Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane

[Paddy Garcia]

I agree. Trap must be applauded for bequething a group with such potential.

I'm not sure but think that your tongue is in cheek again? And I'd fully agree if it was!

[Stuttgart88]

It was!

[ArdeeBhoy]

Keane bookies' fave to manage(d) Celtic.

Hopefully, wrong. Definitely don't want that ****

[Paddy Garcia]

Hopefully, wrong. Definitely don't want that ****

Well one way or another we have him!

[ArdeeBhoy]

Agreed, but if a certain person was to manage the Irish team, I'd feel exactly the same way...

[geysir]

I'm not sure but think that your tongue is in cheek again? And I'd fully agree if it was!

Yes, but the named players in question have undoubtably improved their position at their clubs this season, along with the few players like Hendricks coming through. That leaves the team/squad in a stronger situation than it had been in Trap's last campaign.That means O'Neill is not taking over a dying team out on its feet, but a team which should be at least as competitive as they were in Trap's 3 campaigns, with a bit of organisation. There is more life growing than is dying in the team.
O'Neill and his back room staff are supposed to organise what's available to them.
The players come in almost fully formed, for better and for worse and any development they do is done at their clubs but the intl experience usually helps.

What usually comes to pass in a new manager first year, in the main, the old issues were not all the last manager's fault, eg the crowds not turning up in numbers for friendlies, Shane Long missing sitters, a centre half bird watching.

[Paddy Garcia]

Agree for most of those players - though I don't think Whelan and Delaney are the future.

The key challenges are the spine, specifically replacing Keane and Dunne with the same quality - but McCarthy is looking good to shore up centre-mid.

Jack's squad (& to a certain extent Mick) was boosted every 18-24 months with the emergence of 1 or 2 (even 3 on occasions Kelly, McAteer & Babb) genuine contenders for first team places.

[geysir]

The future is the campaign for 2016 and my point is that Whelan and Delaney have improved their standing with their clubs while facing new stronger challenges, they have not gotten worse.
Whether their ability is good enough is another question.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Delaney is possibly our only short-term bet defensively....see Saturday's match programme...especially as reckon Dunne will do well to last the full campaign.
Hopefully Duffy will soon be good enough too...

[paul_oshea]

Yes, but the named players in question have undoubtably improved their position at their clubs this season, along with the few players like Hendricks coming through. That leaves the team/squad in a stronger situation than it had been in Trap's last campaign.That means O'Neill is not taking over a dying team out on its feet, but a team which should be at least as competitive as they were in Trap's 3 campaigns, with a bit of organisation. There is more life growing than is dying in the team.
O'Neill and his back room staff are supposed to organise what's available to them.
The players come in almost fully formed, for better and for worse and any development they do is done at their clubs but the intl experience usually helps.

Nothing in the team comes close to Trap taking over with the likes of Duff, Keane, Dunne, O'Shea and Given, with that level of skill, talent and experience(and age). Trap had it far better coming in, he had a very strong spine with great experience. You are giving me the impression that you have some sort of agenda regarding O'Neill and his term as manager, something to fall back on if he doesnt succeed in his stated mission to qualify Ireland for the Euros.

[geysir]

Nothing in the team comes close to Trap taking over with the likes of Duff, Keane, Dunne, O'Shea and Given, with that level of skill, talent and experience(and age). Trap had it far better coming in, he had a very strong spine with great experience. You are giving me the impression that you have some sort of agenda regarding O'Neill and his term as manager, something to fall back on if he doesnt succeed in his stated mission to qualify Ireland for the Euros.

Unlike some I'm backing us to qualify, we have the players and management team to do so, it's the easiest qualification criteria in history and I believe O'Neill can do it with a bit of managerial nous and I believe he has been given more than enough support to get us to qualify.
If he doesn't do it, it will rank as major failure. There's nothing for me to fall back upon as I have stated my opinion.
My opinion may be faulty as we may not qualify and O'Neill did his best with what he had.

I think it was you Paul who found fault or something up with a point I made once, that even in his worst epl season, off form and injury hit, Robbie was still better than Long. In the light of what you now write, I think you must have failed to grasp the point at that time or couldn't resist being sarcy.
Robbie and Duff both had passed their career peak at various times during Trap's first campaign.
But even in the autumn of their careers, Duff and Keane were still well ahead of what we have now and Trap knew their worth at the time.
Givens' quality was on the wane in or around 2011 and he became a liability.

Now we have a squad of players who are improving, we have different strengths, especially in midfield and O'Neill has more than enough to mould a competitive team.
If Scotland are supposed to be the team with their modest bunch then surely we can as well.

[ArdeeBhoy]

The glass is definitely half-full...

[Stuttgart88]

I think the positives are that Gibson, McCarthy, Brady and Reid all ought to be fit in the autumn. These will enhance our options.

We need to solve the left back problem pronto. Maybe Clark will step up in the US. Ward is a terrific bloke but he fills me with fear. I also really want to see someone make a compelling case to displace Whelan.

Although Georgia away is no gimme, the likelihood is that Oman, Georgia and Gib will mean we have a run of form going into the big games in October and November.

We need to start taking chances and cutting out the sloppy errors that cost us needless goals in the last two friendlies.

There is a lot of responsibility on MON to both devise a style of play and to make sure the players implement it.

But I agree with Ardee, the glass probably is half full. I want to see evidence it's not going to fall over though, which it might.

[paul_oshea]

Enhance our options, but all about the same level of mediocrity that in the past havent really made much of a difference, they assimilate easily into and out of the team, neither missed or needed.

[Stuttgart88]

I think the 4 mentioned above would all have added something to what we put out in the last two friendlies.

Anyway, RTE all over the Keane - Celtic thing. Press conf later tonight apparently.

However, SSN hadn't mentioned anything at all.