Shocking from Maher again. Bazunu should be brought in for the playoffs.
Absolute shocker. They’ve really self destructed under the expectations so far.
Shocking from Maher again. Bazunu should be brought in for the playoffs.
Top guns who are available and willing to drop down to this level need to be drafted in without question for playoff. Enough of the “loyalty” “sentiment” argument, time to move beyond this as a nation and maximize chances of success
Cruel as it might sound.. the more senior players should be playing in the play offif available
Would like to see Odubeko, Noss and Tierney, probably for Wright, Kerrigan and Kilkenny. Just to see if it can liven things up in attack. A lot of moves dying with Wright in particular.
As I say that he plays a lovely ball to Smallbone to win the pen!
We are still quite naïve on the dark arts. The ref has been duped a few times by a squeal after a tackle yet we could have bought a few more set pieces ourselves. Nobody wants to see more of that side of the game but if the ref is soft needs must. As I say this Smallbone 'helps' get a peno.
I think this is probably a good indicator of where we think we are in terms of underage coming through. You want to be standing out in these games to be making a name for yourself and giving yourself a chance in the big leagues. The only one who stands out is Maher and not for the right reasons. I'd be worried if this is what we're hoping to fill up the senior ranks in the next few years.
Why drop a guy that should be starting for the seniors down to the 21s. None of the eligibile lads in the seniors will be dropping down because they're needed for the seniors.Originally Posted by MylesNotMiley
This is our B team at that level. We've already taken the best players at this level to to fill up the senior ranks.
There won't be anyone dropping down from the seniors unless they're not seen as being in the best 26 or 27 players available to the seniors.
So we can forget about seeing Bazunu, Omobamidele, Collins, Knight, Idah, Parrott or Obafemi in the playoffs. A very small chance we might see Festy or Connolly, but we could as easily lose someone like Smallbone to the seniors and actually be weaker by the time the playoff comes around.
Keane O'Shea Given Best Smallbone
As Richie pointed out this was a tough group, Ireland were pitted with the best or better teams from each pot and came through to the play offs with a game to spare. Sweden were beaten by same score by Italy in the last game of 2020 qual group and Italy had already topped the group.
No excuses or papering over for that sloppy performance but overall imo Ireland are performing as a solid bone fide 2nd pot team.
Disappointing end to the group but overall its been pretty good. Italy were the best team in the group by some distance. Wright was very poor, Ferguson is a phenomenal prospect.
Yeah Wright needs to find a way to turn himself into a left wing back you woukd think if he is to have a career at a good level.
I don't see Wright making it at a high level to be honest. And I'm not just basing that on tonight. Ferry should probably be in the squad ahead of him to be honest.
I generally like Wright. He’s got a bit of a wild card about him, pace, skill and can deliver a decent cross. Had a poor game today and looked a bit tired. Wouldn’t rule him out making it to at least Championship level.
They’ll be very disappointed with the manner of the goals conceded. McGinness giving away a sloppy penalty and then no communicating well with Maher. He’s usually a solid defender but that’s a poor day for him. Didn’t really think Cashin was great beside him either.
The change to 3 at the back in second half didn’t really work, looked like they hadn’t trained it and the 3 were getting cut open very easily. Ferguson had a thankless task for most of the game, he showed glimpses of his talent and for his age he’s a massive talent. The dribble into the box before he came off was a real glimpse at his abilities. He was probably trying to do too much which was pulling him wide too often.
It is also an indicator of where supporters think we are or should be. We are living off almost ancient history if we dont see getting a play-off as an achievement. We could still reach the finals obviously and would be a first. What I am liking is seeing a system or style of playing that is consistent with other underage sides and the senior side. We are talking about kids really, they will develop at different rates and it was said by Sadlier I think, that the development from the start of the group to now is notable. That we didnt crumble when up against lads that are valued at €22m, 8m or whatever, before a ball is kicked, is indicative of a team being built that are confident as a team and arguably better than sides relying on wonderkids to carry things. The goals conceded were self inflicted and can be coached out of a side in tandem with player development. I will take that as we werent totally carved open by a vastly superior side that you just go 'wow'! Those young lads were disappointed at the result and that speaks volumes imo.
Disappointing result and display. I wouldn't get too disappointed though. Some players will make the breakthrough from this group. Qualifying for tournaments at this grade is just a bonus. Seeing players develop is the main aim.
I couldn't disagree with this any stronger. Today was not a good indicator of this team or these players. Gave away stupid goals that killed this game very early on and in high temperatures you could see that the players faded with the goals.
There has been a number of players in this group who have stood out over the whole campaign and there's a reason we are in the playoff for 1st time in our history. There will be probably 5 or 6 players from this squad that will go on to be senior internationals and be very good players for us. I think Evan Ferguson will be the absolute standout.
This is the type of comment I would expect to see on the RTE Facebook comment section from a fella who only tunes in to watch football the odd time
Plus if you look at Italy if you take Luxembourg out of the equation at home they only beat Montenegro & Bosnia 1-0 each and drew with Sweden. That should tell you this 4-1 result is an outlier rather than the rule. It was just one of those days where **** hits the fan and things go horribly wrong, that can happen at u21 level. The most important aspect of judging the is team is the trend they’ve been on and that trend has been very positive regardless of the result of one game.
Probably the most frustrating thing in this group is that if we hadn't messed up in Montenegro we'd have qualified automatically as the best second place team, even with the two losses to Italy.
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