The team-spirit we currently have is a joy to behold. A serious amount of absolute stalwarts on this team now. I've fallen hard in love with Stephen Hunt. I love the way he laughs and smiles when he gets involved with the ref or the opposition, he's a gas character.
watching it on TG4. Jaysus Seán Bán Breathnach could sound a bit more excited about Andrews' goal
Seán Bán Breathnach commentating on TG4 just sounds weird....
A lesson tonight for the "tired" lads about pride in the jersey. Fantastic committment and organisation from all Invilved. This end of season get together over the last few weeks could be the making of this irish squad
1:19 Hunt kicks Cox.Quote:
Originally Posted by French Toasht
Also at previously I made a comment about the defense being like the red arrows display team, now
take a look at 0.09 may just be pure coincidence but it looks like there are in some sort of formation there?
You only catch a glimpse of it but it looks like a formation with 5 players equal spaced in a V or a circle
and Andrews at the head of it.
Probably just me going nuts though ;)
did anyone else notice, at half time, Tardelli turned and shook Trapattoni's hand, but he was sat in the dug out and just shook it calmly?
Very good result considering the team we had out
I think Trap was remaining calm out of respect to his homeland which to me is a positive mark of the man. When a player scores against his old club and doesn't celebrate he is commended, Trap should be too for his composure. As the commentator on Sky said, he was probably doing cartwheels inside as on top of everything else, it keeps his status amongst the Italian media as a Legend. Italy havent defeated Ireland under Trap in 3 outings, that's a commendable statistic for any manager.
Just back from Liege, dry but not sure how.
Fair play to the side tonight - our lads made a great effort to entertain the few hundred Irish instead of the lazy Itialians who didn't try at all for the 20,000 that showed up. Thought St. Ledger was excellent, but all our defenders were comfortable throughout. Even Paul "Messi" McShane looked good at times. Very compact all over the pitch which is something I haven't seen before - makes the Russia performance all the more puzzling - if we can maintain this spirit and a bit of luck with injuries, no reason why we could not top the group.
OK, I'll start with the negatives.
Passing & ball retention. Flippin' awful.
Foley looked lost I thought.
But that's all.
The positives:
Hunt.
We are very solid without the ball.
We have credible back up in most positions. The less appreciated players like O'Dea and McShane both did pretty well, and Ward did fine tonight.
For years we have been lacking in character and leadership. This team, without Dunne, Given, Robbie and Doyle - all strong characters - had real bottle about them. Sleeves up, stuck in, concentrated, disciplined, organised and committed. A team fill of winners and full of personality.
2 more goals. I don't know how we do it, but this team has goals in it.
The result doesn't count for a whole lot, but the last 2 weeks has seen game time and new caps for important fringe players, a great bonding exercise and a great confidence booster.
Hunt again.
I'm well chuffed. I agree with PO'S that qualification is the yardstick but right now I've a lot of belief in Trap.
Depends how long "God knows how long" is. Amsterdam 2004? Denmark 2007?Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
Patenaccio? (an old Stuttgart joke re-hashed)Quote:
Originally Posted by ken foree
Is the current forward roster the best we've ever had - in terms of strength in depth? OK, so the likes of Quinn, Stapleton, Aldo etc. were all greats, but they weren't all at their peak at the same time. Put another way, are our 5th and 6th best forwards the best 5th and 6th best we've ever had? You know what I mean...
Robbie
Doyle
Long
Cox
Walters
Best
Then Hunt, Keogh, Murphy. Sammon too. Cheerio Stokes.
Just as a matter of interest , was Noel hunt injured or just not selected ?
Just not selected in the squad.Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
Avoided the score all afternoon here in New York and just watched the whole thing on TG4. Glad to say I had a little touch on Ireland to win at 4/1.
Despite lots of people claiming these matches were meaningless it has been one of the most beneficial two weeks I can remember. Apart from the crucial 3 points on Saturday we managed 4 clean sheets and opportunities for most of the squad to get matches under their belt. This will all stand to us in September.
Sean Ban Breathnach is clueless but did find a few new players - Chris Andrews, Steven Cox, Simon Treacy!!!! What's the Irish for muppet?
The camera picked out one of the Irish fans wearing a black teeshirt with Real Ale in bold type.Quote:
Originally Posted by Real ale Madrid
Sin Sin, I really enjoyed that. Has to be one of the best performances in a friendly.
I thought our passing was better than saturday. I'd say we hit the highest nr of completed passes made in ages.
Sean Ban's commentary - names and pronunciation were incidental.
Very pleased with the effort of Keogh, more so in the 1st half. McShane, the droch passes aside, did well. Coleman just grew into the game especially 2nd half. Forde had a very solid game, sucked every last second from his kick outs.
Excellent performance. Nothing more to be said.
Muipéad! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by EastTerracer
Not selected, scored in the play off final though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
I follow him on twitter, daft as a brush!
few people saying the Italian team were sub par or weakened
Baring this in mind I had a look at how each player did this season at club level, taking in stats from wikipedia and soccernet
Compared to a full strength team, yes they were lacking, but if we had any player with over 30 games in Serie A they'd be straight into the first team, no questionCode:Name Age Caps Club 2010/2011 Appearances/goals*
Emiliano Viviano 25 6 Bologna 16th in Serie A** 40/0
Alessandro Gamberini 29 8 Fiorentina 9th in Serie A 35/1
Giorgio Chiellini 26 42 Juventus 7th in Serie A 49/4
Domenico Criscito 24 15 Genoa 10th in Serie A 42/0
Mattia Cassani 27 8 Palermo 8th in Serie A 47/0
Andrea Pirlo 32 74 AC Milan 1st in Serie A 33/2
Claudio Marchisio 25 13 Juventus 7th in Serie A 37/4
Antonio Nocerino 26 5 Palermo 8th in Serie A 38/4
Riccardo Montolivo 26 24 Fiorentina 9th in Serie A 37/2
Giampaolo Pazzini 26 18 Inter 2nd in Serie A 40/12
Giuseppe Rossi 24 23 Villareal 4th in La Liga 57/32
Subs
Federico Balzaretti 29 4 Palermo 8th in Serie A 43/2
Angelo Palombo 29 22 Sampdoria 18th in Serie A 46/1
Alberto Gilardino 28 47 Fiorentina 9th in Serie A 41/13
Alessandro Matri 26 2 Juventus 7th in Serie A 38/20
Sebastian Giovinco 24 4 Parma 12th in Serie A 30/7
*including international appearances
**would have been 14th deducted 3 points this season