Czech Republic post match thread

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Originally Posted by d f x-

The difference in class between the two sides meant that the Czechs didn't have to go at full pelt to get something. There was no urgency in their play, everything forward was laboured. They could win comfortably if they went for us, but they never really did. A draw wouldn't be too bad for them, as long as they didn't get beaten. The reason why they didn't was because they thought they could get through Ireland if they actually went for us.

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I don't understand this at all? "They thought they could get through Ireland if they went for us"? Does that mean they thought they would have beaten us if they attacked? If so, why didn't they attack more? :confused:

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Germany went for Ireland and won pretty convincingly, Cyprus went for Ireland and got five, the Czechs played poorly, looked for a point and got it comfortably enough.

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I don't know about that. It was far from a comfortable performance by the Czechs. They could have easily conceded more than the one.

The Czechs played like any away team does in Lansdowne unless they've nothing to lose (ie. They're losing). Maybe they gave us too much respect considering we had 14 players out of the original squad but it was far from a comfortable Italian style defensive performance. As someone already said, the Czechs got their 1st booking of the campaign last night... plus another 4. 5 players booked and they had a comfortable night?

Off topic but Steven Reid seems good at the fantasy football:
http://en.euro2008fantasy.uefa.com/M...d=3805&event=4

336th out of over 38,000...

BTW - My brother pointed it out to me earlier but I didn't realise it at the time. O'Shea gave away a freekick just inside the Czech half. He got the ball, gave it to them and strolled back into position. By the time he was strolling back the Czechs caught us on the break and scored. If he didn't go out of his way to get the ball for the Czechs he and most of the team would have been in much better positions to prevent the goal. Alex McCleish mentioned this on Sky Sports too.

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Originally Posted by livehead1

andy o'brien....
if your reading this...
I, and every other true Irish fan is 100% behind you. You are living out our dream by playing for our country. Everyone makes mistakes, yours is a job like any other, you can't get everything perfect. I've watched you over the years since you were a centre-back at Bradford. you have masses of ability that i believe this country will thrive on for the next 7 years. Those who doubt you now, ignore them, because one good performance later and you will be the best centre back in the world. Just keep your chin up, keep training hard, and the good form will come again, and I for one, am looking forward to seeing you turn it on for Ireland, and watch these doubter's come crawling one by one.

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Just noticed that you posted this at 1.41am? You wouldn't happen to have been completely sauced when you wrote it were you? Cos a sober man couldn't pen such rubbish :)

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Originally Posted by eirebhoy

BTW - My brother pointed it out to me earlier but I didn't realise it at the time. O'Shea gave away a freekick just inside the Czech half. He got the ball, gave it to them and strolled back into position. By the time he was strolling back the Czechs caught us on the break and scored. If he didn't go out of his way to get the ball for the Czechs he and most of the team would have been in much better positions to prevent the goal. Alex McCleish mentioned this on Sky Sports too.

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O'Shea is an absolute donkey. I mentioned earlier he was at fault for the goal because he was strolling back and out of position and the 'black is white' brigade pulled me up over it.

GET RID OF O'SHEA Staunton you dips**t and I might give you the time of day.

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Originally Posted by youngirish

O'Shea is an absolute donkey. I mentioned earlier he was at fault for the goal because he was strolling back and out of position and the 'black is white' brigade pulled me up over it.

GET RID OF O'SHEA Staunton you dips**t and I might give you the time of day.

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In fairness to O'Shea he had a good game and as stated dozens of times by many posters on here, he needs to leave Man Utd and nail down a regular position at another club. The Man Utd experience has not helped him to develop as a player, he's pulled all over the place...a jack of all trades, master of none. Under say the likes of Martin O'Neill at a club like Villa I think he could do very well.

Only back from Dublin this morning & don't really know where to start offering comments on the match & it's implications.

What the Czech match told us is that regradless of who we have available, playing a balanced shape with no lightweights in the crucial positions is all it takes to make us competitive. Sure we may lose, draw or win but as long as we can compete and give ourselves a chance that's all I want for now. This is the first time since Staunton picked a team that midfield looked balanced and purposeful. Carsley is the obvious explanation.

Jonathon Douglas exemplifies what we miss at times. Mobility, bite & aggression. Sure, it'd be nice if you could add real talent to that but beggars can't be choosers. Douglas is taller than he looks on TV too. I'm beginning to think that the likes of Miller really don't have anything whatsoever to offer at this level. Stephen Ireland too but he's got time on his side.

The Czech team from 1-11 would have given the Munster line out a tough time. Almost every team that was competitive in WC06 was the same and I saw Croatia against England and they were all huge too.

Andy Reid is a bit different. He's no pushover and I think if he had been properly match fit & had his shooting boots on we could have seen an outstanding performance from him. What he did show was very promising in my opinion.

Reid was very close to me at times. Despite what it looked like to some, I really don't think he's carrying weight. He's simply just bulked up a lot. His chest is now huge (a lot of bench pressing I'd guess) but he isn't carrying weight around his middle. Not match sharp, but not overly unfit either.

All's not rosy in the garden again by any means but Wednesday is something we can build on. To win our remaining home games and at least one proper away victory will be a very acceptable outcome from this position. 3rd place is definitely up for grabs. Second is fanciful. If we can go into the next campaign with a winning habit, especially away from home, I suppose it's as much as we can ask for and to be honest, it's the very least we should be aiming for too.

The O'Shea lapse has been mentioned in detail on this thread already a dozen times.
In particular the sky sports replay of the incident is cruel. With his back to the ball as the free kick was being quickly prepared he is clearly seen looking in a contemplative mood accross to the East Stand.
Still, it was class strike by Koller.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Reid was very close to me at times. Despite what it looked like to some, I really don't think he's carrying weight. He's simply just bulked up a lot. His chest is now huge (a lot of bench pressing I'd guess) but he isn't carrying weight around his middle. Not match sharp, but not overly unfit either.

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Did you get any photos of Andy to update on Eirebhoy's one?

No.

But I did meet Ray Houghton again and we had a bit of a yap. I think we're officially mates now. I had YBIG 6 with me (Ray Houghton Way special edition) but didn't have a pen for him to sign it. Then again I'm 39 and I haven't asked anyone for an autograph since I met Michael Stipe in 1988.

End of name dropping.

Just a comment on the technique on display, our vs theirs.

Our first touch, almost every player was inferior. I loved the way they played simple wall passes to each other when put under pressure, and the angles they found with their first time passes are something that we just don't see in Irish & British football. It's not just quality sides like the Czechs too, even the second & third tier central & eastern European countries seem to have it.

Worth our coaches studying.

With regard to O'Shea I thought that his overall performance was a lot better than what we've come to expect from him but he is responsible for the goal - he conceded a soft freekick and then ran after the ball (away from our goal). One of the Czech players got to it first and gave it to his mate who took it quickly. By this stage JoS was way out of position and had his back to play and was unable to offer McShane any cover. It was a great strike by Koller though - he took it very well.

Fair play Emmet, best description of the goal and O Shea's involment in the game and the goal as a whole. I thought it was one of his best games for ireland. I knwo thats not a very high level but I liked the way he was talking and organising the defence something I could see from the South Terrace in teh 1st half.

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Originally Posted by geysir

The O'Shea lapse has been mentioned in detail on this thread already a dozen times.
In particular the sky sports replay of the incident is cruel. With his back to the ball as the free kick was being quickly prepared he is clearly seen looking in a contemplative mood accross to the East Stand.
Still, it was class strike by Koller.

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Yeah, I seen a few posts mentioning the fact that he was trotting back to position for the goal but it was the fact that he went out of his way to get the ball for the Czechs that bugged me. Most players would run a few yards with the ball and throw it back or at least make it hard for the player to take a simple freekick. He helped the Czechs so much by handing them the freekick straight away and not even looking until the ball passed him by.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Just a comment on the technique on display, our vs theirs.

Our first touch, almost every player was inferior. I loved the way they played simple wall passes to each other when put under pressure, and the angles they found with their first time passes are something that we just don't see in Irish & British football. It's not just quality sides like the Czechs too, even the second & third tier central & eastern European countries seem to have it.

Worth our coaches studying.

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I've mentioned this point before but it's not as simple as our coaches studing it as you probably know. This needs to go to grassroots level and our standard of coaching. Its a huge long term project.

To simplify, at the moment a lot of our coaching at a young level is on positioning and fitness. That's a big problem because these are things that can be taught as a player progresses. We should concentrate more on the simple techniques of the game. You teach that at a young age and it's always with you. Fitness comes and goes.

Too often I see coaches giving their players 10 minutes of passing to each other and thinking that it is significantly improving their technique. Until we recognise that and do something about it then the divide between the Continentals technique and our own will widen.

At the game Wednesday
Henderson, ok not a lot to do.

Finnan ,steady but could have attacked more down the flank.

Kelly, we are still searching for a left back. Kelly has no left foot and looked uncomfortable on it prefering to put the ball out of play.Made good decisions.

O Shea, im not a fan because of his distribution, but this was his best game for a long time.

McShane, excellent though a bit more experience might have seen him do better for the goal.Judge him after a half a dozen games we have seen many players rise for their debut.

Kilbane, worked hard finished well from a player who has not been known for his accuracy in a green jersey.

Reid, Im a fan If only he could be a bit more mobile oozes style,never going to last 90 mins though.

Carsley, Set the tempo from the start looks like the best we have for that position.Seized the oppertunity to make an impression.

Douglas,OK but cant see him holding his place should have placed his shot better good save from cech.

Duff. Other teams clued into him now but still causes problems by dragging defences apart.

Keane. I think you have to be at a match to realise how hard he works. covered a lot of ground and was not the only one who missed a chance.

We DEfinitly had the winning of this one we have a mountain to climb now.
I dont see much sense in sacking anyone but need to get another mentor in instead of Robson although how Staunton will react to that is another story.

I'm more in agreement with Neil: back him or sack him, but no more consultants.

James Lawson has a piece in today's Independent (UK) berating the decision to (a) appoint McClaren and (b) undermine him by appointing Venables to hold his hand.

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Originally Posted by Sideline

Keane. I think you have to be at a match to realise how hard he works. covered a lot of ground and was not the only one who missed a chance.

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I concede that I was several thousand miles away from Lansdowne Road and can't judge Keane fairly as a result. But what I saw on the big screen didn't seem that much different from all the other times I've seen him in the flesh. A lot of running, sure, but what good is that when he never seems to get the ball and actually do something with it? And when he does get it, he frequently loses it and begins complaining. He held it up well and, as I've already posted, is at his most dangerous when he's playing off another striker. The lone striker role will always see him struggle. But, again, one chance from the entire game isn't good enough for a top striker.

Donal, I think you mentioned this about Keane before. If you have another look at the game you will see that at least in the first half Keane ran his socks off, not aimlessly but in closing down. On about 10 occasions he succeded in causing the regaining of possesion.
He didn't get a lot of the ball but when he did he used it as intelligently as was possible. Out on the left, he received the same attention that Duff did and still managed to deliver 2 excellent dangerous crosses.
It's not his game, as everyone knows, to be the lone striker.
It's unfortunate that the last impression is of that shocking miss and what a glory night it might have been.
The next one has to go in.
I thought he might have tried to get a silly booking in order to clear out his yellow card.

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Originally Posted by keenanboy

Just noticed that you posted this at 1.41am? You wouldn't happen to have been completely sauced when you wrote it were you? Cos a sober man couldn't pen such rubbish :)

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yeh i was rat-arsed

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Originally Posted by livehead1

yeh i was rat-arsed

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Don't worry about it I've done it lots of times!

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Originally Posted by geysir

Donal, I think you mentioned this about Keane before. If you have another look at the game you will see that at least in the first half Keane ran his socks off, not aimlessly but in closing down. On about 10 occasions he succeded in causing the regaining of possesion.
He didn't get a lot of the ball but when he did he used it as intelligently as was possible. Out on the left, he received the same attention that Duff did and still managed to deliver 2 excellent dangerous crosses.
It's not his game, as everyone knows, to be the lone striker.
It's unfortunate that the last impression is of that shocking miss and what a glory night it might have been.
The next one has to go in.
I thought he might have tried to get a silly booking in order to clear out his yellow card.

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Good couple of points, I do recall him chasing down some defenders.

I reckon the lone striker thing would work well when you're battling for a point away from home. At home, Robbie works best with someone shielding him, someone he can play off. He didn't have this last Wednesday.