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Keane was a bit unlucky with that last chance against the Czechs as Douglas jumped at the same time and slightly put him off. He is still ahead of anyone else we have available. And I thought his workrate against the Czechs was excellent. But I would not have him as Captain. That should go to Carsley, Dunne or Given.
Im not doubting Keanes ability and as has been stated we have limited other options. Its his atttude which sickens me. On the pitch he seems to have a chip on his shoulder and this is hardly the attitude of a captain. Dunne and Given must be wondering what they have done wrong. Personally i would never make a forward a captainQuote:
Originally Posted by Condex
I would question whether Given has the stomach for the captaincy role...dunne on the other hand....
no puns intended I'm sureQuote:
Originally Posted by Billsthoughts
Apparently we looked a little paralysed down the left against the Czechs...
Post of the month....can ya nominate yourself? or would that provoke a 3 day ban?Quote:
Originally Posted by Billsthoughts
Drop Robbie Keane???
Are you havin' a laugh? :rolleyes: (Is he havin' a laugh?)
No way should Keane be dropped, although I do feel he suffers when there isnt a tall forward up along side him eg with Quinn and Mido he formed very good partnerships.
Im not sure Keane and Doyle will work well together up front.
One of the best performances Ive ever seen from Robbie yesterday, when the guy plays with confidence, hes immense. Played almost ala Henry, on the left wing for a large part and moving in from there. Made bits of both right backs!! Drop him?!?! dont be crazy!
Yeah watched the match yesterday and he was superb by all accounts, particularly pleasing was the way he left Boulharouz (spelling?) on his arse in the lead up to Lennon's goal. He also set up Berbatov with an easy enough chance after that which should have been put away.Quote:
Originally Posted by elroy
Having said that, Jol has had the balls to drop Keane on several occasions if he's not up to scratch and, unfortunately, by making him captain for us, it is effectively making him undroppable which may be contributing to sluggish performances for us...
Pity about the missed header. A major weakness unfortunately. Agree that he was very good though.
On the performances of the weekend, I'd drop Duff, play Robbie on the left and play Clint up front with Doyle for the San Marino game.
How about looking at it this way?
If a player is in top form for his high level club, and is a player who is capable of brilliance, but who has underperformed at national level for a number of games, does he deserve to be dropped?
If he's consistently poor for Ireland then drop him if there's a better candidate.
That candidate is?
Exactly.
And I'm not sure you can say he's consistently poor either. Yes he missed a great chance late against the Czechs and a gilt-edged chance in Cyprus (both headers - as usual) but in the Czech game his all round performance was really good I thought.
re-the thread title, I think a more pertinent question is whether we should drop Duff.
Robbie, Doyle, Andy Reid and McGeady are all playing better, Kilbane has been doing well, in his usual not great but not bad kind of way.
Andy Reid has been playing in a withdrawn role where he is clearly flourishing.
Alan Quinn is another who can add something.
Granted, Duff has created 2 of our last 3 gioals, but I'm just just putting the question out there. Maybe he can come off the bench to good effect, or maybe picking him for Ireland is what he needs to rediscover his form.
I'm inclined to keep him in the team, but he's got to watch his back.
However, I also like the idea of a 4-3-1-2 with
---Douglas-Carsley-Kilbane---
------------Reid-----------
-------Robbie---Doyle-------
Debate.
I'm keeping faith with Duffer for a little longer - his class will show up this month when we play San Marino. A couple of assists etc will boost his confidence no end Just a pity he has joined a team that is sinking faster than the titanic.
A good new manager would help.Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
I dunno bout duff....he seems to be suffering from being constantly double marked. would anyone else fare better under similar pressure? another obvious question is why arent the other players able to utilise the space this creates for them?
No, I don't think Kilbane should start. Try Keane on the left in a sort of 4-3-3Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Doyler up front with Clint. (San Marino game only)
We need to get the confidence up and score a few goals.
Clint loves scoring for Ireland and he can feed off Doyle.
I presume you mean A Reid there? I'd have Miller in the position ahead of him.
I've lost all faith in Miller & wouldn't have him in the squad even. Andy Reid is oozing quality at the moment in my opinion.