We were in a similar situation before against Austria at home and we fluffed our lines. But i think we will win tomorrowQuote:
Originally Posted by TrapAPony
We were in a similar situation before against Austria at home and we fluffed our lines. But i think we will win tomorrowQuote:
Originally Posted by TrapAPony
We capitalised on our opportunity against a Bale-less Wales last year.Quote:
Originally Posted by TrapAPony
We capitalised on our opportunity against a second string Italy side at the Euros.
We capitalised on Scotland's slip up in Georgia.
Only one of those capitalisations has been at home (Germany). We had ample opportunity to capitalise on a good first 5 games last campaign and failed miserably to do so at home. We failed to capitalise on a useful draw in Copenhagen.
It's been 3 years since a good home win.
Those were opportunities we created for ourselves. I was working off Trap's criteria and I think it's wide of the mark to suggest we haven't cashed in on opportunities "given to us". We clearly have.
By your new criteria though you could add the B&H home leg to my list.
...and I'd add the word "nearly" to my "it's been 3 years since a good home win" :)
I think it's fair to say we have had several opportunities at home to take advantage of good group positions (earned or given, whatevs) and more often than not we have fluffed them and on an alarming number of occasions we have fluffed them by putting in limp, purposeless performances. Bosnia was an exception. Austria, Serbia, Wales, Denmark...
Before that Georgia at home was atrocious. Armenia too I think. Moldova was a job well done.
Tomorrow is a great opportunity to put this right. If the past is anything to go by we'll have a good first few minutes, allow Wales a feel for the ball, we'll then forget what to do with the ball for the rest of the half and allow Wales to dictate terms, and if we are still in the game with 30 minutes to go we'll wake up and start going for it with characteristic huff and puff.
I think we will lose to a very mediocre (given injuries) Wales team or maybe if we are lucky we might scrape a 0-0. I wait for the litany of excuses this sham of a manger will conjure up.
Comfortable Wales victory in spite of a spirited but quality lacking 2nd half from Ireland. 0-2.
Disappointing to lose but glad we improved after the break.Quote:
Originally Posted by DCWA
"Earned or given, whatevs" changes the point of the discussion completely though. Trap was speaking specifically about gift horses being looked in the mouth, either that or he worded what he was saying badly. I think my examples prove that comment was wide of the mark. We've actually been pretty efficient under MON when we've got a break from events outside of our control.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
You've created a different conversation, which is fine, but basically you're saying that we normally mess up at home when a win is required, or at least seems like a win is required at the time. This is undeniable and arguably predates MON by a decade or more. He looked to have cracked the code with the wins over Germany and Bosnia, but we reverted to type in the last campaign.
Home wins didn't come too easily for anybody in the group though, Serbia, Wales & Austria only managed one each against their group 'equals', and Wales even failed to beat Georgia in Cardiff. It's easy to see why we're more suited to playing away, but I agree our approach in home matches is generally unacceptable, especially when it's not even yielding results (wins). Two points out of nine was a terrible return against the big three last time and it was a borderline miracle we still made the top two with that sort of a handicap.
Ireland 4 Wales 0 due to Quantum Mechanics innit .
How I'd line up tonight:
Randolph
Doherty Duffy Keogh Long Stevens
Arter Hendrick Williams
Long Robinson
Go for it. High octane stuff. 3 ball players in MF.
That would be my exact team, but Christe will start I guess
MON will find spaces for Christie and McClean in his lineup. Therefore, no Doherty or Williams to accommodate Christie and probably no Stevens or Robinson to accommodate McClean.Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
There really is no reason not to go far broke tonight. Dont win tonight and we are as good as relegated anyway. Be bold.
Ciaran Clark ruled out - http://www.the42.ie/ciaran-clark-ire...88851-Oct2018/
Im with you. Rage against the dying light.Quote:
Originally Posted by centre mid
I fancy us tonight guys to win
Bit of a carry over from Saturday's game is this (in relation to us being compared to San Marino, Leichtenstein, Malta etc), but thought I'd throw it in anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo
I've seen those teams as much as the next person - which is very little. However when I've seen the likes of those teams what has struck me is exactly that. Many of their players are far better technically than ours and they play as a team more cohesively than ours. They at least try to play football which is the point of them being there (as brine pointed out earlier on this post). They invariably lose their games which is down to their populations / pool of players they have to choose from. I bet however I could walk onto the training ground of any of those teams and pick out a midfielder who can create far more than Jeff Hendrick or Glen Whelan before him (not difficult) and a center back who is more in sync with him than is Shane Duffy or Richard Keogh. Increase those teams mentioned, slightly in population, coaching structure and pool of players and you get Iceland. Increase it a little more than that and you get Sweden.
In regard to the management team, people seem to be hung up on them and blinded by that fact. For full disclosure I called for Martin O'Neill to never be allowed near another Irish team following the Austria home game (he took two points which belonged to us that day and just threw them into the wind via his team selection). Fast forward to Tiblisi where we scored after 4 minutes and then gave up. That is not a figurative term - we literally gave up (stood in our own half and did nothing for 86 minutes). I have never seen anything like that in my life in any game of football in any part of the globe. I was still on the O'Neill must go kick at that point so I wanted him out even more at that time. But when you stop to think about it, where does the responsibility of the players start and end? Was there not one of them on the pitch in Tiblisi that night who said to his team mates: "Come on lads lets have a go at them, let's try to hit them on the counter and finish this thing off." I am no fan of O'Neill anymore but it has gone beyond that point, way beyond.
The real proof is in the pudding. What I mean by this is that I have followed this Irish team since the early 1970's. We were evolving back then and there was journey to be travelled. However with Saturday's performance and those mentioned above, among others, there is a pattern which is very worrying about ths Ireland team. We have been left behind in the departure lounge. But this is something I said 20 years ago and we'll be on here still debating the point in 20 years time if things don't change drastically.
If they were far better technically they wouldn’t be amateur, you sure you aren’t Martin O’Neills consultant? I find it really cute how naive you are that we can only play the way we do yet every other side in Europe can play with the ball at their feet.Quote:
Originally Posted by mark12345
I don't know what that means but I like the sound (and look) of it. I am going 2-0 to us and all is well in the garden again.Quote:
Originally Posted by seanfhear
That's two of us anyway...anyone else calling an Ireland win?Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan