I didn’t find anything wrong with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by brine3
He said he can’t accept responsibility for professional players not being able to pass 5 yards.
The players have to stand up and accept that they were very poor in the first half.
A system can’t work if the personnel can’t pass the ball properly or keep hoofing it out over the end line as John Egan and Jeff Hendrick did in the first half
although for what it's worth I thought Hogan did ok when he came on. He's got more pace than I realised (though that might just be on me for not knowing enough about our own squad)
Ah, great, taQuote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
So did I, except for the time he drifted offside from our own free kick.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tipp Townie
Hogan played well. That wasn’t an offside. Terrible call by linesmanQuote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
I think he has every right to be miffed about Connolly. Connolly will hopefully be a real success in the future but the vast majority of his experience has been at underage level. Maguire has been playing at a higher level for 2 years. And Hogan has more experience than the pair of them combined, albeit he is not doing great at present at club level.Quote:
Originally Posted by Olé Olé
Maguire has had a few chances to prove himself at international level against poor opposition and hasn’t taken them.Quote:
Originally Posted by mark12345
Connolly added energy and spark against Georgia so Maguire can’t be too upset.
I think for the sake of his Club Career , Maguire cannot be risking his hamstrings . He probably would be as well to concentrate on club football and get as much career out of those hamstrings as he can .
No idea what you mean by that.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
But yes, it has.
I think Mick deserves some credit for accepting that Collins wasn't working out and giving him the hook at HT. I've seen several people in the past cristicising him for being too stubborn to make changes until too late.
I was advocating his subbing off, though I would personally have gone with Cullen to help Whelan in the middle and let the others get further up the pitch. I guess though that would look negative, bringing a DM on for a striker...
Calling someone a bandwagon fan by joining something that's existed for that long is a bit meaningless. It's like complaining about all those people listening to Radiohead instead of *looks up new releases* Wild YouthQuote:
Originally Posted by brine3
I think it's a partial mitigant that Mick didn't have the year between the Denmark Catastrophe and the start of Euro qualifying to experiment. If he had maybe there'd have been a bit more certainty of who to use and how/when.Quote:
Originally Posted by zero
I don't think McCarthy realised how much Ireland fans have suffered having to watch the miserable fare offered up by Trappatoni and O'Neill over the last decade. Not long after his appointment, I got a sinking feeling when I heard him trot out the usual cliches about how happy he would be to 'win ugly' and settle for a 1-0 win against the likes of Gibraltar. This 'practical negativity' has done nothing to change the fear mentality in the team, resulting on a reluctance to play any kind of of passing football of the type normally seem at international level. It's safety first at all times, relying on 'the Irish spirit' (grit and determination), 'nicking a goal from a set-piece' etc. etc. It's all so unambitious and utterly joyless. I think we'll have to wait until Kenny for that to change. (Although like McCarthy, Kenny will also have to deal with the weakest squad I've seen represent Ireland since I saw my first game almost fifty years ago). On a more optimistic note, reading this, it would appear almost impossible for Ireland NOT to qualify for the Euros:
https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2019...-permutations/
Some very bad officiating last night to be honestQuote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
Too many apologies for Mick. To be fair to him you have to give him credit for one or two of the players he has introduced to the squad during his tenure, Byrne, Cullen, Egan. But on the other hand he has persisted way too long with failed projects like Hendrick, Whelan (who actually played to the very best of his ability yesterday) and even Hourihane to an extent. Ongoing inclusion in the team despite continuous poor performances sends the wrong message to everyone. And then there's the nonsensical statements he makes like being happy with a draw in Georgia. That is not what fans want to hearQuote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
I just wish Mick would have taken a different approach from the beginning, like spending every second on the training ground working on changing his team to one which can construct a half decent passing move and hold possession in the opposition half
I'd swap you Whelan, Hendrick and Hourihane guaranteed starters for a James McClean guaranteed non-starter.
Paris, Lille and Geneva show that once players who are otherwise cautious and timid with the ball decide to play they can do it. Part of me thinks it’s that old John Giles thing of “moral courage”. We just seem to play with fear the whole time.Quote:
Originally Posted by mark12345
there is certainly fear there but the amount of aimless passes over the last two games was incredible.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
balls straight out of play, passes that put the recipient under undue pressure, passes to the opposition, crosses from crazy angles etc etc.
I cant believe that these issues are down to the manager... surely an experienced player can do better no matter what influence the manager has??
Exactly this. Trapp, O'Neill, and even Mick have lamented the lack of attacking intent and so on, all the while picking teams that they know will be very conservative.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
And it's the reason we drop points against teams that we shouldn't, which results in us not being able to play for a draw against the teams that it makes sense to take no risks against.