If Staunton had had Ireland on top of the group with two wins out of two, on the back of a qualifying campaing that, for all its faults, saw us come close to qualification for the world cup, then I don't think the crowd would have been on his back at all.Originally Posted by MeathDrog
and what now then....
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
just after watching the game. Decided to do so before reading this thread.
1) there is a frighteningly large number of posters here who know nothing about football or how to analyse a game - "plucky", "heads up", "nearly got back in it". Kudos to the posters who call it right.
2) once i read that the team was unchanged from the last game i knew we were on for a hiding. Kilbane (i love him) and Green proved against A&A that they have nothing to offer an international team.
3) why were some posters prepared to give Green the benefit of the doubt against Russia when he showed that he was not good enough to contain Armenia or Andorra very effectively. The guy is so blatantly mediocre he should have been chucked out after Armenia.
4) the Trappatoni cheerleaders need to get real. Just because he is an Italian and has been successful (at club level) doesnt mean his decisions, tactics, inclusions and ommissions are beyond questioning.
5) he has fallen out with more players than Roy Keane (may be an exagerration).
6) i think if he includes Green in another team from the start his position will become untenable.
7) Given should have moved. He is not as sharp as he used to be. An argument could be made to start Westwood.
8) call up the premiership players who are playing every week.
9) if youre going to exclude premiership players then are you worth the wages you are receiving to coach a team of championship standard players? Makes no financial sense to me. No wonder the FAI are so fcked.
im seriously ****ed off as these Russian players so clearly dont like it put to them and arent that great a team. A great chance to take control of the group was missed because of the long term lazy squad and team selection, lazy tactics and pig headed stubbornness.
The Worm made a pretty abject and yet typical comment about our lads coming out with heads held hight. And as Jebus correctly points out, that is exactly what's wrong with our mentality as a nation.
Look I'm no Nostradamus but it's pretty sad when I (and I suspect thousands like me) can predict a week before the Russia game that Whelan and Green will be taken to the shops and that Kilbane will be swimming against the tide all night. I can see it, you can see it, but Trap can't? I lost my faith in him quite a while ago with his team selections.
Bottom line lads is it's imposters (save for perhaps three or four) playing for Ireland these days against proper footballers. We were taken to school (in how to hold possession and work the ball in tight areas by Russia, Armenia, and yes Andorra at times as well).
Because all our players play across the water we suffer from the English disease, which is no technical ability and no cohesion as a team. But Germany showed that up a few months ago, didn't they?
I remember when Switzerland came to Lansdowne Road a few years back for a crucial qualifier at the end of Mick's reign and they thumped us 4-1 (beleive that was the fianl score?). Point is that Mick had all of his players available for a week beforehand with no injuries, and deployed Keane and Duff up front. We pumped the ball long at every opportunity and got exactly nothing for our efforts, nada, zilch, zip.
It didn't work then, it didn't work last night. If we are unwilling or unable to play football (and Thank God, Richard Dunne alluded to it in his after match comments) then how can we ever expect to win a football tournament, or even qualify for one any longer?
The Swiss won 2-1 that night, wouldnt have called it a thumping either. Certainly was a lot better than last night.
Im still *****d off about last night. It was so bad. The biggest disappointment is the REAL opportunity missed. If we had won, we wouldve been 3 clear of Slovakia and 6 clear of Russia. We would be well and truly in the driving seat for automatic qualification. Whereas now, we are still very much in it, but dont have control over the group that we could have had. A win on Tuesday night would really put us back on track. Is it likely? Not in my opinion. We should hope to get a draw from there, regroup and develop our squad between now and the next qualifier in the new year.
Trap's reaction in picking the team for Tuesday and his tactical approach will be telling.
I'm not convinced McCarthy would solve that much, though poor old Green was taken to the cleaners. Gibson should come in. I'm more confident on the JOS / Dunne partnership and we need two fresh, mobile full backs who can use the ball.
Dunne's comments were bang on: we are allowed to play the ball, we just didn't have the courage to do so. Lumping it long all the time isn't acceptable. Giles' old chestnut "moral courage" was poignant. We were clueless both with and without the ball. Just lining up in 2 banks of 4 didn't work last night. We needed to be actually tackling too.
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 09/10/2010 at 6:34 PM.
I don't always agree with Eamon Dunphy but watch the clip below (17.25 in) - I agree 100% with everything Dunphy says about our captain.
http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/mns/2...oextra_av.html
"There's man all over for you, blaming on his boots the fault of his feet" - Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot
I'd seriously thought, having seen the Russians play against Slovakia, and even caught 2 of their training sessions before they flew out to Dublin, that we were odds on for a point, and most likely would win. The Russian team is a mess, I said on another thread (SkStu mentioned the fact too) that the Russians don't like getting a belt. I said it before the game and I even went to the bother of sending word back to Ireland in the hope that some grit was put in the Irish side to keep Russia off the ball and get stuck into them. And what happens, from the off Ireland didn't put in a tackle of note, lumped long balls forward and at times it looked like they froze on the night - this was what the Russian commentators said - remember, before the game the RUSSIANS were hoping to nick a point, at half time their panel were in shock, and when the 3rd goal went in the colour commentator (Dasaev the scumbag) actually said it had the makings of a rout. And yet the first scare was when Ireland ping ponged the ball in the small box and the same man said - this could be a long night for Russia if Ireland click.
Before the game Advocaat was 1 loss from the sack, his tactics and selections had failed, and his tactics and selections were still poor, but Ireland made the look like world beaters.
v Cyprus (h) 2007.
And he got crucified for it.
NL 1st Division Champions 2006
NL Premier Division Champions 2010
NL Premier Division Champions 2011
Keep Tallaght Tidy, Throw your rubbish in the Jodi
Ten Years Not Out
What annoys me most about last night is that 9 of that team started in Paris, a game after which the mantra was regret and we'll have to start finishing off big teams, we'll better next time, etc. Yet, when we had it within our grasp to win the group over these two games, we've let it slip again.
I can't see any logical reason for our poor performance last night. We all know that Paris was a great performance, so what is stopping us repeating it. Maybe this current group just don't have a qualification in them. There are few leaders amongst them, most certainly Keane should not be captain. Combined with this, Trappatoni's stubborness isn't helping. What on earth he sees in Paul Green I don't know.
But more pertinently, what's he going to do about it in advance of Tuesday. He's lauded as this experienced manager, but you don't need experience to play that game. I wonder if this shows another end of his stubborness in that following the Paris performance, he said 'I'll dictate the way we play, not the players or the press'. It's hard to know where we're going to go from here. This is without doubt a set back. Slovakia could nail us on Wednesday.
Two other points:
Paul Green appeared to ask Arshavin for his shirt at the end of the game, but either he wasn't interested or didn't hear him. Couldn't really see him framing Paul Green's shirt and hanging it above the fireplace now. Closest Green would have got to it all night.
Also watching it on RTE, Dunphy (I think) made some comment as there was an image of Keane walking off the pitch. It was before a break. It went something like 'I'd pull him to the side and.....' His mic was obviously on and could be heard before they went to the ads.
Last edited by DeNiro; 09/10/2010 at 7:01 PM.
'And Crouch must score'
Was there any contact for the penalty? It looked soft.
I haven't even had a drink yet, but maybe we could nail them? Apart from at corners I thought they were awful against Armenia. Yeah, we were brutal but if we get a reaction who knows? Optimistic as always
I don't know, Stutts. Are we capable of nailing anyone? We've never really done in a qualification match apart from the usual Liechtensteins, etc in the 1990s.
'And Crouch must score'
I'd call 1-0 to us a nailing! By our away standards it would be.
It was a dive. And it wasn't only the dive Keane took yesterday.
Yep, it was a bit of a John Sheridan v Spain moment, though I was hoping it'd turn out to be be a Frank Stapleton v Spain moment.
Last night was like both the Poland and Australia friendlies under Trap.
The one in the first half was ridiculous alright.
I'd drop St Ledger (who should have been sent off last night btw) for Slovakia. JOSH and Dunne are our best partnership in the centre. I'd start Foley at right full.
Green has to go. Replace with Gibson.
Just thinking back to the time we played Norway away and we totally controlled the pace of that game in the first half before the rain made it a lottery. There was passages in that game where we kept the ball within the team for 2-3 minutes at a time. Last night we couldn't string two passes together.
I didn't think Gibson did too badly when he came on last night (Dunphy was out of order calling him brain dead). And I would start him on Tuesday. I agree St Ledger was very lucky to stay on the pitch but he also made some last ditch saving tackles and he had to cover for Kilbane, Whelan and Green. But Dunne (who otherwise was excellent)was also skinned by Arshavin and I thought he was going to give away a peno (thankfully he resisted the tackle). Trap won't make wholesale changes so I can only see Gibson coming in. Though probably in place of Whelan and not Green. As for all those having a go at Keane. I thought he played the way he always plays. He is frustrating but who won us the peno and scored it to get us back in the game. He also beautifully held up a ball in the box for McGeady to have a shot. He got no service and his playing partner Doyle had one of his worst games for Ireland and was rightly taken off.
Last edited by Noelys Guitar; 09/10/2010 at 7:48 PM.
From the newspaper round-up here:
http://greenscene.me/2010/10/ireland...paper-roundup/
Gazetta della Sport
Couldn't have been more right.“At 1-0 up Dick Advocaat’s men began to dominate. They were impeccable in possession, and deadly on the counterattack. Ireland were in shock, weak in midfield, and sterile in attack, could have easily been further behind if not for the imprecise Arshavin.”
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