No it was Dunne, superb ball all right.
Colbert, in a previous life form, made the bold claim that he'd never win a cap and he'd be back in the LOI by now.
I'd say it still huirts that he was so wrong on that one...
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
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New blog if anyone's interested - http://loihistory.wordpress.com/
LOI section on balls.ie - http://balls.ie/league-of-ireland/
No it was Dunne, superb ball all right.
I think it was Dunne
on the stream i was watching on it could have been anyone!
I'm sure he still stands behind that opinion.Originally Posted by Dodge
Consensus seems to be that it was Dunne. Great pass either way.
Give Andy Reid the credit so. Might get him into the squad for the Norway game.
ON the other side of the coin Killer has been caught out trying to get forward in the past, so swings and roundabouts.
Knee jerk immediate thoughts:
- Robbie needs a move in January, his confidence is gone. One of those matches where nothing went his way, but Robbie used to make his own luck. He couldn't buy a goal tonight.
- Green isn't going to happen. For forty minutes he was a disaster with the ball at his feet, if a decent at making a few tackles. Gibson was a big improvement, even if he wasn't great, simply because he seemed to lift Whelan. It was a better combination and at least Gibson attempted to take the ball on. Whelan was better than Friday but his poor marking conceded a set-piece goal for the second game in a row. Possibly could use a move too...
- Fahey and Long played well, particularly Fahey even if he faded in the second half.
- McGeady did well too though we're still crying out for him to sort out his delivery.
- Our defence was immeasurably better albeit against poorer opposition that Russia. All four played well.
- Trap desperately needs to look into some new options against Norway, we were desperately short on the bench after only 2-3 injuries. He needs to blood a couple of players, in particular McCarthy, Wilson and possibly Walters.
- It's not over yet and we're still alive. Macedonia home and away will be crucial though.
-
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
We even ran out of wide midfielders - I never thought that could happen again.
The bench was thin, could have done with Andy Reid's bulk sitting on it when Fahey had to come off, rather than a lighter Andy Keogh.
I actually rated McGeady tonight despite the lack of final ball. It's so frustrating: there's a good team trying to get out of this lot. The attitude & approach to the game was fine tonight. The players had the courage to play it on the deck. A couple of players stood out, namely Fahey and Long and others like O'Shea, Dunne, Sledge, McGeady all looked more than suited to the game. KK was alright, a decent shift. One more midfielder and a sharper forward...
The prospect of Doyle & Long excites me.
Duff, Hunt, Lawrence & Andews to become available available, McCarthy or Wilson or a dark horse against Norway to step up. Robbie & Shay to sharpen up.
The glass is still half full but two big negatives:
- Another chance of a credible away win is gone. The longer this goes on the harder it becomes to get one. If we get one, the next one becomes easier. Israel away still kills me in this regard. Even Slovakia last time out.
- 7 points out of 12. We need to be constantly ticking along at 2 points per game. In golfing parlance, we're 1 over par. We need a couple of birdies.
I thought we were very average. Game was there for the taking but we lack that killer instinct. I'm very disappointed. If the Trap gives Keane, Given and Kilbane etc more caps against Norway then he'll never learn. Westwood, Ward, Foley, McCarthy and Walters all need game time.
Slovakia away would have been a nice scalp. I want to see more footballers in this side. Please let McCarthy have a go in mf.
"If God had meant football to be played in the air, he'd have put grass in the sky." Brian Clough.
You'll NEVER beat the Irish.......you'll just draw with us instead!!!
Big time. Trap seems reluctant to call up replacements when injuries happen but the bench would've been enhanced with even just one extra winger/attacker on it. Only two attacking players on a bench of seven just isn't enough.
As an aside, the biggest negative for me is these games were the acid test of how far we've progressed and the answer is we haven't. Last year credible results against better opposition was more acceptable, this year we have to be kicking on, turning draws into wins and stop conceding stupid goals. But we're still at it. Good news is several players are knocking at the door and I believe Trap isn't too stubborn to ignore them against Norway - get them involved and give us more options for the big games next year. With a few key additions (McCarthy, Walters, Wilson) and the continued emerge of others (Long, Fahey) we can get a lot better and bustle our way into the reckoning next year.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
Yeah, but I think if Cunningham or somebody had more experience he'd be able to offer more going forward and have the recovery pace to make up for it. Big if obviously.
Yeah, I thought the same thing when Duff and Treacy dropped out. For those of us who still see Fahey as a central player, that only left Lawrence (not an orthodox winger) and McGeady as dedicated wide players.
I still don't think we're using McGeady properly on the break. There was one occasion in the second half when (I think) Whelan spotted McGeady had the run on the left back and played a ball long and into space for him to run onto. McGeady almost kept it in play, but it seemed like the right ball was to play it more or less to feet and let him outpace the defender with the ball. It might have been the right ball for someone like Hunt, but McGeady is so fast with the ball at feet that it would have been better to suck the defender in early.
A 6???
He was terrible... He offered nothing tonight, absolutely no effort of the ball, zero work rate, i cant believe he wasn't taken off. By far our worst player tonight.
If he doesn't move in January then Trap should give serious thought to dropping him. I know he is our record goalscorer, but no one on our team should be untouchable.
I felt sorry for Long working like a dog all on his own up front....
Trap's post match comments: http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2010/...oni_keane.html
He's seems aware Robbie's rusty and apparently indicates a willingness to look at 'other options' if he doesn't play.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
Was travelling to the US, gutted i missed the game. Any one got links to highlights?
By the sounds of it, was a very good first half and not so great second, with the exception of Robbies chance late on. Russia's win in Macedonia is massive for them and more than likely now means if they avoid defeat in Slovakia, they will top the group. Our double header against Macedonia is going to be massive, we need to be getting six points there. At least the coming months, give us the opportunity to bring in new lads and address the problem areas, i.e. left back, centre mid in particular. More and more options are becoming available so be positive lads, at the end of the day we're only 2 points off. It is still ALL in our hands, difficult to top but second is very achieveable.
You're probably right - I'll revise it to a 5. I did say they were knee-jerk!
That said, I think he's getting too much stick. He did move off the ball, and he did get into goalscoring positions, he just failed to take the chances. I think you could tell that he wasn't used to playing with Long, he looks much more comfortable with Doyle, but that's only natural.
Also...
Robbie Keane
Two goals or not, what a god awful dispay from this man, I can't remember the last time he played well in a competetive international.
We need to find an instinctive striker from some where. give the lad at Sunderland a chance..
That's a quote from the Keane thread. From 2004. Let's not be under any illusions - Keane is by miles the best striker we have and is, although it's not the ideal situation, untouchable in competitive games.
Last edited by shaneker; 12/10/2010 at 10:23 PM.
I'd love to see Doyle and Long together up front against Norway. They'd be a handful for anybody. Have they ever played together upfront for us? It's not something I remember, could have happened on that American tour in 2007.
The Norway game is important in a formative sense for us. As Stuttgart said there is a good team trying to get out of us, but it still needs a few more pieces to be a complete jigsaw. Definitely CM and LB are problems, but can anyone really see Trappatoni bring a new player in and letting them feel their way around international football while serious points are up for grabs? I doubt he will change the habits of a lifetime.
Team for Norway
1. Given (needs game time)
2. Foley (hanging around the fringes 4 years now)
3. O'Shea
4. St Ledger
5. Dunne
6. Andrews/Whelan
7. McCarthy
8. Fahey
9 Doyle
10. Long
11. Duff
Subs. Keane, Hunt, Coleman, Westwood (needs a game soon), Tracey
I'd leave Keane on the bench. He's not indispensable despite what many say. It would be no harm for him to realise that.
I wouldn't drag McGeady back from Moscow for it either.
'And Crouch must score'
Caps Goals
9 FW Kevin Doyle 18 September 1983 (age 27) 39 9
10 FW Robbie Keane (C) 8 July 1980 (age 30) 104 45
14 FW Shane Long 22 January 1987 (age 23) 14 4
17 FW Andy Keogh 16 May 1986 (age 24) 14 1
Yes, he is. Totally. However, I agree he shouldn't be played in November, and I agree with everything else you said.
Thanks for that, haven't had time to see any post match interviews yet.
Maybe Im just still really p****d off with the 3 misses and being a bit harsh.
There is no question he is our best available forward but if he's still not playing come march and say if Long is knocking a few in for Reading then Trap should have a difficult decision to make but being Trap I doubt we'll see change.
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