After a mediocre enough performance against Austria, CB must have been looking forward to the return fixture against Greece and hoping that it would prove at least as successful as the away trip.

After one of the most controversial beginnings to a competitive NT reign Ireland has ever seen, it seemed to the community at large that we had finally gotten a lucky manager. Greece have been enjoying their own vein of fruitful fortune since then having not lost another game, much to the disbelief of Hungary and Austria, and arrived at Galtymore level on points with the boys in green.

So which one of the lucky managers would come out on top this time?

Greece haven't changed formation since the second game of their campaign and true to form they lined out in a 4-4-2 Attacking. Our commander in chief lined his charges out in a 4-5-1 Attacking in order to negate the Greek threat in midfield but the subsequent adoption of a defensive, direct playing mentality left Ireland looking toothless for large portions of the game.

In truth, CB deserves credit for making some brave decisions in his selection, although there would remain a question as to how much of it was the result of prodding. Dropping someone of the calibre of glynn, even for a player of the quality of O' Callaghan, must have been a tough choice. Confronted with Greece's best player on the night he was kept relatively quiet but was solid and created our best chance of the second half which McDermott squandered. One thing is clear from these types of decisions; our opponents must certainly be struggling to second guess us.

I have previously voiced my opinions on McDermott and how there seems to be little to choose between him and his primary rival when Ireland play one up front but it does seem odd, with the form message being professed, to see Ó Raighne warming the bench. In the last two games he has produced three goals and an average rating of 7.5, versus McDermott's 4.5 average. In spite of his weaker finishing, this would seem to be a glaring error.

In spite of his relatively weak passing and positioning, Rimmer left me feeling distinctly underwhelmed. Bizarrely we are struggling to find a second OMC who can perform in this campaign, although based on past performances for Ireland, Rimmer would warrant another chance it is worrying to see. McCartan suffered yet another poor night, completely failing to contain Kokkinos, and has been coming under intense pressure from the Irish community on the forum. Overall Keys is the better player but not by much, and he has the experience but if a change is coming, then Connolly must be considered. Even if his club manager doesn't seem to like him there, he has all the necessary skills and a steadily building level of routine.

Ultimately, the NC was right in his assessment of the game, Greece deserved to win. We were very poor in key areas and were it not for Greene we would have lost. On that front it could be argued that we remain the lucky side in the group but based on our second half performance few of our opponents will be dreading meeting us again.

If things continue like this against Azerbaijan, this could well be the campaign remembered for our goalkeeping exploits...

On another note, having perused the forum over the weekend I would like to take take issue with one comment made by another manager.

Biffdons Athletic "Tad harsh there Wolfie don’t ya think? :) You’re starting to sound just like D. Gaffer ;)"

I had considered letting it go but being compared to someone who barely seems capable of reading a forum post that runs to more than a paragraph unless it concerns himself or the national squad he covets so greatly (although not enough to vote for himself) is frankly appalling. The fact that he seems to be attempting to use me to have a go at this website, which represents a lot of hard work by managers other than myself, is laughable and petty.

D.Gaffer