Yip mine too. I genuinely get a thrill out if watching him control games. and it's so subtley done that it sometimes looks so unremarkable.Originally Posted by Yard of Pace
Yeah, yeah that's the one. Good ol' Pig Mounter. So lets just say you were out there in the middle on the big green thing CD facing 90 versus Bastian, what would your opening salvo in the banter war be?
Yip mine too. I genuinely get a thrill out if watching him control games. and it's so subtley done that it sometimes looks so unremarkable.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
Dont think this was posted before gomez and draxler are missing from the squad:
Tor: Manuel Neuer (Bayern München), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 96), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Borussia Mönchengladbach) Abwehr: Holger Badstuber, Jerome Boateng, Philipp Lahm (alle Bayern München), Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer (beide Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Höwedes (Schalke 04), Per Mertesacker (FC Arsenal) Mittelfeld: Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen), Mario Götze, Ilkay Gündogan, Marco Reus (alle Borussia Dortmund), Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira (beide Real Madrid), Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller, Bastian Schweinsteiger (alle Bayern München), Lukas Podolski (FC Arsenal), Andre Schürrle (Bayer Leverkusen) Angriff: Miroslav Klose (Lazio Rom)
The pig climber is in the squad, he served his suspension already, who gave out that bad piece of information previously?!
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
its being reported that kevin doyle is out injured from the next two qualifiers. big loss if true
Stale Solbakken quoted as saying he's "definitely" out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19846888
This is a strange feeling. I'm actually dreading this game. I wrote on here before the Serbia squad announcement that if we didn't see widespread changes in selection, tactics and formation, it would be a long two years. Now we're going into the Germany game, and it looks like O'Shea and Ward at full-back again, Whelan and Andrews in the middle again, and the added idiosyncrasy of Cox or Keogh in midfield. With two centre-backs who have never played at a higher level of club football than second-tier in England, and a veteran striker who has looked off the pace and remained goalless in his last eight internationals.
I've always been a strong supporter of Trap. The discipline, organisation, purpose and common-sense he brought to the side in 2008 was refreshing, the tactics were spot-on for the players we had available, and the performance in Paris was one of the most compelling we've ever shown, under any manager. Despite qualification, the last campaign was, if anything, less convincing performance-wise, and wrong options were taken with regard to blooding new players, but we got the results we needed. Even now, the only games we've lost under Trap have been against teams who are seeded and ranked higher than us. Disappointing home draws with Slovakia and Bulgaria were cancelled out by good performances and fine points in the away games. You can't fire a manager for merely failing to over-achieve once projected targets are met, which is what Trap has done.
However, the Irish player pool has changed and evolved since 2008, while the selections, the approach, and the tactics have not. In the last couple of years, we've had a number of excellent young players coming through to play regular EPL football. The focus should be on accommodating and getting the best from these players. It hasn't been done. The likely starting line-up in a week's time will contain six players (Ward, O'Dea, St. Ledger, Andrews, Cox/Keogh, Keane) playing at an inferior level of football to the contenders for their spots (Wilson, Coleman, Clark, McCarthy, McClean, Long). Arguments can be made that the incumbents have done little wrong while playing for Ireland, but their misfortunes at club level are worrying - if they genuinely still had the quality to play in a successful international side, they wouldn't be plodding away in second-rate leagues, for second-rate clubs. True, the likes of Alan Kelly, Alan McLoughlin and David Kelly had decent international careers while playing in the second-tier, but players like that are generally the exception. You need a core of players who are in form, playing for good clubs, and attuned to playing against the best. We have a number of those players, but they're not being used. If we steadfastly accepted the logic that 'if they've done okay for Ireland, it doesn't matter what level they play at for their clubs', we'd still have Liam Miller, Martin Rowlands and Eddie Nolan stinking up the squad.
Trap's insistence on sticking with the more 'workmanlike' players could be justified if our defensive record was as impressive as before, but we've conceded 14 goals in our last 12 games, leaking goals even to Armenia, Estonia and Kazakhstan in competitive games. The signs aren't good. Trap's tactics are built to compensate for our lack of technique, and to play to the traditional Irish strengths of attrition, stubbornness and hard-nosed physicality, which are admirable traits in sport, but useless in a modern era, where soccer has been emasculated by Blatter and Platini's insistence on undermining the physical, combative element of the game.
The squad actually looks weaker and less-developed now than at any time in the last four years, and the manager has to carry the can for that. Unfortunately, I think the direction from Trap, which was refreshing, purposeful and pragmatic at the beginning, has become wayward and lost. He is a legendary manager, and I'm not convinced that we'll get an ideal replacement at the end of this campaign (because let's face it, he's going nowhere until his contract runs out), but his ideas are not sitting well with Ireland right now.
I can only hope that our seeding does not suffer too badly in this campaign, and that the next manager doesn't have to build from a 'McCarthy 96' type of wreckage. Or that Trap surprises us all by making the calls that need to be made (O'Shea at CB, Ward and Whelan dropped, Coleman, McClean, McCarthy and Long in). On all counts, I'm not too optimistic.
I'm inclined to agree with most of the above except that I think the game is better off for the changes Blatter has championed to protect players and promote technique. More fool us for not adapting. Soccer has been advanced by these changes, not emasculated.
It's probably a debate for a different thread, and I understand your perspective, but I think Blatter and Platini have thrown the baby out with the bathwater, in many respects, with their changes. Fair, ball-winning tackles, shoulder-charging and 50-50 aerial duels are universally penalised; divers and cheats are allowed to prosper, unpunished, by going down with the slightest hint of contact. This kind of thing leads to football being diluted as a spectacle, and has lost a lot of goodwill for the sport among would-be fans in the general public. In 1994, Platini mooted the idea of banning 'the tackle' altogether, and making football a non-contact sport. He was shouted down then, but since he's come to power, football seems to be going that way. I was watching the Ireland-Spain game from 2002 the other day - it occurred to me that Matt Holland would be penalised nowadays for the kind of 'hard but fair' challenges he was putting in, and I have a problem with that.
I agree that players should be protected, and dangerous play punished, but there has to be some middle ground.
Last edited by Supreme feet; 05/10/2012 at 4:24 PM.
I don't think there was any mention of a Schweinsteiger suspension but it was always a sure bet that the Dortmund Schweinsteiger would not turn up.
I dunno SF. I think lots of hard but fair tackles are allowed as long as they aren't dangerous. I thought Euro 2012 was conspicuous for a lack of diving and I generally think the divers are the same people over and over again, for the most part.
There's a big difference between hard-but-fair and prehistoric savagery like Alan Hutton's tackle on Shane Long last year that Hansen saw nothing wrong with. I think you've bought into a lot of the "it's a contact sport / it's a man's game" cliches rolled out by pundits from yesteryear. It still is a contact sport but it's also now a very athletic sport and a sport where both good skill and good tackling (itself a skill) is rewarded. I loved during the Euros how defenders won tackles staying on their feet, relying on timing. Wonderful stuff.
Only Martin Keown has called it right among the bruisers now commentating. A sliding tackle where you sweeep the ball with the top of your laces is great. A sliding tackle where you present your studs to the ball isn't.
This article caught my attention during the Euros because it's what I was thinking at the time too:
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/f...t-7855101.html
Sorry I'll try not to digress anymore.
Isn't there a thread on this theme ("He won the ball" or something like that) in World Football?
Mods, can you move these comments and SF and I can continue this strand?
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 05/10/2012 at 6:17 PM.
Again, mods, move this if possible.
Of course I would never condone vicious, studs-up challenges like Hutton's, and I do find some of the commentary on the subject to be quite boorish and jingoistic from various British pundits (especially Hansen as you mention). However, it's the upper-body contact, and incidents of minimal leg contact, that I feel are punished too harshly. I've noticed it while watching Ireland - we seem to get pinged all-too-often for minor infringements, like Andrews muscling someone off the ball, or Doyle challenging for a 50-50 header - infringements that would be let go in an EPL or LOI game. It makes our games very stop-start, too, which is frustrating. Long spends a lot of time in the EPL physically challenging for balls, and roughing up the opposition centre-backs - I wonder if Trap refuses to start him in big games because he won't get away with being so physical at international level?
Generally, I don't understand why mistimed stand-up tackles involving minimal contact are often punished by yellow cards, and there is still no retrospective punishment given to players who dive and fake injury. Despite the progress shown at the Euros (I was in Poland for it, so I was too "distracted" to notice any trends) I've still noticed a lot of cringe-worthy, histrionic stuff during CL and EPL games lately.
Ok Genius, that first Gethsemane was something, but now you are just looking for attention.
Why is everyone so depressed?
I mean I think they will lose 4-0 to the Germans but I am never right about WCQ. NEVER!
PS I got a notification on here for making a joke about people fearing the Germans as being "nazi sympathizers." Obviously, kidding. Hello.
What is going on here? POSH you must rally the troops man.
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
Don't know if this is still the situation with Doyle, but the FAI are still living in hope he is fit. Meyler called in just in case.
http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/soc...324934324.html
Our record against the Germans is good. I have seen us beat their b team at Dalymount with a last minute goal. Draw with their first team 1-1 and they hung on for that draw. Beat them 2=0 under Jack in Germany. Incredible result. But I cant see us replicating any of the results mentioned as our current manager simply does not believe in this team or the players available.
Last edited by Noelys Guitar; 06/10/2012 at 1:47 AM.
I live in hope that as match kick-off draws closer next week Trap realises that O'Shea belong at centre back with St Ledger. Please god Coleman has done enough in last month's impressive auditions to claim the right back berth. I think it's being overly hopeful he'll drop Ward at LB but injuries can happen with Wolves (hopefully!) and Wilson is put in. That leaves only the right side of midfield to sort out, I actually think Long has a shot of making the team in that position this time forming a five man midfield of Long-Andrews-Whelan-McCarthy-McGeady with orders to support as much as possible the lone striker Robbie foraging up front.
I'd be more confident of that team formation over others getting a result considering what is now available.... (keep McClean in reserve for second half)
If Stan can pull off a 0-1 loss in Germany (lucky goal at that) and a 0-0 draw at home, surely we have to be in with a shout.
My Guarantee
Am looking for old Irish matches on VHS, PM me if you have some and I'll upload them here
Jakub Mikkelsen named in the Faroes' squad; unbelievable. The lad was on the bench in their first ever full international back in 1988!
Brady called up. With Meyler in there now too, the midfield options look stronger.
http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/world...ireland-squad/
Is it true the Faroe Islands are in Egypt?
He is a keeper though, 42 years old so getting towards the end of his career I expect.
I think Peter Shilton and Pat Jennings were playing internationals at 41, I bet there are older than that.
Actually I just goggled it and it comes up with....... Jákup Mikkelsen,
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