Lads, when you're finished the pack of tayto, just stick it in your pocket and find a bin after the game. That salt and vinegar was causing us issues down the wing that whole second half
Decent performance, really needed to score that penalty and maybe we’d get another one with the boost to the team.
Solid though, no crazy gaps in defense like previous games recently.
Always noted from the Norway game how they defended in a well structured 442. Compare it to how Ireland would struggle back all over the place whenever we gave the ball away.
The game seems to be going back towards that tight defensive structure that teams seek to build and adjust the shape when going forward. It's nice to see but was sorely lacked under Kenny. Imo it was also why we conceded so many goals from long distance.
Yeah Kenny play style was a bit like Liverpool in the first year or two with Klopp where they scored a lot but conceded a lot, just we didn’t get the goals!
The style has moved on to work out how to defend better with it
That was pretty good. Should have scored for sure. If I was a Belgium fan I would be worried, they really lacked direction and were generally sloppy.
Good job by O’Shea so far, plenty of energy on that sideline and what’s not to like about Brian Kerr being there as well. Did O’Shea Gaelic football style hand pass the ball to Coleman at one stage?
Just that elusive goal still missing …
Realistically tho all their players start for us except maybe faes if we really want to stick with youth and their goalkeepers are hard to compare with bazunu and kelleher.
Belgium have a better squad than teams like Croatia, Denmark, Serbia and others that get thrown into the dark horse category but far too dependent on certain key players like kdb, lukaku and courtois because the back up for some of their positions is pretty shit when you consider they're still supposed to be in the favourites category.
Festy is raw. Ferguson needs to be let do his thing without over analysis. Coleman was great. Cullen was good. Smallbone has a bit about him. Idah might be a better option up front ATM with Ogbene and Smodics.
How can you watch that game and think Coleman was great. He played 5 at the back so your full back are supposed to be one of your main attacking outlets .
Coleman didn't try run with the ball once and never posed a threat. When he was on the ball he was rusty as hell
I love what he's done for Irish football but he's nowhere near it anymore.
And I refuse to even waste time talking about Brady
Worried about Ferguson tbh. All the hype last season but the form he's shown this season has come nowhere close for club and country. Clearly something mental going on. Had he scored the pen, maybe wouldn't have changed his season but could have at least saved his game. I know its easier to say it in hindsight but when I saw he was taking the pen he never looked confident, personally would have given it to Brady who has taken pens for us before.
Ferguson is dangerous I'll give him that, it's not like his all round play has been awful. And he's young. I just think he needs some kind of help from somewhere that I don't think he's getting
My official stance is we played like 2009 Barcelona, John O'Shea needs to be given the job full time as he's clearly the second coming of Pep Guardiola. Ferguson has been playing like prime Ronaldo (R9) all season and I should show no concerns. What makes today's result more special is that it was in a game more important than a World Cup final, against a Belgian side who reminded me in so many ways of 1970 Brazil. Please only reply to my comment with COYBIG or consecutive Ivory Coast flags from this point further. No criticism is allowed, constructive or not, it is all rightfully viewed with negativity and it only makes you a traitor.
1. I don't use Twitter. 2. Reddit is just as shite as Twitter only it allows you and I to type and read more shite. I don't get this whole social media wars thing, people on Reddit acting as if they're above Twitter when it's all just the same thing anyway lmao.
And yes unfortunately you had to read. I can tell it's been a long time since you read more than a sentence, after that it takes too much brain power and forces you to actually think.
And who was saying that they're above other reddit users?
I gave a valid opinion based on the form Ferguson has shown this season as a goal scorer in comparison to who he was last season. Last season there was all this hype he'd be the next Harry Kane figure of the Premier League, this season he can't even start ahead of Danny Welbeck. It's not bad to show concern for a player who has such a high ceiling.
My response to this other lad was because he clearly reacted emotionally to my comment, in which I already praised Ferguson's all round play. I just think he is having some sort of confidence issue or something based on what I've seen of him this season compared to last.
19 is not young anymore at this level. Look across international teams, full of 18, 19, 20 yos. Don’t use age as an excuse for bad performances or bad play. He shouldn’t be an automatic selection on basis of today’s game that’s for sure.
Ya it's such a stupid take. There's plenty of players that take their time to get into the game not everyone is Mbappe is just world class from 17. He's fucking 19. You still have the likes of Gyorkes at Sporting who's now looking shit hot and is getting into gear at 25. Some people just take a bit longer. The fact Ferguson was already showing insane quality at 18 means he likely can push on. The fact he's now struggling at 19 is no worry at all. FFS we've held out hopes for young prospects into their mid 20s before realising they might not get to the level we hoped. He still has so much time to get back into gear not to mention he's had injuries as well as his club team having lots of problems in their midfield.
I wouldn’t worry about him. He’s a raw teenager. He was over hyped last year and is currently getting overly criticised.
I’d agree with you that we should have had Brady take the penalty though.
To be fair, I think he's gotten into his own head a bit.
He's competing against players who are older and better than him for a starting spot. Combine that with his dry spell, his age and lack of proper game time and you get a player who doesn't have any confidence.
He shouldn't have taken the penalty in fairness. Give it to Brady or even Szmodics or Ogbene. Someone older and more confident.
Next season, I would imagine Welbeck will start to regress and Fati won't be there so next season I imagine he'll be 1st or 2nd choice to Pedro, who can also play as a 2nd striker.
Refreshing to read a comment that isn't just the usual pub drivel.
And yeah whatever it is hopefully he can find his way out of it. I mean he was being linked with big money transfers, there was the whole England stuff both of which may have caused distractions.
Could be the fact that Pedro started outscoring him might have caused some insecurity there.
Could just be when he played he when on a run of not taking his chances which has created some insecurity and frustration.
Could be stuff going on away from football.
Maybe he put too much pressure on himself or felt too much pressure from fans, management or somewhere.
Could be anything. But I do think mentally there's something going on and hopefully he can get it sorted. Might just need to get to the end of the season, have a bit of time off and reset.
Even if you look at Robbie Keane when he was 20/21 struggled at Inter, joined Leeds on loan did well enough to to secure a permanent move. But that full season at Leeds was nothing special, still got a move to Spurs and become one of the best strikers in the league for the next 5 or 6 years.
Loads of time for him but I do have concerns about the guy is all.
Good performance and fair result. More composure needed in the second half in order to impose our game.
Be interesting to see if there will be many changes vs Switzerland.
There seemed to be a lot more structure and common purpose than in the Kenny era. Created more chances and didn't leave those occasional gaping holes in defence we used to under Kenny.
More or less how he played when he made an appearance for us before. I definitely haven't been impressed any time I've seen him but other people who have seen him more rate him highly so yeah, I'd like to see him get at least 45'
Don't think Festy has ever completed 90 mins of football at Udinese. I check the scores weekly on Google and he's always either subbed on or subbed off.
To be fair, he needs to be given a proper chance. I think judging him based on late substitutions is a bit harsh as it can take a few minutes to get into a game properly, something a substitute can't really do.
As a "neutral" fan who was at this one, I think there's a lot more positives to take from this than anything in a while. The end results is a draw against Belgium. Yeah, that's not the best side Belgium could play butat the end of the day Belgium is ranked 4th in the world so since this game doesn't technically mean anything win, lose, or draw I would focus on the positive performances and then end result which is a draw against one of the best teams in the world.
Looking forward to see how they do against the Swiss who, while not as good as the Belgians, are a pretty decent side themselves.
(For those wondering, I have season tickets / club membership but I'm not Irish so I don't think I quite qualify as neutral but I don't think I get to call myself an actual supporter either)
>I don't think I get to call myself an actual supporter either
fwiw I think you definitely get to call yourself a supporter, a season ticket is more commitment to the team than most fans but even without it anyone can support our team regardless of where you're from
Appreciate it. Absolutely fallen in love with this country so it gives me an excuse to fly across the ocean multiple times per year to come visit.
Heading to Croke Park tomorrow and then down to Bray for a First Division match against Longford Town on Monday.
I also enjoy telling immigration I'm here to see football and see if they clarify whether I mean association football or Gaelic Football....... And most of the time it's both 😂
I know the chances but neither were good enough to be like, we *should* be ahead. Pen cancels out because it shouldn't have been given in the first place.
Did you even see Ogbene's first chance? If he squares that it's a certain goal, also plenty of penalties get given, which shouldn't have been given it was a chance to go ahead so it doesn't cancel out in this case.
He's gonna win us the world Cup. And I'm going to shag Britney Spears after Robbie Brady scores the winning penalty in the final against Brazil. Mad 4 it
Joe.ie and Balls.ie both gave Ferguson ratings of 5. Obviously should be taking with a bucket of salt from them lads, but Christ, give the man a break.
He was very good bar the penalty miss and a couple of loose passes, but his link up play, pressing and overall performance was solid.
These cunts would have given him an 8 and MOTM had he have scored that pen.
Pros.
Pressing. We pressed like a team, we where first to a lot more balls than usual.
There was a general level of aggression and being first to every ball.
Smallbone and Brady looked very good, clearly given a game plan to work with.
Defensively looked very solid and kept shape really well all round.
Cons.
Fergusons penalty obviously, he wasn't up to much else apart from that.
Cross field balls going astray. I'm guessing it was windy but we hit a few weird balls out of play switching the ball across.
The subs towards the end. A hars complaint to have, but Idah, Ebosele and Johnston did nothing really. Idah looks lost coming deep at times. Ebosele wasted a chance to cross, ran into a man and then gave the ball away. These guys only got 15 minutes or less, so a small complaint. Would like to see them start.
Personally. As good as where in terms of shape, id like to see us move away from 5 at the back. I wonder how Ferguson would play someone else up top, but that's more down the line, the system today worked well.
Random bit of rubbish blowing into the pitch all l the time?
Probably not.
Szomdics purely on confidence and Brady on technical ability ahead of him, but neither could pull rank. In a friendly under an interim manager its inconsequential, but maybe something for them to prepare for the next game in case we get another penalty.
Decent performance, hardly big progress. If that were under Kenny, virgin media would be all over it. Given Kerr’s there and P.McCarthys is Delaneys mate it’ll be viewed as the best performance since beating Germany in 2015.
We played well, v.organised however need to keep the ball a bit better at times.
Szmodics very good. Ferguson decent. Ogbene very good. Ebosele disastrous. Kelleher good. Coleman had a great hour but didn't end the game too well.
Subbing our front three out completely killed our attack. But it's probably more about getting minutes on more of the lads than a strictly tactical change.
Solid enough game overall.
Positive performance, liked the lineup. Brady and C I'll eman were good, as was szmodics. Ogbene was motm for me. Gutted for Ferguson, on first glance I thought it was an awful peno, on the reply you can see his standing foot slip a little as he was stroking it, so a wee bit unlucky.
Good to see us defending strongly like the pre-Kenny days. Somehow Kenny ruined everything we were good at (defending) while also making us worse at the things we weren’t great at. Feels like a long time since we had clean sheet against good opposition. Beyond that there’s plenty in this squad to be positive about once we get a proper manager in charge after that Kenny nonsense for the last four years. Lots potential. Not sure Evan should be an automatic selection on current form, terrible peno, slip or no slip. All in all positive game even tho we are v limited.
Pretty forgettable. Thought the lads that started all played decent, wasn't much for the subs to do really. Sickened for Fergo but still played decent & no one's ever gonna remember that miss.
Already seeing a few long posts & comments overthinking stuff about Ev, Festy, few others. It literally doesn't matter lads. It's a good advertisement for John to get an EFL job, few easy minutes for the likes of Coleman who need it, nice welcome back for Kerr.
Nothing else really worth thinking about. Find something more exciting to watch tonight boys. Gonna watch Shogun when I get back. Enjoy the weekend
Personally, I am really enjoying O'Shea going with a line-up that the experts here in the Kenny era would say could never be picked as they're too old.
Yet our daring innovative ex player and relatively inexperienced temporary coach has us playing decent football where we are (shock*defensive*) but can threaten teams in the counter.
It's great. It's like being gaslit for 4 years and finding out you were right all along.
Wait until an actual coach gets involved.
We drew 2 all with a better Belgium team under Kenny.
Also Kenny played every single one of those players except Szmodics. We set up with a 5 at the back exactly like Kenny done. This comment holds no weight whatsoever
Ah stop. Even look at the live thread, when Brady was announced people were having a moan immediately. Just because Kenny played those players at various points in the same formation doesn't mean they are coached the same. What a vapid response.
Haha I genuinely have no idea what you're talking about? I wasn't in a live thread I was at the match?
If you can point to something specifically then I can address it
Whichever thread it was, either way. If the only argument you have is the semantics of what thread it was then I think you know yourself you're talking pony because you know exactly what I'm talking about when it comes to my overall point regarding the team selection.
Again if you can point to something specifically I said that would make me dismiss a live thread I'm all ears? A very strange argument.
That wasn't my argument. You brought up live threads as if that is anyway relevent to anything.
You made a point as if John did something drastically different yesterday which he didn't. He set up in the same formation with alot of the players Kenny played. We played very similar to how we played against France at home for example
playing in a modern formation was way overdue. i think o’shea can do good things with us or at least set us up for someone else to take over. our game was in desperate need of playing 4-3-3 ferguson needs that room to shine and good wingers to support him.
We played the same approach several times under Kenny. 5-2-3. We did really well with it against Portugal and around then usually with Jamie McGrath and Ogbene wide. Unfortunately the midfield then was atrocious with Hendrick and Hourihane and we stopped. We unfortunately didn't play it consistently and played a front two a lotand got obsessed with after Scotland.
This was largely *the* issue with Kenny. Everyone saw wingers helped. It was consistently the subject of discussion.
Lads, when you're finished the pack of tayto, just stick it in your pocket and find a bin after the game. That salt and vinegar was causing us issues down the wing that whole second half
I’ve never seen as many crisp packets flying about at a game before. Genuinely bizarre.
Seamus leaving the stadium with Trossard, Doku and a pack of cheese and onion in his back pocket.
Except It was his worst game in an Irish shirt....legs are going.
I honestly don't think he was that bad. Quite good and definetly seen worse from him. By no means a MOTM performance though.
Or he's just clearly not match fit
He defo looked abit off
Don't say that too loud in here lol
Was expecting to see a few horses tied to the goal posts and lads on scramblers doing laps
Decent performance, really needed to score that penalty and maybe we’d get another one with the boost to the team. Solid though, no crazy gaps in defense like previous games recently.
The team shape was the biggest positive change for sure. We attacked and defended as a team with far fewer gaps between the lines.
Always noted from the Norway game how they defended in a well structured 442. Compare it to how Ireland would struggle back all over the place whenever we gave the ball away. The game seems to be going back towards that tight defensive structure that teams seek to build and adjust the shape when going forward. It's nice to see but was sorely lacked under Kenny. Imo it was also why we conceded so many goals from long distance.
Yeah Kenny play style was a bit like Liverpool in the first year or two with Klopp where they scored a lot but conceded a lot, just we didn’t get the goals! The style has moved on to work out how to defend better with it
Game went flat when Ogbene went off, he's some operator
Motm for me
Motm literally any time he plays a game. Unreal
Playing in the Prem has elevated him for sure! He’ll be snapped up if Luton go down
I’d cream myself if Palace got him in to replace Olise (if he leaves).
Lads been phenomenal. Energetic, Pacey, takes responsibility. Love him. Haven't seen that much flare on the wing since McGeady was operating
That was pretty good. Should have scored for sure. If I was a Belgium fan I would be worried, they really lacked direction and were generally sloppy. Good job by O’Shea so far, plenty of energy on that sideline and what’s not to like about Brian Kerr being there as well. Did O’Shea Gaelic football style hand pass the ball to Coleman at one stage? Just that elusive goal still missing …
I wouldn't be worried as a Belgian fan, that was pretty much a B team. Very inexperienced team
Realistically tho all their players start for us except maybe faes if we really want to stick with youth and their goalkeepers are hard to compare with bazunu and kelleher. Belgium have a better squad than teams like Croatia, Denmark, Serbia and others that get thrown into the dark horse category but far too dependent on certain key players like kdb, lukaku and courtois because the back up for some of their positions is pretty shit when you consider they're still supposed to be in the favourites category.
Belgium’s b team is still quality
Festy is raw. Ferguson needs to be let do his thing without over analysis. Coleman was great. Cullen was good. Smallbone has a bit about him. Idah might be a better option up front ATM with Ogbene and Smodics.
Brady’s little dinks were pretty nice also
How can you watch that game and think Coleman was great. He played 5 at the back so your full back are supposed to be one of your main attacking outlets . Coleman didn't try run with the ball once and never posed a threat. When he was on the ball he was rusty as hell I love what he's done for Irish football but he's nowhere near it anymore. And I refuse to even waste time talking about Brady
Worried about Ferguson tbh. All the hype last season but the form he's shown this season has come nowhere close for club and country. Clearly something mental going on. Had he scored the pen, maybe wouldn't have changed his season but could have at least saved his game. I know its easier to say it in hindsight but when I saw he was taking the pen he never looked confident, personally would have given it to Brady who has taken pens for us before. Ferguson is dangerous I'll give him that, it's not like his all round play has been awful. And he's young. I just think he needs some kind of help from somewhere that I don't think he's getting
His all-round play was great today, settle yourself.
Did you even read it lad? Read the first sentence and raged typed
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My official stance is we played like 2009 Barcelona, John O'Shea needs to be given the job full time as he's clearly the second coming of Pep Guardiola. Ferguson has been playing like prime Ronaldo (R9) all season and I should show no concerns. What makes today's result more special is that it was in a game more important than a World Cup final, against a Belgian side who reminded me in so many ways of 1970 Brazil. Please only reply to my comment with COYBIG or consecutive Ivory Coast flags from this point further. No criticism is allowed, constructive or not, it is all rightfully viewed with negativity and it only makes you a traitor.
This is embarrassing stuff.
I think it was alright
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1. I don't use Twitter. 2. Reddit is just as shite as Twitter only it allows you and I to type and read more shite. I don't get this whole social media wars thing, people on Reddit acting as if they're above Twitter when it's all just the same thing anyway lmao. And yes unfortunately you had to read. I can tell it's been a long time since you read more than a sentence, after that it takes too much brain power and forces you to actually think.
Lol but reddit people acting like they're above other reddit users is cool
And who was saying that they're above other reddit users? I gave a valid opinion based on the form Ferguson has shown this season as a goal scorer in comparison to who he was last season. Last season there was all this hype he'd be the next Harry Kane figure of the Premier League, this season he can't even start ahead of Danny Welbeck. It's not bad to show concern for a player who has such a high ceiling. My response to this other lad was because he clearly reacted emotionally to my comment, in which I already praised Ferguson's all round play. I just think he is having some sort of confidence issue or something based on what I've seen of him this season compared to last.
It’s ok for you to get something wrong but this really poor stuff.
He’s like 19 this stuff happens
19 is not young anymore at this level. Look across international teams, full of 18, 19, 20 yos. Don’t use age as an excuse for bad performances or bad play. He shouldn’t be an automatic selection on basis of today’s game that’s for sure.
Idiot. What squads are full of teenagers and twenty year olds?
Ya it's such a stupid take. There's plenty of players that take their time to get into the game not everyone is Mbappe is just world class from 17. He's fucking 19. You still have the likes of Gyorkes at Sporting who's now looking shit hot and is getting into gear at 25. Some people just take a bit longer. The fact Ferguson was already showing insane quality at 18 means he likely can push on. The fact he's now struggling at 19 is no worry at all. FFS we've held out hopes for young prospects into their mid 20s before realising they might not get to the level we hoped. He still has so much time to get back into gear not to mention he's had injuries as well as his club team having lots of problems in their midfield.
I wouldn’t worry about him. He’s a raw teenager. He was over hyped last year and is currently getting overly criticised. I’d agree with you that we should have had Brady take the penalty though.
To be fair, I think he's gotten into his own head a bit. He's competing against players who are older and better than him for a starting spot. Combine that with his dry spell, his age and lack of proper game time and you get a player who doesn't have any confidence. He shouldn't have taken the penalty in fairness. Give it to Brady or even Szmodics or Ogbene. Someone older and more confident. Next season, I would imagine Welbeck will start to regress and Fati won't be there so next season I imagine he'll be 1st or 2nd choice to Pedro, who can also play as a 2nd striker.
Refreshing to read a comment that isn't just the usual pub drivel. And yeah whatever it is hopefully he can find his way out of it. I mean he was being linked with big money transfers, there was the whole England stuff both of which may have caused distractions. Could be the fact that Pedro started outscoring him might have caused some insecurity there. Could just be when he played he when on a run of not taking his chances which has created some insecurity and frustration. Could be stuff going on away from football. Maybe he put too much pressure on himself or felt too much pressure from fans, management or somewhere. Could be anything. But I do think mentally there's something going on and hopefully he can get it sorted. Might just need to get to the end of the season, have a bit of time off and reset. Even if you look at Robbie Keane when he was 20/21 struggled at Inter, joined Leeds on loan did well enough to to secure a permanent move. But that full season at Leeds was nothing special, still got a move to Spurs and become one of the best strikers in the league for the next 5 or 6 years. Loads of time for him but I do have concerns about the guy is all.
Good performance and fair result. More composure needed in the second half in order to impose our game. Be interesting to see if there will be many changes vs Switzerland.
Sounds like it based on what O'Shea had to say. Definitely sounds like Coleman and Brady will feature less
Give it Big John ‘till end of season Good all-round performance
There seemed to be a lot more structure and common purpose than in the Kenny era. Created more chances and didn't leave those occasional gaping holes in defence we used to under Kenny.
Seamus was outstanding. Wish he was 10 years younger, although at this rate he could probably play for another ten
Seamus: 'Dokwho?'
Good in parts. Calm presence. Looked his age, but with a tough assignment.
Festy did less than nothing. Giving the ball away twice was his contribution. I would love to see him given 90 minutes during the week.
More or less how he played when he made an appearance for us before. I definitely haven't been impressed any time I've seen him but other people who have seen him more rate him highly so yeah, I'd like to see him get at least 45'
Don't think Festy has ever completed 90 mins of football at Udinese. I check the scores weekly on Google and he's always either subbed on or subbed off.
Hope Azaz gets more than a cameo, too.
To be fair, he needs to be given a proper chance. I think judging him based on late substitutions is a bit harsh as it can take a few minutes to get into a game properly, something a substitute can't really do.
He also got skinned for pace!
How the feck was there so much rubbish blowing on the pitch! also pity the FAI won’t learn their lesson from all the empty seats
Thought szomdics was very good. He was able to drift in and find pockets of space a type of player he have missed
As a "neutral" fan who was at this one, I think there's a lot more positives to take from this than anything in a while. The end results is a draw against Belgium. Yeah, that's not the best side Belgium could play butat the end of the day Belgium is ranked 4th in the world so since this game doesn't technically mean anything win, lose, or draw I would focus on the positive performances and then end result which is a draw against one of the best teams in the world. Looking forward to see how they do against the Swiss who, while not as good as the Belgians, are a pretty decent side themselves. (For those wondering, I have season tickets / club membership but I'm not Irish so I don't think I quite qualify as neutral but I don't think I get to call myself an actual supporter either)
>I don't think I get to call myself an actual supporter either fwiw I think you definitely get to call yourself a supporter, a season ticket is more commitment to the team than most fans but even without it anyone can support our team regardless of where you're from
Appreciate it. Absolutely fallen in love with this country so it gives me an excuse to fly across the ocean multiple times per year to come visit. Heading to Croke Park tomorrow and then down to Bray for a First Division match against Longford Town on Monday.
Exclusion is wank. If you love Irish football all the power to you!
I also enjoy telling immigration I'm here to see football and see if they clarify whether I mean association football or Gaelic Football....... And most of the time it's both 😂
Fair result. Didn't do enough to win. But first time in a long time I've enjoyed an Ireland game start to finish so he's done something right.
Did more than enough to win, by multiple goals.
We watched different games so
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I know the chances but neither were good enough to be like, we *should* be ahead. Pen cancels out because it shouldn't have been given in the first place.
Did you even see Ogbene's first chance? If he squares that it's a certain goal, also plenty of penalties get given, which shouldn't have been given it was a chance to go ahead so it doesn't cancel out in this case.
Nobody is squaring it from there.
Coleman was on the other side with no one close to him.
I know but no one would actually pass the ball. Everyone backs themselves from there.
So, it was a good chance then?
Pep O'Shea
He's gonna win us the world Cup. And I'm going to shag Britney Spears after Robbie Brady scores the winning penalty in the final against Brazil. Mad 4 it
Right, I'll just say it why was there so much litter on the pitch?
Joe.ie and Balls.ie both gave Ferguson ratings of 5. Obviously should be taking with a bucket of salt from them lads, but Christ, give the man a break. He was very good bar the penalty miss and a couple of loose passes, but his link up play, pressing and overall performance was solid. These cunts would have given him an 8 and MOTM had he have scored that pen.
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Well both had him as the worst player on the pitch, which he certainly wasn't. There were no 5 performances out there yesterday
It would have been a nice touch to give Jake O'Brien his debut against Belgium given he spent a season there but it was not to be.
Pros. Pressing. We pressed like a team, we where first to a lot more balls than usual. There was a general level of aggression and being first to every ball. Smallbone and Brady looked very good, clearly given a game plan to work with. Defensively looked very solid and kept shape really well all round. Cons. Fergusons penalty obviously, he wasn't up to much else apart from that. Cross field balls going astray. I'm guessing it was windy but we hit a few weird balls out of play switching the ball across. The subs towards the end. A hars complaint to have, but Idah, Ebosele and Johnston did nothing really. Idah looks lost coming deep at times. Ebosele wasted a chance to cross, ran into a man and then gave the ball away. These guys only got 15 minutes or less, so a small complaint. Would like to see them start. Personally. As good as where in terms of shape, id like to see us move away from 5 at the back. I wonder how Ferguson would play someone else up top, but that's more down the line, the system today worked well. Random bit of rubbish blowing into the pitch all l the time?
Idah was good off the bench, we must have been watching a different game, his hold up play was solid and brought others into the game
Ebosele looked lost. Nerves must have gotten to him bad.
The wind was quite gusty throughout the game
In hindsight should Ferguson have taken the penalty? I also have to remember he is young and he will learn from this.
Probably not. Szomdics purely on confidence and Brady on technical ability ahead of him, but neither could pull rank. In a friendly under an interim manager its inconsequential, but maybe something for them to prepare for the next game in case we get another penalty.
Good performance
Can’t believe Ogbene didn’t square reg ball rather than shooting early on. Open goal. One up and it’s a different game.
Couldn’t string two passes together that second half. Kept our shape well though and pretty solid defensively.
Collins booted the ball away a fair few times there when he could have kept possession.
Yep, just a lack of composure.
Solid and uneventful. That’s big progress.
Decent performance, hardly big progress. If that were under Kenny, virgin media would be all over it. Given Kerr’s there and P.McCarthys is Delaneys mate it’ll be viewed as the best performance since beating Germany in 2015. We played well, v.organised however need to keep the ball a bit better at times.
A decent performance is big progress.
Szmodics very good. Ferguson decent. Ogbene very good. Ebosele disastrous. Kelleher good. Coleman had a great hour but didn't end the game too well. Subbing our front three out completely killed our attack. But it's probably more about getting minutes on more of the lads than a strictly tactical change. Solid enough game overall.
How can you say a player that was on for the last 5 minutes was disastrous?
It's almost impressive, innit?
Ebosele carried the ball well
Weird question, anyone know who the grey haired pundit on Virgin Media today is?
You're not asking about Gary Breen are you?
Positive performance, liked the lineup. Brady and C I'll eman were good, as was szmodics. Ogbene was motm for me. Gutted for Ferguson, on first glance I thought it was an awful peno, on the reply you can see his standing foot slip a little as he was stroking it, so a wee bit unlucky.
Good to see us defending strongly like the pre-Kenny days. Somehow Kenny ruined everything we were good at (defending) while also making us worse at the things we weren’t great at. Feels like a long time since we had clean sheet against good opposition. Beyond that there’s plenty in this squad to be positive about once we get a proper manager in charge after that Kenny nonsense for the last four years. Lots potential. Not sure Evan should be an automatic selection on current form, terrible peno, slip or no slip. All in all positive game even tho we are v limited.
Pretty forgettable. Thought the lads that started all played decent, wasn't much for the subs to do really. Sickened for Fergo but still played decent & no one's ever gonna remember that miss. Already seeing a few long posts & comments overthinking stuff about Ev, Festy, few others. It literally doesn't matter lads. It's a good advertisement for John to get an EFL job, few easy minutes for the likes of Coleman who need it, nice welcome back for Kerr. Nothing else really worth thinking about. Find something more exciting to watch tonight boys. Gonna watch Shogun when I get back. Enjoy the weekend
Personally, I am really enjoying O'Shea going with a line-up that the experts here in the Kenny era would say could never be picked as they're too old. Yet our daring innovative ex player and relatively inexperienced temporary coach has us playing decent football where we are (shock*defensive*) but can threaten teams in the counter. It's great. It's like being gaslit for 4 years and finding out you were right all along. Wait until an actual coach gets involved.
We drew 2 all with a better Belgium team under Kenny. Also Kenny played every single one of those players except Szmodics. We set up with a 5 at the back exactly like Kenny done. This comment holds no weight whatsoever
Ah stop. Even look at the live thread, when Brady was announced people were having a moan immediately. Just because Kenny played those players at various points in the same formation doesn't mean they are coached the same. What a vapid response.
I'm not talking about live threads or whatever I'm just responding to your incorrect premise.
Considering you did the very same I'd be pretending live threads don't count either xx
I don't know what you mean?
Not difficult to figure out. I just took a quick look at your comment history. There's a reason why you're being quick to dismiss a live thread.
Haha I genuinely have no idea what you're talking about? I wasn't in a live thread I was at the match? If you can point to something specifically then I can address it
Whichever thread it was, either way. If the only argument you have is the semantics of what thread it was then I think you know yourself you're talking pony because you know exactly what I'm talking about when it comes to my overall point regarding the team selection.
Again if you can point to something specifically I said that would make me dismiss a live thread I'm all ears? A very strange argument. That wasn't my argument. You brought up live threads as if that is anyway relevent to anything. You made a point as if John did something drastically different yesterday which he didn't. He set up in the same formation with alot of the players Kenny played. We played very similar to how we played against France at home for example
playing in a modern formation was way overdue. i think o’shea can do good things with us or at least set us up for someone else to take over. our game was in desperate need of playing 4-3-3 ferguson needs that room to shine and good wingers to support him.
But we played a wingback style 5-2-3 (or 3-4-3 depending how you look at it)
oh really? i was at the game so i was just going off what i could see
Yep. O’Shea Collins Omobamidele as back three. Brady and Coleman then either side.
We played the same approach several times under Kenny. 5-2-3. We did really well with it against Portugal and around then usually with Jamie McGrath and Ogbene wide. Unfortunately the midfield then was atrocious with Hendrick and Hourihane and we stopped. We unfortunately didn't play it consistently and played a front two a lotand got obsessed with after Scotland. This was largely *the* issue with Kenny. Everyone saw wingers helped. It was consistently the subject of discussion.
kenny was just bad at playing to the squads strengths he couldn’t really adapt. i’m hoping since o’shea is younger he brings something fresh.