Maybe McGeady is a shy young lad.
He certainly doesn't like it when Ireland get beat and it burnt a deep wound in him when Ireland got trashed. He is not satisfied with Ireland's winning performance against Slovakia. He know we can play better.
That's all I need to hear.
Good post, McGeady seems like a smart honest individual if maybe lacking that bit of confidence you would expect of a player like him. I'll go to The Onion and such for my entertainment in future though I think!Originally Posted by geysir
Good.
Would rather he spent his free time filling an internet diary with boring football cliches than fannying his career away like a certain Master Stokes who was all the rage in the same league as Aiden a year ago.
Who is ahead of who now?
BTW not saying Stokes has fannied his career away, but it's about time he screwed the nut. McGeady was big news when he broke into the celtic team at 17, but has kept the head cool and is making steady progress.
The dude abides....
Was just looking at the current Slovakia squad. Looking back, we made heavy work of beating them in Croker. They don't have any players who would get close to our team. Their most high profile young player plays for Napoli, and they have a few less-than-prolific Bundesliga strikers, plus the left-back Gresko, who was a flop at Blackburn.
I'm studying in Bulgaria at the moment, and the regard they have in Eastern Europe for Premiership football is amazing. It is regarded as the highest level for any aspiring footballer. We have a squad full of players who have proved themselves at that level.
If we keep playing with the confidence, hunger and belief that we saw against Denmark, we should be expecting to beat Slovakia and at least be competitive against the Czechs. I think we've turned a corner now, the squad is more settled, some of the dead wood has been cleared out, and the players should be more used to each other.
However, I would fear for us if Kilbane starts in the centre. The sight of Gibson and Potter controlling the midfield in the second half in Aarhus, then Kilbane coming on and kicking the ball straight out of play from a simple throw-in... says it all.
Irish players on a booking:
S.Reid
S.Given
R.Dunne*
J.O'Shea
K.Kilbane
J.Douglas
L.Carsley
P.McShane
*I'm not sure about Dunne. He was booked against Germany, then got 2 yellows against Cyprus and was suspended for the Czech match. Does he still have any yellows?
more from McGeady: http://www.football365.com/story/0,1...709954,00.html
Some of the comments about Artmedia Bratislava are taken from an interview he gave to Ken Earlie on NewsTalk, you can hear it on the podcast from last night's Off The Ball: http://83.138.170.50/podcasts/librar...er/0409otb.mp3
Agree. ...so far
...and an almost lost voice whistled on the wind ...'Denmark were hopeless ...and still should've scored twice'. I'd like to believe we've turned a corner. I really would. But I've grave doubts ...not sure who this 'Dead wood' you refer to might be either.
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
Have you seen Potter this year , or even last ? Or is this on the basis of a few runouts against inferior opposition in the States. Even his manager admits he is fortunate to be in the squad. He is way way off international class at present.
Still we will take Kevs goal against the Czechs before we dispose of him. Kilbane is not a CM, I agree, but frankly he has been one of our best players in this campaign so far, not to difficult I concede.
Anyway I came on to see who Stan had called up in defence !!! I can't find the bloody post with the info.
Stan hasn't called anybody up to the squad for Saturday. AFAIU, if needed he will call up some after the u21 game on Friday. I guess that's O'Dea and O'Halloran as possibles.
But surely both those lads are going to figure on friday? Is he going to ask either of them to play a second game 24 hours later?
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
He can hardly ask them to fly to Bratislava, after having trained with the U-21s all week, and not with the senior team, to play two games in 24 hours??
The last time something even remotely close to that happened, Mick McCarthy brought on Thomas Butler against the Swiss at home, the day after he had played for the U-21s
Exactly. So we're back to the question of cover and or options for Saturday. If someone is to be phoned surely they should be getting that call 72 hours ago.
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
I understood that we are okay for Saturday, trimmed at the back but just enough. Then the u21 lads would be called up on Sunday if needed before the Wed game.
From those making the trip:
RB options: O’Shea, Kelly, Foley, McShane
LB options: O’Shea, Kelly, Kilbane, Daryl Murphy (yikes!)
CB options: Dunne, McShane, O'Shea, Kelly (please no - soccerc's description of his U21 performance there against Norn Iron U21s still gives me nightmares), Kilbane (emergency)
RHM options: McGeady, Reid, Keogh, Ireland, Douglas
CM options: Carsley, Reid, Ireland, Douglas, Gibson
LHM options: Hunt, Kilbane, McGeady, Murphy
Forward options: any of the 5 in the squad.
So there is plenty of conceivable cover albeit from relatively few players, but a few are either raw or not quite right for the role. OK, some just aren't very good either, but are the U21s to come in any better?
If anyone is called up from the U21s it's most likely to be O'Dea or O'Halloran. Neither has match experience yet this season. It's probably better they pay a full game on Friday before being added as serious cover for Wednesday.
As a psychological comfort I'd like to have both in Bratislava but I think Stan & Givens have just about got it right for Saturday.
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 06/09/2007 at 12:10 PM.
When did McCarthy say that?Have you seen Potter this year , or even last ? Or is this on the basis of a few runouts against inferior opposition in the States. Even his manager admits he is fortunate to be in the squad. He is way way off international class at present.
I'm a fan of Potter, having seen him play at various underage levels. He was one of our best players in the World Youth Cup in 2003, in a squad that included Kevin Doyle, Elliott, Henderson, Stephen Kelly, Paddy McCarthy and Glenn Whelan. Whenever I've seen him play for Wolves he's been impressive, and he hasn't put a foot wrong for Ireland (yet). He can pass the ball, make space and read the game - basic qualities for a midfielder that Kilbane simply doesn't possess. Potter still has room for improvement, (and I think Gibson will eventually overtake him as Carsley's successor) but I wouldn't write him off. The next Mark Kinsella?
Joey o'brien played 90 mins for bolton reserves last week due to come back into the first team next week, dont be suprised if he is called up sunday to join the squad..it would defo be an option.
'How can I hate women, my Mums one!!!' Chris Finch
I haven't seen a direct quote from Mick, but in this article from the Independent - http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...s-1070282.html - there's this admission:
However, Wolves boss Mick McCarthy admitted that Potter's poor early season club form would have cost him his place against Stoke anyway.
Don't rate Potter and can't see him being an important player for Ireland in the future. At present J O'Brien, Garvan, Gibson and Stephen Ireland are all younger and can all play in his position (albeit Ireland in a slightly different role) and all are far more talanted.
Alternatively Chris McCann and Glen Whelan are similar in terms of ability but McCann is a couple of years younger.
I would eat my own arms if he turned out to be anything more than an occasional squad member for Ireland in the long term.
Last edited by youngirish; 06/09/2007 at 1:23 PM.
Fair enough. I'm not going to champion a player who has only impressed me against nonsense opposition.
Yet... I have to say, there's something about him. In that World Youth Cup, he was sent off for trying to choke a Mexican. I liked his 'f*ck off' attitude. It was something that was lacking from the Irish midfield at the time. And still is. He seemed to have a competitive streak. And being Liverpool-educated, he has a better background than any of his contenders, Gibson apart. Give him a few years.
Anyway, international football (outside of the top seven European nations) seems to be a bit of a lottery. I can't see our squad as being inferior to the Czech Rep, Slovakia, Sweden (who we thrashed not so long ago), Denmark (ditto), Norway, Switzerland, Serbia, Poland, Croatia, Bulgaria, Russia, Switzerland, Romania, or any of these middle-of-the-road teams who we constantly see ourselves as being inferior to. We have every right to be competitive.
For F**k's sake, all of my friends, and half the people on this forum, seem to think that following the Irish football team is nothing more than a chore, a fruitless, pessimistic obligation. F**k that. I'm never going to forget the joy I felt when McLoughlin's shot went past Tommy Wright, when Houghton's lob hit the net, when Vitor Baia palmed the ball into our net, when Croatia and Yugoslavia (Mark Kennedy!!) shat themselves in Landsdowne Road. Or when we matched Portugal and Holland over four unforgettable games. Or when we outplayed France in the Stade de France. Or when I sat in a Spanish pub in March and my home-town hero Kevin Doyle saved our face against a resilient Slovakian team...
I refuse to believe that Ireland can not play like that again, and that the heartbreaks of Anfield '95, Brussels '97, Skopje and Bursa '99, Basle '03 and Landsdowne '05 will be repeated ad infinitum until I die. F*ck that. We all want the team to do well. Lets have some positive vibes!!!
Last edited by Supreme feet; 07/09/2007 at 1:28 AM.
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