Republic of Ireland V Norway - Wednesday, 17th November 2010 - Friendly

[tetsujin1979]

O'Dea hasn't played in a while for Ipswich. he is a barebones selection.
As was pointed out by Drummerboy, he's playing to get him gametime after coming back from injury

[Kingdom]

"Warned" was the incorrect word to use. "Informed" perhaps would be better. I've no issue with Darren O'Dea starting tomorrow, as he is the next centre half in line. Dunne, O'Shea, St Ledger are all ahead of him. Indeed it's a positive insofar as he might edge McShane out of the squad totally if he goes well.

In my eyes he's probably 4th depending on where Clark fits into the equation for Trap.

All in all though this could be the start of a curve where the squad changes for the better. Ideally if the likes of Long, Walters, O'Dea, Foley, Treacy, Coleman led to the phasing out of Hunt, Hunt, McShane, Kilbane, Green, we'd be better off for it in the short, medium and long term.

[Charlie Darwin]

What's Stephen Hunt done wrong?!

[rebelmusic]

Surely O'Shea is there out of neccesity more than anything else. On the Foley note, Wolves bad defensive record is far more to do with their CB pairing. In fact, I would say Foley is their only strong defender at the moment. I know people like Ward a lot, but when i've seen him his defensive abilities remind me a bit of McShane, he always seems to have a mistake or two in him. He's just better going forward.

He'll defo sub on Walters and Coleman. I just pray to Christ he subs Whelan for Wilson at some stage, and not Fahey for Wilson.

I'm pretty excited about this game now tho, the one thing that has shown with Trap is it only takes one game for him to decide on a player. Lawrence being the perfect example.

[Predator]

On another note, I'm glad to see Given as captain.

[SwanVsDalton]

What's Stephen Hunt done wrong?!

Indeed. Actually I think having Stephen Hunt and Seamus Coleman in the squad is a really exciting prospect - for instance, they could have some impact off the bench late on in games. Send the pair of them on to terrorise full-backs.

[Kingdom]

In relation to Stephen Hunt (and this shouldn't derail the thread) but most people have admired his passion and enthusiasm above everything, and that he's seen as an impact player more than anything else.
Duffer is coming to the end of his days, but with McGeady (in my opinion) offering more on the left, and Keith Treacy too (I really think this fella has potential for us) then maybe we should be going beyond Hunt? I like the guy and he sure is a cult hero in many respects, but I think in the medium term we will have better options. It's not even a criticism of the guy.

[Charlie Darwin]

For the amount of time he's spent on the pitch for us, I can't think of a player who's created more goals than Hunt. In terms of set-piece delivery, only Lawrence comes close.

[Kingdom]

Surely O'Shea is there out of neccesity more than anything else.

I don't agree on that I have to be honest. For me, Josh' best position is at centre back, and Dunne & O'Shea are our best CB combination. They haven't been selected together since St Ledgers rise, because he is an adequate replacement while Josh fills a bigger gap at RB. A job he's done well.

This would be my favoured squad at the moment:
Given/Westwood/An Other

Foley/Kelly
Dunne/St Ledger
O'Shea/Another -> Clark/O'Dea
Kilbane/Cunningham

McGeady/Coleman
Whelan/Andrews/McCarthy/Fahey
Duff/Lawrence

Keane/Long
Doyle/Stokes

I would like to see the B Internationals utilised a little more, as I think they would answer a few questions about guys like Wilson, Clark, Pat McCarthy, O'Dea, Ward, Meyler, Sheridan Stokes etc.

[Kingdom]

For the amount of time he's spent on the pitch for us, I can't think of a player who's created more goals than Hunt. In terms of set-piece delivery, only Lawrence comes close.

As I said, I've no problem with Stephen Hunt. I just think that he is limited to a certain extent. I wear my admiration for McGeady on my sleeve and feel he's completely underappreciated by Irish fans, when compared with the adoration that Hunt gets.
With Fahey becoming more prominent also, and hopefully he has a decent game tomorrow night, he would be ahead of everyone for set piece duty, consistently excellent and always has been too.

Edit. I certainly don't classify Hunty as a liabilty either.

[shakermaker1982]

I wanted to see Foley, Coleman and Wilson from the start.

We need a proper full back in the team.

We need a player who can pass, tackle and control a ball in midfield.

The Norway game was the perfect chance to give these guys a go. If your good enough your old enough. I cannot see any of them being fazed if thrown in at the deep end because they are mixing it with the big boys week in week out.

[geysir]

Drillo reckons Keane has been our most influential player in our recent games.
Norway are missing their two first choice strikers and will certainly play a 451.
Incidentally, about half their squad play in the Norwegian league.

[Stuttgart88]

What's Stephen Hunt done wrong?!I'd actually forgotten about him. I'm not fussed whether he figures though. It might not be fair to him or Wolves given that he's only just back. It'd be different for a competitive game.

[Cabs88]

Incidentally, about half their squad play in the Norwegian league.

Big change from about 10-12 years ago when most of there top players were based in the epl, solskjaer, tore andre flo, henning berg, bjornebye, thomas myhre, leonhardsen and ostensstad..

[Supreme feet]

Only complaint would be the absence of Foley. He's been around the squad for years now, with only one start to his name - surely that, along with his good form, should have been acknowledged. Still, nothing to get hysterical about. Coleman will surely get a run. It will be interesting to see Cunningham and O'Dea at the back. Intrigued to see Fahey in the middle. Looks a decent, well-balanced side.

[Crosby87]

Is Foley not hurt?

Trap knows best. Sigh.
I will not see a second of this but i will go on here as soon as i can to get a feel for what happened. And let me take a wild guess, it will be a bad loss with no positives.
Then, a day later, positives will emerge. (This will be argued.)
No one will understand anything AND
McCarthy, Coleman, Meyler, Clifford, Clark..
Will play for us. At some point.

[geysir]

0-0 anyone?

[DeLorean]

I wear my admiration for McGeady on my sleeve and feel he's completely underappreciated by Irish fans, when compared with the adoration that Hunt gets

I completely agree with this. Some fans are so fickle though that one or two poxy goals and they'd be saying he's finally come good. I could hardly believe the critisism he got, locally, after the Russia game. I thought he was our best player by some distance. I do believe that he is pretty ineffective on the right though, and doesn't do much from the bench. He needs to grow into a match and generally improves as it goes on. If it was a choice of springing either himself or Hunt from the bench, I'd probably go with Hunt.

[tetsujin1979]

0-0 anyone?
naah, there's goals in this game, from both sides.
2-2?

[Predator]

I completely agree with this. Some fans are so fickle though that one or two poxy goals and they'd be saying he's finally come good. I could hardly believe the critisism he got, locally, after the Russia game. I thought he was our best player by some distance.Best of a bad bunch, one might say. McGeady did well going forward and it was great to see him initiating counter attacks, but he often neglected his defensive duties and continuously left Kilbane exposed. It's also very hard to forgive his consistently awful delivery.

[Charlie Darwin]

naah, there's goals in this game, from both sides.
2-2?
We're Barcelona now. It'll be at least 6-2, in my opinion.

[paul_oshea]

I think this lineup shows again what gattuso says in lexlips signature.trap first and foremost went with what he says as a stronger unit less likely to concede goals hence Lawrence and Kelly down the right.Lawrences work ethic matched with Kelly s solid but spectacular defending capabilities over attacking
prowess. Had he gone for Coleman and foley this would have shown a change to his mindset which obviously hasn't occurred and never will. Having said that starting with the former 2 has his benefits as we start well it gives confidence and then he can being on the other two after half time with a more attack minded approach if its a stalemate or we are chasing a goal,these are the key situations where foley and Coleman would excel.

Im happy fahey has got his chance in the middle after almost 18 months, and throwing when in to start with fir experience makes sense though id like to see when be replaced by Wilson as opposed to fahey unless fahey tires which he seems to dk which is understandable as he doesn't get full games for brum.

Don't think Walters not starting is a biggy. He gets feck all time with stoke anyway lately.

So long as trap makes the required changes we all wish for.sometime through the game i am happy enough with this startin lineup even if it were forced upon him. I do agree that i think the only reason he made the change is because of injuries but at the end of the day i think its better to blend them into a game with experienced guys i think the team as well fir with pressure and to learn the trap system from other.

[geysir]

It's also very hard to forgive his consistently awful delivery.

"Life is an adventure in forgiveness."

[paul_oshea]

Excuse spelling sent from android and can't figure out keypad

[Charlie Darwin]

I think you're selling Lawrence a little short there. He is very good defensively but he's also been one of our best attacking outlets. He does create goals and is the highest-scoring Irish player in England right now (at least in the top divisions).

[ifk101]

I don't think it a bad line-up tbh.

Kelly is playing regularly at club level so it always was going to be a marginal call between him and Foley to start at RB. The centre half partnership picked itself as there was no other options, as did Cunningham's selection at LB. With Cunningham now playing at club level, I'm happy enough to see him get more game time.

Happy to see Fahey get the opportunity to show what he can do in the centre. It's been a while since we''ve had a ball playing midfielder in the centre. I think he and Duff will combine well.

Lawrence's inclusion is a strange one but I think it suggests that Trapattoni doesn't have full confidence in Kelly's abilities at RB.

Up front, again happy with the selection. It would have been wrong to drop Long given his performance in Slovakia. Long and Doyle know each other well so I'm interested to see how they'll work as a partnership.

Hopefully Foley, Wilson and Coleman will all get a run and we win the game.

[AlaskaFox]

naah, there's goals in this game, from both sides.
2-2?

"Fans travelling to tonight’s international friendly at the Aviva Stadium should not expect a goal glut, as Norway with their last 11 games ending either 1-0 or 2-1."
http://greenscene.me/2010/11/olsen-ireland-try-to-play-like-barcelona/

[Predator]

I think all this "playing like Barcelona" talk is an exercise in mind-games. 'Drillo' is a sly dog.

[Predator]

"Life is an adventure in forgiveness."
Are you saying that McGeady's international career is more like an adventure in forgiveness? :)

[tetsujin1979]

Excuse spelling sent from android and can't figure out keypad
or English in general ;)

[geysir]

Drillo said at times we try to play like Barca, he didn't rate the quality of the effort. In 'Drillo speak', that's not a complement.

[KK77]

Best of a bad bunch, one might say. McGeady did well going forward and it was great to see him initiating counter attacks, but he often neglected his defensive duties and continuously left Kilbane exposed. It's also very hard to forgive his consistently awful delivery.

Are you John Giles?? LOL He said the exact same thing himself after the Russia game. Mentioned he's hardly new to the international game and how many more chances does he need. Also said some games you think he's finally produced and then the next game he is back to normal.

[tricky_colour]

Just thought I'd make the official team clear.

Given (Manchester City)

Kelly (Fulham)

O’Shea (Manchester United)

O’Dea (Ipswich Town)

Cunningham (Leicester City)

Lawrence (Portsmouth)

Fahey (Birmingham City)

Whelan (Stoke City)

Duff (Fulham)

Long (Reading)

Doyle (Wolves)


Anyone got the rest of the available squad?

[Charlie Darwin]

Walters, Wilson, McGeady, Coleman, Foley, Hunt, Treacy, Murphy

[AlaskaFox]

Very bad form that Walters is the only striker on the bench. He's not a viable option for Ireland at all.

[Predator]

Granted, Walters isn't exactly a proven goalscorer, but he's currently playing at the highest level and is surely worth a shot.

[Predator]

Are you John Giles?? LOL He said the exact same thing himself after the Russia game. Mentioned he's hardly new to the international game and how many more chances does he need. Also said some games you think he's finally produced and then the next game he is back to normal.You know what they say. 'Great minds...' :)

[AlaskaFox]

Granted, Walters isn't exactly a proven goalscorer, but he's currently playing at the highest level and is surely worth a shot.

But he's not playing well at the highest level...

[Predator]

Touché. Still, let's just see what he has to offer.

[Predator]

Drillo said at times we try to play like Barca, he didn't rate the quality of the effort. In 'Drillo speak', that's not a complement.It could be construed as a compliment though. At least we try.

[Stuttgart88]

With that bench there's scope to go 4-5-1 at some stage, which means only having one striker on the bench isn't necessarily strupid.

You'd never know what trap is thinking though.

I'm with Supreme Feet - Foley's exclusion is the only one that really irks me, but if we don't see Coleman and Wilson get meaningful action I'll be very disappointed.

[Kingdom]

I'm looking forward to this game more than I thought I would now. Hopefully the young lads will give a good account of themselves, and with the centre halves we might get the ball on the deck a bit more. Certainly having Fahey in the middle should help with that.


With that bench there's scope to go 4-5-1 at some stage, which means only having one striker on the bench isn't necessarily strupid.


Correct. There's definitely scope with Walters, McGeady, Treacy and Coleman to go 4-5-1. Can't see it happening though.

[AlaskaFox]

With that bench there's scope to go 4-5-1 at some stage, which means only having one striker on the bench isn't necessarily strupid.

Hopefully he'll give McGeady the chance to play behind the lone striker, like he's said in press conferences.

[Stuttgart88]

I didn't hear him say that, but that'd be a viable option too.

[AlaskaFox]

I didn't hear him say that, but that'd be a viable option too.

It wasn't in relation to tonight. Just that it could be an option. Said it a while back.

[Adrock]

But he's not playing well at the highest level...

Well he's scored twice for Stoke this season which make him our number one top level finisher I believe, so he has to be worth a shot for that reason alone

[Charlie Darwin]

Joint top with Foley and Coleman.

[Stuttgart88]

Doyle hasn't scored once this season yet I think he'd be a great addition to Arsenal's team! Cue that one again :)

Trap has a few days to look at Walters up close and make an assessment.

He's still settling in at EPL level. It's taken better players longer. Yer man Elmander is looking a very good player now but 6 months ago I thought he was total muck and couldn't understand how a guy who looked good for Sweden was so abject at club level. Walters will never be a prolific scorer but if he can distract defenders and hold the ball up and all that, maybe his contribution to the team effort will render him useful. Or maybe it won't - but we won't know unless we look at him.

[AlaskaFox]

Well he's scored twice for Stoke this season which make him our number one top level finisher I believe, so he has to be worth a shot for that reason alone

One of those was against Shrewsbury in the cup though.

[OwenGoal]

Usual livestream request. Anybody got one? I really should have a handle on this internet thing by now.