Friendly v Bosnia

[backtowalsall]

I'm looking forward to this. Bosnia were unlucky not to qualify and it should be a good test of the lads. The side is well settled at this stage and everyone knows their role and the system, so maybe, just maybe, Trap will take the chance to have a look at some other options. Would love him to start with something like

-----------Forde-----------

Foley Sledge Dunne Ward

Duff Whelan Gibson McClean

------ Keane Walters ------

[paul_oshea]

still loads of spare tickets, shame really, terribly actually.

[jbyrne]

still loads of spare tickets, shame really, terribly actually.

will be about 35,000 at it. the 20,000 actual fans and a few curious footie fans.
out of the 6 in our poland crew only 2 are going saturday. id say some of the others dont even know we are playing this sat

[ArdeeBhoy]

Yet another pointless home friendly, though the FAI were always going to have a 'send-off' game...

[SwanVsDalton]

Yet another pointless home friendly...

Would you prefer the side landed in Poland having had no warm-up games? They serve a useful purpose imo, although I understand your well documented feelings on friendlies.

With Given rested this week, I'd imagine Westwood will start. Doubt Foley or Fahey will make it, could see Kelly start at RB with him or O'Shea tried at LB at some point.

Think Walters will start up front. Think midfield will be as you were, albeit with Gibson, McClean and Hunt getting off the bench early.

Any word on when Trap will actually announce the team? Thursday or Friday?

Looking forward to going to it myself, will whet the appetite for next month.

[passinginterest]

O'Shea is out according to reports, and Keane might be rested too.
Could force Trap to play a few more of the fringe players which is no bad thing as far as I'm concerned.

[tetsujin1979]

Given has a minor knee strain and will probably be rested too: http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/inter...r-knee-injury/

[Crosby87]

Nothing good can come out of this other than an injury. Duff shouldnt be anywhere near that place.

[jbyrne]

Nothing good can come out of this other than an injury. Duff shouldnt be anywhere near that place.

if we had no friendly matches over the next few weeks it would be 4 weeks without a game for most before Croatia. two weeks without a game greatly reduces a players sharpness no matter how much training is done. 4 weeks would be far too much.

very worthwhile run out this sat

[Stuttgart88]

Yep, a calculated risk. I'll miss this game as Im up in Edinburgh to do the marathon on Sunday. I promised the kids ages back I'd take them to see the pandas that aren't mating. I'll record it and watch on Monday.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Would you prefer the side landed in Poland having had no warm-up games? They serve a useful purpose imo, although I understand your well documented feelings on friendlies.

With Given rested this week, I'd imagine Westwood will start. Doubt Foley or Fahey will make it, could see Kelly start at RB with him or O'Shea tried at LB at some point.

Think Walters will start up front. Think midfield will be as you were, albeit with Gibson, McClean and Hunt getting off the bench early.

Any word on when Trap will actually announce the team? Thursday or Friday?

Looking forward to going to it myself, will whet the appetite for next month.

Warm-ups are important. As are friendlies. But we play 90% of ours at home and they are all largely so predictable from the enthusiasm of the players to the atmosphere of the fans which normally just falls completely flat as it proceeds.

Why not play Bosnia away, or someone else more interesting like Slovenia? Hungary away is good but too close to the real thing for me though know a few going for just two days...

Look at the Estonia game and how flat that was. And it was a competitive game clinching qualification for the first time in a decade.

[Stuttgart88]

€€€ the FAI, plus it completely suits the training schedule, spending time at home with players arriving to base camp at the appropriate time from their season-ends before moving to Italy. Otherwise there'd be a lot of travel, a lot of homesickness etc.

[geysir]

The Edinburgh marathon, that's the downhill marathon isn't it?

In theory, Bosnia are good opponents considering we have the matter of Croatia looming.
Usually we lose these type of games when we are going to the Finals and win when we aren't?

[Colbert Report]

People don't have lots of money kicking around to waste on meaningless friendly matches, so lay off!

[ArdeeBhoy]

I agree with the last 3 posts!

Don't know anything about the Edinburgh marathon though...

[jbyrne]

People don't have lots of money kicking around to waste on meaningless friendly matches, so lay off!

they dont have to go then.......

its a warm up for the players not the fans

[backtowalsall]

Nothing good can come out of this other than an injury. Duff shouldnt be anywhere near that place.

I'd say the risk of playing him for 45 minutes to keep him sharp is less than the risk of him not playing at all for 4 weeks and doing his hamstring in the first half of the Spain game and missing the rest of the competition. I can't imagine it's going to be played at a particularly frantic pace on Saturday.

[Stuttgart88]

The Edinburgh marathon, that's the downhill marathon isn't it?

Only by a net 40 or 50m, which over 26 miles ain't that much,. There's also a strong headwind. Anyway, do you want to try it?

How have previous last home warm ups gone? I remember losing to Nigeria in 2002, I remember John Sheridan scoring against Bolivia(?) in 94 but that's all I can remember.

[osarusan]

We lost 3-1 at home to the Czechs on June 5th 1994 (2 weeks after the the Bolivian game) after beating Germany 2-0 away.

[SwanVsDalton]

We beat Holland 1-0 in April '94 as well (not sure if that's technically a warm-up or not).