Stephen obviously is it? why's that? his ability to track back or something?Quote:
Originally Posted by Drumcondra 69er
Printable View
Stephen obviously is it? why's that? his ability to track back or something?Quote:
Originally Posted by Drumcondra 69er
Well said.Quote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
I was at Lippi's Italy against Guus Hiddink's Australia in the last World Cup. Italy had a man sent off at 0-0. Australia couldn't get near the opposition's goal for the rest of the game. Italy scored to win the game 1-0.
I think that categorically undermines Misery Personified's view that a result against 10 man Italy in Italy is nothing to be positive about.
Think result could hinge on Richard Dunnes fitness.He was magnificent in Bari.
Another key element is whether Berbatov can be bothered or not.
And if memory serves me right that was more than a bit of good fortune!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
The Italy result was a great result, if anything it was two points dropped and I dont think the Italians could have complained too much if we had snuck it 1-2 at the death.
At least they won't have these guys!!
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...etchkov270.jpghttp://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Park/8885/Gol_94.jpg
Nope, not for me. Absolute stone wall penalty, don't know what all the fuss was about at the time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Junior
Me neither. Dumb tackle which Grosso(?) made the most of but he was 100% entitled to go down as Neill (?) just lunged across him, getting nowhere near the ball.
UK pundits called it completely wrongly as usual. If a defender goes to ground without getting the ball and the attacker loses control as a consequence it's got to be penalised.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1kx8aOaSbA
It would never be a freekick outside of the box, therefore shouldnt be a penalty inside the box.
Stupid tackle from Neill I agree, but it didnt result in a foul imo. Simulation from Grosso.
Football is getting too easy for attackers, look at them in a moody manner and you'd almost be in fear of giving away a pen....................
He totally blocked off Grosso's path the the ball after Grosso changed direction. I had a friend over from Australia recently and he said it's still a very sour talking point over there. Not totally conclusive and way off the point of this thread but...Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
http://media.npr.org/news/specials/w...tralia_200.jpg
Whether it would or not have been given as a free outside the box I don't know, but it should be and therefore should be a penalty. Normally people say the opposite anyway, it's far easier to give a free than a penalty.Quote:
Originally Posted by Junior
The onus is on the defender to tackle properly, and rightly so.
Fair enough, Id be fair hacked off it was given against us. Partly because I agree it was a stupid challenge to make but moreso because the attacker simulated a foul and the referee fell for it.
But as you say, lets get thread back on track.........
Yeah, Noel is injured. Hunt would be ahead of McGeady based on his performance in Bari, correct call for me. McGeady has flattered to decieve for us, I'd be a fan but he's been far too inconsitent. Hunt's ball retention earlier in the campaign was lousy alright but he still had a far biger performance against Italy then McGeady has managed in any game so far.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
neil grabbed grosso's ankle with his left hand and cleverly disguised it, peno.
Dunne is ok. McShane the only doubt.Quote:
Originally Posted by cheifo
btw, we played at home to Bulgaria as Italy played against us. The only difference is that Italy had 1 less attacker but still Whelan dictated the game in Bari as much as Petrov did in Dublin.
Hopefully McShane doesn't make it.
Don't cae how bad that sounds...its for the team's best. It is clear the rest of the players don't rate him either.:ball:
Don't think so. Petrov looked a real class act that night and was the stand out player by a mile. Whelan definitely contributed to the Ireland cause but thought it was more a team effort in pinning them back. Definitely wouldn't say he dictated anything.Quote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
How so?Quote:
Originally Posted by joema
Side note I know, but I agree with your first point....Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
As for "how so"?
He regularly gets a bollocking from his team mates, one instance against Italy particularly stands out. Can't really describe it tbh but there was a group of us watching the match at home an we all noticed it clearly.
Most of the lads don't rate him, certainly not as a right back. Having played in many teams myself where this has been the case, it should not be seen as all that surprising...even at this level.
Well the general assumption would be that they wouldn't rate him anyway to be fair. Didn't actually notice the bollockings myself but I'm sure you're probably right.Quote:
Originally Posted by joema
Lads, what time is Kick Off Irish time?
thanks
He had nearly 20 passes more than everyone else on the pitch (not bad when you consider someone like S.Ireland averages about 30 passes a game!). I'd say he dictated it. Without even seeing any stats Whelan was a 9/10 for me that night. I think we created a lot more against Italy than Bulgaria did against us too.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
18:30Quote:
Originally Posted by den perry
Those stats do nothing for me to be honest. Fair enough they're there and there's no disputing them but I find them pointless. Petrov took control of the game in the second half in particular. He demanded the ball and used it constructively all the time, there was a real purpose to what he was trying to do. Doesn't matter how many chances came from it, he did his bit and as it happens he was mainly responsible for the goal. Whelan tipped around the place and was more available to receive possession than he had been in the previous matches alright but I don't feel it was on the same level. That's basically because he's not on the same level anyway. Italy allowed Ireland have possession and Whelan was loving it cos he felt more comfortable receiving the ball. A solid 7/10 which was a monumental improvement from his previous efforts but Petrov would have got the 9/10 for me alright. My biggest fear would be that Whelan wouldn't even attempt to control and game with less space as I'm sure Petrov would.Quote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
Well stats aside. I thought Whelan was a 9/10 vs Italy and I thought it was our classiest performance under Trap. We obviously look for different things in Whelan because you thought he was anonymous in Mainz when I thought he was motm without his goal.
True.Quote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
thanksQuote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
wrt how the other players rate McShane, I thought Dunne's words of praise for St. Ledger spoke volumes.
eirebhoy you see what you want to see. Andrews was more impressive than Whelan in Bari by a distance. I was surprised he was taken off. Whelan is another average footballer and did not under any circumstances dictate anything in Italy. He'll be deemed surplus to requirements with the emergence of Garvan, McCann or McCarthy over the next couple of seasons. Dictated play my ar*e. What games are you watching?Quote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
All this nonsense regarding the performance in Italy is the usual hyperbole you hear on this forum. We were about 2 minutes away from being beaten by the poorest Italian team I've seen in years a team that played with 10 men for 90 minutes with a central defender over 35 years of age that is way past his best and another pair of fullbacks well into their 30's. Buffon had little to do over the 90 minutes considering the situation. I wonder how different the performance would be remembered on here if that last minute equaliser hadn't hit the back of the net. Some of you really do need to wake up and smell the cornflakes.
The situation involved sitting behind 2 banks of 4 players, who point blank refused to get out of their own half and were set up to defend a 1-0 lead for rest of the game. And he still had to make more saves than Given.Quote:
Originally Posted by youngirish
Italy broke and had other chances to score. I remember McShane in particular looking dodgy on a few occasions.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
The point is, even with a dodgy McShane (along with Keogh just up ahead of him) we were able to get a stranglehold on that game
No mean achievement.
according to this - http://www.skysports.com/football/ma...947193,00.html - they only had 2 shots in the whole game, including the goalQuote:
Originally Posted by youngirish
dodgy or not, we still only allowed them 2 shots on target in the whole game, according to this, including the goal - http://www.skysports.com/football/ma...947193,00.htmlQuote:
Originally Posted by youngirish
I don't think Whelan dictated anything myself but I thought he played an important part in the best midfield performance we've put in for a while. The goal might have come late but it was fully deserved on the basis of the 75 minutes that preceded it.
So what if it was the poorest Italian team in ages? It was still Italy, managed by Lippi, in Italy. We were missing players too and were carrying some passengers. We're Ireland not bleedin' Argentina. I say it was a good performance and a good result.
There's nothing wrong or hyperbolic with trumpeting a good performance YI. You appreciate as much as anyone the need to hang on in while we can as the team will be a fair bit better in 12 months.
They broke away on a few occasions and had a good chance in the first half to go 2-0 up (the best chance of the first half) when they hit the side netting.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
True Stutts I do appreciate the need to hang on. I just wouldn't get too carried away by a performance against a poor Italian team reduced harshly to 10 men after a couple of minutes especially considering we were very poor (imo) against Cyprus, Georgia and Bulgaria in our previous 3 games.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Don't get me wrong I think that Trapatonni is doing a fantastic job with some very weak players in the team but we'll need some new blood if we want to be competitive in the play-offs and hopefully afterwards the group stages of the World Cup itself. St Ledger for McShane is a step in the right direction but we also need a decent winger, a couple of good central midfield players and a good left back before we will be dictating play against any half-useful teams.
I'm relativly confident going into the game for some reason, and that's basically due to our performances away from home.
Away to Norway: 1st half was one of the better performances by an irish team in the last number of years. impressive
Away to Georgia in Germany: Again looked quite impressive and composed until stoppage time
Away to Montenegro: Good professional display in which we were arguably the better team
Away to Italy: Great performance, albeit against 10 men for most of the games
This is in comparrisson to the toothless home performances against Cyprus, Bulgaria and Georgia.
Played Football Manager last night and in it this fixture ended up 2-2, after we had conceded 2 early goals. A bit like our Israel game a few years ago reversed
The atmosphere tomorrow will be nothing like that faced by Irish teams in the past. Burning torches ala 1977. And no national Bulgarian trumpet playing championships mysteriously held at 3.04am outside the Irish team hotel. The ref should be OK. Come on Ireland!
My cousin was at the 1987(?) game when we lost 1-0 in the rain. He said the army had their guns pointed at them every time the Irish stood up.
FInally, someone else who can watch the Irish team and doesn't see Brazil 1974!!Quote:
Originally Posted by youngirish
Daft post & total exaggeration. There have been plenty of measured posts here. Just because none meets your standard of persistent negativity doesn't mean anyone's getting carried away. And if anyone does get a bit carried away it's because it's what fans do.Quote:
Originally Posted by weldoninhio
Brazil were crap (by their standards) at the 74 World Cup, drawing 0-0 with Yugoslavia and Scotland, before beating Zaire 3-0 (remember the free kick?) and qualifying for the second round on goal difference, a single goal, ahead of Scotland.Quote:
Originally Posted by weldoninhio
They eventually finished fourth, losing to Poland in the 3rd place play off.