Ireland vs some Sultan or other, Stalin (1 Viewer)

Richie

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Sorry lads I tried with Oman but they don't seem to have an easily-accessible list of historical villains anywhere..

Slightly weird squad from O'Neill, with four keepers including the return of Shay Given and six strikers including Daryl Murphy and Kev Doyle who is still stuck in the netherworld of Wolves' reserve squad. Hendrick and A Reid out injured:

GK D Forde, K Westwood, S Given, R Elliot
DF R Keogh, M Wilson, S Coleman, J O’Shea, A Pearce, J O’Brien
MF J McCarthy, S Ward, G Whelan, D Gibson, A McGeady, A Pilkington, J McClean, R Brady, S Quinn, D Meyler, W Hoolahan
FW R Keane, S Long, D Murphy, J Walters, K Doyle, A Stokes.

Damo Delaney seems a surprise omission, seeing as Keogh and Pearce have got the call over him. As for Given he's only had a league cup game so far this season and I can't see what him coming back achieves besides undermining the other keepers.. The main problem issue as with last campaign is whether Robbie is still an automatic starter or whether you give Long a go, or try to fit them both in. Keane did manage to do this the other day:
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I would give Long an hour and then spring Keane off the bench for 30 mins, starting with a lineup like this:

Code:
             Westwood
Coleman  O'Shea  Wilson  O'Brien
McGeady  Quinn  McCarthy  Brady
             Hoolahan
              Long
 
Sorry lads I tried with Oman but they don't seem to have an easily-accessible list of historical villains anywhere..

Slightly weird squad from O'Neill, with four keepers including the return of Shay Given and six strikers including Daryl Murphy and Kev Doyle who is still stuck in the netherworld of Wolves' reserve squad. Hendrick and A Reid out injured:

GK D Forde, K Westwood, S Given, R Elliot
DF R Keogh, M Wilson, S Coleman, J O’Shea, A Pearce, J O’Brien
MF J McCarthy, S Ward, G Whelan, D Gibson, A McGeady, A Pilkington, J McClean, R Brady, S Quinn, D Meyler, W Hoolahan
FW R Keane, S Long, D Murphy, J Walters, K Doyle, A Stokes.

Damo Delaney seems a surprise omission, seeing as Keogh and Pearce have got the call over him. As for Given he's only had a league cup game so far this season and I can't see what him coming back achieves besides undermining the other keepers.. The main problem issue as with last campaign is whether Robbie is still an automatic starter or whether you give Long a go, or try to fit them both in. Keane did manage to do this the other day:
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I would give Long an hour and then spring Keane off the bench for 30 mins, starting with a lineup like this:

Code:
             Westwood
Coleman  O'Shea  Wilson  O'Brien
McGeady  Quinn  McCarthy  Brady
             Hoolahan
              Long

I watched a Galaxy game recently (Yeah i know) Keane doesn't play up front for them he plays behind the main striker so if was playing a part it would be in the Hoolihan role. Wilson was excellent for Stoke over the weekend, O Shea was equally excellent last weekend, Coleman has had two defensive shockers this season but is still our best attacking player so either he plays on the wing or we augment our style to get the best out of him. I prefer the former because the latter is not the best idea. McGeady played fairly well in a free role for us the last few weeks but he really is not a winger so again if Coleman and McGeady both play then we have to play to their strengths which is Coleman bombing on and doing the crossing and McGeady playing inside of him and drifting across the line.

Brady on the other hand looks like a real out winger. So in short let McGeady go wherever he likes let Coleman bomb forward and have McCarthy and Quinn fill in the gaps in behind or Colman on the wing McGeady in a floating role just inside him and I guess Hoolahan loses out there.


Also Glenn Whelan is revelling in Mark Hughes new approach. 96% pass accuracy against City away on saturday and he's 90%+ for the season. Quinn isn't even playing regularly. Just saying.
 
I can't fathom Whelan, if any other Irish midfielder was a regular starter for a Premier League side for the last several years and had just played the whole game in a win at Manchester City I'd have him straight in there but Whelan's racked up so many static, indifferent games in a green shirt at this stage. Maybe he'll be different under O'Neill. Quinn wasn't starting at the start of the season but he was their best player off the bench against QPR and started the last couple.. I reckon he's the more dynamic option. Based on the other comments, you reckon something like this in front of the back four?
Code:
    McCarthy  Whelan
McGeady   Keane    Brady
            Long
 
I can't fathom Whelan, if any other Irish midfielder was a regular starter for a Premier League side for the last several years and had just played the whole game in a win at Manchester City I'd have him straight in there but Whelan's racked up so many static, indifferent games in a green shirt at this stage. Maybe he'll be different under O'Neill. Quinn wasn't starting at the start of the season but he was their best player off the bench against QPR and started the last couple.. I reckon he's the more dynamic option. Based on the other comments, you reckon something like this in front of the back four?
Code:
    McCarthy  Whelan
McGeady   Keane    Brady
            Long
That's not totally true, he's a holding midfielder, he did that very well for Trap but that's all he can do. He has kind of been pilloried (by me on occasion) because he was part of a midfield without any guile or ability but that's not what he's there for. If you took his performances for Ireland in isolation he's probably been one of our more consistent performers over the last five years.

Yeah I suppose it's a bit closer to that but I'd almost go either
Code:
    McCarthy  Whelan
Coleman   McGeady    Brady
            Long
or
Code:
    McCarthy  Whelan
  McGeady Hoolihan   Brady
            Long

with Keane to play a part in the last 30 minutes if required.
 
That's not totally true, he's a holding midfielder, he did that very well for Trap but that's all he can do. He has kind of been pilloried (by me on occasion) because he was part of a midfield without any guile or ability but that's not what he's there for. If you took his performances for Ireland in isolation he's probably been one of our more consistent performers over the last five years.
It's a weird one though, he's a holding midfielder but one who apparently can't tackle.. He's been consistently average but I can't remember the last time I would have picked him out as having a good game for Ireland. Even when Paul Green came in in Stockholm it seemed to improve things because he at least had a high energy rate. I think it might do Whelan good to have a spell out of the team, he might raise his game if he knows he's not guaranteed a start.

You could have just gone with Oman's current 'leader,' he seems evil enough to suffice

Qaboos bin Said al Said - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I almost went with his dad, who apparently 'governed the country in an erratic and paranoid fashion', resisted modernization, possibly pocketed a fair chunk of the early oil money and put his son under house arrest (and was later overthrown by him).. The current lad at least brought in some form of elected government and allowed women to participate. Neither of them seem to be in the same calibre as the names we typically use in these thread titles though..
 
It's a weird one though, he's a holding midfielder but one who apparently can't tackle.. He's been consistently average but I can't remember the last time I would have picked him out as having a good game for Ireland. Even when Paul Green came in in Stockholm it seemed to improve things because he at least had a high energy rate. I think it might do Whelan good to have a spell out of the team, he might raise his game if he knows he's not guaranteed a start.
He was excellent against France in Paris and played every game when we qualified for the last Euros. I'm not saying he's Michel Platini but only that he looked fucking dreadful in two fucking dreadful footballing sides managed by two managers hell bent on playing the worst football imaginable and now he looks quite decent in a decent footballing side managed by a decent manager who wants to play decent football.

MON and Roy Keane's ambitions and intentions are yet to be seen but I'm saying he could yet have a role. At Least until Dearreon Gibson goes out on loan to Real Madrid to get back to full fitness and shores up their porous midfield. ;)
 
O'Brien is gone back yet again? Should call Delaney up now. I know Wilson is best deployed in CD, but I'd prefer to have him out left than fucking Ward.
If Gibson is fully fit and plays well against Oman, I'd play him. Play your best 11, simples.

Westwood/Forde (on the fence on that one)
Coleman O'Shea Delaney Wilson
McGeady Gibson McCarthy Brady
Hoolahan
Long

Keane as supersub.
 
Yeah O'Brien has withdrawn.. I dunno if there's much point in them calling him up again, he doesn't seem to be able to handle the extra games, pity. Dorran Gibsyeen will be starting in the Oman game, apparently.
 
but I'd prefer to have him out left than fucking Ward.

Back in the PL too, much to my surprise this morning as I was reading through a list of transfers taht have gone through over the summer. Palace are fucked

Edit: Ward is a strong candidate for the worst regular we've ever had in my lifetime as a football fan
 
Yeah O'Brien has withdrawn.. I dunno if there's much point in them calling him up again,
I thought it was especially interesting given that he didn't play any of the summer games, as he was too busy planning his wedding during international duty time and was a bit sore for the rest of the time. One thing Trap, to his credit, wouldn't have stood for. But I suppose you call him up if he's our best option, which he probably is, which says a lot about the perennial left back problem.
I'd play Wilson LB in a heartbeat now.

PS - delighted to see Gibson back. Given his rocky past with Ireland and the fact that he wrecked himself in a meaningless international, and his boss is Martinez, it's a credit to him to come straight back in to to a (near) meaningless international.
 
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