I think the system we play also dictates who will be successful in it to a certain degree and I'd prefer Robinson over other options so far. He's quicker and can come in from wide or stay central. I didn't see enough from Keane to think he'd be a better option than Robinson or Ogbene but there is one slot open for me and he has time to nail it down. He's only recently gotten into the squad and deserves more game time even if he was poor against Lithuania. I thought he was better against Belgium when he came on.
But if Keane looked a better prospect and Robinson was picked ahead of him it would make the argument around the country they were born in a bit ridiculous. I'm not sure Snapshot was saying that to be fair which is why I asked.
The three starting forwards aren't the only positions a player like Keane can target. Impact subs, especially those that can help alter the formation if necessary, are useful too. We've been so goal-shy for so long that it feels like anyone with a goal in them has to be shoe-horned into the starting XI somehow.
You can't spell failure without FAI
Absolutely. I would 100% have him around the squad and I want him to get more game time. I just don't think he's a walk on starter yet. He showed more against Belgium than I've seen from Hogan so far but I also think there's time's you'd want to bring on a player like Hogan.
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We aren't doing too bad for goals with the current system all the same Lithuania did what they did and made it tricky but we have 20 goals in 11 games going back to Andorra or 16 in 9 going back to the defeat to Portugal I think?
20 in 11, yeah. But Andorra, Qatar and Azerbaijan were wojus, and that's 11 of the goals right there. We won't have that calibre of opponent in the Nations League for example.
It'd be great to have a reliable goalscorer (I believe Robbie Keane is still contracted); the home games against Portugal, Serbia and Azerbaijan we really struggled quite badly for chances. I don't think Robinson is that goalscorer, recent purple patch aside.
But on the flip side, we're not going seven games without a goal or relying on lumping the ball up to Shane Duffy, so that's certainly progress.
Don’t know who these better players than Ogbene are. Not in our squad anyway. He’s been terrific since ha came in and is a certain first choice starter in my view, and rightly so. Cult hero already too I’d say.Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Out for a spell, got neglected, lay on the bench unselected.
Not in our squad at the moment I don't think, no. But if a good Premier League winger popped up from somewhere (or even an excellent Championship one), then I think he'd go into the team.
But yeah, if you just look at our squad, we probably have more options to replace Robinson than Ogbene. And we don't really have many of either.
They literally both played in our most recent game. I'm not sure what more you want.
Small sample size, obviously, but two against a decent Belgium side is good. It seems clear the team has taken a step up since the Serbia game and, with the 0-0 against Portugal, the Belgians were the first real test of our attack and they did good. I wouldn't be getting ahead of myself but I think you could say our attacking game has gotten a bit of shape it didn't have before.
My post was in the context that neither should be discarded on the basis of the poor Lithuania game. Keane scored his 22nd goal at the weekend.
Last edited by Snapshot; 11/04/2022 at 11:59 AM.
23rd and 24th of the season today, putting him joint top of the League One goal scoring charts, helping to salvage a draw with Ipswich and put Wigan within a point of promotion: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/61075994
Last edited by samhaydenjr; 20/04/2022 at 2:55 AM.
Two more today, the second of which was assisted by McClean. So 25 league goals for the season, plus one in the EFL trophy. Hard to reconcile that with the player we saw against Lithuania, but definitely seems worth having around the squad.
Who else should be relegated to "around the squad" because of that collective embarrassment v Lithuania? Keane and his 26-goal season should be bench warming while we prefer someone nowhere near as prolific? That would make no sense though, no doubt, "system" huggers would mount a challenge.
Last edited by Snapshot; 30/04/2022 at 3:43 PM.
He played in the last two games. Can you answer my previous question? Why do you think he'd be playing more if he was born in Ireland? What are you trying to say?
Well Georgie Kelly is averaging a goal every ten minutes in L1, so I'd have him in.
I was being slightly facetious in my comments given recent criticism of Keane after the Lithuania game. He played poorly, and I don't think he did anything in the game to suggest he should be our first choice come June. But neither should he be dropped from squad contention, as I think has been suggested.
It'll be very interesting to see how he gets on next season. Some players have struggled with the step up (Paddy Madden for example), and others have taken to it well (like James Collins). And yet as Collins has shown, international ball can be different again.
Last edited by pineapple stu; 30/04/2022 at 4:25 PM.
I was unaware I was under subpoena. Keane has one start and minutes against Portugal and Belgium. You'd dismiss a 27-goal striker on that basis? I don't. My other point was he'd have more support from the fanbase, given the season he's had, if he was Irish born and raised. It's an opinion, like it or lump it.
Welcome to the internet, where people question your opinions whether you like it or lump it.
What would his relative support from the fanbase have to do with him being a "walk up start" as you put it?
And who is dismissing him? The thread is fairly positive about him and he played the last two games.
Last edited by ontheotherhand; 30/04/2022 at 4:39 PM.
Totally agree with all of this and, let’s all be honest here, Snapshot’s posts about Keane are not really about Keane. They’re about Kenny.
Bizarre school of thought it might be, but I believe a 27-goal striker should be preferred to a 10-goal striker. I also think the positivity you reference should place Keane in the NL starting line-up, not on the bench. Yes, it's about Kenny - he picks the team. Anything else, your Honour(s)?
What team would you build around Keane so?
So you were suggesting that Kenny isn't picking Keane (despite Kenny being the one who called him up and started him in our most recent game) because the fans don't like him enough because he wasn't born in Ireland?
He will play again. If he doesn't make an impact for Ireland it won't matter how many goals he scores at club level though. I like him and thought he offered something different against Belgium.
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