Will Gibson be on the bench today away to AC Milan?
I know. If only there was some sort of electronic device called, say, a computer, which incorporated, oh I dunno, a Diary or somesuch, which could remind one of future events which might be of interest...Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
Oh well, one can dream.
probably not.. who are they playing at the weekend? he might get a look in then or whens the cup final?
Begrudgers have a long memory, they don't use forward planners being primarily stuck in the past.
Won't bother Darron one bit after some quality time on the pitch with the representative team of his nationality, as they at least managed to match qualification aspirations with honest all round effort.
While the fate of the Faroes beckon for the OWC, Darron is still in with the boys in green for the long haul.
(Assuming that comment refers to me) There's no "begrudgery" on my part whatever. Quite simply, Brendan82 issued a kind of 'challenge' that come Feb.2010, Gibson's progress would be such that I would be "crying". And even if he has forgotten his post (perhaps conveniently so?), I am happy to remind others of it.
As for my being "stuck in the past", then that must be your opinion. For myself, I was of the opinion 12 months ago that Gibson would not have got a regular game in the NI centre midfield without a number of injuries, and it remains what I think now.
As for the future, whilst Gibson has undeniably made some progress recently, and might hope to continue to do so, I suspect that if this post is resurrected in another 12 months time, my opinion will be largely unchanged. We'll see.
The issue was not whether DG might be one bit bothered about his choice of international team, rather whether I, as an NI fan, might be. And in practical terms, I do not regret his unavailability to NI any more than I ever did, i.e. he would have been a useful addition to our squad for the WCQ's, but no more than that, and certainly not a "key" player.
What exactly are you trying to say with that convoluted construction? That the ROI's quest for qualification was so much more successful than that of NI?
Granted they came closer to achieving that goal than NI, but imo that was only because they had a much less competitive Group than ours and when it came to it, they still failed in a Play-Off against a below-par French team that was (or should have been) "there for the taking". For me, the various Rankings and Seedings tables etc confirm that there is currently not a great deal between the two teams in terms of quality and competitiveness.
And even if the ROI's WCQ campaign was somehow more glorious or exciting etc than NI's, Gibson's role was decidedly peripheral.
As for the "honesty of effort" on display, whatever else NI's failings during the campaign, that most definitely was not one of them (especially in central midfield), so we didn't miss him in that respect, either.
Indeed, I have no desire to see anyone picked in an NI shirt who is not 100% committed, for whatever reasons, and regardless of how talented (known as "Stephen Ireland Syndrome" down your way?).
Nope, don't understand this, either.
Good for him. But unless something changes significantly, I don't foresee his gaining many more international caps, if any, over the next campaign than he would had he remained with NI.
And in any case, even should I turn out to be completely wrong, I'm sure I won't be cwying over it!
Last edited by EalingGreen; 16/02/2010 at 3:27 PM.
Can't believe you remembered that! I can't even remember saying it myself! You must be some craic
I didn't remember it - my computer did. But you're right, I am some crack [sic]
Begrudgers, along with a long memory, do tend towards taking themselves and their justifications way too serious and overly concerned with being right and wrong.
The sad truth is, very few footballers from Ireland will make it at a top flight team. It's far too easy to say so and so won't make it, as the vast majority don't. We hope he does.
Whatever lies in the future for Darron, at least he should be able to find regular football at a decent level. So far, his managers have been impressed by his natural ability and attitude.
gibson is on the bench tonight.
evans started but is having a nightmare so far. milan should have scored at least 3
scholes just after getting a jammy equaliser
doubt we'll be seeing darron taking the field, hope we do though
Yeah, Gibson won't see the pitch in this one. Ronaldinho is having an absolute blinder, he just made a great turn that left two Man U players in the dust. Unreal. His first touch is amazing - someone booted the ball up the field to him at pace, probably forty plus yards, and he controlled it with one little foot movement. A pleasure to watch.
I have high hopes for Gibson
Possibilty he'll start next week with Carrick suspended, but Ferguson might pull Rooney back to midfield instead.
Did he get in today?
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
no...
The two top seeds in NI's qualification group were easily the weakest pair in all of the qualification groups. NI had a more competitive group because there was a number of teams in it that were of a similar (poor) quality. For example the Irish League is more competitive this year than it has been for a number of seasons. But put an EPL team into the mix and they'd romp home with the title. Similarly if there was a half decent team in NI's qualification group, they'd have won the group at a canter.
Gibson was never "your" player. So whether you miss him or not is, at the end of the day, irrelevant. As it is the central positions in NI's midfield are built with journeymen from Rangers, Plymouth and Scunthorpe.
Like you I'm not sure what Geysir is on about with his "while the fate of the Faroes beckon for the OWC" comment but if you wish to time your computer once more, and after watching the Faroes against Serbia and France in the year gone by, I guarantee you that the Faroes will take points off NI in the forthcoming EC qualification. After all, it's not like they haven't done so before.
Last edited by ifk101; 17/02/2010 at 7:35 AM.
It's pretty clear the Republic were better than Northern Ireland in qualifying just finished. You got more points. I think we have to assume the groups are of roughly equal standard based on recent past performance.
Do you mean identified as weakest before the games started? If so this is pretty subjective- Greece and Israel, for example, were drawn in the same group despite both being lowest in their seeding pools.
If you mean on the evidence of the games in the group perhaps, the Czechs and Poles were below par and also underestimated the lower-ranked teams. On the other hand give the Slovaks and Slovenes credit for a big improvement.
It was more competitive largely because four of the teams kept in touch for most of the series by winning games, particularly at home. Whereas Cyprus, Montenegro and Georgia managed three between them in 30 games. Basically- we had two off form favorities, you got three deadbeats.NI had a more competitive group because there was a number of teams in it that were of a similar (poor) quality
Only if they didn't bankrupt first? OK, cheap dig but silly example. The Irish League makes no claim to be of a similar standard to the LoI. Unlike in international competitions based on seedings.For example the Irish League is more competitive this year than it has been for a number of seasons. But put an EPL team into the mix and they'd romp home with the title
There was, on current form Slovakia are the seventh-best team in Europe. OK, maybe not at a canter buty they did manage 22 points with seven wins.Similarly if there was a half decent team in NI's qualification group, they'd have won the group at a canter
Slightly harsh on Davis- he's been the outstanding midfielder in Scotland this term. On the basis of that, and his previous English experience, he might well be a journeyman in the EPL. Just like Lawrence, Whelan, McGeady?As it is the central positions in NI's midfield are built with journeymen from Rangers, Plymouth and Scunthorpe
Possibly, but I'd be careful of risking too much cash. In practice we'll be the clear favorite in both games; if we win both by a single goal it'll be treated with relief as six hard-earned points. Even if the winner is sneaked in the 96th minute. As for the potential World beater in the group, I won't guarantee anything but wouldn't be surprised if we managed a win. After all, we don't seem to choke against the very best in recent years.after watching the Faroes against Serbia and France in the year gone by, I guarantee you that the Faroes will take points off NI in the forthcoming EC qualification. After all, it's not like they haven't done so before
Three deadbeats? All three are more than capable of beating NI. Indeed the weakest seeded team, Montenegro, have a far better pick of players than NI. As for Slovakia, they did the simple things well and doing so counts for a lot in international football. We got the simple things right in our qualification and this lead to us being comfortable second place finishers behind the reigning WC holders and within a handball of actual qualification. Anyways I'm confident we'll finish ahead of Slovakia in our forthcoming qualification group.
Only Whelan plays in central midfield, and McGeady and Lawrence are challenging for the same position in our team. McGeady is an outstanding player in Scotland so if you consider McGeady a journeyman, can we draw the same conclusions about Davis, a failure at EPL level? These players are not top internatonal players by any means but better than the options available to Worthlesston.
I'm sure you'll manage a win along the way but if NI are knocked in to a very short price against the Faroes, I'd have no hesitation or regret (if NI do manage to get the win) in backing the Faroes to get something out of the games.
That's the difference between the two sides. We aim for qualification and are disappointed if we don't achieve that goal. NI fans are happy if they take a scalp along the way but ultimately they do not have the quality in their ranks to consistently get the results needed for qualification. The FIFA rankings might say we are of a similar quality/ standard but an unbiased evaluation of the players available to both sides says something else.
meeeooooow!!!I know. If only there was some sort of electronic device called, say, a computer, which incorporated, oh I dunno, a Diary or somesuch, which could remind one of future events which might be of interest...
Oh well, one can dream.
Tad obsessive that you'd even record Brendan's general comment about Gibson?
He's still at Man Utd and must have something about him or else Fergie would have chucked him years ago.
Fingers crossed Fergie's faith in him pays off and Gibson's career goes the same way as Fletcher.
I offered a detailed rebuttal of your post. The fact that your only recourse is petty, ad hominem abuse exposes the poverty of your case. You might have been better to say nothing. As usual.
I wouldn't disagree with any of that; then again, I don't need to, since it is irrelevant to the point under discussion.
Which, in case you've forgotten, was that Brendan 82 claimed a year ago that by now, NI fans like myself would be "crying" at not having Gibson available to us.
I repeat that normally he would make a useful addition to our squad (though no more than that). However, since he is clearly disaffected re NI, then his lack of commitment means he is no loss.
Quite honestly, I would be much more disappointed if a player of the undoubted quality of, say, Stephen Ireland, were eligible for NI but unwilling, than a lesser talent like Gibson.
GR has already addressed this post comprehensively, so I will only take issue with one point [bold]
Namely, Gibson was always "our" player in the sense that he is unquestionably eligible for us - after all, he was born in NI, received his first coaching in NI and first played for an NI side (Institute FC). Therefore, the only question was whether he was also (potentially) "your" player as well.
Of course, being dual qualified, he ultimately decided he didn't want to play for us, but I don't see how that makes him different from eg Roy Carroll, Stephen Ireland or Paul Scholes. Or would you contend that they were never (respectively)" NI's", "ROI's" or "England's"?
In any case, Darron Gibson was indisputably "ours" when he was playing representative football for NI's under-age teams i.e. before he "remembered" what Nationality he really was...
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