Golden Opportunity

[eirebhoy]

The real problem is guaging the progress Kerr is making - the last 2 competitive games were pretty poor.

Do you want me to post up the lineups for those matches? No manager comes in during a qualifying campaign and makes more than a couple of changes to a team. Kerr needed this bunch of friendlies to build his own team and it has at least 6 changes to the team that played Switzerland.

[Condex]

Do you want me to post up the lineups for those matches? No manager comes in during a qualifying campaign and makes more than a couple of changes to a team. Kerr needed this bunch of friendlies to build his own team and it has at least 6 changes to the team that played Switzerland.

I agree that was a god awful display in Basel.

Given
Carr, Breen, O'Shea, Harte
Duff, Holland (Kinsella 74), Healy (Finnan 77), Kilbane
Keane, Connolly (Morrison 58)
Subs not used: O'Brien, Carsley, Doherty, Colgan.

I hope a team something like this plays the next time.
Given
Carr/Finnan, O'Brien, Cunningham, O'Shea
Miller/Reid, Keane, Kilbane/Holland, Duff
Keane, Morrison(Until some else comes along)

[1MickCollins]

Do you want me to post up the lineups for those matches? No manager comes in during a qualifying campaign and makes more than a couple of changes to a team. Kerr needed this bunch of friendlies to build his own team and it has at least 6 changes to the team that played Switzerland.

Well I am not sure that is a rule carved in stone but that is what Brian Kerr did - however I am not so sure as thejollyrodger that against France "We should get 4 points out of those 2 games." and in relation to Switzerland "Well anyone watching them cant realisticlly belive that they pose a real threat to Ireland". What is the evidece? A sequence of good results in friendlies?Even with changed line-ups how good are we? How do we go from pathetic which is what we were in the last qualifying round to brishing aside France and Switz?

I don't think friendlies are a good indicator, I guess only time will tell. I suppose the hope is that the return of Roy Keane and the introduction of Andy O'Brien, Andy Reid and Liam Miller will make a significant difference in addition to Kerr getting the players to play the way he wants?

But will Miller be playing first team football next season? And will Reid have a second season as good as last season?

I think we know what to expect from Keane ( if fit ) and O'Brien has been very steady for a number of years.

[eirebhoy]

[QUOTE=eirebhoy] No manager comes in during a qualifying campaign and makes more than a couple of changes to a team.
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[QUOTE=1MickCollins] Well I am not sure that is a rule carved in stone but that is what Brian Kerr did.
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Rep of Ireland -v- Switzerland under McCarthy:
Given, Kelly, Cunningham, Breen, Harte, Healy, Holland, Kinsella, Kilbane, Duff, Keane.

Rep of Ireland -v- Switzerland under Kerr:
Given, Carr, Breen, O'Shea, Harte, Duff, Holland, Healy, Kilbane, Keane, Connolly.

The players in bold played in both McCarthy's and Kerr's team. Carr was unavailable for McCarthy and would have started instead of Kelly. Cunningham was unavailable for Kerr and would have started instead of Harte and switch O'Shea to LB. Therefore, Kerr only made a couple of changes (Connolly, O'Shea) to the team for the last competitive game which pretty much proves my point. I doubt any manager would make more than a couple of changes to a team midway through a qualifying campaign so Kerr shouldn't be judged by the performance of the team back in October as it was still virtually McCarthy's team.

People say you can't judge a manager on friendlies but in this case we have nothing else to judge him on. Kerr has now made rapid changes in 5 friendlies (from Canada to Romania). Two changes to McCarthy's first choice defence (O'Brien in for Breen, O'Shea in for Harte). At least 3 changes to the midfield (Duff on the left, Keane in the centre, Reid/Miller in somewhere). 1 change up front (Morrison).

I agree with you that we shouldn't be getting over confident because of a few results in friendlies, I am certainly not. I'm twice as optimistic as I was last year because we actually have a different team.