Turkey V Republic of Ireland - Antalya - 23rd March 2018 - Friendly

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Well if all the players were only told they were playing an hour before the match how can they be properly prepared? Being debriefed on their role, how to handle a direct opponent, whose responsibility it is to pick a loose player from a short corner etc. What Trap called the leetle details.

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I can see that argument but maybe the players preparation is effectively covered during the week at training and lads effectively know that they will be playing early enough in the week due to the teams (first v reserves) that are arranged in the practise matches.

what concerns me more is the players inability to put passes where they should go and the inability at times to control simple passes. this was quite evident last Friday. one pass from a midfield player to our RB at the time in the second half summed it up for me.... it should have been a simple pass back to the full back but it went past him requiring our RB to turn to retrieve the pass but by then the turks had pressed up on him and so the RB had no option but to launch it up the pitch. too many of our passes put the receiving player under pressure for me and I cant understand why its so bad at times

Yes, also it keeps all players at all times at the ready.

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Originally Posted by DeLorean

I don't know, it makes sense what you're saying but the one thing we've generally been is organised from a defensive point of view. I suppose a players potential role can be explained and practised without it necessarily being confirmed he's going to start. When have our players looked as though they don't know their role?

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This is true, but only if the players starting won't make a difference to the tactics.

If it's as simple as 'the left winger will do this, this and this' then everybody knows their job, regardless of who the left winger turns out to be on the day. But if it's as simple as that, it means there aren't really any variations on tactics based on the individual players, along the lines of 'if X plays up front, we deliver the ball like this, but if it's Y, we do it like this'.

But seeing as how we were hoofing it up to two small forwards, maybe it really is as simple as that.

I'd say it's safe enough to assume there isn't a Pep Guardiola level of detail applied. :)

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Well if all the players were only told they were playing an hour before the match how can they be properly prepared? Being debriefed on their role, how to handle a direct opponent, whose responsibility it is to pick a loose player from a short corner etc. What Trap called the leetle details.

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I disagree with this. Every player in the squad should be prepared whether they are starting or not because things happen. People wake u on the day of a game with a dose of the flu or slip in the shower or get injured in the warmup etc. And things are even more unpredictable in the game itself. It's a different code but Kieran Marmion played on the wing for the first time in his life against England in the 6 Nations.

Naming the team late means our opposition don't know what they will face and allows us to put new players in without worrying about them being up all night with nerves the night before.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

The goal was brain dead defensively. Turkey tried the same thing only a few mins earlier from the other side and it led to a chance they should have scored from. I liked that move actually, it's just a shame we were asleep. Didn't we concede at a crucial time of the game against Denmark from a short corner too? These are the details that matter.

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We can be poor at dealing with tactical corners. The goal we conceded against Scotland in Glasgow in the qualifiers for the Euros immediately springs to mind. We also conceded from a corner at home to Austria last campaign. I'm nearly sure there have been other occasions too..?

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Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

Trap would pick a team sometimes a week before a game, and people complained that made us too predictable!

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Surely there's a happy medium. A manager can give his players an idea of who'll be starting a day or two in advance and can prepare those players accordingly. There's no need to release the planned line-up to the media and you would hope that squad morale and discipline would be solid enough to ensure the information wouldn't be leaked.

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Originally Posted by backstothewall

I disagree with this. Every player in the squad should be prepared whether they are starting or not because things happen. People wake u on the day of a game with a dose of the flu or slip in the shower or get injured in the warmup etc. And things are even more unpredictable in the game itself. It's a different code but Kieran Marmion played on the wing for the first time in his life against England in the 6 Nations.

Naming the team late means our opposition don't know what they will face and allows us to put new players in without worrying about them being up all night with nerves the night before.

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There's a big difference between publicly naming the team and telling the players who's playing though.

There was some confusion last year when Robbie Brady ran back to the bench just before kick-off and just after the team photos were taken to look at a piece of paper O'Neill was holding, in what appeared to be a last minute tactical / positional clarification. The more alarmist in our ranks here cited it as evidence of chaos but I was more relaxed about it. I'm less certain now.

It's noticeable that when O'Neill's merits are discussed by his players it's always that he's a great motivator but not hands-on in training. Personally I'd prefer a coach to have his players well drilled and briefed first and foremost.

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Originally Posted by DannyInvincible

We're can be poor at dealing with tactical corners. The goal we conceded against Scotland in Glasgow in the qualifiers for the Euros immediately springs to mind. We also conceded from a corner at home to Austria last campaign. I'm nearly sure there have been others occasions too..?

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Denmark's first goal came from a short corner too I think, although Harry Arter being nutmegged was the bigger factor here, as opposed to being caught out a such.

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Originally Posted by DeLorean

Denmark's first goal came from a short corner too I think, although Harry Arter being nutmegged was the bigger factor here, as opposed to being caught out a such.

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Wasn't Hendrick caught in no mans land too though, not knowing whether to stick or twist so to speak?

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

There's a big difference between publicly naming the team and telling the players who's playing though.

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It usually adds up to the same thing. It inevitably gets out if the players know. Very few footballers go on to have careers in the intelligence services.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

It's noticeable that when O'Neill's merits are discussed by his players it's always that he's a great motivator but not hands-on in training. Personally I'd prefer a coach to have his players well drilled and briefed first and foremost.

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You are right about O'Neill's reputation but that's no different to Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger or Brian Clough (no surprise there). For me as long as someone is covering that it doesn't really matter, and given everything i know about him I find it very difficult to believe that Roy Keane is letting the 'lettle details' slip.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Wasn't Hendrick caught in no mans land too though, not knowing whether to stick or twist so to speak?

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He's a bit lost looking alright but I don't think it's a major issue if Arter closes his legs :) - https://youtu.be/D4acjRjt8LM?t=38s

I do think that comes down to player intelligence and leadership on the pitch as much as anything else. Same in Glasgow and to a ridiculous extent in Turkey, we fell asleep.

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Originally Posted by DeLorean

we feel asleep.

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Thanks Trap

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

There's a big difference between publicly naming the team and telling the players who's playing though.

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It's not unknown to name the team so close to kick-off. I know UCD did it in our European games (when we had changes in the team). The previous evening's training session can decide things (particularly in a friendly where you're looking to experiment), and possibly the medical check-in on the day too.

It does still sound a bit counterintuitive alright though.

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