I'd take four points in a heartbeat. The three really need to come from the home match against Sweden I suspect, if we are to achieve that. The fixtures have suddenly become nicely set up. A home win against the Swedes coupled with an Austria defeat in Berlin should set us up nicely.Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
I thought Dunphy was going to put his sad little protege Sadlier on his lap last night. Ronnie Whelan's extremely hard to take, I was actually changing to Sky Sports only I didn't have it in HD!
Last edited by DeLorean; 08/06/2013 at 4:36 PM.
What were they saying?
I thought it was the best analysis they've done in a long time. The presence of Hoolahan and McCarthy over the past few games have forced them to dig deeper than just complaining about who isn't there.
Still, it was funny to see them pick out in their pre-match analysis some 40 yard cross-field passes as an example of Hoolahan's best play, then complaining at half time that other players were attempting 40 yard cross-field passes, before then featuring more 40 yard cross-field passes at the end of the game to show just how good Hoolahan was yesterday.
I wouldn't have bet on it, no.
But if he was fit I do think he'd have figured against Georgia and if he had played well against Georgia, and impressed in training, I think he'd have had a chance to play against the Faroes. He impressed against Oman and got picked for the Faroes away game so it wouldn't have been totally out of character for Trap.
I suppose the question is whether Trap just doesn't fancy any of our natural RHM options or whether he is ideologically wedded to Cox / Keogh / Walters wide right for reasons of solidity. In his early years he used to regularly pick both Duff and McGeady so I expect Brady isn't totally up against it.
Well he more or less said yesterday that McGeady can't play on the right and neither can McClean, so that more or less only leaves Brady, who he withdrew at half time in the Faroes so he may not fancy him either.
I agree with CD that some of analysis was okay, basically the clips of Hoolahan and overhead view of Forde's kick-outs and the bizarre positioning of the midfield and inactivity of our full backs.
It wasn't so much the content of what Whelan and Sadlier were saying, it was the constant negativity. To be fair, most of us have the same gripes but recognise the positives as well. An end of season game against nothing opposition, on the back of two other matches, was always unlikely to produce a vintage display. Giles, to be fair, was someway balanced and his main gripe was the lack of urgency, which he backed up with relevant footage.
Dunphy alluded to a Trapattoni press conference when he deliberately insulted Hoolahan. It was a stretch even by Dunphy standards and Maloney reluctantly pulled him on it a little bit. Dunphy just replied with the usual 'that's my opinion Darragh' kind of thing. There was a constant focus on how the likes of Coleman and Wilson have been fueled with fear by Trap, compared to the freedom they have at their clubs... yes, one of them being samba football noted Stoke City! Zero balance or explanation as to how Coleman's symptoms of fear were absent in Stockholm and London.
I suppose the Sadlier for Brady substitution was always going to result in a one sided view of things.
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Yet again we had a (rare) misplaced pass from Wes, this time to McGeady, which George attributed to McGeady not anticipating it or being in the wrong place.
Wes must be RTE's 'made man'.
The hoofball was certainly primitive, it's not as if we play it well or even have a beanpole up front. Still I enjoyed some of what I regard as the holy trinity of our game, goals, a crafty midfielder and wizardry on the wing.
I had the laugh when everybody was lauding Hoolahan for his pass to McGeady that led to the first goal which was slightly - but luckily not crucially - overhit, causing McGeady to stretch and briefly check his run.
Can we not just get McCarthy to do the Whelan role i.e. defensive player of the 2 CM pairing & then Hoolahan can start? Not ideal because it's not his best position but I do think we should try & fit him in somewhere because he can actually pass a ball forwards. I think Keano likes playing with him as well because he's finally got somebody on the same wavelength as him.
RM is a problem. Cox looks lost & Walters isn't much better when shunted out to the wing. Any decent right footed wingers coming through? Why not beg Duffer back? (Left footed but cuts inside). 4 games Duffer. That is all!
Rest assured McCarthy will be given the Whelan role. The only problem is that Whelan will also be given the Whelan role.
Trap has clearly stated that whelan will always play if fit. Which raises the question of whether we want Hoolahan or McCarthy alongside him.
That is a concern for me. The team is calling out for the type of midfielder that Wes is. Wes and McCarthy have to be accommodated in the same team. If they are, I really think we can get 4 points at least in September.
My line up for Sweden:
Forde
Coleman O'Shea Dunne (St Ledger if Dunney not fit) Wilson
McGeady Hoolahan McCarthy McClean
Keane Long (Walters)
I would start with Shane Long. However, I have great respect for Walters and he could be an option for us, depending on how we want to play. My observation of the Swedes are that they are solid and like they are good in the air (traditional Swedish qualities). However, I think the guile of Keane and Long might be more what we need.
I'd have the same line up for the Austria game, but another option would be to crowd the midfield with 3 in the centre. I'd drop Robbie and have either Walters or Long up front. I'd bring in either Whelan or Green. Hoolahan would play in an advanced midfield role. It might be better to start with Walters and Long to come on near the end if the Austrians are getting tired.
Watched the match on Friday night on a Russian language broadcast, the commentators were surprisingly good about the team, mentioning the fact that while none of the players were Irish-based, many had come from the Irish "leagues" and were not with important clubs in England or Scotland, except.....Aiden. No analysis before during or after the match, but they compared it to Russia's struggles to break down Andorra some years back. So this morning I watched the rte post match, and after 5minutes turned it off. Richie the moan has always made me reach for uppers, Dunphy is just no longer relevant or interesting, while Giles seems to have lost the will to live. I cannot believe that they are allowed on the screen to tell lies over and over, it's like watching a FG/Lab event.
Dunphy was temporarily thrown off his perch by Sadlier who talked first and fired all his broadsides in a few sentences. Dunphy was all of a sudden out-negated by Sadlier. But the old codger Dunphy wasn't going to let an upstart like Sadlier steal his thunder, he dug deep to launch diatribe after diatribe to recover his position as the RTE 'mockster'.
I almost broke down in tears when Richie the whinge was pulled up by Daragh "But Germany only beat them 3-nil", response - "Forget the scoreline, Robbie deserves all the praise/plaudits" only to be followed by - "this is an opportunity to improve on goal difference." Then Dunphy the clown comes in with Wes was brilliant against Georgia (neatly forgetting the 1st half of that match) - and that it was "outrageous" that he has been omitted so far. It's not funny any more. Especially when Wes has been outstanding for Norwich in the Premier League for a very long time.
I watched the analysis on the RTE player and I can't believe the amount of guff that Dunphy and co are spouting. Dunphy has just said that Hoolahan was capped by Mick McCarthy at left back in a 'mickey mouse' competition in the States years ago! Absolute horse****. He also said that Hoolahan has been playing in the Premier League or Championship for several years. He had 2 years at that level and only a single year in the Championship before then, he was a League One player 3 years back. He also said the he doesn't think the management team knew about Hoolahan 3 years ago despite the fact that Trap capped him against Columbia 5 years ago. It actually beggars belief.The less said about Sadlier the better, he's so desperate to mark himself out as the natural successor to Dunphy it's impossible to take anything he says seriously. By all means be critical but at least get the facts rights, it's embarrassingly amateurish.
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I bought the Sindo this morning and the begrudgery in Sadlier's faint praise of Keane was evident. He just came across as a sour bundle of joyless negativity. A hat trick against the Faroes isn't much to behold by itself, but if 5 goals in a week was that easy how come no other Irish player has ever come close? It's not as if we never played minnows before.
Sadlier's argument was that Keane contributes nothing but his (59) goals. I think that's harsh. Most of his career we have criticised him for looking for the ball too far from goal, showing he's always willing to help. Pele would have found it hard to contribute from Keane's position in the Euros.
Dion Fanning at least conceded that he is very much appreciated in the dressing room. As I said earlier, I think we're looking at a leader now, whereas a few years ago he was still a petulant twit at times (like Long is now) and less suited to the captaincy.
Just a point about goal difference, do goal against the bottom two clubs count??
Even then our 6-1? drubbing by Germans is going to take a lot of turning round.
Counts in the group standings. Results against the bottom team are discounted when calculating the worst 2nd place team.
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