Republic of Ireland V Serbia - Wednesday, 5th March 2014 - Friendly

[backstothewall]

Backstothewall how can you be positive about something when its not current you can only be positive about what you see in the now regardless of who has to come back and that was very poor!!

A welsh colleague said to me if wales can keep all 11 fit and available throughout the campaign then they have a chance I say the same about us.

Previous managers have always been lucky in having at least 2 or 3 really good players. I can't think of anyone bar Coleman and he was poor today for mon and keane.

I think I can see what o'neill is thinking. Good partnerships are emerging around the field. We created 4 great chances against a very good team. It's early days.

[paul_oshea]

Does anyone remember Cascarino's autobiography where he'd describe the voices in his head if ever given time to think about a goal chance? If anyone is the man to get Long's head right it's O'Neill. Many say O'Neill's best asset is his motivational ability. I still believe Long can become the man but he needs a few breaks. Look at his recent game against Villa - one great goal led to another. Last night could have been a career changer but instead he'll have those voices in his head next time he gets that kind of chance.

Meyler's miss was awful I thought. That had nothing to do with LOI or the English system. Goals like that are scored in the LOI and junior leagues all week. I played with a centre-back in Div 3C of the LSL who scored them regularly. A tall international CM should be able to.

Inner gimp i think its called isn't it? In golf Bernhard Langer was the first to bring up the Yips, I dont think this is Longs thing i just think he overthinks it and hasnt the practice/experience of saying rihgt im going to go here always or go to this corner, he just isn't sure. I agree with you and whoever else said that delorean sees it differently but Long just didnt seem comfortable never does in those where he gets too much time to think. I also think the first goal was more out of luck than class and precision.

Its not about meyelr being able head the ball or taking his chances, there is definitely a correlation between the increase in the number of LOI players and the decrease in our quality. Maybe because we don't have the same coming through we now need to rely on these whereas in the past we havent. Its not about individuals either, its the collective.

Thanks for explaining DI, thats exactly what i meant :P

[DeLorean]

Give Shane a break lads.

Enter... Benteke...

[jbyrne]

True, Duff's one actually counts as a miss, seeing as he shot the ball at the keeper. Keane just let the ball run out of play.

yes, he simply "let" the ball go out of play!!

in that move keane took the ball brilliantly in his stride without having to check his run. he then had the option to shoot early (risky) or go around the keeper and roll the ball into an empty net. he opted for the latter and took it a little too far. sky commentary at the time said he should have shot early but its easy from a tv studio and an armchair

[Junior]

on rte player here: http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10259899/

No good to me without an irish proxy blah blah blah......

[the doc]

In MON we trust until the first time he doesnt select Sledge as a parter to o'shea/dunne/wilson!!

Anyone think O'neill could move o'shea out to the left to accommodate wilson and dunne in the middle or play wilson and o'shea together in the middle and not necessarily accommodate Dunne? I think he wants a ball playing CB and hence his persistence with playing Wilson in the CB role. I definitely think its the death knell for Sledge there.

I wouldn't be saying in MON we trust if I wasn't certain SSL was in his plans.

Do I have to spell it out? Read between the lines!!!!!!!!

Irelands best CBs are SSL, Dunne and JOSh.

The rest can do a job now and then but not at the level of those three who are proven.

As for Wilson being a CB don't be silly!

I know my footie!

[Charlie Darwin]

Its not about meyelr being able head the ball or taking his chances, there is definitely a correlation between the increase in the number of LOI players and the decrease in our quality. Maybe because we don't have the same coming through we now need to rely on these whereas in the past we havent. Its not about individuals either, its the collective.

Then explain why we're better than we were six years ago. And how much of, say, Damien Duff's superior technical ability do you attribute to his upbringing and how much to the tutelage of notorious total football aficionado Ray Harford?

[Charlie Darwin]

I wouldn't be saying in MON we trust if I wasn't certain SSL was in his plans.

Do I have to spell it out? Read between the lines!!!!!!!!

Irelands best CBs are SSL, Dunne and JOSh.

The rest can do a job now and then but not at the level of those three who are proven.

As for Wilson being a CB don't be silly!

I know my footie!

The doc doth protest too much methinks.

[geysir]

No good to me without an irish proxy blah blah blah......

The whole game is up on sharingirish torrents,
i.e. for real fans who care enough

[Charlie Darwin]

The whole game is up on sharingirish torrents,
i.e. for real fans who care enough

Nonsense. The real fans are all still in their seats at Lansdowne Road, passionately debating the finer points of Keogh's positional awareness and McCarthy's stomach for the midfield battle with the diehards from YBIG. You wouldn't find any of them around here or downloading torrents.

[Stuttgart88]

Inner gimp i think its called isn't it? In golf Bernhard Langer was the first to bring up the Yips, I dont think this is Longs thing i just think he overthinks it and hasnt the practice/experience of saying rihgt im going to go here always or go to this corner, he just isn't sure. I agree with you and whoever else said that delorean sees it differently but Long just didnt seem comfortable never does in those where he gets too much time to think. I also think the first goal was more out of luck than class and precision.

Its not about meyelr being able head the ball or taking his chances, there is definitely a correlation between the increase in the number of LOI players and the decrease in our quality. Maybe because we don't have the same coming through we now need to rely on these whereas in the past we havent. Its not about individuals either, its the collective.

Thanks for explaining DI, thats exactly what i meant :P

I hadn't heard of the inner gimp. I like it.

[peadar1987]

Inner gimp i think its called isn't it? In golf Bernhard Langer was the first to bring up the Yips, I dont think this is Longs thing i just think he overthinks it and hasnt the practice/experience of saying rihgt im going to go here always or go to this corner, he just isn't sure. I agree with you and whoever else said that delorean sees it differently but Long just didnt seem comfortable never does in those where he gets too much time to think. I also think the first goal was more out of luck than class and precision.

Its not about meyelr being able head the ball or taking his chances, there is definitely a correlation between the increase in the number of LOI players and the decrease in our quality. Maybe because we don't have the same coming through we now need to rely on these whereas in the past we havent. Its not about individuals either, its the collective.

Thanks for explaining DI, thats exactly what i meant :P

Correlation does not imply causation. As you can see from this graph:



Sharp dips in the early 90s, corresponding to the Jack era, and another dip in 2002, corresponding to qualification for Japan/Korea. Another dip in 2009 when we came so close in Paris. Clearly, Ireland's World Cup performances strongly correlate with UK corporation tax revenue.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I like Walters. Not a spectacular player, but I think he's the most intelligent striker of a physical ilk we have. Runs good lines in behind, stretches defences, opens up space for others and is a total work house. He's stronger and better at holding the ball up than any of our other striking options IMO.

I don't think he's the best goalscorer but he's grabbed four in 22 apps and appears more of a threat than others when on the field. I don't think Murphy brings the above, and less besides. For instance, they're as slow as each other. Just my view of course.



I don't think so. I just think Walters is cut above the others. There's no point lumping all these guys in together. Walters has a quality to him which I don't think the others possess, at this moment. I'd criticism him all day for a bad performance, and he is limited, but I think he'd done fairly well in his relatively thankless stint in a green shirt.



TOWK has been banging the Murphy drum for some time, over numerous posts. He also took Murphy's solitary contribution (a flick-on) and used it as a stick to beat Walters. Which is fine, but it's spin.

First and foremost, I haven't been beating Murphy's drum at all, unless you call linking articles about him "beating his drum". It would actually be a professional footballer, Danny Higginbotham, Mick Mac and MON who were doing it - if anyone. Yes, Murphy does deserve credit for creating a goalscoring opportunity in his limited time on the pitch when substitutions had drained the life out of the game and Serbia dominated possession. It's a thankless task; and yes, Walters does deserve criticism for not possessing enough of a goalscoring threat or any kind of reaction.

I don't have a preference for either Walters or Murphy. Walters is playing regularly in the PL which is advantageous because only about a dozen or so Irish players are guaranteed starts every week.

Walters is a cart horse and he may serve a purpose in certain circumstances where we are under the cosh and/or defending a lead but he offers nothing from an attacking perspective. I keep hearing about these spaces he opens up? Give me one example. He does not belong on the wing because he has less pace, less crossing ability and less nous than other options. There are better options up front too as Walters frankly is poor in the air where Long, Doyle and even Murphy excel, his touch isn't up to snuff and his shooting speaks for itself.

He was bullied, barely won a single header and was completely neutralised against Kazakhstan - and most of our qualifying games for that matter. It was Long and Doyle who saved us in that game but people seem to judge Doyle solely on extenuating circumstances at Wolves and forget how good he has been for Ireland.

Another thing too. Walters was good against Austria in fairness but he was partly at fault for the Alaba goal. He shouldn't have been left on for 90 minutes, when he is flogged for 90 minutes, 38 games a season at Stoke, but in fairness, fault for that would lie with Trapattoni.

Long and Doyle up front is worth pursuing. They were fantastic against Oman. I know.

Not playing Stokes was a complete waste though. I agree O'Neill should have been more clever with his substitutions. Long should have been brought off for Stokes and Hoolahan kept on while we were still being gifted goalscoring opportunities.

We will never know what Stokes can or can't offer as long as he never starts and when he does, it's on the wing.

[Stuttgart88]

Long and Doyle is definitely worth considering. I still have faith in Doyle.

I wonder where our QPR players will be next year. They lost a staggering 65 million quid last financial year! QPR that is, not Dunne and Doyle. Even Keith Gillespie wouldn't manage that.

[Stuttgart88]

O'Neill said he took Hoolahan off to protect him from injury as he hadn't been getting much game time. There was no Brady or Reid to step in.

[geysir]

Long and Doyle is definitely worth considering. I still have faith in Doyle.

I wonder where our QPR players will be next year. They lost a staggering 65 million quid last financial year! QPR that is, not Dunne and Doyle. Even Keith Gillespie wouldn't manage that.

If Keith had that much, he certainly could manage to lose it.

[paul_oshea]

Correlation does not imply causation. As you can see from this graph:



Sharp dips in the early 90s, corresponding to the Jack era, and another dip in 2002, corresponding to qualification for Japan/Korea. Another dip in 2009 when we came so close in Paris. Clearly, Ireland's World Cup performances strongly correlate with UK corporation tax revenue.

You know I can explain this. As contractors increase and the amount of work being conducted by contractors the national income declines as the taxing system doesn't know of the co-existnce of contractor corporation tax and contrationar income.

But I think you have it right ; )

EDIT:Whoops thats not what that graph is saying! I thought it was national income tax!

[paul_oshea]

Forde, Wilson, Dunne, Oshea, Coleman, whelan, McCarthy, Brady, Long/McClean, Hoolahan, keane.

That 11 is decent. But after that we fail miserably. Whats going to happen us after 2016? I think Long deserves a chance on the wing and run the channels, he isnt good enough to fox in the box or finish, but if he runs the channels he can get in behind and hooligan(yes) can pick him out, he then squares to robbie, and robbie gets a hat trick.

Seriously though i think long for mcclean is a good idea. Behind that we are very very light.

[OwlsFan]

.FFS why the reticence to play Stokes? .

May be he was at a meeting with his solicitor.

[shakermaker1982]

You guys do realise strikers miss
chances?!

It's not all doom & gloom. We had a second string CB pairing & Ward at LB. Put O'Shea, Dunne & St Ledger back in and the defence improves considerably.

Hoolahan was a real positive & I'm pleased the team tried to play some football. It's still early days for the team, in effect it's only MON's third pre-season game & he is still trying to shape the squad around his way of thinking.

Long is a menace & has been terrorizing PL defences this season. If we go 4-5-1 then he will start because of his pace. He obviously missed two chances last night but hopefully he learns from this. He had more time than he thought but if he scores 1 goal for every 3 chances I'd still take if.

McCarthy needs to start imposing himself on games more & once he does then we only need to find 1 more player in the middle of the park to have a very strong midfield 3 partnership. Whelan isn't the long term solution & I haven't saw enough of Meyler to make a judgement.

We have a solid 7 out 10 every game goalkeeper (wish Forde would work in his kicking though!), a solid defence, Robbie Keane & Shane Long. This should be
more than enough to edge out Scotland.