Wales V Republic of Ireland - Cardiff - 6th September 2018 - UEFA Nations League

**tricky_colour** · 06/09/2018, 8:54 PM

Ha ha my stream played the Irish goal about 10 times at the end and none of the welsh ones.

Positives, we were a lot better with a defensive midfielder on Williams should have started.

We drew the second half 1-1.

This was Cyprus all over again.

**Fixer82** · 06/09/2018, 8:55 PM

We actually tried to play football in the second half. There wasn't much hoofball at all. But we didn't have the ability to do that. Yet, when we constantly hoof the ball nobody is happy either.
Some of the decision making was truly awful and hard to watch. Not sure if the management are to blame for that.

Under Trap we were hard to beat before the wheels came off.
Under O'Neill we were hard to beat with an unbeatable spirit...it seems the wheels are coming off now.

You can only live off spirit and drive for so long.
in Euro 2016 we didn't have a whole lot of skill but we never gave up.

It's disappointing Hendrick and Brady haven't kicked on, for different reasons.

We are very very average.

Wales, to be fair were excellent tonight and really looked like a team who know each other very well.

**geysir** · 06/09/2018, 9:18 PM

Afaic we have already hit rock bottom v Denmark in both legs. This is a beginning of something new. Unfortunately, imo, this new period should be happening with another coach. I really like the look of all those new players, however
Ireland are not yet good enough to take on a better team away from home with no real defensive midfielders, in fact we need two of them along with more balance in player selection and shape in the play. If only O'Neill had taken on an assistant who was proficient in coaching and tactics, never mind what a waste the exorbitant salary that the tactically deficient Keane is retained on.

**TrapAPony** · 06/09/2018, 9:22 PM

MON is not the man to take us forward. He should have gone after the Danish defeat. Tonight just enhanced that point even further. Not many managers would survive in their job after a 5-1 home defeat followed up by a 4-1 away defeat in their next competitive outing. I am hoping the FAI will step in and remove him.

**NeverFeltBetter** · 06/09/2018, 9:24 PM

We always hold onto a manager one campaign too long. It would be nice to buck that trend for once.

**backstothewall** · 06/09/2018, 9:51 PM

I missed the start of the game as i was getting the kids to bed.

Watched the highlights there. The first 10 seconds tell you all you need to know about the game.

**mark12345** · 07/09/2018, 12:29 AM

Originally Posted by TrapAPony

MON is not the man to take us forward. He should have gone after the Danish defeat. Tonight just enhanced that point even further. Not many managers would survive in their job after a 5-1 home defeat followed up by a 4-1 away defeat in their next competitive outing. I am hoping the FAI will step in and remove him.

MON should have gone after the home draw versus Austria. A shocking managerial performance which turned my opinion against a man I spoke extremely highly of before that. If he should have been fired after that game he should have had to pay the fans back out of his own pocket after the away game in Georgia. His use of Hoolahan in the Denmark games was norhing short of attrcious. He should not have played Walters tonight (he should be retired) and the manager's tactics were predictably awful, but I cannot blame MON for the individual performances in Cardiff. Nor, Roy Keane. All of those seasoned professionals and not a constructive move in sight. At what point do we start blaming the players for their inability to keep possession of the ball and move it forward towards the opposition third.

Had Ireland been playing Shamorock Rovers or Dundalk in Cardiff, I would not have backed them to dominate either of those teams in terms of quality possession. Why because this Irish team is very low on individual ability and does not have the know how to cover their weaknesses.

**tricky_colour** · 07/09/2018, 2:23 AM

Heard the first half on the radio, glad I did not see it really, I did have a stream for the second half which was a draw but then
what did Wales have to play for at that stage.
I though Cairan Clark perhaps could have done better for the first two goals, let a player behind him and he should have
not let Bale run across the goal, but these things are easier said than done, when you are up against top players,
and you really need a pretty defensive midfield otherwise you are gonna get beat 4-1

**passinginterest** · 07/09/2018, 7:36 AM

I have a real nagging suspicion that sometimes the manager picks the team a certain way to make petty points. The 3-5-2 against Mexico just looked like throwing lads to the wolves to show he was open to trying different formations but the players are not up to it. Last night, didn't bother with a natural holding midfielder (oh we were missing the great hope Declan Rice, what could I do?) but Meyler is left on the bench. Christie right wing (James McLean is so important, we were lost without his workrate) but Horgan and Doherty are on the bench, could even have put Coleman in front of Christie or Doherty and it would have made more sense. Walters plays 90 up front (Oh we badly missed Shane Long's pace) but O'Brien on the bench and options with Robinson wide and Burke on the bench. Why pick a super attacking midfielder and stick a lumbering target man up front? Williams at the back for Wales has been a liability at club level for a year, he'd have potentially been very exposed playing it in around him and using pace in the channels, instead he had an easy night wrestling with big Johnny.

**Siberian** · 07/09/2018, 7:57 AM

Singing the Fields of Athenry when you're 4-0 down against Spain in the finals of a major tournament is a tad cringey................but singing it when you're 4 down against Wales in a Mickey Mouse competition?? major embarrassment.

Positive from tonight? Danish players have sorted their problem with their FA so we won't have to go through the embarrassment of getting beaten by their amputee team (or was it Futsal?

)

**Kingdom** · 07/09/2018, 8:19 AM

Originally Posted by NeverFeltBetter

We always hold onto a manager one campaign too long. It would be nice to buck that trend for once.

In my opinion, this is only half correct. We're too slow to do most things connected with the Senior Men's team. We hang on to managers and players much too long generally.

We're quite elitest in this country, purely because we don't have a large-scale football following community here. We're hung up on a player's club standard rather than the players ability, and this is demonstrated by the clamour to include guys in the senior squad once their passport is scanned as they board a flight in cork or Dublin airports.

We seem reluctant to identify players who could fulfil a purpose for a campaign, or the cycle between campaigns. ONeill intimated in his NT interview, that the summer camp is when the main tactics are passed around, and that if you're not there for those, it makes it difficult to work things out during a campaign. To me, that's a load of boll*cks.

I'm sick of him, I'm sick of his tactics, and I'm sick of the circus around him everytime he talks. Quite honestly I've never wanted to jump an Ireland manager before, but I want to flatten him. He's arrogant, he's smug, and he's getting his ar*e handed to him on a plate.

**NeverFeltBetter** · 07/09/2018, 8:32 AM

Originally Posted by Kingdom

I'm sick of the circus around him everytime he talks.

I think that's just normal for international managers now. No matter who has the job the media will be looking to sensationalise every utterance to get clicks.

**Murph 1** · 07/09/2018, 9:17 AM

Totally agree with the above, I could get over O'Neill being smug and arrogant and Keane being a media circus loudmouth if they actually did the job they are supposed to do. For quite some time management have stuck to the line that we don't have the players, even some sections of the media are now singing to the same tune. Last night we had a back four of Premier league players combined with players who are confirmed Championship standard. The job of management was to pick a team suited to the occasion and have them organised to play in such a way as would make us very hard to beat, That combined with our renowned team spirit would have given us a reasonable chance of being competitive.

Last night we payed as if the 11 on the field of play had never before trained or prepared for a game together. Wales at home with a new manager were always going to dominate possession so we needed a plan to counteract this- we had none!!, Surely 2 defensive midfielders aka Meyler and Williams would have offerd real protection to a Premier League back 4. Robinson up front with Hendrick in behind would surely have played to these players strengths.

O Neill/Keane have lost the dressing room. The squabble with Arter is testament to this, the fear which the team now plays with is testament to this, talk of being brave on the ball is a load of bull, how can players be brave when there is no team spirit and no game plan or clear method of playing.

Player recruitement is also a big issue with this management . Their is a very lethargic attitude to same, O Neill often states that there are new players on the horizon willing to play for us yet nothing happens. Wales , Northern Ireland, even Scotland are proactive in encouraging/persuading players to declare for them, We are reactive at best. Times have changed , there are a host of dual-allegiance players out there who need to be actively pursued. Everyone else is at it.

O'Neill/Keane are overpaid and really view the job as apart-time gig, The FAI must respond to this disastrous situation by doing the only logical thing at this stage and terminate their contracts . Mick McCarthy has always had a passion for Irish football and given his vast experience and knowledge would be the perfect replacement.

**DeLorean** · 07/09/2018, 9:20 AM

Originally Posted by Murph 1

Mick McCarthy has always had a passion for Irish football and given his vast experience and knowledge would be the perfect replacement.

I also think this would be the way to go, at this stage.

**jbyrne** · 07/09/2018, 9:42 AM

Originally Posted by DeLorean

I also think this would be the way to go, at this stage.

would love to have mick back in charge but the way it ended for him the last time was shameful. as soon as we went 2-1 down at home to the swiss the atmosphere was poisonous in the stadium with keono chants and banners supporting roy hanging from the west stand. mick did a superb job of re-building the team post jack charlton when we at the same low point we are at now. as the saying goes.... you dont know what you have till its gone...

**marinobohs** · 07/09/2018, 10:09 AM

Truly shocking performance against a slightly better than average Wales team. tactically didn't know what we were doing and second to every ball. 2 shots on target in 90 minutes against a very open Wales team shows the complete lack of cutting edge we possessed. The slow response of our defence and midfield to EVERY tackle was embarrassing. I fully accept we have very limited resources player wise but we are better than the rubbish served up last night, we need a change of management and quickly.

management cant conjure up top class players but it can (and should) make the best of what is available, is anyone really suggesting that is currently the case ?

**jbyrne** · 07/09/2018, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by marinobohs

Truly shocking performance against a slightly better than average Wales team.

that wales team will be better then the version that reached the euro semis.
we were bad but i thought wales were very very good

**p2011** · 07/09/2018, 10:29 AM

An honest question: is Mick any good at tactics? Does he notice things and change things up during a game? Our game management is horrible at the moment and has been for 1-2 years now. Would Mick be an improvement?

We were in need of a holding midfield shield last night and I think a manager worth his salt would notice this and change things up after 5, 10, 20 minutes. Plus we've been through this before with the 2nd half v Denmark at home.

**Diggs246** · 07/09/2018, 11:21 AM

Im not sure how realistic it is that the FAI will or can pay out the compensation for Mon/Roy. I would say they will be in charge until Euro 2020. Evem if Denmark and Wales beat us in the next round of nations league games

**RiffRaff** · 07/09/2018, 11:24 AM

I thought O'Neill should have gone after the Denmark game when the team's confidence and self belief evaporated over the 90 minutes. There is no coming back from that. A lot of talk about the players needing to be braver, but what about the management? We keep hearing about the lack of decent players available so why is O'Neill not trying to develop more, thats his job. We had only Walters in the squad as a recognised centre forward, he cant play a full 90 minutes anymore. Why was someone else brought into the squad as an option. There seems to be some issue with Sheridan, but aside from that McMillan, Sammon, Hoban would at least have been an option from the bench and while Wales threw teenagers into the game, we could have used Obafemi who has played in the top flight.