New Irish Management Team- Challenges

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Originally Posted by paul_oshea

No I agree with you in principle but I don't like the arrogance that it should be a cinch.

You of all people should know that nothing is straightforward as you think it should be with this Irish team.

Btw I have seen enough of Samaras to know that he is a donkey with a half decent touch 20% of the time.

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Are you sore Paul? ;)

I thought it would be a straightforward concept, a logical connected thinking, that you would be optimistic about qualifying considering all we have to do is be as good as Trap was in his first 2 campaigns. At worst we get a tricky 3rd seed, like Austria or Sweden and end up going through via the play offs.
You don't have to arrogant about it, just confident. You can leave the arrogance to me.
I really do believe that a bit of optimism and less apprehension would be good for your soul :)

Not at all geysir.

I just felt the need to point out that Samaras is not that good at all.

Its not pessimism or apprehension, its experienced realism. :P

The two lads have to build a competitive balanced team that can take control of more games against the smaller opposition and be disciplined enough to compete against the top teams in our groups much like McCarthy's teams of the late 90's/early 00's. I do think we have the players capable of being in the top 20 in the world. It will take time but if we get the best players in the squad we will be making progress.

If I was asked to pick our best squad at the moment regardless of injuries I would pick:

Goalkeepers:
Westwood, Forde, Rob Elliot

Defenders:
Coleman, Kelly, O' Brien, Dunne, O'Shea, St.Ledger, Clark, Wilson

Midfielders:
Whelan, Gibson, McCarthy, Meyler, Brady, McClean, McGeady, Pilkington, Reid, Hoolahan

Forwards:
Long, Doyle, Walters, Keane, Stokes

There are 26 players in that squad but I wasn't sure who to trim out of it. That is arguably our best squad at the moment. Hopefully a few of the younger players can push on over the next 2 or 3 years and make this a strong side.

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Originally Posted by geysir

That's a theory which won't be tested for a good while and pointless, considering Gibson has just had acl surgery.
If they were both fit, would they not be both starting for us, in our dream team?

Young Irish's point is that we are crap and don't expect too much. Crap as we were, we are 2nd seeds in the draw. Seeing as the team lost faith and lost that connection with Trap in his 3rd campaign and didn't meet standards set in the first 2 campaigns, there's not that much needed to improve upon to qualify for the Euros.
Noel King would get us qualified for the 2016 Euros. The task for the management team is to get us competitive against the first seed ranked teams.

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I think we will qualify for the Euros but after the traumatic experience of last years finals I don't think I can cope if we show up just to be hammered by everyone again. We will always struggle to compete against the top European nations such as the Germans, Spanish, Italians, Dutch, French and Portuguese but to take points of the second tier of European nations I think we still need at least a couple of new really decent Premiership players and not just Premiership journeymen who spend their careers in and out of teams who are continually battling to avoid relegation.

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Originally Posted by youngirish

I think we will qualify for the Euros but after the traumatic experience of last years finals I don't think I can cope if we show up just to be hammered by everyone again. We will always struggle to compete against the top European nations such as the Germans, Spanish, Italians, Dutch, French and Portuguese but to take points of the second tier of European nations I think we still need at least a couple of new really decent Premiership players and not just Premiership journeymen who spend their careers in and out of teams who are continually battling to avoid relegation.

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It would be very strange if someone who thinks we can play better and compete with degrees more quality than we did under Trap, had doubts now about our ability to get at least similar qualification campaign results as what Trap obtained. There would have to be some unfathomable chronic trepidation going on, or something similar.

Qualification for Eur 2016 is not the challenge, it just would be a disaster not qualifying, the challenge is to compete and give a game to the top teams and go toe to toe with the 2nd level teams.
We can't grow players on trees and we can't just slap a good championship player on the wrist and tell him to do better, to up his game for us and if he isn't good enough - just tell him where to jump off. We'd be left with 6 players, on a good day.

Most teams in our position have one or two class players, we don't and the best of what we had, are retired or getting on. We'll have to wait and see what transpires from O'Neill over the next year, to develop a good team. We are a team in a big transition phase.
I don't know what Mon and junior will do, even if they have the ability to bring us to a level better than what Trap did. Mon for all the qualities he's supposed to have, couldn't effect a minimum amount on an ailing Sunderland. Personality/character/inspiration etc etc had no impact. Maybe he's identified what he needs (other than himself) to make this work.

Its easier to do that geysir on a one-off or irregular basis though geysir, not week in week out.

O'Neill's initial impact in every role has been positive I think - even at Sunderland?