So McGeady is probably not only our best passer, but our best tackler and winner of the ball, and a good chunk of our fans want him out of the teamOriginally Posted by tricky_colour
The mind truly boggles.
there is a bit about passing here (against Croatia)
http://www.goal.com/en-ie/news/3942/...on-five-things
So McGeady is probably not only our best passer, but our best tackler and winner of the ball, and a good chunk of our fans want him out of the team
The mind truly boggles.
Never understood the stick he gets either.So McGeady is probably not only our best passer, but our best tackler and winner of the ball, and a good chunk of our fans want him out of the team
The mind truly boggles.
McClean is an exciting young talent but very much a typical Martin O'Neil Leicester City/Celtic type winger. Strong, fast and good at surging forward and all that but not half the footballer McGeady is.
There are too many who are not up to scratch, so choosing to play football is not an option. The only players I'd keep from that starting team, Dunne Sledge O'Shea (CM) McGeady, Doyle and Long,
Sorry mates, but Andrews hasn't got the midfield guile, put him on standby. Sacrifice qualification as the desideratum but focus on building a team that can play football and take the consequences on the chin, if need be.
Going into this game I didn't expect too much. All I wanted to see was a performance to be proud of. To head home with our heads held high. For the most part, the players gave it their all and I cannot fault them for that. Some of them are just not up to the job. O'Shea is not a full back anymore. Simple as that. It would have been more beneficial to have a real full back like Kelly playing.
He may not be up to the standard required but Ward deserves a mention. He shouldn't be wearing the no 3 jersey come August but he tried his hardest and stood up ok most of the time.
The midfield as a whole worked hard, and you cannot knock them for a lack of effort. They were overrun most times and that wasn't their fault.
Doyle tried hard too and it was a big improvement on his previous appearances.
What struck me most was how little we can offer. It was embarrassing. We defend well (most of the time) and that is because Trap drills it into the players. But is there anything at all with regard to attack? When we attacked this morning(in Melbourne time) we were completely clueless. There was no movement. Strikers ran straight ahead and tried to hold their lines; wingers ran for the corners and tried to cross; overlapping full backs stop and look to pass back to winger who then crosses.
The attack when Doyle and Keane found themselves on the left wing was one of the worst. While both were pulled out of position, not one player moved into the centre forward position to give them a target.
It reminded me of watching a decent Junior B team. They weren't bad in the back half, but once they break they have absolutely no ideas and unless the defence lets them through, the ball will probably be turned over.
The subs looked like token caps to be honest and they made no sense at all. Removing McGeady was one thing, but why not replace his with either Hunt or McClean? Or else Gibson and push Duff up and go 4-3-3?
Instead he brings on Long(who wasn't deemed good enough for the first two games) and I don't really know where he played. From that moment we lost shape. Walters was brought on to get as many forwards on the field as we could and then the Cox substitute just didn't make sense. It was like he just gave him the last couple of minutes for the sake of it.
I think Trap has done the job he was brought in to do. He set a good base, got us to a playoff and then pushed on to get us to a tournament. This should have been his swansong.
I mentioned at the start of the Where to next thread that while change is needed and important, it cannot be done in one lump. Get players like Wilson, McCarthy, Long into the team from the start. Bring them in instead of Ward, Keane and Doyle. Switch to 4-5-1. Replace O'Shea at right back if possible and Duff on one of the wings.
So look at the first friendly with a team of:
Gk: Westwood - if he plays well enough then keep him there for the first qualifier. That would also be on the condition that he is playing first team football.
RB: Kelly - has experience and would hopefully give Coleman time to settle in at RB with Everton. Maybe give Foley a run
LB: Wilson
CB: Dunne and Sledge are first choice unless Dunne goes. If Sledge is not playing first team football I'd bring in O'Shea to start with Duffy or Clark as next in line.
CM: Andrews, Whelan, McCarthy to start. With Gibson to come in and replace one of the first two.
LW: McClean/McGeady
RW: McGeady/Pilkington/Walters
FW: Long
If we went out with something along those lines, only McCarthy and Wilson would be "new" players. Most importantly though, the spine of the side would remain the same. Gibson could replace Whelan and if he came back, Ireland could eventually replace Andrews.
We are so tragic.
McClean is a very limited player whose unfortunately been set up for a downfall by bizarrely being declared as a cornerstone to our future.
I generally kind of get the point you are making re McClean murfinator but I'd qualify it a bit by saying that, with a lot of work and application, he could become a good player and a decent international player but I don't think he is the messiah he's being made out to be. He's certainly primed to "fail".
By the way, on my ipad, murfinator = muffin actor
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
Let's face it, if Messi had came on instead of McClean he would have looked ****e too!!
And actually McClean did a good job when he came on, people only remember him failing to get past a defender
once but forget all his other good work.
im getting a camera up my ass in july because i have stomach problems - i would rather what the dvd of my inner bowel than this team under that stubborn git
Lots of talk about our 'shape' being what's getting us pumped every game because 4-4-2 isnt flavour of the month right now and Glen Whelan thinks we should play differently.
Would having 3 inadequate midfielders chasing shadows against Spain have made any odds though really? We play 4-4-2 because it suits the playing squad we have. Our strength if we have one and most of our creativity comes through our wingers. Duff and Mcgeady are dribble down the wing kind of players, they wouldnt be suited to the kind of attacking traingle Russia have for instance with Arshavin and Dzagoev.
The only unbeaten team in the group matches and 2 other team in our own group play a fairly conventional version of 4-4-2 but they do better because they have better players and because mentally they are stronger and dont get bamboozled when the opposition start passing the ball around. We've not been beaten so emphatically because of any particular tactical failing, its more a collective lack of concentration, fortitude and (with the exception of Andrews who maybe showed a little too much) passion. This is worrying as its not like us as a team and footballing nation. When the going got tough they didn't get going but just gave the impression they wanted it all to be over, perhaps realising they had achieved their maximum potential just to get to the tournament or maybe they really did feel it would just be like playing Estonia all over again and were overcome with shock when it wasnt.
Is McClean going to be another Sean St Ledger, people distorting his actual contribution to a game in to something infinitely greater than it was?
You are saying he played well because you'd decided before he came on to the pitch that he would do. He could become an important player for us in the future but trying to sugarcoat the reality of what happens on the pitch isnt helping anyone.
Good choices all except O'Shea. I wouldn't let him watch the game never mind play in it.
"Sorry mates, but Andrews hasn't got the midfield guile, put him on standby. Sacrifice qualification as the desideratum but focus on building a team that can play football and take the consequences on the chin, if need be"
Good point. Andrews deserves a lot of credit for his effort, but he isn't up to the standard. Still ahead of Whelan mind you, but still not up to snuff.
You're looking at two of McCarthy, Gibson, and dare I say it, Ireland for the two central midfield berths.
True story: I've never heard the word 'guile' used outside the context of Street Fighter or Ireland's midfield.
Andrews has plenty of guile. There's a reason he had more shots on goal during the tournament than all of our strikers combined.
Looking at England right now (versus Ukraine) and they, with all their millions of pounds worth of talent are second best to Ukraine. It's truly the English style of play which is the malaise (for Ireland).
He's not even close to international standard. Ok, there are plenty like him in the Irish team, but Andrews is in a pivotal position and must be dropped. You mention reasons. There's a reason he keeps getting coaxed down the the lower divisions.
He's been coaxed down the divisions once, barring the one slide he had at the start of his career.
He's exactly the type of player who excels in international football - he's not technically great, but he's full of pride and has the character to take control when others around him aren't performing.
agree to easy to penetrate at the back, need a big target and 1 in the hole for success
That, in a nutshell, is the attitude which has Irish football where it is today. We keep championing players who are not even close to the required standard. But as long as their full of pride that's all we care about.
Yeah, work-rate and leadership are so overrated. That's why the Netherlands are odds-on to win the title.
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