LOI In Europe 2020

[DCWA]

Funny that for all the talk recently of Shields being past it needing replaced etc the BT Sport commentators singled him only really out for praise tonight. Rightly so as well he was excellent and the linchpin for Dundalk.

Can have no complaints with the performance, we should note that for 85 minutes of that game it was Arsenal 0-0 Dundalk just two silly mistakes and a cracking goal all in the space of a few minutes either side of half time.

Hopefully there’s the chance of picking up a point or more in there against Rapid Vienna.

[CorribsideSteve]

Admirable effort from Dundalk. Really should have held on til half time at 0-0 only for Rogers to channel his inner David James. Dundalk played very well for 35-40 minutes but in the blink of an eye it's game over at this level. Passed nicely, played out from the back every time, and pleasingly, even at 3-0 didn't resort to wasteful lumped balls forward at every moment, yet there was little going forward. I feared for them then, but a combination of Arsenal easing off, and Dundalk brave blocking kept it to a very respectable scoreline. Hoban's attempt at a free kick in the 2nd half was absolutely embarrassing though. Dundalk need to begin somehow to start signing players from the continent with experience at this level. Easy to say, I know, but that's what's needed to help them get to a higher level I think. Something outside of League 1 free transfers. Maybe their good showing tonight will ignite something in the owners regarding off-season recruitment. Reamrkable that they didn't concede a foul the whole game. Not sure what to make of it! A very 2020 thing indeed.

[sundance kid]

Such a pity it didn't go better. Dundalk were still well in with a chance for about 30 minutes, but then the warm up ended, the game started, and they didn't see the ball again.

[pineapple stu]

I doubt there is a keeper on the planet that hasnt had a few clangers if you look for them.
His age is main reason for people feeling a keeper is needed

Rogers seems to have more than most though. The Celje ones were real high-profile clangers in an important game. The goal in Alkmaar too was another one - came way off his line just to punch his opponent in the head and let the ball bounce into an empty net. I'm sure there's others.

He's been getting stick on foot for a few years now, so I don't think it's age-related. It's clanger-related. You can play a great game for 95% of the time, but if you then commit a howler, it's what you're remembered for because it can impact the game so much.

I thought that zero foul stat was an error on the BBC website, its remarkable really but not sure whether its is excellent discipline or lacking some edge. Usually when a team is chasing the ball fouls are committed, not the one dominating possession.

Funny, I was thinking of that Southampton 0-9 Leicester result when I heard the stat. Part of the reason Southampton got so badly thumped is because (red card aside) they barely put in a challenge at all that night - just three fouls in total.

Last night was a different game of course; Dundalk were happy to put ten men on the edge of the box and try stifle Arsenal. It worked in the sense that the score was kept respectable but at the expense of any sort of attacking threat (which isn't a criticism because, well, it was Arsenal v Dundalk)

Killing the game off in five minutes mayn't have been any harm either; if it was 1-0 with an hour gone, Arsenal would probably have pulled some big guns from the bench. So not stoking the bear - probably not a bad idea.

[Nesta99]

You may be on the button regarding Rogers, you'd probably get a mixed reaction from different supporters. We may even have been knocking in the goals in past league seasons that meant any howler didnt register so much. In Europe there isnt the room for error. I'm not changing tack myself but there has been criticism, some of it harsh as the good outweighs the bad eg he could have nothing to do and then pull off the spectacular save in injury time. The notable loss of form was after the Alkmaar incident, he wasnt right for a while after but got back to claiming crosses clattering anyone in his way. We've a good tradition of having great keepers at Oriel, he'd be in a top 5 i'd say but maybe fan expectations have dropped with there not being really top keepers around the league - Rovers struggled in that department until Mannus became available and had a big impact. Names like Brian Murphy, Michael Schlingermann(?) have been thrown up occasionally but are they any better than Rogers really at this stage!? Talbot also has been mentioned as a potential target, good keeper and age profile, but bleeds Bohs. McCarey getting his chance is possible. One thing for sure is that it has to be sorted sooner than later.

[2 Year Contract]

Rogers errors on the European stage have been poor, as mentioned a goal conceded for Pats vs Steaua Bucharest: https://youtu.be/CeLBoYyolWs

I also remember a few other howlers like this against Karpaty Lviv: https://youtu.be/DoBl289_jZ0

BUT in Rogers favour, the fact that he’s played circa 50 games (most in LOI history) in European competition will obviously raise the number of opportunities to make howlers. Yes he’s probably made more than any LOI keeper in Europe, but he’s also had more good games in Europe than any other LOI keeper

[mcgonigle]

Rogers seems to have more than most though. The Celje ones were real high-profile clangers in an important game. The goal in Alkmaar too was another one - came way off his line just to punch his opponent in the head and let the ball bounce into an empty net. I'm sure there's others.

He's been getting stick on foot for a few years now, so I don't think it's age-related. It's clanger-related. You can play a great game for 95% of the time, but if you then commit a howler, it's what you're remembered for because it can impact the game so much.

It must be very time consuming keeping tabs on every professional goalkeeper?

Was it a howler? Yes

Rogers is a LOI standard goalkeeper (one of the best that has played LOI). LOI standard players make mistakes, hence why they are playing LOI. There is not a goalkeeper in LOI, past or present who would not make some mistakes if they played 50 games in Europe.

I've watched Rogers more times than I can count and he has been outstanding in the most part. So forgive me if I think your opinion based on seeing him in a handful of games a season is nonsense. Also I'm probably swayed by the fact that not so long ago you were heralding some UCD keeper (so good I can't remember his name) as the next best thing, how is he getting on?

[John83]

It must be very time consuming keeping tabs on every professional goalkeeper?

Gosh, if only there was some way to sample a distribution without examining every individual datum.

[mcgonigle]

Gosh, if only there was some way to sample a distribution without examining every individual datum.

Crunch your numbers there prof and let me know where Rogers ranks on the world wide list. No less than 50,000 words.

[pineapple stu]

Yep, cos that's relevant here.

Look, the bottom line (and I'm far from the only one saying this) is Rogers is Dundalk's weak link, particularly in Europe. One of the problems Dundalk have at the moment is an ageing team with poor recruitment, and that's exemplified by the fact that, despite a number of high profile and costly blunders, he's not been replaced. Effectively Dundalk are hoping to progress by standing still.

[sbgawa]

Cawley not mincing words on 2fm "dundalk outclassed by arsnals second tesm" he is sligo first bohs second man ....

[pineapple stu]

Cawley not mincing words on 2fm "dundalk outclassed by arsnals second tesm"

If he's using that as a stick to beat Dundalk with, he's a fool.

[mcgonigle]

Yep, cos that's relevant here.

Look, the bottom line (and I'm far from the only one saying this) is Rogers is Dundalk's weak link, particularly in Europe. One of the problems Dundalk have at the moment is an ageing team with poor recruitment, and that's exemplified by the fact that, despite a number of high profile and costly blunders, he's not been replaced. Effectively Dundalk are hoping to progress by standing still.

Don't agree with you at all. Dundalk have conceded 8 goals in Europe this year, how many would you blame Rogers for?

Mistakes by keepers are always amplfied. He makes no more than any other. Why have Man United not replaced De Gea? He has made a lot more high profile blunders than Rogers

[pineapple stu]

I've mentioned at least three on this thread (Celje x 2 and Arsenal)

Yes, De Gea has made more than his share of howlers, but he's one of the world's top keepers and by definition, he's hard to replace. Rogers isn't one of the world's top keepers and should be easy for a club with millions in the bank to replace. (Although if you want another PL example, look at Liverpool's improvement once they signed Alisson to replace blunder-prone Karius)

You don't have to agree with me btw. It's a discussion forum and opinions are like arseholes. But at least make points like your De Gea one (which is a good point) rather than silly stuff like "It must be very time consuming keeping tabs on every professional goalkeeper?"

[mcgonigle]

I've mentioned at least three on this thread (Celje x 2 and Arsenal)

Yes, De Gea has made more than his share of howlers, but he's one of the world's top keepers and by definition, he's hard to replace. Rogers isn't one of the world's top keepers and should be easy for a club with millions in the bank to replace. (Although if you want another PL example, look at Liverpool's improvement once they signed Alisson to replace blunder-prone Karius)

You don't have to agree with me btw. It's a discussion forum and opinions are like arseholes. But at least make points like your De Gea one (which is a good point) rather than silly stuff like "It must be very time consuming keeping tabs on every professional goalkeeper?"

It's not silly though, your statement that Rogers makes more blunders than most is silly hence my reply.

Don't agree that he was at fault for the goals v Celje. Both poor defending. Could he have done better? Yes. But we're talking about blunders here and those weren't blunders. Outfield players miss tackles and they could be bailed out. A keeper has nowhere to hide.

And De Gea can be replaced pretty easily by a club with that kind of spending power. Maybe they know more than the average Joe and understand that all keepers of all levels make mistakes but in the long run will outweigh that with say 2 Europa League group stage qualifications, 5 titles, FAI cup......

[pineapple stu]

What other LoI keeper has taken as much criticism as Rogers though? NcNulty in Cork is the only one I can think of. Why is that if it isn't for blunders?

Celje - sure, Gartland made the initial mistake for the first goal, but it's such a weak shot yet Rogers lets it trickle over his foot. Even the commentator called it as really poor.

The third goal was a basic goalkeeping error - if you're going to parry a shot, you parry it away to safety. You don't do what Rogers did and parry it into the six-yard box, and Celje showed exactly why not.

The first example is weak keeping; the second is a big blunder.

[sbgawa]

Rogers has been over rated for years. He played in an excelent dundalk team and was nf under a lot of pressure in many games. His mistakes against the better teams were predictable as he was under pressure more and is an ok but not outstanding goalkeeper .
We all love our own club players but rogers is a weak link for dfc in matches where he is under pressure. No idea why they havent gone after murphy or someone better.

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

Yeah couldn’t understand why they didn’t go for Murphy when he was coming home. The De Gea comparison is interesting but I can’t think of too many times where Rogers has been man of the match or player of the season.

[mcgonigle]

Yeah couldn’t understand why they didn’t go for Murphy when he was coming home. The De Gea comparison is interesting but I can’t think of too many times where Rogers has been man of the match or player of the season.

No goalkeeper has ever won player of the year. So if we use that criteria, Murphy and Mannus are overrated also, which we know isn't true. Amazing that the season he won the league with Sligo he was in the team of the year but was rarely man of the match.

Anyway I'll bow to the superior knowledge of the lads who see him a handful of times a season. I'll finish by saying that I think you all have a massive under appreciation of the position.

[sbgawa]

One thing u couldnt accuse rovers supporters of is nor appreciating the position after our recent history before Manus came back.