O'Shea made 13 appearances for United in the 2001/02 season, with no goals. How was this "the form of his life"?Quote:
Originally Posted by brine3
O'Shea made 13 appearances for United in the 2001/02 season, with no goals. How was this "the form of his life"?Quote:
Originally Posted by brine3
My ratings
Randolph 6
Coleman 5
Keogh 6
Duffy 5
Stevens 6
Hourihane 6
Hendrick 5
Robinson 7
McGoldrick 7
McClean 4
Hogan 5
Maguire 7
Brady 7
coleman had a far better game than stevens who had a stinker.Quote:
Originally Posted by backstothewall
You will have to explain the Maguire 7Quote:
Originally Posted by backstothewall
( no guilford 4 jokes plesse)
The only two players worth talking about last night were Hourihane and Robinson - they were the only two who showed a bit of inventiveness. McGoldrick is a journeyman grafter and Coleman was trying to do too much. Hogan is a run-of-the-mill Championship player who spent most of the season on the bench. McClean and Hendrick need to be benched at this point - neither have done anything for several games now and Duffy needs a good kicking - he will cost us in future games without it. I think we badly missed Shane Long last night.
The biggest issue now with McCarthy is that he is not playing arguably the second best player in the squad in Doherty. I thought McCarthy might have brought a little bit of a more relaxed approach second time around - but he seems as stubborn as ever. Unless he gets Doherty on the field in the next game I would be calling for his head immediately.
As for the next game - Whelan will be a few months off 36 and possibly without a club - if McCarthy ends up at Newcastle then I think you have to give him a game. I would put out a team something like - Randolph, Coleman, Duffy, Keogh, Stevens, Doherty, McCarthy, Hourihane, Robinson, Maguire, Long - but I suspect it will end up something like - Randolph, Coleman, Duffy, Keogh, Stevens, Brady, Hourihane, Whelan, Hendrick, McClean, McGoldrick.
Hmm. Very poor showing yesterday, a cause for great concern. It was so hard to breakdown a team of limited amateurs. It's chastening to think that we will probably have to beat Denmark or Switzerland to progress. On this basis Georgia away will be hard enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeverFeltBetter
I disagree. I thought Coleman had a shocker. Against an opponent like Gibraltar the full backs should be on the touchline offering width. There was no defending to be done. Coleman seemed to spend most of the game gormlessly watching Robinson being swarmed rather than giving him an overlapping run.Quote:
Originally Posted by jbyrne
For me Stevens was totally anonymous. Coleman was noticibly bad.
coleman got in behind the gib defence numerous times. granted his final ball was lacking but i cant remember stevens getting in behind even onceQuote:
Originally Posted by backstothewall
Coleman, Robinson and McGoldrick did play imo
I just dont get the Hourihane love in, I thought he was sh*t
We need James McCarthy back ASAP,
I know I'm repeating myself but why not play Matt Doherty at right back and Coleman in the advanced role ??
Would anyone object to this team against the Swiss ( if they are playing ok at club level of course)
-----------Randy
Matt D Duffy Egan Stevens
-------James McCarthy ----
Coleman -------Robinson------O dowda
------------ McGoldrick
------------Michael Obafemi
I'd agree with that. I was sat midway into their half for the first half; Coleman (in front of me) was linking up well with Robinson, while Stevens on the far side seemed to have too loose a touch and lost possession more often.Quote:
Originally Posted by jbyrne
Coleman was on the far side then for the second half, so harder to really see his play, but overall I thought Coleman and Robinson were the only two bright spots. It was in the centre where I thought we were really poor. I know Gibraltar massed their defence, but these are the kind of teams that get broken down with a through ball, not a cross.
Expect an immediate objection from Real ale Madrid! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Diggs246
Oh, I didn't realise he was a striker. I stand corrected.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
I'm just relieved we weren't up against a pub team with fully charged batteries.
If the crowd was 35k and the population of Gibraltar is 35k, then basically the best XI of the stadium crowd should be better than Gibraltar
So Ireland struggled to beat a team slightly worse than the crowd who'd paid in to watch
I think the three of Coleman, Robinson and O'Dowda is very unbalanced and an example of square pegs in round holes. And I wouldn't drop Keogh for Egan (I would be more willing to drop Duffy). I might give the following a run out:Quote:
Originally Posted by Diggs246
Randolph
Coleman
Keogh
Duffy
Doherty
Browne [it would though be madness to give him a first start against the Swiss]
McCarthy
Hourihane
Robinson
McGoldrick
Long
The game yesterday was absolutely dire. I agree with those that thought Coleman was poor and my take is that Stevens has not shown us anything at this level yet. Hes functional but he is very one dimensional. Duffy's inability to find any sort of decent pass is a serious limitation for the team (ignoring the 3 yard pass that he put out for a throw, his short passing is always behind the receiver, never puts them on the front foot). Keogh was good and carried the ball forward effectively on a few occasions in both games. Hourihane had a good second half and his passing range is pretty impressive as he showed against the Danes too but he needs to impress himself on games more - dont know if it is a confidence thing. Hendrick needs to be benched quickly, his confidence is in tatters, nothing coming off and hes getting in the way. McClean should not be anywhere near the team (I have a feeling McClean is - or will become - McCarthy's biggest blind spot; the decision that leaves everyone scratching their heads all the time). He offers nothing - he is a no-trick pony at this stage - woeful. The Stevens/McClean combination on the left is the weakest i have seen in years. McGoldrick played well in the second half but he is not the main attacker we need. We need (and don't really have) a high striker who will hold it up and bring our wide attackers into play - he would do well behind such a striker. Hogan fluffed his audition completely - that he got nothing on that header in the first half was unforgivable. Robinson was truly the bright spark and came to life in the second half. He's a nice player to watch and his enthusiasm in playing for us is definitely a feel good factor. Hes done well in green in each game he has played now so is definitely a keeper. I am disappointed we didnt give Cullen even a few minutes as he is still a flight risk (however unlikely).
Weirdly, if McCarthy made 2 or 3 changes to that team, we would be in a good spot. I am a little concerned (full disclosure: I am a huge Mick Mc fan) that he wont make those changes.
I didn't realise he never played better than in the 2001/02 season.Quote:
Originally Posted by brine3
Missing the anchor in midfield last night, the 4-4-2 doesn't work with the players we have, didn't work in Gibraltar and didn't work at home against them either. Would rather we stick to the 4-5-1, perfect that, and use games against opposition such as Gibraltar to evolve it into a more advanced 4-3-3. Lost opportunity because the failings in the away game were put down to personnel, rather than how the team was set up to play.
Yes, that was frustratingly obvious as soon as the team was announced. I think even including Cullen would have given the midfield more balance and, without defending their performances, allowed Hourihane and Hendrick to play their more natural game.Quote:
Originally Posted by ifk101
He was bloody good then. I would say his peak was between 2001 - 2004. He's one of those players who peaked early. I remember seeing him when he broke into the Man Utd team in 2001-2002 and failing to understand how he wasn't in the World Cup squad.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
Ian Harte was a liability for much of the 2002 World Cup. We didn't really have anybody take his place at left-back. Stan's pace was too much gone for playing at left-back. We could have had O'Shea at left-back, and that would also have allowed us to play Duff on the wing instead of having Kilbane cover for Duff. Steven Reid was also really good back then (pre-injury), but Mick stayed loyal to McAteer (when he was clearly injured) and Gary Kelly (who was off the boil).
Below is a possible 2002 Starting XI in an alternate universe, which would have put Duff out on the left where he could do maximum damage, and taken advantage of the fact that we had three class central midfielders (play them all! we were always dropping one of Kinsella or Holland... Mick not being able to accommodate multiple top players is a recurring theme).
Given
Finnan - Cunningham - Breen - O'Shea
Reid - Kinsella - Keane - Holland - Duff
Keane
There has always been too much of loyalty to existing players in the Ireland squad and it has done my head in for years. Not just by Mick but by all managers. Places in the team should be continually earned, there should be no favouritism.