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"He takes too much on himself" - John Giles scrutinises Coleman's form

Ireland captain Seamus Coleman has been under scrutiny this week. The Everton right-back was sent...



Soccer

"He takes too much on himself" - John Giles scrutinises Coleman's form

Ireland captain Seamus Coleman has been under scrutiny this week.

The Everton right-back was sent off against Switzerland in the 2-0 defeat in the Euro 2020 qualifier on Tuesday.

Speaking on Off The Ball at full-time, ex-Shelbourne midfielder Stuart Byrne had highlighted a "bad side" that has come into Coleman's game.

"There's this bad side that's come into his game where he's getting involved a lot in the verbal stuff. And he's trying to wind certain players up as if to get them frustrated," he said.

"For me, you either have that in your locker or you don't. And I don't think he's got that. I think it's taking away from him as a player and what he's good at.

"So I think he's been quite poor for us now in the last few games."

Ex-Ireland and Crystal Palace defender Damien Delaney echoed that point the following morning on OTB AM.

"I see Seamus getting involved in a lot of off the ball stuff now. If there's a bad tackle, he's the first one in there," he said.

"But he's not that type of lad. You can lead in many different ways and some people are like that, where they're confrontational and abrasive.

"Seamus isn't like that at all, he's a leader through doing."

John Giles' Verdict

Ireland and Leeds legend John Giles joined us as always on a Thursday and he gave his take on the national team and club captain.

"Seamus Coleman's performance is always good," he said.

"I think what happens with Seamus, with him being captain, I think he takes too much on himself. The main contribution you can make as captain is to play well yourself. And I think with Seamus, I think he knows we're not playing well and he was getting the ball in the full-back positions a few times and in my opinion, he was trying to do what the midfield players weren't doing. It's not right but I can understand where he's coming from. He's such a good lad that he thinks, 'I've got to get it going because I'm the captain'.

"As captain, all he's got to do is play well and do the right things. But I can understand where he's coming from. He's willing to do well and would take something on himself in the right-back position that actually is a minus instead of a plus. But doing it for the right reasons."

He added: "Seamus does his own job. And he's falling down a little bit because he's trying to do other people's jobs for them."

John also felt Ireland's switch to a back-three in Switzerland was unnecessary, given that the back-four and goalkeeper had performed competently in the campaign.

You can watch the full chat with John Giles via our YouTube channel.

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Everton Georgia Ireland John Giles Off The Ball Seamus Coleman Switzerland