...ok, maybe not THAT 3 minutes
I watched the first 35 mins and enjoyed the anarchy of us taking on a very good football side, trying to trade technique for technique. Sometimes we have pulled this off in the past, even to the heady heights of a McShane step over v Italy and still ran out winners
It was a nonsense fixture to have in the middle of preparations for a wcq.
Entertaining game for a friendly. Can't understand Horgan and O'Dowda rather than O'Kane, Gleeson in the middle. Left the back three extremely exposed and Duffy in particular really struggled. I'm sure the minutes under the belt will have been welcome at least for the players who haven't played in a while.
Bizarrely, Conlan was brought on to the Mexican television broadcast for a very brief interview: https://twitter.com/FM_Ireland/statu...33777675362304Originally Posted by BonnieShels
Mostly, the presenters/pundits just seemed to ramble on in Spanish around him. Presumably, they were interested in him as he beat Alfredo Chanez of Mexico last weekend in his second professional fight, but, as he sat there at the side of a football pitch wearing an Ireland football jersey, the less perceptive of the pundits asked him: "Do you like football?"
If I heard the other pundit on the left correctly, he had earlier said of the pundit sitting on the right, "He played with Roy Keane." Who is the guy on the right?
looking at the Mexican squad they have a heavy sprinkling of Mexicans clubs, the Mexican league is no great shakes I've had the pleasure of a couple of games live and I'd put it somewhere with Europes lower leagues or championship level. So why are they so much better than us and producing much better players? That question still isn't answered, how international teams with players from average leagues are still miles ahead of us in terms of pace, power, speed ant technical ability.
Duffys a worry, all over the shop again. I think Brighton if they want to stay up will have to bring in another CB and Duffy will lose his place before end of next season.
We're still not scoring goals either or taking our chances, 1 goal in 4 or so games, a major worry.
I'm very much pro changing systems and formations, but you lose the merit of it when you are playing with a very weakened squad and many players who wouldn't be used to playing that way and who wont actually be making the first 11 in a competitive game, coupled with a side like Mexico who are in top gear ahead of their important WC qualifiers then there is nothing really gained at all. So long as MON doesn't use it as a reason for saying we don't have the ability or players to play that system in the future.
Last edited by paul_oshea; 02/06/2017 at 1:15 PM.
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
Was Duffy's first game in months, but he was pretty bad tonight.
Egan is catching a bit of shrapnel from some fans.
I thought there was less flashpoints involving him than Keogh and Duffy and there's probably a reason for that. If you aren't drawing attention to yourself by stepping out of line, overcommitting, lunging and getting turned inside out, it's probably a good thing. Kevin Long, similarly enough, didn't draw attention to himself and had a quietly good performance after coming on.
I still think it was a better performance offensively at least than Iceland. McClean really improved in the last 20 minutes, Christie and O'Dowda carved out good chances for themselves, Murphy and McGoldrick both had good chances to score, Hourihane had a decent effort and right at the start, Murphy should have been on the end of an excellent McGoldrick delivery.
As bad as we were defensively, Mexico made us look like Brazil a couple of times - much more than Iceland.
Christie, along with Hoolahan, was one of the bright sparks but I worry about him when the onus is on him defending in a back four.
McGoldrick was bright in the opening 10 minutes but his performance gradually tapered off after that. I think O'Dowda needs to assert himself more at this level. Horgan, I think has raw talent but needs to be more intelligent and make better decisions.
Yep, wholly agree with last paragraph.
Mexico have always been a smooth machine on the ball, often let down by the absence of a great finisher since Hugo Sanchez. It doesn't really seem to matter how strong the league is, they are a huge country with a good footballing culture.
First time in 222 games that we didn't field a Dubliner in starting lineup.
https://twitter.com/noriordan/status/870445830544789505
Wouldn't read anything at all into that game. Playing 2 wingers in center midfield left us unbalanced and led to us being completely open at the back. We looked much better once we actually got some midfielders into proper positions towards the end of the game.
It was all about getting some minutes into the players legs who hadn't played since the end of the club season and will be forgotten about in a week.
Its really not that complicated!!!
In contrast have we ever had as many Derrymen and Corkmen around. Must be zero craic.
Cork:
Colin Doyle John Egan Kevin Long Conor Hourihane Alan Browne David Meyler
Derry:
Shane Duffy James McClean Eunan O'Kane Darron Gibson
http://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/mnt-s...r-uruguay-game
MNT: Squad confirmed for Uruguay game
Republic of Ireland squad
Goalkeepers: Darren Randolph, Keiren Westwood, Colin Doyle
Defenders: Cyrus Christie, Alex Pearce, Richard Keogh, Shane Duffy, John O'Shea, Kevin Long, Andy Boyle, John Egan, Stephen Ward
Midfielders: Aiden McGeady, Eunan O'Kane, Glenn Whelan, Harry Arter, Conor Hourihane, Alan Browne, Robbie Brady, Jeff Hendrick, Daryl Horgan, Wes Hoolahan, Callum O'Dowda, James McClean, Jonny Hayes
Forwards: Jonathan Walters, Daryl Murphy, David McGoldrick
Apart from the injured players named in original panel (Elliot, Doherty, McCarthy, Long), that means no call up at all for
McShane, Wilson, Gibson, Kelly, K Doyle and Rooney.
Last edited by Closed Account; 02/06/2017 at 6:01 PM.
Maguire and Sheridan must look at McGoldrick's performance against Mexico and wonder how they can't get a call up with just 3 strikers included.
Is Stephen Gleeson in the revised squad?
No Gleeson, he drops out. I'd guess he might have holidays booked and the lads were honest with him about his chances of featuring. His stock has risen anyway.
Stephen Quinn joining the squad for training, he's obviously still firmly in O'Neill's thoughts.
http://www.newstalk.com/Ireland-squa...ndly-confirmed
Is it just the one training session for the likes of Westwood, Brady, Walters et al. tomorrow, or have they been training in Dublin while the rest of the squad were in Mexico?
It's hardly ideal prep for a friendly with a view to a competitive game - if it is just the one training session.
*Team trained this afternoon apparently.
**Gleeson is getting married.
Last edited by TheOneWhoKnocks; 02/06/2017 at 6:45 PM.
From that respect it was good it was an entertaining match, it's a good fixture Ireland v Mexico in the USA.
I think O'Neill is a bit of a bullsh!tter to be honest. He hung a few lads out to dry with that selection last night, even if it is just to get minutes into guys legs.
Just think about this: Stephen Gleeson was one of 3 central midfield players who was named in a squad for which a team was picked with 3 central midfield players. He didn't start, came on when all hope was lost, and then after the game drops out of the revised squad completely.
In what way does that help him? If he had holidays booked, then give him the full bloody game, and at least pretend to have some structure.
I'd hope the fact that O'Kane didn't start is down to the fact that they feel he might have a real chance of starting the qualifier.
The 352 formation is one that I've long advocated suited our personnel, and potential personnel. But you've got to pick it with the proper players in the proper positions. I know he's not picking a team to lose a match, but it's almost as if he didn't want the formation to succeed so that it's not a debate.
Browne and O'Kane would have been perfect as part of a 2 in front of 3 centre-halves. Pushing Hourihane ahead of them would have made sense with perhaps O'Dowda supporting Murphy and the two wingers as were.
I'd agree with TOWK that Maguire and Sheridan must be wondering why they couldn't have been involved.
As for the upcoming matches, John O'Shea can only be used in an emergency situation. He's finished. His legs are gone, and he just cannot get by with reading the game, that much surely has to have been patently clear during the second half of the season with Sunderland. We are a Stephen Ward shaped hole away from being goosed at the back.
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
I should say I'm sure Mr O'Neill frankly doesn't care what I think.
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
Gleeson is getting married this weekend in Portugal according to 2fm
Can't see the logic in this? Is he under some kind of intense pressure to try various systems or a wing back formation specifically... or something?
He's been a big fan of this particular system down through the years so I can't understand why you would think he'd want it to fail to prove it's not worth doing.
I'm sure he realises himself that it would have a better chance of succeeding with the likes of Coleman, Brady, Clark, McCarthy, etc.
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