QuoteGood article. He makes a great, if obvious, point.Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
Humphries is so far up his own and the gaa's a**** that I can't take him seriously, even if he makes some sense
Good article. He makes a great, if obvious, point.
Ah, a manager blaming the players rather than the manager. So the Sunderland players he signed must have been brutul at the end of his reign there - nothing to do with the manager. The Ipswich team of what appeared to be better than average Championship players, were also to blame for their woeful performances in the Championship - not the manager. It's all clear now.
Don't blame Capello ? His system. Playing Gerrard out of position. Playing Emile Heskey. Playing a goalkeeper first game that wouldn't have been many other people's choice. No, don't blame the Manager. It's all the players' fault. Remind me who said that again. Oh yes, a manager.
"We know that well looking in from an Irish perspective. Gifted player after gifted player has been denied the break and the time they needed. Richie Partridge was once the next big thing at Anfield. He played one senior game for the club, a 7-0 win over Stoke City. Not enough to earn a second game. Willo Flood in his Man City days, Graham Barrett and later Anthony Stokes at Arsenal. Liam Miller when he moved to Manchester United. The list is endless".
These guys have now all got a chance at a lower level and have demonstrated that they are not up to it and I suspect that is the reason they were dumped by the bigger clubs unfortunately. His analogy doesn't hold water. It's not as if they came back to Ireland not having had a chance. They've had numerous chances and haven't made it alas.
Last edited by OwlsFan; 30/06/2010 at 12:54 PM.
Forget about the performance or entertainment. It's only the result that matters.
Of course, it's easy for a manager to blame the players, but in this instance, surely it must be acknowledged that the players were simply not good enough? I suppose that assertion may also be countered by saying that it is ultimately the manager's responsibility to select the best or most appropriate players. I would seek a middle ground and suggest that the responsibility for the poor showing must be shared. Capello's management during the World Cup was strange. He seemed to lack belief in his players, which, it seems, was the main factor behind his bizarre decisions; the fact that he didn't have a clear first choice 'keeper, the selection of Gerrard on the left wing, the continual selection of Heskey, the decision to bring Carragher out of retirement, the decision to play an unfit Barry. Then again, the players who are lucky enough to be selected, must stand up and be counted, something that they emphatically failed to do, both individually and as a team.
I don't think it's as black and white as you claim and would agree with Humphries' fundamental point; that being that it is much easier to buy in 'established' talent, than to take a chance and nurture local talent. These players were evidently good enough at one stage, as is demonstrated by the fact that they were awarded contracts in the first place. I'm sure that being deemed surplus to requirements at a big club is bound to have a massively negative affect on a player's mentality and, in my opinion, mentality is as much a factor in making a career in football as having ability is.
Were those players actually edged out by foreigners, though? I'm not so sure. Stokes, sure, but he still got a full season in the Premier League. Miller was kept out of the team by an Irishman and an Englishman. Flood got plenty of chances under Stuart Pearce but he just didn't fancy him (I think Willo also had a traumatic event that led to him leaving the club).
I think he's stretching it by calling them gifted players too. There's a huge, huge leap from being a talented underage player to become a player who can play consistently for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Of Course Humphries has called for the league here to be disbanded in the recent past, so he'd like to give full control of the development of our international future to these English clubs he now dismisses
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
---
New blog if anyone's interested - http://loihistory.wordpress.com/
LOI section on balls.ie - http://balls.ie/league-of-ireland/
C'mon OF, don't you think Keane listing the players one by one was pretty clinical? I enjoyed it. I'm not saying every word was right. Sure he said that he had no problem with his teammates in 2002, yet the whole thing blew up when he was critical of his teammates in you-know-who's artcle.
I won't even read Humphries on anything football related. He openly disses the sport - and Ireland's participation in it - yet thinks he's ****ing authority on it when he wants to be. Humphries' scoop in Saipan showed everyone where his priorities lied.
Watch England lose.....in LEGO.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/v...brick-by-brick
Well certain people, doubtless the usual suspects, were wholly misguided if they did. He certainly won no special plaudits from the fans who were actually there.
And nothing he's done in the last decade to suggest he knows little more than the current Ingerland squad, Steve Staunton or Sepp Bl*tter about the modern international game.
By contrast, Ashley Cole was voted man of the match when England were humbled by Algeria, and Cristiano Ronaldo is voted man of the match every time he plays. It's not necessarily based on merit.
And anybody who voted anyone other than Paul McGrath as Ireland's best player at USA 94 needs to lay off the crack. Phil Babb had a great tournament too, and I believe Ray Houghton scored a goal at some point.
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Keane was voted Ireland's player of WC2002 as well, such was his hold on the imaginations of 50% of the population.
Last edited by Charlie Darwin; 01/07/2010 at 2:49 AM.
McGrath was so good in 94 he made Babb look international class.
Keane makes some accurate calls, his qualifications for judging players & managers performances are still a lot better than anyone on here and most of the bbc/sky/itv pundits. At least he's had the backbone to actually go into management, unlike 90% of TV pundits, and some of those that did try it have records so bad they make Keane look like Bob Paisley. He likes to voice his opinions on most things football related, sometimes I think he's way off the mark but on this he's on the money.
Of course the fall out from this is that while we have a bit of a chuckle at England's demise, the sobering thought is that virtually all our players come through the same system. Humphries article raises some good points, but as Stutts & Dodge have pointed out, he has previous form showing very different opinions, maybe he's had a road to Damascus type redemption but somehow I doubt it.
"Your guilty conscience may move you to vote Democratic, but deep down you long for a cold-hearted Republican to lower taxes, brutalize criminals, and rule you like a king"
Sideshow Bob
Fool that I am, I've only just come across this thread now. But good grief, weren't England dire against Germany? It's a damming indictment that David James conceded 4 goals, and yet he was England's best player. The disallowed Lampard goal would have made no difference. Indeed Germany could have won by more, they clearly took their foot off the pedal after the 4th goal and coasted. But by then, England have given up anyway. Their best chance is gone, England will never win the World Cup again!
Fabio Capello is a winning manager who has had success at every club he has been at. If England can't win the World Cup with a top manager like Capello, who can? Hodgson? Redknapp? And as for those ludicrious suggestions of Devid Beckham...
But it's not just the manager, the team have to take the vast majority of the blame. These players are all kids who left school at 16 with no qualifications, who earn £50,000+ a week, who live in big mansions, own a fleet of fancy cars, and have women throwing themselves at them. Now, how many do you think are happy with that? And how many do you think are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to improve? To become a better player? To be a world champion?
The England team that started against Germany was basically the same team that played in Euro 2004. Virtually no new players have broken through and what's more, it's gonna get worse. With each passing season there are fewer and fewer English players in the Premier League. In the not too distant future, there is the prospect of England having to pick their squard from the Coca Cola championship. Can't see things improving. Not without a total overhaul of the coaching system stretching all the way back to primary school, where 10-year old kids are playing on full sized pitches with their PE teachers encouraging them to thump the ball upfield and chase after it. It's looking grim for England.
We have different aspirations though. Their players and tactics were good enough to win 9 out of 10 games in qualifying, something we can only dream of. If our players' technique gets "found out" in a WC last 16 or last 8 anytime soon I'd bite your hand off!
And on England's criticism of 4-4-2, I think it suits us just fine - it allows our best players to be on the pitch in positions that suit them.
England just aren't very good. Short of Roy Race coming out of retirement.
Nothing to do with their manager, the PL or money in the game.
And even less about the pronouncement of Irish journos or the football pygmy that is now RMK.
It's all about delusions of grandeur, far above their station.
Blaming 442 is papering over the cracks, I've said elsewhere our player pool is small we select based on what we have and I agree 100% 442 suits our squad just dandy.
It should still act as a wake up call to the FAI who are happy to let our players be developed by clubs who do not have the interests of the Irish team anywhere in their list of priorities, I expect SI will not be the last player to turn his back on his country at a young age.
"Your guilty conscience may move you to vote Democratic, but deep down you long for a cold-hearted Republican to lower taxes, brutalize criminals, and rule you like a king"
Sideshow Bob
I agree totally that the FAI must be seriously concerned that we rely far too much on another jurisdiction's infrastructure to nurture talent for our national team. Perhaps Koeverman's appointment recognises this. Alistair Gray, of pmpgenesis (yes, of Genesis Reports fame) wrote an article in a Scottish paper recently damning the SFA for their approach to youth development, asking if they could be as far sighted as the FAI in appointing a Dutchman in a technical role.
is this it - http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/...airman-1.56045
No Tets, it was this one
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/...track-1.992388
Interesting how he envisages a mini-Celtic league with no mention of Ireland.
(PS: referring to the article you posted, I see the FAI missed out on its top 8 taget for 2010!)
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 01/07/2010 at 10:31 PM.
Roddy Doyle on how he saw Germany vs. England:-
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blog...land-lose.html
Oh please please plase, let this happen.
Out for a spell, got neglected, lay on the bench unselected.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks