Predict the Squad/ Starting Lineup for Macedonia

[Closed Account]

Squad Watch

Keiren Westwood GK Started 90 Mins
Darren Randolph GK Started 90 Mins
David Forde GK Started 90 Mins

Kevin Foley RB Started 90 Mins
Marc Wilson RB Started 90 Mins
Sean St. Ledger CB Started 90 Mins
Stephen Kelly Unused sub
Darren O’Dea Unused sub
Ciaran Clark Not in Squad Suspended
Richard Dunne Not in Squad Injured (Shoulder)
John O’Shea Not in Squad Injured (Hamstring)

Seamus Coleman RM Started 90 Mins 1 Goal
Glenn Whelan CM Started 90 Mins
James McCarthy CM Started 90 Mins
Paul Green CM Started 90 Mins
Kevin Kilbane CM Started 90 Mins
Liam Lawrence AM Started 90 Mins
Keith Treacy LM Started 83 Mins
Damien Duff RM Started 75 Mins
Darron Gibson Unused sub
Aiden McGeady Not in Squad Suspended
Keith Andrews Not in Squad Injured (Groin)
Keith Fahey Not in Squad Injured (Groin)

Jonathan WaltersST Started 90 Mins 1 Goal
Kevin Doyle ST Started 90 Mins
Shane Long ST Started 90 Mins
Andy Keogh ST Substitute 1 Min
Robbie Keane Not in Squad Ineligible
Leon Best Not in Squad Injured (Foot)


I'm gonna go with
Westwood
Foley
Dunne
St Ledger
Clark
Lawrence
Whelan
Gibson
Duff
Keane
Doyle

[rebelmusic]

Nice article here

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2011/0319/1224292610755.html

[mark12345]

Westwood
Kelly, Dunne St Ledger, Kilbane
McGeady Whelan, Green, Duff
Doyle Long

if that's the team he starts with I would say pack up and go home now Trapattoni.

[IsMiseSean]

Does anyone know where I can watch the match in Las Vegas on Saturday?

[geysir]

Nice article here

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2011/0319/1224292610755.html
Nice? It's mainly an article about injury concerns. 2/3 of the article is about what could go wrong.

[Noelys Guitar]

Westwood
Kelly, Dunne St Ledger, Kilbane
McGeady Whelan, Green, Duff
Doyle Long

if that's the team he starts with I would say pack up and go home now Trapattoni.

Would not be my team but if you read Trapattoni's comments this game has 1-0 written all over it. Get the goal and shut up shop (or at least try). Very interesting to read about the Delaney/FAI and Trap coffee morning concerning communication issues. Good idea and praise for both Delaney and Trap on how they intend to go forward.

[paul_oshea]

what was that Noely

[Stuttgart88]

I'm still not sure he'll go with Green.

Andrews has withdrawn, yes?

The next 48 hours will be telling re-injuries. RTE will hardly be any use - the international soccer section still has "McCarthy unsure" and a caption under a photo implying that he's considering not turning up.

Once he makes his debut I'm going to set myself up on Twitter and send a note to that RTE ex-DJ. Just out of info, has he ever tweeted anything else on Irish football? Does he even watch the games?

[paul_oshea]

Stutts john kenny reported on soccer in the early years of the last decade.i remember thinking he was always interested even on rte sport when he gave results and on occasion on his metal show on a Sunday night.

[Noelys Guitar]

what was that Noely

Its in todays Indo Paul. I'll post passages of the article here it here in case people can't open the link.

Over that coffee it was suggested to Trapattoni that he meet McCarthy. Those close to McCarthy had stated repeatedly that he wanted to play for Ireland. Senior officials in the FAI also knew this was the case, that McCarthy was not another Stephen Ireland.

The FAI has always worked hard at establishing relationships with the families of players who declare for Ireland. They had done it with Shane Duffy, Darron Gibson and Aiden McGeady. They had done the same with McCarthy's family.

There may have been a reluctance and a fear within the Association that McCarthy would be lost because of a severed relationship with a manager, if not a country, so they felt Trapattoni had to act.

As importantly, there is openness in their communication with Trapattoni. He has a good relationship with John Delaney and the FAI believe he is the most straightforward manager they have worked with since Jack Charlton.

Trapattoni was happy to take suggestions and the process was put in place for a meeting which, despite the ongoing comments of Martinez, should ensure that nobody is left questioning McCarthy's commitment to Ireland.

Trapattoni may now meet other players who he has been repeatedly questioned about. FAI sources suggested last week that he would soon try and sit down with Jamie O'Hara, the Wolves midfielder.

O'Hara is a different case again and one which may again conflict with Trapattoni's view of what an international footballer should want. Yet the FAI believe that he will commit to Ireland if approached in person by Trapattoni, even if the manager, and there are many who would support him, believes that an international manager should not have to do that.

Trapattoni should now be able to look forward to a week when he is asked about the players who are in the squad. Although with Shay Given and John O'Shea out and Richard Dunne and Robbie Keane struggling, he will certainly be preparing for a week in the unknown. He will be forced to take more gambles than normal and he never likes to take gambles.

Trapattoni, too, made a decision at that meeting with the FAI last month. At last Monday's squad launch, he spoke primarily in Italian so he was less likely to be misunderstood. Anybody who has spent time with Trapattoni will understand his ability to make a connection with people, something he tries to do by speaking the language. Reluctantly, he conceded that he wasn't being understood and decided to conduct most of his briefing in Italian

[Noelys Guitar]

I'm still not sure he'll go with Green.

Andrews has withdrawn, yes?

The next 48 hours will be telling re-injuries. RTE will hardly be any use - the international soccer section still has "McCarthy unsure" and a caption under a photo implying that he's considering not turning up.

Once he makes his debut I'm going to set myself up on Twitter and send a note to that RTE ex-DJ. Just out of info, has he ever tweeted anything else on Irish football? Does he even watch the games?

I feel he might play Green over Gibson or Fahey because of the lingering doubts about Dunne's fitness (even if Dunne starts). Possibly thinking that he must protect the defense at all costs with O'Shea already missing and a "new" keeper. Personally I would play Fahey but I don't think he will start him in this game. And Andrews is definetely out. Fahey is also carrying a slight injury but is expected to be fully fit for Saturday. We'll have to keep the heads in this game. Popov was hittting the deck the other night against Man City every chance he got wasting time. It could be a long night. I will be delighted with a horrible 1-0. It sounds weird to say it but if fans want to see a great game then Macedonia will have to score first. So **** that. Zero entertainment and 1-0 please.

[geysir]

RTE will hardly be any use - the international soccer section still has "McCarthy unsure" and a caption under a photo implying that he's considering not turning up.

Once he makes his debut I'm going to set myself up on Twitter and send a note to that RTE ex-DJ. Just out of info, has he ever tweeted anything else on Irish football? Does he even watch the games?
RTE.ie just subscribe to the Press Association and take articles of interest from them. The articles are simply reproduced without the least bit of scrutiny. That article on McCarthy is from the PA.

[paul_oshea]

they do have their own writers though in each department.

[geysir]

Even if those writers were capable of being responsible, it is not in their job description to be responsible for the vagaries of site editorial policy.

[paul_oshea]

id be very surprised if they have a web content editor.

infact id say each sports area is responsible for their own and given the fact the layout is different for each area id say this is the case.

it comes down to the soccer section the rugby and gaa seem fairly on the money.

[geysir]

If they paid me enough, I might consider the position.
Hard to do worse than that article they had on for weeks, proclaiming victory for the IFA, after FIFA resolved the eligibility issue. :D

[Stuttgart88]

they do have their own writers though in each department.They're probably all still in Kiely's dipping their nobs in their Heinos.

[paul_oshea]

How do they pronounce Kielys? is it like the farney men or is it Kiiiiiiiely's?

Thats where i thought you drink on the football weekend?

[Stuttgart88]

Kiely's rhymes with Reilly's. D4 rugby pub, next to Donnybrook rugby ground, populated by blokes wearing cricket jumpers around their shoulders and docksider shoes. The spiritual home of Ross O'Carroll-Kelly. I hardly ever go / went there.

[SeanieBoy]

Does anyone know where I can watch the match in Las Vegas on Saturday?

Howya,

I'm actually in Vegas on Sat for the game aswell, drop me a line if you find out a good puib to watch the game :-)

[tetsujin1979]

Kiely's rhymes with Reilly's. D4 rugby pub, next to Donnybrook rugby ground, populated by blokes wearing cricket jumpers around their shoulders and docksider shoes. The spiritual home of Ross O'Carroll-Kelly. I hardly ever go / went there.
so, what you're saying is, you do go there, from time to time? ;)

[paul_oshea]

Kiely's rhymes with Reilly's. D4 rugby pub, next to Donnybrook rugby ground, populated by blokes wearing cricket jumpers around their shoulders and docksider shoes. The spiritual home of Ross O'Carroll-Kelly. I hardly ever go / went there.

Well spotted tets, he only goes there from time to time, for ireland rugby matches, as he doesn't find himself over in ireland very often, and when he is there c40-50% of the time is rugby matches and thats when he goes there.

Yes i assumed it rhymed with Reilly's, but it certainly shouldn't. The name is key-lee not some posh southside west brit pronounciation like Dean Kiiiiiiieleee

[geysir]

So Kiely is pronounced Key-ley? That sounds a bit culchee.
In Germany I think it was more straightforward
Kie = Kye, Kei = Kee, or is it the other way around?

[tetsujin1979]

I pronounce it Kie-Lee.
Isn't Keylee that page 3 bird?

[mark12345]

Yes, on your computer - ESPN3.com

[paul_oshea]

If I knew what i was talking about, id tell you how it comes from the Irish (as Gaeilge) pronounciation, like most Irish names, but alas my Irish is even worse than geysir's English literacy skills.

Ya geysir, its definitely culchie or chee as you say. :D

[Wolfie]

We'll have to keep the heads in this game. Popov was hittting the deck the other night against Man City every chance he got wasting time. It could be a long night. I will be delighted with a horrible 1-0. It sounds weird to say it but if fans want to see a great game then Macedonia will have to score first. So **** that. Zero entertainment and 1-0 please.

Total agreement on the above, Noely.

Exhileration? euphoria? despair? edge of the seat tension? - I can get all of that at home.

Zero entertainment with less incident and a 1 nil win sounds fantastic to me.

[geysir]

Wolfie, are you a Wolves fan by any chance?

[paul_oshea]

No, Wolfie supports his legs.

[Stuttgart88]

so, what you're saying is, you do go there, from time to time? ;)

I have been there maybe 5 times in my life, and haven't been in at least 12 years I reckon. Just for info :)

[Stuttgart88]

So Kiely is pronounced Key-ley? That sounds a bit culchee.
In Germany I think it was more straightforward
Kie = Kye, Kei = Kee, or is it the other way around?Who pronounces "Reilly" "Rey-leee"?

Just think Kylie Minogue. Actually, that's a good thing to do regardless of the issue at hand.

[SwanVsDalton]

Just think Kylie Minogue. Actually, that's a good thing to do regardless of the issue at hand.

Why? Is she declaring in time for Saturday? Are NI after her too?

[Stuttgart88]

and when he is there c40-50% of the time is rugby matches and thats when he goes there.that's slander.

[paul_oshea]

Ok 50-60% of the time.

[geysir]

Just think Kylie Minogue. Actually, that's a good thing to do regardless of the issue at hand.

It's a good thing you didn't elaborate about the issue at hand, when you're thinking of Kylie.

[paul_oshea]

Issue at hand...tissue in hand?

[Stuttgart88]

Paul's on form!

[tetsujin1979]

Paul's on form!
form is temporary, class (or the lack thereof) is permanent...

[EastTerracer]

Does anyone know where I can watch the match in Las Vegas on Saturday?


Howya,

I'm actually in Vegas on Sat for the game aswell, drop me a line if you find out a good puib to watch the game :-)


Yes, on your computer - ESPN3.com

ESPN3.com will only work if your cable TV company is signed up with ESPN. Time-Warner, Verizon and the larger providers are signed up but you might need a username and password.

For TV coverage in the real world you are going to struggle in Vegas. Premium Sports Inc (the old Setanta USA) have the rights and according to their website there is nowhere within a 100 mile radius currently showing the game. http://www.premiumsportsinc.com/venues.html

Somebody better bring a laptop and check their access to ESPN3

[paul_oshea]

form is temporary, class (or the lack thereof) is permanent...

Well at least I have one of them tets...;)

[mark12345]

Back to the matter at hand anyone? The team for Saturday?
I think it's going to be an identity crisis for Ireland. With McCarthy in the team (and I'm assuming that even Trap isn't foolish enough not to pick him after all that's
gone on) we will have for the first time since Roy Keane, a midfielder who will actually show for the ball and do something with it. That means we should not give it away as much as we did against Russia. But it will be in trying to find passes to Keane and Doyle that the game will be won (or not won). I can see us giving it a go for an hour or so and then throwing our hands up in the air if it doesn't work, and then bringing on Walters for the long ball game.

[Junior]

I am worried by the impact people are thinking McCarthy will have.

I saw quite a bit of him when he was at Hamilton but since then MOTD highlights has been pretty much it. Im not sure how much of him fans on here have actually seen, we dont seem to have any Wigan supporting regular posters, so apart from the odd live game on TV, MOTD highlights and reading match reports, we need to be careful with the pressure we will enivatably pile on him. I can just sense the roar of anticipation from the crowd as he warms up on the sideline.

I have no doubt he has ability in abundance and is one of (if not) the the finest prospects we have. However, I kind of expect him to come in to the side and have a very 'under the radar' kind of impact. I dont expect box to box running or arriving late in to the box to get on the end of crosses or endless threaded through balls to Doyle/Long/Keane. On the contrary, I expect he'll do the simple things well and probably no more, under strict instruction from Trap. Could probably take him 10-20 appearances to find his feet properly.

Ill be happy enough if he gets 30 minutes on Saturday, even better if the game is safe by then.

[Stuttgart88]

I'll take an ugly, lucky win and no participation whatsoever by McCarthy. A comfortable win with McCarthy playing a key role would be ideal.

Anyway, Monday night with no fresh injuries reported. Is this a record?

[Kingdom]

Anyway, Monday night with no fresh injuries reported. Is this a record?

Goddamit. I could expect to see that from a Paul O'Shea, but you? Your long enough in the game to know not to force a jinx on us like that.
Shame.

[Sullivinho]

Anyway, Monday night with no fresh injuries reported. Is this a record?

Mistimed tackle during training you say?

[SwanVsDalton]

Thanks Stutts. Team for Saturday is now:

Forde
Kelly-McShane-O'Dea-Kilbane
Lawrence-Green-Wilson-Treacy
Keogh-Gary Doherty (shock recall)

[Stuttgart88]

Reprimand accepted.

[Junior]

I'll take an ugly, lucky win and no participation whatsoever by McCarthy. A comfortable win with McCarthy playing a key role would be ideal.

Anyway, Monday night with no fresh injuries reported. Is this a record?

I really really want him to feature on Saturday if only for a cameo role. I dont have any doubts whatsoever about McCarthys commitment to us but I really couldnt face another 3 months of crap on here, in the various media or indeed from Martinez banging on about will he / wont he etc....

[geysir]

The crap doesn't worry me so much, it's the jinxes that have me concerned.

I am not superstitious - really!

[shakermaker1982]

What scores are people predicting for the game then?

I'm going 2-1. A tense nervy affair with Macedonia looking technically superior but two goals from set pieces wins the day for us.