QuoteYes, we should belittle ourselves by opening ourselves up to public rejection. The only ones that would invite ridicule by doing that is us.
Each case on its merits...Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
As for Green, enthusiastic but extremely limited. Noble better than average EPL player, but half-arsed?
MO'N should ask these players more publicly, so at least we get a chance to ridicule later, for turning their back on a potential international career?
Yes, we should belittle ourselves by opening ourselves up to public rejection. The only ones that would invite ridicule by doing that is us.
If you say so, it might actually embarrass some of these time-wasters in the first place. So the joke's on them.
No, they don't care. The embarrassment will be on us and they will still have lots of money and not give a **** about us.
Ha, you're even more cynical than I am!
To be fair, calling him "half-arsed" was probably overly polite and generous. "Not-arsed" would have been more apt given he has displayed absolutely no enthusiasm whatsoever for the idea of playing for us, as is his right, of course. But is he embarrassed or does he feel any shame in exploiting his eligibility to play for us as a tool with which to prod Hodgson into picking him? I'd hardly say so.
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 22/10/2014 at 2:20 AM.
Danny, No doubt that Noble has not endeared himself to Irish fans. But O'Neill and Keane will not worry about this if he commits. They are paid to achieve success and know our depth is very limited. They have trawled for new players which is what I would have expected, and their results have been excellent. If Noble declares for us I won't worry about his commitment as I don't know of a player who has lacked commitment on the football field. Even if he did, with 60 years of experience between them, I would suggest MONROY know a spoofer when they see one. The only ones who really worry about such things are us who live in a micro world here. If we qualify for a major tournament, no one will really give a sh#t. What I find very interesting is the depth of criticism of Noble which I agree is merited to some degree, but why none of MONROY who are complicit in this move too? I think what I am saying would be MONROY's thinking on any commitment by Noble and while not palatable to all on here, they live in a world of realpolitik which I feel is the reality of the situation.
Don't get carried away lads, with this excellent moniker. We have drawn with Germany away from home, one great result, but results up to this have been expected or worse.
Lets wait and see how we get on over the next 3 games before we start getting carried away and using words like excellent when speaking about results.
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
I don't know why poor Paul Green (he who played really well in Whelan's absence in Stockholm lets recall) is the bogeyman. O'Neill picked him once or twice and is now on the fringes of the squad, a guy who makes the 37 man preliminary squad but not the main squad. His place in the pecking order is known now.
We have Whelan, Mccarthy, Gibson, Hendrick, Quinn and Hoolahan for central midfield(ish) positions. Noble could credibly warrant a starting place but it's very marginal. Green couldn't. I'd prefer to see Hourihane or O'Kane in the preliminary squad though it'd be mainly just to give the message that they are next in line and have something to aim for.
I really think it's time to drop the Noble speculation. He had his chance at the start of the campaign, as did Stephen Ireland. Now with a decent start it's too late. The players we have are good enough if O'Neill will assign them the right roles (McCarthy's role in Tbilisi was very odd).
The friendlies are largely irrelevant. So is Gibraltar.
Two competitive away games, four points; a good foundation but room for improvement. I think that's the consensus and is about as bullish as I have come across here, and some views have been quite negative. Being a fan, I'm quite excited by the way this group is shaping up. Is that allowed?
Stutts, I was replying to a discussion with Charlie and Danny on page 48. Please try and keep up!
"and their results have been excellent" - he can't have been on about player recruitment!
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
As gastric points out I'm behind the times a bit. I didn't see who said the other results have been excellent.
Anyway, I still don't see many people getting carried away though I think we're all quite excited, no? I think that almost everyone here has had some reservations about O'Neill's selections and method of play but equally it'd appear the early signs are that while he is cautious and that's unlikely to change, he is more adaptable than Trap. It's the feeling that we are in a good place while there is probably still more in the locker that excites me anyway.
Yes we're in a good position. We're started the group as 1 of 3 teams competing for 2nd place. Now we are 1 of 4 teams competing for 1st place in the group. :-)
Good point, well made! Though finishing 1st, would break my optimism meter for the next decade!
Or should that be pessimism?
Still have this horrible feeling of 3rd, but we win in the play-offs, get drawn in a nasty group in the Finals and just miss out on qualification for whatever the second stage is.
Eventually, no matter what we achieve, it will all end in tears.
Of joy?
Fair enough, I'm sure he'd do a job for us if he were to commit. However, I don't see him being bothered enough to actually declare in the first place. He's actually said it would make him feel strange. The guy is a spoofer; it's patently obvious that the only reason his name has been mentioned in the media in relation to us is because his agent threw his eligibility for us/potential switch to us into the public domain as a "threat" to Hodgson. Why else would the story have made the sports headlines just as an England squad was announced and seeing as Noble has never publicly uttered any positive intent to declare for us at all? If he has no interest in playing for us, that's fine and it's nothing to hold against him, but why should we be all that bothered about him, especially if he's simply using us as a cog on his way to fulfilling his ultimate ambition of playing for England?
Martin has already given his opinion on the matter: http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...-30608282.html
He said if Noble wants to declare, he's more than welcome. Martin won't be doing any chasing as players themselves have to want to play for us. Martin will then weigh him up, but Noble has to make the move. John Delaney said much the same recently.
I'd bite your hand off for that right now. If that's your pessimism I'd love to know what your optimistic view is like.
Well all we know about what O'Neill's done is that he's expressed an interest to Noble's agent and said if players want to play for Ireland they have to show a willingness to make it happen. By contrast, Noble has been in the press trying to leverage an England call-up out of it. Completely contrasting behaviour.
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