Trap out now!

[tetsujin1979]

Allardyce got Bolton up to 6th place and the UEFA Cup - not bad for an average manager at one of the lesser-financed clubs.

I know, I said so. Go back and read this post again.

I never said he's a bad manager, or that he was incapable in the Premiership. I just think that his level is mid table, he'll never get a team into the Champions League, peaked with Bolton in the UEFA Cup, and hasn't repeated anything close to that success since.

Also Bolton were pretty well financed, his transfer policy was to buy players on Bosman transfers or at the end of their contract on the cheap, and then spend what would have been the transfer fee on wages (e.g. Okacha, Campo, Anelka, Djorkaeff) he had far more money to spend at Newcastle and got nowhere

[paul_oshea]

Yes I have. Have you?

NO he doesn't watch ireland or Premiership, only LOI supposedly.

[bennocelt]

Yes I have. Have you?

So you enjoy it then, good football is it??????

[Charlie Darwin]

I know, I said so. Go back and read this post again.


Also Bolton were pretty well financed, his transfer policy was to buy players on Bosman transfers or at the end of their contract on the cheap, and then spend what would have been the transfer fee on wages (e.g. Okacha, Campo, Anelka, Djorkaeff) he had far more money to spend at Newcastle and got nowhere

I know, but I was using it as evidence he's got a good record. Bolton were well-financed but not compared to the teams they beat to 6th place.

[bennocelt]

NO he doesn't watch ireland or Premiership, only LOI supposedly.

Yeah I watch any football that is on the box, no matter.
Enjoying Traps football Paul?

[paul_oshea]

Yeah I watch any football that is on the box, no matter.
Enjoying Traps football Paul?

What do you think Benno?!

[Lenny82]

Traps only mistake last night was not giving Coleman a run. I thought Trap might have taken Long off as he looked knackered with 10 minutes to go (he worked his socks off up to that), and stuck McGeady in behind Walters, putting Coleman on RW.

I thought we played well and Cunningham was fantastic apart from one blip when he played the ball accross the defence and their striker nearly got his foot on it. It should only be a couple of games now before Kilbane is displaced!!

Fahey played as well as any centre mid in an Irish shirt has played of late and Foley and Kelly held their own at RB which gives Trap no reason now whatsoever to pick Paul McShane ever again!!!!

Anyone know what the attendance was? It wasn't announced at the match funnily enough!!!

[paul_oshea]

Cunningham wasn't fantastic, defensively i thought he got turned inside a couple of times too easily and was at fault for their second goal, apart from the mistake he was caught too far forward and couldn't get back. Going forward he was very good and his passing range(with both feet) is only what kilbane could dream of.

Josh at CH was also poor enough i thought as pointed out by geysir on another thread.

it was something like 30,086 - tbh i dont think there was even that many there, i would say it was a case of those who bought russia tickets were forced to buy norway(apart from general release) and just didnt turn up.

[tommy_c12000]

Traps only mistake last night was not giving Coleman a run. I thought Trap might have taken Long off as he looked knackered with 10 minutes to go (he worked his socks off up to that), and stuck McGeady in behind Walters, putting Coleman on RW.

I thought we played well and Cunningham was fantastic apart from one blip when he played the ball accross the defence and their striker nearly got his foot on it. It should only be a couple of games now before Kilbane is displaced!!

Fahey played as well as any centre mid in an Irish shirt has played of late and Foley and Kelly held their own at RB which gives Trap no reason now whatsoever to pick Paul McShane ever again!!!!

Anyone know what the attendance was? It wasn't announced at the match funnily enough!!!

Just over 30,000 I saw 2day in the Star

[weldoninhio]

That's debatable. It's been said on here time and again that the problems in the team lie at left-back and central midfield. The rest of the team is fine. Trap tried a new left-back and a new central midfield partnership last night, so he is trying to address the problem areas - while maintaining continuity. This is what sensible managers do. Look at Germany - they didn't just 'rip it up and start again' before the World Cup - they brought their young lads in gradually over a number of years, and still kept the average age of the team quite high. They didn't just throw together a new team based on whoever was Bundesliga 'flavour of the month' before the WC.

It would have been nice to see Coleman come on in his 'Everton position', but would he really have done enough to take Lawrence or McGeady's place for the big games next year? As for Wilson, I've seen him play a few times, and he looks only adequate, a big lad who offers little more than Andrews or Whelan. I'd rather wait until February and see McCarthy and Meyler. Even at that, memories of Sean Thornton, Stephen Elliott, Stephen McPhail, Jason Gavin and Michael Reddy are too fresh for me to get too excited about our young Premiership players.

Champions League semifinalist with Leeds, FA Cup Final Captain with Cardiff, Play-off Runner Up to Blackpool last season and now regular starter, when fit, for top of the table Cardiff. Nothing to get excited about there

[tetsujin1979]

Champions League semifinalist with Leeds, FA Cup Final Captain with Cardiff, Play-off Runner Up to Blackpool last season and now regular starter, when fit, for top of the table Cardiff. Nothing to get excited about there

I'm excited you found three different ways to say "lost"

[Supreme feet]

Champions League semifinalist with Leeds, FA Cup Final Captain with Cardiff, Play-off Runner Up to Blackpool last season and now regular starter, when fit, for top of the table Cardiff. Nothing to get excited about there

This is the same guy who was heralded as Ireland's great white hope, the next Liam Brady. Who McCarthy was lambasted for after selecting Lee Carsley ahead of him. Who was utterly anonymous in each and every one of his senior caps, especially his last one against Nigeria. Also, IIRC, McPhail played no part in Leeds' CL run apart from the 4-0 defeat to Barca, when Leeds were missing a whole team through injury. Giving McPhail credit for that is like Darren Potter getting credit for being in Liverpool's Champion's League-winning squad.

If Coleman or McCarthy achieve nothing more than being an inconsistent Championship player, we'll all be bitterly disappointed.

[paul_oshea]

I think Coleman has achieved almost as much already...

SF, thats rather harsh though, Mcphail has had a fair share of injuries and obviously the cancer scare, to overcome, a lot more than the average footballer. Although before the cancer scare i think he had a big run of games for cardiff.

[tommy_c12000]

McCarthy has pulled out of every squad he's been named in, except for Brazil. To suggest he'd be established in the midfield after a maximum of two games is going way too far.

There have been 4 qualifying games so far so if he played in them that would seem pretty established in my book

[Stuttgart88]

Nah, I agree with Supreme Feet re-McPhail. There was a lot of revisionist nonense here about McPhail being a CL semi-finalist etc.

He was a lovely player (a mate of mine played with him on a UEFA coaching course, said he was head and shoulders above everyone else) but never ever put his stamp on a game that had a physical element to it - let's face it, that's almost every game. More of an indictment of the footballing culture he was dependent on for a living, or maybe even O'Leary, but let's face it, for whatever reason, his career never ever came close to matching his talent.

I always said I'd pay good money to watch Xabi Alonso just kick a ball against a wall. I'd do the same for McPhail.

I had the privilege of meeting Mark Kinsella recently - maybe less talented but just more streetwise, hence his career was largely played out at a higher level.

[Charlie Darwin]

There have been 4 qualifying games so far so if he played in them that would seem pretty established in my book

Yeah, were it not for the inconvenient fact that he was injured and couldn't play.

[tommy_c12000]

Yeah, were it not for the inconvenient fact that he was injured and couldn't play.

- 1st round of qualifying games V Armenia (3/09/10), V Andorra (7/09/10). McCarthy played the full 90 minutes either side of these V Spurs (28/08/2010), V Sunderland (11/09/2010). No sign of injury.
- 2nd round of qualifying games V Russia (8/10/2010), V Slovakia (12/10/2010). McCarthy again played the full 90 mins either side of these V Wolves (2/10/2010) and V Newcastle (16/10/2010). Again no sign of injury until the fateful Bolton game on 23/10/2010, there was only sign of Trappatoni's ignorant bliss.

I suggest you do your research a bit more thoroughly before you try to play jack the lad on the forum with your smart comments

[weldoninhio]

Newcastle played in the Champions League before

Mourinho can back it up with trophies and medals, Sam can't

Blackburn played in the Champions League before too, is he doing such an awful job there because he hasn't got them back there???

Mourinhio is the living embodiement of a cheque book manager, when has Sam ever been given a blank chq book???

[Charlie Darwin]

- 1st round of qualifying games V Armenia (3/09/10), V Andorra (7/09/10). McCarthy played the full 90 minutes either side of these V Spurs (28/08/2010), V Sunderland (11/09/2010). No sign of injury.
- 2nd round of qualifying games V Russia (8/10/2010), V Slovakia (12/10/2010). McCarthy again played the full 90 mins either side of these V Wolves (2/10/2010) and V Newcastle (16/10/2010). Again no sign of injury until the fateful Bolton game on 23/10/2010, there was only sign of Trappatoni's ignorant bliss.

I suggest you do your research a bit more thoroughly before you try to play jack the lad on the forum with your smart comments

http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/eyqlkfojcwid/

I don't know if he was fit at the time of the Russia game but I'd go out on a limb and say it would be too big a match to give him his first competitive game.

[Crosby87]

Blackburn played in the Champions League before too, is he doing such an awful job there because he hasn't got them back there???

Mourinhio is the living embodiement of a cheque book manager, when has Sam ever been given a blank chq book???

You think Sam would have won Champions league with Inter? There is more to it than just signing players for $$$. Real would win everything every year if that was the case. (so would the NY Yankees.)