Montenegro vs Ireland

BaZmO*

Happy overall, would've loved the win of course and I think we deserved it but 4 points at this stage is good.

Main positive is that we looked like we had a shape to our game, really solid defence and midfield. I think it's important to get that right first and then build on it. I think Andy Reid will still get his chance but I think Trap is building on the basics first.

4 points away from home and only one (late) goal conceded. Good start.

herbieflowers

Montenegro were no great shakes, they were there for the taking. Though happy with the draw, I'm a bit annoyed that we didn't really go for it in the second half, erring on the side of caution more often than not.

That said, the team looks solid and cohesive, though Hunt offers little when started. Whelan was excellent, as was Reid despite him not being fully fit (at least it looked that way). Doyle was industrious as ever, shame the front two didn't get more service. We were much more physical today than against Georgia, and the centre-backs were immense. I think that's the best I've seen John O'Shea play.

Was happy with the team's passing, we didn't seem to give it away as much as we did on Saturday. The players looked composed on the ball, passing it sideways or backwards when there wasn't a pass on, instead of hoofing it hopelessly forward like we've seen in the past.

All in all, two away matches out of the way. And with most away matches being potential banana skins, 4 points is a good return. I think, judging from the two games so far, we could turn into a team that's difficult to beat.

madds

Happy with that. Yes, we could have won this game but we also nearly lost it at the end but Given saved well. People need to remember where we were this time 12 months ago - in the doldrums of international football.

Defense (including Given) were top notch throughout save for ZZ's slip in the first half. The central midfield pairing got into their stride in the second half and played their way out of trouble nicely on a couple of occasions.

Keane and Doyle ran their socks off and had lumps kicked off them. Keane was especially unlucky with the take down and half volley which the keeper parried.

Now onto the interesting stuff. McGeady came into the game well in the second half when the gaps started appearing. His deliveries from free-kicks also improved. Hunt on the other hand, although he gave 110%, is not up to it IMO. His control is shocking, he has a problem with his temperament which got him sent off in the Euro qualifying and nearly got him into trouble again tonight. His passing on the whole is also very loose.

Having said all that, I know there is an argument which says that Hunt brings that extra energy to a game that Reid will never bring. However, IMO Reid can be accommodated if Steven Reid and Whelan are told to sit.

All in all 4 points from 6 is a good return. Let's give Cyprus a hiding next month, get that particular monkey off our back, and really get this campaign off to a solid start.

sofireland

We were also unlucky not to get a penalty too.

JOS played the best i've seen him play since he burst on to the scene.

Whelan and Reid is looking like a good partnership, even though reid was carrying his knock.

Happy enough with 4 points from 6

BaZmO*

Hunt seems like he's gonna be the new Kilbane, 10 out of 10 for effort but......

mike65

shamblertine wrote: »

The likes of brazil and argentina must be crapping themselves at the possibility of coming up against this Irish team in the world cup finals.

Why are you here exactly? Nuggets of wisdom such as the above are laughable.

Mike.

shamblertine

mike65 wrote: »

Why are you here exactly? Nuggets of wisdom such as the above are laughable.

Mike.

Relax its just my opinion. I watch football to be entertained, but I was bored senseless by that performance. I'd rather the players give it their all trying to get goals by getting forward in numbers and get hammered 5 nil in the process, than watch dull, tedious, negative play like tonight.

LuckyLloyd

shamblertine wrote: »

Relax its just my opinion. I watch football to be entertained, but I was bored senseless by that performance. I'd rather the players give it their all trying to get goals by getting forward in numbers and get hammered 5 nil in the process, than watch dull, tedious, negative play like tonight.

I'd rather get results and get to the world cup thank you very much.

ziggy

This post has been deleted.

eirebhoy

Happy with that.

O'Shea and Dunne were bloody excellent. O'Shea proving me very wrong.

Reid was class again for the first hour. Controlled the game when we had the ball. Off the ball though he wasn't great. His passing was great.
Whelan complimented Reid well. He looks really good in this team.

Big improvement from McGeady imo. He misplaced 1 pass which is a lot less than Saturday. I thought his set pieces were excellent too and his crossing was very good. Just outmuscled a lot but won freekicks for most of those.

Doyle was class. I can't believe he wasn't bought in the summer. And Keane very good.

Overall though the team performed like any top team would have away from home, just lacked the creativity that Duff and A.Reid might have brought. Man of the match - Whelan with O'Shea, Dunne and Doyle next best.

Our next 3 games are easier than this on paper.

Mr.Nice Guy

I thought it was a pity about the result but I can't fault the effort from the players. I thought they put in a good showing and deserved something from the game. We definitely should have had a penalty for the handball incident. Shame McGeady missed that chance but that's football.

Overall I think 4 pts from the first two games is a solid start and something for us to hopefully build upon.

leninbenjamin

right so; a point in the bag. could be worse. Trapp's making good inroads, each performance is looking a bit better.

once again our weakest area was, surprise surprise, keeping possession. With Reid and Whelan sitting so deep,a huge responsibility falls on McGeady and Hunt's shoulders when we are on the ball, and it just wasn't working for them. they jus aren't intelligent enough for this level. they've really got to life their heads a bit more.

other than this though, the system worked perfectly. We kept the Montenegrins at a distance, for a home side they really didn't create many chances. The narrow midfield really stifled them, to the point where they were simply left with attempts from range. And despite the weaknesses going forward, we did create the chances to win the game, had McGeady been a bit more intelligent, or Keane a bit more lucky. So i don't think Trappa can be faulted tonight. the framework was there for the win, the players just didn't take it.

also of note: we had two (what i felt were) valid penalty calls not given, and the Montenegrins were very lucky not to get a few more decisions given against them in some of the key areas. You're man who got booked in particular was very lucky not to get a red i felt, that was one of the most blatant tackles from behind i've seen in International football since the big clampdown on them in 98. so we can feel a little unlucky imo.

I really do think though, had Duff been fit, and Stephen Ireland been available, we won have won a match like this easily with Trappa's system. but then that's life. the main thing is we've gotten the points to fight another day; although I think the failure to get 6 this time round will cost us in the long run.

luckylucky

eirebhoy - ireland and rangers fan - hmm does not compute ;)

man i must sort out satelite over here - watching football over the internet not the same.

djpbarry

shamblertine wrote: »

to be fair, nothing has changed since stauntons reign of ****eness. Same team, same negative tactics, same ****eness.

Wow - you know even less about football management than Steve Staunton.

mike65 wrote: »

They are playing in 34 degrees of heat at about 90% humidity...

Let's not exaggerate.

shamblertine wrote: »

The likes of brazil and argentina must be crapping themselves at the possibility of coming up against this Irish team in the world cup finals.

Expecting Ireland to perform in a similar manner to Brazil and Argentina is like me expecting Pats to perform on the same level as Barcelona.

shamblertine wrote: »

I'd rather the players give it their all trying to get goals by getting forward in numbers and get hammered 5 nil in the process...

I seem to recall Stan trying something like that in Cyprus; it didn't go down well.

FrankGrimes

BaZmO* wrote: »

Hunt seems like he's gonna be the new Kilbane, 10 out of 10 for effort but......

+1 on that, though even through his worst performances on the wing, Killer always got a few decent crosses in, Hunt in the 2nd half tonight offerred literally nothing in attack and all his merits were to do with tracking back. Against a team we should be beating I think you need to ask more from your wingers/left midfielder and he's just plainly not up to it at this level despite his truly admirable attitude. His set piece delivery was woeful.

For me McGeady really came into it in the second half and had some very good moments - a player I think will definitely improve with time to offer us a real threat on the wing, though he'll shine mostly at home.

Reid was excellent in the first half - he plays some great straight passes through the middle of midfield to a man with a defender at his back that gives an opportunity to turn the man or play a lateral lay-off either side to switch the point of attack. Sounds simple but few have the confidence in themselves and the receiver to do it as well or as often as Reid does it. First half Whelan was quietly impressive in the more holding role of the two.

Second half they seemed to switch roles with Whelan pushing forward and Reid holding due to his knock (and by right he should have been replaced after about 65 as his mobility visibily worsened). That showed a side of Whelan we hadn't yet seen and he showed me enough to make me feel he's a real quality player that is a lot more than just a 5th defender. Must be something up with his coach or his consistency if he can't get into the team at Stoke.

Robbie & Doyle - did as much as can be asked of them and held up the ball well when they got it.

The defence was very solid overall and anyone denying that John O'Shea has played 2 of his best games for Ireland this week is just holding a grudge imo as he's been excellent though Dunne is clearly on another level (and I've been a major critic of JOS to-date).

My only negatives are that Trap did not see fit to bring on fresh legs given the conditions - they were clearly on top in the last 15 and I think an injection of fresh legs in centre midfield and wing (i.e. Hunt) could have helped us push on to the win we really should have been looking for.

Steven Reid has the ability to be a box to box player and with Whelan assigned the holding role I think the coach needs to tell him to be more active in getting forward quicker. All top teams have a central midfielder that gets into the box but Ireland have lacked that for a long time. S Reid can be this player if instructed to do so, but as this week's games were away and he was carrying a knock it's only fair to reserve judgement on whether the coach is too negative to encourage that.

To be honest though, I thought the team overall is a more coherent unit than it has been for a long time and some lovely passing movements were played. Sure they mightn't have been very ambitious movements and were too far away from goal, but there's a sense of purpose that has been missing for a long time that has been re-instilled by Trap.

There's been major improvements and there are still major improvements to be made but all the signs are encouraging and I'm prepared to believe that Trap can make this squad do it. A year ago I'd lost all belief, so thanks to Trap for at least re-instilling that.

eagle eye

Myxomatosis wrote: »

They've just shown a bunch of clips on RTE to reinforce my point which you seem to disagree with.

So your saying Hunt didn't loose the ball 50-60% of the time and didn't track back on numerous occasions winning the ball?

No, I was saying that McGeady was much better than Hunt defensively and overall.

leninbenjamin

luckylucky wrote: »

eirebhoy - ireland and rangers fan - hmm does not compute ;)

ummm... look a bit closer at that statement. eirebhoy???

does it compute yet?

wrong side of Glasgow luckylucky.

Handsome Bob

Okay result in terms of the long term. The hype around Montenegro just seemed to be a load of hot air so I'm disappointed that we didn't win, especially since it's only going to get harder with Bulgaria and Italy.

I was also disappointed that he didn't bring on Andy Reid. Why is Traps not looking at the guy? I hope Trappatoni isn't just dismissing Reid because of his build, that would aggravate me til no end.

leninbenjamin

eagle eye wrote: »

No, I was saying that McGeady was much better than Hunt defensively and overall.

nah, McGeady was better overall alright, but some of Hunt's interceptions were lifesaving. i know he's not the most effective going forward, but Montenegro threw the kitchen sink at us and would have ceated a lot more chances imo if it were Reid on the pitch instead of him. I think playing Hunt was in hindsight a very good call from Trappa.

FrankGrimes

shamblertine wrote: »

I watch football to be entertained, but I was bored senseless by that performance.

I watch club football to be entertained and I have no affinity to any club as none had a strong influence in my area as a kid and I have no interest in supporting a team elsewhere. That said, I do like to watch any games involving members of the Ireland squad (and those on the fringes when I have time) but generally I just like watching good quality football or very competitive matches for the entertainment factor.

I don't watch my country to be entertained. I watch my country's team to support them and hope that they get the results to do this country proud. In this case results are more important for me than entertainment.

luckylucky

leninbenjamin wrote: »

ummm... look a bit closer at that statement. eirebhoy???

wrong side of Glasgow luckylucky.

think his alias has tripped up people before - so unless I'm mistaken eirebhoy is a Rangers fan despite the eire and the bhoy in the alias... anyway just intrigued... can't be many people who are fans of both rangers and Ireland.

leninbenjamin

LZ5by5 wrote: »

I was also disappointed that he didn't bring on Andy Reid. Why is Traps not looking at the guy? I hope Trappatoni isn't just dismissing Reid because of his build, that would aggravate me til no end.

read the press much? the word in the papers recently enough is that Trappa hasn't forgiven him for missing the training camp in Portugal. apparently the feeling on the bench was that he had no real excuse for missing it. that's where Trappa gave the chance to Whelan and that's where he decided on the system it seems.

leninbenjamin

luckylucky wrote: »

think his alias has tripped up people before - so unless I'm mistaken eirebhoy is a Rangers fan despite the eire and the bhoy in the alias... anyway just intrigued... can't be many people who are fans of both rangers and Ireland.

look again very closely at his posts.

ziggy

This post has been deleted.

eagle eye

FrankGrimes wrote: »

+1 on that, though even through his worst performances on the wing, Killer always got a few decent crosses in, Hunt in the 2nd half tonight offerred literally nothing in attack and all his merits were to do with tracking back. Against a team we should be beating I think you need to ask more from your wingers/left midfielder and he's just plainly not up to it at this level despite his truly admirable attitude. His set piece delivery was woeful.

For me McGeady really came into it in the second half and had some very good moments - a player I think will definitely improve with time to offer us a real threat on the wing, though he'll shine mostly at home.

Reid was excellent in the first half - he plays some great straight passes through the middle of midfield to a man with a defender at his back that gives an opportunity to turn the man or play a lateral lay-off either side to switch the point of attack. Sounds simple but few have the confidence in themselves and the receiver to do it as well or as often as Reid does it. First half Whelan was quietly impressive in the more holding role of the two.

Second half they seemed to switch roles with Whelan pushing forward and Reid holding due to his knock (and by right he should have been replaced after about 65 as his mobility visibily worsened). That showed a side of Whelan we hadn't yet seen and he showed me enough to make me feel he's a real quality player that is a lot more than just a 5th defender. Must be something up with his coach or his consistency if he can't get into the team at Stoke.

Robbie & Doyle - did as much as can be asked of them and held up the ball well when they got it.

The defence was very solid overall and anyone denying that John O'Shea has played 2 of his best games for Ireland this week is just holding a grudge imo as he's been excellent though Dunne is clearly on another level (and I've been a major critic of JOS to-date).

My only negatives are that Trap did not see fit to bring on fresh legs given the conditions - they were clearly on top in the last 15 and I think an injection of fresh legs in centre midfield and wing (i.e. Hunt) could have helped us push on to the win we really should have been looking for.

Steven Reid has the ability to be a box to box player and with Whelan assigned the holding role I think the coach needs to tell him to be more active in getting forward quicker. All top teams have a central midfielder that gets into the box but Ireland have lacked that for a long time. S Reid can be this player if instructed to do so, but as this week's games were away and he was carrying a knock it's only fair to reserve judgement on whether the coach is too negative to encourage that.

To be honest though, I thought the team overall is a more coherent unit than it has been for a long time and some lovely passing movements were played. Sure they mightn't have been very ambitious movements and were too far away from goal, but there's a sense of purpose that has been missing for a long time that has been re-instilled by Trap.

There's been major improvements and there are still major improvements to be made but all the signs are encouraging and I'm prepared to believe that Trap can make this squad do it. A year ago I'd lost all belief, so thanks to Trap for at least re-instilling that.

Good post, I agree with everything said here. Just thinking about it again. I would like to have seen Andy Reid on for the last half hour or twenty minutes at least, I feel he could have provided the link that was needed between midfield and the forwards. As said already by most, Stephen Hunt gives you 110% but there is no end product. Hunt's set pieces very bad, but our set piece play in general was very poor. I think thats something that needs to be worked on.

luckylucky

ziggy wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

ah that'll be it then

FrankGrimes

leninbenjamin wrote: »

nah, McGeady was better overall alright, but some of Hunt's interceptions were lifesaving. i know he's not the most effective going forward, but Montenegro threw the kitchen sink at us and would have ceated a lot more chances imo if it were Reid on the pitch instead of him. I think playing Hunt was in hindsight a very good call from Trappa.

It really depends where your mindset is: if you prefer to focus on not losing what we have (parity in tonight's case) then yeh, Hunt's defensive contributions are benefits in that case. If you prefer to focus on saying 'we're better than this lot, let's play the positive football needed to beat them' then it's key that your players not only keep possession but use it effectively. Hunt did neither of those tonight and indeed many of his good tracking back was cleaning up his own mess.

I'm in the latter category - let's get on the ball and take the game to weaker opposition like tonight. The wingers have a big part to play in this as do the central midfielders. I don't agree with the notion of holding midifelders as I think you should be asking more of any midfielder than simply sitting on the halfway line and playing 10 yard passes - I prefer 2 all-round midfielders with one going and one staying varying it each time to keep the opposition having to worry about both of them. But if you're going to have a holding midfielder it's a total waste if the other midfielder doesn't take advantage of his freedom and get forward. We have room for improvement there and if a midfielder pushes on that means Robbie won't have to drop so deep which will mean when he collects it he'll be nearer to goal which will mean that more people will realise the value of his excellent possession retention and creative passing.

Handsome Bob

leninbenjamin wrote: »

read the press much? the word in the papers recently enough is that Trappa hasn't forgiven him for missing the training camp in Portugal. apparently the feeling on the bench was that he had no real excuse for missing it. that's where Trappa gave the chance to Whelan and that's where he decided on the system it seems.

I tend to stay away from the tabloids these days to keep the blood pressure down! I have no issue with Whelan playing in the centre, he has more than taken his chance. And if Trap prefers McGeady and Hunt starting on the wings if it keeps the overall balance of the team in tact then fine. I just think, when there is twenty minutes to go or even 10 minutes to go against a team that has been tame, having a wildcard like A.Reid on the bench shouldn't be ignored. We could have won that game with an extra bit of creative juice on the wings in the last 10/20 mins.

FrankGrimes

leninbenjamin wrote: »

read the press much? the word in the papers recently enough is that Trappa hasn't forgiven him for missing the training camp in Portugal. apparently the feeling on the bench was that he had no real excuse for missing it. that's where Trappa gave the chance to Whelan and that's where he decided on the system it seems.

I haven't been reading the sports section lately so have missed out on this news so would be interested in learning more about it. If the manager has a concern over a player's committment I wouldn't question the manager not playing him and testing him. Making him spend a week on the road for no game time and then sending him off to think about it would be a pretty good test of committment. If I was manager and Reid took this punishment on the chin, said nothing, and showed up for the next session, I'd take that as point made and committment proved and then start considering him again. I'd regard that as pretty good management, though I'll caveat all this by saying there may be plenty I/we don't know about this case.

noodler

Bar missing the peno I think the ref had a great game-really even handed in a very partisan arena. I think he will be punished for missing the most blatant handball I have seen in ages.


Back for were immense. Have to single out JOS cos of the amount of abuse I usually give him. Superb. Aggression I didn't know he had.

Very proud of the team. Most coherent and in control under pressure I have ever seen them in the post Roy Keane era.

Im looking forward to Cyprus at home. I really want to see them thumped.

_blank_

That Irish team won't "thump" anyone.

eirebhoy

FrankGrimes wrote: »

+1 on that, though even through his worst performances on the wing, Killer always got a few decent crosses in, Hunt in the 2nd half tonight offerred literally nothing in attack and all his merits were to do with tracking back. Against a team we should be beating I think you need to ask more from your wingers/left midfielder and he's just plainly not up to it at this level despite his truly admirable attitude. His set piece delivery was woeful.

For me McGeady really came into it in the second half and had some very good moments - a player I think will definitely improve with time to offer us a real threat on the wing, though he'll shine mostly at home.

Reid was excellent in the first half - he plays some great straight passes through the middle of midfield to a man with a defender at his back that gives an opportunity to turn the man or play a lateral lay-off either side to switch the point of attack. Sounds simple but few have the confidence in themselves and the receiver to do it as well or as often as Reid does it. First half Whelan was quietly impressive in the more holding role of the two.

Second half they seemed to switch roles with Whelan pushing forward and Reid holding due to his knock (and by right he should have been replaced after about 65 as his mobility visibily worsened). That showed a side of Whelan we hadn't yet seen and he showed me enough to make me feel he's a real quality player that is a lot more than just a 5th defender. Must be something up with his coach or his consistency if he can't get into the team at Stoke.

Robbie & Doyle - did as much as can be asked of them and held up the ball well when they got it.

The defence was very solid overall and anyone denying that John O'Shea has played 2 of his best games for Ireland this week is just holding a grudge imo as he's been excellent though Dunne is clearly on another level (and I've been a major critic of JOS to-date).

My only negatives are that Trap did not see fit to bring on fresh legs given the conditions - they were clearly on top in the last 15 and I think an injection of fresh legs in centre midfield and wing (i.e. Hunt) could have helped us push on to the win we really should have been looking for.

Steven Reid has the ability to be a box to box player and with Whelan assigned the holding role I think the coach needs to tell him to be more active in getting forward quicker. All top teams have a central midfielder that gets into the box but Ireland have lacked that for a long time. S Reid can be this player if instructed to do so, but as this week's games were away and he was carrying a knock it's only fair to reserve judgement on whether the coach is too negative to encourage that.

To be honest though, I thought the team overall is a more coherent unit than it has been for a long time and some lovely passing movements were played. Sure they mightn't have been very ambitious movements and were too far away from goal, but there's a sense of purpose that has been missing for a long time that has been re-instilled by Trap.

There's been major improvements and there are still major improvements to be made but all the signs are encouraging and I'm prepared to believe that Trap can make this squad do it. A year ago I'd lost all belief, so thanks to Trap for at least re-instilling that.

Good post.

_blank_

That miss at the end won't do much for McGeady's confidence, will it?

noodler

Des wrote: »

That Irish team won't "thump" anyone.

I know these are famous last words and all.. but with the current set up and maybe Andy Reid drafted in for Whelan, the motivation for revenge, I can see us doing Cyprus at home.

I hope he sees fit to play him at home at the very least.

_blank_

Did Italy win?

Handsome Bob

Des wrote: »

Did Italy win?

2-0 Italy

eZe^

Des wrote: »

Did Italy win?

Chess, 2-0, Daniello De Rossi twice.

noodler

They'll have a tough time of it in Montenegro. I can actually live in hope for the next round of qualifiers now.

Great stuff.

gosplan

noodler wrote: »

I know these are famous last words and all.. but with the current set up and maybe Andy Reid drafted in for Whelan, the motivation for revenge, I can see us doing Cyprus at home.

I hope he sees fit to play him at home at the very least.

I don't think that Trappatoni's teams ever thump people. the best we can hope for is a very comfortable looking 2-0.

noodler

If that team plays (maybe with Andy for Whelan and Duff for Hunt) I would be so confident of a 3 goal margin that I may place a bet on it in Oct.

The schoolboy stuff seems to be gone.

And again, is there a team in world football that the Republic would be more fired up against? Bar England maybe.

kenco

Good performance, outcome of a 1 point a disappointment. While there were chances at both ends (and at least 2 penos for Ireland) we should have taken them apart as we were that better on the night.

This is what consoles me now is that a good team in Montenegro when totally outplayed by ourselves but that we could just not do the age old finishing off job. I need longer to reflect on this but right now am not unhappy buy am neither jumping for joy. As stated before this is a big banana skin over with, not sure how Italy or Cyprus will get on there....

PHB

To be honest, I'm disappointed. I thought in parts we played well, and we really coulda gotten some penalties Still, I do feel that Doyle doesn't really offer enough, and Hunt despite his cracking defensive abilities, isn't offering enough.

We need a decent set piece taker. McGeady and Hunt were both poor.

PHB

To be honest, I'm disappointed. I thought in parts we played well, and we really coulda gotten some penalties Still, I do feel that Doyle doesn't really offer enough, and Hunt despite his cracking defensive abilities, isn't offering enough.

We need a decent set piece taker. McGeady and Hunt were both poor.

_blank_

Stevie Finnan did well from whatever set pieces he took, in fact that Robbie snapshot was as a result of a Finnan free-kick.

eirebhoy

PHB wrote: »

We need a decent set piece taker. McGeady and Hunt were both poor.

All bar 1 of McGeady's set pieces were very good. I was actually surprised they were that good because he's never anywhere near an indirect freekick for Celtic.

Des wrote:

That miss at the end won't do much for McGeady's confidence, will it?

There'll certainly be 2 or 3 times more pressure on him the next time he's free on goal, that's for sure. You wouldn't understand that type of thing though.

_blank_

eirebhoy wrote: »

There'll certainly be 2 or 3 times more pressure on him the next time he's free on goal, that's for sure. You wouldn't understand that type of thing though.

Maybe he'll get a hat-trick against some no-mark team in the SPL this weekend then.
















yes, I went there.

eirebhoy

Des wrote: »

Maybe he'll get a hat-trick against some no-mark team in the SPL this weekend then.

How'd you come to that conclusion? He's more likely to score now for Celtic because he missed tonight?

Het-Field

On the whole i am very satisfied with Trappatoni;s first two competitive games in charge. Who cares if we are boring. Charlton was the same, yet we qualified for three tournamnets. Would you rather us playing in the disjointed manner that we were under Staunton, or the one dimensional conservative apporach adopted by Brian Kerr.

I hope Stephan Ireland will be beack in the international fold soon. Along with Damien Duff I think they make the perfect winger combination. I would also like a more prominanat role for Andy Reid. Its nuts that such a creative player is being negated in such a way. Especially when Stephan Hunt is being as ineffective as he is.

I hope Glen Whelan continues to develop in the vein of Richard Dunne (slated in the early days, a vital player after) rather than a Paul McShane (lauded in his early days, now a player who causes fans to wince when he is seen warming up).

Stephan Reid is excellent. Come the transfer window, I would expect Man Utd or Liverpool to show an interest.

Im satisfied with the backline.

_blank_

Het-Field wrote: »

Stephan Reid is excellent. Come the transfer window, I would expect Man Utd or Liverpool to show an interest.

lol

noodler

Het-Field wrote: »

On the whole i am very satisfied with Trappatoni;s first two competitive games in charge. Who cares if we are boring. Charlton was the same, yet we qualified for three tournamnets. Would you rather us playing in the disjointed manner that we were under Staunton, or the one dimensional conservative apporach adopted by Brian Kerr.

I hope Stephan Ireland will be beack in the international fold soon. Along with Damien Duff I think they make the perfect winger combination. I would also like a more prominanat role for Andy Reid. Its nuts that such a creative player is being negated in such a way. Especially when Stephan Hunt is being as ineffective as he is.

I hope Glen Whelan continues to develop in the vein of Richard Dunne (slated in the early days, a vital player after) rather than a Paul McShane (lauded in his early days, now a player who causes fans to wince when he is seen warming up).

Stephan Reid is excellent. Come the transfer window, I would expect Man Utd or Liverpool to show an interest.

Im satisfied with the backline.

Now I understand Hunt got really tired and gave the ball away a bit. However 'ineffective' is a bit much. Even RTE showed a nice little montage of footage showing him covering the yards. I wanted Reid on at some point but lets not disregard the work Hunt did for the team just because it wasn't as pretty as an Andy Reid throughball.