It’s been frustrating watching Ireland play their last two matches… two 0-0 draws and two really terrible performances, yet 2 points in the bag and 4 points ‘saved’ from going in to opposition hands. But is that winning mentality? No, and with that sparks the performance -v- result debate…
Greece -v- Arsenal
Apart from Greece in 2004, i can’t remember any ‘ugly’ footballing side win a trophy, or come close to it. At the opposite end of the ‘entertainment’ scale is Arsenal who consistently play the same way (or try to) regardless of the opposition or players at their disposal. The result is goals & chances at both ends of the pitch. The right way to play but perhaps not the smartest at times as Arsenal fans will no doubt point out…
It’s an endless debate with plenty of variables… quality of players, strength of squad, opposition, management, fitness etc… etc… still, it takes goals to win games and the kind of defensive minded set up we’ve witnessed from Ireland over the past week is something you’d typically expect of a San Marino or Andorra i.e. a team who go in to matches with a ‘damage limitation’ attitude.
Here’s a summary of my take on Ireland’s tactics today in graphical form 🙂 4-4-2 formation with the ‘4-4’ camped inside our own box and the ‘2’ isolated in the opposition half. I could have just blanked out the midfield either 😉
