U21s v England

[Carrigaline]

I dont think so I think after the second it got a bit rope but even then we should have had a goal as Keogh was not offside. Once again a good performance against England and we are losing 3-0, I thought lightening does not strike twice.

Garvan Quinn and O Toole were excellent just to be let down by Stokes and Clare in my view.

O Ceirruil will look the business in the EL I think as he has great pace and good reading of the game. I like the look of O'Dea everytime I see him.

Pretty much agree with that. Although, I was disappointed with the attitude of the players after Milner got that flukey goal. England were frankly rubbish up until then and we had a chance to fight back.

I know Stokes is still young, but I'm really starting to think that his half season at Falkirk was simply a one season wonder job.

By the way, 3-0, FT.

[paul_oshea]

keogh is definitely not a striker, these are the sorta games that prove a player. he really did nothing tonight. no excuse for not getting at least 2 of those hail marys on target at least.

[Carrigaline]

Paul, you should not rely on the commentators to tell you who is playing well and who is not, your eyes should do it for you. Also if you are watching it on Sky they are raving about him and saying he was a contendor for man of the match so maybe you should get your ears check out too.

Agree, I see shades on Andy Reid in his intelligent play.

[boovidge]

i thought O Ceirruil and o'dea both had shockers compared to the rest of the side!

[paul_oshea]

ok i was fully listening to it but ive been doing work on another window, so not fully concentrating on it, but i hardly ever heard his name, other than to say tired pass and a few other things, i did hear them say though that he was a great prosect for ireland.

[NeilMcD]

keogh is definitely not a striker, these are the sorta games that prove a player. he really did nothing tonight. no excuse for not getting at least 2 of those hail marys on target at least.

Yeah I think finishing is not his best point as can be seen from his goals per game record. For the clubs he has been with he set loads of goals up at Scunthorpe and the same at Wolves. I think strike partners love him but he is not clinical enough in front of goal

[tetsujin1979]

keogh is definitely not a striker, these are the sorta games that prove a player. he really did nothing tonight. no excuse for not getting at least 2 of those hail marys on target at least.

He's not a winger either, where Stan played him.
He's not a finisher, he's a provider. Could be Ireland's answer to Emile Heskey. On the other hand, he could be Ireland's answer to Michael Ricketts

[boovidge]

a poor mans emile heskey...christ

[Carrigaline]

He's not a winger either, where Stan played him.
He's not a finisher, he's a provider. Could be Ireland's answer to Emile Heskey. On the other hand, he could be Ireland's answer to Michael Ricketts

Yea. We need to stop playing players out of position. He was very ineffective on the wing when he played with us.

[NeilMcD]

Houghton just said there that box to box Ireland were the better side but that finishing was the difference. I could not agree more. I thought the same in Cork also.

[eirebhoy]

terrible ball by garvan, thats the only time ive heard his name mentioned in 60 mins...

tut tut. It's like you've heard him being built up so much that you're just looking for an excuse to knock him.

Anyway, very encouraging display. Again we have to make the point that Randolph, Nolan, O’Cearuill, O’Halloran, O’Toole, Garvan and Stokes all qualify for the U19s.

[tetsujin1979]

a poor mans emile heskey...christ

What I meant is that he could be a player up front who holds up the ball and makes space and chances for the striker. When Heskey came back into the England setup late last year, Owen apparently went to McClaren to start him because he felt that he played better alongside Heskey, who worked hard to win the ball, which Owen can't do as well.

[NeilMcD]

Yeah I do think that Keogh has that in his locker and should not be written off at all. I would think that Keogh is a playlers player and he is the sort of guy that I would have loved to have played beside because he does a lot of the hard work and holds up the ball etc but just lacks the class to finish off a good move.

[paul_oshea]

no its not, its ive heard all this about him and i wonder how much people actually saw of him if thats what they think.

ya its good to know so many young fellas still on it, but in another way it isn't it means there is a gap in any sort of class coming through in the next 2 years....

[NeilMcD]

Eh Paul you have just admitted you were barely watching the match and relying on how often the commentator mentions the guys name to give your review and then you start saying you question how many times other people have seen him. To be honest you are not really in much of a position to be making such comments. Garvan looks a class act everytime I have seen him on the TV. He is always ready to receive the ball and opens up the play very well. He also showed good power and skils. O Toole was good too beside him and Quinn player very well in my view too. We just lacked the cutting edge up front as Keogh is not a finisher and Stokes and Clare esp were pretty poor.

[geysir]

You couldn´t compare the fitness and application of Keogh to an out of tune Stokes.

[Carrigaline]

Houghton just said there that box to box Ireland were the better side but that finishing was the difference. I could not agree more. I thought the same in Cork also.

Yea, but finishing is always the difference. We've scored 1 goal in five games and are now rooted to the bottom of the table. Those stats say that we're a very poor team, not an unlucky one.

[shaneker]

Was a good team performance, its been a long time since the seniors played as a unit like that so good to see some sort of tactical acumen in the side. Was disappointed that heads seemed to drop after the second goal - although we were robbed by that offside decision. Still encouraging enough.

Garvan looked classy in stages but was a wee bit invisible at times (so a ready-made replacement for Stephen Ireland, then), Stokes tried to do too much and ended up doing too little (step forward Keano) but I was well impressed with the way Keogh got into dangerous positions against a very good u-21 defence, and O'Toole seemed eager to get amongst them and cause problems. Thought Quinn was alright but GASH from set-plays, we really have to find someone who can put a free-kick into the box better than him.

Better team won, but I'm fairly happy with the performance. England's team in 5-6 years could be terrifying - combine Hart, Huddlestone, Noble, Walcott, Lennon with Gerrard, Agbonlahor, Richards and Rooney and they could be right up there with the best of them. Unfortunatly.

[tetsujin1979]

Anyone record it?
If there's a replay later on I'll try to record it and make it available online somewhere

[NeilMcD]

Yea, but finishing is always the difference. We've scored 1 goal in five games and are now rooted to the bottom of the table. Those stats say that we're a very poor team, not an unlucky one.

Its an U21 team, its about development etc although I would like us to be doing well but its pretty apparent that we lack a finisher at U21 level, that does not mean the future cannot be bright for these players to progress into the senior team which is what it is all about.