Republic of Ireland V Belgium - Saturday, 23rd March 2024 - Friendly

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Originally Posted by Fixer82

New kit will be worn for Belgium game

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The training jackets the players were wearing looked like a massive improvement. The badge didnt look like something stuck on as an after thought.

https://x.com/IrelandFootball/status...089825631?s=20

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Originally Posted by CraftyToePoke

Or that he looked like a snowball thrown on a bonfire whenever we bothered with him ?

Himself, Jon Macken & Paul Butler have a WhatsApp group I hear to help each other through those flashback days.

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Lolz and all but I think there's arguments to be made that any Ireland manager should be trying to figure out how to harness a goalscorer at English Championship level. It's just really foot.ie to blame it on the only Irish manager to ever look twice at the lad.

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Originally Posted by ontheotherhand

Lolz and all but I think there's arguments to be made that any Ireland manager should be trying to figure out how to harness a goalscorer at English Championship level. It's just really foot.ie to blame it on the only Irish manager to ever look twice at the lad.

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My recall is that Mick McCarthy spoke to Keane in 2019 and encouraged him to declare. Keane then suffered another long-term injury. At the time Mick also approached Patrick Bamford and apparently was encouraged by the response.

Will Keane is a good player and a proven goalscorer at Championship level who hasn't played a whole lot for us. Himself, Ferguson and Szmodicz are an exciting bunch of strikers.

Parrott, Idah, Connolly and Obafemi are next in line after those for me

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Originally Posted by Snapshot

My recall is that Mick McCarthy spoke to Keane in 2019 and encouraged him to declare. Keane then suffered another long-term injury. At the time Mick also approached Patrick Bamford and apparently was encouraged by the response.

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Doesn't change the fact that Kenny was the one who capped him. Or that he didn't really take the chance.

Are you going to bring up Kenny every time a future manager doesn't pick Keane?

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Originally Posted by ontheotherhand

Doesn't change the fact that Kenny was the one who capped him. Or that he didn't really take the chance.

Are you going to bring up Kenny every time a future manager doesn't pick Keane?

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It makes your comment wrong.

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Originally Posted by Snapshot

It makes your comment wrong.

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Are you going to answer anything asked and have an actual conversation or just keep ploughing away?

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Originally Posted by ontheotherhand

Are you going to answer anything asked and have an actual conversation or just keep ploughing away?

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Answer what precisely? I’m the one asking the questions about why a prolific goal scorer over the past three seasons has been afforded the minutes equivalent of one game. Stephen Kenny was manager during that time and as such is relevant to my contention.
As I stated previously, I’d currently place Ferguson, Szmodics and Ogdene ahead of Keane. No problem there but I’d have Keane on the bench.
What exactly am I avoiding? Throw it up and I’ll answer it. Does a conversation cease to be a conversation when one party disagrees?

Arguing about Will Keane being left out is proof that some people will always just focus on who's out rather than in.

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Originally Posted by Razors left peg

Arguing about Will Keane being left out is proof that some people will always just focus on who's out rather than in.

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It’s called a paradox.

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Originally Posted by Snapshot

It’s called a paradox.

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It's called a load of nonsense

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Originally Posted by Razors left peg

Arguing about Will Keane being left out is proof that some people will always just focus on who's out rather than in.

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It's more the blaming of Kenny for a squad he didn't pick that I find funny Razor. Imagine scrolling through O'Sheas squad thinking "how did Kenny **** this one up?". I'd have Keane in probably. But yeah there's always a player who would have solved everything if included.

Ive said it before, the only players in recent years that were consistently left out that we genuinely hard done by and could have made a big difference to us were Wes and Andy Reid in the Trap era. There have been times where I've thought certain players should be in a particular squad but they eventually showed they werent good enough or did make their way in. Last year Manning being left out was akin to Liam Brady be dropped by Jack... until he got in and everyone realized hes sh1te afterall. Then it became Szmodics, there have been little rumblings of Nathan Fraser should be in squad already and now we have the great Will Keane.

This is a good young squad we have now. There are gap.s that we need to fill in it that will hopefully happen in the near future, but every international window someone has to be b1tching about some discarded hero in their eyes.

Oh, you know, people might discuss the decisions made about the national team on this discussion forum about the national team. That might be okay too.

Szmodics said today Hungary links were nonsense.

Can't a guy say he's hungry, without social media saying he is going to Hungary? Jeez.

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

I don't think anyone's dismissing him - I think what we're saying is if someone breaks through at one of the top clubs in the world, then that has to give that player a huge boost in terms of a starting position for us. And we're also noting that he hasn't had a great season, which again isn't dismissing him.

Southampton have been winning games by dominating possession against teams - 70+% quite regularly, even away from home - and by battering teams into submission. 20 shots against Sunderland and 26 shots against Birmingham in their last two games for example. They're a bit Man City-esque in that regard - and I don't think many would say Ederson is "one of the main reasons that Man City are doing so well". His form certainly improved from the opening few games, but it can't be ignored that the outfield players were giving him less to do too.

He was decent in Amsterdam alright - I think it's worth noting he may have been our MotM, but he certainly wasn't overall MotM, which is quite a difference, and it would have been a different picture again had he not gotten lucky with the shot he let through his arms. I think there's feeling still though that you don't see many Southampton games where he's earned them a point.

The stats do take into account Raya's jittery opening btw - I'm not sure why you think they wouldn't. In fact, they show him with a poor PSxG figure this year (-2.5). But last year he was +5.0 (and so Arsenal signed him up) and this year Flekken is -7.3. Result is Brentford have already conceded ten more goals than last year, and are in a relegation battle whereas last year they were pushing for Europe. Obviously there's other factors in there too, and I would never argue the stats are correct to the decimal point. But like it or not, this sort of big data is very relevant.

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Sorry, but who has "broken through at one of the biggest clubs in the world"?? Kelleher is in because of an injury. If that injury clears up tomorrow he's back out again and who knows when he'll get a run of games again.

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Originally Posted by Crosby87

Szmodics said today Hungary links were nonsense.

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Direct Quote: "Marco Rossi is nothing bud-a-pest"

I'm here all week.

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Originally Posted by John83

Oh, you know, people might discuss the decisions made about the national team on this discussion forum about the national team. That might be okay too.

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Absolutely, but it usually spirals into a faux outrage and the manager doesnt know what hes doing. Discussion is one thing, but the guy being left out always seems to be the messiah

C'mon Razor, you have a Will Keane poster on your bedroom ceiling. Well, I've heard anyway.

Will Keane? Won't Keane?

Questions that will plague the Irish national side forever apparently.