Gibraltar (H) - Sat, 11th Oct. / Germany (A) - Tues, 14th Oct.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Naughton, Kane and Noble would all have to submit to FIFA an application to switch from the FA to the FAI before we would be able to select them. The whole process can take a few weeks at the very least. All McGoldrick needs to do is get a passport but even that seems to be taking quite a while.

That's why MO'N & co should have been doing legwork during the WC.
Fair enough it may take weeks and they may not be overly keen, but a question of finding who's eligible and tying them down ASAP.
Even if they only play once...

I don't agree AB. We don't need the fuss. There's actually been quite little speculation this time around anyway. That all was put out of the way last month, although of course people asked about Noble. I'm with O'Neill on this one.


I didn't like O'Neill's quips about calling up any player eligible under the age of 80 or whatever it was he said. It kind of trivialised the selection.

Once the froth is blown out of this enlarged squad there is still a decent core of players capable of putting in good performances if steered correctly by the management. I'm far from convinced that will happen, but I'll comment on things objectively as we learn more about how O'Neill approaches these competitive games.

A miniscule contradiction maybe by MO'N, and accept the wider point about his approach but the combination of an underwhelming playing style and personnel available will surely undermine the ultimate goal.
Or make it far harder than it should be?

[Stuttgart88]

If we all whip around and get you a, eh, lady of the night in Gelsenkirchen will it cheer you up a bit?

[ArdeeBhoy]

It's not these two games I'm worrying about!

Just that MO'N et al seem to be sleepwalking into problems. Though that can wait till next year!

[geysir]

Yeah, maybe I'm misreading the relationship between management and meeja. It was the very definition of a quiet news day after all.

I cant really see this as an issue, even an eventual issue in the making with the print media. O'Neill has handled much worse, is well able, is very well spoken and garners high respect from the public by dint of his character. And then we have Keane beside him. O'Neill's approach to the media has always been príckly, he gets his retaliation in, half an hour before a blow is struck and usually the print journalists are in awe of him. I think he'll be given a fair deal from those journos who are old campaigners themselves.
It's the rte crowd who have the potential for damage if they persist with their cheap, cowardly and caustic comments.

[paul_oshea]

If we all whip around and get you a, eh, lady of the night in Gelsenkirchen will it cheer you up a bit?

That's very good of you stutts but he is well able do that himself.

He doesn't need your experience or help!

[ArdeeBhoy]

Er, thanks PR.


Btw, Gelsenkirchen is a kip by all accounts...the Germans I know tell me to get in and get out ASAP! And that's just the Schalke fans...

[Charlie Darwin]

It's the rte crowd who have the potential for damage if they persist with their cheap, cowardly and caustic comments.

I suspect O'Neill knows as well as we do that the RTE panel will turn on him at some stage, it's only a matter of when. He strikes me as the sort of who won't waste time dancing when he knows he'll be dumped by the end of the night no matter what, so he's skipped the pleasantries.

On a side note, O'Neill's legal history with the (mainly print) media makes fascinating reading. It could certainly get interesting if any members of the panel are as, err, inattentive to detail as they have been in the past with regard to other people.

[Kingdom]

Personally I would have liked to see the Grealish "situation" sorted by now, purely because I think we could actually afford to have him in our squad now. The 'boy' is 19, he's an adult for the love of God, and he has qualities that I'd say only McGeady has within the senior squad at present. I saw question asked by someone elsewhere, and I know Stuttgart's seen it too, asking was Grealish able for full level senior football. I would say yes. Physically if he can stand up to the dirt that was directed at him last year in league two, at the wrong end of the division also, then physically he is able. I think that by the end of this season he'll be a mainstay of the Villa squad, and within two years, God knows where he might be.
It's for that reason that I was so disappointed that he wasn't brought as part of the large end-of-season party last year. This player isn't Terry Dixon; he's not Richie Partridge; he is going to be a talent, and will have a career ahead of himself.

However I was thinking the other day, and this may quite well relate to Mark Noble and a couple of others - and definitely to the Stephen Ireland problem a few years ago; what does it do for the confidence of the squad if Grealish is named in a squad, and then rejects the call-up, prefering to see how it plays out with England (because lets call a spade a spade, that's the crux of the issue), surely that puts a dampener on the squad, i.e. O'Neill wants x number of players, actively/aggressively pursues them, but they refuse, surely that makes the next replacements feel like after-thoughts? Maybe I'm over-analysing the situation.

As for the squad itself, I don't understand the point in naming the enlarged squad? Like at the moment I'm delighted to see Delaney there, but I'll be fierce ****ed off if he's dropped when the squad is trimmed down. Likewise Green; I've nothing against the chap, but if Jeff Hendrick is fit (I didnt think he was) then he should play against Gibralter, because he will be part of the future, whereby hopefully Green won't be. This match is as close to a competitive friendly as you will get, and wasting the experience on fellows who we know are limited (or politely put can fill a role) is not helpful.

Finally, I'm not sold on MonKeano, and haven't been in favour of it from the beginning, as I don't feel they can get the best out of the type of player we have. And really and truely, it won't be until the Scotland game where we can really start judging them on their merits, because these two games should have only one proper outcome: a win and a defeat.

[geysir]

I suspect O'Neill knows as well as we do that the RTE panel will turn on him at some stage, it's only a matter of when. He strikes me as the sort of who won't waste time dancing when he knows he'll be dumped by the end of the night no matter what, so he's skipped the pleasantries.

On a side note, O'Neill's legal history with the (mainly print) media makes fascinating reading. It could certainly get interesting if any members of the panel are as, err, inattentive to detail as they have been in the past with regard to other people.

There would be some sweet justice if he was to take an almighty slice out of Dunphy's pension hoard but I presume whatever Dunphy says on air is RTE's concern.

When he was leaving Celtic O'Neill was asked by one journalist about what kind of state he was leaving them, he replied 'better than when I came and certainly in a better state than you'.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Why are we accepting defeat against Germany as a foregone conclusion? This self-destructive attitude sums us up - a self-fulfilling prophecy. If Scotland and NI can play tight games that can go either way against teams of this magnitude then why can't we? Our pool of players is arguably better!

I do think a little bit of it comes down to attitude.



Can you imagine any of our boys showing this kind of attitude in Paris?

We badly need a Roy Keane figure in the locker room to force us to believe we can hang with these teams. Enough of this poxy, lily-livered attitude that has seen us go over 10 years without beating a half-decent team in competitive football.

[geysir]

Finally, MonKeano, ...... it won't be until the Scotland game where we can really start judging them on their merits, because these two games should have only one proper outcome: a win and a defeat.

One game---- two games ----- one proper outcome --- two outcomes

We will finish ahead of Scotland, O'Neill as a Celtic legend won't let that midget ex celtic manager get the better of him, it would be unthinkable.

[Stuttgart88]

He let another ginger get the better of him a few times up at Celtic.

O'Neill was quoted on thescore.ie about the need to be positive against Germany so hopefully he'll stick to his word. I hope he picks Hoolahan to enable ball retention and for an out ball on the ground. He was superb like this against Italy. In Georgia the out ball was a diagonal hoof to Walters.

And pre-empting Owls Fan's retort, I'm not saying Hoolahan is the messiah, but we are a better team when he plays. Germany will relish aimless hoofs up the touch line and into the corners.

[Charlie Darwin]

If Scotland and NI can play tight games that can go either way against teams of this magnitude then why can't we? Our pool of players is arguably better!

Are you feeling OK?

[DannyInvincible]

That's why MO'N & co should have been doing legwork during the WC.
Fair enough it may take weeks and they may not be overly keen, but a question of finding who's eligible and tying them down ASAP.
Even if they only play once...

It seems they have been seeking out eligible players behind the scenes, but how far should they go? David McGoldrick seems the only one who's responded positively. What else can they do really? You can't tie down a player if he doesn't want to commit and begging the likes of Mark Noble (or Stephen Ireland, for that matter) to come play for us is just demeaning. O'Neill's attitude with, say, Noble and Ireland, is spot on (the ball is in their court) and I get the impression he's in tune with the supporters generally on this matter; he's perceptive to the reality that the fans won't take very well to us chasing desperately after pretenders and mercenaries who couldn't really give a toss about representing Ireland.

[DannyInvincible]

As for the squad itself, I don't understand the point in naming the enlarged squad? Like at the moment I'm delighted to see Delaney there, but I'll be fierce ****ed off if he's dropped when the squad is trimmed down. Likewise Green; I've nothing against the chap, but if Jeff Hendrick is fit (I didnt think he was) then he should play against Gibralter, because he will be part of the future, whereby hopefully Green won't be. This match is as close to a competitive friendly as you will get, and wasting the experience on fellows who we know are limited (or politely put can fill a role) is not helpful.

I guess it lets those players that are in O'Neill's thoughts know they're in his thoughts, so they have a position to fight for or lose. Maybe it's a motivational carrot of sorts.

Ideally, the Grealish situation would be sorted, but, as I've said to AB, what can you do really if a player isn't willing to conform with the hopes and plans you ahve for him? I wonder would having taken him on the US tour and played him in a few of the games influenced matters differently... It's impossible to say really. Either way, it's a situation that is presently outside of our control. We can, of course, try and influence him in the hope he decides to commit to us, but, ultimately, it's still a choice Grealish himself has to make.

[paul_oshea]

It's a choice England have to make ; )

[Stuttgart88]

Can you imagine any of our boys showing this kind of attitude in Paris?

yeah, none of our players was upset after Paris. Sure wasn't it great to just be in a play off.

[DeLorean]

I presumed I was misunderstanding his point.

[DannyInvincible]

yeah, none of our players was upset after Paris. Sure wasn't it great to just be in a play off.

Kevin Doyle sounded like he was holding back tears in the post-match interview.

[geysir]

It seems they have been seeking out eligible players behind the scenes, but how far should they go? David McGoldrick seems the only one who's responded positively. What else can they do really? You can't tie down a player if he doesn't want to commit and begging the likes of Mark Noble (or Stephen Ireland, for that matter) to come play for us is just demeaning. O'Neill's attitude with, say, Noble and Ireland, is spot on (the ball is in their court) and I get the impression he's in tune with the supporters generally on this matter; he's perceptive to the reality that the fans won't take very well to us chasing desperately after pretenders and mercenaries who couldn't really give a toss about representing Ireland.

O'Neill is by a (country?) mile the most articulate football intelligent manager we have had .... ever. Doesn't mean he is the best ever manager but oft times he is seriously underestimated by self appointed experts, much to his chagrin.
So far, O'Neill's expressed attitude has been spot on as regards the potential 'plastics'. What has muddied the waters were various reports and our own fears/suspicions raring up as they do, it is a sensitive area where there are undefined boundaries to be regarded. His respectful attitude to Grealish and his dad was well appreciated by them both and if it did come down to Grealish being inspired by the sentiments of the manager, we can trust that O'Neill could express exactly what was required at that moment in time.