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Irish Independent
Oct 9 2011
Negative tactics will play into Armenia's hands
Sunday October 09 2011
Planning for a stalemate could backfire against dangerous opponents,
writes Richard SadlierIt's all come down to this. Having effortlessly
dispatched one of the poorest teams they are ever likely to play,
anything but defeat to Armenia will put Ireland in the play-off draw.
All things considered, it's a position everyone should be delighted
with.
Unlike so many previous occasions, the preparation has been unusually
subdued and without incident. There was nothing new learned on Friday
in Andorra, thankfully, in what was a thoroughly comfortable win
against truly awful opposition. With the exception of an embarrassing
yellow card for Stephen Ward for which he must now serve a suspension,
the night went according to plan.
The decision to leave out Seamus Coleman altogether was a puzzle, but
it was never going to matter against the lowest-ranked nation in world
football. One thing is for sure, though, there will be a lot less room
for error on Tuesday.
The temptation to play for a draw against Armenia is there. I have
never been in a position where I've had to follow those instructions
and would be greatly concerned if that was the plan. Running down the
clock when the scoreline is satisfactory is something every player has
done, but it is difficult to do from the kick-off. And it's
particularly tough when you're set up to play the majority of the game
without the ball. Giovanni Trapattoni says he's playing to win, but he
was hardly going to admit to anything else. From what we've seen from
him to date, though, I'm more than a little concerned.
Planning for a clean sheet will not be enough. While we have shown how
competent we are defensively, Armenia have scored 11 goals in their
last three games. We know too much about Trapattoni's mindset to
expect any change in his approach, so the lack of creativity and guile
in this team will surely strengthen the self-belief of what must be a
very confident Armenian side. The Slovakians and Russians highlighted
recently the predictability of Ireland's style and this Armenia team
look more than capable of exposing it.
Predictability in itself is not a weakness, but an inability to keep
possession of the ball clearly is.
With only one game to go, the assessment of the campaign so far has to
be largely positive. Though there have been umpteen signs of
mismanagement and confusion along the way, this Ireland team has
developed into an organised and hard-working group, many of whom may
see this as their last chance of appearing in the finals of a European
Championship. The disappointments experienced along the way have been
forgotten, but a repeat of last month's performance against Slovakia
will put an end to our campaign.
Despite the progress that has no doubt been made since his arrival, a
defeat should spell the end of Trapattoni's reign and would be a
devastating blow to the senior players so deserving of an appearance
in the finals next summer. Those who defend his methods point
incessantly to his ability to get results, but finishing outside the
top two in this group would put an end to any reasonable calls for him
to remain in charge.
A big crowd will certainly help, but an overly cautious approach from
an incredibly conservative coach could make for frustrating viewing
indeed.
As ever though, the result is the only thing that matters and a clean
sheet will be more than enough. Put in those terms, there can be no
question the right man's in charge for this one. Cause for great
optimism may be in short supply from what we have seen recently, but
there are certainly grounds for hope.
If ever there was an occasion to expect a large crowd this is it. The
reasons for poor attendances in recent fixtures at the Aviva has been
attributed to many things, but failure by the Irish public to fill the
stadium for an important occasion would be a sorry indictment indeed.
There can be no finger-pointing at the FAI, the economy or the
tactics. There has never been a need to justify support for the
Ireland team on the big occasions before. There shouldn't be in this
case either.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/negative-tactics-will-play-into-armenias-hands-2900540.html
Oct 9 2011
Negative tactics will play into Armenia's hands
Sunday October 09 2011
Planning for a stalemate could backfire against dangerous opponents,
writes Richard SadlierIt's all come down to this. Having effortlessly
dispatched one of the poorest teams they are ever likely to play,
anything but defeat to Armenia will put Ireland in the play-off draw.
All things considered, it's a position everyone should be delighted
with.
Unlike so many previous occasions, the preparation has been unusually
subdued and without incident. There was nothing new learned on Friday
in Andorra, thankfully, in what was a thoroughly comfortable win
against truly awful opposition. With the exception of an embarrassing
yellow card for Stephen Ward for which he must now serve a suspension,
the night went according to plan.
The decision to leave out Seamus Coleman altogether was a puzzle, but
it was never going to matter against the lowest-ranked nation in world
football. One thing is for sure, though, there will be a lot less room
for error on Tuesday.
The temptation to play for a draw against Armenia is there. I have
never been in a position where I've had to follow those instructions
and would be greatly concerned if that was the plan. Running down the
clock when the scoreline is satisfactory is something every player has
done, but it is difficult to do from the kick-off. And it's
particularly tough when you're set up to play the majority of the game
without the ball. Giovanni Trapattoni says he's playing to win, but he
was hardly going to admit to anything else. From what we've seen from
him to date, though, I'm more than a little concerned.
Planning for a clean sheet will not be enough. While we have shown how
competent we are defensively, Armenia have scored 11 goals in their
last three games. We know too much about Trapattoni's mindset to
expect any change in his approach, so the lack of creativity and guile
in this team will surely strengthen the self-belief of what must be a
very confident Armenian side. The Slovakians and Russians highlighted
recently the predictability of Ireland's style and this Armenia team
look more than capable of exposing it.
Predictability in itself is not a weakness, but an inability to keep
possession of the ball clearly is.
With only one game to go, the assessment of the campaign so far has to
be largely positive. Though there have been umpteen signs of
mismanagement and confusion along the way, this Ireland team has
developed into an organised and hard-working group, many of whom may
see this as their last chance of appearing in the finals of a European
Championship. The disappointments experienced along the way have been
forgotten, but a repeat of last month's performance against Slovakia
will put an end to our campaign.
Despite the progress that has no doubt been made since his arrival, a
defeat should spell the end of Trapattoni's reign and would be a
devastating blow to the senior players so deserving of an appearance
in the finals next summer. Those who defend his methods point
incessantly to his ability to get results, but finishing outside the
top two in this group would put an end to any reasonable calls for him
to remain in charge.
A big crowd will certainly help, but an overly cautious approach from
an incredibly conservative coach could make for frustrating viewing
indeed.
As ever though, the result is the only thing that matters and a clean
sheet will be more than enough. Put in those terms, there can be no
question the right man's in charge for this one. Cause for great
optimism may be in short supply from what we have seen recently, but
there are certainly grounds for hope.
If ever there was an occasion to expect a large crowd this is it. The
reasons for poor attendances in recent fixtures at the Aviva has been
attributed to many things, but failure by the Irish public to fill the
stadium for an important occasion would be a sorry indictment indeed.
There can be no finger-pointing at the FAI, the economy or the
tactics. There has never been a need to justify support for the
Ireland team on the big occasions before. There shouldn't be in this
case either.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/negative-tactics-will-play-into-armenias-hands-2900540.html