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Great result...
I've begining to get my enthusiasim though some very good performances but we've got to rememeber this was just a friendly.
Reid & Dunne were excellent, new boys O'Brien,Doyle & Ireland were good
in fact most people played well.
Kavanagh IMHO did not do well, looks off the pace most of time, was poor on Sunday against Utd as well would not have him on ahead of O'Shea or Ireland.
O'Brien is very error prone we need to get a proper parter for Dunne at the back.
Agreed Paddy, great way to start a new era, all debutants did extremely well, and a few of the more experienced lads had more of a spring in their step. A lot to look forward to.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuff Paddy
Just back from the game and then from watching the highlight's in the Merc. Impressive start must admit. Under the cosh for the first ten mins then Stevie Reid threw in a tackle or two as did Dunners and the Boys decided they were in a match. As ever there are pluses and minuses.
All three goals were good the latter two exceptional. Up to the goal we looked like we were very dependent on Duff and Keane. Once the first goal went in it seemed to liberate the rest of the team.
Pluses:
Duff. As someone has already said, best performance since the friendlies before last campaign.
Keane. Didn't see him moaning, hopefully this will be a sign of things to come.
Dunne. Best performance in a home international for me by the Honey Monster. Completely outshone his partner, something he has failed to do. Tackling crisp. Pace unbelievable, distribution brilliant.
Reid. Threw himself about the place. looked for the sensible ball.
The new guys. All did well, without being brilliant. I'd include Elliot as one of the new guys too. JOB solid, willing to get stuck in and help out in tight areas. Elliot and Doyle competed for everything , worked neatly down the r.h.s. Ireland was the pick of the new guys even though he got 30mins. Surprised at how niggly he was towards the opposition. A Johnny Giles in the making perhaps?
Minuses:
Lack of height up front. People should view this comment without the aid of the hysteria of a 3-0 result. Up until the goal if nothing was, rather than give a short pass inside or backwards, the ball went high up the field, to a small frontline, which more often than not was gobbled up by Mellberg.
John O'Shea. Tried hard to view his game tonight objectively, but I thought he was brutal. Not aggressive enough. I worry if we base our midfield around him. Outshone by his partner in crime, just like...
Andy O'Brien. Oh, dear! A step back for the Harrogate Hustler:D Was expecting an assured performance from his but didn't get it. Distribution was poor.
Strange Tactics ? A minor point, but what was the purpose of playing Steven Reid at right back for 1/2 an hour? He won't play there in a competitive game so why bother.
All in all a good performance. Sweden looked brutal! Spain a month before the World cup will be interesting now. Interesting. That's a good word for tonight. Interesting. Glad I'm booked up for Stuttgart.
Kingdom.
First game but very enjoyable none the less. That fear they had under poor Brian Kerr seemed absent.
Thought Stephen Ireland had a splendid game, nipping into gaps and spreading lovely little balls here and there. He was all over the place - a real prospect and only 19 too.
Lovely goals too.
Not sure about Bolton's O'Brien - improved as game went on but isn't he really a midfielder???
Dunne and Duff were awesome.
O'Shea was anonymous really. Reid was solid too.
Great zip about the team and they seemed to be able to morph into different shapes up front and midfield with great interaction between the front men and midfielders. Loved that.
Pitch was a fcuker for both teams though.
Let's hope this form keeps up.
Stan was desperately trying to keep himself from blowing up with delight after the game. Loved that.:D
Lotta happy people in Louth especially tonight I reckon.:D
Kinda Ireland match that leaves a nice warm feeling inside and can't get rid of the smile off my face.:D
i thought dunne deserved MOM but then its never the defenders who get the credit..robbie keane did well tonight as captain he worked hard up front and capped it of with a lovely goal..i was hoping kevin doyle would get a goal aswell
Standing behind Dunne for the 2nd half I was really suprised he didn't get motm. He was superb.
That's 4 friendlies in a row that Duff has got man of the match. He really enjoys himself out there. :)
Stephen Reid was fantastic too imo. Excellent on and off the ball.
That was my top 3 players from tonight. Miller's goal was quality, he sort of chipped the ball. No cartwheel from Robbie either? :)
I can't think of an Irish player that didn't play well tonight and tbh there's not a chance of me predicting the next lineup. And is there any chance of Given getting his kickouts sorted? It cost us a goal against Israel and every ball he kicked tonight went into the stands.
Goals:
http://s39.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3...819VGQLSKILOCQ
What program do you need to play that file of the goals.. downloaded but can't play. No go on Windows Media Player.
Real Player works for me. I use Real player for most things.Quote:
Originally Posted by boysingreen
Goals look good on RTE. Will watch Fox Sports World tonight though as well.
Good start indeed but still a long way to go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
nice one eirebhoy! :)
I'd also go along with Réilteoirs Swedish friend, Sweden were atrocious.
At times Duff was given space enough to park his jeep, then it looked as if the defence came over just to 'Duff watch' when he was on the ball.
3-0, very good but I won't be getting carried away.
It's an excellent beginning, good team spirit, particularily with Miller and Ireland showing confidence and skill. We need more friendlies before September.
You need RealPlayer as I found to my cost, when it did play (eventually) for me it was at very low quality (this was after a lenghty startup and registration process and much disk thrashing and internet access).Quote:
Originally Posted by boysingreen
Anyway after if finished playing it crashed my computer in such a way
that it required a power off to restart it (followed by a lenghty scandisk)...
then it went into the "updatinig system please wait" as happens when
you do a major upgrade!! God knows what it was doing, I expect I will
find out later at a much more inconvenient time!!
I vowed not to use that piece of software again before and now I
know why!!
Anyway I have 're-disable it now'.
Of course you might not have such a problem with it, my system is pretty
old and maybe that is why, but I don't much like software which takes
such liberties with your system such as installing a start-up process
without asking you (txbell), God knows what else it had done!!
I have had less problems removing a virus from my system!!
I cannot see why people use it or what advantage it offers over say
mpg, for an 8 meg file it was low quality graphics (and slow frame rate)
on my system.
Of course it may work just fine for some people (such as Karlos above) but for me it is a bit of a nightmare unfortunately!!
I will see if I can get free prog to convert the .rmvb to .mpg but I have
got all the highlights recorded of Sky News anyway :)
Thanks for your efforts anyway Eireboy!
I know there's strict rules about torrents on this site so I won't link directly to the torrent. The full match can be found on this site:
http://www.fbtz.com/forum/
Register and use the search function.
Maybe just maybe the Swedes were bashed because we gave themQuote:
Originally Posted by geysir
a bashing rather than them playing bad.
Maybe Duff had space because he found it and the Swedes had other
players such as Keane, Doyle and Elliot to worry about?
I doubt too many teams look too good when they lose 3:0, maybe
folks would have been happier if we only won 1:0 :confused:
I can't remember the last time we won by 3 clear goals.
There is a free prog called TMPGEnc which will convert .rmvb files and
most other video files to .mpg, I am running it now :) however it is
going to take about an hour to do it on my system :(
Be interesting to see if the quality is better!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Soko
So what game were you at?
ooops...................you watched it on D'telly?
Snoooooozzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Three statements - all negative - all wrong
Help, am I the only one who saw many positives from the above three mentioned players?
Quote:
Originally Posted by soccerc
If you're happy with a Brighton goalkeeper as your back up keeper then thats fine. I'd prefer a more experienced guy in that slot. H e made a good save but I'm hudging him on his career so far as a whole.
You might be the only one who has a good word for Andy O' Brien.
Likewise for Kilbane.
Sorry I couldn't get up to the match, had more important things to be doing which have nothing to do with you or football. Sorry for not getting to carried away, we've seen what can happen to us when we think we are actually world class. Stephen Ireland though - next midfield general.
I thought Harte was excellent. I'm no fan of Harte but he and Duff had the beating of their Swedish counterparts everytime. He definately brought an extra attacking option to the team and really displayed how well he can spray the ball around when he's on song.
In all fairness Henderson pulled off a quality save from Larsson.
Andy OB wasn't embarrassing, but he was a bit sloppy with possession. In comparison to Dunne, there was no comparison.:eek: :D
Killer did nothing wrong. Certainly made no gaffs, kept possesssssssion well when he got it.
Ps Surely Paddy Kenny is backup keeper? Regularily I mean. Plenty of time for Henderson to work on his kicking. Was no mouse either, he was barking the orders at the back four from the minute he came on. Dunne looked around at him at one stage as if to say" Jaysus wasn't expecting this".
I've just logged on and am going from the last post first, but I thought I'd just say that having seen Henderson quite a few times, his kicking is excellent & he's got one of the longest kicks I've seen. The pitch was 100% to blame for both keepers' difficulty with their kicks. Shay always struggles on poor pitches - remember Greece away?Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom
Many positives and I'm starting to think we can put the fear of God into Germany and the Czech Rep.
Harte was very good, wasn't so sure on him before tonight but if he keeps up that kind of performance then he should be playing at LB again. Dunne and Duff were outstanding. Well done to Miller, he's had his critics but he has been one of the main cogs in the Leeds team pushing for promotion and deserved a break at international level at long last.
Last shout to S Reid, hopefully that cements his place in the centre of midfield (hopefully with Ireland and not O'Shea or Kavanagh.)
I thought Harte was excellent too.
Dunne & Duff both top quality. I thought Reid took a while to get into it but once he did he was very effective. I think he can do a lot better still.
O'Shea did quite well but you can tell he's not an instinctive midfielder.
AOB was careless & lost his footing a few times but got away with a few errors. I'm sure he'll do better.
I liked the interaction of the front 3, plus Duff too, and I like Stan's thinking re-Kilbane.
Joey O'Brien did OK, but it's good to get his debut out of the way. I think the reason Reid went to right back was just to accomodate the chnages in midfield.
It'll be different story in September, but then again, the Germans got stuffed 4-0 last night.
Lawrenson took a very bearish tone but he's right for the most part: we really need these young lads to mature & mature quickly. It won't always be as easy as last night.
I hope Ibrahimovic's injury isn't serious. I want him fighting fit for England!
Yeah, bugger it, England look like they've got another really soft draw in the group.
Ade
[QUOTE=Stuttgart88]
O'Shea did quite well but you can tell he's not an instinctive midfielder.
QUOTE]
I can't understand this. I just don't see why he was picked last night or any other night for that matter. He does nothing. He has zero aggression, and I'm pretty sure (I hope) that he didn't find any positive passes last night.
I hope he isn't selected in centre midfield ahead of Kavanagh or maybe Stephen Ireland.
How Dunne didnt get man of the match is unbelievble, Duff had a great game, but the honey monster snuffed out everything Sweeden threw at them and made it easier for the rest of the team. Great result, need another friendly or 2 in May, roll on Stuttgart!
I was thinking while watching the game last night that if Kerr was watching that he might have felt a tad short changed by Damien Duffs performance. Especially in light of Duffs recent interviews.
I thought that O'Shea was tidy at times & put in some good tackles but as always put some passes astray. I thought he started the game better than Reid but once Reid got into the game he was by far the better of the two. O'Shea doesn't have an incisuive pass though, which I think a midfielder needs.
I'll ramble here for a bit: my colleague at work was coached as a kid at West Ham. He says that Bobby Moore used to always say that at all times during a game you should "know your out ball" i.e., even if the ball comes to you unexpectedly you'll know what to do with it.
I've been watching Kavanagh all season with this in mind. He always knows his "out ball". O'Shea doesn't, but when he has time O'Shea can give decent put not incisive passes, and he can use both feet. He has a decent touch too. But of the two, Kavanagh is a genuine midfielder, O'Shea is only "work in progress". Edit, adding: Stephen Ireland has the same quality.
But honestly, I thought O'Shea did quite well. No better, no worse.
I didnt think o shea was that good last nite, in fact he was one of the few players to come out of the nite who didnt make an impression.
joey o brien looked a class act.
dunne is just gettin better and better. given seemed to be auditioning for irish rugby team. stephen ireland needs a bigger jersey. miller and reid looked good in midfield.
I wont bother starting another thread cos there are so many knocking around this morning but anyone know why paddy kenny didnt get a run out? was he even on the bench/injured? also the lad Supple for Ipswich has effectively become their number one so this kid is another great prospect.
Playing for Brighton (henderson) I dont think is gonna cut it but he did well.
Hopefully not another nick colgan but i reckon so.
Dunne should definitely have got man of the match - fantastic performance by the Honey Monster. I was really impressed by Harte too, Hopefully he gets back to the Premiership this summer.
Overall only positives can be taken from the game and its great to get a bit of enthusiasm behind the team.
I hope the idiot supporter that came onto the pitch gets a ban from Ireland internationals for a while.
think henderson did alrite....and I think kenny had to go home yesterday morning.
InjuredQuote:
Originally Posted by as_i_say
On a side note I thought the Swedes served up some classic entertainment last night.
That dive from their right-full, Östlund, in the second half and Robbie Keane falling around in laughter after it was pure brillance.
Then that 2 minute long jig from Wilhelmsson after a Reid tackle at the start of the second. God almightly. They definately know their "Riverdance".
Dunne served up some crunching tackles but the way he knocked Rosenborg off the ball during a one-on-one race towards our goal really showed that last night's game was a case of "men against boys".
what about duffs dive????????:D
Very impressed last night. Good performances all around especially from the first timers. I thought JOB did particularly well.
The one disappointment for me was the slection of JOS at CM.. He cannot pass the ball under pressure and never seems to be able to make room for himself when he gets the ball. I really hope Staunton doesn't persist with him in that position. Kavanagh is much better option. I thought the team had a much better balance to the team when he was brought on. Depending on how they progress I think Irekland and JOB would be good options.
Just touching on a point someone else brought up. This sh!te of muppets running onto the pitch has to stop. When it happened after the first goal I kinda laughed. Then I thought about it and realised it wasn't that funny at all.
The second time was fcuking stupid. If you want attention join a fcuking circus. especially considering Duff was clean through the second time. Really thought one of the Swedes was going to go for the invader.
That was an excellent result for Stan and his team. They passed well, attacked strongly and defended just as well. Above all, they seemed to be enjoying it. It was the first game in ages that the North Terrace was an enjoyable place to be and that is extremely important.
Like a lot of us said when he was appointed, just give them a chance. New players are coming through and older players seem up for it like Reid, Duff and Keane.
What I will say, though, is not to get carried away with ourselves. Ireland beat Finland 3-0 after Saipan and it was largely heralded as a new dawn. In fact, it was the beginning of the end for McCarthy's team and the start of a decline from which we're still trying to escape. Some problems haven't gone away; our midfield is weak and our strikeforce isn't as strong as we'd want it to be. This isn't a criticism of Staunton, however, he deserves so much credit for last night.
You mean you're judging his entire career because he spent his first season of professional football playing for Brighton. "Wayne Henderson. Not good enough for sub international but probably wont be seen much more."Quote:
Originally Posted by Soko
He's playing at the same level as Kevin Doyle, so what if he's not playing for a big club.
Last nights performance was certainly not as good as his performance against Italy. Duff has always played well in friendlies so I doubt Kerr feels short changed. :) As I said already, this is his 4th man of the match award from the last 4 friendlies he has played.Quote:
Originally Posted by razor
Indeed. It was just such a relief for the players to have stan in charge that it was a game that we were never gonna lose. Joey O brien is not a right back is he? I mean i'd hate for him to turn into another O Shea and be playing out of position for so long that it proves detrimental to his Ireland career. Is he a center mid?Quote:
Originally Posted by Donal81
Also agree with previos caller about Kilbane looking like the good year blimp or whatever when he came on but I noticed that a fair few of the players were also spouting man bosoms so its probably the jersey.
Stan is clearly a popular choice with the players but so was mccarthy and it took us 6 years to get to a tournament under him.
Cautious cautious optimism. Great to score a few goals though:cool:
I enjoyed last night because it was a fresh start for everyone and the pressure was off.
Elliot is full of running and shows tremendous heart.
Stephen Reid always has a great work rate and last night was no exception. Although I think it took a while to settle in his new position, he worked his socks off and played a great ball to Duff for the first goal.
Robbie Keane did a lot of running and was very creative.
The role of captain seems to suit him.
Kevin Doyle did his job well and was unlucky not to score from a header at the back post, in the first half. He really looks the part.
Joey O'Brien was a joy to watch! Delighted for him and hope to see a lot more of him in the green of Ireland. Duffer was Duffer, nuff said. Ian Harte showed again that he still has a lot to offer this team.
Richard Dunne was rock all night. Another great performance from the big lad. He just gets better and better.
Everyone else had a very good game and can be positive about the future. We've seen 4 new faces go out and perform well, that's enough to warm the heart on even the coldest night.
One question remains for me though. How would you fit Andy Reid into that team? Is he destined to be a bench player?