We probably missed Molumby’s tenacity tonight. I know he’s been a bit scarred by some of his club managers and he stopped being expressive and progressive on the ball - but when I think of our best performances under Kenny, Molumby was excellent in most of them. Still remember him absolutely bossing McGinn and McTominay when we played Scotland in Lansdowne. It was far too easy a night for the likes of Xhaka and Shaqiri
Probably true alright, put him in the mix tonight and they don't pass us back into our shells as easily.Originally Posted by elatedscum
I think Knight could do Molumbys job but he needs more than Cullen beside him. We were better with Smallbone and I still think you can get something from this squad if they are set up properly. We are usually in games, they are usually fairly tight and a good manager can change draws to wins and loses to draws by being a bit more clever.
Its really not that complicated!!!
I agree with all this. Given his back story, I would love to see him he a successful international for us but I'm afraid that unless something clicks then he's going to be a middling Championship player and, thankfully, enough players have improved and progressed upwards (Knight, Ogbene, Johnston), enough new talent come on the radar (Moran) and even a new player come onboards (Szmodics) that means we have options at top end Championship or lower Premiership, or else younger lads who are equivalent or better currently with more potential (Azaz, Moran).
I saw someone on YBIG make the ignorant comment that he'd be playing plenty for NI by now. He clearly did not want that.
has knight progressed upwards? hes very middle of the championship for me. our big problem is our midfield is championship level. szmodics is flavour of the month but fact is hes still playing at a club that could possible be relegated to league 1. we badly need our players to get out of the mid level championship slog
we had a new manager for 2 games and not much changed! greece was appalling and kennys in game management was poor throughout his time here but no matter who is in charge we will still be poor if most of our midfielders are playing in the championship. people are fooling themselves blaming everything on kenny. the limitations of our players have been on show to us for years now.
Jeez that was a hard watch. Switzerland controlled the game even when we had the ball. It was like watching One Man and his Dog (Owls Fan will remember, not sure about the rest of you). Switzerland were the sheepdog, we were the sheep. Just by moving around smartly they put us exactly where they wanted us.
If we can't control the terms of the game with the ball through passing and collective movement maybe we need to load the team with our pace merchants.
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 27/03/2024 at 7:22 AM.
Who has been blaming 'everything' on Kenny?
What I've seen argued on here (albeit with disasgreements of scale) is that we have a pretty poor generation of players, but Kenny still shouldn't have been getting the results he did against the likes of Qatar, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan.
I thought O’Shea made a big mistake in taking off Johnston and Szmodicz and not taking Ferguson off
Johnston wasn't great in fairness; wasn't getting much change out of the Swiss defence. Ferguson was similar in fairness but I wasn't surprised to see Mikey taken off
Yet again, we fall down in the fine margins. Against Belgium it was a missed penalty (the slip was unlucky) and failure to score a great headed chance. This time it was a rash swing of the leg at the edge of the box allowing a technically excellent player to pick his spot. We were comfortably second best in the game and the margin of defeat could have been bigger had Xhaka's chance gone in. The general play overall, as in Stephen Kenny's era, was ok with some bright moments. The tactical set-up was certainly different, but intelligent, defensively tight with a careful balance in the attacking play of the wing-backs. It's worth persevering with.
Robbie Brady was impressive in the two games and I felt we really missed his set-piece deliveries for periods during Kenny's reign... if we just had someone to finish the chances he creates this team would be going places. It feels like we haven't posed anywhere near the same level of set-piece threat as in the O'Neill and McCarthy eras. The team probably played more for set-piece opportunities back then but there was always a sense of expectation - and fear from opponents - any time a ball was sent into the box that we'd score.
Szmodics was one of the real positives from this window. For all the talk of planning for the future with young players and so forth, it shows that late developers and players in the older demographic still have plenty to offer to the squad. I'm reminded a bit of Wes Hoolahan, who played a key role for a number of years into his thirties. Szmodics, if he keeps up his form from this season, could have a big say in this team for the guts of five years if he's lucky. But I'm getting ahead of myself and shouldn't read too much into these games. Things could take an altogether different turn come April.
End Apartheid Now! One Team in Ireland!
Szmodics showed he’s capable of making the step-up from Championship to senior international – so that’s a positive to take from the two games, he’s an extra option going forward. And our shape was better (i.e. more compact) than say the Holland (away)/ NZ (home) games. But other than that don’t think there’s much to be enthused about.
Last edited by ifk101; 27/03/2024 at 9:19 AM.
Quite happy that I wasn't able to make either game. One of the most forgetful windows we've had in a long time. I don't mean that in terms of results, as we've had much worse in recent years, but it was just pointless. Learned very little about new players, beyond the fact Szmodics will add to the squad, and produced two poor performances against arguably two weaked sides, without really trying anything new.
Anyone notice this? Had a friend over that end also and everyone curious as to what was going on
Was it when Callum O'Dowda came on as a sub? Looked like he was handing something to Coleman I believe.
Neil O'Riordan:
And, when Callum O’Dowda handed him what looked like an energy gel when he was introduced last night, the Donegal man chucked it back towards the dugout with apparent disdain.
https://www.thesun.ie/sport/12617002...a-switzerland/
Another incomplete pass for the statistics.
You're right, and I would throw Alan Browne into the mix without it making any difference to the conversation. They're the sorts of guys who would probably have played in the English top flight as many seasons as not 25-40 years ago, but with all the imports from around the world the bar is so much higher these days.
The big advantage Knight has over the other 2 is that he has that bit more time on his side to make the step up that I think we all thought he looked capable of when he broke into the first team as a teenager at Derby. If Sykes or Browne were going to do that, they would probably have done it by now, but I still have some hope that it might all click into place for him some day soon.
He's roughly the same age as Finn Azaz and has already picked up 28 caps, but he's probably fallen behind Smallbone on the pecking order already. With guys like Azaz and Andrew Moran emerging quickly he really needs to kick on in the next 18 months or he risks dropping out of the squad completely. And as he gets older it'll be a lot easier to stay in the squad than it will be to fight his way back in.
Bring Back Belfast Celtic F.C.
Sorry - but I don't rate Browne and never have - but you are correct that if you go back to the 1980s many of the Irish players in the Championship with have been playing in the top division. That is something that people need to remember - and that some Irish teams with very average English based players by today's standards performed way above the sum of their parts. Under Kenny that current Irish squad was significantly under performing given the talent that is there. The one area the team is weak is central midfield (which makes the loss of both Rice and Grealish all the more nauseating).
I like Azaz - I really do think that he has something about him and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the PL before too long. Andrew Moran I continue to worry about - he started well at Blackburn but then went completely off the boil when the results started to go against the team. I still think that he is too light-weight and always felt he needed to bulk up a bit to avoid getting pushed off the ball - that hasn't happened. Next season really is a make or break season for him in terms of being able to show he belongs in the PL. I think Knight does have time to kick on - IMO he stayed way too long at Derby (and made zero progress under that clown Rooney).
Unable to see more than brief highlights on YouTube so can't add much to the conversation about the performances. I have been able to watch a number of Lyon matches on a streaming service and believe that it was a mistake not to give Jake O'Brien significant time. He is definitely good enough to be in consideration, at least, for a starting place once The Nations League and WC qualifiers start, so we should be taking the opportunity to get him blooded in as soon as possible.
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