Not too concerned about how we celebrated goals that took the lead against Andorra in an end of season friendly we'd gone behind in or that the focus of the training camp wasn't on defending set pieces given the opposition. The goal we conceded was so basic no professional or amateur player should be conceding it regardless of a lack of training. We didn't mark the man.
I am concerned that the players didn't show for the ball or have any clear pattern in what they were attempting. Sadlier has it spot on. Bazunu was giving the ball short at the back and we lost the plot after we were pressed pretty basically by inferior players. Nobody was moving with any purpose. Same story in midfield and out wide. I've watched a few passages back and the lack of movement is really worrying. So what did they work on during training?
I've been willing to wait on Kenny. I've never been a huge fan and think he might just suit a particular type of player/team but I saw the need to bring players through from the 21s given the lack of options we had in the prime age groups. I also just don't see other affordable/realistic options who would work miracles with the current squad That said, I'm not convinced he actually knows how to coach a passing/possession game at this point. Dundalk didn't play exactly like that when they were good. They were quite direct a lot of the time, with good players out wide and great strikers/Towell.
We did win though and we won comfortably in the end. Maybe they just needed to win a game and score a few goals. Maybe. Maybe.
So is any of the "kenny camp" keeping the faith ?
thought he said that pre match? maybe i heard it wrong thoughOriginally Posted by paul_oshea
Well yeah, we won 4-1. You'd swear we were beaten the way things are being talked about here.
Bit of perspective... In usual circumstances a June friendly, load of player pullouts, plastic pitch, no fans and playing a nobody... what previous manager in our history would we have expected to have gotten a fantastic performance from the team??
Facts are, we won 4-1, had about 75% possession and had a couple of 19 year olds get their first goals.
This meant more to all of us because we hadnt won a feckin game in so long, but we did win in basically a half paced training game. Hungary will be a bigger test so lets see how we do there.
But if we arent allowed to be happy for a win with Parrott and Knight getting on the score sheet then WTF are we even doing here? Of course Kenny has made mistakes and at half time yesterday I thought it was getting time for a change, but the 2nd half changes that completely. Goals and wins matter and hopefully we can kick on a bit now.
Its was great to get the win and I was really happy for troy, who has had a hard time of late considering the expectations that were on his young shoulders
But are you infaring that was "good stuff"?
I have to say I'm wobbling. We were a shambles first half and looked clueless as to how to break them down. A few Andorrans were probably lucky it was a friendly and avoided yellow cards. IF you play international football up front you have to fancy playing a team like Andorra you will get chances. I have seen patches in James Collin's game that are good but against a team like Andorra he looks totally off the pace.
If that was the best XI in training, I dread to think what the others did
Of course it wasnt brilliant, that why I wrote this in my previous post: Bit of perspective... In usual circumstances a June friendly, load of player pullouts, plastic pitch, no fans and playing a nobody... what previous manager in our history would we have expected to have gotten a fantastic performance from the team??
I think it was fine, I predicted a 3-0 win before the game and it was about up to par with the minimum I would have expected. But the bonus was where the goals came from, that was the exciting part.
Hourihane has been doing that in every game hes ever played in a green shirt.
Thing is, I don't know who to blame for that
Good question. Are faith and hope the same thing? I measure them differently. Either way, I said to others yesterday, I am clinging on by a thread to a glimmer of hope. That first half was plain bad.
A good performance against Hungary will go a long way to feeling a little more faith in Kenny. Signs of progress, a couple of goals, less of a soft centre (my biggest issue with our performances). For the reasons I’ve recently mentioned on the SK thread, I still feel he deserves the full campaign to show us whether he deserves our faith in his long term ability to change that which we all agreed a year or so ago needed to be changed.
Last edited by SkStu; 04/06/2021 at 4:48 PM.
I blame Hourihane for basically being a coward on the ball, but I also blame every Ireland manager who keeps picking him.
Not having a go but does it have to be two distinct "camps"? This place is a bit like America politics sometimes. I know it's the internet and we like to take stances and dig in but it's creates a pretty needlessly polarized environment. Anybody who was in a "Kenny out" camp before he'd managed a few games is a bit of a clown for me and anybody who is firmly in a "Kenny in" camp at this point is the same. I'd imagine most people are somewhere in between and have been since the start.
Our attacking set pieces only seem to have a bit of variety when Browne is taking them (and Brady puts in decent balls but we're usually nowhere near meeting them first). It was always Kenny's strength at club level but this is obviously another level.
My toughts of the game. Bazunu at fault again
Caught in No Mans Land alright !
I can make a comparision with dull match Argentina 1 Chile 1. Both teams we and Ireland are trying the same idea. Barcelona's plan. We have Messi you dont. Both teams toó predictable. No agresiveness no breaking the coach's plan or formation no directness toó nuch sideways passing. We have Lautaro you have Collins the only main diference we might score more because of class but both teams are very predictable and slow too rigid movements no inspiration no craft nor creativity. We had a huge penalty awarded because of Var. Yesterday it was Parrott inspiration and Horgan class. The pass for Knight was a Roman Riquelme's quality.
yeah.
I liked the built between McClean and Hourihane on the left for Parrott's header. That kind of ball is hard to defend because that long pass is so accurate and goles so high in the aire with no weight and then falls slowly and it curves to the 2nd post to Parrott's head... that it was a pleasure from Hourihane's left peg.
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