Quotewas that it or did we place too much (false) belief in our system of playing behind the ball? I think a lot of it was the latter and a crucial tactical errror.Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
How are the panel behaving tonight? I bet Dunphy is having a field day. He has been waiting for us to lose in a big game....
was that it or did we place too much (false) belief in our system of playing behind the ball? I think a lot of it was the latter and a crucial tactical errror.
That may seem like a daft post, but I agree. We should play in a much darker shirt. The rugby boys did the grand slam in a darker jersey. We should mimic that. Light green has a certain leprecaun feel to it. We should darken down.
just a psycological thing. the rugby jersey is exactly what im thinking of.
Nice responses so far, I cant keep up.
Here is one if any of you are looking to drink and listen to music...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8D_uN-73S0
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
Hey any of you looking to get down and dirty dont forget this one, a little long but worth it for the end.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwEv2YCrSoY
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
who was the little tool from the f.a.i in the black coat who apperared in middle of scuffle and then went round with players as they saluted fans ... all players gave their all tonight and with a bit of luck should have at least got the draw their efforts deserved more of the same in paris an hopefully we can take our chances in front of goal .
" football is a simple game "
I actually think we held our own except for a few short periods of French pressure. There was one 10 minute spell in particular shortly before the goal.
You can't throw away some of the football we played though- I think we passed the ball nicely in the first half and looked just as good as the French.
Here are my ratings anyway:
Given- 7- Solid with everything he had to deal with and can't be blamed for a very unlucky goal.
Kilbane-5- Poor in possession, and made 2 extremely poor decisions that could have f*cked us over.
Dunne- 7- Solid at the back.
St. Ledger- 6- Maybe should have closed Anelka down quicker, but you can't be diving in either. Very unlucky if they call it an OG.
O'Shea- 7- Wasted possession a few times but looked very solid defensively.
Lawrence- 6- You got hit the net on that one man.
Whelan- 7- Made some great tackles, and was unlucky not to score.
Andrews- 7- Maybe his best game in an Ireland jersey? Made some crunching tackles.
Duff- 7- Looked good on the ball, but I think he's not at full fitness...seemed to be sitting very deep in the second half which I didn't like.
Keane -6- Didn't get much service, went down too easy a few times.
Doyle -6.5- Thankless task up top, but was very good at keeping possession and holding the ball up.
Subs:
McGeady- 5- Wasted possession, and took a very optimistic long shot.
Best- 5- Gave the ball away a number of times including the play that led to the goal.
Hunt -6- Tried to bring his energy but wasn't really effective.
I don't think we retreated. They pushed on. There were 3 or 4 occasions before the goal that Sagna pushed way forward on the right. At one point I remember thinking that he looked more like a winger than a full back. In the end the goal came in from that side.
Totally agree we need more bite in Paris. The french don't like the rough stuff and we could do with Hunty from the start
lads, that central midfield just are not up to it.yes, they put in few crunching tackhoules, were completely outplayed in second half. As for stephen hunt? he shouldn't even be on the same pitch as Anelka, who in my opinion ran the show along with the bordeaux midfielder.By the way anybody who bitches about robbie keane should be ashamed of themselves after the work put in tonight.
I know one person who'll be happy tonight -Roy Curtis.He predicted an Irish loss. I hate that c***.avehis article last week was disgraceful.now, i'm of to have a few more pints of London Pride
Very dissapointing result and for a number of reasons.The players tried their best and the tactics were right, given the limited players we have. When you are facing Anelka and Henry, you need very good defensive midfielders and I think Andrews and Whelan among others did a great job of breaking up French play in the first half.
The Irish team got very tired in the second half. The subs were too late to make an impact. For me it was between Lawrence and Andrews for man of the match with Andrews putting in a supurb first half, but tired in the second. I don't think Andy Reid would have made a difference, 3 creative midfielders would just mean the French would walk through us.
1-0 was probably a fair result, the French dominated possession for long periods. That's not because we gave it away, it's because the French once they get it in any situation, from the breakdown of an Irish attack for example have much more technically gifted players.
I know some people will say Kevin Doyle did great, but there are a couple of things in his performance I wasn't happy with.
1. He was lazy when it came to closing down French defenders and Robbie Keane had to do it on his own which I'd say he found frustrating. When playing top teams it's vital for your forwards to stop the defenders having time on the ball to pass it out of defence. And that wasn't the fault of Trap or of Ireland 'sitting back'. Doyle didn't close down even when he was the furthest man up the pitch and on front of the ball. It's a very worrying trait he has.
2. Once more he never looked close to scoring apart from a deflected cross which would have been a flukely goal. People say he does his best work on the wings, but we don't need another winger, we need a centre forward who can actually score. I have a feeling he is out of his depth when it comes to scoring against top teams like Italy and France. Trap was right to sub him again because he didn't look like scoring and he wasn't pressuring defenders. He also has very little physical presence and wins about one header in five. He's not a target man for the high ball. He just didn't look like scoring, he gets shoved off the ball too easily, he gets pushed out the wings where the French would be happy to see him all night. We on the other hand need to see him in and around the six yard box, not out the wings. He should have done better with the header he put over the bar. And as for not getting service, Anelka and Henry have the ability to make their own service by dropping deep, collecting the ball and running at defences.
Tonight showed once more that we just cannot score from open play and that's depressing. We don't have the forwards. Even if Andy Reid is in the side, he has big strong forwards to aim at, when playing for Sunderland, Jones and Bent. But for Ireland Keane and Doyle just get pushed off the ball every time so Reid's passing would be wasted pretty much.
I think Folan if he was fit would have been ideal for at least the last 30 minutes and win headers and flick ons. We need a player with presence in the forwards who can dominate defenders rather than be dominated. You create and score goals by pressurising defenders and we didn't do that tonight. The French defenders looked comfortable for long stretches of the game apart from a couple half chances.
I think we saw the French players change the tactics themselves after the break with possible Henry calling the shots. I don't see us doing any better than we did tonight in Paris. We just don't have enough talent to do it all over the park.
Tie over imo. The limitations of the team has been shown up. Certain players should not be the squad for the Euros. Kilbane has been a great servant but he is an accident waiting to happen at left back and will cost us goals in future important fixtures. We need a new left back, it's a fact we need to face up to.
Sorry for the long post!
Last edited by Emmet7; 14/11/2009 at 10:29 PM.
Only two points in my head
Kilbane was terrible, watch him in the buildup to anelka's goal and to be honest i'd blame him more than sledge. He's done us proud in the past but he is not a fullback and needs to be replaced. I'd almost choose nolan ahead of him now who at least has that as his main position.
I know it won't happen, but i'd love to see lawrence instead of andrews on wed with hunt/mcgeady and duff on the wings. I don't think you could say that in any shape or form andrews is better than lawrence, and anytime lawrence had possession in the middle today he used it well.
Also, i saw the scuffle but didn't get why it happened, anyone know?
Relax Madam just having some saturday night fun.
Obviously I missed on asking your permission.
Sorry.
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
I think that was an awesome post, Emmet. Its obvious you take care in making it. I think it is blog worthy.
It sums up my opinion almost 100%.
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
[QUOTE=tricky_colour;1273108]What like Geroge Best?[/QUOTE]
On a funny note, I had to watch the game in Canada on Tv5 with French commentary. Not sure what they were saying but they actually get more excited than Jimmy Mcgee. Once Leon Best came on I recognised a few words. "George Best", "britannique" , "sud irlande" "nord irlande" so obviously a little history lesson on Ireland's greatest player and the borders imposed on our island.
I don't think we're coming back from that, I felt we were well in it and 0-0 would have been happy days.
We defended well, Given had very little to do Henry was very quiet and Andrews & Whelan chased and harried and didn't let them settle, we were fragile looking when we comitted men forward and they hit us on the counter but for the most part I was quite comfortable until the goal.
I can't see us scoring twice in Paris, unless we get an early goal BUT I can see trap going the same system again, because if we conceded early in Paris we will be dead in the water, as soon we have to come out and play their pace will kill us, as it nearly did in the last 10 minutes tonight.
The disapointments I can live with, it's the hope that gets me.
WTF?
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
dont mind him - he is living up to his name....WTF?
was anyone else less than impressed with Leon Best when he came on?
i thought he seemed to be strolling around a bit.
i am not saying he should have won the match or anything but according to "our man on the touchline" he was suppose to help the midfield. i presume that means to put himself about a bit.
not gutted - because they tried their hearts out. thats all i ever ask. fair play lads - better luck in paris on wednesday
sums up my feelings exactly. only half time so will see how wed nite goes.
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