Republic of Ireland Team 2023/24 [old thread]

The point is it is not comparing the two no one is saying Alba = Collins.

However, what posters like myself are saying is that Collins would better in midfield than Cullen/Molumpy. They are that lightweight no bite, no energy, no drive no passion. And yes Ireland ARE desperate - let's call a spade a spade.

As for the positional witch for players that do not play there at club level Southgate famously switched Walker to centre back as a needs must/tactical choice.

Kyle Walker's England role is Gareth Southgate’s boldest decision yet

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11407721/kyle-walkers-england-role-is-gareth-southgate8217s-boldest-decision-yet

Gareth Southgate’s boldest decision was to change Kyle Walker’s position. But why has he done it and will it work? With the help of former England right-back Viv Anderson, a veteran of two World Cups, Adam Bate assesses the tactical significance of the switch…

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As for the Irish team culture in general.

Another poster commented pre match against Greece that he hopes the Irish team does well because they are 'nice group of lads'. But to me that sums up the problem with them. A 'nice group of lads' no fight in them. The sort of like lads a person's daughter would like to marry - meek man. Soft characters. And prospective mother in law's would love them. No character/ruthlessness/dogs of war.

That attitude stems from the manager IMO a manager creates a team in his image. Stephen Kenny painfully shy, meek, almost looks on the verge of tears, nervous, poor communicator, slow to react, idealistic. Which sums up the Irish squad. A Leinster League team would show more character than them. It is rudderless group.

How in the name of Jayus can Kenny get players fired up and communicate interaction to them? Kenny can't communicate, he is soft, he picks types pf players who are soft. That is what he has created a softie, excuse laden, idealistic culture,

Culllen, Molumpy remind me of James McCarthy a meek soft character, now it was even worse with James McCarthy because he hid in games despite his talent. Half the time you would wonder was he on the pitch at all.

This Irish team is not only poor technically but they are full of softies, they also do not seem to be very intelligent footballers who sense danger. You can at least improve on stuff like structure/drive despite being poor technically.

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Molumby is not a meek soft character.

He's not, but this Molumpy character though could be a meek soft character. Speaking of Molumby though there's some rumours linking him with a move to Leeds this morning.

just saw this now. Thankfully someone else used the word 'soft'. I was starting to think I was imagining it with the constant excuses for Kenny and the Irish team on this thread.

Where was he the last day then? As Liam Brady said in studio what does he do? He didn't get tackles in, he didn't pass.

Brady said he counted one good pass the whole march between Cullen and Molumpy and that was by Cullen! One good pass. This is a team that is supposed to be set to play football 'the right way'.

Is the manager at fault then?

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I think Kenny is still managing like he did with the u21's where you are given more time and space. Any team can look good when given time and space. But this is senior international football.

Kompany can buy players and afford Cullen freedom for a start. Even if you ignore that point Kompany can get a tune out of Cullen to the extent that he is player of the year. Whereas Cullen under Kenny is a virtually nonexistent player when it comes to the crunch, It says even less for Kenny.

And the last paragraph you fall back on your old trope. Where ANY negative criticism of Kenny means that you are an enemy of Irish football, As if it is an attack on Ireland's ONLY saviour.

The only point in that last paragraph you are correct on is that I don't rate Kenny, But I never wished ill on the man, and it would have been nice to see him succeed, But he has failed to do the management basics develop a team that is hard to beat and greater than the sum of its parts, On that score he has failed and failed utterly.

As for the ring rustiness, why did Kenny not foresee this? David Connolly was amazed that Ireland did not arrnage a friendly to get players sharp as you cannot beat match practice. But yet again you seem to desperately find an excuse or 'out' for Kenny. Circumstance or someone else is always at fault but never Kenny?

Was rice ever on the bench for a competitive game?

Don't think he'd have come on tbh

Im going to be unpopular with this statement but Randolph was a more reliable performer for us.

It helped we weren't as easy to play against but he was better able to hold shots and save long rangers.

Edit: I should obviously say Gavin's ceiling could be higher.

Come on man, your'e fantastic at finding constant excuses, but very slow or non-existent with any real critical analysis. A bit like the Irish midfield and Kenny post match press conferences.

When someone asks you where was the improvement in Kenny's Ireland you vaguely come out with stuff like 'I see what he is trying to do'. You then blame what Kenny has to work with on the FAI previous managers etc.

I have this sense from you that you have invested so much into Kenny emotionally to give any hint of criticism towards him would be not only an insult to Kenny himself. But an insult to Irish football itself as Kenny was supposed to the saviour and so on.

You are great for finding 'the positives and or excuses for Kenny and Ireland. It is actually fairly impressive at how consistent you are with it. I will give you credit for that.

But as David Connolly said a 4-5-1 getting balls into the box makes far more sense. As a poor side like Ireland when playing three at the back with wingbacks means it quickly becomes a five and they have no out.

Going two up made Ireland too open in the middle and Connolly questioned why did Kenny not at least set up like he did against France?

Also David Connolly commented on O'Dowda said he knew him well as a youngster an out an out winger. But now he is trying to play as a full back or wing back. Not defensively sound.

I was thinking why not play him as a winger?

People need to forget about Carsley or Roy Keane.

We have seen with Kenny and Kerr that underage experience doesn't translate into senior level.

All Carsley has really done is underage.

As for Keane, that ship has long sailed.

A manager needs to have good club experience, coaching senior level players.

I'd say myself that the floor for a new manager should be English Championship level experience or whatever the European equivalent might be.

Anything less and you are looking at a repeat of the last few years.

Predictability has been a hallmark of our game under Kenny.

If accurate, Poyet is on less money than Kenny.

Honestly, we shouldn’t be paying high wages for our national team manager in any case.

The idea of doing it really started with Trap and the association couldn’t afford it by itself, and the whole idea was to distract from the shambles the organisation had become.

I would be much happier with someone for around Kenny’s wage. If we find a few million behind the couch, youth player development would be a far more prudent investment.

Youth player development should be a major investment, but it should be at youth level.

If we want a system as it were, a style that is consistent through the age groups then fine - Kenny seems to be more suited to nurturing and growing that. We don't have our young lads being coached over the water anymore at the younger ages.

We can't be blooding lads at senior level and giving managers plaudits for that. The results are too important and as we continue to slide down the coefficients we will find it harder to qualify - even though the two main tournamnets look to be setting themselves up for expansion.

I've always believed we need a manager more than a coach at senior International level, you don't get the time with the players to be coaching too much. This is where Kenny falls again, I know we only see the man out in public, but he does not strike me as someone who can motivate people, he couldn't take a room.

This is where the likes of suggesting Keane works for me - even though I don't see it as a possibility.

We need something bigger changing the structure of Irish football, getting the system set up right, having it consistent amongst the ages, and then a Manager who can work it on the big stage. Unfortunetly i doubt we can afford any of

We've nearly always raised our game against the bigger teams. Kenny has made no exception in that regard.

Basically what I was saying Kenny was the sub teacher mindng the house for the next manager, on an international jobbridge paid on the cheap

Pity Mick McCarthy is only in a new club job now. He is the sort of man required for the job. Sets a team up based on the players available, good at working with lower level players etc, Makes teams hard to beat.

Steve Staunton tried to play a passing style when he took over. He had 17 games in charge. He gained good victories against Sweden, Denmark, Slovakia and Wales. He got draws against Germany and a very good Czech Republic. He gave debuts to Stephen Ireland, Kevin Doyle, Joey O'Brien, Shane Long, Anthony Stokes, Darron Gibson, Stephen Hunt, Paul McShane, Stephen Kelly, Daryl Murphy, Andy Keogh and a load more on the American tour, he was building for World Cup 2010 but didn't get the chance.

Were people giving him credit for the building the foundations for nearly qualifying for the World Cup and qualifying for the Euros in 2012? Were people saying he should get another campaign? No, he was sacked because he was found to be way out of his depth and people were thankful he was gone. It's the same with Stephen Kenny. He's nearly had double the amount of games Staunton had and he's done a far worse job. His backers need to let it go. Enough damage has been done. Hopefully we get a competent manager involved who can get the most out of our talented youngsters and Kenny will be a forgotten footnote.

We always had game plans though. They were not always just hump it long. Still our best chances are coming from humping it long and set pieces.

Kenny's football is dire. I really wanted it to work, but aimlessly passing back and forth across the back line and from midfield and back without any fast progressive, forward passing is completely and utterly pointless.

We don't try to move opposition teams around. We don't make them have to work for the ball. Out passing has lead directly to us conceding goals I an alarming amount of fictires because it's so utterly predictable

1.2 million a year for Mick to not qualify is good value then? What happened to it being a result’s business?

He was very well paid by international manager standards and failed in his objective, so I really don’t understand why anyone would want him back.