I would venture that most of McGeadyâs turnovers occurred in the final third of the game. Thatâs not to say he doesnât choose the wrong option on occasion or dribble into a tackle when the quick pass is on. But he deserves to be cut some slack after missing out on a pre-season and given it was his second game of the season â he was naturally going to tire and his error count increased when he did. I thought he was excellent for the first hour anyway and he was involved in everything positive we did. His movement infield and in between the lines to get on the ball for the third goal and then the exchange of passes and through ball to Keane is the kind of imaginative football I desire to see Ireland playing. 4-4-2 in 3 straight lines can still be effective, especially if youâre playing a containing game and lined up with your two banks of 4 protecting the goalkeeper. But the better teams are moving away from that to get creative players in space between the lines and I was very encouraged to see Trap give McGeady that licence last night. I also thought his passing and switching of the play was generally very good, like in the build up to the second goal. He gave the ball away most often from tired dribbles, I would have said. But he was involved in all the goals and laid on some other chances so I was pretty happy with what he produced.
Jesus I thought that resting Dunne for Stoke comment from kib man was in jest but it appears not.
Donât know what Clarkey is on about with McGeady constantly losing the ball - maybe in the second half a bit but not in the first.
I suggest we get a videotape of the game and go through it. Iâll point out when he loses the ball.
Was at the match last night, first time in the new landsdowne road, very nice, but one thing there are two big screens at either end of the ground but they are not used during the game to show replays of goals or anything, does anyone know the reason for this? Bit of a waste really.
Anyways onto the game, it was a bit of a crap game, we should have won by more if we had a few players with a brain. McGeady I thought showed some skill but he doesnât have the final killer pass and can be a bit brainless, the defence I thought were good but would like to see a Kilbane being replaced and another player being given a chance to stake a claim. Midfield is a big problem I think, Whelan I thought was rubbish, Green, well the jury is still out on him, Gibson did nothing when he came on. We really need to find an intelligent midfielder that can pull the strings and find the killer pass. Up front Doyle gets through some amount of work but Keane is so frustrating as someone said earlier making runs in the wrong place, throwing his arms in the looking for anything when things donât work out, I wish he would just get the head down and work as hard as Doyle. Trap needs to start trying out new players or else we are going to be screwed if we qualify because we wont have tried and trusted players on the bench.
Itâs available on RTE Player til 14 September, farmer. Let me know when youâre free.
On the Gibson at United thing, I do think Trap is a little too fond of telling the media what he thinks players should do. He said that he thought Given should stay with City and Robbie should try to move. Did he also not say that he thought McGeady should move? Allardyce was giving out when Trap said that Steven Reid was finished, and far me it for me to agree with Big Sam but I think he was probably right in this instance.
I donât understand what such publicity achieves - say it to the player by all means but no need to go public with it.
There was a post last night during the game bemoaning McGeadyâs lack of end product and in the same breath praising Keaneâs finish. Completely oblivious to McGeady making the goal. And thereâs another one mentioning McGeady lacking the final killer pass. Maybe if he wore face paint or something people would notice his assists.
Bandage, he set up one goal last night but how many times did he run down a dead end or loose the ball or fail to pick out one of his own players after beating his man. If I remember correctly in the second half McGeady beats his man on the end line and then sends over a cross that he goes out of play over the crossbar. The problem is the inconsistancy and inability to follow up on his good play. Maybe if some people would take of the McGeady blinkers they would see this.
I mentioned in a post just before your one that heâs prone to taking the wrong option at times and Iâm not defending him for the sake of it. But he seems to be judged to different standards than our other players for some reason. I think he invariably found an Irish shirt when he beat his man last night and his passing was accurate. The nature of the game is that some crosses fizzed or floated in will be defended and he also shanked that one that you refer to. Is he allowed a mishit cross in a game? He was involved in all the goals and set up other chances yet people zone in on the times it didnât come off for him. Itâs Ray Houghtonesque in my opinion.
That was me I believe, was in the middle of writing that post when Keane scoredand didnât get a look to see who got the assistâŚStill stand over my criticism, a couple of minutes before that goal keane slid a lovely ball out to mcgeady to run onto and dink into the 6 yard box from the byline, he put it out for a goal kick despite having loads of time, summed up his final product last night
I find it incredibly odd that one mishit cross would sum up his performance rather than the direct assist as well as his involvement in the other two goals and the other chances he created.
he found space severalt times last night and did little or nothing of note, i am a fan of mcgeady but in certain aspects of his game last night he was poorâŚ
Everyone is still referring to the one cross as an example of McGeadyâs âno end product.â He fucked up that time. He was also involved heavily in the three goals as Bandage has said and our next best chance was probably the one Kilbane put over the top which he sent the cross over for (notably with his stronger foot).
Itâs bizarre that people are so quick to criticise him on a night when he played well but, a bit like Keane, it seems that some just donât see what he offers in the game. He was important against Armenia the other night, particularly just after half time when Lawrence was having his quiet spell, and he was lively and inventive again last night. We would have been in trouble without him.
Farmer - I too thought KIB Man was joking on the Stoke thing. Mother of God. And still defending his Cunningham thing too. I donât know why he wonât just say he changed his mind. Deluded.
trap singled him out for praise & so did I - thats all that matters
You donât need to defend McGeady anymore.
Anybody who praises Robbie Keane needs their head examined.
On McGeady - He had several assits in last campaign and was heavily involved in two of our goals last night. To say he has no end product is a bit much and clarkey to give him a 3 is a joke. Trap singled him out for praise. I wouldnât say he was our best player but he certainly is our most creative. When you play the game he does (taking on oppposition, trying killer paces) there are going to be occasions when it wonât come off. Equally though attacks that do come from him end up with dangerous opportunities for us,
KIB man I used to think you were a decent poster on Irish matters and were perhaps more sinned against than sinning. I was clearly wrong. Resting Dunne for an EPL match! Deary me. I see you are delighted your +4 came up and taking delight in McGeadyâs poor goalscoring record. Some fan!
Iâm beginning to think thereâs an anti-Ulster feeling bordering on possible anti-Irish diaspora racism in some quarters regarding McGeady.
Not really if Hunt or Duff had done the same things last night i would have called them the same
I was only messing about resting Dunne for a Villa match ffs. Would have been good to get some experience into Foley and Cunningham though Iâm sure you will agree in a competitive but no risk game.
Iâd love to see Mcgeady score and do well. A player with nice touches and looks the part but I just dont think he delivers. I know its only a statistic but nearly 40 caps and still hasnt scored is a pretty shameful one. His decision making is pants, he dribbles when he should pass, he tries a flick when he should hold onto possession etc. Despite being nowhere near as talented Iâd prefer Lawrence and even Hunt as they have a bit more grunt about them. They might not beat three players on a run but Iâd fancy them to deliver more. Its only my opinion at the end of the day but McG has been a huge disappointment in his international career to date as Iâm sure you would agree.
In the last campaign, he had two assists - at home to Georgia where he did play well - corner for Keane, in Georgia cross for Doyle. Arguably he had the chances to possibly qualify us automatically from the group last time out - away to Montenegro and at home to Bulgaria. If he got one goal it might settle him down a bit but Id still have him behind Duff, Lawrence and Hunt regardless.