FAI...June 2024 Friendlies v Hungary and Portugal

[Armagh18]

Do Irish people really make good soccer players. We rarely produce a player at international level standard that can leave a player dead with skill. Liam Brady and Damien Duff are the only two that come to mind, and Georgie Best who was on another level. A Roy Keane was a great player but very limited skill wise. When it comes to nimbleness and skill, as a race we are great at the fiddle, tin whistle, bodhrán, Uileann pipe, guitar, boxing, plastering and the pen. We seem to have been overly blessed with movement in the elbow, fists and fingers, but useless with the feet. Even Irish dancers look very stiff compared to the Latins and the few lads who venture out onto the floorboards and get too ambitious are in danger of tripping over themselves. Our best chance is immigrants adding to our gene pool. We are seeing that in Athletics and the beginnings of that in soccer. There's hope yet.

I made a similar point to that here some time ago. For some reason, maybe it's just not in our DNA, but we don't produce players with much flair or creativity. We've never played any kind of winning or even 'attractive' soccer, not even in that most overrated era of Irish sport, the time of Big Jack. Maybe Eoin Hand's grossly unlucky 1982 WC qualifying campaign was as good as I remember us getting. All the home nations are variations on a theme; bar 1966, they all get found out sooner or later in tournament football. Maybe it's a Celt/ Anglo-Saxon failing of some sort.

And yes, Keane was a very effective player, but very ordinary skill and ability wise. You wouldn't confuse him with Liam Brady, much less a Messi or Ronaldo.

Roy Keane ordinary. Come on now. One of the best ever to do it.

[imtommygunn]

How many do England even produce though? Realistically that is where our best players are learning their trade. I think they produce solid players but not many in terms of flair either. They compete at a higher level yes but if they don't we don't have that much chance.

Not many over the last few decades if you happen to have the view Roy Keane was very ordinary in the terms of skill and ability wise.

Yeah tbh thinking Keane is ordinary is ridiculous.

Flair wise England had Gazza but duff near as good for flair as anything England have produced though he appears a tube now.

[rodney trotter]

Keane was very good but wouldn't be counted as a flair player who could dribble past 3 or 4 players. That wasn't his game.

[imtommygunn]

Yeah I think the conversation has became muddied somewhere. We don't produce many flair players is not unreasonable. Tbh in the "home nations " wales have probably been the best in that regard with giggs and bale.

[thewobbler]

Giggs a flair player?

Maybe for his first 2-3 seasons. After that he was a solid, team-first player with a touch of class. And that's not a criticism.

[Itchy]

Kids don't play sport in most schools at break time

Never mind play sports out in the street or estate green areas

Everything is now organized for them by adults, whereas they learned more from impromptu 2 v 2 or 3 v 3 games

This. And when they come into development squads in soccer they get all individuality bet out of them.

[Milltown Row2]

Giggs a flair player?

Maybe for his first 2-3 seasons. After that he was a solid, team-first player with a touch of class. And that's not a criticism.

First two/three seasons? His professional debut was in 91! His flair season was definitely 99 ffs! Wise up

[Armagh18]

Giggs a flair player?

Maybe for his first 2-3 seasons. After that he was a solid, team-first player with a touch of class. And that's not a criticism.

First two/three seasons? His professional debut was in 91! His flair season was definitely 99 ffs! Wise up

he turned into more a midfield brain with good passing as he got older, but when he still had the legs he was definitely a flair player!

[Captain Scarlet]

I see Cooper at Forest might be for the chop...a lad like him would be good. Or Chris Wilder too. Lads who can improve Championship players and don't lump it.

[jcpen]

The women giving the Nordie women a fair aul hammering.

[weareros]

Well done. That'll quiten the letter writer.

[Orior]

Did the six county supporters stay outside the stadium until after Ireland's national anthem was played?

[Itchy]

Did the six county supporters stay outside the stadium until after Ireland's national anthem was played?

Certainly looked like that, I missed the start and during match there was a big crowd. Then when I saw anthem clips online no supporters there. If that's what they did I hope they enjoyed the result.

[marty34]

Giggs a flair player?

Maybe for his first 2-3 seasons. After that he was a solid, team-first player with a touch of class. And that's not a criticism.

First two/three seasons? His professional debut was in 91! His flair season was definitely 99 ffs! Wise up

If they came in late, then they'd leave early after getting that battering at home.

[SaffronSports]

I'm not sure if they did or not but the backdrop might just have been that one of the stands was empty with fans only in one stand as it wasn't a sell out.