This game, as is often the case in international football, was a tale of two managers: one, Armenia’s Eghishe Melikyan, who learned the lessons of Matchday One; and another, Ireland’s Heimir Halgrimsson, who did not.
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Heimir Hallgrímsson appears to represent a significant improvement on his subpar predecessor as Ireland manager. But, after locking horns with Hungary boss Marco Rossi, the former dentist must consider himself very fortunate to extract a late point from the jaws of a tactical defeat.
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For Derry City, grabbing three points from Bohemians is almost customary at this stage. With ten defeats out of ten since Kenny Shiels assumed the Brandywell helm, the Gypsies are the Generals to Derry’s Globetrotters. One could be forgiven, then, for seeing the Candystripes’ victory at Dalymount Park, last Friday evening, as somewhat routine. Continue reading
Exactly three years ago to the day, the Republic of Ireland fell to a Scottish short-corner. An uphill struggle to qualify for Euro 2016 ensued, throughout which Martin O’Neill was blessed with an extraordinary glut of good fortune. This was his reckoning. Continue reading
“Whoever renounces possession reduces the possibility of making a mistake.” So states point five of José Mourinho’s big-game plan, as outlined in Diego Torres’s controversial 2014 biography of the Portuguese manager. Continue reading
“We have a plan, naturally,” offered Martin O’Neill, during his customary pre-match chinwag with RTÉ’s Tony O’Donoghue. Designed, perhaps, as an offhand response to the ever-expanding list of former associates stating the opposite, it was a revealing remark. Continue reading
Martin O’Neill’s inaction in the face of Moldovan resurgence was, unfortunately, anything but telling. The Derryman’s tenure as the Republic of Ireland manager is fast approaching its fifth year. We know all there is to know about O’Neill; taking 33 minutes to enact a blindingly obvious adjustment is very much par-for-the-course.
With Wesley Hoolahan at its tip, the midfield diamond has been integral to most of the Republic of Ireland’s best football under Martin O’Neill. But a make-or-break qualifier, against a Serbian 3-4-2-1, was, unequivocally, not the time to revive it. Continue reading
Almost one year ago, in October of 2016, Martin O’Neill engaged in a head-scratcher of an interview with RTE‘s Tony O’Donoghue. Continue reading
Austria’s vulnerability to simple route-one football bailed out Martin O’Neill’s unnecessarily conservative approach to this crunch World Cup qualifier. Continue reading
Tactics Truck v2.0 