Yeah, sorry, I was in an airport with only a mobile phone to hand.Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
Yeah, sorry, I was in an airport with only a mobile phone to hand.Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
I don't think anyone here is getting carried away. We have seen our limitations (e.g. home to Georgia). What I am ecstatic about is the fact that we have at long last won away against a higher ranked team and, in terms of the Group, puts us in the driving seat. Of course it can all go pear shaped and the fat lady's voice is only a distant bit of tinnitus in the ear but we have beaten the Austrians away from home. Enjoy. Worry about what comes next later.Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
It's been commented on in the papers, but I thought the same as it transpired: what a great, great, great goal! A proper counterattacking goal.
Two thoughts:
The goal only happens because we have Hoolahan between the lines (and you can clearly see him literally between two lines of red on the replays). We wouldn't have scored that goal under all those years of 4-4-2. Hoolahan did lose the ball a lot on Saturday, admittedly. More than he normally does. But this is not fatal when there are two other midfielders and 4 defenders behind him. But the gains! His neglect (and our failure to play a 3rd man in midfield) for years is such a shame. Especially away in that sort of situation.
The goal also happens because Austria are committing men forward and they suddenly (unexpectedly for them, as they were looking for a soft foul) lose the ball. They are backpedalling, out of shape and we have space to run into. Because other teams now have to come at us in this group (and Austria did on Saturday too), we will be seeing more of this. Ideal conditions for the likes of Long, and for McClean and Hendrick from wider positions.
The opposite maybe? I'm really starting to think that we are better served by having players at the top end of the Championship rather than battling relegation in the PL, in a lot of cases anyway. Could anybody argue that Ciaran Clark's situation hasn't improved from last season despite dropping a level? He was basically getting dropped every so often by Aston Villa as a result of the amount of goals they conceded - they had to be seen to be trying things to improve. In reality Fabio Cannavaro at his peak would have made little difference to their defensive woes. Brady, I think, is too good for the Championship alright, but should be playing for a mid-table PL team at least.Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
Clark's situation is improved by having a really impressive defensive coach as his manager, in addition to the change of circumstance. The fact that he has a no-nonsense-taking bullock as his partner for Ireland has to help too.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
Yeah I wouldn't be a much of a Benitez fan but he's miles above that level and defensive organisation is his forte. Clark can only benefit from playing under him. It was good management by O'Neill to stick by the pair for Vienna. Keogh probably has legitimate reason to feel hard done by but I definitely rate Duffy and Clark higher.
I'm a huge Benitez fan.
Don't I know. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom
They look like the perfect partnership. It's almost uncanny how any weakness either of them has is a strength for the other.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
In his first book Mick McCarthy wrote about his partnership with Kevin Moran, and how although Dave O'Leary was probably a better player than either of them, they were just good together and enjoyed playing with each other. There is maybe an element of that going on here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li4GfSsJxpkQuote:
Originally Posted by backstothewall
could.not.resist.
I really enjoyed this read:
http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...-35221405.html
I highlighted the point a while ago and again at the last double header when McClean came out playing down our ability and expectations. O'Neill has built a mentality around the players being underdogs and needing to draw from spirt less so much skill, I dont mind that too much but don't keep downplaying our ability and upping the opposition's.
Like the Serbia game it wasn't get out of jail draw, it was one where we could have won, but yet it was turned on his head like it was a great 1 point away from home. Our talent pool as Giles suggests is not somehow less than Austrias, Wales or Serbis bar 1 or so player(s). There are no great teams and need to start believing in our own ability a bit more. Getting the win in Austria was a start, we need to keep this going. We should be expecting to beat teams.
we should have been 3 - 1 down to Serbia by the time we equalised. it was a point won in my opinion as we hardly threatened from 2nd minute until about the 75thQuote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
No. Please no.
For once....since god knows when, there is no negativity, or scandal, or intrigue, or some other nonsense following our team around. Let's not invent some. Who cares that O'Neill and the players talk like we're underdogs? Ranieri did it all the way with Leicester. How did that end?
We're top of the group with a gap. And everyone is happy. There's no Jack Grealish fiasco, the management aren't falling out with any players, no one even mentions Darron Gibson anymore. We've just lost a player who scored over 60 international goals and he barely gets a mention. And when he does it's that we're not missing him. I could go on and on.
Please. Let's not try to invent some kind of negative angle to have a moan about. Whatever the management are doing is working. Let's just be happy. I'm loving it.
The lad who scored the winner in the Euros? Wasn't he a PL flop with Swansea? Playing for some mid table French team now?
I get what Giles is saying.
There isn't much to fear in Intl football anymore.
Holland and Portugal make hard work of teams like Luxembourg.
You look at teams like Spain and Germany and wonder how they are going to replace retiring players.
Iago Aspas, Aritz Aduriz and Serge Gnabry wouldn't have got near their squads let alone teams four years ago.
No complaints though re: O'Neill. It's just a trifling thing. He isn't slowly sapping the confidence of his players like his predecessor.
Good man YOP. I like Giles but I think that's a pretty crap piece to put it bluntly. O'Neill may have questioned the quality of our squad at times but I think he's been pretty upbeat for a long time now. He often says "they are a very fine side", when talking about the opposition. Big deal, no point in giving the opposition an extra incentive by saying something like "ah, they're no great shakes really!". It's just common manners, I can't ever remember him implying that we're inferior to the opposition, bar Germany, but that's a no brainer and it didn't do us any harm anyway.
We were blessed to get a draw in Serbia... it's was an absolutely brilliant point under the circumstances and looks like an even better point now. There was only one team that deserved to win that game and it sure as hell wasn't us. Yes, if we'd just decided to play a bit better then we might have won (cos football is really that simple!), but we didn't so we were lucky to draw. How anybody can still think it was anything other than a good draw is beyond me to be honest. If I was from Serbia I would have been seriously frustrated with the two points dropped.
I apologise. Roy Keane had a go at Ronald Koeman. There could have been loads on it. But there wasn't.
Koeman didn't have a go back. McCarthy didn't whinge about it. There was nothing further, which says all you need to know.
How marvellous is that???!
In a year of utter turmoil regarding everything else in the world, we have something we can sit back and smile and feel proud about. At the risk of sounding like that character off the Fast Show, it's all just brilliant.
When they don't qualify, the worst player at Serbian training sessions will be made to wear a horrid jersey with "I had an Ireland" on it. It's possibly already even happening.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
What will inevitably happen though is that Serbia will top the group a point or two ahead of us in second. We'll lose the playoff and Paul will let everybody know that it was the two points dropped in Serbia that cost us and how he called it at the time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yard of Pace
Or else the complete opposite will happen, in which case Paul will say that it reinforces his point even more. ;)
We went in front playing somewhat on the front foot and equalized when we were, again, on the front foot.
So, naturally one concludes we could have taken all 3 points if we played that way the entire game.
Judging by his cameo, it would have made more sense starting Murphy but this would have required a change in personnel that wasn't and won't be entertained for a second.
The Serbian defenders couldn't get to grips with him at all.
a result can only be assessed based on what actually happened and after what went on in the Serbia game we were lucky to get the pointQuote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks