Republic of Ireland V Northern Ireland - Thursday, 15th November 2018 - Friendly

The North were supposedly a team as technically deficient and as reliant on anti-possession counter-play as us.

That notion is probably gone now after last night. We were way behind them. Was it effectively three open goals they missed? And they played some nice stuff at times.

The worry now is Denmark will spot how easy we were to dispossess when under any sort of pressure and will apply that on Monday. (In the meantime, if they don't lose tonight, we're relegated to League C, and I'd be worried at the moment about getting out of there - or even getting a tough group and getting relegated again!)

Obafemi not coming off the bench when we had to replace our sub forward (Maguire) surely means he won't get a look in on Monday. I think he'll switch allegiance to be honest.

Really disappointed in the booing. We should be above that rubbish regardless of what views people may have.

Even more disappointed in the performance. I honestly can't see things getting better under this management team. Half-decent players are consistently not playing to their potential. Most are struggling with the basics when they pull on the green shirt. They are lacking in cohesion and direction and it looks like the players have lost the will to live under MON. Last night I was perplexed to see Hendrick playing as a deep sitting midfielder in the second half. Stevens should have started wing-back, Brady further forward instead of McClean. When Whelan went off the obvious like-for-like switch should have been Williams.

I took a screen shot half way through the second half. Curtis was fed with a through ball and he was in possession maybe 20 years from goal, a bit wide of the box. He had one player within ten yards. Hendrick, Hourihane and Brady(?) were lined up neatly in a straight line 5 yards inside our own half. Said it all to me. Either too lazy (unlikely) or just too conservative or afraid to get forward in support and offer options. Any time we got the ball last night we laboured to work it wide and run into blind alleys - and that was our best passages of play.

There were some shocking home performances in the 80s but honestly, I think this is as bad as at any time I've been watching the team, nearly 40 years now.

I think the question needs to be asked - are things going to get better? Are there any indications that we will improve? Is there any belief that MonKeano have what it takes to turn things around.

If not, we are left paying over the odds for a management team which cannot produce a performance that is even the sum of the squad's parts.

Whether the squad is brilliant or atrocious, the least that should be expected of any management team is that they produce performances which properly reflect the resources available to them.

I would argue that considering what they are being paid, we should expect more than that, but we should expect at least that.

O'Neill really isn't helping himself. If you're going to skive on real preparation, then at least select players in the positions they're familiar with at club level. Why complicate it? Why give out about a lack of time to prepare and then compound it by selecting players for roles they're not used to? It makes no sense.

McClean isn't, and will never be an effective left wing back. Stevens, Doherty (when available) and even Brady are all clearly better options for this position. They've all done well in this position in the past. McClean hasn't.

Hourihane clearly wasn't the right choice to replace Whelan in a situation where our only other natural central midfield player on the pitch was Hendrick. Everybody knows Hourihane and Hendrick are less comfortable in a holding role. Williams was the obvious choice having done reasonably well in recent auditions.

Robinson plays wide of a front three and is scoring goals regularly from that position for Preston. Open to correction but I've never seen him play as a number nine, yet that's where O'Neill starts him, completely isolated without a Hoolahan type (McGoldrick/Crowley maybe) to link the play from midfield. Okay O'Dowda could have been that man also but he seemed to be hogging the right touchline more often than not.

Any team is going to look disjointed when there are so many players in unnatural roles, and that's only talking about last night. Christie in midfield previously is obviously the best example of 'MON shoehorning' in recent games, but he's also played James McCarthy as a number ten and Alan Judge on the right wing previously.

His substitutions don't seem very well thought out either, there are far too many rearrangements to be made once he gets to the second or third player from the bench, constant swapping and changing doesn't do anything to help gain any momentum.

We have an extremely limited pool of players but, at the moment, O'Neill is making it exceptionally difficult for them to perform with any cohesion.

I've been going for 29 years and that's easily the worst I've seen.
Suggesting changes of personnel with regards to the team is, I believe, pointless because I believe I know what a team who have "downed tools" looks like, having seen a few, and last night Ireland fit the bill. Without doubt.

If MON stays, being the optimist, perhaps he's capable of getting some perspective and fixing things (unlikely), maybe there might be the emergence of a wonderkid who bags us goals even when we're playing badly, or the players do a Paris with Trap job and just decide amongst themselves to ignore the management and go and show they can actually play some football.

Right now though I am one sad supporter and have no excitement about the qualifiers. And that's the first time for that.

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Originally Posted by jbyrne

last night was bad but please don't go overboard.
mccleans goal against Austria away sounds exactly like what you describe (except for the actual finish to the net)

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Its more damning that the last example of a decent team goal from us comes from exactly 2 years ago.

My views on this management team are clear since Denmark playoffs. They must go.

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Originally Posted by SkStu

Its more damning that the last example of a decent team goal from us comes from exactly 2 years ago.

My views on this management team are clear since Denmark playoffs. They must go.

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I am not seeking to keep on defending things but the goal in Wales '17 was very well worked. I am sure there are other examples.
As I said, last night was bad but criticism needs to be balanced.

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Originally Posted by jbyrne

I am not seeking to keep on defending things but the goal in Wales '17 was very well worked. I am sure there are other examples.
As I said, last night was bad but criticism needs to be balanced.

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The goal in Wales was due to a high press in the attacking third of the pitch and a good cross, stepover and finish. I think 2 of our players touched it. Born of industry as opposed to inspiration. So not really a team goal. But a very enjoyable one!

I hear you about balance but I think that most people have abandoned it out of desperation. And rightly so, in my opinion.

Yeah, I'd agree with that. It was their throw mid-way inside their own half even. We just won the ball, sent a low cross into the box, dummied it and McClean hammered home. A good goal, but not a team goal.

I was thinking last night when our last decent performance was - by which I mean, competent and entertaining throughout as opposed to defending and grabbing a goal on the break. Italy in the Euros maybe?

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Originally Posted by jbyrne

I am not seeking to keep on defending things but the goal in Wales '17 was very well worked. I am sure there are other examples.
As I said, last night was bad but criticism needs to be balanced.

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But it's not just that last night was bad, it's the previous performances on top of that don't you think? He's experimenting sure but even good players like Coleman seem to be going backwards. I see a lot of the players in the Championship and they play far better than what we are seeing now in a green jersey. The one plus last night was that Brady's delivery remains excellent and since we're not going to score many from open play, that is vital. Otherwise his overall play was poor and he's no number 10 but I know he's just back. Arter should have been given a run as should have Obafemi. I didn't get the Christie substitution.

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Originally Posted by OwlsFan

But it's not just that last night was bad, it's the previous performances on top of that don't you think?

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yes I agree. After the wales thrashing I was willing to give the set-up a chance of redemption for the two home nations league matches. I thought we were solid, if not inspiring, against Denmark which I accepted as the first stage to improvement by stopping the mad concession of goals as seen in our previous two competitive matches: box ticked. I then hoped against wales we would add a bit of attacking play to the solid defensive showing against Denmark but it didn't happen: box not ticked.
Last night confirmed to me that we have little sign of improvement and I fear for us on Monday.

we are not getting the best out of our players and, although they are limited themselves, the north looked a far far better outfit than us last night. they also lack a goal scorer but if they had one we could have lost 2 nil. their passing was crisper and more purposeful and they were much more comfortable on the ball than us. although they were relegated (I think) from Group B last night they are far closer to getting the best out of their squad than us.

I think its time to freshen up the management set-up but I am equally frustrated by the U21 set up (although with king gone there is a chance to improve that) and JDs self centred leadership of the FAI, which gives me less hope for improvement than id like to have. every time I see a photo of a clubhouse opening in Ireland bloody JD has found his way into the photo...... is all about him and this has to change too.

When you have lads from a team that contain players from Oxford, Kilmarnock, Hearts and Burton playing better football than us you would definitely have to say that it is all down to the manager. Really have enough of Martin O'Neill. It is just one septic performance after another under him and it ain't going to get any better added to the fact that he is an unlikeble smart arse in general. The FAI should come up with the finances and get rid of him now before we become irrelevant altogether.

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Originally Posted by TrapAPony

septic

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This, precisely.

NI looked so much more comfortable on the ball that we did last night it looks like we are getting progressively worse.Our midfielders must of felt like plane spotters with necks craned skywards as ball after ball sailed over them from defense. Dundalk's first eleven would have given a more assured footballing performance.

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Originally Posted by Fixer82

I shouldn’t have had that last pint last night

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Would that be the most repeated phrase in the life of many an Irishman?

I missed most of the game, just caught snatches of it, was Maguire injured, what's the news on him?

Yeah Maguire pulled his hamstring. I continue to have high hopes for him but we will need him to be more durable as I believe he's our most dangerous front man when fit.

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Originally Posted by irishfan86

Yeah Maguire pulled his hamstring. I continue to have high hopes for him but we will need him to be more durable as I believe he's our most dangerous front man when fit.

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not sure about him to be honest. pushed off the ball too easily on a few occasions last night

My view is that he can work for us in the right system but cannot be a lone striker with hoofball tactics. If we are relying on him to be a hold up player, yes, his physical weakness will be exposed. If we play with a deliberate pressing or counter attacking style I think his pace can be important and useful.

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Originally Posted by Straightstory

The highlight of the game was in the second half when N Ireland put an outstanding move together, breaking forward at pace, passing skilfully and accurately, and it just needed one outstretched leg to put the ball in the net. You would never see the Republic try anything like that. Never. Ever.

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No but you see we don’t have the players for that, our players strength is to kick the ball as far away from the goal as possible and chase it...

Bit of Sunday reading reflecting on last Thursday's debacle for anyone interested.

https://afalsefirstxi.blogspot.com/2...own-south.html