I actually posted the one time he had a great game commenting about how good he was and hopefully it was a sign of whats to come. Unfortunately it hasn't happenedQuote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
I actually posted the one time he had a great game commenting about how good he was and hopefully it was a sign of whats to come. Unfortunately it hasn't happenedQuote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
I just watched the Italian game and I can see them having problems when they play in Montenegro. The Italian back 4 even with Canavaro look a bit slow after the first two games of this campaign.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scratchy
Post match interview from Off The Ball with Steven Reid, Steve Finnan and Shay Given: http://media.putfile.com/Post-game-i...d-Steve-Finnan
If only McGeady could have finished like Walcott did for his first two goals....
that goal would have been good had we got it.
The only position that is under threat in that midfield is Hunt's I'd imagine.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hibs4Ever
If he ever manages to stay fit Duff and McGeady will be the wingers. Andy Reid who knows but I think it's clear that Trap doesn't really see a place for him at the moment.
Actually every interview I've read he's said that he prefers the middle of the pitch.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ciaran
I'd bet on Andy Reid playing against Cyprus from the start.
In place of who though? Duff will come in to replace Hunt. I can't see him dropping either of the central midfielders, while if he was going to drop a striker for him he'd have done so already.Quote:
Originally Posted by irishultra
Don't know honestly, just a hunch. Even more wishful thinking on my part would be to see Sean Scannell given a chance up front(not starting obviously)
A very solid performance but a game we should have won. Then again I thought we had lost it when that Montenegran turned Reid and shot from distance.......
McGeady and Hunt frustrate the life out of me. Duff needs to be in a green shirt asap. McGeady needs to watch Walcott's goals tonight on DVD. Why the **** would you try and beat the keeper that side? Defence was solid and the two central MF players were very good again.
Given - 8. Two vital saves meant we haven't got muppets on here wanting the Trap to be sacked and replaced with El Tel.
Finnan - 7. Mr steady.
Kilbane - 7. Bar the slip he was useful in the air and covered for O'Shea and Dunne when needed.
O'Shea - 8. One of his best performances in an Irish shirt. Vital block and this new found aggression needs to remain.
Dunne - 7. Good performance.
Hunt - 6. Tracked back and worked hard but end product was a disaster.
McGeady - 6. Another below par performance. Tracked back like Hunt but missed the best chance of the match. I know the Celtic fans love him but he just isn't delivering.
Whelan - 7.5. Growing into the role of an international midfield player.
S Reid - 7.5. Some lovely first touches. Works well with Whelan.
Doyle - 6.5. Tried hard but didn't see much of the ball
Keane - 6.5. See above but did nearly conjure a beautiful goal out of nothing. These two needed more support from the wingers.
Have to say I was disappointed to a degree with the result tonight, we should have made changes, it was crazy keeping S Reid who was completly knackered and carrying a knock on for 90 minutes, S Hunt works like a dog and has to be admired but he offers nothing going forward and his free kick were brutal, Mc Geady again dissapointed me, why not bring on Andy Reid and D Murphy on the right, better delivery on free kicks and a bit more height in the box from free kicks compared to S Hunt. Trap is a stubburn whore
McGeady is miles ahead of Hunt. He has much better control, delivery, and has been winning us more frees than anyone. Every defender tries to muscle him off the ball or trip him up. He's far more productive with his possession.
Tonight was a real lost opportunity.. and there's not a big margin for error in this group. It wasn't one clear cut penalty.. it was TWO (Kilbane's goal-bound corner header right off the hand of a defender who's arm was level with the top of his dipping head, right in front of the 6-yard box).
If you ask me, we gave them about as much credit as if Spain were wearing the red jerseys. Our defense is becoming much more cohesive.. but offensively, we look clueless. I just watched some of the Italy/Georgia match (in Italy, mind you).. and Georgia looked far more purposeful and direct on the ball (certainly a few gears up from Saturday).
All things considered.. the group is wide open.. and we can be in the reckoning for first if we'd only link up better in attack.
agree with vast majority of comments here.
For the Cyprus game A Reid must at last be given 30 mins.
Hunt and McGeady were both poor tonight (Hunt worse, headless chicken, impact sub is all he is, McGeady flatters to decieve but although loved by Celtic fans is not cutting the mustard).
But I think the team is starting to believe they can win every time.
Defense is very strong. Offense will take a little linger but massive improvement in a short time
Cyprus are improving and will be a good game next month. Would take 1-0 now. we should win it though. Revenge is a great motivator
McGeady was a good 6.5/7 tonight. I don't understand people on here. His problem is he makes runs at sometimes stupid times..... but he was good tonight.
Haha, ah I know what you mean and I agree. IMO if he gave the ball away that much against the Italians we would be destroyed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Red&White Rover
One thing I've noticed about Hunt is he doesn't have the ability to run with the ball and look around. That's a major problem. Fair enough you're going to have your head down when you're taking on an opponent but if Hunt is running with the ball and nobody around him he'll still probably have his head down.
McGeady wasn't bad tonight. There was 3 or 4 times when he was away from his opponent and they had to foul him. If he wasn't fouled those 3 or 4 times it could have turned an ok performance into a very good performance. I thought most would have thought he did well.
I felt sorry for him when he missed. I think Robbie Keane should have run over to him to tell him unlucky.
i must have been watching a different match to everyone else, in fact everyone with me must have been. whelan hit the ball backwards (mostly) or sideways. Fair enough if you want to just play for a bore draw. Dunphy and giles said montenegro are poor and not near as good as they thought at half time, said Ireland should be able put them away and get the win. At full time they said Ireland were class and they made them look poor. Totally different analysis from both halves and made me beleive neither of them actually have a clue. Whelan was not man of the match, that time reid got up off the ground real slow, he was never the same, his passes werent even as good after that. His passing was still far better than anyone else. No one else spread the ball across the field like he did, which he also did on saturday. Not even mcgeady did. Hunt just ran and gave the ball away loads of time, more than he won it. Keane played really well, he ran his socks off, never getting the ball anywhere so had to come really deep. Doyle did decent. Oshea did very well in fairness, finnan was never attacking and was mediocre. Kilbane was decent apart from a few mistakes, dunne very good. Given very good. MCgeady was definitely better than usual. But whelan played the carsley game and none of us could understand, everytime we got the ball under pressure he blasted it forward, everytime we got the ball with space or a chance of counter attacking he slowed it down and passed it backwards or sideways, thats fine if you want to hold onto a lead or want to come 3rd in a group or just about scrape second if the 2nd seeded team are crap, but it is not good enough if we want to win. Montenegro will fissle out at the end of this and we will be the ones to suffer.
The one thing i think we lacked tonight was a bit of pace up front. The only one along the front 4 who has that extra yard is Mcgeady which leaves Keane relying on him to make a run when he drops short. but that is a system which can be successful, as Rooney and Ronaldo showed last season for Man U.
If we had a striker of the likes of Walcott, Agbonlahor or Defoe i think we would have won easily tonight
But Bulgaria is our challenger, on paper anyway. I hope Montenegro fizzle out and finish bottom of the group, so we(hopefully) get 2 extra points in the end of this qualification.(bottom team result doesn't count)
would ye stop going on about walcott, one good game, he'll be the messiah and england to lift the world cup tomorrow over here. He finished well for his second goal in fairness, but all he has is pace, he is no henry.
I can't agree with that. Carsley can slow a game down by taking too long to release a pass. Whelan released the ball instantly whenever he could tonight.Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
Quote:
Originally Posted by irishultra
No way Montenegro will be bottom of the group. Reckon's it's Georgia though Cyprus will be in the mix.
Good result early doors I'll take it. Plus did anyone see some of the mad results tonight? We couldn't beat the Swiss home or away and Luxembourg go and do it. Austria stuff France and then get beat by Lithuania.
And people throught our result against Georgia was a bit tight but Italy could only manage 2-0 at home. Poor start to the campaign for the Italians....God forbid I might actually become optimistic about our chances!
he may have released it marginally quicker but it went in the exact same direction as carsley. The only reason i can think he got MOTM tonight was because he is breaking onto the scene, got it the last day and there wasn't anyone really outstanding, oshea came close in fairness(given only had to make 2 real saves and thats not going to win you motm, unless under intense pressure), beglin admitted this when hamilton said it. I really think we were solid in defence tonight but that was it. We showed no attacking flair bar a couple of half chances, but this could easily have been a montenegro victory. I did think a draw from what i said in other threads but i thought that it could be a score draw, we still dont look like scoring. Fair enough trap seems to have sorted us out defensively but we seriouslly need to work on being able to create chances and score. Think to yourself tonight, who would feel more hard-done by(bar the penatly), im sure the montis are, look at the saves made by each keeper if still in disagreement.Quote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
A really good performance, I can not pick a bad game by any player. They played as a team and passed the ball around very well, in control for most of the game and deserved the win in the end. A bit disappointed at that, but to get 4 points from 6, with 2 good performances away from Home, is something that Irish teams have rarely done over the years, it was usually hanging on in the game and sneaking a goal and trying to hold on, where as now, it is far more controlled and the players know what they are doing.
I can only be positive for future games, I can see us, challenging Italy for first place on current form. Italy were not great yet again and Georgia had a few good chances there aswell. All is looking good for once.
i think it unfair to say mcgeady had a bad game because he missed that chance. when they ran through clips of all the chances we had guess who was involved in all of them, mcgeady.
i think of anyone who's position is questionable is stephen hunt.
given- tremendous in goal
finnan- didnt notice him, mustn't have put a foot wrong then.
o shea- great performance from o shea
dunne- good and steady
kilbane- played well again, apart from one mistake that nearly cost us.
whelan- played the anchor man well. does his job.
reid- was suffering a bit i think. but put in a performance,
mcgeady- used the ball better today, good crosses.
hunt- battled away but rarely any end product.
doyle- for me he is outstanding, holds the ball up well and is very composed. playing with confidence.
keane- nice snapshot, nice link up play, should have been played in by mcgeady to score.
i think the good thing is were not relying on any individual too much, we play as a team, that game three years ago shay given probably would have had to pull of ten wondersaves to keep us in it, tonight he had one.
Doyle is a very interesting player. Some don't think he does anything but run, but I think he does so much. Like his touch is very very good. He reminds me of Palyvuchenko, but just missing that killer instinct that he possesses.
Doyle doesn't seem really to have the goal in his mind, like a real forward should. I think him and Robbie Keane are quite alike in style. We need a striker who just sees the goal and thats it. Maby Dave Mooney? The 'Irish Pauleta'.
I mentioned Walcott, i assume you are talkng to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
I said about Walcott in the context of a pacy striker, which is something we lack in a big way.
He is no Henry, but who is??
Does Usain Bolt have an Irish granny?Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
Trap: "In the second half, we controlled the game better, we grew in confidence and the players understood what I said to them, that it was possible to lose and they should run down the clock if they could."
He said before the match he wouldn't have the team going out to play for a draw. :)
First two qualifers out of the way, and now we play the waiting game.....
Can't agree with you there. Hunt was very very poor. Okay, he'll run all day but he was not dangerous(and I can't rem when he was dangerous for Ireland)and at the end of the day he is meant to be an attacking player.He does not appear to have a football brain (evidenced when he chased a guy into the corner in 1st half and ball hit him on head - Doyle already had the guy closed down). He is a headless chicken and liable to do anything. That said,some headless chickens have their uses (eg Chris Waddle) and I would have him on the squad but only as an impact sub to use his pace against tiring oppositionQuote:
Originally Posted by TheBoss
See if we had a decent set piece taker in the starting 11, Hunt and McGeady's work would be actually merited. I would regard a wingers work to trouble the opposition, so if the opposition are fouling a player on a regular basis(McGeady) in dangerous areas then he is doing his bit.
I just had a quick read of the match thread, I can't believe I was just after watching the same game.
It's a long long time since we have performed like that, pretty much dominating 2 away games with composed controlled play.
O'Shea was inspirational and apart from a fluke deflection we were not troubled.
McGeady getting more solid. He had a chance, it was about our only chance therefore much of the focus is on his poor miss. I think he grew a bit out there.
Overall I am much more confident of a top 2 spot.
Ah, the waiting game sucks. Let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos!Quote:
Originally Posted by irishultra
The problem for me was the back 6 stayed back at all times except for set pieces. We had two wingers trying to cross the ball to the centre with no one arriving from midfield to get on the end of it. Hopefully this is just the 'away tactic'. Okay of course that means we're more solid defensively, but its just not how I like the game being player personally.
The chances Montenegro got were from 2 small slips in defence from Kilbane, Stephen Reid slipping on the grass and a deflected shot from 25 yards out. Other than that they never really troubled us - they ran out of ideas quite early in the game and the only attacking threat they posed was from shots a long way out or from them trying to fool the ref into giving them free kicks.
I'm disappointed we didn't win but I'm happy that we look very comfortable away from home against a team that is regarded as having a strong attacking threat. We have a shape and organisation that was not there before and I think we can look forward to the rest of the qualification campaign as these two away games have shown that we do have a real chance of qualification.
Leaps and Bounds we really are taking Shape and its great to see! missing something in the final quarter though to unlock defences and get Keane and Doyle more sniffs -dare I say it Stephen Ireland?
I'm surprised people are being so negative at the team as a whole. Partnerships are developing all over the field which should give us a solid foundation for the trickier ties that lie ahead. The two wingers were average at best and it's a problem area for us but if Duff is wrapped in cotton wool that is one wing sorted. Maybe McGeady and Hunt are not cut out for international football? Some guys just never adapt to the pressures,
Wins against Cyprus and Georgia at home are needed now + I hope the FAI do something about the atmosphere because we need to make Croke Park a fortress.
Our qualification hopes in this group, lie with equalling, or improving upon, Bulgaria and Italy's results. Last night we had a wonderful opportunity to get a two point jumpstart over Bulgaria, and we just left it behind us. We were never in any real danger, yet Trapp made no attempt to strenghten our attack, and seemed happy to take a point and run. This will bite us in the behind, before the end. Very disappointing result.
Stephen Ireland on the right, Duff on the left, or else we're in trouble.
i thought mcgeady did ok actually. watch the game again and see how often he tracks back. also held onto possession a few times well when we needed to keep the ball in their half. his miss was poor thoughQuote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
with regards to atmosphere, its up to the fans to create it. you cant create artificial atmosphere. i've always thought that a few well positioned fans with bodhrans around the ground is the best way of getting the crowd going. fai initiatives like plastic pop music after goals and the carlsberg band have actually helped ruin the atmosphere