Republic of Ireland General Discussion Thread 2024 [use match threads for games]

Players didn't buy into the occasion? How so? I can't say I saw that anyway. Tbh a big part of the problem in the first half hour especially was the players were overhyped and actually far too amped up by the occasion. As Hallgrimsson mentioned, some players were rushing into making individual actions, getting caught up in the emotion, rather than sticking to structure and working as a unit.

It'll be disappointing if we don't get a result tomorrow. But already going for a new managers throat after a few days and two games in quick succession is crazy stuff. Feels like some people are getting a bit too caught up in editorialisations, rather than having a bit of calm and common sense.

They're better than us for sure, but I wouldn't say by so much that a loss is inevitable. Home advantage gives us a chance of a result at least. (Though I don't personally believe 'definitelys' have much of a place in talk of prospective results. Football's mad, and you can never say never.)

I'm from Greece and follow our National team somewhat. Probably Greece is a better team, not sure though "by some distance". We have changed manager after the unsuccessful play off for the Euros, so there is a bit of transition as well, though there was a more solid starting point. I think Greece might play for two results as realistically both teams play for second in the group.

Anyway, very conflicting loyalties for me tomorrow, as Ireland has been my home for many years now. Just hoping for a good game. 🙂

The point is......

"UEFA regulations state the manager/head coach must speak to the media on eve of game, barring suspension" and "O’Shea was adamant that he was neither the boss nor did he consider his position as a leading role.”

Its not that big an ask that the new Manager attends to answer some mundane questions, sending out JOS just add fuel to the small embers already out there, on this backseat stuff.

Still willing to give him time, but as I already said, things can quickly spiral out out control....

Was this part of the big deal to get JOS as assistant in the first place, as if he had his own, he'd definitely have to face the media.

Will he be out in full force after the game, how long is the break to the next fixtures, as this could fester in the media with the vacuum, rightly or wrongly.

dispensation from Who and Where does it say this? Maybe I'm missing something?

The Plan is from who? HH when he took the Job, but wanted a nice easy introduction, for the first difficult games.

The plan from the FAI?

Was it agreed with UEFA, or just their own internal plan, that they are now telling us about?

As I said the new manager should be out to talk to the media the Fans and take control and responsibility and SHOW leadership.

Edit…The parallels are already been drawn…

Scratch that transfer unavailable for some reason

Anyone expecting more than the one change to JOS's starting 11?

Was OShea not his choice? If not surely he could have put conditions on bringing in his own choice of getting the job?

I really can't understand the big deal about this… the reality is it's more like the guts of 2 hours away from training between the comings and goings of everything, right in the middle of the day. He answered questions in the presser after the match 2 days ago. He'll answer questions in the presser after the match tomorrow. Everyone knows there's nothing of value in a pre-match presser. Like, literally nothing came from today's one, aside from this non-story of a manager staying to coach his players in this all-too-short window the day before a game.

Like, does anyone actually care?

I think there's a huge inference there on the editorialised version of reality rather than maybe what is actually the case on the ground in the camp. He said he's leaning on his assistant who has worked with the players before and knows them well - he specifically talked about their personalities with this, rather than just their footballing attributes. That makes sense to me. From actually watching him speak rather than reading summary articles of journos with a need to fill space, I don't at all get the impression he's just passing everything off. He's spending time with the players themselves and making the most of the window. On the reference to club managers - that's a different kettle of fish. It's a day in day out job. Today was literally the last proper training session he'll have with them for a month.

I also wouldn't quite say it felt like an O'Shea team - it more felt like the only Ireland team that most of these players have ever played in. O'Shea just continued what Kenny was doing for the most part. That's all most of these lads have known at international level together, so it's just going to take time to change - and certainly more time than the few days they've had together so far.

Well in fairness it's not going to change if it stays the same.

If they're picking Stephen Kenny's team to play then they're preparing the team to the beat of Kenny's drum. Do we have to wait for a game that isn't important to start making changes, because that might be a while.

I am finding it difficult to be optimistic, and worry Greece are in fact quite good and maybe even better than last time around, while it is very tough to know where we are. As I said before I'll be happy enough to give him some time, but I'm not sure the wider public have any patience left to give. Not just because of the England match, but probably *gestures at everything* since Champaign football, there has been little joy, the WNT qualifying for a world cup aside. These are angry times we live in, try not to be too worked up no matter what happens, it can still get better :D 

If it gets worse and we end up in league C, at least we will have probably hit rock bottom, and have an opportunity to begin the climb again. I've been banging the we need massive investment domestically, to have any real long term success drum for a long time, and that is still where I stand, much else is rearranging deckchairs on the titanic. A 4-2-3-1 formation would make me at least feel like we're trying stuff thou.

Agreed : a massive overreaction and all after losing a game to the #4 ranked team in the world and recent Euro finalists.

I can't see us winning tonight. Greece looked very good against Finland, albeit being gifted the most ridiculous opening goal, where their keeper rolled the ball across his own 18 and then let a Greek player steal it. Their midfield looks stronger than ours, one guy in there called Pelkas, who I didn't know, but he played against St. Pats twice, and he looked like he ran the show.

I think we are going to have to beat Finland twice, and that might be as good as it gets. Two away trips next, with the Finns first, and maybe we can bring confidence from that into the away game in Greece, as they'll be coming off the back of a battering in Wembley (here's hoping). Maximum 7 points is as optimistic as I can get.

I don't know fully whether getting relegated makes things easier, or worse, in future - worse I'm guessing, although you might win some games.

I know it's only 1 game into the new regime but I'm getting a bad feeling where this is going at the moment…there really is a bang of the Staunton/Kenny era off it..hope I'm wrong

It's too early to say. Given the way England played in the first half (i.e. brilliantly), we were always going to lose to them and perhaps even take a hammering. Tonight should be a better indicator of where we are and what our prospects in this group are.

I hope I don't see Brady and Doherty starting tonight. They are past it and haven't been much use lately anyway.

Yeah, I think you are pretty much right. Finland appears to be the weakest link in the group, so 6 points is a must against them. Assuming that everyone loses from England (not sure how they would treat the last 2 games if they have already won the group), the two games between Greece and Ireland give the 2nd place. whoever gets 4 points in these 2 matches is 2nd. Two draws could lead to a tie at 8 points and then goes to goal difference? which might not suit Ireland as there don't seem to be too many goals in the team. From that point of view, the 2-0 defeat to England could help the goal difference, though I doubt Greece would be demolished by England.

On paper we should be a match for them.

Just because players aren't in the UK dosen't mean they're not excellent footballers. I'm not sure we're in the same league on paper. They have strength in depth and a decent domestic league we could only dream of and plenty of lads playing regular European football.

They have a striker that's just left AZ for Benfica after a 30 goal season, he's who Troy Parrott has just been brought in to replace, not even Evan is there yet, and he's not fit enough to really contribute this time around in any case.

I'd keep expectations low tonight unless you want to drive yourselves mad lads.

The u21s in Tallaght tonight 5pm RTE will be well worth a watch. Looking forward to that too.

Thinking back, the one bit of excitment and enthusiasm we had around the team under Kenny was that brief spell where we played 3-5-2, with Parrott and Obafemi up front. We looked so much more threatening with two lads playing more centrally, working off each other. Got a few lovely combinations out of that.

I hate this thing of wingbacks playing behind wide forwards in a 3-4-3, it just feels so totally redundant, vacating the middle of the park when our midfield is already our poorest area.

Could see Parrott and Szmodics working well together as a central partnership. There's a bit of fight there, and far more of a presence than Idah offers. Then play Ogbene at wing back.

I'd like to switch to 4 at the back at some stage, but as Hallgrimsson said, it's almost as much about what the players do rather than just a set formation. As he explained in the post-match presser, if your 3 CBs are sitting back there marking one player, then one of them has to take the responsibility to step up and be an extra man in midfield. I like the way he talks about movement within the team though, there's a lot of cop-on to it, so if the players can actually start doing it after a bit more work, might see us look a bit more balanced and solid.

I think we have a lot of very promising footballers, and a few old heads who are past their best, and not enough guys in their prime used to playing in teams that dominate games, we're a bit all over the place and something I'm unsure we can patch over in the short term.

However I'm on the 4-2-3-1 train at this stage too. Greece away was when it became absolutely clear the 5 wasn't working. I think with no excellent lwb options, or even regular lb options, I'd put scales/o'Shea there, ask them to play relatively conservitably. Just because they hang back dosen't mean the whole team needs to thou, the extra body in midfield instead of centre back would hopefully help us gain some control and stop the gaping hole in midfield we always seem to have when being countereed.

We might be able to press from the front slightly more effectively then as well. I don't think we'll see that jump tonight, so I'm keeping expectations low, but I hope to God it's where we're going, if not I don't know what will happen but pain.