Republic of Ireland Team Talk/News/Rumours 2020/2021 - see Mod Note in OP [18/11/20]

athlone99

showpony1 wrote: »

Chris Wilder.

probably "want him out no matter what" was a bad phrasing - but more so if we continue to just lose games comfortably they will criticize and want Stephen Kennedy gone.

I couldn't agree that this is progress from the period of the last 4/5 managers, this is progress from where we were at Euro 2016? We had lads passing the ball around against Italy there & also a bit of backbone.

I could maybe agree that last night was progress from where Kennedy was a few months ago, but not progress of our team from over the years. We look like anyone will beat us now but lads are confident passing the ball?

I am struggling to see how passages of trying to pass it on the deck is all people want.

Get his name right at least :p

I really cant see anyone wanting the job. SK got the job in my opinion on merit for what he did with Dundalk and the U21s. With the way the squad is at the minute its somewhat of a poison chalice. Just look at this and the match thread. Its about 50-50 of great to see progress, playing ball, looking to play attacking football vrs sit back dig in and go long and sure we should qualify. "Irish players cant play football" etc, etc, etc.

No manager to mind unless on a serious downward trajectory who touch the Irish job, not to mention i wouldnt see the FAI offering the same money SK is on. Id say it would be much less, Giggs is on around 400k with Wales.

showpony1

athlone99 wrote: »

Get his name right at least :p

I really cant see anyone wanting the job. SK got the job in my opinion on merit for what he did with Dundalk and the U21s. With the way the squad is at the minute its somewhat of a poison chalice. Just look at this and the match thread. Its about 50-50 of great to see progress, playing ball, looking to play attacking football vrs sit back dig in and go long and sure we should qualify. "Irish players cant play football" etc, etc, etc.

No manager to mind unless on a serious downward trajectory who touch the Irish job, not to mention i wouldnt see the FAI offering the same money SK is on. Id say it would be much less, Giggs is on around 400k with Wales.

In that case was there any point to change it? Do you think we'd be in the Euros now if we left Michael McCarthy in charge?

dr.kenneth noisewater

johnnyryan89 wrote: »

Yeah Egan was possibly the biggest loss from the defence. That first goal probably doesn't happen as Egan possibly anticipates what's going to happen and steps up to play the defender offside or drops back a bit to have a better chance of challenging for the second ball.

The lads at half time mentioned that Clark rushing out to challenge Tadic for the ball has probably affected O'Shea's thinking a bit and that little delay has caught him out. Or it was something along those lines as I'm pretty sure they mention that there's no need for Clark to rush out and challenge for the ball like that.

Egan playing that position of central in a back three week in week out organises that defence better. If the 3-5-2 is going to be kept then this is the back five I'd be going with in September:

Coleman - ? - Egan - ? - Stevens

I've put two ? either side of Egan because we don't know if or how some defenders will be playing come September. If Mick wants Duffy at Cardiff then even better for us as he'll be playing in a back five and playing regularly again. Could see himself playing RCB for us if he gets his form back.

Clark was easily beaten for the third, and rushed out to challenge Tadic for the first when he wasn't going to win it. Lenihan is someone that could play next to Egan at LCB. He's played in a back five for Blackburn and would be a more physical defender than Clark and taller than Clark.

Coleman for me plays RWB if we are lining up like we did last night rather than how Serbia lined up. Colemans game intelligence is much better than Doherty's which only benefits us more in the final third. Doherty is a more direct player, and that suited Wolves because they lined up like Serbia so had someone playing further forward out wide to link up with Doherty.

Only change I'd make to the back from last night is Egan in for Clark. O'Shea did enough to keep his place and is better on the ball than Duffy or Clark which is what Kenny wants. Egan is our best CB and Stevens our best LB/LWB so they'll start any games they're available.

What I liked about Coleman playing at RCB is he was good at pushing up into MF when needed to press a player or intercept, similar to how England used Walker with success in the last WC. He has the intelligence to read the game well and knows he'll have the other 2 covering if needed, especially Egan who covers well for the other 2 CB's at SHU when they used to push forward.

Doherty will shine more against the weaker teams and teams at our level, looked a bit low on confidence last night but hopefully that will come back. Against the likes of Portugal where we know we'll be pinned back then I'd push Coleman to RWB and bring in another CB like Clark or Duffy but for most games I keep Doherty and Coleman in the team.

Kingp35

Last night was a huge improvement compared to the previous 8 games under Kenny. He rigidly stuck to 4-3-3 previously when it was clear to all that it wasn't working. He also kept playing Hendrick, Duffy and Hourihane, and to a lesser extent Brady and McClean, players that just don't suit the type of game he wants to play.

I'm delighted he went away and came up with a proper game plan to suit the players we have and the style he wants to play. I hope he sticks with the 3-5-2 for now and tires to build on last night.

Ultimately we still lost the match which adds to the pressure he's under bit it was a big improvement from Kenny and shows he is learning on the job.

Connolly needs to be dropped on Saturday for me, he has a poor attitude. Long or Collins will offer us more.

Faugheen

I think we need to look at Long as the impact player off the bench. He’s perfect for chasing everything down when others don’t have the legs for it.

Tchaikovsky

Someone asked a few days ago who remembers Mick's first spell in charge. I was thinking back to that 3-2 defeat against Macedonia in 1997. It was the most miserable and humiliating performance I'd ever seen from an Irish team. He got crucified by the media for it.

The next game was away to Romania, a couple of days later, and I remember Dunphy in the studio predicting that we'd lose 5-0. I'd say if boards was around then we would've had people calling for Paul McGrath to come back in and Joe Kinnear to replace Mick. We obviously didn't have social media back then but the criticism from the newspapers was something else. 'McCarthy's Park' is on Youtube and focuses on that campaign. Is worth a watch to see what pressure Mick was under at the time.

In the end it was worth sticking with Mick - he had a plan for replacing an ageing squad and for changing up the style of play. We lost in the playoff for France 98 to a mediocre Belgium, improved again in Euro 2000 qualifying and then had that incredible qualification for 2002.

The_Kew_Tour

Tchaikovsky wrote: »

Someone asked a few days ago who remembers Mick's first spell in charge. I was thinking back to that 3-2 defeat against Macedonia in 1997. It was the most miserable and humiliating performance I'd ever seen from an Irish team. He got crucified by the media for it.

The next game was away to Romania, a couple of days later, and I remember Dunphy in the studio predicting that we'd lose 5-0. I'd say if boards was around then we would've had people calling for Paul McGrath to come back in and Joe Kinnear to replace Mick. We obviously didn't have social media back then but the criticism from the newspapers was something else. 'McCarthy's Park' is on Youtube and focuses on that campaign. Is worth a watch to see what pressure Mick was under at the time.

In the end it was worth sticking with Mick - he had a plan for replacing an ageing squad and for changing up the style of play. We lost in the playoff for France 98 to a mediocre Belgium, improved again in Euro 2000 qualifying and then had that incredible qualification for 2002.

The ironic thing is it seems the Pro Mick lads are the ones most calling for Kenny's to change it up or his sacking soon if things don't get better

Tchaikovsky

And those pro-Mick lads would've been anti-Mick back then.

Pawwed Rig

~Rebel~ wrote: »

He’s also coming into the last year of his contract - can totally see the pragmatic decision to pour his efforts into his club game, and take his much needed recovery time during international breaks. If it earns him a contract extension, or a decent deal elsewhere, it’ll have been majorly worth it.

For him yes. If he rathers piling cash on top of the piles of cash he already has he can go do one. It is an honour to be selected for your country. If he does not feel that then he should never have pulled the jersey on in the first place.

Banjaxed82

The 1st Mick tenure is just one example that there is no success without failure in any walk of life.

Doesn't mean Kenny will be a success, it just means that this current "failures" we are experiencing is all part of any journey towards success.

You can't implement change and expect instant results. You can't introduce inexperience and expect experience.

That team Kenny named last night, leaving out the undroppable and changing formation, shows a level of bravery that's needed to achieve success. Judge him at a later date.

~Rebel~

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

For him yes. If he rathers piling cash on top of the piles of cash he already has he can go do one. It is an honour to be selected for your country. If he does not feel that then he should never have pulled the jersey on in the first place.

That's a very bitter negative way of looking at someone trying to eek out an extra year or two in a very short career doing something they love, and which there is unfortunately no going back to. Once you're done, you're done. I totally understand players in their mid 30's using international breaks to rest and recover their bodies after increased wear and tear. And yeah, money is a factor, same as for all of us. He has a limited time to earn as much as he can, before the opportunities majorly dry up. He's got 4 kids, and I daresay he's earning to give them the best life he can, more than for himself.

Calling his loyalty into question is just poor form imo, and based on literally nothing the man has ever done.

Pawwed Rig

~Rebel~ wrote: »

That's a very bitter negative way of looking at someone trying to eek out an extra year or two in a very short career doing something they love, and which there is unfortunately no going back to. Once you're done, you're done. I totally understand players in their mid 30's using international breaks to rest and recover their bodies after increased wear and tear.

Calling his loyalty into question is just poor form imo, and based on literally nothing the man has ever done.

The country is at a nadir with regards to strikers and the man 'retires' leaving us in a worse state. Where is the loyalty?

Once you're done you're done? If he has any cop on the money he has earned so far in his career will have him in more comfort than 95% of the population for the rest of his life.

He is not alone tbf. There are a good number of me feiners that have been around the team for the last number of years.

noodler

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

The country is at a nadir with regards to strikers and the man 'retires' leaving us in a worse state. Where is the loyalty?

Once you're done you're done? If he has any cop on the money he has earned so far in his career will have him in more comfort than 95% of the population for the rest of his life.

He is not alone tbf. There are a good number of me feiners that have been around the team for the last number of years.

Very negative perception of his retirement.

johnnyryan89

noodler wrote: »

Very negative perception of his retirement.

It's a childish perception. Literally reads like he must continue to play until we are happy enough with a replacement or he's got no loyalty.

Pawwed Rig

noodler wrote: »

Very negative perception of his retirement.

Agreed. But accurate. Anyway don't want to drag the thread down so will leave it there.

Fromvert

If McGoldrick stayed for the WC campaign only to retire at the end of it and we have no WC to go to, people would be complaining that he blocked the progress of the young strikers and now we're stuck with strikers with no international experience. There where fans screaming for Robbie Keane to no longer play, he was basically accused of wringing every drop out of his international career by always turning up and 'blocking' others, that's how mad some people are.

There will be pros and cons from his retirement. We likely won't get a playoff spot for the WC (even with him the odds don't change very much) but the young strikers will get vital minutes playing international football over the next two years and hopefully by then one or two of them have developed into the player (s) we need.

johnnyryan89

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Agreed. But accurate. Anyway don't want to drag the thread down so will leave it there.

Well it's not accurate, because you're assuming he did it for money reasons.

Francie Barrett

~Rebel~ wrote: »

That's a very bitter negative way of looking at someone trying to eek out an extra year or two in a very short career doing something they love, and which there is unfortunately no going back to. Once you're done, you're done. I totally understand players in their mid 30's using international breaks to rest and recover their bodies after increased wear and tear. And yeah, money is a factor, same as for all of us. He has a limited time to earn as much as he can, before the opportunities majorly dry up. He's got 4 kids, and I daresay he's earning to give them the best life he can, more than for himself.

Calling his loyalty into question is just poor form imo, and based on literally nothing the man has ever done.

Agreed.

You have to look at it from McGoldrick's perspective. He's spent all his career until last year in the Championship or lower. He is likely not even financially secure, he's already 33, and has a family. He's realistically only got maybe 2 years left in his career and it's probably only in the last year he's started earning any decent sort of money. You can see in his club games, he's putting everything on the line. His work rate and the amount of ground he's covering is phenomenal and when you see him getting subbed off after 60 minutes, you can see it's taking its toll. To throw in a bunch of internationals on top of that is definitely going to cost him club form, and with the limited time he has left in football, I doubt he can afford it.

athlone99

showpony1 wrote: »

In that case was there any point to change it? Do you think we'd be in the Euros now if we left Michael McCarthy in charge?

Nope, I dont think Mick would have gotten us there. SK's team lost on Pens and should have won in 90 mins to get to a final. If Mick did get us to a Euros i believe it would have been 2012 all over again and we would have been the whipping boys. Squad is no where near good enough yet to get to a tournament.

ShamNNspace

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Agreed.

You have to look at it from McGoldrick's perspective. He's spent all his career until last year in the Championship or lower. He is likely not even financially secure, he's already 33, and has a family. He's realistically only got maybe 2 years left in his career and it's probably only in the last year he's started earning any decent sort of money. You can see in his club games, he's putting everything on the line. His work rate and the amount of ground he's covering is phenomenal and when you see him getting subbed off after 60 minutes, you can see it's taking its toll. To throw in a bunch of internationals on top of that is definitely going to cost him club form, and with the limited time he has left in football, I doubt he can afford it.

That and the chance of getting an injury on the rough and tumble of international duty... the lad allways gave his all any time he pulled on the jersey, personally I wouldn't be hard on him at all at his age

Five Eighth

My twopence worth:
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with the display.
Good shape and some good football.
We were beaten by the better team.
Defence split open for first goal after losing a header.
Goalkeeper out of position for second goal.
Disaster defending the cross for the third goal.
Would have Long starting at centre forward with Robinson playing off him.
Collins and Connolly to spring from bench.

showpony1

What I'd like to see on saturday:

Bazunu
Coleman Duffy Clark Stevens
Hendricks Molumby
Brady Browne McClean
Long

Duff

showpony1 wrote: »

What I'd like to see on saturday:

Bazunu
Coleman Duffy Clark Stevens
Hendricks Molumby
Brady Browne McClean
Long

Hendrick? Starting with 10 men in that case. McClean didn't look fit at all to me when he came on.

The_Kew_Tour

McClean should be nowhere near the first team

tayto lover

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

McClean should be nowhere near the first team

Neither should Brady. Very limited footballer.

Ferris_Bueller

showpony1 wrote: »

What I'd like to see on saturday:

Bazunu
Coleman Duffy Clark Stevens
Hendricks Molumby
Brady Browne McClean
Long

No idea why you would want to play Brady, Hendrick, McClean or Duffy on Saturday. Change for the sake of change. Brady or Hendrick haven't had a good game for Ireland in years. McClean past it at this stage. Duffy a fantastic servent the past few years and I do think he will come back in eventually but not now.

Cullen, O'Shea and Robinson left out of your team despite being some of our best performers last night.

showpony1

Ferris_Bueller wrote: »

No idea why you would want to play Brady, Hendrick, McClean or Duffy on Saturday. Change for the sake of change. Brady or Hendrick haven't had a good game for Ireland in years. McClean past it at this stage. Duffy a fantastic servent the past few years and I do think he will come back in eventually but not now.

Cullen, O'Shea and Robinson left out of your team despite being some of our best performers last night.

I think there would be a bit of passion and reaction from the old guard if Stephen is open minded enough to bring them back in.


i wouldn't mind Cullen over Molumby but need experience out there.

Pawwed Rig

Barring Connolly I would be sticking with the same team again tbh. Collins in there with a bit of muscle and the bring Connolly or Long on when the Lux'bergers are knackered

Bazuna to debut against Qatar

Fromvert

For me we have to set similar to how we played against Serbia. This time though Doherty and Stevens should be able to get further forward, Connolly should be able to get more involved against lesser players. Midfield should also be able to be further forward and have more of the ball.

Brady, Hendrick, Duffy, McClean etc. can get comfy on the bench as far as I'm concerned. They have a part to play but the lads from Wednesday deserve another go against a team where they have the advantage in ability.

showpony1

Fromvert wrote: »

For me we have to set similar to how we played against Serbia. This time though Doherty and Stevens should be able to get further forward, Connolly should be able to get more involved against lesser players. Midfield should also be able to be further forward and have more of the ball.

Brady, Hendrick, Duffy, McClean etc. can get comfy on the bench as far as I'm concerned. They have a part to play but the lads from Wednesday deserve another go against a team where they have the advantage in ability.

I can see that team pretty much playing the same no matter if the opposition is of lesser quality, passing sideways and not creating much. I don't expect Connolly to suddenly start running riot.

It was a decent team for a containment job until we went behind. I would be very concerned about not creating anything if Kennedy goes with the same team against Luxembourg and then a couple of stupid mistakes from the keeper or O'Shea and its game over.

Brady, Hendricks, Long, Duffy would inject something else into that side. If McClean isn't fit stick with Robinson, but I'd prefer James direct play.

Fromvert

showpony1 wrote: »

I can see that team pretty much playing the same no matter if the opposition is of lesser quality, passing sideways and not creating much. I don't expect Connolly to suddenly start running riot.

It was a decent team for a containment job until we went behind. I would be very concerned about not creating anything if Kennedy goes with the same team against Luxembourg and then a couple of stupid mistakes from the keeper or O'Shea and its game over.

Brady, Hendricks, Long, Duffy would inject something else into that side. If McClean isn't fit stick with Robinson, but I'd prefer James direct play.

Brady, Hendrick, Long, McClean (Duffy gets a pass) have created next to nothing for years, all where also poor when they came on the other day. The lads on Wednesday actually created and scored goals from open play.

They'd inject something else into it alright, back to what we've watched for years. No thanks and I think Kenny would be stupid to do it, he'd lose the fans that are backing him to change it.

elefant

showpony1 wrote: »

Brady, Hendricks, Long, Duffy would inject something else into that side.

This is beyond credulity.

showpony1

Fromvert wrote: »

Brady, Hendrick, Long, McClean (Duffy gets a pass) have created next to nothing for years, all where also poor when they came on the other day. The lads on Wednesday actually created and scored goals from open play.

They'd inject something else into it alright, back to what we've watched for years. No thanks and I think Kenny would be stupid to do it, he'd lose the fans that are backing him to change it.

Most of those lads played in Stephen's only good game against Slovakia.

Fromvert

showpony1 wrote: »

Most of those lads played in Stephen's only good game against Slovakia.

And ultimately came up short. We know what they can do, not a lot. Let's see what the next batch of players can do by giving them a run of games. They're all past their best, perfectly fine in the squad but that's it now.

showpony1

Fromvert wrote: »

And ultimately came up short. We know what they can do, not a lot. Let's see what the next batch of players can do by giving them a run of games. They're all past their best, perfectly fine in the squad but that's it now.

Not much respect being given to those who've done it for us over the years. I saw Zlatan got an assist there for Sweden, yet posters here seem to think any of those lads or David couldn't still contribute once in early 30s.

Pawwed Rig

showpony1 wrote: »

Not much respect being given to those who've done it for us over the years. I saw Zlatan got an assist there for Sweden, yet posters here seem to think any of those lads or David couldn't still contribute once in early 30s.

We do not have a Zlatan and he is almost unique as a player. The players being discussed have done nothing since euro 2016 (Brady and Hendrick) and the others have had awful form recently (Duffy) or have barely played for years (Long). McClean - is all heart but can be a bit headless sprinting up and down the wing.

Guffy

showpony1 wrote: »

Not much respect being given to those who've done it for us over the years. I saw Zlatan got an assist there for Sweden, yet posters here seem to think any of those lads or David couldn't still contribute once in early 30s.

Comparing Zlatan to Hendricks is actually laughable. I laugh in your general direction

AhhHere

showpony1 wrote: »

I can see that team pretty much playing the same no matter if the opposition is of lesser quality, passing sideways and not creating much. I don't expect Connolly to suddenly start running riot.

It was a decent team for a containment job until we went behind. I would be very concerned about not creating anything if Kennedy goes with the same team against Luxembourg and then a couple of stupid mistakes from the keeper or O'Shea and its game over.

Brady, Hendricks, Long, Duffy would inject something else into that side. If McClean isn't fit stick with Robinson, but I'd prefer James direct play.

Who are Kennedy and Hendricks?

Brock Turnpike

AhhHere wrote: »

Who are Kennedy and Hendricks?

I actually can't believe that fella is being allowed away with what he's at in the thread.

NewMan1982

Showpony is clearly a WUM. Stop falling for it.

Cheese Wagstaff

NewMan1982 wrote: »

Showpony is clearly a WUM. Stop falling for it.

A spoofer, Bill!

fullstop

showpony1 wrote: »

Chris Wilder.

The fella who wanted €4m to resign from Sheffield Utd and the FAI haven’t a pot to piss in. Massively realistic :rolleyes:

I love these flavour of the month English managers people start touting to take over the Irish team, really refreshing and new.

AhhHere

Brock Turnpike wrote: »

I actually can't believe that fella is being allowed away with what he's at in the thread.

I'm 90% sure I saw a molumpy and molumphy earlier too...

Still Ill

fullstop wrote: »

The fella who wanted €4m to resign from Sheffield Utd and the FAI haven’t a pot to piss in. Massively realistic :rolleyes:

I love these flavour of the month English managers people start touting to take over the Irish team, really refreshing and new.

Is Paul Jewell still knocking about? :pac:

fullstop

Still Ill wrote: »

Is Paul Jewell still knocking about? :pac:

Sign him up with Joe Kinnear and Venables as his assistants.

Kingp35

I'd prefer Philippe Troussier myself.

athlone99

Some of our ex players who write columns are really starting to get to me. Anyone ready Richard Dunnes column in the INDO? Basically saying Ireland and Serbia are equals and we should be beating them. Heres a look where the squads are playing roughly.

Ireland - 10 premier league, 11 champ, 4 L1, 1 Belgium and 1 Scotland
Serbia - 4 in Spain, 1 In Swiss, 5 in France, 7 in Italy, 3 in Holland, 3 in Germany, 1 in portugal and 1 premier league.

Football here will never move on until these ex players acknowledge where the current squad is. People tend to big up the championship as a real competitive league (which it is) but when you play international football its not a patch on most European leagues. How in the hell are we suppose to complete with players playing champions league/Europa league football. Apart from Coleman and Doherty, Dundalk players have played more European football than anyone in the Ireland squad.

Did you smash it

tayto lover wrote: »

Neither should Brady. Very limited footballer.

Brady is technically our most talented player. He can shoot, dribble, pass, cross. Some of our players struggle to do any of those things well.

That’s why Man utd brought him over when he was 16 and had very high hopes for him. That’s why he’s our all time top scorer at under 21 level despite only playing 11 games at that level and not being a striker.

Brady did not fulfill his potential but he’s easily the most talented player we’ve produced in the last 15 years so he’s not a very limited footballer.

The_Kew_Tour

It was a laughable suggestion by Dunne. Who is our Tadic? Where is our 21 year old Striker worth 50 million and where is our 60m Real Madrid star on the bench?

Can anyone who agrees with Dunne answer that?

Tbh Serbia should be ashamed that they ain’t in the Euros but that’s another discussion

Zico !

Main issues for me are travers clarke and connolly totally out of their dept