Ireland 1 Bulgaria 1

**Condex** · 18/08/2004, 9:47 PM

I might be ****ed off because I lost �20 on this game.

Given - Played well

Finnan - good going forward, easily turned though

O'Shea - Steady game

Cunningham - Steady game

Doherty - Not international class

Andy Reid - Man of the match

Keane - A evening stroll

Miller - Neat & tidy

Kilbane - Very poor - did nothing

Morrisson - Just ok, wouldn't socre in a whore house

Duff - Very poor - expected a lot more

Subs

Carr - One good run, should play in the qualifiers

Gary Breen - Keep this man as far away from the Ireland team as is possible
why is it always for both club and country when he tries to head a ball
it usually drops a couplce of feet away, and usually the opposition scores.

Kavanagh - Whay is an average 1st div footballer hacker comming back to pick the ball up
from the defenders when he has only the vision to pass two yards.

**thejollyrodger** · 18/08/2004, 9:54 PM

not exactly a great performance by ireland. Reading on Sporting Life, Kerr's excuse is that everyone is a bit rusty. Well to a certain extent thats true, Duff for one, and were missing Robbie. Maybe its just because the season has started back up but the bulgarians were giving us a lot of respect and I was expecting a better performance all round.

**eirebhoy** · 18/08/2004, 9:56 PM

Codex, take off your biased glasses and start over. You obviously don't rate Doc, Breen, and Kavanagh so you didn't give them a proper rating. What are you taking about Kavanagh and 2 yard passes? He played the holding role when Roy went off and did well IMO (if you want to see 2 yard passes have a look at Neil Lennon and he is rated very highly by the top coaches in the game). He also gave a great long ball to Macken from about 30 yards.

**Condex** · 18/08/2004, 10:17 PM

I admit a bias against 1st division players as most of them are not up to premiership level football or international football, that is why they they play most of their careers at this level.

I rate Doc(on his way), Breen, and Kavanagh as 1st division players.

Andy Ried is 1st division player but not for much longer as he
has been looked at by premiership scouts/managers and considered good enough to contribute at that level.

**eirebhoy** · 18/08/2004, 10:29 PM

Whether you rate first division players or not, Kavanagh didn't have a bad half hour and doesn't deserved to be criticised. Keane hardly made a long ball pass all through the game yet you slate Kav for making simple passes. Kavanagh isn't even a holding midfielder so I wouldn't even judge him on that half hour (not that I would anyway). I've only seen a lot of Kavanagh over the last year or so but he could be a late developer. I've no reason to be biased but I've seen Liam Miller about 20 times and Kavanagh is a better central midfielder. I've no doubt Miller will most likely turn out to be twice the player but if they were both 21 year old's Kavanagh would be rated better by almost everyone.

**pineapple stu** · 18/08/2004, 10:47 PM

Thought Kavanagh did okay, though no better. Certainly not as bad as is being suggested, but not as good as against Brazil. Macken showed some good movement off the ball. O'Shea was appalling and hardly put a foot right. Cunningham was iffy at times - some wayward passes. Duff was disappointing. But the game was played at the usual friendly walking pace, so can't take much from it again. Cyprus will be the big game.

**Slash/ED** · 18/08/2004, 11:05 PM

I wonder will people still persist with the rubbish notion that Duff is a striker? Seing as the last 20 or so inept preformances up there did nothing to stop it they probably will. Andy Reid is one class act though. Kavanagh was average, no worse, but someone claiming he's better than Miller? That's rubbish.

**1MickCollins** · 19/08/2004, 12:54 AM

Originally Posted by Slash/ED

I wonder will people still persist with the rubbish notion that Duff is a striker? Seing as the last 20 or so inept preformances up there did nothing to stop it they probably will. Andy Reid is one class act though. Kavanagh was average, no worse, but someone claiming he's better than Miller? That's rubbish.

I wouldn't get your hopes up, I'm sure people will argue that Duff does indeed have a "mental competitive block" after all. As for the Kavanagh he is a water carrier and nothing more, I don't even think you could "compare" him to Miller, maybe "contrast" yes.

**max power** · 19/08/2004, 12:57 AM

Originally Posted by davros

Get ready for the rest of his supposed international comeback.......

can i just say, i don't know if this could be seen on tv, but when keane came off, they just walked through midfield....he just sat and cut out passes and did all the work, but yet very little...i like kavanagh nice player, but not in keanes league even at his age...all did ok for me apart from breen, disaster overall...

ok shows how good morission is when heskey is signed by birmingham.......

**tricky_colour** · 19/08/2004, 1:47 AM

I didnt see the match unfortunately, as it clashed with an England
game and so not much chance of a pub showing it in England, also
due to the weather I couldn't even hear it on the radio.

It didn't sound like we did great, but we were 1-0 up untill some
of the more 'first choice' players were taken off.

Somehow I though we would struggle against a 'lesser' side, they
drew with England in a qualifier (at home) a few years back (5)
and have lost their last 4 games.

I would have played Reid up front and Duff on the wing though.

Looked a bit like a result from the last qualifying campaign didn't it?

I don't think Duff was fully fit (at least not according to his club manager).

Good that Reid got MOM though as he need a move up to the Prem
and Forest need the money!
(there is a big thread on it on the Forest site (119 posts!!) which will
keep you busy if you want to read it)
http://forum.nffc.co.uk/showthread.php?t=58228
Hope that works. (Its a very busy forum).

Anyways hope things go better for the Cyprus match, I am sure
they will.

**the 12 th man** · 19/08/2004, 7:05 AM

very flat performance by both teams in a stadium that had a vacum atmosphere.i think once for the full 90 mins did the "irish crowd"chant as one and indeed were constantly outsung by the bulgarians

.

andy reid did well but still looks to be carrying some extra timber.

roy keane did well defensively but his passing was very wayward as he kept leaving his passes short.

o shea looked very out of sorts and i think breens confidence is at an all time low as he could'nt even complete a pass during his 2nd half performance.

very tame affair even allowing for it being a friendly.

**PaulB** · 19/08/2004, 7:15 AM

Agree with whats been said so far, only good thing to come out of last night was Andy reid, who I thought was head any shoulders above anyone else. Morrison is one of the worst strikers I've seen in a green jersey unreal, O'shea was crap. I think maybe as it's August they can all be excused, real tets to come in September..

**thejollyrodger** · 19/08/2004, 7:32 AM

after all its only a meaningless friendly. However the likes of Clinton and O Shea I wonder about. Lots of hype about O Shea but to be brutally honest i dont rate him. Its just the fact that he plays for united.(cue flames). Clinton tries hard, but just doesnt have that final touch.

Great game by Andy Ried. He probably played so well as it was a chance for him to get the f�ck out of division 1. I hope some priemership club buys him, he needs to work on his fitness but looks very good. On a side note, doesnt mc geady play on the same position? How will Kerr fit those two players in, in a years time.

Roy Keane is a seasoned pro, I thought he was strolling around at times, but obviously reads the game better than anyone else on the park and so doesnt have to run around all the time. Its going to be a big problem with he retires!

Half of our defence werent in the wide awake club and made some serious errors on the park last night, do that again in 2 weeks and we arent going to Germany.

Kerr played some players that I defintely wouldnt have let on the pitch. Namely doc, Kilbane and Breen.

so far I think the line up should be the following, ? means i dont know

________________Given
Carr______ Cunningham________ ?_____ ?
Reid ______ Miller _____ Keane _________Duff
_________ Keane_______ Clint

**Peadar** · 19/08/2004, 8:18 AM

Originally Posted by Slash/ED

I wonder will people still persist with the rubbish notion that Duff is a striker?

Duff has booked his place up front for the next game, no doubt.
He obviously needs to get his sharpness back but he did very well last night.
Reid was Man of the Match for me.
How could you keep him out of the team!?
O'Shea was as ineffective as ever.
Made about 2 runs in the entire game.
He was completely lost for the goal.
Didn't know where he was supposed to be or who he was supposed to be picking up.
Carr did more in his first 10 minutes on the pitch than O'Shea did in the entire game. I always thought he wasn't trying but I'm satisfied now however, that O'Shea just isn't good enough. Where was all that great passing people were talking about.
Kavanagh wasn't anything to write home about and Macken looked very out of place. Quinn looked like he'd cope with the likes of Cyprus and lesser teams but may lack the experience for a bigger game.
Miller did well and will find a lot more space down that flank in games away to France and Switzerland.
Kilbane is great going forward but is a bit suspect covering back in the centre.
Clint just doesn't have a good first touch and his decision making is poor.
Anyone I haven't mentioned, just did enough.

Starting XI in the next game, providing everyone is fit.

------------Given---------------
Carr-O'Brien-Cunningham-O'Shea
-Miller----Keane-Holland----Reid-
------Duff----------------------
------------Keane--------------

**corkharps** · 19/08/2004, 8:18 AM

How many times did O'Shea try to back heel the ball? Very fustrating!

**Beavis** · 19/08/2004, 8:31 AM

Originally Posted by the 12 th man

very flat performance by both teams in a stadium that had a vacum atmosphere.i think once for the full 90 mins did the "irish crowd"chant as one and indeed were constantly outsung by the bulgarians

.

Last night was an embarassment in this respect.I was hoping the buzz from the Wednesday previous might carry over but it was f*cking dire.Ireland home games consist of a crowd of cynics and critics who have lived too long in an era of expectancy.Maybe a couple of years of underachievement might bring a sense of perspective home.

**cullenswood** · 19/08/2004, 8:42 AM

Did no-one else think Finnan wasn't up to it at all. I thought he had a sh1t game. Was over beside him in the East Terrace for the first half and he was off his man a lot and looked to lack confidence, and that probably comes from being at a club that do not want him. Carr will definitely get his place in the qualifiers.

Agree with Morrison being very poor. He has nothing, no pace no skill, just a big mouth that is constantly giving out to other players when he f*cks up, and a bad habit of being on the ground more often than standing up. Must be learning it from Heskey!

**Plastic Paddy** · 19/08/2004, 9:01 AM

I watched the game with Pat O, Sylvo and the lovely Helen and we must have watched about fifteen minutes of the game closely. Hardly riveting stuff. There were players with points to prove last night and they didn't take the opportunity. From what I did see, however, the one bright note for me was Kevin Kilbane. I simply can't agree with Condex's assessment. He was involved in a lot of link play and put himself about in the midfield. Good for him.

PP

**carnstien** · 19/08/2004, 9:01 AM

Here's what I thought:

Duff put in one of his worst performances ever in an Irish shirt, he did nothing when he was in the forward position. I can remember 1 excellent run he had in the second half, but that was from left midfield.

Don't know why people are bashing O'Shea and Finnan, they both had solid games and didn't make any mistakes.

Doherty and Breen are disasterous, if O'Brien is injured either O'Shea or Keane must fill in.

Andy Reid is a sensation, he will be one of the best Irish players of all time. His range of passing is incredible and his first touch and ability to beat a man are second to none. He must be accomidated in the team for the qualifiers, either in the centre beside Keane or on the right.

**Peadar** · 19/08/2004, 9:13 AM

Originally Posted by carnstien

Duff put in one of his worst performances ever in an Irish shirt, he did nothing when he was in the forward position. I can remember 1 excellent run he had in the second half, but that was from left midfield.

Duff was well marshalled and won some great free's and corners for us.
Pity we couldn't make them pay though.
I think people are judging Duff as a winger and think he was poor because he didn't play like one. Are they forgetting that Reid was out there, so Duff didn't need to be making those runs!?
Duff needed a better strike partner than Morrisson though.