FAI...June 2024 Friendlies v Hungary and Portugal

[Esmarelda]

Really frustrating here...from diving from that bastid Lewandowski to shit players to listening to them 3 t**ts in the studio and then lads here blaming in on McGeady...FFS. Trap & MON both know the limited ability of the players we have and if we go out and play silky football against the big boys they'll tear us a new arse hole. Most of the players are playing in the Championship in England and we've some players who can't even get a game with their clubs.

23 Randolph (Was decent)
02 Coleman (Was decent)
05 Keogh (Average and should have scored)
04 O'Shea (Average Judo performance)
19 Brady (Terrible)
08 McCarthy (Poor)
06 Whelan (Brutal))
14 Walters (was poor but gives his all)
21 Hendrick (brutal)
11 McClean (BRUTAL )
09 Long (Only threat we had )

R Keane (Never touched Leather)
A McGeady (1 good Cross & at least one terrible one)
Hoolahan  ( the Messi love child of Dunphy didn't do much when he came on either)

Who will Poland? We played McCarthy and a playmaker against Germany and regardless of the result in that game we tried to play football.

If Hoolahan wasn't fit to play last night then he should have put Brady central with Wilson at left back or started Gibson in midfield.

Dunphy goes way overboard but his and the other two lads' opinion is largely right. Go out and try to play football. McCarthy will break up plenty in midfield if that's all he's asked to do. When you put other non-playing midfielders with him it turns into long ball or the full backs knocking it down the channels to win. From either approach we get the odd free-kick and that's your lot for the game.

Nine of the eleven that started play in the premier league, albeit not all are regulars. We had Gibson, Wilson, McGeady and Hoolahan to add to that. So you're factually wrong about most of our players playing in the Championship.

What...we had one chance against Germany and scored...the fecking result was a miracle. We play 11 men behind the ball no matter who we're playing because if we didn't we'd be beat, most people know that. The only time Ireland actually try to play football is when they're chasing a game and have nothing else to lose...

I'm not putting the boot in to the lads, i'm just trying to say we're not a good football team atm and we don't have the players to throw the ball about. We've a team of grafters with limited ability...Ohh yes we've got Wesley too

So you're saying against the mighty Scotland and Georgia we need to get eleven men behind the ball? Seriously? If we started the following 11, do you think we could maybe go and try to beat the likes of Poland and Scotland:
Given
Coleman, O'Shea, Delaney, Wilson
Hendrick, McCarthy, Gibson, Brady
Hoolahan
Long

Take a look at the other groups and who's in the qualifying positions. The lack of belief in the Irish team is incredible. I'm not saying we should be topping the group but to suggest that we need to get all our men behind the ball against all teams is bull. Do you include Gibraltor in that?

[rodney trotter]

Why would putting Gibson in be much better? He has been injury prone since he joined Everton and form not hectic when he has been playing.

Polands main men in central midfield plays with Sevilla in the Champions League.

[AZOffaly]

MON comes on and said Hoolahan told him he couldn't start.  Dunphy totally ignores this though and continues to rant about he should be starting!!

I didn't hear that bit. I heard him mention team rotation as there was a quick turnaround and because of the long flight (!). I'd be very surprised if a player carrying no injury asked a manager not to start him. But then again.....

I heard that, but I wonder. He phrased it sort of oddly though. If Holohan isn't ready to play two international games 3 nights apart, how is he going to manage the Premier League fixture list. It's only 10 games into the season for him or so. I'm not sure Martin was being completely up front there.

[Bingo]

MON comes on and said Hoolahan told him he couldn't start.  Dunphy totally ignores this though and continues to rant about he should be starting!!

I didn't hear that bit. I heard him mention team rotation as there was a quick turnaround and because of the long flight (!). I'd be very surprised if a player carrying no injury asked a manager not to start him. But then again.....

I heard that, but I wonder. He phrased it sort of oddly though. If Holohan isn't ready to play two international games 3 nights apart, how is he going to manage the Premier League fixture list. It's only 10 games into the season for him or so. I'm not sure Martin was being completely up front there.

That's the thing though and its not hard to look at his playing history. He rarely finishes a game for Norwich and is often rested or benched for them throughout the season. It just seems to be the way he plays that he gets rest when he needs it.

[Esmarelda]

Why would putting Gibson in be much better? He has been injury prone since he joined Everton and form not hectic when he has been playing.

Polands main men in central midfield plays with Sevilla in the Champions League.

Because he can pass the ball. Martinez is very quick to bring him on with little game time for this very reason.

You need someone that can pass it or you'll get what we got last night; 50/50 balls down the channel. Is that what we're happy with or looking for? Should we just accept it?

Dunphy went overboard pre-game but MON's view on Hoolahan is odd. Strangely, Dunphy didn't mention one thing I picked up on in his pre-match press conference. He referred to the fact that Hoolahan had only made the step-up in recent years and that it suggested that he wasn't every manager's type of player (I can't find the exact quote anywhere). Is that not a very strange thing to say about any player the day before a game?

[rodney trotter]

How much football has he played in the last 2 years ? He would be in the side if he was fit, which he isn't

The Scotland game away he started  and was over run in the middle. He was coming back from  a cruciate,  has too many Injuries since. Decent passer of the ball.

[Esmarelda]

How much football has he played in the last 2 years ? He would be in the side if he was fit, which he isn't

I'm not sure what the last two years has to do with his fitness.

I suggested him in the case of Hoolahan not being available. He's appeared for Everton over the last few weeks which means he has played more recently than Randolph, Coleman and Long.

The point is that MON is very little different than Trap. He's always been like this. He prefers workers to playmakers. What Hoolahan proved on Thursday is that these qualities aren't mutually exclusive.

[muppet]

Watching Glen Whelan really frustrates me. Simple 10 yards passes, to a man with no one near him, can somehow become 50/50 balls. For all his tackling ability, he must put the jitters up everyone else in his midfield and you would end up telling him to just hoof it. Robbie Brady seemed to catch this disease last night and James McCarthy is a different player beside him, and not in a good way.

Roy Keane, even now, would be a better option. F*ck it surely Giles even now would be a better passer.

[AZOffaly]

Robbie Brady had a nightmare last night. A bit better delivery from dead balls, or from open play, and that Polish defence would have been all over the gaff. Opportunity missed I think.

[Maroon Manc]

A bit of realisation is required, there's very little between Ireland & Poland and if Lewandowski played for Ireland we'd have qualified over Poland with a few points to spare.

It was a tough group, probably the toughest group with a resurgent Scotland team finishing below us.

There was only about 70 hours rest between the 2 games and after beating the world champions going to Poland to get a result was always going to be extremely difficult.

Long term their is huge worry though, its been a long time since we produced a world class player and we're relying on 2nd and 3rd generation Irish to add quality to the team.

As for Wes Hoolahan, I don't recall anyone trying to buy him when Norwich when he was relegated a few years ago. He's a decent player who has been unbelievably overrated by Dunphy.

[rodney trotter]

How much football has he played in the last 2 years ? He would be in the side if he was fit, which he isn't

I'm not sure what the last two years has to do with his fitness.

I suggested him in the case of Hoolahan not being available. He's appeared for Everton over the last few weeks which means he has played more recently than Randolph, Coleman and Long.

The point is that MON is very little different than Trap. He's always been like this. He prefers workers to playmakers. What Hoolahan proved on Thursday is that these qualities aren't mutually exclusive.

Randolph ,  Long havenn't been dogged by injuries have they?. Gibson needs to get back playing regular playing club before being the savior in a vital game against Poland

http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDIQFjADahUKEwib4reX5rzIAhVEHT4KHVlvCDk&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishexaminer.com%2Fsport%2Fsoccer%2Fmartin-oneill-darron-gibson-injury-saga-worrying-351550.html&usg=AFQjCNHt0tdo7N1UVPPqVInsDzRDGbH0Ew&bvm=bv.104819420,d.d24

[imtommygunn]

How much football has he played in the last 2 years ? He would be in the side if he was fit, which he isn't

I'm not sure what the last two years has to do with his fitness.

I suggested him in the case of Hoolahan not being available. He's appeared for Everton over the last few weeks which means he has played more recently than Randolph, Coleman and Long.

The point is that MON is very little different than Trap. He's always been like this. He prefers workers to playmakers. What Hoolahan proved on Thursday is that these qualities aren't mutually exclusive.

I would agree with a lot of what you say. MON and Trap are two peas in a pod. They have both done well with what they've got but it pained me greatly to see our approach for scotland and not just scotland but poland last night too. Glen Whelan was not the man for the job. That being said I still think he has done well but when you need that something extra he just seems very conventional which can be frustrating.

Hoolohan is not the be all and end all granted but he was very very good against Germany so hard to see why he was dropped.

Coleman has been injured a lot over the past year or so.

[rodney trotter]

Coleman is one the righy backs in the Premier League, of course he was going to be starting in a important game against Poland.

[Maroon Manc]

Looks like we won't be seeded for the draw, would love to know why Scotland are ranked 14 places above us. Austria are in 11th, their record in qualifying is worse than ours the last 15 years. Hungary who haven't qualified for a tournament since 1986 are 20 places above us, the rankings are a disgrace.

[AZOffaly]

In the UEFA coefficient we're not going to be ranked? I thought a few weeks ago on here it looked like we would be, and surely beating Germany and losing in Poland narrowly wouldn't have hurt that much?