FAI...Spring friendlies for Interim Manager - Belgium/Swiss

Started by CĂșig huaire, November 19, 2009, 01:34:00 PM

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nrico2006

Completely off topic, but does anyone know the name of the young Irish footballer who is going on trial to Real Madrid.  I read about it last week but can't find anything online about it.

We were talking earlier in work about football in general, and the topic cropped up on how the game has evolved over the past lock of years.  What was talked about was why is there a dearth of Irish talent coming through at the top level.  There seems to be a real lack of top class players coming out of the Country, and for a game that is played by the majority of young boys in Ireland then surely we should be producing more top class talent.  We got talking about why the standard or quality of player being produced in Ireland and in the UK in general is not as high as that produced by alot of other obvious strong footballing nations, as well as some less 'big' footballing nations.  Is this a by product of the modern game and how football is more about tactics and strategies now than ever before, are clubs turning their players into 'team players' from a young age at the expense of allowing flair to prevail.  Ireland and the rest of the British Isles have lots of structures in place at both club level and international level, but are the players being moulded into parts of a jigsaw from an early age now instead of allowing them to flourish creatively and make their own mistakes along the way.  Nowadays, it seems that there are more and more teams internationally and domestically who are well drilled sides filled with average players who are extremely fit and well organised, yet they lack any creative spark or the ability to do anything out of the ordinary.  These kind of teams are becoming more common, and to an extent they can be technically successful as they are hard to beat.  The current Ireland and Northern Ireland teams are examples of this, both teams bunged with average players with great levels of determination, grit and fitness.  But they have little else.  Whenever you watch a Republic or Northern Ireland game, you do not really expect them to actually score, well score too many.  If they do score it is usually from a free kick, corner or penalty.  How has this come about?  The Paddy McCourt situation is an example of flair being rendered unimportant.  He is a player that has something special, but he doesn't fit into the 21st century ideal of running about and working like a maniac without the ball.  Should footballers not be encouraged to do what they do best, can 'flair' players not be encouraged?  Why are there no footballers like Giggs or Best being produced anymore, is it being coached out of them from their early teens? 

We seem to have a lack of creative, technical midfield players coming through as well.  Growing up it seemed to be that the type of player to succeed was the fastest player, the mentality was that you had to try and beat a man, but it has become obvious now that while it is good to have a player who can do this, the key to a successful team is the player who can operate in refined spaces and pull the strings, a player with great control, touch, passing and vision.  Why is there none being produced here, is there too much focus from an early age on athleticism and strength as opposed to mastering the skills with the ball, or is the rise of Futsal the reason behind the countries outside the UK and Ireland bringing through more technically gifted players? 

I made reference earlier to natural talent and flair being coached out of players once they join up with football teams at 11, 12 or 13.  This all came into my head as I was looking at the nationalities of alot of the Arsenal players last night, where alot of players are coming from non traditional footballing powerhouses, yet technically they are great.  Is it because of the lack of coaching structures that these countries are producing the players there that play as they have done all their youth or is there another reason?  I just find it hard to gauge that a country like Ireland, with large numbers playing football from an early age, produces a lack of real top class talent.  Everyone grew up playing in the streets and trying overhead kicks, stepovers and back heels, everybody knew someone who was amazingly gifted from a flair point of view, yet look at the national team and the national team over the last 10 years and all you have is average skilled footballers with work ethic.  Where is all the talent going, is it being coached out of them to fit into a certain style or tactic once they move to organised footballer teams in their teens?  Surely the average youngster in Ireland at 9 is as good as that in France or Holland? 
'To the extreme I rock a mic like a vandal, light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle.'

muppet

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2010/1215/irelands.html

Ireland wants to play for Ireland again to help put Ireland in the shop window.

Whaddayous think?

Sounds like a wind up to me.
MWWSI 2017

Celt_Man

Quote from: muppet on December 15, 2010, 11:27:45 PM
http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2010/1215/irelands.html

Ireland wants to play for Ireland again to help put Ireland in the shop window.

Whaddayous think?

Sounds like a wind up to me.

Neck on him like a jockey's bollox
GAA Board Six Nations Fantasy Champion 2010

The Real Laoislad



Republic invite to expanded 'home nations'

The English FA has invited the Republic of Ireland to participate in a new look competition which would also include Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

England who originally turned down an invitation to participate in the Carling Nations Cup, are believed to be enthusiastic now about organising the five-team event which may begin in 2013.

The format has yet to be agreed, with a decision still to be made over the duration of tournament and whether or not the event will be staged at one venue.

The Carling Nations Cup involving the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales kicks-off next month at the Aviva Stadium, with the concluding matches to be played at the same venue at the end of May.
You'll Never Walk Alone.

Rossfan

Confirmation that the FAI and its soccer game are British  ;D
Davy's given us a dream to cling to
We're going to bring home the SAM

ross4life

Good idea to bring back the home nations tournament. hopefully they scrap the international friendlies now as they are a complete waste of time.
The key to success is to be consistently competitive -- if you bang on the door often it will open

The Real Laoislad

Yeah I think its a great idea,nice that the Republic have been asked to play.
I think its a one off but it be nice if they had it every 2 or 3 years.
You'll Never Walk Alone.

The Real Laoislad

Delighted for Carr and Fahy tonight hope they go on to win Carling Cup now,especially Carr always liked him.
You'll Never Walk Alone.

Main Street

Why did Carr become one of the most disliked players (amongst fans) on the Irish team, when he did play?

Billys Boots

Quote from: Main Street on January 28, 2011, 11:45:58 AM
Why did Carr become one of the most disliked players (amongst fans) on the Irish team, when he did play?

My recollection is that he resigned from international football to concentrate on his club career quite early, I think around age 26-27.  He was never the most affable interviewee either.  :)
My hands are stained with thistle milk ...

Main Street

Carr retired about the age of the age of 30 and came back afterwards to play a few more games.

Perhaps some of the jilted journalists who were fond of deliberate misquoting, took some extra liberties painting a perception of a sourpuss Stephen Carr. Added to that, I suspect the fact the team manager kept selecting Carr to play at FB, was regarded as the player's fault.

muppet

Hopefully Trap finally decides to start McCarthy. He is becoming a serious footballer.
MWWSI 2017

Declan

QuoteHopefully Trap finally decides to start McCarthy. He is becoming a serious footballer.

Well he's withdrawn due to "injury" so we'll have to wait

Orangemac

Some of the bigger clubs will be in for McCarthy this summer. Surprising only Wigan and Wolves were in for him 2 years ago.

Can he still play for Scotland as he has not played competitively?

Things are looking good for Ireland with McCarthy, Doyle, Coleman, Wilson and Best all in good form. Is O'Hara still keen on playing. If so he should be called into the squad.

The Real Laoislad

Quote from: Orangemac on February 06, 2011, 11:51:42 PM


Things are looking good for Ireland with McCarthy, Doyle, Coleman, Wilson and Best all in good form. Is O'Hara still keen on playing. If so he should be called into the squad.

Eh no he shouldn't f**k him..
I don't think he was ever keen on playing for Ireland.
You'll Never Walk Alone.