Post by Taxigirl on Oct 15, 2003 16:04:30 GMT
Debate rages on soccercentral's
poll as to whether Brian Kerr should introduce the younger players an opportunity to shine while allowing some of the older players to gracefully hang up their international boots.
One visitor preferred not to leave a comment, instead choosing to write an article for publication and it makes for some interesting analysis and reading.
I suppose we can only hope that Kerr was being cautious up to this point, both tactically and in terms of personnel.
Given the poor start to the group it may well have been justified to be conservative, seeking to grind out the results necessary to improve our position.
It's clear now that this tactic has failed, but obviously we'll never know if any other approach would have yielded better results.
We'll now have nearly 12 months and probably 7 or 8 games before our next competitive match.
This presents Kerr and his management team with sufficient time to start building a team in his own image, and it can't be denied that as he was the man responsible for developing most of the players I'd expect to be involved, it's only fair that he be given the chance to continue this work.
I expect a re-run of 1996-98. Senior players will drop out and promising players from the lower divisions will be tried, as were Savage, Farrelly, Harte, O'Neill etc
Of the new players introduced during this period Shay Given and Kenny Cunningham almost immediately took to the task, and in my opinion Gary Breen was always more than adequate.
Mark Kinsella emerged as an able assistant to Roy Keane. Carr (certainly pre-injury) and Finnan emerged as full backs capable of playing comfortably at the highest level. It took time (probably too much) but ultimately we produced a pretty decent team that definitely punched above its weight.
Some of the better players of this era will still be around: Given, Cunningham (currently in the form of his life), Robbie Keane, Duff, Carr, Finnan. On the face of it, John O'Shea and Colin Healy (already with international experience), McPhail, both Reids, Butler, Quinn, Thornton, Miller, Thompson and possibly Barrett are already a far more promising set of imminent arrivals to the international scene than at any stage post-Charlton.
With luck Dunne, O'Brien and Lee will at least be satisfactory. Not all good teams have good players in every position. I've always liked Kavanagh, though he hardly represents the future.
With careful management I expect many of the imminent newcomers to the squad to grow into international pedigree footballers.
However, given the lack of a physical presence among this group (O'Shea, Steven Reid and possibly O'Brien and Thompson excepted) Kerr will have to develop a style of play not naturally compatible with the type of football prevalent in the UK. Possession, precision, skill and tactical awareness will be the key to success with the players Kerr will have at his disposal.
Ironically, I feel that the type of football played by Troussier's Japan is a model we could look to copy. Our total dependence on 4-4-2, big man/small man forwards etc. is jaded and outdated.
I thought Kerr's comments post-Basle were encouraging in this regard, but this is where he'll face his biggest challenge and this is how I will be judging his performance.
I suspect we'll all be patient if the signs are encouraging that things are moving in the right direction. We ought to know before too long if Kerr, O'Reilly and Hughton are up to the job.
A good start would be a return to a normal football atmosphere with no cheerleading or naff music being relayed by a dated PA system.
Hey, and a half-decent stadium would also help.
poll as to whether Brian Kerr should introduce the younger players an opportunity to shine while allowing some of the older players to gracefully hang up their international boots.
One visitor preferred not to leave a comment, instead choosing to write an article for publication and it makes for some interesting analysis and reading.
I suppose we can only hope that Kerr was being cautious up to this point, both tactically and in terms of personnel.
Given the poor start to the group it may well have been justified to be conservative, seeking to grind out the results necessary to improve our position.
It's clear now that this tactic has failed, but obviously we'll never know if any other approach would have yielded better results.
We'll now have nearly 12 months and probably 7 or 8 games before our next competitive match.
This presents Kerr and his management team with sufficient time to start building a team in his own image, and it can't be denied that as he was the man responsible for developing most of the players I'd expect to be involved, it's only fair that he be given the chance to continue this work.
I expect a re-run of 1996-98. Senior players will drop out and promising players from the lower divisions will be tried, as were Savage, Farrelly, Harte, O'Neill etc
Of the new players introduced during this period Shay Given and Kenny Cunningham almost immediately took to the task, and in my opinion Gary Breen was always more than adequate.
Mark Kinsella emerged as an able assistant to Roy Keane. Carr (certainly pre-injury) and Finnan emerged as full backs capable of playing comfortably at the highest level. It took time (probably too much) but ultimately we produced a pretty decent team that definitely punched above its weight.
Some of the better players of this era will still be around: Given, Cunningham (currently in the form of his life), Robbie Keane, Duff, Carr, Finnan. On the face of it, John O'Shea and Colin Healy (already with international experience), McPhail, both Reids, Butler, Quinn, Thornton, Miller, Thompson and possibly Barrett are already a far more promising set of imminent arrivals to the international scene than at any stage post-Charlton.
With luck Dunne, O'Brien and Lee will at least be satisfactory. Not all good teams have good players in every position. I've always liked Kavanagh, though he hardly represents the future.
With careful management I expect many of the imminent newcomers to the squad to grow into international pedigree footballers.
However, given the lack of a physical presence among this group (O'Shea, Steven Reid and possibly O'Brien and Thompson excepted) Kerr will have to develop a style of play not naturally compatible with the type of football prevalent in the UK. Possession, precision, skill and tactical awareness will be the key to success with the players Kerr will have at his disposal.
Ironically, I feel that the type of football played by Troussier's Japan is a model we could look to copy. Our total dependence on 4-4-2, big man/small man forwards etc. is jaded and outdated.
I thought Kerr's comments post-Basle were encouraging in this regard, but this is where he'll face his biggest challenge and this is how I will be judging his performance.
I suspect we'll all be patient if the signs are encouraging that things are moving in the right direction. We ought to know before too long if Kerr, O'Reilly and Hughton are up to the job.
A good start would be a return to a normal football atmosphere with no cheerleading or naff music being relayed by a dated PA system.
Hey, and a half-decent stadium would also help.