Euro qualifiers overall. Apparently. 21 goals.
Across Europe. He has 21. Suker and Koller are next on 20.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
So basically Keane has as many in Euro qualifying and Ireland's next highest scorer has in all games. Some man.
But he doesn't score big or important goals.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
He won't get a sniff against Germany is the crux of what I said. When you look at it in the context of every goal is a big and important goal, then yes it's a phenomenal record. He scores goals against Faroes and Gibraltar like Sonic The Hedgehog collects rings.
If we were playing Gibraltar again during the middle of the week he would be first name on the teamsheet but games against Portugal and the game against Georgia are probably more important to learn from than the one we witnessed today.
Yes Long's record isn't good enough. Neither is anyone else's - granted Long hasn't even strung consecutive competitive appearances together - but it's beside the point. Keane doesn't have the legs to get on the end of chances and he isn't going to create them himself. Playing him and we are conceding territory to Germany and we can't afford that with players like Gotze, Muller and Schurrle drifting all over the place. We need someone with physicality who can run his legs off, hold up play, link-up and break away.
Keane can come on with 15-20 minutes to go.
Last edited by TheOneWhoKnocks; 11/10/2014 at 7:39 PM.
We get you TOWK.
Good to get a win, but share your concerns regards the defence, I really don't think Wilson's up to it at CB.
Add that to the awful Clark, Keogh and Pearce and I think we have problems.
Not convinced by the management team either, Germany, Scotland and Poland will give us an insight of whether they have it to take us forward or turn out to be yet another false dawn.
I was at the Malta game in Dalyer that night. Arguably the worst first half performance ever by an Irish team. Seriously! It was weird how that game panned out.
No, I'm pretty peeved at that last half hour. None of the three substitutes made any positive impression whatsoever, and Murphy was beyond atrocious. Sure the game is over, but for the love of God the performance was relatively impressive up to that point, and just turned bad.
The substitutions, and the tactics for the last 30 mins confused me. I understand the need to give Murphy a run-out. 100% the right thing to do. It didn't work out for the fella, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. But to take off Hoolahan when he was carving them open at will, and to not move McGeady into the centre, and go two up top, was just bizarre. Hendrick wasn't in the game at all, and Gibson wasn't at the level he can get to, so to rely on them to open things up wasn't going to work. Therefore why not bring on Stokes, instead of Doyle?
By not bringing on Long and Whelan, I'm going to assume both are going to start on Tuesday. I assume that taking Hoolahan off so early means he is going to play a part on Tuesday too. I felt they could have given young Lenihan a run, particularly if bringing him into the squad was to assess him.
Germany are going to really embarrass the Gibraltarians badly, records are going to fall in those two games.
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
As usual, you change you mind.
Got your wish with Murphy. What did you think? I know what I think.
Thank heavens for Robbie Keane. Still knows the way to goal and made the job a formality early on. Great to see the crowd show its appreciation for him despite the handful of begrudgers, one of whom above even suggested when the score was only 2-0 that he should let someone else take a penalty. Unprofessionalism of the highest order. Without him knocking them out of the game early on, it would have been a lot tougher than it ended.
When the two best players on the pitch, Hoolahan and Kean,e were taken off, the game died along with Ireland's creativity.
Forget about the performance or entertainment. It's only the result that matters.
Why will Hoolahan's performance in this match ultimately be completely disregarded yet Keane will start? I don't understand that logic at all.
Same old problems on Tuesday I'm afraid.
Whelan (a player that gets outpaced by 37 year olds) getting the runaround by Schurrle, Muller and Gotze drifting all over the place.
Keane completely lost up front against good opposition.
Walters on the wing losing every header he competes for and wasting every counter-attacking oportunity (not that we will have the pace up front to take advantage of them anyway.
Players not having a clue what to do once space opens up in the final third because scoring and creating chances is literally not in the game plan.
I think the game is there to be won, drawn or at least to lose tightly but the writing is on the wall in terms of the personnel he is going to choose.
If McClean or Long can't do the job Walters can do while offering more pace and better technique, and if Hoolahan hasn't proven that he can offer the tenacity Quinn offers while offering proven creativity I despair.
Whelan will play full stop. Hopefully more bodies in midfield will legislate for him (I doubt it).
As for Keane - if people think he's earned a start in the Germany game on the back of this, where the Portugal and Georgia games were more important comparisons, and if they think he will genuinely get scoring chances let alone take them, fine. If they think he has the mobility, energy, link-up play and experience of playing against players of similar technique in the MLS to get in amongst them, fine.
We'll see on Tuesday.
We have no chance on Tuesday regardless, after last night's result Germany to 'Muller' us even more than they would have done...
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