Tag Archives: Robbie Brady

ANALYSIS: Kenny must compromise his principles to survive

Alan O’Brien 

When Giovanni Trapattoni first assumed the Republic of Ireland reins in 2008, much was made of the Italian’s legendary focus on football’s “little details”, manna from heaven for an Irish faithful weary of Steve Staunton’s rank amateurism. Not even the simple act of defending a throw-in, allegedly practised ad nauseum in pre-match training sessions, escaped Trapattoni’s obsessive eye. The message was simple: there is no grand ideology; ultra-pragmatism and attention to detail will win the day.

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ANALYSIS: Kenny’s vision of McCarthy is a mirage

Alan O’Brien 

Not being all-in on Stephen Kenny can be seen as a kind of heresy around these parts. The new Republic of Ireland manager’s unashamed idealism and refreshing candour have won over almost the entire Irish football community, with the possible exception of a smattering of skeptical ex-pros, whose company I’m not particularly thrilled to keep. But this writer has long met many of Kenny’s public pronouncements with an uneasy mixture of bemusement and concern. And none had me scratching my head more vigourously than Kenny’s eye-opening comments about James McCarthy earlier in the week. Continue reading →

Norwich 1-1 Arsenal: Wenger Oversees Classic Arsenal Capitulation After Rampant Opening Half Hour

Although Mesut Ozil’s thirtieth-minute opener arrived with more than a touch of good fortune attached, thanks to the error-prone John Ruddy’s poor clearance, Arsenal’s lead was fully merited to say the least. Up to that point, the Gunners had registered six shots on Ruddy’s goal. Norwich, for their part, had not even managed to create one from their paltry 27% share of the football. Continue reading →

Bosnia 1-1 Ireland: Ireland withstand barrage on left-flank to take the edge

Mehmed Bazdarevic, manager of Bosnia-Herzegovina, had clearly done his homework. Recordings of Ireland’s recent visit to Warsaw would have revealed a fragile Irish left-flank, that crumbled in the face of Polish probing to deny Ireland automatic passage to next summer’s European Championship finals in France.

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Poland 2-1 Ireland: Left-sided defensive weakness and absence of Hoolahan guile condemns Irish to playoff

In a pug-ugly, scrappy game, in which neither nation could seemingly manage to string two passes together, Ireland fell victim to a calamitous performance from the left-side of their defence – and only remained in touch to the end thanks to an extremely fortunate penalty decision in their favour. Continue reading →