Team for WC Qualifiers [Archive]

4tothefloor

01/04/2004, 2:02 PM

Starting team will probably be:

Given
Carr
Cunningham
O'Brien
O'Shea (though I wouldn't mind seeing Finnan here)
McAteer
Kavanagh
Kilbane
Duff
Keane
Morrison

Thats the side I think Kerr would go for, all being fit, with maybe Breen, Holland & Healy having a chance aswell. That could change though with players impressing in the coming months etc. I couldn't get over how small Liam Miller is though - he's goin to have to bulk up a bit if he's going to be effective in the premiership & internationally, for that reason I think he's a bit off from being a regular yet. Hopefully Kerr will open his eyes regarding Holland soon - the man's useless.

Pogsly

01/04/2004, 2:15 PM

Given
Carr
Cunningham
O'Brien
O'Shea

Miller
Kilbane
Kavanagh
Duff

Keane
Morrison/ Lee

Take some of the above with a grain of salt

NeilMcD

13/04/2004, 11:32 AM

my team is

Given

Carr
Cunningham
O Brien
O Shea,

most people agree on that bit

now for the next bit

I would have

Andy Reid/Liam Miller

Holland/Kavanagh/Delap/Healy/Carsley they are all pretty average for that position that is why the return of roy keane woudl be great are midfield goes from average too very good in my opition.
Kilbane
Duff

Keane Morrison

carnstien

15/04/2004, 11:43 AM

Ok, here we go:

Given

Finnan
O'Brien
Cunningham
O'Shea

Carr
Miller
Roy Keane (c)
Duff

Keane
Morrison

A few comments:

Finnan and Carr MUST both play as they are 2 of our most talented players.
I'd like to see what Miller can do, although he had a stinker against Villareal last night.

We could also do with finding a better partner for Robbie up front, Morrison is average at best, give Elliot a chance, I wouldn't mind seeing what Andy Ried could do up front either.

Sorry no Kilbane, but he is simply talentless, if Miller and Andy Ried both flop, I'd give Kilbane a run beside Keane in the middle.

only1kilbane

15/04/2004, 11:53 AM

Kilbane talentless ! are you mad ? The bloke might not have an abundance of talent but utilises what he has 100%. People already putting Miller in the first team are looking a bit far ahead. He has talent we can see that but not enough for International never mind his club side. See what he does with Manu before throwing him in at the deep end ..

Neil Mc D's team seems the perfect choice

Declan_Michael

15/04/2004, 12:40 PM

Given

Carr
O'Brien
Cunningham (C)
O'Shea

McAteer
K***e
Delap
Kilbane

Duff

Keane

scouser

15/04/2004, 3:10 PM

Given
Carr
Cunningham
O'Brien
O'Shea
Finnan
Miller
Roy Keane (c)
Duff
Morrison
Robbie Keane

pete

15/04/2004, 3:16 PM

Roy Keane (c)

:rolleyes:

Not a chance.

SÓC

15/04/2004, 3:39 PM

Given
Carr Cunningham O'Brien O'Shea
Miller Holland Keane Kilbane Duff
Keane

Morrison, Breen, Finnian, Kenny, A.Reid, Healy, Doherty

Bowsy

15/04/2004, 4:05 PM

How come everybody has Miller as a definite starter in the Irish side be it right or centre midfield? This seems to be based on a few good games earlier in the season and one terrific display against Anderlecht. I'm as excited as anyone about Miller as a prospect but he has proved nothing. Was anonymous on his Irish debut and against Livingston at the weekend and last night against Villareal he was abysmal. Players like Andy Reid and Miller on the bench at this stage for me. For my money starting XI would be.

Given

Carr
Cunningham
Breen
O'Shea

Finnan
Roy Keane(Can't believe i'm saying that)
Kav/Kilbane/Holland(Take your pick)
Duff

Morrisson
Robbie Keane

NeilMcD

15/04/2004, 4:18 PM

well i think you may be right about miller it is a little too early to say on him but i must say that breeen will not be starting, he is playing average at sunderland his best days are behind him he has been a good servant and is decent cover but you have to say that O brien deserves a shot after his display against Brazil and the fact that he is playing top flight football and has played champions league and is a uefa cup semi final,

My team would be

Given

Carr
Cunningham
O Brien
O Shea

Reid/MillerFinnan/Mc Ateer all in that order
Kilbane
Keane
Duff

Keane
Morrison (for want of a better alternative).

All the players i have piced are at top flight clubs are are playing regulartly for their team with the exception of Reid but that is inevitable, I think he has impressed Kerr so far and so has kilbane in the centre. I think all of them plus Duff will give keane the sort of legs he may need in midfield. Look at what darren fletcher gave to keane against arsenal in the semi final. It is a good mixture between experience and youth and people who can pass and those that are good runners. We need balance in the side and i think this give us that balance. The good thing about Kerr is that he rarely makes a ludicrous decisions when picking his team or making subs. Whereas the previous manager used to do it regularly and separate from the whole Keane affair i used to find myself crying at his subs. He did it recently when he took Kevin Kyle off for suderland too

scouser

15/04/2004, 5:19 PM

:rolleyes:

Not a chance.

do you say this of your own accord or on behalf of Brian Kerr? The fact that in your other post you have Kilbane down as a definite starter makes me thinks its the former.

carnstien

15/04/2004, 7:15 PM

I'm as excited as anyone about Miller as a prospect but he has proved nothing. Was anonymous on his Irish debut and against Livingston at the weekend and last night against Villareal he was abysmal. Players like Andy Reid and Miller on the bench at this stage for me. For my money starting XI would be.

You've picked a really good team, but why not throw Miller or Ried beside Keane? In their inability to qualify the team for Euro 2004, the likes of Holland and Kilbane have proved that they are SIMPLY NOT GOOD ENOUGH. If they were we would all have booked flights to Portugal by now.

If it is not time to throw in Miller and/or Ried now, it never will be, we have a series of friendlies coming up and it is the perfect time to try them out. You never know, they might just succeed where Holland and Kilbane failed.

And on a side not, although I conceed that Miller was abysmal against Villareal (as were the other 10 Celtic players), I thought he had a great game against Livingston (not exactly top class opposition I know).

scouser

15/04/2004, 7:32 PM

only1kilbane

16/04/2004, 7:59 AM

For a bloke with not talent he seems to have made a great grasp of centre midfield in the two chances he has had. For a bloke who has shone on occasions to be thrown into the deepend against France and Switzerland is a bit much. If he proves himself soon at manu then yeah throw him in but not till then. I think judas would be happy having a workhorse like kilbane beside him now he is getting on and have flair players like duffer and the like to turn the screws. And as for Breen playing average for Sunderland, stupid thing to say my friend. As a Sunderland fan who regularly travels to the sol he is having an excellent season and probably been our most consistent performer.

Bowsy

16/04/2004, 9:00 AM

That's a fair point Carnstein and i can invision Miller and Reid first on the team sheet by the end of the qualifiers depending on how next season pans out. I'm just cautious as i've seen too many "new Liam Bradys" and if we were discussing an Ireland team a few years ago we would be talking about the likes of Babb and Kennedy in a similar way we are discussing Miller now. Play them for the rest of the friendlies and throw them on for impact in our first few qualifiers(Miller against Lyon), just don't expect Reid and Miller to single handedly rescue the Irish team. Not so long ago people had Steven Reid as our definite right winger and now don't want him even in the squad(personally still think he'll come good).
Regarding Breen, no surprise his club form is average. It has been his whole career but always does a job for us. O'Brien is far from first choice in a poor(Woodgate aside) Newcastle defence. Was dropped for Bramble(for me the worst centre half in the Premiership) against PSV. O'Brien is also very prone to Breen-like lapses in concentration. That said he was impressive against Brazil. Hope O'Shea develops into a Centre half soon as O'Brien, Doherty and Dunne are just younger, uglier Breens.

eirebhoy

16/04/2004, 9:08 AM

Miller over Kilbane
Talent over little or no talent
Forget Miller and Kilbane, Kavanagh has to play. In his last game for Ireland he wasn't allowed attack as much but with Keane beside him he will attack a lot more and play like he does for him club. He will also work just as hard as Kilbane. Kavanagh and Keane is the best partnership IMO.

scouser

16/04/2004, 11:23 AM

Forget Miller and Kilbane, Kavanagh has to play. In his last game for Ireland he wasn't allowed attack as much but with Keane beside him he will attack a lot more and play like he does for him club. He will also work just as hard as Kilbane. Kavanagh and Keane is the best partnership IMO.

Just like we did with robbie keane, we should give a young lad with a lot of talent a chance and let him grow on the international stage. The fact that you're suggesting Kavanagh should play is a remote possibility as Kavanagh has no where near as much talent as Miller or the skill, presence and leadership of Roy Keane. Kavanagh is not good enough at this level, neither is Kilbane. While I don't doubt Kilbane's committment, he lacks any sort of creativity or skill and that's what counts when it comes down to playing the big teams in the big games.

Roo69

28/04/2004, 3:36 PM

Given

Carr
Cunningham
O'Brien
O'Shea

Finnan
Keane
Miller
Reid

Duff
Keane

Fully Fit i reckon this would be probably the best team we could field

gustavo

28/04/2004, 4:12 PM

ill refer you to this thread to continue the argument !

http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=13459

Éanna

28/04/2004, 5:25 PM

THREADS MERGED

Éanna

gally

12/05/2004, 1:15 PM

Paulie

12/05/2004, 5:36 PM

Goalie..........Given
Cenre backs..O'Brien, Cunningham, O'Shea
Wingbacks....Carr, Reid.
Midfield 3......Keane (Roy), Kavanagh, Kilbane
Forwards, Keane (Robbie), Duffer.

How good or bad is this...thanks gally.

We tried playing with "wingbacks" in Mick McCarthys early days and to say it didn't work is a huge understatement. I personally would opt for:

Given
Carr
Cunningham
O'Brien
O'Shea

Keane
Holland (his ability, or lack thereof, has been questioned on other threads but when playing alongside Keane he tends to punch above his weight)
Miller
A. Reid

Keane
Duff

I realise that Miller is inexperienced and that his natural position is central midfield but having seen him playing at outside right for Celtic I reckon that he could do a good job for us. Apart from anything else it would be great just to have a decent right sided player playing there again. Also, a lot of people feel that Duff should play at outside left. While I agree that is his best position the question here is what is the best team that we can put out. If Andy Reid progresses as well as he looks he will he would have to start. With the small pool of quality players available to us we have to make the best out of what we have. Andy reid looks to me to be a much better prospect than Clinton Morrison and that he is capable of contributing a lot more to the team effort. I feel that even though Duff's best position is outside left he does an excellent job up front as well, certainly far better than any of the other potential partners for Keane so to me it makes perfect sense to have him up front alongside Keane with Reid taking his place on the wing.

eirebhoy

12/05/2004, 10:33 PM

a Kavanagh-Keane partnership is by far the best for the centre. People give out about Connolly (not that I would want to play him) but he puts a lot more in for Ireland then Matt Holland ever did. Kilbane would be second choice for the central role.

1MickCollins

13/05/2004, 2:17 AM

Midfield seems to be the only area with problems, I would have different players play at home versus away especially in the tougher away games:

Home

Duff Keane ( Pick a body home ) Reid

Away

Kilbane Keane ( Pick a body away ) Finnan/Duff

Pick a body home Holland/Kavanagh/Kinsella/HealyMiller/Delap

Pick a body away Holland/Kavanagh/Kinsella/Healy

cullenswood

13/05/2004, 8:41 AM

Looks like Duff could be missing from the first two

http://www.unison.ie/sportsdesk/football/stories.php3?ca=12&si=1179930

:mad:

Slash/ED

13/05/2004, 12:16 PM

How is Kilbane an automatic starter ffs!? What rubbish.

Given

O'Shea/Finnan
Carr/Finnan
O'Brien/Breen
Cunningham

(Alot of options in defence only Cunningham is automatic choice really)

Duff
A Reid
Keane
Miller/Delap - Holland, Kavanagh and Kilbane aren't upto it and Healy will have to prove himself with Sunderland on his return

Morrison
Keane

Bowsy

13/05/2004, 12:28 PM

Delap, apart from one fantastic goal has had a very average season with a lot of injuries. How he and Miller(one fairly good season in the SPL) are in and Kilbane, Holland and Kav are written off is beyond me. Kilbane has had a far better Premiership season than any of the other players mentioned as well as putting in fine displays for Ireland. Kav was arguably the best midfielder in the First Division until he got injured and although i'm not Holland's biggest fan he is a captain of one of the best teams in England.

Slash/ED

13/05/2004, 12:44 PM

Delap is better then Kilbane, that's why. Plain and simple. Kilbanes had a decent season, so has Delap, no more and no less, but Delap is a better player. He's also a central mid fielder, compared to someone who's played a handful of matches there. He was even singled out as one of their best and most important players by strachan before he left. And he (Kilbane) has not put in 'fine' preformances for Ireland. He has, as he does, worked his absolute arse off and also he has, as he does, lacked the quality needed at this level to put some end product on all of his running. If your impressed by people who run around alot, that's fine, but I'd rather see someone who has some quality play for us.

Hollands not upto it, based on him being ****, absolutley **** for us since the world cup. There's no other way to describe it. He could be Maradona at club level, I couldn't care less, he's had his chance and pretty much four years of ineptness tells me it's time he was made a squad player at best.

Kavanagh was not the best mid fielder in the first division at all. No argument at all. If he was, there might be a few premiership clubs actually after him, they're not. He's a decent player, but not good enough to start at international level.

Miller has shown in the champions league and for the Ireland U21s that he's good enough to play. He's also an attacking mid fielder, which suits Keane, and would make a good partnership. Anyone who's good enough to look a star in the champions league is good enough to play for us.

Keanes an automatic choice, so it'll probably be Miller beside him, or Delap if Miller is taking time to settle into the Man U team.

Bowsy

13/05/2004, 1:04 PM

I've got as high hopes for Miller as anyone but he's looked extremely average far more than he's looked exceptional in the games i've seen him play this year(Villareal and Livingston recently he was annonymous). Being outshone by Pearson IMO. If he's not warming united's bench next season i will be very pleasently surprised.
Delap being better than Kilbane is a matter of opinion. If you don't care about club form then value Delap on his limited Ireland performances. He's looked nothing more than workmanlike (the very thing Kilbane is criticized for) in a green jersey as far as i'm concerned.
Not saying Miller and Delap aren't equal candidates for midfiled roles but they are not far and a way better than the other options. It's a much of a muchness

only1kilbane

13/05/2004, 1:18 PM

Delap has been never anything more than average for Southampton and has done little to suggest otherwise in his limited opportunities at full level. Kilbane on the other hand has had an excellent season and in the last few friendlies has adapted to the central midfield extremely well for a winger. He is the perfect partner for Keane who is not the force of old going forward and will do the defensive part of the job which leaves Keane to rome !

Bowsy

13/05/2004, 1:45 PM

well here's my 2 cents for our best team. Given picks himself in goal(although this shouldn't have been the case when Kiely was about and if it wasn't we'd still have 2 truly great keepers in the squad).

At right back it's a toss up between Carr and Finnan. Two great backs both underachieving in my opinion. To say they both have to be included in first 11 is nonsense though IMO as neither is a great right midfielder.

At left back O'Shea. Funny season for him but still think he's our best option.

Cunningham again picks himself. Please stop aging Kenny!!

Breen or O'Brien for other central defensive role. Neither are ideal as prone to the odd lapse but also either with Kenny makes a good centre of defence.

Centre Midfield Keane and Kilbane. Kilbane gets the nod for me as he is the player who has impressed the most in that position in recent times. He's looked better than Kav/Delap/Kinsella/etc. I think those 2 will be very good together.

Left and right midfield depend on how next season goes. If Reid is impressive in the Premiership then i'd go Duff on the right and Reid on the left. Duff is good enough to play anywhere and he does just that brilliantly for Chelsea. If we have Reid reaching his potential on the other side it's worth having Duff on the right. If Miller is a regular in United side then perhaps Miller on the right and Duff on the left.

Clinton and Robbie are our best option in attack but still think this combination is weak. Am hoping one of Heffernan/McGeady/Elliott/etc emerge as a realistic option to replace Clinton in the coming season. The Ant/Lee/Byrne/Crowe are only useful as back up options and not realistic challengers for a world class forward line IMO.

only1kilbane

13/05/2004, 2:36 PM

Agree totally with above mail ! Fair play to someone with a bit of sense !

Slash/ED

13/05/2004, 3:18 PM

Miller probably looked average because months on the sidelines aren't exactly good preperation for big matches. To slag him off for that is nonsense.

Kilbane offers NOTHING going forward, so why put him beside Keane who does the donkey work and does it more effectively than Kilbane does? He'll leave Keane to rome? Keane hasn't done that for years. He's not firmly a sit on front of the back four man, he needs someone who can attack beside him, ala Liam Miller.

How can you say you'll start Kilbane as he's looked better than the other options when playing for Ireland when Delap and Miller have barley played, and when Delap did come on recently he was very impressive.

And the myth that Duff can play anywhere is rubbish too. His best preformances have always been on the left. Why move our best player? Stick Reid on the right, his game suits being on his wrong foot far more than Duff who's more of a winger.

The fact is, Miller is better than Kilbane. Duff picks himself on the left, and Keane in the middle. Reid is favourite on the right atm. So while we all love Kilbanes work rate and the loyalty he showed at Preston, he isn't good enough to get into our strongest mid field.

Bowsy

13/05/2004, 3:34 PM

Slash/ED, as soon as Miller proves it for Man U in the Premiership I'll be more than happy to agree with you. I really want him to prove his potential but one season and a handful of excellent performances does not a player make and if he's on United's bench then he shouldn't be in Ireland's first team.
Can't agree with you on the Kilbane thing but won't argue as your either a Kilbane fan or you're not. There's no middle ground with that fella.
Duff has played an awful lot of games on the right this season and while i agree he is best on the left he is still superb on the right.
Miller is not better than Kilbane. Miller has the potential to be way better than Kilbane and the potential to be as good as Keane but as yet that is still potential IMO.

only1kilbane

13/05/2004, 3:41 PM

Whats the fascination with Miller ? The minute anyone Irish even gets into a first team or plays a few decent games people rave about them ! Kilbane has the experience and good attacking side of a midfielder needed to play against switz and france. Hopefully will given time to settle into manu will prove he is good enough for a start !

Slash/ED

13/05/2004, 5:32 PM

By the time the WCQ come around though, Miller will be a month or so into his Man U career, so will have shown alot by then. Why does everyone think he'll be on Uniteds bench? Look at the amount of games Darren Fletcher gets, from what I've seen, Miller is a better player, and the less said about Phil Neville the better! Also, Keane will either be gone or playing fewer and fewer matches. As for Duff, if you're playing Duff and Andy Reid as I would, it has to be Reid on the right. We rely too much on Duff to be arseing about with his position, we've made that mistake far too many times. He's best on the left, so that's where he plays. Reids game, being a player who doesn't hug the touchline and cuts in alot, wouldn't be too hampered by playing on the right.

The fascination with Miller, Only1Kilbane, is that he's a good player who's played at the highest club level and been outstanding. Kilbane played at the highest level in international football and was dire. Experience is no substitute for ability. Miller has alot of it. Kilbane does not. He's also more suited to playing beside Keane.

eirebhoy

13/05/2004, 8:16 PM

Delap was one of my favourites to start the qualifiers before Keane cmae back but now he's back we need a more attacking player to partner Keane. Kavanagh would definitely be my first choice. IMO he didn't have a good game against Brazil (although others say he did), that was because he was playing the holding midfiled role with Kilbane playing alongside him.

At club level he gets forward an awful lot and with Keane alongside him he will be allowed do just that. People say Reid has scored a lot of goals from midfield, I agree, he has scored 13 in 46 league games. Kavanagh scored 7 in 27 league games, thats nearly the same ratio as Reid. Kavanagh has a lot more to his game than anyone else IMO and is a certain starter in my books.

Kilbane is definitely a close second behind Kav. The jury is still out on Miller and with 5 friendlies before the qualifiers we'll get to see enough of him (From recent form Doyle is actually looking better than Miller but Liam's under a lot of pressure from the Celts). Holland is about 6th choice.

BTW - Is the squad announced tomorrow?