I only saw highlights of the Azerbaijan game so can’t really comment but an early goal makes a massive difference compared to earlier games where it gets into the second half and it all becomes very nervy
ah you could say that but depending on what angle you wanted to pitch one could also say that we have been more prolific in this qualifying campaign as we have scored more goals with x2 games remaining than the entire euro 2020 group…remember the third place finish in that group was whitewashed by the fact that a third place finish got a playoff spot…
I think what we could confidently say is that if mick was still here we’d be firmly occupying third spot in this pool, playing atrocious football and staring into depression with utterly 0 hope for the future post the inevitable 1 1 draw at home to Portugal in November that wouldn’t be enough to make a difference…we’d be bringing Scott hogan off the bench, Randolph would be in goal and Robbie Brady would be midfield…
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Again, I’m just making the point that people are trying to reinvent history and say that we never dominated teams before. These were nothing games with little at stake, it is good to see positive performances and results but I will be impressed when we are in the mix for qualification and have everything at stake and are putting lesser teams to the sword like we did this week, if we don’t these two results/performances will be largely forgotten about
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No but then again throwing on Gary Doherty with 20 minutes to go showed the extent of Kerr’s tactical acumen.
ah yeah, your point is reasonable but analyis of the NT is hysterical at the best of times and you are right -“dominating” sides of this nature is not something that we have not done previously.
The key point tho is progression, in managing any side you want to see the players learn how to play together and progress in some form of system or at least be adaptable to switch.
Now this takes time with a club and with international football it is even more difficult as the meetup windows are very staggered… What we are seeing with this side is progression, if we compare March’s disaster v Luxembourg and Qatar to this weekend its like night and day and for this we need to take some solace. Expectations need to be tempered as well, look i get the fact that we should be challenging for qualification but is this a bit like Frank saying Cork, KK and Tipp should be winning all irelands every other year?
Under Mick’s damage limitation he had short term thinking with no interest in progressing or developing a team, it was get 11 men out there and grind a result out, what happens in the next campaign, fuck knows as I wont be there and im paid to reach a playoff, that’s my legacy… now this shortsighted viewpoint is ok, but we have to admit that since september 2016 the mood has been very dark and i would offer a point that MON and Mick were instrumental in the decline of the national team- that may be harsh but there is an element of truth to it, the hopelessness of those 2018 Nations League games, the Gibraltar and Georgia games under Mick- whatever happens under Kenny we need to hope we never again find ourselves in a stadium with that athmosphere and complete and utter lack of hope…
It would have been easy for Kenny to continue the status quo, 442 - keep the same squad as mick and maybe bring in a few additions, we’d finish third and go again banging our heads off the wall for the next Nations League. I mean that was an option and who knows maybe in hindsight it was the only approach but i think we owe this generation of players something better than that shite, at least give them a chance to play football… if it dosent work, then its easy to click reset, get Noel King back for a games and find some lad who’ll take the thing with the aim of making us short term “competitive again”
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It’s 1997 since a player scored a hattrick for us and wasn’t Robbie Keane. Connolly was the man on that occasion. Hopefully Robinson is more Keane than Connolly. I fear not though
Jon Walters level would be the finest!
I think that is relatively harsh on Mick. He got the gig with a very narrow remit - take a team who are circling the drain and qualify for the Euros was the only goal and there was no medium or long term incentive to do otherwise. He was also straight into competitive matches without any chance to build a new side due to O’Neill getting to waste a Nations League campaign which did a lot of damage.
Off the top of my head the likes of he likes of Cullen, Travers, Connolly, Jack Byrne, Troy Parrott, Lee O’Connor, James Collins all got their first caps under him despite only having 10 games. He also moved on from the likes of Clark and Shane Long.
If he had the national league campaign or was told he could write off a campaign to blood new lads and build for the future I’ve no doubt he would have done so. His term was what it was, he was brought into do a job and did it.
Our worst qualifying campaign i would imagine since Eoin Hand in 1986 and their is still a deadly buzz around the Irish team. 25,000 tickets sold last night. Would their have been 10,000 sold under O’Neill or McCarthy? The fans are well behind Kenny.
It’s not just the natural goalscoring though, it’s the movement, the control, the holding the ball up, the playing in his team mates.
Robinson has been our best attacking player for a few years now. He is 26 and coming in to his pomp. He had a brilliant end to the campaign last season in the premier league in a shit side. He’s massively important to what Kenny is trying to do
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He’s got everything that was good about Jonathan Walters plus loads more.
Even taking the penalty off McGrath is a great sign.
I’d settle for a Connolly
It’s great value around international breaks. I have very little interest in EPL stuff though these days so don’t listen as much as I used to
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It’s an excellent podcast. They seem to be having a blast over in Berlin.
LOI weekly with Dan Macdonnell and John “Johnny” Ward is a superb podcast for all things NT and LOI related- ive no idea how someone could listen to a podcast about the EPL
What’s the 2nd captains one about @Locke ? is it worth a listen?
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I think so anyway. Suits my sports choices, the lads doing it are sound and well versed in all things sport. They have free pods on a Monday and a fiver a month gets you all episodes. It’s for nothing.
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Put him in midfield now