Yeah, France > Poland for me too.
Pity there's nothing too appealing for the next eight years at least. Some mini trips for the spread out Euros maybe, if we get there.
Yeah, France > Poland for me too.
Pity there's nothing too appealing for the next eight years at least. Some mini trips for the spread out Euros maybe, if we get there.
Yes, the gang of us who went pretty much agreed that this could be the last journey of its kind for sometime.
I am not sure he was defeatist after the substitution, we were so porous, and the CBs were falling apart, which I hope was just tiredness. But the rest is completely correct, Italy did it yesterday as early as needed for De Rossi when he wasn't fully at the races because of injury or whatever. I really think around the 50/55 mark he needed to change one of our midfielders because they were dead on their feet. THen we had 2 more subs to make, once duffy was sent off with the subs it was almost impossible to do anything tactically from a subs point of view. I do feel Oneill got it wrong, badly wrong. If we were fully fit and no fatigue then his subs were perfect, but he needed to be more proactive as you say, many fans would probably have questioned it but I think it would have shown he was aware of the players tiredness and was actively fixing it before it became an issue.Quote:
As for O'Neill, I'm not willing to get too jizztastic about him, because frankly I think he's not great tactically, but he sure has a knack of getting players to perform for him, and ultimately he's recorded our greatest result in the European Championships (allowing of course for a huge asterisk in terms of format).
I worry about his substitutions, and unfortunately I think he is too reactive when the pressure is on rather than proactive. Obviously that's a subjective opinion. I appreciate that he may have been hamstrung on Hendrick (and some players general fitness - McCarthy, Ward to name two) in that Hendrick was immobile for a considerable time after his 'dead' leg, yet McCarthy looked out on his feet. So I can appreciate to an extent why he waited. But to let France force the matter as much as they did isn't acceptable I believe, and I think player fatigue masks some of it to be honest.
I can only think, because he saw that we had been creating chances that he thought he could nick another goal and didn't feel a change was required, but it was because there was nothing left to create anything after 70 minutes.
same as, next tournament is Russia, no thanks, then the Euros for Europe, so maybe a day trip there, and then the World Cup in Qatar (if it goes ahead) again not a chance.
Talk to me in 2024 about the group stages of a tournament
Germany, Turkey and a joint Scandinavian bid seem to be the main possibilities at the moment according to this. All doable, Turkey could be a bit crazy though. Germany the dream really in terms of no hassle. We'd want to start saving now if it's in Scandinavia! I'll be nearly 43 by then... Christ.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
It's just not a patch on Claremorris, is it?Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
Quiet you.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
I'll be nearly owls fan and geysir's age
Stop. That is sobering. In 2019 I think I will have a hernia when I see it's ten years on here...Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
So come 2024 and you're on here 2 decades? Ouch.
Too emotionally exhausted and lazy to put forth anything but the briefest of thoughts on this.
Thought Keogh's inability to clear his lines in the minutes building up to the first goal was a sign of things to come and contributed to the pressure we were under; he was grand apart from that.
Thought Duffy's defending for the second goal was atrocious. Harsh on Keogh but I think a more experienced defender would have communicated better with Duffy for that.
Thought Hendrick's picking up a yellow card was moronic on his part and psychologically affected him for the rest of the game; he was tentative, leaving gaps and not closing down in the twenty minute spell that lost us the game.
Thought before the game that if we were to make just one change it would have been to have O'Shea in there alongside Keogh for his experience and reading of the game.
O'Neill's inability to read the game and make changes to reflect the way it's going is maddening. I would have liked to see O'Shea, Whelan or Meyler come in if not at half-time, then directly after the first or second French goal. France took the impetus by bringing off Kante at half-time. I don't think we should constantly leave it till the 65th minute to see the forest for the trees.
I absolve Duffy from blame for the red card because we should never have been in a position where he had to bring Griezmann down. We were chasing a one goal deficit with 25 minutes to go. We had another goal in us. Why were there so many players forward leaving so few in defense? Tactical ineptitude at its finest.
Incredible to see the same thing that happened against Sweden repeat itself with the opposition team exploiting industrial sized gaps in our wide positions - galling when you think of the danger Coman presented coming on at half-time.
It doesn't change the fact that O'Neill is a breath of fresh air after Trappatoni. The boys did themselves proud. But I think we all got carried away after beating an Italy team severely lacking in any intensity. They were happy to see out a draw in that game. We should count ourselves lucky they had Spain to prepare for in the next game.
Special mention to Stephen Ward and Daryl Murphy who I thought were both superb. Murphy really unlucky not to score now in matches against Germany, Italy & France, showed some good flicks and touches, held the ball up superbly and but for some iffy decision making from McClean would have had another opportunity to break his duck.
Surely Brady & Hendrick have earned PL moves. Both acquitted themselves so well and now we surely see that if we are to move forward Whelan has to be phased out and we need young, hungry, energetic, physical and above all technical players in midfield.
Group dynamics are what they are though. We were unlucky to be in such a tough group, lucky Italy had already qualified. Were second string Italy on that night any worse than Russia or Ukraine? I don't think so.
Be remiss of me not to mention the fact that France had home turf advantage, grossly inflated ticket allocation and several extra days to prepare as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Just can't help thinking of what could have been. When Griezmann scored the second goal I didn't think we were out of it - and I am the most pessimistic of people. The Duffy sending off was just a killer. There was no need for that to happen.
You are. But there's not a lot wrong with what you said above.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
We should rightfully get excited for the next qualifying series. Russia in 2018 won't be that bad.
In a geopolitical sense?Quote:
Originally Posted by Fergie's Son
Will whoever has kidnapped TOWK please get in touch via PM so we can negotiate his safe release.
I'd say it was the dead leg he got after 20 minutes or so. I'd say the dead leg was more than likely the reason he kicked the ball away and got the yellow too.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
ESPN: UEFA admit unfair scheduling problems
Quote:
Originally Posted by Theodore Theodoridis (Acting UEFA general secretary)
To make up for this, I wonder if there's any chance the FAI could ask UEFA about us being re-inserted as a ninth team for the quarter-finals? There must be a precedent for that somewhere...Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
Agree with much of that apart from Murphy. I was at the first 3 games (didn't get to the French one) and he was far from superb. Frequently lost out in the air and often failed to control the ball. No sure how he was unlucky not to score. That said, Long didn't have much of a tournament either - can't remember if he even came close to scoring. Murphy's job in the Italian game was to rough up the Italians a bit which he did well but as an international centre-forward, I am sorry, I just don't rate him. People are harsh on McLean for that pass. It would have required pinpoint accuracy to pick out Murphy and there was a French defender almost in the way and who is to say that Murphy would not have scuffed it.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
It wouldn't have made sense for O'Neill to bring on subs at half-time as we had been doing well in the first half. But with the tide flowing against us, Meyler and O'Shea would have been sensible options but I think that is hindsight, especially as regards O'Shea. Had either Duffy or Keogh been having such terrible games that they deserved to be subbed even after the equaliser? Shore up midfield, yes, but who at the time was clamoring for either centre-half to be replaced. The pressure was coming from elsewhere which manifested itself in the mistakes at the back. O'Shea hasn't exactly had a waterproof season at Sunderland and it speculation that all would have been well if he played. Who knows? We might have conceded 2 in the first half with him playing and there would have been calls for Duffy.
Both Hendrick's yellow cards were silly, let alone the second but he still remains for me the Irish player of the tournament.
Something to build on but failure to hold leads remains a worry. Thank God we scored against Italy with little time left on the clock.