That was impressively statuesque by Bruce, the only giveaway was a barely perceptible flutter from his eyelids.
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That was impressively statuesque by Bruce, the only giveaway was a barely perceptible flutter from his eyelids.
For some reason i think Robbie kinda resembles Tim Roth circa Reservior Dogs.
http://thescore.thejournal.ie/robbie...47092-Mar2014/
Keane signs new contract with mickey mouse team.
If we had a 24 year old at that Mickey Mouse team with the same goal record and receiving the same general acclaim, would you be denying the logic in his call up maintaining instead that Long needs to start against good teams, and then Stokes?
I hear he stays awake at night thinking of the Leicestershire countryside and what might have been.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
Robbie's stats.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...09284427_n.jpg
Though it does beg the question, why did they forget his time at Inter?
He had 11 in 41 in his second spell at Spurs, not 11 in 19.
Dont blame him at all, look at the life style he has compared to if he playing somewhere like Stoke or Sunderland.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
Hes still our number on striker and as long as hes bangin in the goals for us he'll continue to be because we dont have another natural goalscorer
Course not. I just don't think he should be guaranteed a starting place in every game on the basis of his performances in the MLS. If he had opted to move to Besiktas when he had the chance instead of making a lifestyle choice and was banging in the goals in The Super Lig, or if he had taken a move to stay in the competitive Premier League then there wouldn't be a question.
I think Keane should be starting some games but I think it would be a mistake to start him in others. Shane Long is our #1 striker. We have to find a way to play Wes Hoolahan and/or Andy Reid. It's going to be hard to accommodate Keane and do that. We have seen the evidence that it does not work already.
I think it would be a mistake to hitch our wagon to Keane just for the sake of it.
I hope O'Neill is brave enough to make the tough decisions.
The choice did not exist for Robbie between Besiktas or the MLS.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
The choice in August 2010 was go to Besiktas or stay in the EPL, it was a last day of the transfer window move by Besiktas to get Robbie, he chose to stay in the EPL, either win back his place in the pecking order at Spurs or move to another epl club.
Robbie had fewer options in 2011.
Keane is our number one striker. A fact cemented by Shane Longs finishing on Wednesday. Goals are what matter. Not flick-ons, work rate or running the channels. Keane gets goals. Simples.
I hope O'Neill has the judgment to do the right thing, not to make controversial decisions for the sake of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
I don't think we have seen evidence that Keane can't play with Reid or Hoolahan. He hasn't played with Reid for donkeys' years and his only recent game with Hoolahan was against Georgia and they both did well. I think Hoolahan missed the Faroes game but against Georgia Keane did markedly better than Long.
I fully accept that he should be by no means an automatic starter and I have always said (take note Stu!) that Long is a beast to play against, but I think the best way to combine any combinations of Reid, Hoolahan, Keane and Long to the team's benefit is a question that still has to be answered.
I think there is a good argument not to play Keane in those games where we're likely to struggle for possession. Long might just be more effective in a game where we're battling just to stay close. He has more energy and presence. But this is subtly different to your point that Keane's scoring record against top seeds is what mitigates against his selection.
I suggested on another thread that maybe we need to drop our addiction to two proper wide men and some degree of 4132 or 4312 might be the answer , especially against teams we feel we have a real chance of beating.
These are the things O'Neill needs to be thinking about. I'd be surprised if Monkeano can't figure out what the options are at least. That said, 6 years ago I had confidence Trap would be able to come up with something other than route one.
Had a last minute penalty saved last night for L.A.Galaxy in their opening game of the season. Galaxy lost 1-0.
No composure in one on ones!
demonstrated his lack of composure in one-on-ones again earlier with this equaliser for LA Galaxy: http://www.lagalaxy.com/blog/post/20...real-salt-lake
If we are pinning our hopes on someone because of his prowess against League Two standard defences then we are in trouble.
Robbie Keane and his 34 year old legs are not going to be able to put away the kind of chances that Wes Hoolahan, Andy Reid and Stephen Ireland are capable of engineering and if there is tangible proof to the contrary in the last 3 or 4 years, by all means indulge me.
Whether Shane Long can or can't put them away is another thing but he has the pace, ability and footballing intelligence to make those runs.
Keane is going to get on the end of things and if we want to go down the route of putting Kevin Doyle, Jon Walters, Shane Long or Daryl Murphy up top and have them contest high balls and get drawn out wide doing the donkey work to try and engineer chances for Keane then so be it but it's counterintuitive imo.
Edit: And Macedonia. I know.
I never said we were pinning our hopes on him, I just posted a link to a goalQuote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
Keane's 33, although he'll be 34 when the qualifiers start. There's evidence from as recently as three weeks ago that Long will not put away the chances created by Hoolahan. The consensus afterwards was that Keane would have scored at least two, if not all three, of the gilt-edged changes presented to Long.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
counterintuitive to what, exactly?Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
So, there is tangible proof to the contrary in the last 3 or 4 years?Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
I don't think Keane would have been any more likely than Long to put away those chances, imo based on what I have seen in the last three Qualifying campaigns. Only one of them was a sitter and anyway, he still scored.
Counterintuitive in that we would have to make hard decisions about players like Hoolahan, Reid, Ireland and Long to get the best out of Keane and the temptation would be there to go back to the clogging route 1 that got us so far and then backfired in a slow and predictable fashion.
Tangible, or substantive - as in more than one game, which was against a poor enough Macedonia team.
Going down this road again?
You say Keane wouldn't have gotten on the end of those chances? That's your opinion, not fact.
We say otherwise. This argument has to stop.
Plus mentioning Stephen Ireland as being an integral part of the team's success should now be an infraction.
Ireland isn't and won't be in the squad. To say that Robbie won't put away these mythical chances that the Corkonian Wally will apparently create is actually insane.
The only evidence we have is that Long puts away fewer chances than he butchers. Keane tends to put away the majority of his chances, France 2010 excepted.
Scored a quality goal last night, collecting the ball on the break just beyond half way, running 25-30 yards with the ball, feinting past a defender with a neat change of direction and slotting a firm shot inside the near post.
Video here http://www.thescore.ie/video-robbie-...76894-Mar2014/
Of course MLS goals don't count for anything though.
ireland not being in the squad is likely, but not fact. Just saying like...!Quote:
Originally Posted by BonnieShels
I would definitely trust Keane over Long in that situation any day of the week though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Yes he has turned into a bit of a basket case since he joined the MSL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP9lWBrhZBc
You're right - completely off his trolleyQuote:
Originally Posted by tricky_colour
A therapeutic read if only putting into words what 'most' of us already know.
Why the Republic still need Robbie
Warning: This will undoubtedly be followed by a repetitive TOWK rant :)
Stephen Ireland scored 4 goals in 6 games for Ireland. Glenn Whelan has 2 in 53. He has scored 1 goal in his combined last 4 seasons. Aiden McGeady has 3 in 64. The thought of dropping the latter two at any stage has barely been raised.
Whatever about McGeady's creativity - and he offers barely any against teams of a certain standard - Whelan's defensive work has not nearly being good enough to counteract his complete lack of guile. How many goals have we conceded because of him failing to perform the most basic tasks and all that's ever being asked of him? Giving away the ball, letting players run past him, embarrassing stamina, concentration out the window... he might serve a purpose in a 3 man midfield so I won't place all of the blame on him.
It's remiss to ignore Stephen Ireland. People keep asking questions about where the goals are going to come from and how they are going to be created. There is enough evidence at club and International level to suggest Ireland can be of use.
Call him up in the Summer and if he doesn't want to play, he doesn't want to play.
I don't know, but I'd be interested to see you find out.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
He has been noticeably at fault - if not singularly at fault - for a lot of the goals we have conceded in the past two campaigns. Glenn was a credit to himself in the 2010 Campaign considering the steep learning curve but he has regressed severely over the last several years imo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
You should actually work out exactly how many though.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
Okay. Counting just competitive games over the last two campaigns and going by memory, I am going to guess at least 5 goals.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
I will have the results by Friday.
Good, with youtube clips if possible. If you don't have the results by 2pm I'll send the doc after you.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
Keane with the opener for LA Galaxy against Chivas USA: http://www.lagalaxy.com/blog/post/20...nst-chivas-usa
crap defence, no marking, terrible finish, real fans want him out, can only against what's in front of you, he gambled and won, etc, and so forth
If only every game we played was against Chivas USA. Unfortunately, it isn't.
and his post match thoughts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnybULLIV3U
The immortal Alan Judge also scoring twice yesterday. Call him up Trap!
....still waitingQuote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
he's way too old to pull of that haircutQuote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
Might be closer than you think http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport...reland-6924974Quote:
Originally Posted by Crosby87
O'Neill at a Division One game !! I wonder was he watching anyone else as well. Hardly Douglas. Sheehan perhaps?
Brentford
27 Button
12 McCormack
24 Bidwell
08 Douglas
05 Craig
26 Tarkowski (Dean - 56' Booked )
04 Forshaw (Saville - 59' Booked )
20 Diagouraga
09 Donaldson (Grigg - 70' )
15 Dallas
18 Judge
Substitutes
06 Dean
11 Grigg
16 Bonham
17 Saville
22 Reeves
28 Yennaris
29 Trotta
Notts County
01 Bialkowski
02 Dumbuya (Grealish - 45' )
03 Sheehan
04 Liddle
12 Mullins
26 Hollis Dismissed
20 Campbell-Ryce
24 Vela
19 Murray (Leacock - 35' Booked )
16 Spencer
39 Tyson
Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
Grealish and or Murray ?