Be nice to Stan?

[Ordinary Fan]

I have been a constant critic of Stan since his appointment, so in a one off effort I am trying to point out how well he has performed. Here goes

Still in with a change in the qualifiers.
Survived the worst injury record ever for an Irish manager.
Given missed more matches for Stan than for any previous manager.
The best passing midfielder (A. Reid) and holding midfielder (S. Reid) not available.
Had the starting CB for the previous two years play reserve football all season

I suppose this is really a testment to how unfortunate he has been.

[sligoman]

He also had to play San Marino, just as they were begining to become a "handful" in the group.

[onenilgameover]

5-2!!!! besides the guy cant communicate...I aint being nice to him the results might get worse..

[tricky_colour]

Well whatever the case we ain't going to get another one before the end of this campaign, thats for sure.
All he can do is pick a squad and that's going to be pretty much the same whatever the manager, creating disharmony is not going to help, we still have a chance of qualifying. There are a lot of positives, up front especially,
Keane and Doyle scoring regularly, we might even nick a win away from home!!

[gustavo]

Would we have taken the current table at the start ? I think so .

[Stuttgart88]

Nobody can deny the horrow show that was Cyprus & San Marino.

But nobody can deny some of the bad luck we've had too, as pointed out above. Losing Given* early on, losing Duff late on, losing both Reids...

I think Stan has learnt a bit more about how to put a team out in terms of shape & deployment of certain players. His use of Stephen Ireland in the last 2 games was good for example.

It was said at the time of his appointment that he could restore the hunger & the passion (aaarghh!) to the team that lost its joie de vive under Kerr. Well now is the time to prove it. If these guys are determined enough they can get some points on the road and raise the roof at Croker against Germany. It's time for Stan to prove he can motivate these players.

*How Harewood got away without reprimand for that tackle on Given is beyond me. The ball was never there to be won and it was the tackle of a frustrated player whose team was losing a game & had no chnace of a comeback.

[paul_oshea]

stutts i never knew you could speak french!!

[DmanDmythDledge]

Would we have taken the current table at the start ? I think so .

I don't think many people would have been happy with the table at the moment. The mininum acceptable results would have been what we've got plus a win in Cyprus.

[Stuttgart88]

If we were a golfer we'd be a couple of shots over par after 13 holes, with 5 tricky ones left to play to break par. But like in golf, if you're bold & give it a shot you're in with a chance, and momentum counts.

[paul_oshea]

But like in golf, if you're bold & give it a shot

you end up in the water or in the rough, ending up playing a light iron to try to make up and end up happy finishing with a bogey

[Stuttgart88]

so maybe we should play defensively and hope our opponents slip up? God, I hope Stan's not a golfer.

[paul_oshea]

stans a bit of a bogey.....

[theworm2345]

Be nice to Stan?

No .

[geysir]

stutts i never knew you could speak french!!

He can't
it's joie de vivre
Sorry Stutts, (Pass French in the leaving?)

[lionelhutz]

Nobody can deny the horrow show that was Cyprus & San Marino.

But nobody can deny some of the bad luck we've had too, as pointed out above. Losing Given* early on, losing Duff late on, losing both Reids...

I think Stan has learnt a bit more about how to put a team out in terms of shape & deployment of certain players. His use of Stephen Ireland in the last 2 games was good for example.

It was said at the time of his appointment that he could restore the hunger & the passion (aaarghh!) to the team that lost its joie de vive under Kerr. Well now is the time to prove it. If these guys are determined enough they can get some points on the road and raise the roof at Croker against Germany. It's time for Stan to prove he can motivate these players.

*How Harewood got away without reprimand for that tackle on Given is beyond me. The ball was never there to be won and it was the tackle of a frustrated player whose team was losing a game & had no chnace of a comeback.

He played Ireland out of position on the right of midfield against Wales where he had an awful game. Granted he got the winner but that was when he drifted in. Besides the goal, he was useless against Wales.

Stan copped on against Slovakia and gave him a more central role where he contributed so much more. so it was only in the last game he used Ireland properly

[Stuttgart88]

He played Ireland out of position on the right of midfield against Wales where he had an awful game.

He was on the team sheet on the right but actually was given license to drift in a lot where he was most effective. It's a bit of a blur now, but no way would I have said that Ireland was an orthodox right sider that day.

[Stuttgart88]

He can't
it's joie de vivre
Sorry Stutts, (Pass French in the leaving?)

I did actually and funny thing is I knew it was vivre too. Annoyed at that.

[paul_oshea]

He can't
it's joie de vivre
Sorry Stutts, (Pass French in the leaving?)

LOL great one geysir, i knew that I let it go.
sorry stutts, ( My dad is a french teacher! )

[carloz]

Just for the stupidity of picking Kilbane and Ireland in midfield against Cyprus he deserved to be sacked. However he seems to have luck on his side now which is worth a hell of a lot. I dreading the taught that he might be our manager in 4 years time

[RogerMilla]

i'll be delighted if he's our manager in 4 years time , means we will have been to a few tournaments !