Nigeria and Bulgaria Squad

[paul_oshea]

I think at this stage if Reid wants to change Traps mind he will have to go away this summer and do what Steven Ireland did last year and do some intensive training and try get rid of some of the weight. If he wants to have have any hope of playing in the world cup,should we get there,he is going to have to do some thing pretty dramatic it seems.

I see today that Trap has started dropping hints about staying on beyond the current campaign.Id be very happy with that,but I do hope that after the Italy game he now trusts his players to play more attacking football now

can you provide that, i didnt read this?! Maybe its a way of letting clubs know he is still interested in coaching, I reckon he would love the chance to manage in England.

[paul_oshea]

There is a rationale, Trap's rationale. It would astonish me if Trap did not have a rationale for excluding Reid and including others.
It remains to be seen if it's the right rationale. That will be seen at the end of the qual games. Keep the faith.
It's funny how discussions can get overly focussed on who should be the 25th squad member.
For our game against Bulgaria, there are much bigger issues:)

i said rational, i didn't say it was or wasn't ;)

[paul_oshea]

I do not see him playing mcshane in the centre against oshea, he knew that the italians were offering nothing down the centre, and the only exploiting they were doing was down the right wing, plus oshea offered better service running up and down the wing supporting the right midfielder. That is the only reason he played mcshane in the centre, and it will not happen against bulgaria bar injury.

[Stuttgart88]

kept his place at centre half against Colombia with O'Shea playing right back. He was terrific. He did very well for most of the game but gifted Columbia a gilt edged chance through sheer clumsiness and Kiely bailed him out. Like Dunne in his early years (and even in recent games for City from what I've seen) McShane has one big error in him still.

He reminds me of me learning to drive: In the first 6 months or longer I did every journey pretty well but always made a balls of at least one routine gear change or other manoevre. Only after time did every trip become mistake free.

I think you could be right though. Trap might pick him.

[geysir]

6 months :D


I do not see him playing mcshane in the centre against oshea, he knew that the italians were offering nothing down the centre, and the only exploiting they were doing was down the right wing, plus oshea offered better service running up and down the wing supporting the right midfielder. That is the only reason he played mcshane in the centreand it will not happen against bulgaria bar injury
Only reason? The first half, McShane was like pea out of his pod.

I wouldn't put my house on it but I think McShane has definitely played himself out of being our RB for the foreseeable future.

[eirebhoy]

I do not see him playing mcshane in the centre against oshea, he knew that the italians were offering nothing down the centre, and the only exploiting they were doing was down the right wing, plus oshea offered better service running up and down the wing supporting the right midfielder. That is the only reason he played mcshane in the centre, and it will not happen against bulgaria bar injury.
I bet ya McShane plays in the centre vs Bulgaria! :)

I'm positive McShane would have played centre half against Norway if he wasn't injured and then on to the qualifiers (unless he really messed up). I hope Trap has realised that he's a useless right back. If he's not playing centre half don't play him at all.

btw - Italy played a few long balls up to Iaquinta in the 2nd half and McShane dealt with most of them.

[Razors left peg]

can you provide that, i didnt read this?! Maybe its a way of letting clubs know he is still interested in coaching, I reckon he would love the chance to manage in England.

from yesterdays Independent....
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/trapattoni-let-me-stay-1743517.html

[alltogethernow]

I think at this stage if Reid wants to change Traps mind he will have to go away this summer and do what Steven Ireland did last year and do some intensive training and try get rid of some of the weight. If he wants to have have any hope of playing in the world cup,should we get there,he is going to have to do some thing pretty dramatic it seems.




My point exactly.
You want Reid in to play on the wing ahead of Keogh?

Who do you think has the better chance of knocking a ball past a player and getting a cross in…..Reid isnt going to get by anyone with pace. He has had some good performances but he is finished. He has had a poor season and as you said Fahy and Garvan will get the chance but they should be now because they are the type of player that will go to a world cup if we qualify.

[Stuttgart88]

Who do you think has the better chance of knocking a ball past a player and getting a cross in…..Reid isnt going to get by anyone with pace. In fairness Andy Reid is one of the best ball deliverers we have, from wide or central positions. Keogh may be more athletic but he doesn't have the guile to beat a man one-fotr-one out wide and is certainly no expert ball crosser. Reid has the brains to make space. I'd have Reid ahead of him any day, but at the moment I'd have McGeady or Lawrence ahead of Reid though.

[elroy]

from yesterdays Independent....
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/trapattoni-let-me-stay-1743517.html

There is a very strong likelihood that the team Trap will have a team at the end of this campaign that will be far superior and have a greater potential than the team he inherited. At his age, I think international football suits him, compared to other international jobs, the Irish one isnt too demanding from a media perspective and I genuinely think he has enjoyed his role. So I would not be surprised if he wants to stay on, whether we could afford it is another thing, not sure if there will be any gifts/donations forthcoming next time around.

He has brought a structure and purpose to the team that was notably absent only 12 months ago. I understand some people dont like his style etc but he has been a success so far and stands a good chance of success in the future. I def would welcome him taking us through the Euro 2012 campaign, where i think second place in a qualifying group would guarantee qualification.

[alltogethernow]

In fairness Andy Reid is one of the best ball deliverers we have, from wide or central positions. Keogh may be more athletic but he doesn't have the guile to beat a man one-fotr-one out wide and is certainly no expert ball crosser. Reid has the brains to make space. I'd have Reid ahead of him any day, but at the moment I'd have McGeady or Lawrence ahead of Reid though.

I agree with you i wouldnt have either of them there,i was just using Keogh because he was mentioned.

To think about using Andy Reid as a winger is laughable when you look at other options.

[Stuttgart88]

You've got to distinguish between a winger and a wide midfielder though. Pires, Hleb or Ljungberg were never wingers but each was very successful out wide for Arsenal. Reid has played the wide role on both sides to good effect for Ireland so would be a credible option in my opinion. However, we have Duff (L&R), McGeady (L&R), Hunt (L - & used at club level at R), Kilbane(L) and Lawrence (R) all providing more orthodox width.

[Razors left peg]

My point exactly.
You want Reid in to play on the wing ahead of Keogh?

Who do you think has the better chance of knocking a ball past a player and getting a cross in…..Reid isnt going to get by anyone with pace. He has had some good performances but he is finished. He has had a poor season and as you said Fahy and Garvan will get the chance but they should be now because they are the type of player that will go to a world cup if we qualify.

Did David Beckham ever go past a player in his career? Playing on the wing isnt all about pace.Reid has a fantastic left foot and is a brilliant passer of the ball.
Are you honestly suggesting that Keogh is a better winger than Reid? If so it makes me think you havent been watching the Irish team for very long

[tetsujin1979]

Are you honestly suggesting that Keogh is a better winger than Reid? If so it makes me think you havent been watching the Irish team for very long
I don't think anyone is suggesting that, but it does look like Trapattoni thinks that Keogh can offer the team more on the wing than Reid

[Razors left peg]

I don't think anyone is suggesting that, but it does look like Trapattoni thinks that Keogh can offer the team more on the wing than Reid

I think that was proved wrong in Bari. Dont get me wrong, I like Keogh as a striker, his work rate is excellent I think he is decent cover for Doyle but he isnt a winger in a million years

[alltogethernow]

Did David Beckham ever go past a player in his career? Playing on the wing isnt all about pace.Reid has a fantastic left foot and is a brilliant passer of the ball.
Are you honestly suggesting that Keogh is a better winger than Reid? If so it makes me think you havent been watching the Irish team for very long

If you look at my posts above you will see that I said that Keogh is not the option.

Are you happy seeing someone that can't beat a player and is left footed playing on the right wing?

To even compare Beckham and Reid gave me a good laugh!

[tetsujin1979]

Bulgarian's foreign-based players in the squad announced, there will be 3 players added from the Bulgarian league
from http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4303
Bulgaria squad for World Cup qualifier v Ireland (6 June 2009):
Goalkeepers:
Dimitar Ivankov (Bursaspor)
Nikolay Mihaylov (Twente Enschede)

Defenders:
Elin Topuzakov (Hapoel Tel Aviv)
Igor Tomasic (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
Iliyan Stoyanov (Sanfreche)
Zahari Sirakov (Amkar Perm)

Midfielders:
Stilian Petrov (Aston Villa)
Stanislav Angelov (Energie Cottbus)
Dimitar Telkiyski (Hapoel Tel Aviv)
Velizar Dimitrov (Metalurg Donetsk)
Blagoy Georgiev (Terek Grozny)

Strikers:
Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United)
Martin Petrov (Manchester City)
Dimitar Rangelov (Energie Cottbus)
Valeri Bojinov (Manchester City)
Valeri Domovchiyski (Hertha Berlin)
Dimitar Makriev (Ashdod)

Petrov and Bojinov have both recently returned from long term injuries for Man City, but doubts remain over their ability to complete 90 minutes. Petrov in particular was ineffective against Spurs at the weekend. On the other hand, Bojinov scored a cracking goal up front by himself.
Stilian Petrov was just voted Player's Player of the Year, and Fans Player of the Year at Villa

[Stuttgart88]

If Stilian Petrov was in our team we'd be quite a strong international team I reckon. The guy was quality at Croker.

[elroy]

If Stilian Petrov was in our team we'd be quite a strong international team I reckon. The guy was quality at Croker.

Agreed, was their best player that night but arguably was given way too much time on the ball.
Martin Petrov is a very good player if fit and could cause us alot of problems and also despite a relatively poor season from Berbatov he cant be ignored. He can produce something out of nothing, although I would fancy Dunne and JOSH to take care of him.

[tetsujin1979]

If Stilian Petrov was in our team we'd be quite a strong international team I reckon. The guy was quality at Croker.
He was quality because he was given time to be quality. I was screaming at Keith Andrews to close him down as he walked towards our penalty area at one point, with Andrews just watching him.

[paul_oshea]

Did he not hear you?

[tetsujin1979]

Did he not hear you?
Clearly not, otherwise Petrov wouldn't have played as well!

[Wolfie]

Would liked to have seen how Stephen Reid fared against Petrov.

[Stuttgart88]

Good midfielders always seem to have time on the ball :)

[Razors left peg]

If you look at my posts above you will see that I said that Keogh is not the option.

Are you happy seeing someone that can't beat a player and is left footed playing on the right wing?

To even compare Beckham and Reid gave me a good laugh!

My point was that not all wingers are pacy and go past players easily.
And yes I was happy enough to see Reid on the right wing when he played very well there in a number of Internationals

[Yard of Pace]

Their defence has an absence of quality I think and they're all over 30 and I hope Duffer can exploit this. He's a master at winning free-kicks around the box so I hope the set-plays will be good on the night (for once).

[dr_peepee]

. He's a master at winning free-kicks around the box so I hope the set-plays will be good on the night (for once).

True. But we've no real threat from set peices in terms of either shots or delivery. Does Whelan have a decent free kick??

[Stuttgart88]

He does actually.

Has the referee been announced yet? It'd be nice to have someone who could stand up to them at home.

[Stuttgart88]

Cyprus had a right go at Bulgaria and really should have scored an equaliser in the second half. Bulgaria's second was a break in injury time.

You could say the same about Cyprus in Croker too I suppose, but on what I saw of the second half of BUL v CYP we can win this game.

[paul_oshea]

we can win lots of games however we never actually do it though, do we?

[Stuttgart88]

Jeez, we've got bloody Jean Paul Sartre in our midst.

You going through one of your down periods Paul?

[shakermaker1982]

I think the Trap would bite his arm off for a typical 1-1 score draw Irish performance. I'm hoping we build on the Italian performance and jump on Bulgaria when the opportunity arises. They will try to dominate possession once again so I'm expecting the players to be instructed to press much more aggressively this time around. If we let Petrov hog the ball again we're finished because Berbatov, Martin Petrov and Bojinov have improved their starting 11 since we last met. It would be like our team being depleted of Keane, Duff and Doyle for the first game. It would give us a big lift so we'll need to weather the early storm.

[paul_oshea]

Jeez, we've got bloody Jean Paul Sartre in our midst.

You going through one of your down periods Paul?

No, I thought stutts you would have got what i mean there, people are always predicting on this site, myself included, that we should win or are capable of winning a game i.e. winning a particular fixture against lesser oppossition, only to find we don't for whatever reason. Its not as black and white as we are just not good enough, but we are not actually at that stage of professionalism in our performances where we can dispose of lesser oppossition, much like England a few years ago, but now they have managed that under Capello, and much like our Rugby counterparts. That key ingredient of a winning mentality is missing, hopefully over the next couple of games we will start to see that but I'm not sure, maybe we need more winners in the team/players who are used to winning as oppossed to EPL mid table strugglers?!

[Stuttgart88]

yeah, I was just pointing out that we are capable of winning there. Of course it's up in the air whether we actually will or not. We're just as capable of losing there.

Hopefully a bit of Trap's streetwiseness will rub off.

[geysir]

No, I thought stutts you would have got what i mean there, people are always predicting on this site, myself included......

Words are loaded pistols.