Is the Keane/Doyle partnership good enough?

Esse85

Or would you blame the midfield for the lack of service in providing these guys with chances??

I feel that there's too much of a gap between midfield and strikers, I also feel these two just dont compliment each other.

What do you think?

dreamers75

Doyle has no pace and Keane drifts too far away from him.

May as well throw in another midfielder and play Doyle up front on his own. The system doesnt suit keane :O

redout

The problem is Andrews and Whelan dont provide any service to Keane and Doyle. The partnership would flourish if they had proper service as we keep having to get them service from the wings.

Mr Alan

personally i don't think Doyle has been creative enough this campaign. and i blame him for that, not the system.

JPA

It's the best we can do at the moment, no?

redout

Mr Alan wrote: »

personally i don't think Doyle has been creative enough this campaign. and i blame him for that, not the system.

Fu*k that. Doyle is brilliant at holding up the ball but the problem is nobody comes for it apart from the winger or perhaps Keane. The two central numpties dont venture to far forward. Dunphy and Giles have it spot on.

Esse85

Ideally id rather if we had someone to play in the "hole", could McGeady do it, and play one striker??

SlickRic

Esse85 wrote: »

Ideally id rather if we had someone to play in the "hole"

i wonder which Irishman could do that? :cool:

dreamers75

SlickRic wrote: »

i wonder which Irishman could do that? :cool:

Keith Fahey?

Keano

redout wrote: »

Fu*k that. Doyle is brilliant at holding up the ball but the problem is nobody comes for it apart from the winger or perhaps Keane. The two central numpties dont venture to far forward. Dunphy and Giles have it spot on.

Not to drag the thread off topic but A Reid would probably provide better ball to the strikers than our current midfielders.

We have other strikers who deserve a shot but again, I am not taking the thread down that road.

Doyle will always give it his all. Keane has scored plenty of goals for us but I am not always convinced about him.

Mr Alan

redout wrote: »

Fu*k that. Doyle is brilliant at holding up the ball but the problem is nobody comes for it apart from the winger or perhaps Keane. The two central numpties dont venture to far forward. Dunphy and Giles have it spot on.

without being gerrard or lampard, i think the two lads venture forward enough & at the right times, as evidenced by some of the good chances they've been involved in over the last couple of games. however, that is not their primary job.

Doyle holding the ball up for Keane & two wingers should be plenty-we're not Brazil, unfortunately, its not & again, i think its cause he is not creative enough.

Jax Teller

i think we should play 4231 formation

given
o'shea dunne st ledger kilbane
whelan andrews
lawrence ????? mcgeady
doyle
i know robbie keane has scored a lot of goals for us but think doyle would suit this formation better

Average-Ro

redout wrote: »

Dunphy and Giles have it spot on.

:eek::eek:

GavRedKing

In short I think no, they dont seem to be involved together that much and look like they create enough together, it always seems to be either of them passing off to the nearest midfielder.

But its all we can do with what we have, andrews and whelan dont really have the license to go roaming and get beyond them, if anything it should be o shea and kilbane pushing past the two holding midfielders and supporting duff and lawerence but we are not setup for that style of play.

SlickRic

dreamers75 wrote: »

Keith Fahey?

good call on fahey.

but i was referencing the man with a thread all to himself.

and no, not lucas.

Jayob10

redout wrote: »

Fu*k that. Doyle is brilliant at holding up the ball but the problem is nobody comes for it apart from the winger or perhaps Keane. The two central numpties dont venture to far forward. Dunphy and Giles have it spot on.

I dont agree with ya there. Granted the system is not ideal for him, but he never wins 50-50 headers, he quite sluggish in that after his first touch he needs another touch to sort out what he wants to do (something that is not afforded to you at international level) and also he lacks pace. I honestly think Doyle isn't international standard, hes a decent option for the squad however. Hes an adequate premiership striker and thats about it.

i'm gunna probably annoy alot of people with what I say here but I really do believe this- the best thing Kevin Doyle has going for him as regards the irish set up is that He is Irish born. If he was English he wouldn't be seen as important in our team. Its true.

As bad as he was when he featured the other night I expect Leon Best to really push Doyle for his role in this team. With more experience Best has the makings of a good centre forward. Hes a good finisher, good in the air and also has good physicality.

Doyle offers nothing Clinton Morrison doesnt offer. If anything Clinton is a better finisher with more pace.
Doyle has been mediocre for us nearly all throughout this campaign. The fact he received MOM last saturday was staggering actually.

raido9

........................Given
Kelly O'Shea Dunne Kilbane (sigh)

......................S Reid
Lawrence .......... A Reid.........Duff
........................S Ireland

..............................Doyle



I know its not possible.

Jayob10

raido9 wrote: »

........................Given
Kelly O'Shea Dunne Kilbane (sigh)

......................S Reid
Lawrence .......... A Reid.........Duff
........................S Ireland

..............................Doyle



I know its not possible.

im not a huge robbie keane fan myself. but to leave him out of our team is just madness. Pure madness.

raido9

Jayob10 wrote: »

im not a huge robbie keane fan myself. but to leave him out of our team is just madness. Pure madness.

Some would say leaving either of the Reids out of the team is madness. Pure Madness.

GLaDOS

raido9 wrote: »

Some would say leaving either of the Reids out of the team is madness. Pure Madness.

Not when one of them has been injured for the last year..

Jayob10

Steven Reid is not our saviour at the moment. with 5-10 games under his belt for Blackburn and we will see him back.
Andy Reid should be in the squad at least I agree there.

But to leave Robbie Keane out of your line up is a little bit crazy to be honest.

raido9

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Not when one of them has been injured for the last year..

An unfit Stephen Reid would have done a better job than Whealen on Saturday night.

Jayob10

raido9 wrote: »

An unfit Stephen Reid would have done a better job than Whealen on Saturday night.

entitled to your opinion but you're way off there.

event

raido9 wrote: »

........................Given
Kelly O'Shea Dunne Kilbane (sigh)

......................S Reid
Lawrence .......... A Reid.........Duff
........................S Ireland

..............................Doyle



I know its not possible.

that team would be murdered in midfield

its steven reid, not claude makelele

Aidric

Jayob10 wrote: »

i'm gunna probably annoy alot of people with what I say here but I really do believe this- the best thing Kevin Doyle has going for him as regards the irish set up is that He is Irish born. If he was English he wouldn't be seen as important in our team. Its true.

That's just barmy. Kevin Doyle has been a consistently excellent performer in the Irish side. He works tirelessly, has a great header, holds up possession well and is a good distributor. Keane goes under a lot of peoples radar because he pops up with the goals but he offers sweet fa creatively.

currythis

I think asking that question is pointless,they're the best strikers who are available to us,its either them or Leon Best/Shane Long or Caleb Folan and Keane and Doyle are leagues ahead of any of them.

Keane is frustrating to watch at times but if I was picking the Irish team Kevin Doyle would be one of the first names on the team sheet,for workrate alone.

tdv

If we had these players avabile to us...

---

Given

---

Finnan

---

O'shea----Dunne

---

Kilbane

---

Carsley

---

Duff

---

S.Ried----

---

A.Ried

---

----Doyle/Morrison

---

Keane

---

The wingers we have at the moment dont seem to offer alot to the teams so I say scrap them.

FatherTed

raido9 wrote: »

........................Given
Kelly O'Shea Dunne Kilbane (sigh)

......................S Reid
Lawrence .......... A Reid.........Duff
........................S Ireland

..............................Doyle



I know its not possible.

My option with all eligible, injury free players:

Given
Finnan-Dunne-StLegder-O'Shea
S Reid-Whelan
Duff-Ireland-A Reid
Keane

JPA

Suggesting S. Ireland is like suggesting Messi. arrrrgggghhhhhh! :mad:

tinofapples

I happen to think that with Trapp's approach to the game and in particular with the Irish team we would be better off crowding the midfield and playing 1 up front.

Duff on left, Lawrence or McGeady on the right Stephen Reid, Andy Reid & the prodigal son in the central midfield slots would make a good Irish team.

Cue the reminders of A.Reid and Irelands absence.

loyatemu

FatherTed wrote: »

My option with all eligible, injury free players:

Given
Finnan-Dunne-StLegder-O'Shea
S Reid-Whelan
Duff-Ireland-A Reid
Keane

thats about right - maybe mcgeady for ireland (assuming he's "unavailable") with A Reid moving into the centre, Doyle as a sub if we wanted to move to a more "aerial" approach.. Whelan did nothing on Saturday but he's looked decent enough in other games. I'd have Delap in the squad too, I think it madness not to have such a weapon at our disposal.

aidan24326

loyatemu wrote: »

I'd have Delap in the squad too, I think it madness not to have such a weapon at our disposal.

Agreed. Even if only for those throws, he'd offer more in the last 10 or 15 minutes of a game than Liam Miller.

As for Deane and Doyle, Doyle's goal return overall is disappointing, though admittedly he doesn't exactly get great service.

Mr Alan

Keanes goal return is class with the same service.

ADTR

It's the best partnership currently available to Ireland.

Sheepy99

to be brief, NO !

aidan24326

Mr Alan wrote: »

Keanes goal return is class with the same service.

Which is why any talk of dropping Keane is nonsense. Even if he can be frustrating at times, he's still the player most likely to nick us a vital goal. And he's the only good penalty taker we have too. (which will be an issue if, on the off-chance, we force a penalty shootout on wednesday)

Neil3030

---

Given

---

O'Shea---St. Ledger

---

Dunne----Kilbane

---

---

Whelan--Andrews--A.Reid

---

Lawrence

---

Duff

---

Keane

---

Worth a shot.

_blank_

Why do people constantly include S.Ireland in these things when they are making hypothetical squads/teams?

It's nothing but pure idiocy.

gosplan

It has to be.

That's all.

Esse85

Des wrote: »

Why do people constantly include S.Ireland in these things when they are making hypothetical squads/teams?

It's nothing but pure idiocy.

And Andy Reid for that matter, no point including them seen as their not in the squad.

orourkeda

Mybe if we had players that were as good as the french players we wouldnt be having this conversation

orourkeda

loyatemu wrote: »

thats about right - maybe mcgeady for ireland (assuming he's "unavailable") with A Reid moving into the centre, Doyle as a sub if we wanted to move to a more "aerial" approach.. Whelan did nothing on Saturday but he's looked decent enough in other games. I'd have Delap in the squad too, I think it madness not to have such a weapon at our disposal.

Someone who can throw the ball? Wonderful.

Rory Rodman

dyl10

Doyle has worked his arse off this campaign and I've been happy with him.
Keane doesn't do a whole lot, but he seems to come up with the goals when we need them, so I suppose we can't complain too much. It does irritate me, when Trap pulls Doyle off for Best or Folan.

Neither are world class strikers and they both do Ireland a good service, so no, I don't think they're the problem.

In fact, I don't think we really have a problem:eek:

loyatemu

orourkeda wrote: »

Someone who can throw the ball? Wonderful.

Rory Rodman

who's Rory Rodman?

Delap is no worse than Andrews IMO, plus he has that throw which is unlike anything I've ever seen before. Ireland are the Stoke of european football, I don't have any problem with using that tactic particularly if we are chasing a game.

Draupnir

I can't believe people still take Robbie Keane out of the Ireland team, he frustrates me as much as the next guy for sure but he has one of the best International scoring records of any striker in the world and has more than our other top two strikers ever combined as far as I know!

What more can the guy do! Not every striker is Wayne Rooney with the tracking back.

event

Des wrote: »

Why do people constantly include S.Ireland in these things when they are making hypothetical squads/teams?

It's nothing but pure idiocy.

aye, may as well include roy keane or john giles

TheDoc

I dont think its working and cant remember a game where it has in fairness.

We play a system where our full backs lump balls forward to both, who are in no able to take the ball of their head to their feet, turn and create, we do not have a Berbatov or Drogba.

Keane for me drifts way to much into midfield or onto the wings leaving doyle isolated and although he tries his hardest his ability is not anything near most of the centre halfs at international level.

Its a combination of many things. Our full backs launching long balls to the front two. This can work if there is a strong tall technical target man up front, that then has support coming from centre midfield.

We have two holding midfielders in the centre so me that route does not work, yet continues to be tried which is very annoying.

Our most creative players are on the flanks, not the most creative in europe, but our most creative. Our full backs need to play to their feet and in turn those wingers needs to play to our strikers feet.

For me Keane and Doyle doesnt work and will not work whilst they are fed poor service and asked to imagine themselves two feet taller.

Keane is the bigger problem in that partnership for me. Doyle occasionally wins aerial challenges or keeps good possesion, but keane is usually a mile away.

noodler

I am very surprised at some of the posts in this thread.

It is absolutely the system that is hindering Doyle.

He was immense for what he was sked to do on Saturday, every long ball that was hoofed at him in isolation he managed to get a head on.

There is no link whatsoever between midfield and attack in this team. I feel so sorry for Doyle that he would be forced to put in the shift he does in this system and no one would recnognise it.

TheDoc

noodler wrote: »

I feel so sorry for Doyle that he would be forced to put in the shift he does in this system and no one would recnognise it.

And I think he is a credit to himself with how he conducts himself. He gets fed **** all balls to feet where he can cause damage, and is rarely in the box to get on the end of things, but he just keeps going.

Unlike his strike partner. I'm sorry but I'm getting more sick and tired of Mr.Keane attitude towards his fellow team mates. A captain should be instilling confidence and support, not lashing them out of it because they arn't Aaron Lennon and CO.

I need to pull out of posts about Robbie Keane cause I just cant help be biased, he looks like an arsehole and goes on like an arsehole.

TheGreenGiant

Neil3030 wrote: »

---

Given

---

O'Shea---St. Ledger

---

Dunne----Kilbane

---

---

Whelan--Andrews--A.Reid

---

Lawrence

---

Duff

---

Keane

---

Worth a shot.

That would be perfect. Steven Reid on the bench for a midfield sub. We would have a rock solid defense, midfield and strikers. Its a real pity that Andy Reid can't get on the squad. We needed him badly on Sturday!

Mr Alan

I don't think Keane can really play up top on his own tbh.

---

Andrews----Whelan

---

-Lawrence

---

Keane

---

Duff--

---

Doyle

---

makes the most sense with what we have at our disposal, the one serious question mark for me tbh, is whether or not Doyle is creative enough.