If anyone had an agenda it'd be really easy for him to come down one way or another against any player in our squad.
Robbie has infuriated me over the years but with age has come wisdom, and the moaning, hand waving and general faffing about has diminished. Whereas early in his career his one one ones were his Achilles heel they are now one of his strengths. His instinct in and around the box is genuine class and his age is not a negative factor in that regard. He's fit and alert still so can't be written off. He has scored 60+ goals and in my opinion this should probably be 70+, but that's being picky. Saying he's not Ibrahimovic is just petty. Ibrahimovic is one of the world's elite.
I love Long, I think he's great and a real live wire. Hes a proper athlete and physical presence. He's even more frustrating than Robbie ever was though because he has so many more goals in him than he actually delivers. Just look at his fantastic goals against Villa. But on the other side of the coin, his inability to pick out Keane with a simple square ball to equalise against Sweden was worthy of the highest degree of ridicule ever heaped on, say, Alan O'Brien. So too was his ballooned effort over the bar away to Sweden and his header straight at the Austrian keeper's head to make it 3-1 in Dublin. His efforts on goal against Georgia and Serbia were Geoff Thomas comical.
Does any of us hold it against Long? Not on your life. He's one of us and one of our best.
Is there a bigger picture, that picking Keane over Long diminishes our ability to scrap and cause bother in the final third? Yeah, there might well be. But to have it in for Keane on the basis that the team is built to suit him is nonsense. We could have me up front or James Rodriguez, but the other ten would still be the same.
We have lots of decent players, some good grafters upfront (but nothing special by international standards) and one proper goalscorer. I don't have the answer to how best to put it all together. I suspect there will be some games where Keane will be best used from the bench and others when he'll be a starter. Maybe even Keane and Long, or others, at times.
It's up to Martin O'Neill to earn his Monday on that issue.
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 01/08/2014 at 10:49 PM.
OK..... Robbie Keane is 34 years old. He's playing in the MLS. His performances against pedigree International teams - and pedigree club teams before that - have been in decline for several years. I think other personnel are more suited to a change in formation. That forms the basis of my argument that he should be rotated.
I have doubts on if he will play on, if he is rotated, for a couple of reasons; in part due to quotes like this: "I have not really worried or thought about my position with the Ireland team." It is all about now and I've said before if I didn't play for Ireland and someone else came in, I have always said I would walk away." I thought we had agreed to disagree on our interpretations of that comment? And take into account the sanctimonious mocking I had to endure until I provided the numerous sources for those quotes.
There has been little or no manipulation of statistics on my part. Keane scored once against Yugoslavia and didn't score against Croatia in 00 campaign. He scored against Holland and didn't score against Portugal in 02 campaign. He scored a couple in the WC. He didn't score against Russia or Switzerland in 04 campaign. He scored once against Israel and didn't score against Switzerland or France in 06 campaign. He scored once against Wales and didn't score against Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland in 08 campaign. He scored once against Italy (Dubious goals committee) and didn't score against Bulgaria or Montenegro in 10 campaign. He scored in Playoff against France. He scored against Russia with a penalty and didn't score against Slovakia or Armenia in 12 campaign. He didn't score any in Euros. He scored twice against Estonia (one penalty) in Playoff. He scored once against Sweden and didn't score against Germany or Austria in 14 campaign. That's not a magnificent record. And it's important to put into context that the Keane pre 2008 is not the same Keane post 2008. His form has been in decline at club and International level. For example, he was poor in the games he scored against Russia and Sweden. I'm obviously not counting friendly games because they are not competitive.
We have qualified for two tournaments with Keane and I would say neither was in large part due to Keane. He was unable to be influential enough to come up with the goals during his barren spell in the mid noughties, post namesake, to fire Ireland into tournaments.
Who else have we got? Long has probably yet to reach double figures in competitive starts. Stokes has not been given a chance at all. And it's largely beside the point anyways as we cannot rely on Keane anymore and we will have to start planning for life without him, just like Dunne, Duff and Given.
"We were very limited that night and had no back-up plan whatsoever. Robbie was left starved up front, fighting for scraps and chasing non-transpiring long-ball knock-downs as a result." To go back to my original point that he shouldn't be playing in those games. Long or Doyle should be. And it's strange how people aren't so understanding and patient of Long whenever he has an off day - not often.
I do not have a vendetta against Keane whatsoever. He has scored goals against big teams and performed against big teams - largely in the past. He has a magnificent goalscoring record overall that will never be equalled. I even agree with people largely that he is probably our best bet to score; in certain games. And he has an integral part to play off the bench, with his experience, in other games. Do I think he's more likely to score against Poland and Germany on current form? No. And do I think it's worth it relying on him at the expense of the way we set out to play? No.
Last edited by TheOneWhoKnocks; 01/08/2014 at 11:43 PM.
I've responded in the Robbie Keane thread as I'd rather not take this thread further off-topic: http://foot.ie/threads/43943-Robbie-...=1#post1769995
Stick with me, Paul, I know my footie #iknowmyfootieOriginally Posted by paul_oshea
You did then?! Not quite how you meant it though. I had initially thought you said like me oneill would bring him back in. I stick by that but obviously he doesn't have the choice now.
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
I said I suspected we'd seen the last of Dunne in an Irish jersey around the time O'Neill took over. Admittedly, I didn't think he'd ever get back to the level he's playing at now, but I reckoned if he did reach the standard again that O'Neill would still look to younger players. I suppose we'll never know for sure.
I see a lot of Paul O'Shea in you, Charlie.
Well played, sir.
I see a bit of Peter O'Toole in Richard Dunne's eyes.
Spoken in a purely heterosexual way of course.
http://backpagefootball.com/dunne-an...d-dunne/80139/
Tribute to the career of Dunne.
Good article. Although it mentions that there hadn't been a prominent international since Kevin Sheedy. Terry Phelan anyone?
Dunne certainly was understimated as a footballer. I remember an amazing ball he hit about 50 yards to Aiden McGeady against Slovakia (I could be wrong on that). McGeady subsequently won a peno and Robbie Keane subsequently missed it
Folding my way into the big money!!!
25 games in three years, including a spell out on loan? Probably not prominent enough.
touché
Never reached the dizzy heights of this goal for Man City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBBjWbj0MQU
Folding my way into the big money!!!
Never seen that goal before.
Proper old-fashioned celebration at the end too.
Gareth Bale-like! The lack of a celebration indicated it must have been a consolation goal so I checked it out. It was an F.A. Cup quarter final that they lost 4-2 and Phelan scored City's second, presumably to make it 2-3 or 2-4.
I think Dunne would of carried on if Mr Trapattoni had still been in charge or Mick had took the job.
So, there we have it folks. Richard Dunne "walked away". His own words, not mine. He didn't retire gracefully having served his country with honour and dignity and due to a creaking body like most of us assumed. What is it with these Tallaght lads? Were they taught to walk away?
Why do I get the impression there's a posh boy behind that keyboard trying to impersonate a footballer?
CliffsNotes
Martin O'Neill spends 3/4 of a year praising Richard Dunne to the hilt and pretty much saying that he would be a nailed on starter in the team if he elected to continue playing. Richard Dunne, who spent a year on the sidelines, understandably chooses to focus on club football and the challenge of battling Rio, Caulker, Hill and Onuoha for one of three (probably soon to be 2) places in the QPR backline.
Robbie Keane says, in a huff granted, that if someone took his place in the team he would "walk away".
These two things are somehow reconcilable?
Posting Permissions
Quote
Bookmarks