ROI vs Portugal

[Dr Greenthumb 749]

Both Norwich lads on. Idah looking a great outlet and if Connolly could actually pass a ball, would have had some good chances.

[shefcanary 2,409]

Is Omo marking CR7?

[shaunieboy77 73]

Connolly not doing really on the same wavelength as Idah unfortunately 

[Dr Greenthumb 749]

10 minutes ago, shefcanary said:

Is Omo marking CR7?

Seems to be Jota who is closest to him 

[shefcanary 2,409]

12 minutes ago, Dr Greenthumb said:

Seems to be Jota who is closest to him 

All good experience.  Could be repeated on 21st?

[Coneys Knee 959]

Does anybody else feel they have seen a significant change in Idah this season? He seems, fitter, stronger and hungrier even in the limited amount of game time he’s had. Also what a great experience this is for AO. Pleased for the pair of them. 

[Google Bot 3,278]

3 minutes ago, Coneys Knee said:

Does anybody else feel they have seen a significant change in Idah this season? He seems, fitter, stronger and hungrier

100% you could see it in pre-season training sessions too.  Just looks far stronger and switched on.

[Dr Greenthumb 749]

10 minutes ago, Coneys Knee said:

Does anybody else feel they have seen a significant change in Idah this season? He seems, fitter, stronger and hungrier even in the limited amount of game time he’s had. Also what a great experience this is for AO. Pleased for the pair of them. 

He’s having a great game

[Norfolk Dan 308]

Gutted for them.... 

[Norfolk Dan 308]

5 mins of added time.. Ron scores on the 6th minute of the 5. Why do we have VAR, that's a clear an obvious error! 

[Costessey Posse 22]

brutal

[Google Bot 3,278]

Cannot believe that.  As above, the VAR check for a nothing decision - cost them with added time, awful.

Gotta hand it to Ronnie though, both headers he found acres of space to do his trademark float.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,821]

But Paul Merson thinks Ronaldo is 50% of what he used to be and he doesn't have the legs any more..

[chicken 2,627]

2 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

But Paul Merson thinks Ronaldo is 50% of what he used to be and he doesn't have the legs any more..

Got more legs than Messi and he's older... 

[Ken Hairy 3,773]

3 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

But Paul Merson thinks Ronaldo is 50% of what he used to be and he doesn't have the legs any more..

He's probably right to be fair, it's all well and good scoring in Serie A or against Ireland but in think he's going to be a massive flop this time around for United. 

Edited September 1, 2021 by Ken Hairy

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,821]

3 minutes ago, Ken Hairy said:

He's probably right to be fair, it's all well and good scoring in Serie A or against Ireland but in think he's going to be a massive flop this time around for United. 

101 in three seasons for Juventus, 29 in 31 Serie A matches last season. 

People just look at his age and assume he must be finished, but he really hasn't dropped off much from his peak.

[Google Bot 3,278]

3 minutes ago, Ken Hairy said:

but in think he's going to be a massive flop this time around for United.

He brings too much to be a flop, he will give the players a lift and comes in with a winning mentality.  Even if he's not at 100% on the field he takes the focus of opposition players, and that allows others to perform.  And as he's always shown, if you sleep on him, he's running away celebrating.

He's not going to be the player he was of course, and i don't see him getting 20-30 goals like some are hoping.  I think 15-20 would be a great return for him, cause this is a damn sight harder league.  But the goal output at United will increase as a team.

[Yella Army 57]

He will score 25+ prem goals and win the golden boot. I have no doubts about it whatsoever 

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,431]

9 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

But Paul Merson thinks Ronaldo is 50% of what he used to be and he doesn't have the legs any more..

Merson. A total p1sshead who won something 20 years ago. He is as relevant as British Leyland . And slightly less reliable . 

[Ken Hairy 3,773]

8 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

101 in three seasons for Juventus, 29 in 31 Serie A matches last season. 

People just look at his age and assume he must be finished, but he really hasn't dropped off much from his peak.

Yes, Serie A it's so much easier. I don't see him getting double figures. 

[AJ 1,222]

13 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

101 in three seasons for Juventus, 29 in 31 Serie A matches last season. 

People just look at his age and assume he must be finished, but he really hasn't dropped off much from his peak.

He's definitely adapted well to ageing, especially given he's moved around. Will be interesting to see if Messi can maintain his level at PSG

[Ken Hairy 3,773]

2 minutes ago, AJ said:

He's definitely adapted well to ageing, especially given he's moved around. Will be interesting to see if Messi can maintain his level at PSG

He doesn't need to maintain any kind of level, he'll score 40 with his eyes shut in the farmers league. 

I've fully got far more respect for Ronaldos career statistics than Messi, at least Ronaldo has the balls to challenge himself, I just think this is 1 challenge too much for him now. 

Time will tell. 

[Beetehleets 9]

Ronaldo's performances will drop when he decides to retire. Dude's nutrition and conditioning are impeccable. 

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,821]

15 minutes ago, Ken Hairy said:

Yes, Serie A it's so much easier. I don't see him getting double figures. 

You know Italy won the Euros and very few of their squad played outside of Italy?

Genuinely not sure if you're on the wind up.

[Ken Hairy 3,773]

1 minute ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

You know Italy won the Euros and very few of their squad played outside of Italy?

Genuinely not sure if you're on the wind up.

Not on the wind up at all, look how easy Smalling, Young, Sanchez etc who all flopped here took to the league. 

It's well known Serie A, La Liga are easier leagues to score goals in. 

Like I said, I fully respect Ronaldo over Messi as he has the balls to test himself whereas Messi takes the easy option. 

Fully prepared to admit being wrong in May though 🤷‍♂️

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,821]

2 minutes ago, Ken Hairy said:

Not on the wind up at all, look how easy Smalling, Young, Sanchez etc who all flopped here took to the league. 

Smalling had a good first season but struggled in his second one, and Young and Sanchez were never first team regulars at Inter. Sanchez actually did better in the Premier League (63 in 154) than he has in Serie A throughout his career (31 in 147), although I will admit that his peak years were at Arsenal.

[paddycanary 539]

Idah had a great game. Put himself about, good decision-making, intelligent passing & held the ball up well. He understandably looked shot towards the end though when he was taken off. Omobamidele also put in a solid performance after coming in for the injured O'Shea on 33mins and they were under huge pressure for most of the second half. A very creditable effort and an excellent experience for him.

Desperately unlucky to come away with nothing. Could have taken all 3 points and somehow conceded two late ones. The Irish players looked knackered in the last 15mins. Stephen Kenny (the manager!) had been trying to make a double change for a few minutes before the Portuguese equaliser and it seemed like their were some 'delaying tactics' in play? And for the winner, there was a VAR check delay for absolutely nothing which enabled the extra 30/40 seconds for Ronaldo to score a superb header. Very harsh to come away with nothing after a real battling performance. Ireland really need to win the next two home games against Azerbaijan & Serbia to have any chance of staying in touch.

[Krul Mistress 36]

Take a look at how many shots Ronnie had to have though to get his goals. Way out in front, nearly double the shots Lukaku had for five more goals. Plus Lukaku killed him on assists, 11 to 2.

Ronnie actually made Juventus weaker, mainly because so much money was spent on him that it weakened the team, which well be less of a problem at manyoo. He will however get in the way of some of their fine young players playing, disrupt their playing style, and demand everything, free kicks, penalties etc. when he isn't actually very good at them, free kicks in particular.

A perfect signing for united and Ronaldo. He'll score goals and get the personal glory, United plastics get their photos, and the club sells a load of shirts. Whether it benefits the team or not is irrelevant.

[cambridgeshire canary 6,726]

34 minutes ago, Beetehleets said:

Ronaldo's performances will drop when he decides to retire. Dude's nutrition and conditioning are impeccable. 

He's gonna go from Greek God bod to Homer Simpson bod in just a few years when he retires mark my words

[Bovril 219]

Ronaldo doesn't have the legs of yesteryear, that is clear to see. He'll base himself much more in the center of the pitch then in his prime years. However, due to the way he looks after himself, he's still able to leap higher than anyone else in the 96th minute, which is a great example to any player in how to look after yourself. He certainly won't be doing any tracking back though and taking on players (successfully) with a dribble will become more and more of a rarity. He'll instead rely on positioning, experience, and his ultimate will to win, which as he proved tonight will stay with him until he finally retires. 

Idah, very unlucky, thought he was superb tonight and the best I've seen him play. As another has commented earlier in the post, had Connolly, who made very good runs all night, possessed an ounce of quality with his passing than Idah could well have had a goal. Idah and Coleman (who was immense for Ireland and looked a quality above anything else Ireland had in terms of natural ability and technique) linked up very well all game. 

Thought Mr O also had a very assured debut and was marking Ronaldo for a good chunk of the game and just like his performances for Norwich, didn't look out of place.