Fact: Albania is the best team that Kerr's side has beaten

Fact: Albania is the best team that Kerr's side has beaten in a competitive match. Stated like that it look grim. All these freindlies that only we take seriously are deluding us.

Is Kerr capable of sending out a team that is going to play with concentration and focus and energy for 90 minutes? His teams have looked vapid at times, leaderless, hesitant. The France match was good but too much of the rest is like I haven't seen in a long long time.

There are rumours of the squad being unhappy ( Fanning in the Indo ) - probably just paper talk but still.

My plea to Kerr is to drop all the Wegner-type crap and just let's go balls-to-the-wall for 90 minutes, our players like players in Premiership teams play best at high tempo.

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Originally Posted by Qwerty

Albania is the best team that Kerr's side has beaten in a competitive match

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I disagree, I think Cyprus are better than Albania ;) :D

Forgetting away matches as we have never been able to win away matches, the only 2 teams we've played at home have been Israel and Russia. Any other day we would have beaten Israel so that doesn't count. :)

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Originally Posted by eirebhoy

Forgetting away matches as we have never been able to win away matches, the only 2 teams we've played at home have been Israel and Russia. Any other day we would have beaten Israel so that doesn't count. :)

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Tell that to UEFA.

Kerrs results in friendlys should be ignored, in fact his treatment of friendlys really písses me off. He treats them like competitive matches when the opposition clearly do not. The result is we get meaningless wins, the disadvantage is he can't get a look at youngsters or fringe players and come the proper games we can't play them as apparently they lack experience at this level.

I'd rather see us lose and one, just one, player who's not a regular started really stake a claim than see us win against some disinterested, experimenting side at home.

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Originally Posted by Tuff Paddy

There are so many negative people on here it irritates the hell out of me.
I hope we stuff Cyprus and get at least four points out of the two home games against France and Switzerland and then all you eL fans with chips on both shoulders can go take your problem with Brian Kerr out somewhere else.
Get behind the team FFS. :mad:

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What has EL fans got to do with anything? Funny, as on boards around a week ago someone accused EL fans of blind bias to Kerr as he's 'one of our own'.

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Originally Posted by Tuff Paddy

It just seems to me that every time I read a negative comment on here about Ireland and Kerr it eminates from an EL fan.
We have three massive matches coming up and we need a bit of unity to get us through it.
Big deal that Albania is the best team Kerr's team have beaten. I didn't see Brazil pulling out of any tackles when they came to LR or Portugal not trying.
I just hope we put together three competitive wins in a row, top the group and get some serious preparation work done for summer 2006.
(But I'm probably alone here in hoping that).

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The original poster wasn't an EL fan :confused:

Fact is, many people here are EL fans, so obviously you'll see plenty having a go at Kerr. On Boards the EL fans are a minority and there's probably more anti Kerr feeling on there.

In fact the only other criticism of Kerr in this thread is from me and is soley about taking friendlys too seriously and them basically being a waste of time :confused:

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Originally Posted by Tuff Paddy

Fair enough, I wasn't having a go - I would just love to see 100% of the people on here 100% behind the team and Kerr.

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But you'll never get that on any internet forum for any football team. Just because people are having a go at Kerr doesn't mean they're not 100% behind the team or wouldn't love to see us in Germany. There's always going to be differences of opinion here, that's the whole point, it doesn't mean everyones not behind the team.

Croatia, Yugoslavia and Holland are the only (at least) half decent teams that we beat in a competitive in McCarthy's 6 year reign. Heads up lads. :)

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Ireland, Holland, Ukraine, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Spain, Croatia. What do we have in common?

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I give up !! what ?

yeah our capabilty of putting away weaker opposition away from home is shockingly bad. I think its all down to our weak/fragile mentality

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Originally Posted by Tuff Paddy

Fair enough, I wasn't having a go - I would just love to see 100% of the people on here 100% behind the team and Kerr.
By the way . . . something that REALLY irritated me before the Israel match in Dublin was people like 'rgumentative' signing on here and causing trouble.
These people contribute nothing to foot.ie

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I am not an eL 'fan' in that I don't pay to see games and I'm not living in Ireland. I am 100% behind Kerr. I am 100% behind the team. Does that mean I can't ask questions and raise concerns or ruminate? Or do you prefer not to see reality and delude yourself in thinking that Ireland has played to even 90% of it potential under BK?

I thought Brian Kerr was the right guy for the job but so far the team performances have left a lot of doubt in my mind and I'm not alone. I want them to win the 3 remaining games but there are things that are wrong with the current setup, it's not just bad luck. We know the score, we're a goal down and entering the final quarter.

I want them to turn it around, and as arm-chair managers it is our duty to tell Brain Kerr how to do his job :D Given the crop of talent we have right now if we do not at least finish second in the group the Brian should resign. Other than the away game against France he couldn't really put much else down on his CV from the last few years.

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Originally Posted by thejollyrodger

I give up !! what ?

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top of groups. Wasn't meant as a brain teaser, just a head lifter. :)

Just read that Indo article...Nothig new same ol crap..........We scrapped past Albania too...Another cracker for the Doc....Look things are seriously gonna change if we don't get a win from either the French or the Swiss and no amount of friendly wins is ganna change that. I agree with the previous posters saying they wished we experimented more in friendlie...Then Kerr might not have felt like Elliot was a 'risk' however I feel that was just an excuse to hide the fact that he ****ed up big styly...Anyhoo we have a few months to put our glum faces away for this will be but a memory when we face the French.........

I read the Indo article too.

I hate this smoke & mirrors "rumours of unhappiness in the squad" stuff.

If there's a problem in the squad say so Mr Fanning & Mr Doyle & whoever else is suggesting it, otherwise put it to rest.

What might the squad be unhappy about anyway? Not being allowed to roll over police car bonnets at 5am before a qualifier? Not being allowed to bunk off to the pub when Roy Keane has gone to bed while they're on holidays, sorry, World Cup Finals preparation?

Another fact :

only 13 irish youngsters signed for british clubs last year compared to 40 a decade ago :eek:

Irelands U-20's failed to qualify for the summers World Youth Championships while the U-17's failed to reach the European Championships. :eek:

Is Ireland a team in decline ?

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Originally Posted by onenilgameover

Then Kerr might not have felt like Elliot was a 'risk' however I feel that was just an excuse to hide the fact that he ****ed up big styly

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I've said this about 100 times now. Elliott was not getting his game for Sunderland. He had not started any of their last 6 games and he was also very ineffective against Celtic. Duff had played up front twice for Kerr before (Georgia, Russia), he scored in both times and was our best player in both times. Whether it was the wrong substitution in hindsight he's certainly not making excuses and I really, really doubt it lost us the game.

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Originally Posted by thejollyrodger

Another fact :

only 13 irish youngsters signed for british clubs last year compared to 40 a decade ago :eek:

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With the new rules on how many non-nationals can play for your club, along with the improvement in the EL, this isn't really too surprising

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Originally Posted by thejollyrodger

Irelands U-20's failed to qualify for the summers World Youth Championships while the U-17's failed to reach the European Championships. :eek:

Is Ireland a team in decline ?

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Or did we overachieve under Brian Kerr at underage level? Look at the number of talented younsters making their mark at senior level over in England at the moment - Stack (well before the court case), McCarthy, Elliott, Flood, McGeady, O'Brien, Kelly. Yeates is highly rated by Jol.

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Originally Posted by eirebhoy

I've said this about 100 times now. Elliott was not getting his game for Sunderland. He had not started any of their last 6 games and he was also very ineffective against Celtic. Duff had played up front twice for Kerr before (Georgia, Russia), he scored in both times and was our best player in both times. Whether it was the wrong substitution in hindsight he's certainly not making excuses and I really, really doubt it lost us the game.

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Was Kerr not watching for the many times Duff played up front under Mick? Two good games, or imo, one good game and one goal v Russia, does not excuse an awful, awful substitution. Duff is a poor striker and always has been, Elliot is a better striker.

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Originally Posted by Slash/ED

Elliot is a better striker.

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If Elliott came on and played like he did in the first half agains the Faroes or even against Celtic he would have been less effective than Duff was in his 30 minutes up front.

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Originally Posted by eirebhoy

If Elliott came on and played like he did in the first half agains the Faroes or even against Celtic he would have been less effective than Duff was in his 30 minutes up front.

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As I pointed out last week. Its not a comparison between Duff and Elliot up front against Israel, it was taking Duff out of midfield where he was double marked that caused the problem. It released the Israelis to push forward and score twice.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

I read the Indo article too.

I hate this smoke & mirrors "rumours of unhappiness in the squad" stuff.

If there's a problem in the squad say so Mr Fanning & Mr Doyle & whoever else is suggesting it, otherwise put it to rest.

What might the squad be unhappy about anyway? Not being allowed to roll over police car bonnets at 5am before a qualifier? Not being allowed to bunk off to the pub when Roy Keane has gone to bed while they're on holidays, sorry, World Cup Finals preparation?

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Seriously doubt there is a problem. Fanning just has a problem with Kerr because he doesnt have the managerial pedigree of the likes of the mighty David O'Leary or someone :rolleyes: .