Wallis, that all makes sense to me Good post
Here we have a thread attempting to highlight the negativity leading up to these matches and this forum has posters who are criticising it ! Unbelievable ?!
As for those having a go about Kerrs tactics - god almighty, how do you all fit on that bandwagon without falling off ? What garbage.
'oohh wallis what about that game against Israel ?' (yawwwwn)
Yes what about it ? From what I remember wasnt that the one where we were totally dominant ? The one where the keeper played the game of his life and we had more chances than we had in any other match so far in the group ? Undone by a set piece and a handball is not because of tactics. You have 11 professional footballers on the field , tactics and formations only go so far at the end of the day it is up to your players to do the job. Not properly marking from a free kick and a ball bouncing onto your arm has nothing to do with the man in charge. BK isnt responsible for the 25 yarder that flew in away to Israel for goodness sake.
What a wonderful thing hindsight is. When we were 2-0 up to Israel everyone in the section I was sitting in was applauding the switch of Keane for Kav. "Great idea , we are 2-0 up, time to bolster the midfield". It made perfect sense , there isnt a manager in a job that wouldnt have thought the same. When we were 1-0 up in Israel it was one of our most professional performances , nice early goal and then close the game out Italian style. But in goes the dream goal and suddenly everyone knew that was going to happen and Ireland had got it wrong again.
Stop being the gullible fish the media want you to be and look at the position objectively. It is exactly how we expected it to be when we saw the fixtures - we have to beat Cyprus away and we all knew hand on hearts that it would come down to the home game with the Swiss.
...annnnnnnnnd relaxxxxxxx....
Last edited by wallis; 05/10/2005 at 11:15 PM.
Wallis, that all makes sense to me Good post
There isn't any need to be negative, it's all up for grabs. Cyprus away and the Swiss at home is not the toughest of tasks, it's not like we have to beat a top 10 team by any means.
People have opinions and come here to vent etc and that's fine, we have the moaners and groaners and those who think the latest player to make his first team debut in the UK will be our next savior. Plus ca change.
Fairly selective memory there Wallis. The game away to Israel was, with the exception of the goal, a pretty dire performance. Planning to close things out "Italian style" is all well and good if you have a defence that you can rely on, but we haven't had that in a while. The team created absolutely nothing in the final 80 minutes of the game, and invited Israel to come at them. And it's not as if the 25 yarder was the first scare we had in that game.
And you don't need the media in order to be concerned about Kerr's time in charge. All you need to do is be aware that we haven't beaten a good team in a competitive match in his time in charge.
Wallis you may not be aware, but Mypost was actually less critical than you, he once wroteOriginally Posted by wallis
"That Israel goal was a fluke. Shay couldn't do anything about it, the likes of Schmeichel still wouldn't have saved it - even with his height."
I think it's a pretty consistent theme among Irish fans that those held in high esteem are largely immune from criticism, and those less favoured seem to get all the criticism.
I'm not changing tack here: I was deeply critical of the substitution Kerr made at home to Israel & I was deeply critical of the lack of a substitution in Tel Aviv.
But how Kerr can be blamed for an overhit back pass by O'Brien, a duffed clearance by Given, a pathetic attempt at control by O'Shea, a miss from 6 yards by Duff & a miss from even closer by O'Shea is beyond me.
I'll say it for the umpteenth time too:
I know the buck stops with the man in charge but I haven't once heard anyone - on this board or in the media - question the input of Chris Hughton, UEFA Super Licence coach & experienced international footballer. It's not as if we've another Taff on our hands here, this guy is supposed to know his stuff. Is he utterly blameless while Kerr is tactically naive?
What is going on at the moment in the press is a disgrace,
No matter what anyone thinks of Kerr everything should be put on hold & all emphasis should be about getting behind the team for the next 2 (hopefully 4)games.
Personally I feel if Ireland do not qualify then the buck stops with the manager & Kerr has a lot to answer for, particularly if we finish 3rd or indeed
4th. But until that happens all reservations should be put aside & it should be about getting behind the team, there will be plenty of time for negativity over the coming months if we don’t qualify
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