As a Spurs fan, I would agree that Keane is a more accomplished player than King David, but only in club football.Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
There is no comparison at international level. DH has now scored 24 goals in 54 games, which is 44.4%. Thierry Henry's international record is 36 in 83 = 43.4%.
Of course, it's true that we have to play to DH's strength by playing him alongside a big guy. DH played every one of those awful 12 scoreless games under McIlroy; however, so clueless was McIlroy that he was packing the defence and hoping that DH might sneak a winner, despite the fact he was either isolated on his own up front, or playing alongside a wee guy (Paul McVeigh etc)
Sanchez quickly realised he needed support and provided it. However, the only big guy available was James Quinn, currently warming the bench at Northampton, or Kyle Lafferty, just turned 19, with fewer than 20 games under his belt for Burnley. How many would Healy have scored if he had a better partner and a stronger team?
Btw, appreciate your use of the "Republic" tag; we wouldn't want other people to mix us up these days, would we?(Besides, "ROI" and "NI" are easier to type than some of the other names we call each other!)
On present form I'd certainly rate our chances, which is not something I'd have said in many years - possibly since the first time we ever played (0-0 at Lansdowne, followed by 1-0 to us in Belfast).
The crowd might lift the ROI in Dublin, but if we got you on a wet Wednesday night at Windsor, I'd seriously fancy us to avenge that awful 4-0 hiding you inflicted on us a few years back, with interest!
Crisis? Hardly. It came soon after we beat Finland away and was followed four days later by a 3-2 win over Spain, a 0-0 draw in Denmark and last night's home win over Latvia, all within the space of two months.
As for your beating us over two legs, you might of course be right, but there's absolutely nothing in the form book to suggest you are.
Keane is a better all round player (imo), but Healy is much the better finisher. Playing in a frequently poor NI side (occasionally awful), he has scored goals throughout his international career, at a rate marginally better than Thierry Henry's.
And he's no "flat-track bully", either. As well as his sublime hattrick against Spain, he has scored against Germany, England, Austria, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Norway and a 35 yard screamer against Denmark that left Peter Schmeicel watching in admiration.
As for your other selections, maybe you're right on the basis of what they're doing in the club game, but people like Michael Duff and Chris Baird have been outstanding recently for NI and Keith Gillespie is showing some of his old Newcastle form, where he was every bit as good as Damien Duff at his best.
The other guys to watch out for are Evans (MU) and Lafferty (Burnley). Evans is only 18, but Sir Alex Ferguson has marked him out as potentially something special and Big Lafferty isn't far behind. He's only just turned 19, but he's 6' 4" and built to match. God knows what he'll be like when he stops growing and fills out!
Duff and Keane did play well last night - but it has been a very long time since you could say that about them. Neither can really be too complacent about their places in the team. Given is our best player and really should be the 1st choice captain imo
AFAIK, Healy is Protestant, not that any of gives a flying fcuk.
As for the implication of your post generally, what planet do you come from? I know that the ROI have exploited some highly "creative" selection criteria over the years, but the idea that you might "have" some of our players solely on the basis that they may be Catholic goes far beyond even sectarianism and into the realm of lunacy.
(P.S. You're not a GAA fan, by any chance?)
The rankings are taken over a rolling four year period. If you were to re-work them over the last two years, I've no doubt we'd be ahead, possibly by more than 15 places at that.
As for your other comments, there's not an NI fan alive who would swap Healy; not for Keane and Connolly and their wage packets and a night with their sisters!
You don't get to White Hart Lane much I take it?
Top scorer in 3 of the 4 seasons he's been there.
Made Vice Captain last season after his run of form at the end of the previous season.
Has been one of Spurs most consistent players (along with King & robbinson) over the last few years and has picked up the supporters club player of the year award twice because of it.
Mmmm ...I dunno about that. The only people who've hockey'd us in a competetive game in the last two years are Cyprus. In the same period NI have been on the wrong end of competetive hidings from England, Iceland, Poland ...have I missed someone?
But my general point is that, while NI are on the rise and all the best to ye, we have a competetive class that we are not currently living up to.
He's done stirling work for ye.
Though if Keane and Connollys sisters look anything like their respective brothers ...I'd say they're right p1ssy nettle lickers.
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
an_ceannaire - I've deleted your post. This is a football forum so if you want to talk about sectarianism then go elsewhere.
This thread reminds me of the great chant outside the Carwash in Ayia Napa.
"Were even worse than the North!!!"
The lad wearing the nordie jersey got great attention from our fans the other night outside Lukes, we all got pictures.
yeh, whatever
A couple of wins and a draw and people get carried away. I'm sure Kevin Blackwell would have swapped Healy, his sisters and his pay packet for Keane in an instant at any time when he was Leeds manager. Healy is muck. Watch a few Championship games and you'll see why Connolly, Morrison and Elliot all regularly outscore him, most of his goals come from penalties.
The only player I'd consider that you have letting near our team would be Davis and I'd say he'll be outshone by Garvan or J O'Brien in a couple of years anyway.
As for being higher than us if the rankings were taken over the past two years, didn't you fairly recently lose to Iceland, Wales, Austria, Poland and everyone else? You got 9 points in the last qualifiers we got twice as much (from a harder group) so figure that one out.
Northern Ireland will finish nowhere in their qualification group by the time everything is wrapped up. You can have my wage and me sisters if I'm wrong.
We'd take your manager in an instant though.
Jesus wept.
The Englishmen came over in the year 2005
But little did they know that we'd planned a wee surprise
Sir David scored the winner, and Windsor Park went wild
And this is what we sang...
To answer the original question; I agree.
If we'd just played the North in a two leg play-off over the last two international dates we'd probably have lost. Given the squads availiable and the indvividual players's form. However that situaltion hasn't reaaly seemed likely in about twenty years as is unlikely to re-occur for the forseeable.
EL grounds are like good episodes of The Simpsons, no matter how many times you see them they're still funny
How would being a catholic or not make him available to us ffs.
I have a friend and her name is Jayaletchemy Krishnan and she is catholic maybe she can come and play for us.
Cop yourself on
Last edited by First; 13/10/2006 at 2:54 PM.
Sorry hadnt read through the full thread before I had to react to the obvious **** stiirring from an_ceannaire.
Last edited by First; 13/10/2006 at 3:01 PM. Reason: spelling
Does she play centre half?
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
---
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LOI section on balls.ie - http://balls.ie/league-of-ireland/
She does like to play at the back
Last edited by First; 13/10/2006 at 3:24 PM.
What I posted was that NI fans wouldn't swap Healy for the world; I've acknowledged elsewhere that Keane's club record is superior.
As for only Davis getting near a combined team, you're either very silly, very ill-informed, or trying a wind-up. No matter, it's all academic.
As for where we finish, I'd fancy our chances of finishing at least as high as the ROI.
And when Sanchez leaves NI, it's safe to say just about the one position he won't be after is managing the ROI.
P.S. What are the sisters like?
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