QuoteHey hen, go back to the farm until you have learned to speak english
Thats the first time you've made me laugh!!!!Originally Posted by mypost
Hey hen, go back to the farm until you have learned to speak english
Hen, if I were you I'd ask for a refund from the Bundoran Writer's Workshop - it's not working.
Just a thought. I know the performance on Saturday was dreadful, but to all those calling it the worst performance in living memory, etc,etc, anyone remember Liechtenstein away in 1995 ?. Nil all against a team of part timers who were a long way off the standard of Cyprus. When all is said and done at least we did manage (somehow) to take the 3 points on Saturday. I wouldn't be overly optimistic about Wednesday, I feel this game has draw written all over it. I've always backed Brian Kerr, naturally enough as a Pats fan I feel he's a top manager, but it does seem that the players have stopped playing for him. In my view they have to take a lot of responsibility for the situation. They get off way too lightly, too many people seem to take the Dunphy view, nothing is ever the fault of players, it's always down to the manager. However when we do well it's the players who get the credit. Another point in Brians defence, he made changes at half time on Saturday that improved things. Does he get credit ? No. According to Dunphy the 2nd half wasn't as bad because the Cypriots ran out of steam. People see what they want to see in a game. It's like the infamous substitution of Kavanagh for Keane at home to Israel. Not one of the pundits argued at half time that the substitution cost us the 2 goal lead(and I would still argue that it didn't), however in hindsight it's become the accepted wisdom that it was a bad move, negative change, and it cost us the game. Like I said, people sometimes see what they want to.
Tony,
A couple of simple question - do you judge a manager by his results? Have we improved as a team under Kerr? Is Kerr getting the best out of his players.
In my view - Yes, No and most definitely No!
That's a fair enough point. My own view was that we have always had a mix of performances in our repertoire from the dreadful to some good ones in whatever group qual. campaign we have been in. But I agree with you that this performance was inexplicably different even if it was a much better Cypriot team than we had met before.
We all accept that the gap between the good and the poor teams has closed over the last few years and sure Cyprus have some decent playes. However, any team will look good when their opponents stand around ball watching, as we did on Saturday.
Honest! I am not a secret Tim nor a closet Sham - I really am a Seagull.
Well Stormin, since we're being simplistic, Saturdays result was 3 points, Brian Kerr has had 2 competitive defeats in his time in charge, and we're still in contention in the group. OK, we could have done better, I'm not disputing that, but they're not the worst results in the world. We have at times looked an excellent side under Kerr (Paris being probably the prime example). As to getting the best out of the players, at the moment we are in a bad run of form, it happens to all teams and all managers. The pressure put on the manager and the team by the media storm last week can't have helped things, and it seemed to be prompted in large part by the media sulking because Kerr wouldn't talk to them, so they lashed out, and to hell with the consequences.
Thats exactly it TonyD. The team has stopped playing for him. It will be interesting to see how they react tomorrow. it may be that they will want to beat the swiss who must be giving them a pain in the arse for years. however they might not want to do it for BK and they may be mentally between two stools. I fear this we happen please please god let us beat the fuppers
I don't subscribe to this view that somehow the team have stopped playing for Kerr. I thought the first 70 minutes of the match at home to France was one of our best performances for a long while. We definitley deserved a draw from that game. What has happened in the intervening 3 or 4 weeks to make the team stop playing for the manager?.
The manager (any manager) has to take a share of the blame when his team plays badly but IMO the dismal performance on Saturday night was down to the players. The team that Kerr played was not defensively set out and I am sure he didn't give the players the instructions to keep hoofing long balls up the field. The players performed badly on the night and worst of all they showed no self belief.
Tomorrow is a chance for them to rectify that and show us it was a once off. No one will be more pleased than me if they do so.
"I'd rather play in front of a full house than an empty crowd" Johnny Giles
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