Republic of Ireland V Gibraltar - Saturday, 11th October 2014 - Euro 2016 Qualifier

[DannyInvincible]

Ya I agree with the point from di about oneill seeming a bit inept about making the right changes and changes to effect the game on the 65th to 70th min. It's kinda worrying and it's almost trapesque.

It was horribly Trapesque. Even my ma and sister said the same!

Just for sake of balance: was taking Wes off not wise in terms of keeping him fresh for Tuesday - even if he won't have a starting role? Also, I won't blame O'Neill for Doyle and Murphy looking ineffective. They should both be good enough to make their presence felt but neither took his chance. Ok, neither had Wes feeding them but still they made no impact. Keane showed his class in that position last night even though the standard of opponent was dreadful.

It was fair enough taking him off and probably wise. It was just the astonishingly stark contrast between the game pre-65th minute and the game post-65th minute that really concerned me. We just looked so limited and pedestrian. It was like watching two extremes. Surely there can be a happy medium whereby we can look an imaginative attacking outfit without having to rely on Wes? In fairness to Doyle, I suppose, had he scored that header with his first touch from the corner, we'd have been praising his immediate impact. Murphy did absolutely nothing.

[SwanVsDalton]

If a manager can't try something different when 7-0 up at home, then when can he try it? We went 4-4-2, it didn't work due to a combination of the game being less than competitive and the subs being fairly ineffective.

Presumably O'Neill wanted to look at other players and other options and it's more likely than not that 4-4-2 in some shape or form is going to be at least a plan B (if not a plan A) in the near future. Words like inept and Trapesque are ridiculously overblown in this scenario.

[DeLorean]

Yeah and in fairness to MON also, I don't think anybody could have envisaged how uncreative we would become once Hoolahan came off. The players left on the pitch should have been more than good enough to continue creating chances against opposition that weak.

[pineapple stu]

Agree with the recent posts. No problems at all with the subs. Would have liked to have seen 10-0 (though I did feel for Gibraltar at 7-0 before an hour), but we learnt a lot from the subs made, which is surely more important.

Question now is do Keane and (particularly) Hoolahan play tomorrow? Because otherwise, you'd start to wonder what's been learnt from the subs.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Hoolahan, should play at some point. Even if it doesn't work especially...

[DannyInvincible]

If a manager can't try something different when 7-0 up at home, then when can he try it? We went 4-4-2, it didn't work due to a combination of the game being less than competitive and the subs being fairly ineffective.

Presumably O'Neill wanted to look at other players and other options and it's more likely than not that 4-4-2 in some shape or form is going to be at least a plan B (if not a plan A) in the near future. Words like inept and Trapesque are ridiculously overblown in this scenario.

Fair points. I wasn't saying he shouldn't have done it. Indeed, how was he to know what it would be like without trying it? Paul suggested I might have been critical of O'Neill personally, or of his supposed "ineptness", but that was to put words in my mouth. Martin isn't in my bad books at all; I think he's far from inept. It's certainly a good thing to experiment at such a point. No harm in trial and error. I'd just be worried if the clear limitations weren't noted and we persisted with something akin to how we finished the game. As pineapple stu says, what will have been learnt if Hoolahan is dropped for tomorrow night?

[backstothewall]

Fair points. I wasn't saying he shouldn't have done it. Indeed, how was he to know what it would be like without trying it? Paul suggested I might have been critical of O'Neill personally, or of his supposed "ineptness", but that was to put words in my mouth. Martin isn't in my bad books at all; I think he's far from inept. It's certainly a good thing to experiment at such a point. No harm in trial and error. I'd just be worried if the clear limitations weren't noted and we persisted with something akin to how we finished the game. As pineapple stu says, what will have been learnt if Hoolahan is dropped for tomorrow night?

I agree. But being honest, what would have been learned from trying something new against a team so bad. He would learn more about a new system in a training match behind closed doors against a LOI side.

[DeLorean]

In hindsight Robbie was right to take the penalty.

In hindsight? Why, what do you know now that you didn't back then?

It would have been a different story, perhaps, if he was on a fourth goal.

It wouldn't.

[SwanVsDalton]

Fair points. I wasn't saying he shouldn't have done it. Indeed, how was he to know what it would be like without trying it? Paul suggested I might have been critical of O'Neill personally, or of his supposed "ineptness", but that was to put words in my mouth. Martin isn't in my bad books at all; I think he's far from inept. It's certainly a good thing to experiment at such a point. No harm in trial and error. I'd just be worried if the clear limitations weren't noted and we persisted with something akin to how we finished the game. As pineapple stu says, what will have been learnt if Hoolahan is dropped for tomorrow night?

Exactly. As long as these substitutions and changes are building up a picture of the team's strengths and limitations.

Also, in fairness, a half hour without a goal is 'O'Neill out!' territory, so maybe we're not being harsh enough.

[DeLorean]

Bump.

[DeLorean]

[DeLorean]

Closed thread.