Keegan. He needs to lift his game on a consistent basis.

Doyle was anonymous last night but that is partly due to the quality of service he got. Would like to see Murphy alongside Keane as a Plan B.

I've criticised Robbie Keanes lacklustre performances in the past but I thought he'd a good game last night and looked sharp.

[Billsthoughts]

First live game with Ireland in just over 15 years and I have a few comments to make.

Ireland are as hopeless tactically as Limerick 37
It really is run at the opposition and hope for the best isn't it?

Brazil's reserve team wanked on what was nearly a full Irish team and could have scored more if they could be arsed
People will call me a wum for saying it, but it's true, and yet a lot of you expect this team to qualify for the world cup

The atmosphere was equal to Limerick playing away to Kilkenny last year

And that's probably doing last year's Kilkenny-Limerick 37 game a diservice. All in all it confirmed why I couldn't give two figs about international football in general and the Republic of Ireland national team in particular

Have to say agree with most of this. Atmosphere at match was non existant. Only had to look at the Brazil fans for a comparison. A lad I work who is a Real Sociedad fan went to the match. His first time seeing Ireland. He couldnt get over how technically inept they were. He was genuinely baffled at the way they played or attempted to play that is. What we saw last nite and what we have seen for a long time has been below par. Is it too much to ask that our international team can put their foot on the ball and use it intelligently? Its got nothing to do with being positive Neil or wanting to be part of some utopian irish fan society you are trying to build (probably best not call it "Neilstown" btw.) As for Mageady he did beat men but running diagnolly accross midfield will tend to do that. no end product tho. impact sub at best.

[eirebhoy]

I was relating it to the term 'brainless winger' - not sure if you've heard it before - harks back to the days when wingers were more popular -not necessarily meaning the bloke hasn't got a brain.

Just think he could employ his brain bit more in defensive situations, provide some cover, help out his left back and mark players!!!! Maybe he doesn't have to do too much of that in the SPL, maybe I expect to much of a left midfielder then at Intl level...Halleluiah!
Nah he wouldn't get a sniff under Strachan if he didn't work back off the ball. He'll always track back for Celtic when they don't have possession. He picked up 6 bookings and a suspension fairly quickly this season, most of them for badly timed tackles. He's not a great defender but he doesn't lack the effort. Duff I thought was brilliant tracking back last night though.

Can't believe the lack of enthusiasm towards McGeady's performance last night by a few on here. Celtic fans must have much, much lower standards than Ireland fans because that was McGeady in form last night.

[paul_oshea]

McGeady - I'd go with him for motm (Dunne being the other contender). He beat the Brazilians with ease and rarely failed to find an Irish player with a pass.

In the second half, duff was better and overall in that half made more of a contribution than mcgeady did in both halves I reckon, what I will say for mcgeady was that he brought relief to the backs by charging up midfield, but the end product was not there on most occassions, I know whelan got a bit of a b in his bonnet about it, but I was in agreement with him, Mcgeady needs to learn when to fire the trigger. That pass to duff was a clear example 3 touches too many, when duff should have been played through way earlier, though hopefully thats just experience and he will learn - then again he has been playing CL for the last 3 years now so maybe its not.

Have to say was very impressed with Duff when he got a bit of confidence, wasn't afraid to have a go like the old duff. I am really worried about our defence though, we were very poor, anyone who cant see that doesn't realise that brazil good have if they really pushed got 3 past us.

Hunt - well this was the fear i had about him, he can be a breath of fresh air but he can be frustrating, his one dimension football was easily sussed out by Brazil. Though that run with the head down and ball in his feet was good and brought a smile. I think impact sub is definitely his best position.

Again, midfield is the big big problem, we create very few striker-goal-scoring opportunites because keane and even doyle have to play so deep cos no presence in midfield. You never see Ireland construct a passing movement through the midfield that ends up in a near goal, its always down the wings, whereas almost everything in the u21 game came through the midfield first ( like EB said earlier ). That is a promising sign and hopefully these lads will continue onto the senior team and in another year ( halfway through the campaign ) we could have a very well balanced team.

[NeilMcD]

Have to say agree with most of this. Atmosphere at match was non existant. Only had to look at the Brazil fans for a comparison. A lad I work who is a Real Sociedad fan went to the match. His first time seeing Ireland. He couldnt get over how technically inept they were. He was genuinely baffled at the way they played or attempted to play that is. What we saw last nite and what we have seen for a long time has been below par. Is it too much to ask that our international team can put their foot on the ball and use it intelligently? Its got nothing to do with being positive Neil or wanting to be part of some utopian irish fan society you are trying to build (probably best not call it "Neilstown" btw.) As for Mageady he did beat men but running diagnolly accross midfield will tend to do that. no end product tho. impact sub at best.

It was a joke Bill.

[citizenerased]

I thought Miller was good(bar one concession of play) before h came off injured, he was very tidy on the ball and his passing was neat.

Thought McGeady was good,,excellent at beating his man, but his final ball was poor on many occasion.

O'Shea and Dunne partnership is far more reassuring than having McShame in there.

Robbie was quiet but worked tirelessly and tried some inventive passing!

[eirebhoy]

In the second half, duff was better and overall in that half made more of a contribution than mcgeady did in both halves I reckon, what I will say for mcgeady was that he brought relief to the backs by charging up midfield, but the end product was not there on most occassions, I know whelan got a bit of a b in his bonnet about it, but I was in agreement with him, Mcgeady needs to learn when to fire the trigger. That pass to duff was a clear example 3 touches too many, when duff should have been played through way earlier
That's the only example really. At the time I thought he had his down purely to beat his man for pace. I definitely want to see it again. He's not that type of player that doesn't realise the runs his teammates are making. He usually always has his head up. He tried a cross in the first half which he scuffed low into the box but that's the only time he didn't find an Irish player with his final ball from what I can remember. You can't just ignore Duff's poor first half and say he was better overall.

Obviously I'm biased when it comes to McGeady but I don't think it clouds my judgement. Hopefully not anyway. I'd like someone to provide more examples of his poor final ball. I'm gonna watch the match again anyway.

[elroy]

Few points:

Better from McGeady, but his end product is still missing. Ive noticed he does it alot for celtic as well - long charging runs and then loses the ball when he shouldve passed alot earlier.

O'Shea: His best position imo is centre half, played ok, at fault for diving in which lead to the space for the goal.

Kelly: Did well, few errors but is improving and looks to be a good option for the future.

Miller: Few nice touches, carried the ball well but lost it too easily at times and pushed off the ball too easily as well.

Duff: Great to see him back, he's not long back from injury and did well considering.

Keane: Works his socks off with little supply, easily our best striker.

Doyle: Im really starting to doubt this guy, hes having a poor season and ive never seen anything to convince me he's near as good as Keane. Ive seen him play right wing for Reading once or twice and I wonder would he be better used there?

Poor atmosphere, imo croker isnt really suited to football plus loads of day trippers. In summary its a friendly 7 months before our next real game so not a huge lot to be drawn from it.

Saw the highlights on rte after, looks like the rte boys are very keen on a Trap and Brady management team.

[Stuttgart88]

He couldnt get over how technically inept they were. He was genuinely baffled at the way they played or attempted to play that is. What we saw last nite and what we have seen for a long time has been below par. Is it too much to ask that our international team can put their foot on the ball and use it intelligently? Agree to a large extent but what many here have pointed out that it's a dearth of central midfielders that is the root of the problem. Central midfield is so sub-standard that the rest of the team struggles to function. CM should be a conduit from the back 4 to the front 2 or the wide men. I also think that speculative rather than measured passing is far too common in our game. Full backs chipping the ball 30 yards up the touchline, Carsley thinking he's Tom Brady picking out Robbie Keane from 40 yards etc.

Bill, did you see the U21 game? From the start Ireland set about playing a crisp, up-tempo passing game and having seen the drivel we've seen from the senior team in the last few years it was really good to see. You might even have liked it.

As for the atmosphere: it was an exhibition match with even less meaning than the usual friendlies as there was no manager in place. When the Bulgarians or others come to town with something for us to play for it'll be a different story. You don't tend to get an atmosphere at club friendlies either and I'll bet there wasn't much atmosphere at many of the other friendlies last night.

Croker is too big for us in my opinion anyway. Many have criticised the capacity of the new Lansdowne as beeing too small, I think it's just right.

I didn't realise Neil was joking. I was putting Tuesday nights into my diary :(

[eirebhoy]

I'm not being intentionally negative but thought Miller was muck - tried to walk the ball out of defence on numerous occassions and was caught! To do that against any opposition at intl level is foolish but against the Samba Boys in second gear - arrogant at best! He will not be a regular in the next set-up.

I think alot of people are looking for the best in a bad situation and that's understandable I guess but not great by any means.

Hoop-tinted glasses are obviously all the rage :rolleyes:
Sunderland wear hoops? :)

[paul_oshea]

He tried a cross in the first half which he scuffed low into the box but that's the only time he didn't find an Irish player with his final ball from what I can remember. You can't just ignore Duff's poor first half and say he was better overall.

Ya that could be true, cos he kept doing too much and lost it and didnt get a chance to pass!!! running inside in a diagnoal, though some of this may somewhat be down to the lack of running from other players.

[jbyrne]

I thought Kilbane might be our best bet for Left Full, but he was absolutely atrocious tonight defensively. Can anybody explain why Duff was played on the right and he's left footed and vice versa with mcgeady....MADNESS

some people just can see past their one sided pre-conceived view of players. kilbane had a fine game last night and was more than adequate at full back. brought mcgeady into the game very well at times with accurate passing.

mcgeady is two footed we are told but prefers his left. he is not predominantly right footed though

[eirebhoy]

mcgeady is two footed we are told but prefers his left.
Prefers his right. When he plays on the right he'll play more as a winger. On the left he'll come inside more which is best in terms of shooting, through balls and link up.

[paul_oshea]

Saw the highlights on rte after, looks like the rte boys are very keen on a Trap and Brady management team.

do ye think thats why he isn't on the panel at the moment?! or at least last night?!

[eirebhoy]

do ye think thats why he isn't on the panel at the moment?! or at least last night?!
He was commentating.

[Billsthoughts]

Agree to a large extent but what many here have pointed out that it's a dearth of central midfielders that is the root of the problem. Central midfield is so sub-standard that the rest of the team struggles to function. CM should be a conduit from the back 4 to the front 2 or the wide men. I also think that speculative rather than measured passing is far too common in our game. Full backs chipping the ball 30 yards up the touchline, Carsley thinking he's Tom Brady picking out Robbie Keane from 40 yards etc.

Bill, did you see the U21 game? From the start Ireland set about playing a crisp, up-tempo passing game and having seen the drivel we've seen from the senior team in the last few years it was really good to see. You might even have liked it.

As for the atmosphere: it was an exhibition match with even less meaning than the usual friendlies as there was no manager in place. When the Bulgarians or others come to town with something for us to play for it'll be a different story. You don't tend to get an atmosphere at club friendlies either and I'll bet there wasn't much atmosphere at many of the other friendlies last night.

Croker is too big for us in my opinion anyway. Many have criticised the capacity of the new Lansdowne as beeing too small, I think it's just right.

I didn't realise Neil was joking. I was putting Tuesday nights into my diary :(

No didnt see the U21 game. Dont have sky. Atmosphere poor at most games bar the Czech Republic home one. Who played in midfield for U21s? any chance of them coming thru in this campaign?

If a lad from San Sebastien is shocked at the lack of technical ability of the Irish team("they dont seem to play with...." and then he tapped his head and made a confused expression!) what is trappatoni going to make of them?

Oh I didnt think Neil was an actual person? I thought he was just a comic creation..

[eirebhoy]

Reid, Garvan and Ireland would make a huge difference to us in terms of technical ability to add to Duff, McGeady and Keane. I wouldn't worry about that.

[Billsthoughts]

Reid, Garvan and Ireland would make a huge difference to us in terms of technical ability to add to Duff, McGeady and Keane. I wouldn't worry about that.

I think Cyprus away proved that alrite...

[eirebhoy]

I think Cyprus away proved that alrite...
Cyprus away is the answer for every argument. :) We played a central midfield of Ireland and Kilbane against Cyprus. I predicted before the match that it was doomed to fail. Between them they've got none of the positional sense needed to play central midfield. Kilbane doesn't do a bad job when he's following someone elses lead but when he has to figure out by himself what positions he should be in he's lost.

[geysir]

some people just can see past their one sided pre-conceived view of players. kilbane had a fine game last night and was more than adequate at full back. brought mcgeady into the game very well at times with accurate passing.
Most will root for Kilbane regardless of opinions and his 15 seconds was well deserved. I thought he did a little better last night but as his club manager said, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to work out that he is not a natural full back.

[geysir]

do ye think thats why he isn't on the panel at the moment?! or at least last night?!
I interpreted Brady's co commentating for RTE last night as a diplomatic move to take Brady out of the inevitable studio debate on the new manager.
I'm always looking for signs :)

[Billsthoughts]

Cyprus away is the answer for every argument. :) We played a central midfield of Ireland and Kilbane against Cyprus. I predicted before the match that it was doomed to fail. Between them they've got none of the positional sense needed to play central midfield. Kilbane doesn't do a bad job when he's following someone elses lead but when he has to figure out by himself what positions he should be in he's lost.

You give the ball away cheaply and sooner or later you will be exposed. In Cyprus we were exposed big time. But it had been coming for years. We really nead to look at what we do when we have the ball as opposed to what we do when we dont.

[Stuttgart88]

Garvan, O'Toole and Quinn were superb on Tuesday. Your mate from san Sebastien would have been impressed. McCaffrey deserves credit for telling them how to go about it and the lads played with a confidence and willingness to pass until they just got knackered.

I know I look at things through green tinted specs and a strong dose of valium but these lads have what it takes, Quinn maybe lacking the physique but certainly not the energy and mobility. Both O'Toole and Garvan are proper athletes.

[Billsthoughts]

I dont doubt they were good on tuesday. Fond memories of watching Ireland under 20s in malaysia(on telly). first time I had ever seen an Irish team play football the way the rest of the world does.
Who is O Toole? who does he play for?

[John83]

Anderson getting the biggest cheer of the night coming on, presumably because hes a united player.


Discuss
He also got one of the biggest boos of the night for the same reason. It's pathetic.

[Ozymandias]

I dont doubt they were good on tuesday. Fond memories of watching Ireland under 20s in malaysia(on telly). first time I had ever seen an Irish team play football the way the rest of the world does.
Who is O Toole? who does he play for?

Watford

[Stuttgart88]

Fond memories of watching Ireland under 20s in malaysia yeah, but the atmosphere was crap :)

[Billsthoughts]

yeah, but the atmosphere was crap :)
your sig....;)

[paul_oshea]

I interpreted Brady's co commentating for RTE last night as a diplomatic move to take Brady out of the inevitable studio debate on the new manager.
I'm always looking for signs

exactly what i was thinking, i saw him up commentating alright, and was pleasantly surprised to see him there!!!

[Bondvillain]

He looked a bit embarrassed about being on the big screen alright.

[Stuttgart88]

Was anyone at the Romania game in Genoa? 60 mins or so before KO Brady's mug game up on the big screens at the corners of the ground, with headphones and a mike as he was working for Italian TV. The Irish started singing "Liamo" or "One Liam Brady" and he couldn't stop smirking. Special moment.

[Torn-Ado]

I'll say it again for the millionth time. We need a big guy up front. Every set piece, cross and long ball we had no chance. How many crosses went in yesterday and how many did we actually win?

Keane and Doyle has never looked like it would work, especially with a crap central midfield.

[paul_oshea]

Was anyone at the Romania game in Genoa? 60 mins or so before KO Brady's mug game up on the big screens at the corners of the ground, with headphones and a mike as he was working for Italian TV. The Irish started singing "Liamo" or "One Liam Brady" and he couldn't stop smirking. Special moment.

was it not the BBC?! "Go on Dave, knock it in"


EDIT: yes it was : http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=394220&page=2

[DeNiro]

Was at the game. I thought we were poor. Atmosphere was shocking as well. Has anyone ever noticed the amount of movement there is with people. I never saw that at Lansdowne. I know it was a significantly lower capacity but it seems quite bizarre. Almost boredom ;). I think Croke Park is our bandwagon home, a lot of supporters may not get tickets in the New Lansdowne (that could be good or bad), but the atmosphere should improve. Although I've noticed a downward change in atmosphere since the 4-0 Holland game, Slovakia being the exception to that.

[Torn-Ado]

Before everyone goes blaming the stadium for the bad atmosphere, people must also remember that the team is sh*te and it hard to get excited about a sh*te team.

When or If we ever improve and play well then I'm sure the supporters will change their tune.

[Seagull]

Would anyone have the line-ups of both teams last night with squad numbers? Cheers, it's for my young lad- wants to fill in his programme at this stage!

[danonion]

Would anyone have the line-ups of both teams last night with squad numbers? Cheers, it's for my young lad- wants to fill in his programme at this stage!

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=235247&cc=5901

ESPN has the players with their squad numbers but doesn't have a diagram of their exact position on the pitch.

[lilywhite stu]

It seems impossible to create any kind of atmosphere at Croke park unless the game is really important and we're winning (Slovakia last year was electric).I stood on the North Terrace when we played Brazil the last time and there was constant noise; sure there was no jacks and you couldn't wander off to buy hot dogs or popcorn but it was still so much better than last night. It doesn't help that everyones miles from the pitch and the Irish songs they usually play before the game got relaced by Take That and Euromillions and Eircom ads played at earsplitting volume. It would also be nice if the country we love wasn't referred to as "the Republic of Ireland sponsored by Eircom" at every opportunity. Sell the name of the new stadium if you like but not the name of the f***ing country!

[Scooby Doo]

Before everyone goes blaming the stadium for the bad atmosphere, people must also remember that the team is sh*te and it hard to get excited about a sh*te team.

When or If we ever improve and play well then I'm sure the supporters will change their tune.

what your just after saying is what i think is the major problem with our fans. Its not over-expectation or that the team is sh!te. we're all great fans, best in the world and all that sh!te when we're winning but when its not going well the atmosphere at games is crap. our squad has alot of talent - all fit and on form - one of the top ten in europe, easily! the problem is the lack of decent manager and and the incompetant freeloaders at the FAI. Our supporters should be focusing their frustration and anger at the FAI which is a farce, instead of complaining that our team is sh!te. SA 2010 should be our teams peak, but our best chance of doing well in a competition for what could be a long time to come is being seriously hampered by those who claim to have Irish footballs best interest at heart. Its not the Irish team thats sh!te, just everything else!

[John83]

It seems impossible to create any kind of atmosphere at Croke park unless the game is really important and we're winning (Slovakia last year was electric).I stood on the North Terrace when we played Brazil the last time and there was constant noise; sure there was no jacks and you couldn't wander off to buy hot dogs or popcorn but it was still so much better than last night. It doesn't help that everyones miles from the pitch and the Irish songs they usually play before the game got relaced by Take That and Euromillions and Eircom ads played at earsplitting volume. It would also be nice if the country we love wasn't referred to as "the Republic of Ireland sponsored by Eircom" at every opportunity. Sell the name of the new stadium if you like but not the name of the f***ing country!
Those ads are getting more and more annoying. They're actually distracting during the game. At least American football has the decency to stop the game first.

[Bottle of Tonic]

I see this has turned into a bit of a 'McGeady no end product' thread.
Sure you could say that about anyone. Keane had a good game but didn't score - no end product. Doyle was brutal and had no end product. The midfielders created nothing - no end product. Given let in a goal - no end product. McGeady beats a man to the byline and puts in a poor ball. A nation collectively sighs - ''ahhh, ol McGeady - no end product". Forget about everything else he does. Skill, touch, throughballs, little slipped passes, driving runs......

honestly its like reading a Celtic forum from a couple of years ago.

As EB says, the analysis on him is written before a ball is kicked.

[OwlsFan]

Shock horror. Headline news:

ATMOSPHERE AT FRIENDLY CR*P

In all my years of following Ireland, with the exception of friendlies against England, the atmosphere at friendlies has been dead. It is the nature of the beast. There is nothing at stake. Nothing to get the adrenalin flowing.

Put some meaningful points to contest for and it's a different ballgame. Such is life and I am amazed that anyone is surprised . It has always been like that. And we also didn't boo our team unlike the English fans when they started playing it around at the back :rolleyes:

[geysir]

I see this has turned into a bit of a 'McGeady no end product' thread. ....
Sure you could say that about anyone. honestly its like reading a Celtic forum from a couple of years ago.....
As EB says, the analysis on him is written before a ball is kicked.

:confused:
Has paranoia taken you over. There is no pleasing some people until the whole world agrees with them.
Have you read the thread or just focussed on the 2 or 3 posters who were negative about McGeady?
The vast majority of posters on this thread thought that McGeady had from a good game to MOM.

[Scooby Doo]

'And we also didn't boo our team unlike the English fans when they started playing it around at the back ':rolleyes:

To be honest i was cringing, waiting for the boos at the final whistle. i was surprised and relieved when they didnt come.

[kev mcq]

As some have said the atmosphere was crap, but every friendly I've been at has been terrible, this was no different to the Brazil game 4 years ago. Yet again it took less than 20 minutes for the mexican wave to get going, really ****es me off and it always starts where I sit (Cusack/Canal corner).

On a more serious note, I think the stewarding needs to be improved drastically. The amount of bottles flying around the place was unreal, and it's getting worse with every game. But the stewards are busy watching the game. There was a row of young lads in front of me throwing stuff (toffees, brocken sticks from flag poles, t-shirts :rolleyes:) the whole first half and 3 of us told them to stop at different times and we eventually had to call a steward over to get them to stop.
Then a fight broke out down in front, with 2 young scumbags punching the heads off each other - they were dragged out by the guards.
at the end of the match in the concourse behind section 311 (I think) there was a lad shouting for anyone to fight him. Someone eventually stood up to him and your man's scumbag friend comes in from the side and head-butts the lad who had done nothing. They all leg it down the steps and off home. Scumbags :mad: People are talking on another thread about a scumbag element in the away support, but it's in the home suport too.

[NeilMcD]

Its the kids that start it.

[kev mcq]

Its the kids that start it.

I know, young lad behind me every two minutes "let's do the mexican wave". and then of course they boo and shout "who arreeee ya" when it doesn't take off :rolleyes:

[Seagull]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=235247&cc=5901

ESPN has the players with their squad numbers but doesn't have a diagram of their exact position on the pitch.

Ta for that.

[Naitch]

I wish people would just understand the atmosphere was crap because it was a friendly its the same as any other country, England,Wales,Scotland,France,Spain etc all these countries have ****e atmospheres.

[Jicked]

In any of the other stands were the aisles full with people sitting in them? I was in the Davin and the whole place was choked up because of lads sitting in the aisles all the way up. Not sure whether there was a problem with tickets or they just had seats away from their mates and wanted to sit beside them. Bloody nuisance though.