I don't admire McCarthy; never have or never will, but I do respect the job he has done at club level, firstly at Millwall where he had put a decent side together, and lets face it, he got a poor Sunderland side promoted. He has a zero budget to work from, so that poor side is automatically going to come down. Thats no reflection on him; Mourinho, Ferguson and Wenger combined couldn't keep a squad like that in the premiership.Originally Posted by thejollyrodger
i dont think mick should have brought him to the world cup despite the fact i said he should in this thread. he hadnt played for us much if at all and would have been taking the place of someone who contributed in qualifiying , anyway this is very much by the by.
has definitely not progressed in my eyes as an international player and hasnt had a good performance in a green shirt in some while. His lack of concentration and complacency is there for everyone to see and i feel if he starts in any position against France were in trouble.
Who would you pick at LB though GUFCT?
It's a tough one. Given the pace that France are likely to have upfront I think Harte would be exposed. I think Kilbane should be tried at left back but not in this game. Finnan is an option with Carr playing right back.
If O'Shea was to play like he did in Paris I'd be happy.
I'd probably go with him at left back against the french, but only if Kilbane is on the left to track back and mind the house, as O'Shea likes to get forward a lot. with Duffer on the left, you're asking for trouble with Josh as a full back. Playing Finnan wide on the right, as I think he will gives Carr a lot of cover too. My team would be:
---------------------------Given---------------------------
Carr----------Dunne--------O'Brien----------O'Shea--------
Finnan-------Keane---------A.Reid----------Kilbane--------
-----------------------------------Duff-------------------
----------------------Robbie Keane------------------------
Subs: Kenny, S.Reid, Cunningham,Morrison, Holland.
But, he ain't going to drop Captain Kenny is he??
Drop our Captain and one of our most consistant performers for a partnership that has never been tried at any sort of level and play duff up front even though it has been shown time and time again that it does not work. I am glad Brian Kerr is the manager and not some of the posters on this site.
In Trap we trust
Opinions are what this site is all about, and you're right. Our captain is one of our most consistent performers-consistently average, and looking weaker a link every game he plays. Richard Dunne is playing the best football of his career, Andy O'Brien is getting there, and we need two centre halves with a bit of pace against the french...Cunningham is slower than the 78A.
It also has been shown time and time again that Duff does not defend well enough to confidently support an attacking full back.The point I'm trying to make is that's how I would see us doing better against the french.
I am glad Brian Kerr is the manager too....and not you or I....but I'm even more glad that I can offer up two bit opinions here.
He needs a bit of work for that department.
He filled in at LFB with Everton against Villareal, with regret I report that he had a dreadfull game, no awareness of LFB responsibilities - substituted early enough.
John O' Shugh
All I'll say is he needs to get his act together... he's horrifically unpredictable on the ball since a good while... both for 'Moan' United & unfortunatly our Green Eire...
Last edited by blueviking1980; 26/08/2005 at 3:52 PM.
I bloody well hope not. The Cunningham-O'Brien partnership is as good as I've ever (literally ever) seen play for Ireland. I can only judge them on the 15 or so games they've played together and I couldn't have asked for more.
Couldn't agree more
"I always likened him to a Rolls Royce. You just used him once a week & he'd be flawless"
Townsend on McGrath
I thought he had a pretty solid game today at right back. He played a lovely ball into the box for RVN and didn't lose his concentration when he had to defend. I guess he will be starting at RB for the next few games if Gary Neville's injury is bad. Naturally he looks much more comfortable in this position than at LB. However Ireland already have lots of decent options there (Carr, Finnan, Kelly, S. Reid). Anyway, I guess I'd have to say he's been a success so far this season. It's only 5 games into the season so we will just have to wait and see if it continues. If Manure have all their players fit will he still get a regular start?
He's much more comfortable in the right back slot because he's right footed, there's no need to receive the ball on his weaker foot and transfer it to his right, as he often does at left full. With Neville out for about 3 months, he should get a good run in the side at right full.
I agree about him being right-footed but did you see the cross he put in for RVN with his left? It was absolutely perfect!
Opinions are what this site is all about, and you're right. Our captain is one of our most consistent performers-consistently average, and looking weaker a link every game he plays. Richard Dunne is playing the best football of his career, Andy O'Brien is getting there, and we need two centre halves with a bit of pace against the french...Cunningham is slower than the 78A.
It also has been shown time and time again that Duff does not defend well enough to confidently support an attacking full back.The point I'm trying to make is that's how I would see us doing better against the french.
I am glad Brian Kerr is the manager too....and not you or I....but I'm even more glad that I can offer up two bit opinions here.
Ok, Name more than one time that Kenny has ****ed up for Ireland and compare it with teh amount of times that he has made last ditch tackles or is leadership skills. As anyone who plays the game would know you need a leader at the back, i.e. Tony Adams, Mick Mc Carthy John Terry, and Kenny Cunningham. O Brien and Dunne have never played together before in a competitive game and centre backs are all about partnerships they take time to come together. There is no way that Brian Kerr or any decent manager would experiment with a new central defence partnership for a major World Cup qualifying game. We can all discuss the merits of who should Partner Cunningham but to drop him is insane.
In relation to Duff, since Mourinhio has gone to Chelsea, Duffs game has become more and more defensive. I dont think it could ever be levellled at him that he does not track Back. Watching the game against Spurs he was covering the full back time and time again. In fact I would argue that he has lost a bit of his spark as he has become so disciplined. He is better at tracking back than Andy Reid is at the moment also. Not that this is is a dig at Andy Reid and Duff is one of the most disciplined footballers in the world at teh moment. That is why he gets picked week in week out for Chelsea.
In Trap we trust
I agree with you that Cunningham has been a great servant to the green over the years. My point now is that I believe that there are several other defenders out there that will make up a better back four.
I also believe that Richard Dunne possesses plenty of leadership skills- a point not lost on Stuart Pearce, who himself never lacked leadership.
For me, Brian Kerr lacks killer instinct, so will be cautious..too much so at times (Paris and twice against Israel) so will probably will stick with his highly tried Lieutenant.
I accept your points and agree with them in hindsight about Duff.
hmm what if o'shea starts to play blindingly well at rb for utd.. any chance in posters' eyes that he should displace carr/finnan* at rb? not just thinking of france but beyond... i thought he did well enough vs. luque agin newcy although a few typical misplaced passes when a far more sensible option was on - scholes on sunday gave him a rollicking after he tried a hollywood up the line to rooney i think and it went out. but defending he looked sound, the only time i remember him leaving luque was when he had to cover shearer in the middle coz ferdinand was dozing.
*semi-related point, finnan is almost the key to our whole side, we are much more solid with him at right-midfield because he's decent on the ball, a competent defender, but not a tigrish tackler; him and carr almost compensate each others' weaknesses perfectly.
I think Kerr prefers Finnan RHM away from home & Reid / Duff playing wide at home, alternating sides. For a big game like this though I'm not sure what Kerr will do. Does he keep Carr on the bench as a defensive substitution option, or Reid on the bench as an attacking option?
Personally I'd prefer to see Duff & Reid occupy the wide berths against France. Neither is weak defensively & both are an attacking threat. I think we need to take the game to France and the best way to keep their defence busy is to play both. Finnan should occupy the right-back slot in my mind simply because he's better than Carr. I like Finnan a lot & thought he & Carr did exactly what you described really well in Paris. However, I thought they were both muck in Tel Aviv. Carr was careless & Finnan was ineffective.
I've been disappointed by Finnan only once in this campaign but I've been disappointed by Carr three times (Basle, Tel Aviv & Faroes). Carr gave Kilbane a hospital pass in Basle for the Swiss equaliser and got booked stupidly. In fact Carr's two stupid yellows (second was in Tel Aviv) contributed to our poor defensive performance in the return leg. I'd like to think Carr would never have made the errors O'Shea made.
I've said before that O'Shea is better suited to right back & he played really well there in the Poland away game. Again, though, he was appalling at home to Israel in this position. At the moment Steve Finnan is our best right back in my opinion & I wouldn't start playing O'Shea there by choice ahead of him.
I'd actually like to seer Carr RHM and Finnan RB sometime. Finnan is more reliable defensively and Carr is at his best going forward. Against France though I think Carr's pace could be an asset.
I think O'Shea will start left back so the only "unknown" in Kerr's selection is which two of Carr, Finnan & Reid will play.
Same here. The reason Kerr hasn't tried it I presume is because Finnan was playing in midfield for Liverpool when we had our matches. Carr started his career out as a winger.
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