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Whoops! We all get it wrong, but this was a strange attack on Kenny. Not sure will Johnston ever be more of an impact sub for us, but Kenny was 100% right when he said that Johnston offers us something we dont have in squad. Zefi is the only player coming through that might have a similar ability to beat a man with a trick from what I can see. I think we seen last night that this was a pretty good move by KennyQuote:
Originally Posted by tommy_c12000
Happy to admit I got it wrong about him. Did really well when he came on and was driving forward every time he got the ball.
I cant say I was over excited about him coming on board, but there was a strange attitude towards it from a lot of people. To me it was always a case that hes a young player and all additions are welcome. He could turn out to be a gem!
Didn't know a thing about him before yday.
Wouldn't start him Monday, but I'd let him loose vs Gibraltar & Greece with no qualms.
Absolutely, theres no chance he starts on Monday but he could be a nice weapon against teams that sit back and defend against us and we find hard to breakdown.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom
I woukldn't be against him coming on if we need something late on Monday just to say.
If we are getting a bit of possession then yes, any player who can run at defenders and beat a man is a big assetQuote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom
Really in terms of a substitute coming on for his debut, he did brilliantly. We lack guile and creativity especially against the "weaker" teams and he will add this. If the match is tight against France and we need to go for a goal late I'd be happy to see him coming on as a guy who could perhaps make something happen. Just one match and not a full one at that, but I think it would be difficult to say anything negative about his performance.
One swallow never made a summer.
He’s a squad player for a Portuguese team 28 points behind the league leaders, and surplus to requirements at Celtic. There has to be a reason he’s at this level. I didn’t see the game only the highlights, but he impressed against a tiring Latvian defense. Let’s see how many telling competitive contributions he makes at the end of qualifying to assess whether it was worthwhile introducing him to our squad. God only knows the wreck Festy could have done to that tiring Latvian defense….
Festy beats his opponents with speed and athleticism. Johnston appears much better technically and can beat people in tighter spaces. There's room for both in future squads but they're not directly comparable.Quote:
Originally Posted by tommy_c12000
Exactly this. Johnson showed skills last night to beat players that no one else in our squad has. Zefi is the only one who has similar ability . Its a great asset to have to spring from the bench.Quote:
Originally Posted by irishfan86
It's alright to admit you got it wrong Tommy. Don't double down on it now. Even if he's never a regular for us the rant about it being a disgrace and blocking Eboseles progress isn't right.Quote:
Originally Posted by tommy_c12000
Ebosele is seen as a fullback for his club, it's more Seamie or Doherty keeping him out. Andy Lyons might be keeping him out next
It was a fantastic cameo performance. That run he went on beating three defenders in the box was a thing of beauty, whether the opposition was tiring or not.. shot off the post wasn't bad either. I'd have no problem with him coming on against France.
I don't think there is any need to be having a go at Tommy like that. This attacking the poster is becoming more common on here and totally unnecessary. It's not ybigQuote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
Liamoo I was just making the point that the initial post having a go at Kenny was over the top and unnecessary. There's been too much on here of wanting to have a go at manager and looking for any excuse to do it, to the point where I honestly think people want players and the team to fail just so they can say they were right.
Some posters have already said in the wake of the Latvia game that they were wrong here, look at Tets post above as the perfect example. It's a forum and none of us are experts so it's ok to admit when you get it wrong, being stubborn and digging in for the sake of it deserves to be called out for the nonsense it is I believe.
I think I was wrong on Kenny, I thought he would do better than he has done to date and I think we'll be replacing him before too long.... but I'm also hoping that I'm wrong about that and we go on to qualify.
In the context of this thread I was pretty ambivalent about Johnston coming on board, but the impact he made the other night was fantastic. This crap that it was only against Latvia so what, comes across as begrudging and bitter when in fact it got people excited and looking forward to seeing more of him.
It's not like we've been breaking down sides 'like Latvia' at our ease. Having someone of the bench with a bit about them to beat 2 or 3 tired defenders is a massive asset for those games. Against France & their ilk he probably struggles, I don't think he'd be alone in that from our squad.
It was a very good cameo. Yeah, sure you can say that it was only Latvia, and a tiring Latvia at that. Of course there is a fair point there, and it will remain to be seen how he goes from here. All we can say for now is that he did very well and is certainly due another look. He came pretty close to bagging two goals for himself after all.
Interesting that RTE report described Johnson's "Paddy McCourt style" run. McCourt scored astonishing goals from time to time and scored a couple against Faroe Islands for NI which is a similar level to Latvia. However, he didn't make the grade to be a regular at either a decent club level or on the international stage. It's too early to judge Johnston, but his career trajectory seems to be heading downwards at the minute. I loved McCourt and the romantic in me, would always favour having that kind of skill-set available somewhere just in case it might be the thing to turn a game or make a breakthrough.
I had thought, for some reason, that Johnston qualified for Ireland via grandparents from Donegal but it transpired to be Derry. So there's a McCourt link.Quote:
Originally Posted by third policeman
The fact he also qualified for NI is great..
Seen on Twitter that Johnston is the first Scottish born player to play for Ireland that didn’t have connections to Donegal ….