FAI...June 2024 Friendlies v Hungary and Portugal

[mouview]

No-one is using last night's game against Kenny. We are using the last 6 though. It's been awful. We clearly don't have the players for this style of football. Let's not forget we needed a last minute goal from Duffy to draw against Bulgaria a team that McCarthy second string beat 3-0 only a few months earlier. Secondly enough of this unlucky shite. For the biggest game of them all we were so so lucky, Slovakia were decimated with Corona but we still couldn't take advantage. Far too many naively backing Kenny. I wanted him to do well but even the most pessimistic following his appt wouldn't have seen this shit show coming.

Results latterly under Mick McCarthy were no different and the football was (even more) putrid. It's been a long long time coming, but this is now payback time for all those years where we wasted talent by playing long-ball stuff and packing our team with players who've had only tenuous links to the country. Our native-born players are being pushed ever more to the margins and lower reaches of English football as the effects of globalism and waves of hungrier (almost literally!) and far more capable players are supplanting them in England's better clubs.

Irish football is at its usual crossroads of putting its faith in British-born players who mostly declare for Ireland when they can't make it for the country of their birth, thus ensuring we'll nearly always be inferior to the others, or promoting 'native' players drawn from a small pool in the Irish leagues, in which case we'll be decades probably before we're properly competitive again. The solution more than likely will be the usual hybrid mixture of both. Rinse and repeat. We'll probably muddle through to an occasional Euro championships, like Scotland last night, but WC appearances are going to be rare events for the foreseeable years ahead.

[Baile Brigín 2]

No-one is using last night's game against Kenny. We are using the last 6 though. It's been awful. We clearly don't have the players for this style of football. Let's not forget we needed a last minute goal from Duffy to draw against Bulgaria a team that McCarthy second string beat 3-0 only a few months earlier. Secondly enough of this unlucky shite. For the biggest game of them all we were so so lucky, Slovakia were decimated with Corona but we still couldn't take advantage. Far too many naively backing Kenny. I wanted him to do well but even the most pessimistic following his appt wouldn't have seen this shit show coming.

Results latterly under Mick McCarthy were no different and the football was (even more) putrid. It's been a long long time coming, but this is now payback time for all those years where we wasted talent by playing long-ball stuff and packing our team with players who've had only tenuous links to the country. Our native-born players are being pushed ever more to the margins and lower reaches of English football as the effects of globalism and waves of hungrier (almost literally!) and far more capable players are supplanting them in England's better clubs.

Irish football is at its usual crossroads of putting its faith in British-born players who mostly declare for Ireland when they can't make it for the country of their birth, thus ensuring we'll nearly always be inferior to the others, or promoting 'native' players drawn from a small pool in the Irish leagues, in which case we'll be decades probably before we're properly competitive again. The solution more than likely will be the usual hybrid mixture of both. Rinse and repeat. We'll probably muddle through to an occasional Euro championships, like Scotland last night, but WC appearances are going to be rare events for the foreseeable years ahead.

I think Kenny is allergic to the granny rule. He picked an entirely Irish born team recently v Wales. Of last nights XI only Christie and O'Dowda are non Irish born with Collins on the bench, none of whom would normally start. 6 of the squad came through the LoI route.

[BennyCake]

I could accept an argument that Kenny was trying to get us to play football more if we were scoring goals and shipping them at the back but we're not. If we were playing football we'd be scoring goals. We are clearly not.

Yes, Ireland dont have natural goalscorers, great wingers, great crossers or passers. So where are the goals going to come from? Normally it's set pieces (mainly Duffy). So find a big glipe and throw it up to him. Who gives a shite what it looks like, as long as it gets results. Or goals for that matter!

Because its not 1970. Center halves are bigger now. The last 3 managers couldn't find that lump and thats how they played.

Its time to link up soccer. Nobody plays long ball in Ireland anymore but suddenly they need to learn it for the national side? Kenny is a reformer. These players played fluid passing soccer until they moved to England. They didn't forget it.

Maybe it's not 1970, but teams set up more defensively at international level. Less and less teams get beat 7-0 or 8-0. They're harder to break down. And it's difficult to pass through teams, especially the better teams. Ireland don't have a Xavi or Iniesta, who can thread passes through the eye of a needle. Ireland are never going to dominate possession, or spray it around comfortably. They don't have the players suited to that game. This playing along the back four, and hoping to win a set piece now and again in the hope of a chance, is balls.

I'm not advocating lumping the ball up to the big man every time they get the ball, but mix it up. Give the opposition something to think about. Widen the pitch. I always think even if a big man fails to win a header/the ball, the opposition still have to deal with it. Better having the ball in the opposing half and them under some sort of pressure than diddly-deeing the ball along your back four and getting absolutely nowhere.

[general_lee]

Actually played some nice football last night in the first half at times. Overall though it doesn't matter what style you go with if you don't put the ball in the net. I wouldn't be too hard on Stephen Kenny, he HAS been incredibly unlucky. Agree with Bennycake need to shake up a bit. NI play a bit like that. Ireland have better players than recent results show

[Ed Ricketts]

Would those complaining that we don't have the players to play possession based football (even though that's exactly the type of football most are comfortable with at club level) also recognise that we don't seem to have the players to play our customary brand of McCarthy/ O'Neill dinosaurball?

I've made this point previously, but it's worth stating again - ignoring the minnows Gibraltar and Moldova, we managed 13 goals in the 20 competitive games prior to Kenny taking charge. That return got us no where and was so putrid to watch that people were turning away in droves. This is why a new direction is justified.

[illdecide]

Is it simply down to not having the players, they're just not good enough. Yes we can get another manager in who can set us up to be harder to beat but still lose 1-0 or 2-0 anyway, we're scraping the bottom of the barrel here and i don't think there's a whole lot we can do about it. If Kenny played the long game people would be saying "FFS I'd rather lose trying to play football" but the results are still the same no matter who manages and what style we play. Look at the divisions and leagues our players are playing in? what standard are you expecting coming from lower leagues?

[Itchy]

Is it simply down to not having the players, they're just not good enough. Yes we can get another manager in who can set us up to be harder to beat but still lose 1-0 or 2-0 anyway, we're scraping the bottom of the barrel here and i don't think there's a whole lot we can do about it. If Kenny played the long game people would be saying "FFS I'd rather lose trying to play football" but the results are still the same no matter who manages and what style we play. Look at the divisions and leagues our players are playing in? what standard are you expecting coming from lower leagues?

exactly, a manager can only get the players he has playing to the best. This teams best will never be enough to compete with the top 10 teams in the world.

[Ed Ricketts]

U21s let in a 93rd minute goal to lose at home to Iceland today, and, in the process, ballsed up the best opportunity Ireland have ever had to qualify for a tournament at this grade.

Long time since Irish soccer has had a good news story.

[JPGJOHNNYG]

Losing again. Not scored again. It really is dire stuff

[weareros]

Looked a very poor Welsh team that could still have won 4-0 in the end only for two amazing saves from Randolph and Hendrick having to take a red after Byrne put the Welshman right through, which sums up the poor quality in that team.

[Captain Obvious]

1-0 v Wales
3-0 v England
1-0 v Finland
0-0 v Wales
0-0 v Slovakia beaten on penalties
1-0 v Finland
1-1 v Bulgaria

Only goal in 7 games was in Stephen Kenny's first match and it was Shane Duffy goal deep into injury-time.

[Fear Bun Na Sceilpe]

1-0 v Wales
3-0 v England
1-0 v Finland
0-0 v Wales
0-0 v Slovakia beaten on penalties
1-0 v Finland
1-1 v Bulgaria

Only goal in 7 games was in Stephen Kenny's first match and it was Shane Duffy goal deep into injury-time.

Canny make a silk purse from a sows ear. U21s beat by Iceland too

[BennyCake]

Probably a good thing fans can't attend games. Bad enough having to watch free on tv without paying £50 or £60 for a ticket to watch it.

[themac_23]

I used to love watching Ireland games, this week I watched the first 20 mins of the England game and actually watched none of last nights game. up to the end of MONs time id have never missed a game. the 1 thing I want out of an Ireland team is to be competitive, we aren't at all. Stephen Kenny wants to play a brand of football that he doesn't have the players for, its a cliche saying but you play the hand you're dealt. get a system in place and stick to it. for all his faults that's what Mick McCarthy done at every team he was at, if he had limited players he built the founds on hard work and dogged defending, get the ball into the opposition half then try work off knock Downs 2nd balls. not the prettiest but effective enough. I think Kenny will get the chance of qualification although in my opinion he's not the man, if he gets us to the WC then il gladly eat humble pie because well be in a major tournament. Throwing it out there, the next Ireland manager should be Sam Allardyce, gets a tune out of every squad he goes into with limited players. he's a perfect fit for our job I think

[6th sam]

I used to love watching Ireland games, this week I watched the first 20 mins of the England game and actually watched none of last nights game. up to the end of MONs time id have never missed a game. the 1 thing I want out of an Ireland team is to be competitive, we aren't at all. Stephen Kenny wants to play a brand of football that he doesn't have the players for, its a cliche saying but you play the hand you're dealt. get a system in place and stick to it. for all his faults that's what Mick McCarthy done at every team he was at, if he had limited players he built the founds on hard work and dogged defending, get the ball into the opposition half then try work off knock Downs 2nd balls. not the prettiest but effective enough. I think Kenny will get the chance of qualification although in my opinion he's not the man, if he gets us to the WC then il gladly eat humble pie because well be in a major tournament. Throwing it out there, the next Ireland manager should be Sam Allardyce, gets a tune out of every squad he goes into with limited players. he's a perfect fit for our job I think

At long last, it's only taken 579 pages on this thread, but eventually someone has seen sense and realised that Sam Allardyce is the man to bring us home a World Cup😜
Is this same Sam Allardyce who Derided Kevin Kilbane for declaring for Ireland , and had to
Leave the England post.
I don't pretend to know much about it, but surely we have a mountain to climb to be meaningfully competitive on the international stage. We may as well go with a manager who seems genuine and motivated to make us better in the long term, and isn't a mercenary paid millions to make us slightly more competitive in the short term.