Republic of Ireland V Belgium - Saturday, 26th March 2022 - Friendly

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Originally Posted by BOOMSHAKALAKA

Talking up Luxembourg? Like when Stan was talking up San Marino. We absolutely battered Denmark in McCarthy's last game, that's where the bar was for Kenny. McCarthy's record was 5 wins, 4 draws and just 1 defeat. Kenny came in and drove us backwards. He inherited a decent squad with many promising youngsters coming through.

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We had 2 shots on target against Denmark at home. The plan on that night was to stink the place out for 70 minutes, then smash the door down for the last 20 to nick the one goal from Duffy's head to get us to the Euros. It's embarrassing that the manager thought it was a viable tactic. The plans had to be changed when, we suddenly needed more than one goal to get us there, and surprise surprise, we didn't get them. There were no players coming through at the time, and today we would be playing with Randolph as undisputed No. 1. Since he left us, he's also been sacked somewhere else.

Luxembourg have improved in recent years, Finland have improved, Macedonia have improved. They reset, changed, planned properly, and are now much better than they were in years gone by, and it's ok to have a Macedonia now. Now we have to catch up with them.

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Originally Posted by Razors left peg

I like to be entertained when I watch football, I'm weird like that. We have become extremely entertaining to watch and it's great to think that we are still in the beginning of a build. For too long under some previous managers we were horrible to watch and you often wondered what was being done in training. If you are an Ireland fan and haven't enjoyed the progression of the last year and the football we are playing then maybe football just isn't for you

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I know it's taboo to mention it but the improvement came with the influence of Barry. None of the Kenny fanatics will admit to that. Prior to Barry, we were horrible to watch. Barely able to score and we were dreadful. It improved a bit with some better coaching but it's still not great. Who have we beaten? We haven't achieved anything. Some may be happy to fall down the rankings and not come close to qualifying for anything because we pass the ball a bit more. I'm not and the FAI won't be either. Kenny will deserve credit when and if we start winning games and compete at the business end of qualification.

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Looking at the goals again there - did Ogbene's get deflected in? I can't work out what Mignolet is doing - it looks like he jumps for a shot reasonably right at him, but then the ball seems to end up in the far corner. There's a replay from behind the goal, but the (possible) deflection is blocked.

Could be seeing something that isn't there, and obviously it doesn't matter - but just curious how it went in

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Yep hit Demanyer’s head. Mignolet exonerated.

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Originally Posted by mypost

We had 2 shots on target against Denmark at home. The plan on that night was to stink the place out for 70 minutes, then smash the door down for the last 20 to nick the one goal from Duffy's head to get us to the Euros. It's embarrassing that the manager thought it was a viable tactic. The plans had to be changed when, we suddenly needed more than one goal to get us there, and surprise surprise, we didn't get them. There were no players coming through at the time, and today we would be playing with Randolph as undisputed No. 1. Since he left us, he's also been sacked somewhere else.

Luxembourg have improved in recent years, Finland have improved, Macedonia have improved. They reset, changed, planned properly, and are now much better than they were in years gone by, and it's ok to have a Macedonia now. Now we have to catch up with them.

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We had 15 shots, they had 3. Denmark went onto the semi finals of the euros. We deserved to knock them out that night. We battered them and if it was under Kenny, you would not be talking it down.

McCarthy brought in players, Connolly, O Shea and he has a proven record of bringing through players.

Other teams have improved, we've gone backwards under Kenny's stewardship. That's a fact, not opinion. The world rankings, league tables and horrendous results don't lie.

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Originally Posted by BOOMSHAKALAKA

We had 15 shots, they had 3. Denmark went onto the semi finals of the euros. We deserved to knock them out that night. We battered them and if it was under Kenny, you would not be talking it down.

McCarthy brought in players, Connolly, O Shea and he has a proven record of bringing through players.

Other teams have improved, we've gone backwards under Kenny's stewardship. That's a fact, not opinion. The world rankings, league tables and horrendous results don't lie.

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we only starting playing at 0-1. denmark came to not lose and they did it.

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Originally Posted by BOOMSHAKALAKA

I know it's taboo to mention it but the improvement came with the influence of Barry. None of the Kenny fanatics will admit to that. Prior to Barry, we were horrible to watch. Barely able to score and we were dreadful. It improved a bit with some better coaching but it's still not great. Who have we beaten? We haven't achieved anything. Some may be happy to fall down the rankings and not come close to qualifying for anything because we pass the ball a bit more. I'm not and the FAI won't be either. Kenny will deserve credit when and if we start winning games and compete at the business end of qualification.

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Personally I think the improvement came when we were no longer losing 5 or 6 players every game to covid. Also when we were playing in front of fans and not an empty soulless stadium.

You can probably pinpoint a few things in fairness. Young players getting game time at club level helped a bit too. Even a rub of the green with some big deflections (not just Ogbene's here, but thinking Duffy's opener in Luxembourg which changed the game, the farcical own goal against Serbia, Robinson's second in Azerbaijan (which the keeper should still have saved in fairness)) I think luck balances itself out over time, and Kenny had plenty of bad luck early on (with covid in particular)

Fortunately no-one's as narrow-minded as to say it's purely down to the coach.

Oh, wait...

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Originally Posted by BOOMSHAKALAKA

We had 15 shots, they had 3. Denmark went onto the semi finals of the euros. We deserved to knock them out that night. We battered them and if it was under Kenny, you would not be talking it down.

McCarthy brought in players, Connolly, O Shea and he has a proven record of bringing through players.

Other teams have improved, we've gone backwards under Kenny's stewardship. That's a fact, not opinion. The world rankings, league tables and horrendous results don't lie.

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The "horrendous" results now stand at 7 games unbeaten, and 1 loss in 10. You can downgrade it all you want, but that's an indisputable fact, not an opinion.

It is true that McCarthy brought in players, but that was in his first campaign only. We had 3 attempts to beat Denmark at home in recent years, didn't do it once. Two of them were for direct qualification for tournaments. For all the bull and bluster beforehand, they were the ones celebrating at the end of the night both times.

If you want to qualify for tournaments, you have to have the resources to get there. Right now, we don't have enough of them. So we have to think long term beyond the next qualifying campaign, and that's what we are doing. If the price for that is the odd setback against Luxembourg or even conceding a goal during a win in Andorra, that's the price that has to be paid. Most people have seen the progress we're making, the direction we're going is the only way we're going to get back to where we want to be.

On McCarthy, he was brought in - on double the money that Kenny is earning - to make us difficult to play against, and hope for a bit of luck along the way. No more than that. Don't worry about developing youth or changing the style Mick, we're kicking that can down the road for yet another two years.

He made us hard to beat, in fairness - and he got a boatload of luck. We were lucky to get drawn in a five-team group with no traditional heavyweight, and one of the genuine minnows as a fifth seed. In the first game, Gibraltar missed a sitter to equalise late on. Denmark inexplicably dropped points against Georgia. We could then afford to draw with Georgia (and what an absolute spectacle that was, being dominated and outclassed by the 91st-ranked team in the world).

And yet, with all that luck, we still couldn't do enough to take advantage.

As said above, there's more to football than hitching your wagon to a winning team. We're most likely never going to win a major tournament, so entertainment is important. We want a team with the bravery, confidence and character to play some heads-up football, showcase what talent they have, and go after the win. When you're playing negative, ten-men-behind the ball rubbish, the end has to justify the means. Otherwise, you're just alienating the fans, disillusioning the players, and creating toxicity around the team - and by association, negatively impacting how soccer is viewed by the general public in this country. There's nowhere to hide when hoofball fails.

I was at the match with my nephews (9 and 11) yesterday; it was their first time going to a big football match, and they really enjoyed it. The goals, the football, the atmosphere - it's what you want them to experience. Not some sh*tshow like the 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland, or that nonsense at home to Gibraltar.

I've criticised Kenny before, and will do again, no doubt. I thought 2020 was a chance missed; we wasted lots of development time on a formation that was too open, and never going to work; and some broken/mediocre players (Brady, McCarthy, Curtis, O'Dowda, etc) who were never going to feature regularly for us in the future. I thought he put too much on the shoulders of Connolly, Idah, Parrott and Molumby against Azerbaijan at home. We really need to get more wins on the board, starting on Tuesday. But overall, the whole experience of following Ireland is a lot more enjoyable than at any point since 2016.

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Originally Posted by Jd2793

we only starting playing at 0-1. denmark came to not lose and they did it.

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Yes and they got to the semi finals of the euros. They are a very good team. If we played as good as that night under Kenny you would not be downplaying it.

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Originally Posted by Razors left peg

Personally I think the improvement came when we were no longer losing 5 or 6 players every game to covid. Also when we were playing in front of fans and not an empty soulless stadium.

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Kenny is so unlucky. We were the only country affected by covid.

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Originally Posted by mypost

The "horrendous" results now stand at 7 games unbeaten, and 1 loss in 10. You can downgrade it all you want, but that's an indisputable fact, not an opinion.

It is true that McCarthy brought in players, but that was in his first campaign only. We had 3 attempts to beat Denmark at home in recent years, didn't do it once. Two of them were for direct qualification for tournaments. For all the bull and bluster beforehand, they were the ones celebrating at the end of the night both times.

If you want to qualify for tournaments, you have to have the resources to get there. Right now, we don't have enough of them. So we have to think long term beyond the next qualifying campaign, and that's what we are doing. If the price for that is the odd setback against Luxembourg or even conceding a goal during a win in Andorra, that's the price that has to be paid. Most people have seen the progress we're making, the direction we're going is the only way we're going to get back to where we want to be.

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Horrendous results: losing at home to Luxembourg, drawing with Azerbaijan, unable to beat Bulgaria twice etc.

We failed to knock out Denmark but at least we were competing with them. Under Kenny we're competing with Luxembourg.

You're getting your excuses in early for Kenny. He has to get results. Full stop or he loses his job.

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Originally Posted by Supreme feet

On McCarthy, he was brought in - on double the money that Kenny is earning - to make us difficult to play against, and hope for a bit of luck along the way. No more than that. Don't worry about developing youth or changing the style Mick, we're kicking that can down the road for yet another two years.

He made us hard to beat, in fairness - and he got a boatload of luck. We were lucky to get drawn in a five-team group with no traditional heavyweight, and one of the genuine minnows as a fifth seed. In the first game, Gibraltar missed a sitter to equalise late on. Denmark inexplicably dropped points against Georgia. We could then afford to draw with Georgia (and what an absolute spectacle that was, being dominated and outclassed by the 91st-ranked team in the world).

And yet, with all that luck, we still couldn't do enough to take advantage.

As said above, there's more to football than hitching your wagon to a winning team. We're most likely never going to win a major tournament, so entertainment is important. We want a team with the bravery, confidence and character to play some heads-up football, showcase what talent they have, and go after the win. When you're playing negative, ten-men-behind the ball rubbish, the end has to justify the means. Otherwise, you're just alienating the fans, disillusioning the players, and creating toxicity around the team - and by association, negatively impacting how soccer is viewed by the general public in this country. There's nowhere to hide when hoofball fails.

I was at the match with my nephews (9 and 11) yesterday; it was their first time going to a big football match, and they really enjoyed it. The goals, the football, the atmosphere - it's what you want them to experience. Not some sh*tshow like the 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland, or that nonsense at home to Gibraltar.

I've criticised Kenny before, and will do again, no doubt. I thought 2020 was a chance missed; we wasted lots of development time on a formation that was too open, and never going to work; and some broken/mediocre players (Brady, McCarthy, Curtis, O'Dowda, etc) who were never going to feature regularly for us in the future. I thought he put too much on the shoulders of Connolly, Idah, Parrott and Molumby against Azerbaijan at home. We really need to get more wins on the board, starting on Tuesday. But overall, the whole experience of following Ireland is a lot more enjoyable than at any point since 2016.

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There was some horrendous stuff under McCarthy. It just shows how bad a job Kenny has done to drive us backwards from there.

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Originally Posted by BOOMSHAKALAKA

We failed to knock out Denmark but at least we were competing with them. Under Kenny we're competing with Luxembourg.

You're getting your excuses in early for Kenny. He has to get results. Full stop or he loses his job.

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It's funny how it's ok for McCarthy to merely compete at home to Denmark, but Kenny has to get results instead.

Well he's got results and he kept his job. McCarthy had to get a result at home to Denmark, just one result. But he didn't get it, so just competing against them didn't keep his job.

Kenny deserves a pat on the back for playing Doherty and Coleman on the same team. McCarthy and MON deserve a slap across the face for not doing it

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Originally Posted by mypost

It's funny how it's ok for McCarthy to merely compete at home to Denmark, but Kenny has to get results instead.

Well he's got results and he kept his job. McCarthy had to get a result at home to Denmark, just one result. But he didn't get it, so just competing against them didn't keep his job.

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To be fair to Mick, the preceding results set up the opportunity against Denmark. His football was pragmatic maybe even ugly at times, but he was working to a brief which was to qualify for a tournament. Kenny had a different brief and has been given the opportunity to experiment and fail with an emphasis on the longer term. Things have improved and it would be ludicrous not to give him credit for that. The style is easier on the eye, young players have been given a chance and results have been more encouraging. But the hype is as yet a bit premature. The NL games are the acid test. We can look forward to them with more hope and confidence than a year ago, but we still don’t know for certain how this team will prosper in competitive games against better opposition.

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Originally Posted by mypost

It's funny how it's ok for McCarthy to merely compete at home to Denmark, but Kenny has to get results instead.

Well he's got results and he kept his job. McCarthy had to get a result at home to Denmark, just one result. But he didn't get it, so just competing against them didn't keep his job.

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As I said, things weren't great under McCarthy but we were competitive. The bar wasn't that high but Kenny hasn't even come close to it.

re writing history under mccarthy. he struggled against gibraltor and georgia. delighted hes gone , a waste of 18 months. onwards and upwards under this management.

Ah that's harsh. Yeah, Gibraltar and Georgia were painful, but he did a job. He's a good manager and got us to the Euro playoffs. Given a longer contact, would he have taken the same longer-term view Kenny could? His previous spell in charge suggests he could well have.

I think he deserves huge respect as Ireland manager

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Originally Posted by Jd2793

re writing history under mccarthy. he struggled against gibraltor and georgia. delighted hes gone , a waste of 18 months. onwards and upwards under this management.

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He only had 10 games in charge. He won 5, drew 4 and lost 1. He was in a group with Switzerland and Denmark who made it to the later stages of the European finals. The only rewriting of history is from Kenny fanatics who want to paint us as minnows prior to his arrival only to be saved by the Messiah.

McCarthy wasn't great but we would have qualified for the euros if he was left in charge, instead we've had a miserable few campaigns under Kenny.