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We didn't stutter luckily into the play-offs. We finished the group unbeaten and in second position with four points to spare on Bulgaria in third place. That was a strong enough finish to ensure we didn't suffer Norway's fate by being the lowest-ranked second-placed team out of all nine groups. In fact, we were the only second-placed finisher to conclude the group stage unbeaten.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
you get lucky in individual instances, a keeper drops an easy goal, opposition star players misses a sitter, shocking penalty decision, etc, but over the course of a qualifying campaign it has little bearing on the eventual outcomeQuote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
You'd think that Trap had the sole agency on strokes of fortune that happen in a match.
Just how did O'Shea miss that header in Mainz?
Just how did Bulgaria equalise at the last second in Montenegro?
How did Italy manage to score a last gasp winner in Cyprus?
Just how lucky could a team (Italy) get in Georgia, with 2 own goals?
Lets forget all that in a brain fárt and repeat forever the sheep-like mantra 'Trap was lucky'.
Wasn't it at the WC rugby game in Bordeaux where Ireland had all the luck in beating Georgia?
A fair point well argued.Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
I was mixing my qualification campaigns. For some reason I was thinking Russia was in that qualifying campaign as well but that was EURO 2012. Mea culpa!
Yes we were fairly solid and hard to beat in that campaign and I remember, in particular, Stephen Hunt being very effective from set pieces.
I think we've missed a winger who's been good from set pieces since the retirement of Duff and Hunt's dropping
Step forward Mr.R.Brady?
Even the Georgia home game: we had a good goal disallowed and a stonewall penno denied for a foul on Doyle. Ok, they then hit the post at 1-0, we got a soft penalty and Robbie scored with his shoulder!
Even despite the keeper howler in Mainz I thought we fully deserved that win.
For a little bit of nostalgia, here is a thread about one of the last times Reid played for Ireland, which was coincidentally against Germany.
http://foot.ie/threads/73442-Ireland...land+v+germany
Makes you realize what a waste of talent the last 5 years have been, and for anybody that says it was because of Reids weight or being tactical etc they are completely wrong. It was all got to do with stubborn manager who wouldn't bury the hatchet for the good of the team.
When has someone last said of an Irish player 'Like watching Liam Brady in his prime. Brilliant performance from Reid' Noelys Guitar.
Lets reign it in a bit though.. He's undoubtably talented but there's been times over the course of his exclusion where he would have been of little use to us. When he looks back on his overall career he'll have to take more ownership than Trap over how it panned out for club and country. Im sure Trap was only thrilled with how his club career went after the furor of his exclusion from the media and fans. (Myself included)
Reid is in far better form now than he has been for quite some time. I'm sure that Germany game stands out in everybody's mind when remembering his best contribution in green. However, it's not reflective of what he had contributed overall. I like Andy as much as the next man, and he probably would have had something to offer during the past few years. That said, using his relatively recent form and an isolated good performance in a dead rubber from six years ago, to emphasise what a monumental travesty his absence has been, is nonsense really I think. He had got himself into decent shape and was playing great stuff for Sunderland in the PL shortly after being dropped from the Irish setup. He managed to go from that point to a lack of first team football and ultimately to a lower division because he failed to maintain the high standards for very long. It's clearly an unwillingness to put in the hard graft as there's clearly no lack of ability. I'm not saying that he wasn't treated harshly but he didn't help himself one bit.
Sure. Damien Duff was the automatic pick for A. Reid's position in the team. Plenty of good options for wide/ wing positions in the team since Duff's retirement - not sure if A. Reid is one of the better choices. You could play him behind a lone striker but Hoolahan is better suited for that position (and maybe even A. Keogh). Anyways will be interesting to see if King uses him against the Germans and how he uses him in the team.
Reid's good, but bear in mind he's playing the second tier of Eng.football, so it's all relative.
Though comparisons with Andy Keogh are mutually unhelpful...
But room for him and Hoolahan in say a 5-man midfield, along with Gibson, McCarthy & Brady...
Which might of have been a plan for Friday, albeit 'too attacking'...
Can't see Reid Hoolahan and Brady in the same team to be honest. If used It'd be Reid or Hoolahan in a central role, for me. And even then it would mean dropping Robbie to accomadate.
I did say 5, would be the only way. And you'd have to play at least one on the wing...
Don't see why. There're both playing at the same level, Keogh is a few years younger and has a better physique. Playing in the hole is Keogh's natural (only?) position. Sure A. Reid is arguably more talented but that doesn't necessarily make him the better player for the team.Quote:
Originally Posted by ArdeeBhoy
Ask Wolves fans (& Leeds again);limited player with some energy who didn't live up to early potential, but nowhere near the dead-ball technique of Reid and hopefully we can do better than him?
I'm a massive massive fan of Andy as a player and as a person. However, I do think that at club level, he has not reached the peaks that his talent warrants. This doesn't have anything to do with Trap. He was given the platform at Spurs and he didn't take it. I'm not quite sure why as I would have felt that Redknapp would have been the right type of manager for him there. I do sometimes look back at the likes of Barrett (injury), Stephen McPhail (playing British system that didn't suit him) and Reidy and think how much better the BIG could have been over the last 10-13 years.
Anyhow, great to see Reidy back in the team.
Reid left Spurs a couple of years before Redknapp took over. He was bought and sold by Martin Jol.
Yeah he's had quite a few club managers aside from the revolving door at Forest he's had Jol at Spurs; Dowie (very briefly) Les Reid, Alain Pardew and (briefly) Phil Parkinson at Charlton; Keane, Sbragia and Bruce at Sunderland; Speed at Sheffield United and Holloway at Blackpool.
Interview with Notttingham journalist Paul Taylor on Reid's progress this season, makes for interesting reading: http://www.thescore.ie/andy-reid-sco...18397-Oct2013/
There is to be fair a huge difference between the Championship and the Premier League.
AR had a mixed time in the EPL, sometimes good, sometimes not so.
In the EPL you are playing against world class players like Ozil, Van Persie, Suarez and so on. In the Championship you are playing against journey man pros most of the time.
I think that needs to be borne in mind.
Would A R have made a difference against Germany tonight? Of course not. He's good, but he's not that good. The idea that A R would have dictated tonights game is just naive and farcical and like something Dunphy would come out with.