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

Zico !

Soups123 wrote: »

As predicted.

I thought Kenny was unusually positive about our play but it was so pedestrian.

well done a blind man would of seen this

Soups123

Zico ! wrote: »

well done a blind man would of seen this

Not so sure. Paddy’s offered it at 4-1 for England -2....

I think some expected a more compact Ireland and a disjointed young England

Mantis Toboggan

First Irish manager to lose to England in 35 years!

Zico !

Soups123 wrote: »

Not so sure. Paddy’s offered it at 4-1 for England -2....

I think some expected a more compact Ireland and a disjointed young England

good point ill give ya that

Zico !

were so lucky we arent in the euros pure humiliation

Pawwed Rig

Zico ! wrote: »

were so lucky we arent in the euros pure humiliation

That's the spirit

sonic85

Zico ! wrote: »

were so lucky we arent in the euros pure humiliation

Ah yeah definitely. Wouldve been like that time under world class Trap when we were by far and away the worst team in the tournament. Pure humiliation.

briany

Good result tonight for us, I thought.

Slovakia beating Northern Ireland, I mean.

scouserstation

Up against a different class of opposition tonight and it showed, some players got found out I thought Hourihan and Hendrick were poor, defensively Duffy and Christie werent great either, there were very few positives to take away but I thought some of the lads did ok, Browne, Horgan and Molumbay did well when he came on, Kenny has a tough road ahead of him and there are some hard decisions to be made let's hope he is brave enough to follow through with it

NewMan1982

Poor performance tonight. I expected us to lose but expected some fight. They players gave up in the first half.

Brock Turnpike

After a bright start, that was hard to watch.

I think he needs to bite the bullet and drop one of Hendrick or Hourihane.

Molumby is far more energetic than both
McCarthy is far more disciplined than both as a deep midfielder
Browne offers more of a goal threat than both
Byrne is more creative than all the above but isn't getting a look in. Lack of creativity is our biggest problem.

I think Duffy is on thin ice at the moment. You would hope he can come through his current malaise but I'd seriously consider taking him out of the firing line if Egan is fit for the next couple of games. Egan and O'Shea at CB maybe?

It's a shame we lost Connolly and Robinson for this set of fixtures.

Cyrus was terrible tonight. I honestly wouldn't have him in the team for the next couple of games. Maybe put Doherty back there and bring in someone else at LB. O'Shea maybe if we're going to persist with Duffy at CB.

Idah showed again at times that he has something about him.
Molumby looked better in 15 mins than Hourihane did for the whole game.
O'Shea looks very promising and showed he's learning from Bilic with a couple of cynical fouls.
Horgan was bright in the first half but faded as the game went on

Banjaxed82

Nobody actually wants to be on the ball in midfield. Players who are just looking to offload to someone else. "It's your problem now.." type of mentality.

Get rid of Hourihane and stick Jack Byrne in as a number 10 for next the 2 games. Let's just put the Byrne debate to bed. At least it has the potential to give us some hope should he shine.

Zico !

Banjaxed82 wrote: »

Nobody actually wants to be on the ball in midfield. Players who are just looking to offload to someone else. "It's your problem now.." type of mentality.

Get rid of Hourihane and stick Jack Byrne in as a number 10 for next the 2 games. Let's just put the Byrne debate to bed. At least it has the potential to give us some hope should he shine.

i say get rid of byrne from shamrock rovers hold on he doesnt even get a game what are ya on abt.ahh the old cork sh1t is coming up again

In all the noise about Kenny in v Kenny out there's one simple fact.

The FAI can't afford another payoff and manager.

You don't like Kenny and the transition to trying to play football on the deck with limited players? Tough luck, it's likely to last for a while.

scouserstation

Banjaxed82 wrote: »

Nobody actually wants to be on the ball in midfield. Players who are just looking to offload to someone else. "It's your problem now.." type of mentality.

Get rid of Hourihane and stick Jack Byrne in as a number 10 for next the 2 games. Let's just put the Byrne debate to bed. At least it has the potential to give us some hope should he shine.

Would love to see Byrne and Molumbay in the middle of the park for one of our next games to see how they get on, granted it would be a gamble for Kenny to put out 2 inexperienced lads like that at this level but I don't think we have much else to lose at this stage, sticking with some of the older established players will be his downfall I feel Hendrick and Hourihan haven't got much to offer us now other than the fact they are playing (or getting away with playing) for premiership teams

Banjaxed82

Prediction: Jack Byrne makes a sub appearance against Wales. Has a stormer.

Starts against Bulgaria. Becomes obvious to everyone he makes the whole team tick. Hendrick as a number 8, now with a proper outlet actually starts to make sense.

Jack Byrne to move from Rovers at Christmas. Will continue his fantastic form. Lynch pin for Ireland in their successful qualification for World Cup.

Raoul

Is it harsh to say Kenny has been brave with his tactics and style of play and some decisions regarding personnel but he might suffer from not going all out and taking the likes of Hendrick and Hourihane out of the team.

I thought Hendrick was putting in a lot of effort tonight and showing for the ball but every time he got it, it was a sideways pass or a pass back to the center backs.

Hourihane was just awful tonight. 1 in 3 passes were given away to England. I wouldn't mind but I don't think I saw him trying a pass that was in any way creative. Bruno Fernandes' passing stats for United aren't great but that's because he is trying creative defense splitting passes. Not sure where Hourihane is passing.

We really miss someone that gets on the ball and turns and tries to transition the play from defence to attack quickly. I thought Horgan did this well in the first 15, got the ball and immediately turned and went on the attack. Hourihane and Hendrick get the ball and turn back, giving the opposition time to regroup. I thought Molumby did this when he came on.

Overall, I think last night went as expected. I'm not sure what manager would have done better.

Pawwed Rig

I think 3-0 was fair and at one point feared it could have gotten worse. England were much more assured and confident and we were found wanting in too many areas of the pitch.
I think (and I said it before yesterday) that playing this match was a big mistake as there was too much potential downside with limited scope for upside.

If we were to play a friendly we should have gone for a team (like Oman) that we would have a good chance of beating to try and bring a bit of a buzz and confidence to the team. Getting a hammering from England does not do anything for anyone.

And can they f**k off with their man of the match award. Matt Doherty must have been mortified after a 3-0 drubbing to have to face that nonsense.

Brock Turnpike

Raoul wrote: »

Is it harsh to say Kenny has been brave with his tactics and style of play and some decisions regarding personnel but he might suffer from not going all out and taking the likes of Hendrick and Hourihane out of the team.

I thought Hendrick was putting in a lot of effort tonight and showing for the ball but every time he got it, it was a sideways pass or a pass back to the center backs.

Hourihane was just awful tonight. 1 in 3 passes were given away to England. I wouldn't mind but I don't think I saw him trying a pass that was in any way creative. Bruno Fernandes' passing stats for United aren't great but that's because he is trying creative defense splitting passes. Not sure where Hourihane is passing.

We really miss someone that gets on the ball and turns and tries to transition the play from defence to attack quickly. I thought Horgan did this well in the first 15, got the ball and immediately turned and went on the attack. Hourihane and Hendrick get the ball and turn back, giving the opposition time to regroup. I thought Molumby did this when he came on.

Overall, I think last night went as expected. I'm not sure what manager would have done better.

Agree with you. It was infuriating to watch them both. Hendrick in particular would not even look forward to see if there was an option - receive it, play it backwards or sideways. No matter where he was on the pitch or whether he was being pressured or not.

weldoninhio

Brock Turnpike wrote: »

Agree with you. It was infuriating to watch them both. Hendrick in particular would not even look forward to see if there was an option - receive it, play it backwards or sideways. No matter where he was on the pitch or whether he was being pressured or not.

Thats Kenny ball.

How often did Duffy have the ball, pass it to Egan/O'Shea, on to Doherty, back to Egan/O'Shea, on to Duffy, back to Egan/O'Shea, back to Duffy, out to Christie and on and on and on?? It's been the same since the first game.

Pointless, toothless possession while the opposition got back into their defensive shape.

They didn't do it under Mick, O'Neill or Trap. So they are obviously being told to do it by this manager.

Raoul

weldoninhio wrote: »

Thats Kenny ball.

How often did Duffy have the ball, pass it to Egan/O'Shea, on to Doherty, back to Egan/O'Shea, on to Duffy, back to Egan/O'Shea, back to Duffy, out to Christie and on and on and on?? It's been the same since the first game.

Pointless, toothless possession while the opposition got back into their defensive shape.

They didn't do it under Mick, O'Neill or Trap. So they are obviously being told to do it by this manager.

That's not what I was saying at all though. I have zero problem with those guys passing it among themselves, that is much better than getting it and pumping it 50 yards up field with a diagonal ball that goes out for a throw or we are hoping that we get the knock on.

The problem there is the midfielders aren't showing for and they aren't demanding the ball. Hendrick did actually show for the ball last night and demand it from the defense. But unfortunately, when he got it he was happy to pass it straight back to them and then jog another 10 yards laterally and look for the pass again.

In reality, what Kenny ball to me is, after watching Dundalk team for years, the defenders being comfortable on the ball, being patient, waiting for the midfielder to come and demand the ball from them. The midfielder should actually be looking to turn and make a forward pass setting the team on the attack.

If he doesn't then it is just rinse and repeat. Doing what Hendrick has done. Essentially it is the fault of those midfielders.

weldoninhio

Raoul wrote: »

That's not what I was saying at all though. I have zero problem with those guys passing it among themselves, that is much better than getting it and pumping it 50 yards up field with a diagonal ball that goes out for a throw or we are hoping that we get the knock on.

The problem there is the midfielders aren't showing for and they aren't demanding the ball. Hendrick did actually show for the ball last night and demand it from the defense. But unfortunately, when he got it he was happy to pass it straight back to them and then jog another 10 yards laterally and look for the pass again.

In reality, what Kenny ball to me is, after watching Dundalk team for years, the defenders being comfortable on the ball, being patient, waiting for the midfielder to come and demand the ball from them. The midfielder should actually be looking to turn and make a forward pass setting the team on the attack.

If he doesn't then it is just rinse and repeat. Doing what Hendrick has done. Essentially it is the fault of those midfielders.

They've been doing it since game 1. Last night was game 6. If that is not what the manager is telling them to do, why is he not a) dropping them, b) subbing them or c) screaming at them from the sidelines to play it forward? From what i've seen in the first 6 games is that Kenny wants to control possession, in a 'if we've got the ball, the opposition can't score' type of way. It's pointless, toothless, useless and, as seen when we are actually pressed on the ball like last night, dangerous to us.

Still Ill

Alan Browne tested positive now. No close contacts somehow despite playing last night

Raoul

weldoninhio wrote: »

They've been doing it since game 1. Last night was game 6. If that is not what the manager is telling them to do, why is he not a) dropping them, b) subbing them or c) screaming at them from the sidelines to play it forward? From what i've seen in the first 6 games is that Kenny wants to control possession, in a 'if we've got the ball, the opposition can't score' type of way. It's pointless, toothless, useless and, as seen when we are actually pressed on the ball like last night, dangerous to us.

Well, I agree with this point. He does need to start dropping them. If I was the manager, I would have been hoping that giving Hendrick the chance would see him relish it and return to what everyone thinks he can do. But that hasn't happened.

That is true though about if we have the ball they can't score. I'm not sure what is wrong with that. I was told that as an underage GAA player. . It still applies!

In the other games, I don't think it was toothless. We created more chances than under Mick or MON. Kenny can't go and put the ball in the back of the net himself. If Alan Brown and Conor Hourihane took their chances, we would have been playing NI last night. There is no other way to look at it really in my mind. The football we played in those games generated those chances, the players didn't score.

TheCitizen

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

I think 3-0 was fair and at one point feared it could have gotten worse. England were much more assured and confident and we were found wanting in too many areas of the pitch.
I think (and I said it before yesterday) that playing this match was a big mistake as there was too much potential downside with limited scope for upside.

If we were to play a friendly we should have gone for a team (like Oman) that we would have a good chance of beating to try and bring a bit of a buzz and confidence to the team. Getting a hammering from England does not do anything for anyone.

And can they f**k off with their man of the match award. Matt Doherty must have been mortified after a 3-0 drubbing to have to face that nonsense.

Who's idea was it to play this match? The English FA offered a few bob to the FAI last minute job was that it? Feckin amateurs.

We actually have a good record against England going back 35 years since they beat us. Pissed it away needlessly last night. A shambles from top to bottom the FAI.

Pogue eile

weldoninhio wrote: »

Once Julien gets back Duffy will be 4th choice centre half.

Lennon dropped him (correctly) and he was one of only two fit 'Centre halfs' available, when you are getting dropped ahead of Nir Bitton there is something seriously wrong. To think there were lads here who argued that he was a better option than Ajer or Julien :D:D

1o059k7ewrqj3n

Got the new Ireland jersey this morning - no sponsor on the front. Looks decent.

Francie Barrett

Molumby came off the bench for a 15 minute cameo, played a few passes against an England team that was playing for the whistle, and all of a sudden he's the new messiah?

Sorry, but that doesn't make sense. The guy has only played two competitive games this season, both in the League Cup. Until he can actually start playing for his club, I really struggle to see how he merits a starting place.

Brock Turnpike

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Molumby came off the bench for a 15 minute cameo, played a few passes against an England team that was playing for the whistle, and all of a sudden he's the new messiah?

Sorry, but that doesn't make sense. The guy has only played two competitive games this season, both in the League Cup. Until he can actually start playing for his club, I really struggle to see how he merits a starting place.

Not sure anyone is saying he's the Messiah. My own view would be that he has impressed more in his appearances for Ireland than either Hendrick or Hourihane have under Kenny. For that reason, I would play him ahead of either of them.

Pawwed Rig

TheCitizen wrote: »

Who's idea was it to play this match? The English FA offered a few bob to the FAI last minute job was that it? Feckin amateurs..

The clubs had a lot to do with it. They would rather have the players stay in England rather than goto Bosnia (which was the plan).

~Rebel~

Brock Turnpike wrote: »

Not sure anyone is saying he's the Messiah. My own view would be that he has impressed more in his appearances for Ireland than either Hendrick or Hourihane have under Kenny. For that reason, I would play him ahead of either of them.

Yeah sure this is it... on the field he looks better than the other options, so should play.

I expect he’ll be off on loan again in January anyway and back to playing regularly. Hopefully the same will be true of some of our other premier league lads too - Smallbone, Obafemi, maybe even Connolly since he’s playing about as much as Molumby at Brighton this season.

johnnyryan89

Francie Barrett wrote: »

The guy has only played two competitive games this season, both in the League Cup. Until he can actually start playing for his club, I really struggle to see how he merits a starting place.

But yet he still has more minutes at club level this season than Conor Hourihane. Who will more than likely start the next two games, again, and be invisible, again, for another 180 minutes.

RonanG86

At this juncture, the only option I can see for midfield, based on who's in the squad:

Molumby
Hendrick (largely by default)
Anyone but Hourihane. Even Robbie Brady.


Cullen and Byrne should be in the squad, imo, but they're not.

johnnyryan89

Can add McCarthy to the list of guys that needs to play with a partner in a double pivot. We've got no one that can anchor that midfield by themselves. The best we've played so far was the second half against Slovakia when Browne replaced McCarthy.

Hourihane and Hendrick dropped back into the double pivot, allowing Browne to push ahead of McGoldrick to pressure the defence while McGoldrick dropped back to be our number 10. Effectively playing with a 4-2-3-1.

Our U21s have played their best stuff under Kenny using 4-2-3-1, and our seniors played their best stuff when we switched to 4-2-3-1. So I can't for the life of me see why he's persisting with Hendrick and Hourihane in the 4-3-3.

At this stage Kenny should make wholesale changes in the midfield and attack, even just promote youth. What's the worse that can happen, results stay the same and we miss out on another tournament. At least the younger lads then gain experience in competitive games before Euro 26.

Ferris_Bueller

Agreed that Hendrick and Hourihane are the problem, maybe you can get away with playing one of them but the two of them on the pitch together don't offer anything really. Not creative, not defensive minded, not adventurous in their passing, not goalscorers. Hendrick at least is versatile and fit so I think he will retain his place but we have to try something else out in there. I'd love to see Jack Byrne tried out and hopefully he will get at least 30 mins or so in one of the next two games.

It's nearly like trying to solve a rubiks cube in the middle. Not having a designated holder or designated ten means we have been left with this halfway house of midfielders who don't really contribute that much at all. If we had someone to fill either the base role or the ten role you'd think we could maybe figure out the rest of it. But even looking at some of our younger midfielders, Molumby, Cullen and Knight - none of them are exactly holders or tens are they? Again they seem like they would need to play with someone alongside them, although have not seen loads of them play really.

To add to this - it nearly seems obvious that a 3-5-2 would be more suited to the players we have when you think about it. We have Premier League wing backs, decent options at centre half, no dedicated attacking or defensive midfield players and seriously lacking good options out wide (even long term). Idah and Connolly up top. I know people say Duffy isn't suited to that but he doesn't seem suited to any possession based style. Kenny probably unlikely to go for it but on paper at least it makes a lot of sense.

~Rebel~

RonanG86 wrote: »

At this juncture, the only option I can see for midfield, based on who's in the squad:

Molumby
Hendrick (largely by default)
Anyone but Hourihane. Even Robbie Brady.


Cullen and Byrne should be in the squad, imo, but they're not.

He joins up for the next two matches.
Wouldn't expect too much from him in this window though, he's only just back playing after a particularly serious bout of Covid-19. One of the worst bouts of it I've heard from any footballer. Really struggled to breath for a few days.

Best thing for everyone I think is to just give him 20 or 30 minutes in both games. Enough time to express himself a bit and see what he can do, without killin' him or putting too much expectation on him.

Brock Turnpike

~Rebel~ wrote: »

He joins up for the next two matches.
Wouldn't expect too much from him in this window though, he's only just back playing after a particularly serious bout of Covid-19. One of the worst bouts of it I've heard from any footballer. Really struggled to breath for a few days.

Best thing for everyone I think is to just give him 20 or 30 minutes in both games. Enough time to express himself a bit and see what he can do, without killin' him or putting too much expectation on him.

Why wasn't he in the squad for England game?

scouserstation

Brock Turnpike wrote: »

Why wasn't he in the squad for England game?

Wasn't cleared in time to join up with squad Kenny stated he needed another week with Rovers before he could travel over

~Rebel~

Brock Turnpike wrote: »

Why wasn't he in the squad for England game?

Kenny said it was to let him stay and keep working on his fitness and playing time with Rovers to set him up for the two competitive games.

"It’s just the medical advice.”

“I wasn't going to include Jack at all. Up to Wednesday’s match (against St Pat’s) the advice was that it absolutely knocked the stuffing out of him, it had knocked him for six.

“You can’t just jump from being sick and then try to get into international football. It's too big a jump.

“If he plays games on Saturday and Monday and has a full week’s training under his belt then he might be in a different place come the two Nations League games.”

~Rebel~

sugarman wrote: »

Travel restrictions I think I heard? Probably to do with traveling from Ireland on his own / not in the team bubble and having to self isolate. Similar case with Manning too I think who's set to link up with the squad in Cardiff too.

Doesn't seem to be that. Any isolation period would be in the 10 days to 2 weeks region, and he obviously hasn't been doing that since he played a match a few days ago.

I think it's just what Kenny said - he needed the training and gametime to be up to speed before he could be considered for international matches.

Also Manning plays for Swansea so is in Wales anyway, so won't have to deal with any travel restrictions.

PTH2009

Think the under 21s will suffer with the favorites tag and won't win the game against Iceland costing us a place in the finals

Really hope I'm wrong and they win it getting us closer to qualification for the finals. We need a boost

TheCitizen

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

The clubs had a lot to do with it. They would rather have the players stay in England rather than goto Bosnia (which was the plan).

Did the clubs actually have influence or are you just speculating? There was no need for a 3rd game at all, the two nations league games were plenty

TheCitizen

Ferris_Bueller wrote: »

Agreed that Hendrick and Hourihane are the problem, maybe you can get away with playing one of them but the two of them on the pitch together don't offer anything really. Not creative, not defensive minded, not adventurous in their passing, not goalscorers. Hendrick at least is versatile and fit so I think he will retain his place but we have to try something else out in there. I'd love to see Jack Byrne tried out and hopefully he will get at least 30 mins or so in one of the next two games.

It's nearly like trying to solve a rubiks cube in the middle. Not having a designated holder or designated ten means we have been left with this halfway house of midfielders who don't really contribute that much at all. If we had someone to fill either the base role or the ten role you'd think we could maybe figure out the rest of it. But even looking at some of our younger midfielders, Molumby, Cullen and Knight - none of them are exactly holders or tens are they? Again they seem like they would need to play with someone alongside them, although have not seen loads of them play really.

To add to this - it nearly seems obvious that a 3-5-2 would be more suited to the players we have when you think about it. We have Premier League wing backs, decent options at centre half, no dedicated attacking or defensive midfield players and seriously lacking good options out wide (even long term). Idah and Connolly up top. I know people say Duffy isn't suited to that but he doesn't seem suited to any possession based style. Kenny probably unlikely to go for it but on paper at least it makes a lot of sense.

People have been talking about a 3-5-2 since Kenny took over but he has missed several opportunities to try it as a formation.

glenjamin

TheCitizen wrote: »

People have been talking about a 3-5-2 since Kenny took over but he has missed several opportunities to try it as a formation.

If he was ever going to try it it would been against England to help nullify their attack. We got slaughtered on the wide positions and gave them way too much space. He could have had Doherty and Brady/McClean at wing back and kept Duffy, O'Shea and Long at center back but opted not to. Doubt we'll ever see any variation of 3-5-2 under him.

Collie D

What happens with Armenia’s two cancellled games against Sweden and Iceland in our 21s group? They’re cancelled as opposed to postponed. Awarded as 0-3 results to Sweden and Iceland?

Francie Barrett

I would go 4-4-2 for the Wales game with the following team.

Randolph
Manning
Duffy
O'Shea
Doherty
McClean
McCarthy (is he available?)
Hendrick
Horgan
Idah
Collins

If we are looking for a goal, throw Byrne on at the 60 minute mark and let's see what he can do...

Brock Turnpike

TheCitizen wrote: »

People have been talking about a 3-5-2 since Kenny took over but he has missed several opportunities to try it as a formation.

People have been calling for it since long before Kenny took over. You're really trying to say you've mentioned it since Kenny took over.

Nunu

TheCitizen wrote: »

Did the clubs actually have influence or are you just speculating? There was no need for a 3rd game at all, the two nations league games were plenty

Contractually obliged with UEFA to play that friendly date (centralised tv rights). It was either Bosnia away or the England game. There was no option of no game.

johnnyryan89

Ferris_Bueller wrote: »

It's nearly like trying to solve a rubiks cube in the middle. Not having a designated holder or designated ten means we have been left with this halfway house of midfielders who don't really contribute that much at all. If we had someone to fill either the base role or the ten role you'd think we could maybe figure out the rest of it. But even looking at some of our younger midfielders, Molumby, Cullen and Knight - none of them are exactly holders or tens are they? Again they seem like they would need to play with someone alongside them, although have not seen loads of them play really.

Of those three Cullen would be the better six, but he seems to be another all rounder that can play the holding role but would be better suited to playing with a six so he can push forward to support attacks. It's why Molumby and Coventry work well together when playing with the U21s.

For the seniors you'd probably be looking at Jack Byrne and I'm gonna throw Alan Browne in their as he's performed well for Preston when being their attacking midfielder, especially in the 18/19 season. But Browne is another all rounder though. Against Slovakia he was the one moving beyond McGoldrick from the midfield and allowing McGoldrick to be our ten. Has played on the right against Denmark and in the deeper positions in other games.

Our U21s though do seem to have more variety than our seniors, but these lads, especially those who you could view as playing the ten or six are still developing their games in those positions. Ralph Hasenhuttl talked about Smallbone playing as a six or ten, but he's still raw. Conor Ronan is a ten all day long, but he's still trying to establish himself at club level. Conor Coventry and Luca Connell are two guys that can be long term options as a six, but both guys are wasting their times in reserve teams currently.

The White Feather

Just saw this tweet from Aaron Connolly.

He says its one of the worst articles ever about him. An article talking about his injuries

https://twitter.com/AaronConnolly_9/status/1327612233275338753?s=20