He has been one of our better players, a technically gifted player with the promise of that creative extra, (which you won't get from the hoddie McClean) do you think such a player should be dropped for being off form in a game played in blistering heat?Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
I dont get the reference to McClean. I think Robinson is inconsistent. He was on fire for a few games in a row but can also be a bit of a headless chicken who makes poor decisions. I would potentially start Obafemi ahead of him for this gameQuote:
Originally Posted by geysir
My team for tomorrow would be
Kelleher
Collins Duffy Egan
Christie Cullen Hendrick McClean
Ogbene Obafemi Knight
Would like to see Festy get a run at some point so I hope hes in matchday squad.
I know my footieQuote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
There comes a time in intl football when there is a first 11, (for the most part) regardless of an off game. The manager sticks with the first 11 (for the most part) through thick and thin. If that's not so with Ireland then we are still experimenting with prospective players, we are still not settled on our best 11, we are still in the process of team building. That means that after 2 years, either we are afflicted with an indecisive incompetent management or/and a bunch of players not good enough to nail down their place at this level.Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
Saw this on RTE this morning: https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2022...ive-in-dublin/
A loss to Armenia is "Eight steps forward, one step back" (the eight referring to the streak of avoiding losses, that included the 1-1 home draw with Azerbaijan and that awful performance against Lithuania)? And "does [winning the group] really going to matter to the regular Irish football fan?" I'm loath to agree with certain people on here who get very loud whenever Ireland mess up, but Kenny is getting an easy ride from certain quarters.
We really need a win tonight, especially after Kenny's claimed aim of winning the group, but I don't see it happening. Ukraine looked very good against Scotland, and made a lot of chances in Cardiff, enough that on another day they would have eased into the World Cup. It seems that we're banking on their mental state being frail/low, but they strike me as a team that can rally.
Awful article, you don't get much more Kenny fan boy than that.
Daft article alright.
On the Lithuania game actually, I see they lost 6-0 at home to Turkey and 2-0 at home to Luxembourg in the Nations League this week. It'll be interesting to see how Scotland fare against Armenia tonight. You're right to put the 8-game unbeaten run into some context, and I think the results noted don't put the Lithuania struggle in a positive light anyway. (Not that most of us didn't know this anyway)
I think most of the first XI are pretty certain and turnover can be explained by a few factors. Doc starts if fit, which he isn't. Omobamidele and O'Shea are very close to the XI if fit - not fair to say they didn't perform well enough to nail down a place at this level, especially as Collins has emerged.Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
Idah and Connolly aren't available or aren't trusted anymore but I think it's hard to argue that they weren't deserving of selection when they were picked, even if it was a touch speculative. Obafemi has finally played himself into contention and Parrott has now earned his slot. Coleman and Stevens mightn't have long left. I expect a bit of flux in the next half year too due to the U21s like Smallbone, Noss, O'Connor, Coventry etc being promoted (you could see several). So I think a fair bit of turnover is understandable, both in the recent past and in the near future. I'm not sure it's indecision (though McGrath's exclusion is odd imho) and I'd agree that to an extent it's players being tried but not delivering (Connolly for example, maybe also Hourihane). So just saying your either/or scenario doesn't tell the full picture imho.
Ebosele replaces Coleman in the matchday squad.
Lenihan, Manning and Hogan miss out.
Do we reckon Manning just isn’t an international player at this stage? He’s 25,been playing regularly for a few years in the Championship and left back isn’t exactly a position of strength…..
Ebosele comes into the squad in place of Coleman according to reports, meaning no place in the 23 for Lenihan, Hogan and Manning miss out. Edit: sorry, someone else posted this at the same time as me.
This suggests to me that McClean will likely be playing at wingback with Festy on bench as a Hail Mary option if and when we need him
Manning is one of the better footballers available to us with a good left foot and is a decent set-piece taker as well as being versatile, so it's surprising to me Kenny that has failed to find room for him once again. McClean had question marks over his fitness going into these games didn't play well when he came on the other day.
I thought Manning and Hogan (also a Championship regular in a position we're not exactly well-stocked with) were two of the bright spots from the Lithuania game to be honest. That's not exactly a ringing endorsement, and in Manning's case it was hard to judge him when he had little to do defensively. But yeah, for both of those players, there has to be a feeling that Kenny just doesn't fancy them, for right or for wrong.
Yeah maybe it’s a Kenny preference thing,I haven’t seen him playing too much I’ll be honest ,just weird he isn’t even making the squad….
With five actual CBs named in the squad Manning was probably only brought as cover incase McClean or Stevens dropped out. They both came into camp with injuries so was probably better to have Manning in camp already rather than at home on the standby list. Would be my guess as when he's made squads before with McClean and Stevens also named he's always been there as fifth choice CB.
I though Manning did well enough in the Lithuania game to have maybe bumped himself up the pecking order, but he's clearly not trusted enough to be an option in competitive games. He's there just as a versatile backup if there's an injury crisis at this stage. Optimism as always is rising pre-game. Should be a good crowd and atmosphere and hopefully the players respond to the setback the way we hope they can. Would love to see us just taking on a few more shots and being a bit more aggressive in attacking the penalty area, we're too happy to just lob in hopeful crosses rather than trying to work it into the box and maybe win a penalty or creating a shooting opportunity from a cut back.
I think he’s a viable LCB in a 3. His passing is good and he’s progressive there and a good footballer. Not sure he’s really a left back, just doesn’t really have the pace required for the position in the modern gameQuote:
Originally Posted by joey B
Funny I was looking at this earlier, and another article on rte, also one on independent.ie but i cant find it now, which effectively said "having lost to Armenia any hopes of winning/topping the group are now gone". Where did that come from in a day? Its like the media is setting the expectations for the fans early, so that any schtick to measure or in some instance beat Kenny with are short and thin. I'd never really noticed anything in the media more a faux-nonchalance or radio silence, but this is getting a bit ridiculous now.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeverFeltBetter
Another thing thats pretty ridiculous in the media that I hadnt noticed so much up until recently was this "pull a random stat into a context that means nothing to generate a good light". 6 in 10, 2 in 12 etc etc. They mean nothing.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Where are all the greenshoots now though?
Quote:
Originally Posted by elatedscum
Seems to be echo'd by swansea fans. Definitely not a wing back anyway if pace is the issue.