Footix of the Day

myboyblue · August 17, 2024, 11:15am

Jaysus

myboyblue · August 20, 2024, 8:35pm

myboyblue · August 26, 2024, 9:42am

Is Dave a footix?

Little_Lord_Fauntleroy · August 29, 2024, 11:11am

myboyblue · September 1, 2024, 8:53am

StoneCold · September 3, 2024, 7:23am

Effortless

Little_Lord_Fauntleroy · September 3, 2024, 7:26am

educational

Biff_Egan · September 3, 2024, 8:09am

@Aertel220 is a phenom

myboyblue · September 6, 2024, 8:37pm

Absolute fucking treachery at carton house today

Juhniallio · September 9, 2024, 6:29pm

Arthur auditioning for a spot as an otb presenter with this rambling-pre-question-context-setting drivel.

2024 Nations League B - Gameweek 1 - Ireland v England & Greece

That devastating first half showed how mad it is to fantasise that a return to some kind of Jack Charlton tactics could be effective in today’s international football. Sure, there’s always the slim hope you’ll force a defender into a mistake, but it’s much more likely that you get piggy-in-the-middled. This is why Stephen Kenny believed Ireland had to become a side who knew how to play with the ball.

Put ‘em under pressure football still exists, but now it looks like what Atalanta did to Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final last May. The Italian team pressed man to man all over the pitch. When any Leverkusen player was on the ball there was an Atalanta player hunting him down. Whoever he might pass to would have another Atalanta player hunting him down.

Matching up man to man all over the pitch obviously meant that Atalanta were playing one on one at the back. This defied the conventional wisdom that you should aim to have one more defender than the opposition has attackers. Atalanta accepted that risk as a price worth paying for the ability to enforce their pressure game further up the pitch.

Compare this to what Ireland were trying to do on Saturday. We played a back five, including three centre backs who, most of the time, had nobody to mark. This meant that England had at least two and often three spare players in midfield. They played around the outnumbered Irish midfielders like they were training cones.

Yet the supposed increased defensive solidity brought by the extra defenders was illusory. Trent Alexander-Arnold played a 50-yard pass right through Ireland’s centre for the first goal. “Should never happen, at any level,” said Hallgrímsson.

Little_Lord_Fauntleroy · September 14, 2024, 4:23pm

This fuckin simpleton giving his analysis now

Little_Lord_Fauntleroy · September 14, 2024, 4:24pm

Trent

Jayo76 · September 14, 2024, 4:25pm

Terence

iron_mike · September 14, 2024, 4:25pm

Aren’t you the one making fun of young lads getting autographs from premiership players at the match last week. A fine hypocrite you are. Late shift tonight at the yacht club?

Jayo76 · September 14, 2024, 4:26pm

Thats a wake effort pal to be dishing out awards for that.

Little_Lord_Fauntleroy · September 14, 2024, 4:26pm

Huh?

Little_Lord_Fauntleroy · September 14, 2024, 4:27pm

Why did you reply twice mate

iron_mike · September 14, 2024, 4:28pm

Ah yeah. Mocking kids at the Ireland b England game last week for wanting autographs. A fine role model you are

Little_Lord_Fauntleroy · September 14, 2024, 4:28pm

Godsend😀

Jayo76 · September 14, 2024, 4:28pm

I felt entitled to, does it displease the Lord?