Republic of Ireland V Russia - Friday, 8th October 2010 - Euro 2012 Qualifier

I dont know if anyone else saw it, but Paul Green showed more determination to run over to Arshavin after the match to swap jerseys than he showed in the bloody game. Defended him before but cant know. I think Trap kept him on as he was aware of the reaction he would get if substituted. There were people i the east stand screaming blue murder at the guy.
I hope the papers dont go on about the brave battling Irish tomorrow. 3-2 was very flattering to us. They completly and utterly outplayed us to the point that is was embarrassing to watch at stages. Serious serious flaws have been shown tonight.
Thought the ref had a disastrous game.
Long impressed me with his ability in the air when he came on.
We really seem to have no ideas whatsoever beyond the long ball

I can't remember whether it was in the first or the second half, but one thing I did notice was Barry Maguire, seated in the bottom left of the screen, when the camera focused in on Alex McLeish during the match.

So unless I'm very much mistaken, or he has a doppelganger, I'd say there's a firm declaration on the cards!

Just another point, and it is only a little one, but why does Robbie Keane be so slow getting out when an attack breaks down. he sluddges back staying in an offside position for a good minute. Should we win the ball back quickly then he is simply not an option. Baffling and he actually does it all the bloody time.

Fly, in relation to Maguire that performance may have put him off, rather than encourage him to declare!

So Russia can play some football, we should try that some time!

It was always going to be a difficult game, 4 of the starters are playing in the Championship and Paul Green will never play in the EPL. He just smacks of lower league football like no player in a green shirt has since say Jon Douglas...basically he is there because of his work-rate and nothing else because he has nothing else.

Let's face it we just can't beat decent teams any more and Russia were certainly a very decent side indeed, they deserved that win. Holland 2001 .. will a decade pass without a home win against a decent side? Hopefully I'm having a senior moment and have forgotten a decent scalp. Oh yeah away: Scotland 87.

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Originally Posted by carloz

I dont know if anyone else saw it, but Paul Green showed more determination to run over to Arshavin after the match to swap jerseys than he showed in the bloody game. Defended him before but cant know. I think Trap kept him on as he was aware of the reaction he would get if substituted. There were people i the east stand screaming blue murder at the guy.

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That's very unfair. He was basically doing Whelan's job as well as his own, when Whelan really should have been guiding the less experienced/talented player.

Too late on the "brave battling Irish" score - the Guardian have already published theirs online.

I agree on Robbie - I'm often frustrated by his lack of desire to get back and hold the line, but it's a common problem with strikers.

Whoever mentioned Green licking Arshavin's hole, good shout. An absolute disgrace, an abortion of a performance.

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Originally Posted by gastric

Fly, in relation to Maguire that performance may have put him off, rather than encourage him to declare!

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It may also encourage him to believe that he may get some game time on Tuesday. ;)

The Ron Howard-looking idiot couldn't trap a retarded mouse. Gave him the benefit of the doubt til I saw that PATHETIC final whistle cameo.**** off you clown.

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Originally Posted by osarusan

On the penalty - I thought we were a bit fortunate. Keane was definitely clipped, but I don't think the defender even knew Keane was coming in behind him. No real protests from the defender though.

Other than that, it was just an awful performance.

That said, despite this shocker, we're still very much in the thick of things, and a good perfromance in Zilina to bounce back from tonight would make things feel a lot better.

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Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Too late on the "brave battling Irish" score - the Guardian have already published theirs online

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Keane's penalty was a penalty, was right in line with it, and it wasn't the worst foul in the world, but it was a foul and it was a penalty. Should have had another in injury time with the last kick of the game, an even more obvious pull back not punished by a poor referee.

The 2 goals have kept us top of the group, but we could be 4th come Tuesday, if the results go against us. It's going to be a topsy-turvy group.

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Originally Posted by The Fly

I can't remember whether it was in the first or the second half, but one thing I did notice was Barry Maguire, seated in the bottom left of the screen, when the camera focused in on Alex McLeish during the match.

So unless I'm very much mistaken, or he has a doppelganger, I'd say there's a firm declaration on the cards!

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http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/1882/capturevqp.png

Isn't that the kid from Glee? Didn't realise he was a fan of the Boys in Green.

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Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Isn't that the kid from Glee? Didn't realise he was a fan of the Boys in Green.

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You watch Glee?

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Originally Posted by Nipper

Whoever mentioned Green licking Arshavin's hole, good shout. An absolute disgrace, an abortion of a performance.

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I noticed that too. Straight after the final whistle, Green went right to Arshavin without even looking upset at the result. He acted like a tourist rather than an Irish international who gave a damn.

I have not been one of those knocking him lately, I thought I would give him a chance. After last night, it is blatantly clear he is simply not a good enough player to compete at this level. I know it has been said a million times before here, but God Trap, just give McCarthy a shot and maybe even Maguire or something. We need to try new things in the middle of the park.

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Originally Posted by Philly

I noticed that too. Straight after the final whistle, Green went right to Arshavin without even looking upset at the result. He acted like a tourist rather than an Irish international who gave a damn.

I have not been one of those knocking him lately, I thought I would give him a chance. After last night, it is blatantly clear he is simply not a good enough player to compete at this level. I know it has been said a million times before here, but God Trap, just give McCarthy a shot and maybe even Maguire or something. We need to try new things in the middle of the park.

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It must be hugely exciting for a guy with such limited talent to find himself on the pitch with real footballers like Arshavin so he's got to make the most of the souvenirs for the occasion I suppose. Green is clearly an impostor as an international footballer but then why should we be surprised - he's a mediocre player at a lousy club. He's involved in the national squad because of the novelty value he offers in giving Trap a new recruit for the new campaign.
Penalty was a bit soft too...............
On the positive side I think folks should cut Mcgeady some slack as he was our only classy looking player out there and is going to become increasingly important to us in the years to come.

Totally agree, McGeady doesn't deserve any hassle from last night. He was the only player who did anything decent for us in the whole match. I think he's just easy to pick on sometimes and granted he could have tracked back better - at the same time at better full back would have lessened the need.

Can Barry Macquire pass a ball? If so I'd play him Tuesday. Seriously.

The manager messed up big time last night. The midfield got butchered last night and I know Whelan/Green are never going to be top class players but they were outnumbered and outgunned in midfield because of our obsession with 4-4-2. To stem the tide the Trap should have put an extra body in the centre of midfield to congest things and make things more difficult for Russia. Whether that was taking off Doyle or Keane then so be it. 4-4-2 is out of date and we need to adapt to the changes taking place in world football.

I've just read some of Dunne's comments about the players always taking the easy option and he is spot on. Lumping the ball forward is the easy way out. Green and Whelan should be making themselves available at all times. To be fair to the Russians they pressed us superbly last night. A masterclass in how to make sure the opposition panic when they have the ball. Our pressing? Keane and Doyle running themselves into the ground chasing lost causes whilst the other 8 players are miles away, sitting deep so the Russians could play keep ball. You press as a team, otherwise the exercise is pointless.

Given - 4. Spilled the free kick, kicking was poor and doesn't look get sharp. Get a new club asap.
O'Shea - 5.
Kilbane - 4. A full back should always try and stop crosses coming in. YOU NEVER EVER DO THIS. You let the winger cross the ball?
Dunne - 6. Best of a bad bunch.
St Ledger - 5
McGeady - 6 looked dangerous but tried to do too much on his own. A threat though and maybe it's worth playing him behind Keane or Doyle on Tuesday?
Lawrence - 5. Looked slow and off the pace.
Green - 3. Not up to it and I feel sorry for the guy because he does get a lot of criticism. Shouldn't start again.
Whelan - 2. Worst player on the pitch. I remember him trying to pass a simple ball out wide to Kilbane in the second half and he kicked it out for a throw in. Watch the game again and you'll notice he is half jogging back when Russia are breaking away. He's either injured or not match fit. Either way he shouldn't have started.
Keane - 6. Worked on scraps. Tried his best but please stop diving. The one in the first half was a disgrace and I don't like cheats. Sort it out.
Doyle - 6. Won a fair few headers but Russia were ready for him. Why? Because we are so predictable. O'Shea/Kilbane/St Ledger have ball for 2 seconds, panic and then lump it to Doyle. Russia make sure Doyle is tightly marked and surprise surprise we've lost the ball again.

Long - 8. Breath of fresh air. The only Irish player with proper pace (Coleman is quick but the Trap won't risk him yet)

We need to go for the win on Tuesday. Slovakia are under pressure and confidence will be brittle. If we lose then it's game over and we might as well start building for 2014.

Team for Tuesday?

It's a difficult one. If he picks that same 11 then I'll be extremely pi$$ed off. Changes have to be made.

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Originally Posted by shakermaker1982

our big obsession with 4-4-2. 4-4-2 is out of date and we need to adapt to the changes taking place in world football.

Changes have to be made.

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4-4-2 is what has us top of the group this morning, and what got us to within 17 minutes of a WC spot. Outdated? Rubbish.

Sometimes, you just have to admit we were beaten by a better side, and Russia were a better side last night. A change in formation would have made no difference.

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Originally Posted by shakermaker1982

McGeady - 6 looked dangerous but tried to do too much on his own. A threat though and maybe it's worth playing him behind Keane or Doyle on Tuesday?

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That's a thought, but I don't thinks so, McGeady was at his least effective playing inside last night or we just cant change our game like that mid stream.. He is at his best out wide and least effective playing inside.
Whelan is the player who should have been leading the line and getting stuck in at CM, with Green as assistant. Whelan should have been replaced after 10 minutes. He virtually left Green totally exposed with no help at CM in the 1st half.
Lawrence was out of his depth out there and made little impact in the game. Probably because he is popular, hardly no one mentions that he had a stinker. Yet McGeady gets flak, quite bizarre really. We were very poorly prepared for this game - mental preparation/tactically and we were cruelly exposed in all areas - even Given. Classier teams than us have come before, dominated long periods and made us look primitive, but we have been able to hang on, keep some composure and get back into the game.
Although we were awful, I'd expect much better on Tuesday.

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Originally Posted by mypost

4-4-2 is what has us top of the group this morning, and what got us to within 17 minutes of a WC spot. Outdated? Rubbish.

Sometimes, you just have to admit we were beaten by a better side, and Russia were a better side last night. A change in formation would have made no difference.

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We've beaten Andorra and Armenia. I'm not saying 4-4-2 should never be played again but when our two central midfielders are Whelan and Green and we're coming up against a team as fluid as Russia then maybe it's a good idea to make things a little bit difficult for them and match up with them man for man in midfield. I'd have played 4-4-2 if I had a prime Roy Keane. I'd play 4-5-1 if I had Paul Green/Whelan and co if I was coming up against Russia/Spain/Brazil/Argentina/Germany. You adapt. Better teams with better players than us adapt all the time to the threats on offer from the opposition.

Playing the same formation and same tactics every game makes us predictable. Advocaat admitted as much earlier in the week.