Watched a good bit of the game against Rotherham. Was totally anonymous but wasn't his fault. He was just never passed the ball - was making decent runs and the pass went to someone else. Overall had one impressive moment in the game where he showed his quality, but in the handful of times he got the ball it was a little underwhelming. Got subbed after 65 mins...Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
Keith Andrews in today's Irish Times
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soc...sh-rugby-camp/
Andrews also revealed that Greece manager Gus Poyet brought in an Irish coach, based in English football, to analyse Ireland’s strategy ahead of the qualifier in Athens on June 16th. The 2-1 defeat last summer severely damaged chances of qualifying for the European Championships in Germany next year.
“In terms of the approach in June, it wasn’t rocket science was it?” said Andrews. “We had played a similar system for a long period of time.”
Ireland, however, did make surprising changes in personnel and formation before the Greece game with Will Smallbone and Adam Idah starting in an attacking 3-4-1-2 shape that was abandoned at half-time.
“In terms of this game coming up, I don’t think I can say anything here that would jeopardize it as I am sure [Poyet] will be reading, and getting some Irish staff in clubs around England to come in and watch his training session and have an opinion or view of sorts that will maybe help his game plan.”
When asked to clarify, Andrews said: “Well, Gus has a thing where he invited certain people in to watch training pre Athens. I am sure that assisted his preparations. He is quite cute, very experienced in his preparation. He said certain things post game, he alluded [that] he had done his homework.”
I'd love to know who that was!
Am I missing something? Why the need to invite in certain people, and specifically Irish, to assist when it's not rocket science to know our system?
Keith Andrews is my guess. In the market for a new job I hear.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
It was probably Mick McCarthy
Nah, it was Martin O'Neill.Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mFiy...r_Man_meme.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by ifk101
O'Neill and Poyet are golf buddies. https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soc...d-golf-2365762
I heard Brian Kerr and Damien Delaney were spotted in an ice cream in the training ground car park.
Saint Anthony Barry?
If there's any truth to that, at all, I hope word gets around about who it is - if they are Irish, as opposed to having been employed by Ireland (and being non-Irish).
Confirmed as Gary Dicker
Yet another reason why we don't need UCD around and ruining everything.Quote:
Originally Posted by AFunnyOldGame
On the contrary - if he can outsmart Kenny that easily, maybe the ex-UCD player should be our next manager! :p
Where was the confirmation? I can only see some speculation on Twitter.Quote:
Originally Posted by AFunnyOldGame
It's in the Sun today.
Poyet was Dicker's manager at Brighton back in the day.
Ah, now my money had been on Robbie Keane, based on them being former team mates and a convoluted conspiracy theory about a spurned Robbie grabbing an opportunity to take down Kenny so he could ascend to the throne he had longed for ever since he was a boy because his press leak about the video before the England game didn't have the desired effect. Or something like that.
Dicker, Keane, etc. have no special knowledge about the squad; they haven't been insiders in Kenny's tenure. It might rankle to see an Irish person working for the other side, but then plenty of our players and managers helped play against the country of their births. This is a non-story, just Andrews trying to deflect from the now-customary dribble of underwhelming results.
Szmodics has left the camp and returned home for family reasons.
Can't find the Irish granny?Quote:
Originally Posted by JR89
I never felt less underwhelmed about going to a game tomorrow night in a long time. I keep staring at my season ticket renewal and thinking what's the point !!! The games next year will be the Nations league and it could be maybe England, Norway, Turkey or it could be the excitement of Austria, Finland and Kazakhstan. If New Zealand is the best they could get for November I dread to see what friendlies get added to the list ..... I suppose some lazy manager will think Ireland play the same as Scotland will line us up for summer friendlies.