In which case how the fudge can we expect to beat Russia with players like that.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Fly
I could swear at one stage Dunne said "the midfield is F##cking S##T" T O'Shea during one of the set pieces.
The sooner Andrews gets back the better he is more of a lose than we know...
If we come out against Slovenia we really will be in trouble.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crosby87
Fly, you are one persceptive bugger! Smart***
Not hard to be regarded as pearsheptive when surrounded by such mediocrity.
Even with our full complement of players we can't expect to beat Russia, so it's a false premise to begin with. A team whose central midfield is chosen from Whelan, Andrews, Gibson, Green, McCarthy, 'Reid', Fahey etc... is always going to be comparatively weak.Quote:
Originally Posted by gaiscíoch
Where you thinking of Sean Connery when you wrote that?Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
Andrews would have made ****e all difference. The only player who I can think of that would have done better is McCarthy. At least he would have brought more attacking flair. It's all well and good to say we use holding midfielders but when those two are doing feck all, we're better off having anyone in there. They were crap defensively and diabolical going forward.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Fly
The Russians were very tidy and their passing was very crisp and precise.
That said, when we decided to just lump balls in on top of them in the 2nd half their defence and dodgy, punch-happy keeper were shown up.
Dunno how the Russian lad missed in the last couple of minutes from straight in front of goal.
A 3 goal win would not have flattered them.
Russia were good but like a lot of the former USSR teams, they panicked under pressure. Their defence was actually quite dodgy but we did not have the tactics nor the knowhow to test it for long periods.
I was always worried about playing Russia and them having a good day, that's what happend tonight, if Dzagoev was Spanish the media would be having a field day about him. He seems impossible to mark and was popping up everywhere.
That said i was shocked at how pedestrian we were tonight, the Russians closed us down the whole time, they were full of running and punished us whenever we gave the ball away. We did the complete opposite, gave them so much time on the ball, and you cant afford to do that against such attacking talent. I was sorry we didn't test Akinfeev more as (as I had suspected) he looked inept at dealing with long shots and has a real reluctance to catch the ball. Conceeding the first goal so early meant they could hit us on the break which they are exceptional at doing.
It's probably the sternest test we've had since perhaps Germany back in 2006-7 (I think this Russia team is a level above France, the friendlies vs Brazil and Argentina, and possibly Italy). I wonder how much preparation the coaching staff made for this game. Did noone flag Dzagoev as a danger, why did noone put pressure on Zyrianov ? Why did we play so many central (long) balls when Keane and Doyle were never going to have the build to out-jump Berezuitski and Ignashevic more than 30% of the time.
That said all is not lost, Russia may well slip up against Armenia or in Slovakia... if we get them on an off day we might scrape a point in Moscow - they are a very emotional side, some days hopeless other days world beaters, and pace and shooting from distance might let us sneak a goal in Moscow.
If we dont take anything from Zilina on Tuesday we'll be in a pretty bad way, but a win there and we'll be back in contention. Even a draw would keep us in the mix.
To be fair Dunne is no saint (and I am knocking him for it either), he is not beyond pulling the odd shirt, it's all part of the game.Quote:
Originally Posted by jebus
slovakia's results earlier means this isn't a disaster. A win on tuesday will still have us in a great position.
True but there badly needs to be changes to the team.Quote:
Originally Posted by boovidge
We've lost to Russia, a nation much bigger than ours and a with a better football team player for player. Let's not get carried away. people on here are actually calling for Robbie being stripped of the captaincy ffs, what would that really achieve? Who could we really replace other than duff for mcgeady and andrews for Green? Putting in McCarthy (even though i think he should be in the squad) isn't going to make us world beaters. Let's see what happens against Slovakia and assess from there.
While we might wish for changes, I would love to see McCarthy play, the reality is Trap is stubborn and will make little or no change. The Slovakians will be peeved at their performance tonight, but I suspect our performance will be good enough to at least get us a draw.
Will it be the same starting lineup barring injury?
He seemed to indicate in the post match interview there would be changes. I just dont want to see Green and Slovakia should be Kilbane's last game. Time to get a new option in the Norway friendly.
This was a good post in retrospect.Quote:
Originally Posted by tommy_c12000
exactly... get back in your box...he's been goodQuote:
Originally Posted by bullit
dundalk fan huh
It has to be said that the doomsayers have been vindicated to a large extent tonight. I was willing to defer to Trap's greater wisdom on Paul Green, but he just looked out of his depth tonight (although he was put in the unfortunate position of having to do Whelan's job as well - I really hope he was carrying an injury and wasn't just as lost as he looked).
I don't think it's entirely down to Trap's tactics - the players simply didn't do jobs they've shown themselves capable of - but it does raise a lot of questions about the effectiveness of the system when are playing against superior sides. It would be one thing if we were playing 11 men behind the ball, Switzerland-style football, but despite generally playing without the ball we do seem to be set up to score goals.
I don't subscribe to the view that it's impossible to play 4-4-2 against 4-5-1, but for a side that already struggles to impose itself in midfield, it does seem like we need an extra body in there, whether it's by shunting Doyle out to the wing or having Keane play deeper permanently. Personally, I wouldn't mind trying Gibson in an advanced role ahead of Andrews/Green and Whelan.
I think our players' lack of game time was really telling, probably moreso than in previous years. Dunne looked lethargic and Whelan was almost non-existant, although after a rock opening few minutes, Robbie looked really sharp (which begs the question why he's been so poor for Spurs). I am conflicted over Whelan: after tonight, I think it might be a good thing that he could miss Tuesday, but I'm fearful of a midfield in which Green is the most experienced player.