No he was never asked. And not just because a 26 county team doesn't exist. But, for argument's sake, what would O'Neill do with the team that would be different to a Mick McCarthy? Been there, done that but everyone to their own.Quote:
Originally Posted by seanfhear
mcateer admitted he lied about his fitness having hurt himself in saipan training game. steven reid and finnan were shamefully not used enough in that tournament. I'll have to watch the games back again. I find it interesting how people were either roy or mick when in reality they both behaved poorlyQuote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom
The key words from that being "expectation" and "progress".Quote:
Originally Posted by ifk101
Re the former, might it not be that ROI fans are being blinded by the quality of (certain) individual players available, such that you are greatly underestimating all the other aspects which need to be in place to build a consistently successful team? In other words your expectations are rather too high, at least for the present circumstances in which you find yourselves?
As for the latter, I think I'm right in saying that for that Sweden friendly, Michael picked (was forced to pick, actually) the youngest NI starting XI since 1945! Yet despite the result, which thanks to the individual brilliance of Isak and Elanga etc was rather harsh on NI, there were still positives to be taken from the exercise which have stood to us in matches since i.e. progress.
HH perhaps?Quote:
Originally Posted by ifk101
Anyhow, my own (minuscule) knowledge of Icelandic football suggests to me that the NT was in much better position when LL left than when he took over. With your own (infinitely superior) knowledge of such matters, would you say the same for HH's time in the job?
(As for HH's time with ROI, it's still too early to say, but thus far at least, it's not looking especially rosy. Unlike MO'N's time with NI)
Would Robbie Keane want the job at this stage ? !Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
I wonder.
The Republic of Ireland is a the 26 County team, obviously.Quote:
Originally Posted by ifk101
Finnan played every minute from half time against Cameroon to the best of my knowledge. He replaced McAteer at half time of first game and Kelly went right midfield.Quote:
Originally Posted by dynamo kerry
Personally I think that Robbie might be the only one that might want it!Quote:
Originally Posted by seanfhear
As my favourite manager of all time once said, you tell me.Quote:
Originally Posted by EalingGreen
Sweden lost to Kosovo the other night. Their Armenia. If you are rosy with that 5-1 result, our expectations are certainly on a different level.Quote:
Originally Posted by EalingGreen
Going back to the games (my previous message deleted for some reason), one huge problem we have is our passing from the back.
So often, we pass the ball behind a player so that they have to go back and get it. All our momentum is gone then and the opposition has had a chance to regroup.
It’s baffling. It’s not like these lads can’t pass 20 yards into someone’s path.
So often they pass it to where the player is instead of where he’s going to be in 2 seconds
It’s completely a psychological thing
I will say one good thing about last night - it's great to see the life a crap result brings to the forum :)
Some very enjoyable and even therapeutic discussion over the past week, and the past 24 hours in particular
I shall take that as a "No" then (answer to my question).Quote:
Originally Posted by ifk101
Having watched the 5-1, I wasn't nearly so despondent as I might normally have been, simply because the performance from such a young team was better than the result (Sweden have some lethal finishers). And it was a friendly.Quote:
Originally Posted by ifk101
Which reflects my long-held expectation for NI teams that they simply give their all on the pitch, for the whole of the game. Thereafter let the results follow as they will.
And you? Your expectations for ROI these days?
In this spoken in your capacity as a Glentoran/ Spurs fan that watches Brentford and supports the North? If so, I suppose we all need to listen. Because this voice can speak with authority. This voice knows quality and knows what it takes to build a consistently successful team.Quote:
Originally Posted by EalingGreen
I agree totally that the players we have are (on paper at least) better than all of those available to Armenia. Just like they were better than Luxembourg, Finland, Cyprus etc. But they don't play like better players. You could have had Mourinho on the sideline for Ireland yesterday and it wouldn't make a differenceQuote:
Originally Posted by ifk101
Mourinho giving the world both barrels after that game, would be good entertainment though ! !Quote:
Originally Posted by mark12345
One of the Armenian midfielders looked like yer man from Future Islands. And he was bossing us around.Quote:
Originally Posted by mark12345
Play the ball, not the man.Quote:
Originally Posted by ifk101
Oh, and it's NI, not "the North" btw.
Well it’s not NI though is it?Quote:
Originally Posted by EalingGreen
It’s Northern Ireland.
I will also accept Awr Wee Contray with a pic of a fleg somewhere
If we move past the conversations about how the FAI set up and grass roots coaching is awful etc and just focus on the players on the pitch in the last 2 games, how much do we blame the manager? My initial reaction yesterday was that we should be beating Armenia regardless of who the manager is, and I still think that is true to a point. But when we look at the 2 games combined in this window there is no doubt that there is a passiveness with the players on the pitch and a lack of urgency. The way we started the game against Hungary was just as bad as the 90 mins in Armenia, and it could be said that we only got a tune out of the players in the 2nd half because of the red card and how loud the crowd were getting behind them.
Maybe the manager is too passive and that leaks through to the players? The signs have been there since the beginning. In his first games he was happy to sit back and let JOS take the lead against England, using the excuse that he didnt really know the players. He had a month to learn them before that 1st window. Ive never heard of any manager not wanting to take charge immediately and asserting their authority. Even if we look before that, when he was hired he didnt bring in any of his own men to the coaching staff, he was happy to go with whoever Canham wanted, again this is very unusual and maybe should have been a big of a red flag to us that he isnt a very strong character.
I bought in, Hallgrimson comes across very well in interviews, and I wanted to believe that he was good. But maybe his passiveness in how he has gone about the job has gotten through to the players on the pitch.
And also... JOS has now been the head coach for 2 separate managers where we look badly coached. Can someone get him as far away from us as possible. Incidentally, another nice guy who doesnt want to ruffle feathers!
I had thought the accepted/accurate abbreviation would have sufficed, but if you want to go to the trouble of typing out the full name, then be my guest. Ditto "Republic of Ireland" (or "ROI" for short).Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
Either way it doesn't bother me, in fact someone customarily going to the trouble of typing "the North" reveals a useful sign of a petty mind. While capitalising it with an "N" betrays a lack of consistency, even intelligence, perhaps.
Lads we must stay together at times like these.
Meet you at Crackbird.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crosby87
Part of the North of Ireland.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
Memories of my old man. He used say exactly the same thing about the "modern day" players of the 70's and 80's. Yelling at the TV: "pass the bloody ball in front of him, not behind him."Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
I have memories of watching Mexico 86...there was one game - i cant remember who was playing but i do remember the h/t analysis and the analysts (i'd swear it was Johnny Giles) lamenting that the ball was being played to or behind the player receiving it and how in the hell do players not know that they should pass it 5/10/whatever yards ahead of him... a tale as old as time...Quote:
Originally Posted by mark12345
As bad as things are, and have been going (and might get), we still have a squad of decent players, playing at good levels. We are just far less than the sum of our parts.
Sometimes it feels like we are two midfielders short of being competitive. A midfielder like Szoboszlai for example would probably completely change this Ireland team.
A good coach/manager would obviously help, but maybe we also need to get away from picking the squad based mainly on which players are playing at the highest level. If we have a team of water carriers with nobody to dictate the play and be brave, we aren't going anywhere. I'm not particularly recommending we call up players from lower levels who fill the roles we need filled....but....ok I am a bit. Would Matt Healy or Dawson Devoy give us more balance than the various versions of Cullen/Knight we have available? Could they raise their game when surrounded by better players? We joked about Burke earlier in this thread but my jaysus I'd have trusted him to get on the ball and not be worried against the likes of Armenia. Our PL and Championship lads shat themselves.
I don't know. I really don't. If Jack Byrne was at his previous levels I'd be suggesting him but that's another story.
I said earlier that I think a well drilled LoI side would've done better against Armenia. Well Rovers in particular. They might have lost the game, but the manner in which we lost was so painful. We were a shambles. Maybe you couldn't pick a single player from the LoI or elsewhere and expect them to rise to the level, but maybe it's time to find a few square pegs for square holes and forget levels. Desperate stakes.
Or maybe not. It's very deflating.
Maybe Keane or Duff would instill a bit of pride back into them but there'd still be glaring holes in the team, however we set it up.
I don't think Robbie would want next nor near the Ireland job. And I would bet money there are people on this very forum who would not swap their 9 to 5 for the Ireland job. It is in its current state a deep whole from which there is no apparent escape.