It's extra competition for the midfielders but I wouldn't worry about Reid's place. He's the vice captain at Blackburn now. Tugay is going on 38. Mokoena is then the only other central midfielder apart from Reid and Dunn.
Hughes seems to really rate Reid, and I can't see him being dropped out of the picture altogether.
Even if he goes through a rough period, I don't see him dropping further than the bench.
At worst this will mean a rotation policy in midfield, but I suspect he's just bringing in midfield reinforcements due to Reid's horrible injury record.
Well Vogel was never bought to give competition for Reid. Hughes knows how important Reid is, hence the reason he was put back in the team the minute he came back from injury rather than gently get him back into action. However Vogel was given a 2 and a half year contract so Hughes probably sees the two of them working together. Really Dunn is not a good enough if Blackburn have genuine ambitions to get into the UEFA cup
After Reid's withdrawl from the friendly squad, it's a relief to read that he and his doctors look to be in control of his knee situation, Minor Surgery success
Watched Blackburn on MOTD last night, paying particular attention to Reid (as much as you can from highlights anyway). He started wide on the right... (I seen him play wide right for Ireland under Kerr in the draw at home to Russia and he was POISON that day.) But when I noted it I was kinda hoping Ince would have him in the wide right role much like Bowyer at Leeds or Gerard,where they're not bound by tactical obligations as much and just let off the leash (thats when I think reid is at his best, when he doesn't have to think)
He got a couple of decent deliveries into the box from out wide though without having go by anyone, which is alright, but we don't have a target man like Santa Cruz. The was a couple of bursting runs through the middle though that impressed me, one from deep but particularly the one where he won the free that led to the goal.
I'm hoping for a big year from him. We're lacking a real athlete in the middle. He ticks all the right box's but has never fully delivered, imo. Fingers crossed.
I would prefer to see him in the centre and playing as the holding role. Going to watch match of the day soon and check him out.
In Trap we trust
From watching the game, it looked like a 4-3-3, with Reid playing on the right of the central midfield group.Originally Posted by NeilMcD
Thought he had a good game, and it seems Ince has decided to let Reid play more of a box-to-box game, and let Dunn sit in front of the back four.
I've no doubt he could do a job there and do it well, as he did last season for Blackburn.. And I don't know whether Trap would facilitate the kind of Freedom i was talking about in my post. I just think he ticks too many box's to be stifled as just "holding", if you know what I mean. That's why I'd like to see him and Carsley in the team. He's big, pacy, can tackle, relativley comfortable on the ball, can shoot from distance (though we've seen little of that lately).
Didn't he give away a free kick which resulted in a goal and later win one which won a goal back? So that's 50/50 on that score.
He did yes, but was blameless as far as I could see. He was stretching out his leg to block the cross in, his arms weren't flailing or anything and he had his back to the ball when it struck it... I've seen peno's not given in the same situation.
I'm looking forward to watching him in action against Norway on Wednesday...the game is quite big for Ireland and a great chance for the 2 Reids
...on his injuries:
"It all started in the August before that Germany game, I had a back problem which turned out to be a stress fracture, and I had three-and-a-half months off that.
Then I got back to training, got back in and then did my cruciate ligament in a tackle there, so I had the reconstruction and that was another six months and after that it was just niggles and bits and pieces.
It was a tough time for me with the all the injuries. But, during the lay-off, I worked hard in the gym, did a lot of strength and that can only benefit myself, Blackburn and Ireland.
It's been a long time since I was last involved with Ireland. At times I wondered if I would even be back playing, let alone be back in the Ireland squad. It was a tough time for me, unbelievably hard at times, but hopefully it has made me a strong person. Hopefully the injuries I've had have made me a better player and stronger person.
There was a worry in my head that I might not get back. I was out for 16 months and you wonder if you'll get back to that level.
It's been a hard time. My daughter -- she's two in November -- has arrived since my last game with Ireland and that has helped along the way, I had great support from friends and family, a lot of people stood by me, I was speaking to Steve Staunton and Alan Kelly regularly and they helped too. So I was kept in the picture with Ireland all the time but I was also desperate to get back playing again.
I think this year is the first time I've had a full pre-season for about three years now, but I still want to get back to the match fitness level I was at a couple of years ago. I think Everton on Saturday was one of the best games I've played so hopefully I can continue on with that now."
...on Georgia:
"I have been chatting to Zurab Khizanishvili about our game in Georgia. It's been a difficult time for him. He still has his family over there, and he has a house of his own back in Georgia too, so he has been very concerned.
From what he knows his family are safe, but he has been very down over the last few weeks since the war started back in Georgia. He's hoping that things will be OK for them to play us at home in Georgia and maybe that can happen.
It just puts things in perspective, players worry about their form and if they will play but Zura and the other Georgian players are all concerned for their families back home and if they'll get caught up in a war.
He's back in the national team squad now, I think he had a falling-out with the previous manager and was out for a while but he's playing for Georgia again, I think he's captain for their game in Wales this week.
Our job is to play football, if the game is played in Tbilisi, or a neutral venue, or not at all, we will prepare as best we can.
I'd have no issues in going over to Georgia, I know we'd have the right preparation in terms of staff, travel and security, if the game goes ahead we will be there. It won't be an issue for us.
I just want to get the shirt on and play the game, I don't care where it's played, I just want to play for Ireland again."
...on Trapattoni:
"The new manager has been good so far, I only met him for the first time yesterday and we didn't have much time to chat as it was straight in to training, but he seems very enthusiastic and involved. He has won everything in the game at club level, he has a great CV, has managed at international level and I'm looking forward to working with him.
Obviously with Mr Trapattoni, everyone I've spoken to has been saying nice things about him, I've kept in contact with people. He shows great enthusiasm and gets involved and uses his English as best he can.
Hopefully the manager will see me doing well for Blackburn and I can show Trapattoni what I can do and prove that I can play a big part in the campaign."
...on Andy Reid:
"It would be nice to play with Andy. We room together, we get on well together, it's up to the manager to decide his midfield pairing. Andy is on top form, captain of Sunderland against Liverpool on Saturday so he's doing well.
If it's me and Andy in the middle, that would be fine with me. I keep getting called 'Andy' wherever I go, for some reason, so maybe it would only add to confusion if we played in the middle together."
if only a certain other young Irish midfielder had this same attitude
Its really not that complicated!!!
Oh Balls.....
http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2008/0818/reids.html
Its really not that complicated!!!
Stephen Reid.......aka......."The Man of Glass".
Quoting years at random since 1975
I love the quote from Ince saying it's rediculous for players to play 90mins in a friendly...
He said: “You can see why sometimes Premier League managers don’t let their players go if they are going to start playing them for 90 minutes...
Morten [Gamst Pedersen] played 45 minutes [for Norway] and I haven’t got a problem with that but when you start playing them 90 minutes in a friendly I think is absolutely ridiculous. I can understand it if it’s a World Cup qualifier but not a meaningless friendly.”
He does realise that there are rules limiting managers to 6 subs in a friendly right? Does he want a 5-a-side game in the second half??
Since when? You can substitute your whole team in a friendly if you want unless the rules have recently been changed.
Yeah I think they were changed their recently.
In Trap we trust
The rules were changed maybe 18months ago? There had been lots of controversy over teams changing their whole team and making the games meaningless... I think it was after an England game that it came to a head.
So they limited it to 6 subs max.
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