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And you would step out of a job if it cost you €800k? Don't break your neck falling off that high horse. I wouldn't. I'd wait for the FAI to pay off my contract or negotiate a deal behind closed doors which may be happening "by mutual consent".Quote:
Originally Posted by youngirish
I can honestly say I wouldn't destroy my entire countrys football team and take the deserved abuse he has been taking for another 2 years to make 800K, particularly if I was a multi-millionaire already. I don't think this can be classed as sitting on a high horse.Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
Numerous better paid and more capable managers than this dunce have resigned, many from clubs that they owed no allegience to so wake up and stop sticking up for this muppet.
Clubs will probably get fined unless their stewards take them down.Quote:
Originally Posted by sonofstan
If this is the case (and it is), how can everything be John Delaney and Steve Staunton's fault?Quote:
Originally Posted by bigmac
The players are underperforming and look short of ideas. This is the managers responsibility. Could it be that he can't inspire them? Could it be they don't really rate the guy? Either way the buck stops with him and is his problem to sort out. He hasn't done it.
Delaney promised us a Ferrari and delivered a Fiat so he has to go too.
I agree with that to a certain extent, Staunton's motivational skills, erm, certainly leave something to be desired. And, yes, John Delaney is an idiot.
BUT, it's not an international manager's job to make sure his players can keep possesion of the ball for more than 2 seconds, and I'm sick to death of this crap where the Irish team "raise their game" for big matches against Germany or France or whoever and then fall apart against Cyprus or Slovakia or Macedonia. That's a complete lack of professionalism, pure and simple. Do they think they just have to turn up in order to beat these teams?
RTE lunch time news...
Tony O'Donohue outside Merrion Sq - "silence this morning is deafening" "delaney and staunton must realise the game is up" ----- heres hoping!!
oh no wait...MAXI...MAXI....DONT DO IT MAXI ...NOOOOO":D:D
They may not be your first choice, but I can assure you David Connolly, Mark Kennedy, and Gary Breen can get (and have gotten) the job done against Cyprus.
To say that is to fundamentally misjudge what the problem is.Quote:
Originally Posted by theworm2345
tony o donoghue is a legend! fair play for asking him aif he is starting to question his own ability!!
Like many others was just numb last night. Our move to Croker couldn't have been any less euphoric. 3 out of 4 games had a brutal atmosphere. The Slovakia match was the only game that had a consistently good atmosphere.
Horrible to see the Hill empty like that. There were a group of black lads at the back of the Lower Cusack macking a great racket all throught the game, they were very impressive.
As for the game itself, well there's nothing to add that hasn't been said here already. I genuinely was pleased with the line-up with the exception of Andy Keogh.
Its one-thing doing what Charlton did (playing the likes of WHelan or McGrath at full back) as you had intelligent MEN capable of dealing with things. Whereas now kids (a la O'Brien/Keogh/Murphy) are being asked to play positions that are alien to them, and their capabilities are being unfairly questioned due to them being played out of position.
The thing that galled me from listening to supporters and even the pundits is the total lack of knowledge about our own players. Joey O'Brien is a centre midfield player. He filled in an emergency role for Bolton as a right full and suddenly all of our wonderful supporters castigate him. I thought he did ok. He got stuck into tackles, when he played simple passes he was fine, it was the more intricate stuff he failed on. Which leads to Reid. I thought he was dire last night. No excuses his passing was terrible. The only thing that lets him off is the outlets on the wing were worse. Which leads onto....
Andy Keogh. I feel sorry for him. He's going to be tainted with these performances in time to come. where does he play for Wolves? Where did he play when he struck up that incredible partnership with Sharp for Scunthorpe? It wasn't in the position where he has played the last two matches.
There is without doubt a terrible malaise in the International set-up. This was evident with each addition to the back up staff. Kevin McDonald? Pat Devlin? Mick Byrne? Alan Kelly? Come off it. It says a lot that our most successful underage coach ever doesn't have any sort of role to play.
There are good players playing for us and there are good players coming through both at home and abroad. This includes te eircom league, as well as the underage squads. This craic of organising a B game once a year isn't good enough.
Are we better than our current position? I believe so. Is it as simple as having a proper structured backroom? I believe so. I've never seen a team as devoid of ideas or dependent on a sorry few as this current team.
One last thing. For all those who questioned Steve Finnan over the past couple of months. Go fupp yourselves. The only player to come out of last night with any credit bar Given was Finnan. One of the finest full backs in the game and we've misused him criminally.
I didn't watch the game, all I know is that we've lost (basically at least) twice to Cyprus and the we never lost to them before in qualifying when Breen and Connolly were there.Quote:
Originally Posted by gustavo
Delivered a pushbike more like....Quote:
Originally Posted by drinkfeckarse
As for the players, I think certain people (Humpty Dunphy especially, as it suits his current agenda) are way over rating them. An average bunch of players is what we have. (With a few exceptions.)
I'm adding you to my ignore list because all you do is spout the same line again and again and again about what players have been gilted and what they would ahve done. I actually like Connolly, and feel he gets hard done by on here, but your repetitiveness on the topic fuels my ire on the subject. Add to the fact that you're commenting on a match you didn't see never mind didn't go to and your arguments are pointless to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by theworm2345
Good question. Certainly the players have a lot of responsibility, but let's not forget that the behaviour missing for Ireland is automatically present for hteir club teams.Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveyCakes
Movement off the ball is a 50-50 split. Players need to make the runs, but the coaching team needs to clearly define the tactics and how the team should play. this is even more important if the players aren't doing the right things automatically. For example if the full-back has the ball then the winger should either come short to get the ball, or make a run for the ball over the top - he should not just stand there. A midfield player needs to make himself available, and the centre half needs to drop back ready to receive the ball if there are no options forward. This would mean that if Steve Finnan picks up the ball in defence he has several viable options
- Andy Keogh comes short, plays it straight back to Finnan and turns his man for the ball over the top
- Andy Keogh calls for the ball over the top if the opposition full-back is out of position
- Andy Reid picks it up in the centre circle and can pick out a pass
- The ball goes back to McShane and is quickly transfered across the back 4 to Kilbane, who should have the same options there
The woeful crossing is the players' fault, coaches here can't do much except work on crossing, and impress on the players that the ball has to beat the first man. Reports I've heard from training in Malahide suggest that little structured coaching is being done, rather it's a week of fitness and mini matches.
The slow passing across the back should be addressed in training. Several times I watched McShane pick up the ball, turn down an opportunity to immediately spread it to Finnan, dither on it for a bit and then move it along. The centre halfs should be told that when the ball comes across from the full back they should immediately be looking to move it wide on the other side - you might say this would be a tactic even...
Attacking full-backs is another tactical issue, they need to be told that they should attack if the manager wants them to, and a strategy for getting them the ball should be worked out, eg. a little triangle with a midfield player, the winger and the fullback. Finnan passes to Reid, takes off up the wing. Reid plays it out to Keogh who has the option of Finnan steaming up outside him.
The lack of build-up I place squarely at the manager's feet - the tactic was obviously to get wide and put crosses in, but when this wasn't working there was no plan B.
In summary, one of two things happened. Either the tactics from Stan were incredibly vague and hadn't been worked on in training to any sufficient degree or Stan had the tactics spot on, but the players went out and didn't put into practice what they had been working on at training all week. Both prospects are equally disturbing.
For the remaining matches befiore we start the next campaign we should be trying (as best as possible) to come up with our best starting eleven. If players aren't performing (given that effort and passion should be expected regardless of ability).
We have a number of positions up for grabs. The way to go would be have our core players and try and use filler as little as possible.
As I see it we have (given that everyone who is eligible is available)
GK Given
RF Finnan
CB Dunne
CB
LB
RW
CM Reid
CM Reid/Potter
LW Duff
CF
Cf
The blank spaces are just that, blank spaces, as these positions have nobody who over the course of this campaign can say " yeah I justify my position here or there".
And particularily in right midfield and left back these are definitely our two problem positions. We've had nobody solid there since McAteer and Irwin, respectively, retired. McGeady does not seem to be able to cut it on the right. Maybe he doesn't believe the others around him believe in him? Would it be worthwhile to say to him 'look, you're going to be a mainstay of this team for the next 2 campaigns, relax and let your football do the talking for you'? If not then an out and out right sided player has to be measured up, regardless of whether they are League1 or eLOI. This lark of playing players out of position just to accomodate them has to stop. If John O'Shea isn't good enough to get in ahead of Dunne, O'Brien, McShane or whoever then tough. Likewise for any of the centre forwards or any position on the team.
I bought a very nice salad sandwich from the Centra near Quinns before kick off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Réiteoir
That's pretty much it.
I dont think their is even a point in getting angry, every bit of anger at this management team has been released now. Never have i felt so disinterested watching an Irish team. I think Setantas teletext put it perfectly
'Shambolic Ireland rob a draw'
Thats exactly what we did, we robbed a point at home to a ****ing island from the Medditerranean
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom
kingdom , a bit harsh there , he's a young lad and he lives in chicago i believe so cut a bit of slack , connolly is muck though jaysis !
Great post and great points. really the FAI spin machine kicked in very early. remember when Dunne came out and said the players didn't understand what was being asked of them? I seem to remember it didn't get too far in the media.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigmac