Republic of Ireland V Poland - Wednesday, 19th November 2008 - Friendly

[eirebhoy]

And I'm disappointed Foley and Delaney didn't get a run, Kilbane and McShane were poor for the 2nd match running.

McShane was pretty solid I thought and it seems to be a popular thing to say he was poor when he wasn't. Involved in the play a lot in the first half. Taken off in the 2nd half as he's one of 3 outfield players likely to start for their clubs this weekend. Duff and Doyle taken off too.

Impressed with Folan. Always looking to play the first time pass and keep the game flowing.

We created a few. Duff should have definitely scored 2 and maybe 3. The chance cleared off the line. Kilbane's goal bound shot blocked. Plus the 2 goals and a few more chances. Not a fantastic performance though but I'm not too disappointed because I know we have the players, even if they didn't play.

[FarBeag]

That game was crying out for Andy Reid. I don’t care what Trap thinks of Andy and his ability to fit into his system but he is head and shoulders above any of the mid-fielders on show this evening bar Duff.

Everything about Poland from their players to their Fans was better than anything we produced.

We are in big trouble unless we sort our back line and centre of midfield out. We have no creative player what so ever in that team, maybe Hunt and Duff but no one else. Keogh is rubbish on the wing. I like the look of Folan. To be honest the only positives from this evening was him, Andrews and Long.

We lost to-night and we were lucky against Cyprus and unless Trap starts going to games including the championship and seeing for himself which players are doing the business week in week out we are in trouble. This is not a knee jerk reaction. It was clear for everyone to see during the Cyprus match. Bring back Andy Reid.

[drummerboy]

Given - Dependable performance
McShane Only ok. Gets caught for pace too often
Kilbane. I'm a big fan of Kevin, but tonight he was poor
O'Shea. Ok. Wouldn't blame him for first goal.
Dunne. A bit sloppy at times.

Keogh. I like this lad but Trap doing him a big diservice playing him on the wing, especiall when he was put on the left
Whelan. Very average, Better than Gibson
Gibson. Not ready for international football
Duff: played with guile and enthusiasm but could have had a hatrick

Doyle Looked good and worked tirelessly
Folan. Some nice touches. Looked to have clear run on goal a couple of times only to be tharted at last minute.

Bruce. Loooked good in air but was caught cold for 3rd goal
Andrews Took his goal well. Looked busy, gave ball away twice.
Long Good night from him. Trap will keep him in mind
Hunt. Could say the same as Long.

I think we need to recall Carsley for Gibson for the upcoming qualifiers if he is going to keep playing the same formation.

[richieos]

a midfield of andrews and carsley would be perfect for the next qualifiers.. also, possible future for shane long as a right winger? ive never seen him make that kind of impact..

[Jicked]

That game was crying out for Andy Reid. I don’t care what Trap thinks of Andy and his ability to fit into his system but he is head and shoulders above any of the mid-fielders on show this evening bar Duff.

It really, really wasn't. I'd have Andy Reid in the squad for sure, and I don't think the two guys in the middle set the world on fire tonight, but its the sort of game Andy Reid wouldn't have made a lick of difference in, just as he didn't in so many games of this type in years gone past. We created plenty of chances, what we needed was more bite in the middle which even Reid's biggest fans wouldn't say is his big asset.

What makes you think it was a game crying out for Andy Reid??! If you said the game was crying out for Lee Carsley I'd have disagreed with you, but at least see where you were coming from.

For what its worth, I felt the game was crying out for one man...Steven Reid. If we don't make it to South Africa his injury may be a massive factor in that. Far big a factor than picking McShane ahead of Foley or whoever as second choice full back.

[Jicked]

I've been a big fan of Carsley in the past, but for those advocating him now do you really think he has the legs for it still? Remember he became a key part of our midfield under Staunton but we were still overwhelmed time and time again with him in the side in that campaign. Sadly I don't think he's a quick fix this time.

[back of the net]

firstly thought the lack of irish support at the game was embarrasing.

centre midfield..i dont care how good gibson could/will be ..and same for whelan ...but unless they are getting first team football then they dont belong in those posiitions

poland are a poor side and we have just conceded three goals to them at home ...
friendly or not , but that just is not good enough..our tactics and selection were the only reason for that defeat , nothing to do with poland being any good

[LaoisLads]

just home from the match. thought it was very frustrating. disappointing performance against a fairly ordinary side. duff had a poor night all round from where i was sitting, his positioning was brutal and as for his finishing... (or lack of!) i was impressed with folan, he seems to have a great attitude. another decent game from doyle.
but seriously lads what can be done about the state of our centre midfield? we could be in serious bother against bulgaria and italy if its not sorted...

[Crosby87]

Without Keane and McGeady its not a terrible result.
The rest is simple---depending on injuries the team has a shot.

[beepbeep]

WHY is it, that the whole nation can see, that our central midfielders as in Whelan and Gibson are just not good enough for international football, yet the management team cant. SHAME on brady,trap and the rest...this is OUR international team, and to shut the door on the likes of andy reid,and leave it wide open with a special ivitation ribbon on it for s.Ireland,well it is an embarrasment.
The midfield is our main concern, i am extremely worried by our 'system', we wer found out tonight. The game needed someone like a.reid.
I presume, unless there are injuries that this is our central midfield pairing for the upcoming qualifiers?? wer in trouble if thats the case.
Whelan cant get a game,same for gibson...sure is it any wonder trap doesnt go to watch any club games in england....none of the f*cking squad plays regular football!! ok thats an exageration maybe but, its annoying me that he continues to pick these two. id perfer carsley in there, even andrews seeing as he plays more for his club.
Keogh on the wing is a no no....and unless steve finnan is fit for the games id rather have garry kelly playin right back for us! mc shane, no offence to him is as slow as a turtle.
Folan looked decent upfront,duff had his chances and i wont critise him for his effort.

SHAME ON THE CROWD LEAVING WITH 10 MINS TO GO. where is the support?alltough it was a poor game.

[Morbo]

just home from the match. thought it was very frustrating. disappointing performance against a fairly ordinary side. duff had a poor night all round from where i was sitting, his positioning was brutal and as for his finishing... (or lack of!) i was impressed with folan, he seems to have a great attitude. another decent game from doyle.
but seriously lads what can be done about the state of our centre midfield? we could be in serious bother against bulgaria and italy if its not sorted...

Well I do think he have better options for centre midfield, Reid probably isn't going to get a chance but I feel Andrews, Carsley or Delap could do a better job than Gibson anyway, would have liked to have seen Garvin play tonight too to see if he was ready for this level. Anyway we may be better off that we didn't sneak a draw as it may force Trap to reavaluate some of his selections and look at the players he has being omitting so far. Good to see S.Hunt and Andrews get their first goals for us too

[billybunter]

i respectfully ask anyone that saw this game and thinks whelan was poor to take another look. I thought he was very, very good.

[Noelys Guitar]

i respectfully ask anyone that saw this game and thinks whelan was poor to take another look. I thought he was very, very good.

Are you joking! The Italians are laughing. Wake up. We are going to be playing the World champs.

[irishfan86]

The worrying thing for me is that Poland was one of the worst teams at Euro 2008, and we lost to them, at home, with supposedly our "best" starting lineup.

You can switch things around however you like, but those are the facts and they scare the **** out of me.

Hopefully Trap starts Andrews next game, we need some experience in the middle.

[shakermaker1982]

Hopefully this will enlighten the Trap and his backroom staff on a number of key issues before the big game in February.

1: If we persist in playing footballers who are not getting any real game time at their respective clubs then we'll struggle. 5 of the 11 that started last night have hardly played this season and central midfield lacked bite and imagination.

Given
Kilbane
O'Shea
Dunne
McShane
Duff
Whelan
Gibson
Keogh
Doyle
Folan

2: Andy Keogh should never play right/left midfield ever again.

3. Duff is wasted on the right wing. To make matters worse it wasn't to accomodate McGeady but Keogh?

4. If he persists with Gibson and Whelan against Bulgaria or Italy we might as well wave the white flag now. Plenty of other options out there that were worth testing out in a friendly. Delap, Carsley and Andrews have all had good starts to the season yet he ignores them or gives Andrews a 20 minute cameo. Baffling.

5. Defense. What are we doing? Zonal, man marking, do players know who they are supposed to be marking at set pieces? Inept performance from the back 4 last night. Worrying times indeed. People might say this was only a friendly but they help build momentum and confidence. To make matters worse this was pretty much a full strength time and we got played off the park.

Positives from last night:

Folan - worked hard but if match sharpe I'm sure he'd have beat the defender for pace and tucked it away. I loved his movement and willingness to link up with midfield.

Doyle - impressed again

Duff - just wish he had his shooting boots on

The substitutes - the Hunt brothers raised the intensity levels a notch, Shane Long has never let Ireland down and always plays well as an impact sub + Andrews didn't look out of place and took his goal superbly.

[lankyboy26]

i think that definitely Keith Andrews deserves to start the next game. he's been doing well for Blackburn and anyone is better than Gibson. christ i felt sorry for him, he was useless, the game just passed him by. whelan tried his best in fairness, got no help from gibson, not good enough though. forget about lee carsley lads he's finished. andy reid should be in the squad that's for sure. was very impressed by caleb folan, didn't think he was capable of some of the stuff he did last night. disappointed with duff again, he just can't finish. it's no good getting into good positions and then shooting wide, this is international football, you have to take your chances and he wasted 3 good ones. richard dunne was shaky, mcshane did well i thought

[Newryrep]

Also, the Polish fans showed the Irish barstool generation what supporting a team is all about.

I would pretty much agree with this. The Polish fans were an absolute credit and showed what support should be - and it was only a friendly.

If there was ever case for geting rid of the band/having a singing section last night should be the final straw.

Thought it was a great game, could of been 3-2 to us at half time if both teams had taken their chances.

[ifk101]

Can we have a little perspective without going OTT?

Keith Andrews is what's known as a "journeyman". Good for him that he has gotten his chance at Blackburn and his first goal tonight, but to assume that an uncapped player can come into the team and run the show is hilarious to say the least.

Great that N. Hunt got a run out last night but clearly a long way from the standard of Doyle who was excellent again. The best of our subs was Long IMO - a player heavily criticised on this board for no apparent reason because he has always done well when he has played.

I thought Dunne was somewhat shaky last night - but remember this is a guy that had travelled home to be with his partner 24 hours prior to match start so not ideal preparation. Kilbane was dodgy enough but we know he's not a full-back - maybe Stephen Ward (a winger/striker btw) is an option further down the line but left back has been a problem area for a couple of years now.

Whelan/Gibson partnership wasn't good last night but suggesting uncapped players like Garvan/McCann/O'Toole is the answer is premature. Andy Keogh was Maradonna on this board before he got capped but read the "criticism" he's taking now.

It's quite clear that the rule of thumb on this board is that Ireland's best players on the night are the one's that weren't playing.

[FarBeag]

It really, really wasn't. I'd have Andy Reid in the squad for sure, and I don't think the two guys in the middle set the world on fire tonight, but its the sort of game Andy Reid wouldn't have made a lick of difference in, just as he didn't in so many games of this type in years gone past. We created plenty of chances, what we needed was more bite in the middle which even Reid's biggest fans wouldn't say is his big asset.

What makes you think it was a game crying out for Andy Reid??! If you said the game was crying out for Lee Carsley I'd have disagreed with you, but at least see where you were coming from.

For what its worth, I felt the game was crying out for one man...Steven Reid. If we don't make it to South Africa his injury may be a massive factor in that. Far big a factor than picking McShane ahead of Foley or whoever as second choice full back.

Why not? Tell me why he should not have been there? After we conceded so early Traps normal way of playing went out the window. This was our first time chasing a game with him in charge and we were found wanting and badly. Where was the creative element to this game last night? There was none apart from the bit already mentioned. Folan put Duff through on two occasions and Gibson put him though on one. If Duff had his scoring boots on we would not have got beaten. Our two goals were scored from a penalty and a last grasp messy effort in the 90 minute although it resulted in a good goal.

If we are chasing a match we need players like A Reid, Garvan or Ireland in our side. Whoever you think partners them whether it be Carsley Andrews or Steven Reid so be it but if Andy Reid was there last night he would have created more chances in fifteen minutes than was created in 90+ last night.

[lankyboy26]

Can we have a little perspective without going OTT?

Keith Andrews is what's known as a "journeyman". Good for him that he has gotten his chance at Blackburn and his first goal tonight, but to assume that an uncapped player can come into the team and run the show is hilarious to say the least.

Great that N. Hunt got a run out last night but clearly a long way from the standard of Doyle who was excellent again. The best of our subs was Long IMO - a player heavily criticised on this board for no apparent reason because he has always done well when he has played.

I thought Dunne was somewhat shaky last night - but remember this is a guy that had travelled home to be with his partner 24 hours prior to match start so not ideal preparation. Kilbane was dodgy enough but we know he's not a full-back - maybe Stephen Ward (a winger/striker btw) is an option further down the line but left back has been a problem area for a couple of years now.

Whelan/Gibson partnership wasn't good last night but suggesting uncapped players like Garvan/McCann/O'Toole is the answer is premature. Andy Keogh was Maradonna on this board before he got capped but read the "criticism" he's taking now.

It's quite clear that the rule of thumb on this board is that Ireland's best players on the night are the one's that weren't playing.

ok if you were trappatoni who would you play in midfield then? keith andrews has shown he is a better player than whelan AND gibson. he has started nearly every game for blackburn. gibson has played 20 minutes for man united. whelan can't get in the STOKE team