Malta V Republic of Ireland - Sunday, 20th November 2022 - Friendly

**Trequartista20** · 20/11/2022, 6:00 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Nope - but I don't think Smallbone or Sykes or Ferguson are either.

But you think back to the early Mick days when he'd throw in the likes of Savage, Moore, Breen, Duff, O'Neill, Fleming - some would sink and some would swim, but at least they'd be blooded and would be less new if thrown in for a real game.

Of course, none of those I think were as new as Ferguson or Smallbone. We're in a tricky position where I don't rate the manager, but the squad is just terrible and the players aren't coming through as quickly as we'd have liked (look at Obafemi struggling to reproduce his Jan-May form for example).

God help us if we don't have any wing-backs in a couple of years though when Coleman/Doherty/McClean/Stevens/Brady are retiring.

Why not look at other options then? Surely thats the whole point of matches like this.

We've obvious weaknesses in midfield and yet all of Smallbone, Hodges, Ronan, Szmodics, Smallbone, and Sykes are overlooked. Our wingbacks are, as you suggest, ageing and the best performing Irish player this season, Manning, and McNamara are ignored. It makes little sense.

What are we really going to learn from playing McClean and Coleman in a friendly against Malta?

**pineapple stu** · 20/11/2022, 6:03 PM

Oh I agree with that. I don't think any are, as third policeman hoped, "the missing ingredient that will turn a disappointing Nations League campaign into a successful Euros". And I think we need to be aware of how limited our other options are, much and all as we hype them up here. But these games are made for experimentation like that. And it'd even make it easier to brush off any defeats!

**third policeman** · 20/11/2022, 6:09 PM

Originally Posted by Trequartista20

What are we really going to learn from playing McClean and Coleman in a friendly against Malta?

That they're both a bit knackered, maybe.

**third policeman** · 20/11/2022, 6:20 PM

Pretty dismal so far. Seriously, Rovers could beat this lot and we're looking second best.

**Colbert Report** · 20/11/2022, 6:26 PM

This is terrible to watch.

**SkStu** · 20/11/2022, 6:32 PM

Originally Posted by third policeman

Pretty dismal so far. Seriously, Rovers could beat this lot and we're looking second best.

We are not looking second best.

**paul_oshea** · 20/11/2022, 6:33 PM

A broken record and all that but it's awful stuff as usual. I just think everyone's seeing it the same way now. There's no real substance to any of it, and we always look capable of conceding a sloppy or poor goal.

**Calcio Jack** · 20/11/2022, 6:35 PM

Hopefully at h/t Kenny will inform the players he�s resigned - we may not have the best of squads but that�s no excuse for the ongoing below par performances that continue to be served up

**sbgawa** · 20/11/2022, 6:39 PM

We are the better side clearly but we are playing malta we should be.
We will nick a goal

**pineapple stu** · 20/11/2022, 6:40 PM

We've loads of the ball but no creative ideas

It's Luxembourg/Andorra/Lithuania/Armenia all over again

**shakermaker1982** · 20/11/2022, 6:42 PM

Are we really going to persist with this to the end of the Euro 24 qualifying campaign?

We are going nowhere fast.

**Jd2793** · 20/11/2022, 6:43 PM

coleman has been poor

**zero** · 20/11/2022, 6:43 PM

we'll probably still win this but it will fail to paper over the gaping cracks. feels like he has lost the players since the last window or maybe they are treating this as a holiday? even then you'd expect more.

**pineapple stu** · 20/11/2022, 6:43 PM

Originally Posted by shakermaker1982

Are we really going to persist with this to the end of the Euro 24 qualifying campaign?

We are going nowhere fast.

The Gibraltar games are scaring me more and more by the minute

**paul_oshea** · 20/11/2022, 6:44 PM

McGrath's actually been decent to be fair

**SkStu** · 20/11/2022, 6:46 PM

You can kind of excuse the lacklustre performances with players minds definitely elsewhere (who the f would want to be there) but what I�m having a hard time excusing is that we have learned absolutely nothing from the exercise. Borderline unforgivable really and whatever about these players not wanting to be out there you can guarantee that Sykes, Smallbone, Ferguson, Manning et al would be busting their boll0cks.