QuoteHughton 3/1
Santo 10/3
Duff 5/1
Robbie 11/2
Bradley 13/2
JOS 7/1
Cars 9/1
Roy 11/1
Klopp 12/1
Terzic 13/1
Xavi 15/1
Spalletti 16/1
Mancini 20/1
Tardelli 21/1
Conceicao 22/1
Emma Hayes 25/1
Gemma Grainger 30/1
We've sold our soul to become an ultra low tax economy, a pirate island, for rather evil US tech companies, and all for absolutely no appreciable reward.
Money needs to be put back into communities and into Ireland's most popular working class sport.
The current situation is totally unacceptable.
Hughton 3/1
Santo 10/3
Duff 5/1
Robbie 11/2
Bradley 13/2
JOS 7/1
Cars 9/1
Roy 11/1
Klopp 12/1
Terzic 13/1
Xavi 15/1
Spalletti 16/1
Mancini 20/1
Tardelli 21/1
Conceicao 22/1
Emma Hayes 25/1
Gemma Grainger 30/1
Santo Claus is a bit of long shot especially coming up to Christmas !Originally Posted by Crosby87
I haven't felt this low since Nicosia in 2006, our worst display by a mile. Don't know where we can go from here.
''and I for one welcome our new insect overlords''
Well, not really. Armenia have a terrible team. If we could have gotten the ball down and played any little bit at all we'd have built sustained pressure and beaten them easily. But we couldn't do it because we're technically crap from defence into midfield. And I mean completely crap, the body of our team is stunningly devoid of technical ability and I can't see us achieving anything much ever as a result.
Remember the old days? What guys were automatically on the list for years? Deschamps...... Venables some others I forget
Hungary are up 1-0 on Portugal. If they can win we could get back into things with a way in Lisbon next month.
I'll see myself out.
Top down, bottom up change to the way we play the game in Ireland. Fact is we don't know how to play it properly so how could we ever coach the game to our kids? Rip it all up and bring in coaches from countries with a history of success to teach our kids. 20 plus years before we ever change this mindset if we start now.
Phillippe Troussier.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
You actually think someone would want the job? And as far as the players go, everyone of them should step away from international football at this juncture. I would have no problem seeing the U 21 team or a Rovers / Shels combined team represent us for the remainder of the campaign.
To be clear, the FAI will never get another penny from me ever again.
I will never buy a match ticket, nor a shirt, nor any merchandise of any sort ever again.
They're an incompetent, corrupt disgrace. They're stealing from us.
Those dastardly american companies pay over 50% of all corporate tax in this country and if it wasnt for them we wouldnt be able to pay the bills. They arent the problem its governmwnt who allocate the money.
The whole "we haven't produced players in Ireland for decades argument is giving me a pain in the hole.
Where are all these fantastic underage Scottish sides? Or Northern Ireland sides?
Every player on that pitch, was a full time professional player.. who eats, drinks, lives football. And has done for over a decade.
They were all stand out underage players, which was how they got "spotted" by bigger clubs, either in LOI or the UK
And there's no issue with contact hours.. they're all working with UEFA A level coaches every single day, so even if they were not getting enough at underage, they should have caught up by now
The FAI may be letting down the half decent u12/13 players at Cashel Town, but they're not letting down players like Nathan Collins who trains every day and plays against some of the best in the world in the Premier League every week
Nor Dara O Shea, a PL player 4 months ago
Or Matt Doherty.. Josh Cullen.. Jake O Brien
Grassroots football may be mired in issues.. but these players are at the top of the pyramid already
And stop with the "other countries have more technical ability" ****e
What "skills" do you need to play ball? Pass it 10-20 yards, run, cross, head, tackle .. its not rocket science... the only difference going up the levels, is players should be able to do it quicker and consistently
Nothing else.. but we create bull**** language to cover up the fact that when players play for Ireland, they seem incapable of doing basics
Overhit corners and frees.. no excuse. None. Lads playing junior football can cross in a ****ing corner .. but guys on 20 grand a week cant?
Thats nothing to do with John Delaney, but lads here will still talk about him as if he was managing the team
Its this simple.. playing the whole Shamrock Rovers team tonight, might have gotten a better result.. because at least the players would have known what they were supposed to be doing
Not to mention the tens of thousends they employ.
I agree with the facilities observation, i'd also concede that lack of numbers of qualified coaches in Ireland is an issue. All fixable. I get the frustration tonight but 'at least develop a few players that can pass the ball' sort of comment is not helpful or accurate. They lads that played tonight were poor but they dont lack ability playing for their clubs and some are in the top 15% in England eg. My own personal experience is that far away fields are often greener and to use England as an example they have only gotten their act together latter 2000s. We can replicate that in relative scale terms and there are no shortage of more applicable models we could pinch. Participation in the sport is high and that is often the toughest obstacle to get over in countries that implemented change and have improved, Iceland an example.
My own background is in sports science and have coaching badges up to uefa level, done in both Ireland and UK and have coached here, NI and England. I dont do it now, but I do have benchmarks on what is done and what can be done and I have audited coaching as part of a local covernment job here in previous lafe. Its not beyond fixing. Facilities at Roadstone are as good as you get in many clubs in England, I would even say that Dundalk's training facilities and coaching is good and getting there, up until recently underage sides had access to sports scientists, dieticians, physios, psychologist - the base was there and with additional resourcing can be back again. We need to have more faith in our domestic system and invest in it and it will reap reward. It will happen but the longer it takes the longer we will be waiting for being on par technically with similar rated countries.
This is true. The current crop have no excuse. They turned up expecting to win and got exactly what they deserved.
He never did get to trouser FAI money !
When Man Utd lost to Grimsby a few weeks ago I heard someone say that the level of talent between the players is so big that it should be irrelevant what tactics were used by Utd or who the manager was etc. While the level between the Ireland and Armenia players is not as big as Utd v Grimsby there has be some level of our player should just beat their players no matter what.
No one on here was really complaining about the shape or the team that was picked. Most, including myself were happy enough and expecting a good performance looking at the team. So while I dont give the manager a pass on it, you absolutely have to question the attitude of the players. There were a few times in the 1st half that Ogbene gave up on some balls instead of chasing, he wasnt the only one but it looked like a symptom of the attitude of the whole team.
Also can we stop fcuking playing Cullen and Knight together as a midfield. Its sh1te, its always been sh1te and we keep persisting. I dont know what the answer in there is, but maybe someone like Lawal just needs to be put in and see how it goes.
Its really not that complicated!!!
But surely you see nearly every other national team in Europe knocking the ball around, building possession and then using it to create chances? There has hardly been an Irish national team in history that has played that way - and the simple reason is that our players simply can't do it at that level. It just ends up looking slow, ponderous and ineffective - see three years under Kenny and another year or so under O'Shea.
They seem incapable of doing basics because, relative to that level of football, they are incapable of doing basics. They actually don't really do it for their clubs either, they work hard within well defined systems and other players in their teams do the technical stuff. There's probably a dozen or so Irish players who are good enough at football to play in the English Premier League. But if you put the dozen of them in the same team they'd get relegated - they'd probably get relegated from the Championship in truth. Because there's next to no high level technical ability in the group.
There's also a lack of been there, bought the t-shirt old heads who have helped to cover our weaknesses in the past. When the remains of the Euro 2012 and 2016 teams went that went with them. So these lads don't have any old guys alongside them to guide them through nights like tonight. But that's a whole other issue and, again, one that we can do absolutely nothing about.
C'mon. Its really simple. The hallmark of the Irish side will always have to be scrap and grit and out working the opponent.
This generation is disinterested in that. (Angrily shakes fist at cloud)
But that IS true.
Here's a little story: When Wayne Gretzky got to his first Stanley Cup Final, they played the Islanders. The Islanders were at the end of a dynasty, winning 4 Cups in a row. They had aged but they still beat the Oilers.
After it was over, Gretzky looked around his locker room. Some guys were having a drink. Getting changed. Chatting. Making plans There was a feeling of well, almost.
Then he went to the Islanders locker room and peaked in. There was champagne and celebration and laughter- but only from the wives and girlfriends and coaches and staff.
The players-and they had some great ones-were bloody, bruised and battered. Eyes closed leaning on lockers. In pain. Getting seen by doctors.
Exhausted. Spent.
Gretzky never forgot that.
Our lads have lives too easy to be bothered to put the work and grit in. Nigel on here used to know it, and I know it and you all know it.
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