Interesting rumour that Manchester City staff think Ireland is one of the five most talented players there. But that's he's the mentally weakest player they've got.
Think he'd do a job for Villa. Meant to be £20m-ish cash.
He seems like quite a odd person alright with what he did to Rep.Of.Ireland and the whole Granny-Gate situation
When journalists start saying a player's a "misunderstood genius", that usually translates into as being mad as a hatter.
Presumably Martin O'Neill needs a 'playmaker' for his innovation in using the rare and unheard of 4-2-3-1 formation (genius that man is, genius is...).*
*sorry - but after five years of seeing one manager slaughtered on a daily basis for being 'negative' for playing that system, it does grind my gears a bit when it's now seen as the height of tactical sophistication and innovation by the very same pundits.
souns the the 4-2-1-3. but the thing is that the "1" needs to be fairly expectional player, needs to be pretty constant and able to should a good amounts of responsibility for the play, im not sure ireland is mentally tough enough to do itYou'd be right, if he was trying to play a 4-2-3-1. What O'Neill is trying to do is play a 4-3-2-1/4-2-1-2-1: subtle change, but one that can make a big difference. Instead of having a second striker type attacking mid such as Gerrard, you play a driving midfielder in the Fabregas or Lampard mould, playing deeper. This allows the defensive mids to be involved in the build-up more, and adds to ball retention as the main playmaker is not so far away, allowing shorter, more precise passing. In addition, it also allows the wingers to cut inside into space that would have been taken up by the second striker, at least more effective than otherwise.
If we got Ireland, it'd fit the formation perfectly. You're completely right about the 4-2-3-1 comment, but he's not trying to do that, and it's the pundits' fault for not realising or at least not communicating well enough their ideas.
i watched only the first half of the villa match last night so could be wrong but i thought that they where playing a 4-2-3-1 with albright, young and downing the 3. I didnt see any of them 3 players in a fabragas/lampard role, i thought that the young and albright were on the wings and that downing played like a second striker.
You'd be right, if he was trying to play a 4-2-3-1. What O'Neill is trying to do is play a 4-3-2-1/4-2-1-2-1: subtle change, but one that can make a big difference. Instead of having a second striker type attacking mid such as Gerrard, you play a driving midfielder in the Fabregas or Lampard mould, playing deeper. This allows the defensive mids to be involved in the build-up more, and adds to ball retention as the main playmaker is not so far away, allowing shorter, more precise passing. In addition, it also allows the wingers to cut inside into space that would have been taken up by the second striker, at least more effective than otherwise.
If we got Ireland, it'd fit the formation perfectly. You're completely right about the 4-2-3-1 comment, but he's not trying to do that, and it's the pundits' fault for not realising or at least not communicating well enough their ideas.
i watched only the first half of the villa match last night so could be wrong but i thought that they where playing a 4-2-3-1 with albright, young and downing the 3. I didnt see any of them 3 players in a fabragas/lampard role, i thought that the young and albright were on the wings and that downing played like a second striker.
souns the the 4-2-1-3. but the thing is that the "1" needs to be fairly expectional player, needs to be pretty constant and able to should a good amounts of responsibility for the play, im not sure ireland is mentally tough enough to do it
It was 4-2-3-1 last night which was what irritated me.
Good post though about how he might fit in longer term.
Silva will play on the wing, maybe milner will play cm along with toure but i cant see silva in cm unless there is three cm'sSorry to bump, but why does everyone think milner will sit on the bench? i personally have no idea what system Mancini will play this season, this is what i hope it will be
GK- Given
RB- Boateng
LB- Kolarov
CB- Kompany
CB- Toure/Lescott
CM- Yaya Toure
CM- David Silva
AMR- Adam Johnson/ Weiss
AML- Milner/Bellamy
AMC/FC- Tevez
ST- Adebayor/Balotelli
Obviously that depends on if we get milner and balotelli
You're justified in being annoyed if they said 4-2-3-1 was innovation - ****, it annoys me - what they must mean, BUT don't say, is that it's innovative for Villa. Generally we're 4-4-2/4-3-3, with little variation.
That's kind of what I mean - you can't praise MON for being a tactical innovator and ahead of the curve because in 2010 he plays a formation which eg Ferguson used 20 years ago to win the Cup Winner's Cup or which Benitez got slaughtered for day in and day out for five years for using but the pundits only just realised existed when Germany creamed England in the World Cup.
Will be interesting to see whether MON is going to step outside of his comfort zone this season. Are there still rumblings of discontent amongst you lot about him? He came close to walking out last season didn't he when Lerner told him that there'd be no more funding for attempts to get into CL?