The goals we concede at edge of the box has been happening with 2 defense midfielders the whole time. It's not a numbers thing, it's about fellas actually doing their job. Manning stood off and watched the guy for that goal tonight instead of closing.Originally Posted by Eirambler
Its really not that complicated!!!
Denmark beat Portugal 1-0 in Denmark. Think I'd definitely rather play Denmark as first seeds. Denmark clearly have a really good squad with plenty of depth and are virtually all operating at a level above us, but they don't have any players that scare me, whereas Portugal have about 15 guys of that level in their current squad of 26 and 2 more who didn't make the squad.
I suggest that you need two defensive midfielders in todays soccer ~ ~ From attack to defence can happen so quickly in todays soccer ~ ~ There can be just too much work to do for one defensive midfielder.
Perhaps our two defensive midfielders are not doing the job well enough ?
If we persist with some combination of Cullen, Knight or Molumby we will continue to have problems in midfield. They arent even that great defensively to make a huge case for going that way. Taylor I'm sure can do enough defensively and hopefully add a bit more going forward ... we have to try something different
Its really not that complicated!!!
Is there many single defensive midfielders around in soccer, that can do the job as good as single defensive midfielders once did ? I just think that the game has moved on, and that job is now just too big for one single player these days ~ That is not saying that we have the best of defensive midfielders, we certainly could do with better players there. I reckon that these days, ya need two defensive midfielders, and in an ideal world they would be good forward passers of the ball as well.
The point then being that the absolute last thing we want to be doing is dropping back to just one.
I think there's an issue where people don't like our current midfield so they're making the case for other players, based on nothing other than hoping they might be better. Taylor can do a job but there's absolutely nothing to suggest he's an improvement. He doesn't start for Ipswich.
Every official post about the team on twitter at the moment seems to be replied to by lads calling for Finn who have clearly never seen him play outside of maybe a highlights clip or two. Because if they'd even watched the limited amount of him playing that I have, they wouldn't be rushing to bring him in.
It's a strange sensation to be a small bit unhappy following an away win, especially giving our lack of them over the last few years. The outside the box goal had my whatsapp groups lighting up with "same old same old". The way the team went about getting back in to the game and the brand of football they played, for the first half anyway, was impressive. We've seen a lot less penetrating football against worst teams (yes there are a few) over the last few years. Two away wins in games that actually matter is a decent return for Heimir already when you consider the preceding 4 years. Parrott starting to look very influential, he looked a level above other forward players last night and I would be interested to see him and Azaz continue their combinations. Is there a way of introducing Ferguson in to that team if he regains form and fitness with both Parrott and Azaz? Some sort of a fluid 3-4-2-1 or the likes. I was a bit meh about going to a Sunday night 7.45 game but hopeful of seeing a good controlled win with a few more goals now.
Before the sloppy goal, I thought we started really brightly, with the back four pinging balls to midfielders and front men's feet. The goal obviously knocked us back for a bit, but we then took control again. Parrott and Azaz were excellent. I thought Johnson was a weak link, being overpowered on several occasions and losing possession in dangerous areas of the pitch. Personally, I would play Ferguson, along with Parrott and Azaz on Sunday. I was delighted for Doherty, as he has come through a period of poor form, but regular football is so important to players, and that was very evident with his solid performance. Manning had his best game for Ireland, problem is nobody seems to know his best position.
An away win and a win coming from behind again. No one should be negative about yesterday imo
The 2nd half was a write off because Bulgaria's players mission was not to get an equalizer, but to assault our players. Also their ridiculous pitch was getting worse as the game went on.
Finn A is our new Wes. He's not as good but by God am I glad we have the lad.
Can't wait for Sunday now. Let's beat them 2-0 and go home
On a comedy note me and the lads booked our flights ages ago for Lisbon assuming we'd get Portugal as 1st seeds! ( Who of course lost last night)
I thought last night was some bad bits (soft goal, carelessness by Collins at least twice...) with much more good bits. I liked the balance of the team and how players interchanged, looked to move the ball quickly and with purpose. Execution was lacking at times, a "nearly" great pass getting cut out a few times (making it a bad pass I suppose!).
I found it hard to tell Azaz, Parrott and Johnston apart at times (all dark hair and the stream was a bit grainy) and Paul Dempsey on Prime Video commentary didn't help. I couldn't figure out who was playing further forweard: Azaz or Parrott. Was Azaz an outright forward for a lot of the game?
Like Diggs, i'm not too downbeat on the second half even if at HT I thought it was a game we should look to win 1-4 or even more. The pitch was terrible and the Bulgarians were kicking lumps out of us. I think we drew fouls very cleverly too at times, showing a bit more streetwiseness than at Wembley.
I really liked what Cullen brought to midfield for a lot of the game. I didn't notice Knight as much. Subs were used well and I think Vata got caught in the headlights couple of times. It was harsh in an earlier post to say he found the level too high for him but he did waste a couple of good counter attack opportunities that came to nothing.
I'm a big fan of Johnston. He had a mixed game on the night but the good bits are great to watch. A coming of age game for Azaz and confirmation that Parrott has something special about him. Manning justified his selection. I think O'Shea is now very much a senior player we can rely on.
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 21/03/2025 at 11:44 AM.
I still feel how I have felt for years now, that we'll improve as this group of players grows as individuals, and I think we're finally getting there. Collins is a mad yolke, the best footballer most likely to do something ridiculously stupid most often I can remember seeing playing for us, but I think he'll eventually grow in to someone who can be a champions league level CB. We definitely have a handful who can get there with a bit of luck, while there's slowly a degree of depth growing too. I seen the Ireland v Bulgaria XI from 5 odd years ago going around and this team is far better with plenty room for improvement, so that's something to look forward to.
The further away these qualifiers are the better probably, a win this weekend, and a win + draw in the summer is achievable and would keep the momentum/mood heading in the right direction too which is also a big factor. Bulgaria were a far worse team than I expected them to be, worse than Finland even who I also thought were terrible, so I'm not sure how low the bar was here but two wins in a week can do a lot for vibes and confidence. Definitely reading nothing in to the 2nd half, I think Bulgaria just tried to stop any football happening to keep the score tight going in to Sunday.
Odd feelings today – I’m disappointed with the result. But also happy that I feel disappointed, instead of relieved or lucky. An away win, coming from behind, comfortable enough in the end – there’ve been few enough of those in the last five years.
It’s still early days, but I’ve a sense that there’s a blend of pragmatism and team style coming together. HH looks and sounds comfortable in the role. I’m glad to see Vata capped, and I’m not concerned that he wasn’t Pele reincarnated – I seem to remember Kevin Kilbane having a less than stellar debut and he did OK for us afterwards – but we’ve had too many managers resistant to capping players when they’re young, and we’ve either lost good prospects to other nations, or, lacking an international profile, to lower league football and ended up capping them as journeymen in their late 20s, when it’s too late for everybody.
Onwards to Sunday!
Hello, hello? What's going on? What's all this shouting, we'll have no trouble here!
- E Tattsyrup.
The second half was no classic - I blame the ref, the pitch and the Bulgars more so than anything we did wrong - but that was about as controlled and measured a second half performance as we have had in 10-15 years. They barely laid a glove on us and we were extremely composed when the ball broke back to us. I thought Manning was exceptional in breaking any momentum they were building. I think it was a great call from HH to see that in him and make the call. It was turgid but I found it a welcome change from what we have gone through before. We won away, we cam from behind to do it, we capped some exciting new talent, we saw a couple of players step up and make their mark. It checks a lot of the boxes that you would want to see checked.
Azaz was MOTM for most who watched it - that pass with the outside of his left to release Brady or Manning on the left in the first half was out of this world. But I thought Parrott and Manning were next in line for that accolade. Collins and O'Shea make me a bit nervous with their passing at the back and a bit too casual at times but are our pairing back there for the foreseeable. Doherty drives me crazy - a lot of credit for the goal and it was a decent performance objectively but he sucks the momentum out of so many attacks and commits some stooopid fouls. Cullen and Knight did fine. Its not the midfield pairing to go toe to toe with better teams but then, who do we have that can? The replacements are not meaningful difference makers, all marginal. We saw the good and bad of Johnston last night - lightweight and sloppy mixed with tricky and pacy - ill take it though. Taylor showed well again when he came on, as did Jake, and Ferguson had a few touches that showed the talent in waiting that he is. Vata loves the EIRE.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
Important to remember that as recently as this time last year we were every bit as bad as that Bulgaria team. I lost count of the number of matches I watched under Kenny, and then O'Shea/McCarthy, where we were just a horrible combination of a poor team who were set up terribly.
Managers who only knew one way how to set teams up, or one footballing philosophy, trying to impose it on a group of players who it just didn't suit.
Not that we're brilliant now or anything, but we appear competent, a team that's starting to play near the sum of it's parts. And that in itself is a big step forward.
I think that's a fairly big claim that I'm not sure really stands up. Maybe it's true, but I don't think there's enough evidence at all to claim it. Eloratings has us as 1608 this time last year versus 1468 for Bulgaria - and 1609 and 1459 respectively going into last night's game, which implies no real change over the past year.
I think the main conclusion from last night is that bad and all as we are, there are countries worse than us, and finally it seems we can get consistent results against them. That's a good thing.
After having a day to think about it I'm a lot more positive about the game as a whole. A lot of the fan reaction is bemoaning a terrible second half, which I can't dispute, but given the game state of us leading away in a two-legged tie it suited us down to the ground for it to be a pig of a half.
In the context of us missing (imo) our two best attackers in Ogbene and Szomdics I'm pretty happy with how our attackers played. Being able to bring on Ferguson, Taylor, Sykes, O'Brien and Vata who for the most part made us better is pretty encouraging. It feels like there is a small bit of depth there now. Not that they are of a huge quality, just that the drop off to the next man in isn't a big problem.
A good result thanks to two very nicely worked goals - something that has been a rarity for us. There have been some comments on how soft the opener was from our perspective but I think that Bulgaria deserve credit too, it was very neatly done. I think Brady did well again and Doherty showed great bravery to make the run and commit to the header. For these lads this is probably their last tour for Ireland, so hopefully we can squeeze every last bit out of them. Parrott looks much more assured as a player and his assist was top class. He should start again on Sunday. I don't know if I'd change the team much.
End Apartheid Now! One Team in Ireland!
Well we had two cracks at Bulgaria under Kenny and failed to beat them either time. Needed an injury time equaliser in the away game to avoid a defeat (I appreciate those games weren't last year, but I would take the 2020 to mid 2024 period as one big block of nothingness from our point of view).
I'm not sure the ELO and FIFA rankings ever quite reflected just how bad a team we became during that period.
Posting Permissions
Quote
Bookmarks