Ireland v Georgia 02/06/13 5:30pm

Amirani

Francie Barrett wrote: »

It'll be amusing to see McShane in the Premier League again next season

He's great for the video editing skills when making the inevitable montages of his more unconventional methods of defending... :P

CSF

Francie Barrett wrote: »

It'll be amusing to see McShane in the Premier League again next season

Probably won't though

Francie Barrett

Hoolahan just keeps showing us why he should be in this team.

Amirani

More great stuff from Hoolahan there.

Andersonisgod

I see Hoolahan play and he is by far and away the best player on the pitch and I laugh at some of the players that get into the side ahead of him.

Long's finishing needs work.

Amirani

Andersonisgod wrote: »

I see Hoolahan play and he is by far and away the best player on the pitch and I laugh at some of the players that get into the side ahead of him.

Agreed. It's completely baffling.

aindriu80

The one thing that baffles me about Hoolahan is that he hasn't nailed a spot in the Irish team before now. He is over 30 but is tipped by many to be a top player for Ireland ?

Alpha Dog 1

aindriu80 wrote: »

The one thing that baffles me about Hoolahan is that he hasn't nailed a spot in the Irish team before now. He is over 30 but is tipped by many to be a top player for Ireland ?

Hasn't even nailed down a spot for Norwich.

Duff

It'll be some farce, even for Trap, if Wes doesn't start on Friday.

Celly Smunt

Nice to see Dunne back

Andersonisgod

Alpha Dog 1 wrote: »

Hasn't even nailed down a spot for Norwich.

2 direct, physical teams. 1 small, technically gifted footballer.

Amirani

Alpha Dog 1 wrote: »

Hasn't even nailed down a spot for Norwich.

It depends on who they're playing whether he plays or not. He could hardly be described as a squad player though.

eh i dunno

Dunne looks fitter than i've ever seen him

buyer95

Great to see Dunne back, Mclean looks dissapointed to be taken off, he's done very well and may have played himself into the team for next week.

buyer95

eh i dunno wrote: »

Dunne looks fitter than i've ever seen him

He's been able to run all season, it was just that he had pain when he kicked the ball.

noodler

I feel for Andy Keogh - he is always forced into his less favoured wide position for Ireland.

Celly Smunt

For a player like Dunne,its an awful shame to see him left without any security in terms of full time football in the coming season.

Celly Smunt

noodler wrote: »

I feel for Andy Keogh - he is always forced into his less favoured wide position for Ireland.

he has a favoured position?

Mr.Nice Guy

Hoolahan's having a better half but he's playing against a ten-man Georgia team who know the game is up.

The player keeping him out of the team is Robbie Keane. There is no way Hoolahan is normally going to be played in a deep central midfield role because the system is built upon being solid in the central area; in other words, to play Hoolahan you have to drop Keane, and based on the terrible finishing of Long and Cox tonight, I'm more convinced than ever that Keane needs to be in the starting line-up.

Celly Smunt

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Hoolahan's having a better half but he's playing against a ten-man Georgia team who know the game is up.

The player keeping him out of the team is Robbie Keane. There is no way Hoolahan is normally going to be played in a deep central midfield role because the system is built upon being solid in the central area; in other words, to play Hoolahan you have to drop Keane, and based on the terrible finishing of Long and Cox tonight, I'm more convinced than ever that Keane needs to be in the starting line-up.

relax,sammon to the rescue...

noodler

pmcmahon wrote: »

he has a favoured position?

He scored 12 league goals the season before last in the Championship as a striker I believe.

Less impressive 6 last season.

smileyj1987

pmcmahon wrote: »

relax,sammon to the rescue...

He must be worth 50 million at this rate .

tayto lover

Anyone know if Gibson is in the panel today. Missed the start.

Francie Barrett

Hendrick - McCarthy playing the two DM roles with Hoolahan in a free AM role with Long up top is clearly our best midfield/attack.

Amirani

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Hoolahan's having a better half but he's playing against a ten-man Georgia team who know the game is up.

The player keeping him out of the team is Robbie Keane. There is no way Hoolahan is normally going to be played in a deep central midfield role because the system is built upon being solid in the central area; in other words, to play Hoolahan you have to drop Keane, and based on the terrible finishing of Long and Cox tonight, I'm more convinced than ever that Keane needs to be in the starting line-up.

Keane doesn't look half the scoring threat that he used to. We need others to contribute more in terms of goals.

Amirani

tayto lover wrote: »

Anyone know if Gibson is in the panel today. Missed the start.

He's not, and won't be while Trap is around.

applehunter

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Hoolahan's having a better half but he's playing against a ten-man Georgia team who know the game is up.

The player keeping him out of the team is Robbie Keane. There is no way Hoolahan is normally going to be played in a deep central midfield role because the system is built upon being solid in the central area; in other words, to play Hoolahan you have to drop Keane, and based on the terrible finishing of Long and Cox tonight, I'm more convinced than ever that Keane needs to be in the starting line-up.

If anything his performance shows that Ireland need to play a 4-5-1 system.

aindriu80

Hoolahan played well but wasn't fantastic. Maybe he should get more club football.

buyer95

NiallSparky wrote: »

Keane doesn't look half the scoring threat that he used to. We need others to contribute more in terms of goals.

Eat your words:P

ollie1

Keanooo

Montroseee

Faith in Trap slowly returning.

Celly Smunt

And that is what Keane is good at and why he works in the Ireland team.

smileyj1987

aindriu80 wrote: »

Hoolahan played well but wasn't fantastic. Maybe he should get more club football.

He's one of our better players and should be an Automatic starter .

Duff

Glad to see Keane score.

Headshot

I dont see the point of facing a team as poor as Georgia, I know they are 10 men down but they are still crap with 11

tayto lover

NiallSparky wrote: »

He's not, and won't be while Trap is around.

Madness when he's starting for Everton.

Francie Barrett

Keane given a goal on a plate, his supporters will have another load of ammo now, feck's sake.

Andersonisgod

Excellent performance tonight from Hoolahan. By far the best player on the pitch, it's sad that he hasn't gotten the caps his quality deserves, it's even more sad that he has been (and probably will continue to be) a bit part player in this qualifying campaign because of the negative outlook on the game of the manager.

buyer95

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Keane given a goal on a plate, his supporters will have another load of ammo now, feck's sake.

He's the only striker we have who I would have confidence in scoring in a one on one situation with the goalie, on that alone he deserves his place in the team imo.

noodler

NiallSparky wrote: »

He's not, and won't be while Trap is around.

tayto lover wrote: »

Anyone know if Gibson is in the panel today. Missed the start.

Yeah, he is in a self-imposed exile until the manager guarantees him a starting place.

Headshot wrote: »

I dont see the point of facing a team as poor as Georgia, I know they are 10 men down but they are still crap with 11

Well, bear in mind a number of factors.

We aren't exactly world beaters ourselve, it meant we didn't have to go abroad for a friendly, we had our stern test last week with England (two in a row might have been too much) and then lets remember its all build up for the even poorer Faroes.

smileyj1987

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Excellent performance tonight from Hoolahan. By far the best player on the pitch, it's sad that he hasn't gotten the caps his quality deserves, it's even more sad that he has been (and probably will continue to be) a bit part player in this qualifying campaign because of the negative outlook on the game of the manager.

I agree with you 100% !!! Your post should be stickied !!!

jameshayes

sammon did that on purpose

fullstop

aindriu80 wrote: »

Hoolahan played well but wasn't fantastic. Maybe he should get more club football.

33 Premier League appearances last season not enough?

aindriu80

nice to see Keane getting his 55th goal for Ireland ! Looking up the all time goal scoring list gets bettter

buyer95

Is that Fergie again starting a mexican wave?

aindriu80

fullstop wrote: »

33 Premier League appearances last season not enough?

Where has he been until now ? He is over 30 and it can't be the manager. I think he probably has only a few seasons left in him tbf. He is a good player though, no question.

applehunter

aindriu80 wrote: »

Where has he been until now ? He is over 30 and it can't be the manager. I think he probably has only a few seasons left in him tbf. He is a good player though, no question.

Indeed, where has he been to until now?

LuckyLloyd

aindriu80 wrote: »

nice to see Keane getting his 55th goal for Ireland ! Looking up the all time goal scoring list gets bettter

Could be a lifetime waiting for a better striker to come along. None of the other currently qualified Irish players will ever be fit to lace his boots. I just hope there is a teenager out there somewhere ready to come through.

Rekop dog

Ketsbaia, Stalin, Zurab from the second floor in my apartment block, Katie Melua (who knew) Kaladze, Kinkladze, Queen Tamar the great, Jimmy Carter and Ray Charles- your boys took one heck of a beating.

noodler

aindriu80 wrote: »

Where has he been until now ? He is over 30 and it can't be the manager. I think he probably has only a few seasons left in him tbf. He is a good player though, no question.

He's only been establihsed in the EPL in the last two/three years but its not like we have been adverse to selecting Championship players in the past.

Should have been in the squad earlier.