Ireland V Germany 12th October & Faroe Islands 16th October 2012 - World Cup 2014 Q

[Hibs4Ever]

TEAM:

Westwood

Coleman - O'Shea - O'Dea - Ward

Cox - Fahey - Andrews - McCarthy - McGeady

Walters

[EastTerracer]

The link to the FAI's tweet for those who need verification
https://twitter.com/FAIreland/status/256393372925845504

Interesting to see Coleman getting a start at right-back.

[DannyInvincible]

Starting eleven announced:

Westwood, Coleman, O'Shea, O'Dea, Ward, McCarthy, Andrews, Fahey, McGeady, Walters, Cox


What wingers have we got on the bench?

Brady and Keogh.

[nigel-harps1954]

Shane Long must be really scratching his head now.

[Duggie]

oh jeez cox on the wing, FFS again. waste of time.

[DannyInvincible]

Would have liked to have seen Wilson favoured to Ward and Long favoured to Walters if Trap's going for a lone man up front. Still not sure what Cox offers on the wing.

[Fixer82]

Coleman gets the nod

[SwanVsDalton]

Well there we go - Coleman, McCarthy, Walters and Fahey starting in a 4-5-1 formation. Might've taken a few injuries but can't imagine many of us expecting this to happen so soon after June.

[christo]

I reckon Walters will be on the wing and Cox up front

[Closed Account]

Trap says it's 4-3-3

[TerryPhelan]

Westwood, Coleman, O'Shea, O'Dea, Ward, McCarthy, Andrews, Fahey, McGeady, Walters, Cox.

[Park_Lane]

who is captain?

[boovidge]

Well done Trap for sticking a limited striker on the wing again. It's worked so well before.

[EastTerracer]

who is captain?

John O'Shea

[Maroon 7]

Long is obviously playing too well for his club to be considered for this fixture.

[Olé Olé]

Coleman getting the nod is the big plus in this selection, delighted to see him starting.

The logic behind starting Cox is that Trap wants to move between 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 and feels Cox can offer the best option on the wing and up front. I'd have thought Long, either as a lone striker or in place of Cox would have offered a better alternative. But then that'd leave Brady, Keogh and Cox as our only options coming in.

Brady and Long coming in early in the second half could be exciting, but if the damage has already been inflicted then Trap's "surprise" is utterly futile.

[Olé Olé]

Trap just name-checked Mario Gomez and Thomas Muller. Neither will be facing Ireland. I'm not quite sure whether he was using them for the purpose of illustrating our lack of attacking talents or, because he actually thinks they could be present tomorrow. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

[nigel-harps1954]

He's planning to use Long as an impact sub.

Formation is either 4-3-3 or 4-4-2, he'll decide on the day.

Doesn't plan to man-mark Ozil.

[KK77]

Delighted Coleman has got the nod.

[Fixer82]

Cox is a very good striker so I don't mind seeing him in there if it's 4-3-3 - I presume it's Cox and Walters with McGeady the link between midfield and attack. Interesting to say the least.
But certainly, as was said earlier, Long must be scratching his head wondering what he has to do.

How Trap sticks with Keogh, who's another striker often thrown out to the wing, is beyond me.
So realistically, Brady is the only properly recognised winger on the bench

[Duggie]

He's planning to use Long as an impact sub.

Formation is either 4-3-3 or 4-4-2, he'll decide on the day.

Doesn't plan to man-mark Ozil.

i dont think we could even if we wanted to.....

[the bear]

He's planning to use Long as an impact sub.

Formation is either 4-3-3 or 4-4-2, he'll decide on the day.

Doesn't plan to man-mark Ozil.

Ha ha he names whos playing but will decide the formation tommorrow. What a man

[SwanVsDalton]

In fairness I'd like to see Long start too, but he's hardly going to be the big factor - it's all about our midfield three and defence withstanding German pressure long enough to give us a chance of a result.

Not a whole lot of difference between Cox, Walters and Long as an out ball (personally I prefer Walters' physicality) although no doubt I'd rather have Long on to nab a goal. But it's all supposing our defence can hold out.

[Fixer82]

This could be a disaster or a master-stroke.
It could even be a disaster-stroke....

[IsMiseSean]

I really hope Coleman will attack and not stay behind the halfway line...

[the bear]

2 - 1 to Ireland

Cox with a screamer in the first half and ward with a header in the second

[mark12345]

Mark were you the one claiming last time that GOL would show all the Ireland matches for this campaign in the US? ;)

Only problem is, as far as I can tell, it is not available in hi-def.

Edit: To any of my fellow working Irish here who could possibly avoid the match results, since they may have to, you know, stay at work later than 245, GOL is re airing it at 11 PM. I know, stupid. But I am just saying.

No I wasn't the one. But thanks for this information. Only problem for me is that I have DirecTV and they have dropped GOL TV. I was hoping it was on ESPN3.com but it doesn't appear to be.

Thanks Again.

[Bungle]

Very concerned with Ward and can't understand for the life of me that Wilson isn't playing. I think the Germans will have him for breakfast. Very happy with Coleman coming in and I never thought Trap would be that adventurous, so pleasantly suprised. Having said that, I would have played Kelly at right full and Coleman at right mid, rather than Cox being played on the wing. For me, Cox playing ahead of Long is baffling, but aside from Ward/Cox in the starting 11, I can't find any fault with the team.

[ArdeeBhoy]

2 - 1 to Ireland

Cox with a screamer in the first half and ward with a header in the second

But 2-5 at full time?

[tetsujin1979]

Friend of mine from Colorado asked me how I thought the team would fare without Robbie Keane, this is my answer. It's long, but worth a look*

Keane has been the focal point of the attack for so long, nearly 15 years now, that it's hard to imagine the team without him. Not only that, but Duff and Given have retired, as well as Dunne and Whelan (Trapattoni stalwarts) are unavailable through injury.
There's a case to be made that this might actually free up the team a little, think Arsenal before and after Henry (and to a lesser extent Van Persie) left. Everything was based around getting the ball to Henry, as the main striker, and if it didn't work, then they pretty much didn't score. Ireland are a little the same with Keane, he's the most likely goalscorer and, even at 32, the most natural finisher in the squad. However, his lack of pace was shown up at Euro 2012, and while he's still excellent with the ball at his feet, the lack of creativity, and pace, in midfield meant he didn't have a lot of possession to exploit it.
The announced lineup has Walters and Cox in the starting XI, but not their positions. Given Trapattoni's history, it'a probably Cox on the right, with Walters up front, hopefully supplemented by either Fahey or Andrews. Walters is a battering ram, plain and simple. You play for Stoke, you make life miserable for the opposing team for 90 minutes, end of story. You chase high balls, hold up possession and don't give the opposition any time in possession from the first minute until the final whistle, and it works for them. While Walters isn't high in the goalscoring charts, he has three assists this season in the league, more than anyone else in the Stoke team, so I imagine his brief will be "you know what you do for your club, do that."
Cox on the wing doesn't offer a lot of pace, but he's got Coleman behind him, hopefull playing on the overlap like he did against Oman. Across central midfield Andrews, Fahey and McCarthy are solid pros. Andrews was probably the best player in Poland over the three games, and I think he was missed against Kazakhstan. Fahey and McCarthy are both excellent in possession, I fancy McCarthy to play a little deeper than the other two, breaking up attacks and playing the ball forward. His 88% completed passes compares favourably with the Wigan squad average of 80%
It's the left side of the pitch I'm worried about, McGeady usually plays a little further up the pitch, which can leave his full back - Ward - exposed. I really do expect Germany to rain balls down on the Wolves full back, so he's going to need extra protection. Incidentally, in the B game a few years ago against Nottingham Forest, Ward was at full back with Hoolahan in front of him, who left him repeatedly exposted. Andrews started in the same game and gave Ward an out ball repeatedly. Food for thought.
Central defence is O'Shea and O'Dea, who also started away to Macedonia, giving away a penalty in the process. O'Dea plays better with an organiser (i.e. Dunne) beside him, and O'Shea isn't the most vocal of players anyway. Both will have to step up their game to a whole other level tomorrow.
While not a bad keeper, Westwood in goals is the probably the least worst option we have at the moment. Any of the keepers in the squad could make a claim for a starting position, and all would probably be equally valid. Westwood is the current first choice, and that's why he's starting.
I genuinely can't call this game, it's definitely Trapattoni's toughest qualifier to date, and the missing players give the starting XI an experimental feel, against a team you don't want to experiment against. On the other hand, they might be expecting one style of play and find themselves up against another.
However, Germany don't lose qualifiers, they've lost two ever, and none away from home. To death and taxes, you can add Germany not losing qualifiers to life's great certainties.
With all that, I expect either a score draw, or a German win, but I think what everyone wants is a step up in performance from the Kazakhstan game, and Euro 2012 performances

*that's what she said

[EastTerracer]

No I wasn't the one. But thanks for this information. Only problem for me is that I have DirecTV and they have dropped GOL TV. I was hoping it was on ESPN3.com but it doesn't appear to be.

Thanks Again.

It was probably me who mentioned Gol TV. The only other option if you can't get GolTV tomorrow will be the streaming world (try wiziwig).

Thankfully I am on the flight from JFK tonight so I will get to see the Germany game in person but the Faroes match will be more problematic. It looks like Gol are showing Austria v Kazakhstan on Tuesday though so delayed coverage of Faroes is probably the best we can hope for (apart from wiziwig as mentioned above).

[boovidge]

"nearly twenty years" is stretching it a bit isn't it?

[tetsujin1979]

"nearly twenty years" is stretching it a bit isn't it?
crap, March 1998, for some reason I had it as March 1996 in my head. Fixed

[nigel-harps1954]

Andrews was probably the best player in Poland over the three games, and I think he was missed against Azerbaijan.



but I think what everyone wants is a step up in performance from the Azerbaijan game,


Did I miss something?

[the bear]

It was probably me who mentioned Gol TV. The only other option if you can't get GolTV tomorrow will be the streaming world (try wiziwig).

Thankfully I am on the flight from JFK tonight so I will get to see the Germany game in person but the Faroes match will be more problematic. It looks like Gol are showing Austria v Kazakhstan on Tuesday though so delayed coverage of Faroes is probably the best we can hope for (apart from wiziwig as mentioned above).

www.vipbox.tv is very good for streaming, you will prob get it there if stuck

[geysir]

It's about the best balanced team we have seen or could conjure considering availabilities, though the back 4 will really have to rise to the occasion and play their perfect game. Personally I'd prefer a player like Lawrence in that midfield 5 over Cox, but what a game and responsibility for Fahey. I'd expect McCarthy to play a more holding role, Fahey more advanced centrally and wide. We'll probably ship a few yellow cards and hopefully no red card. We just might be able to play football with that team.

[paul_oshea]

McClean's injured.

I hope he starts Coleman at this point, seems he actually has a realistic chance of playing. Think the loss of Robbie will shade it in Kelly's favour (more experience).

I think Coleman is to abrupt especially for a game like this, he is definitely too gaa compartmentalised still to play in a game like this. I can see him pulling at the shirt or shouldering someone and giving away a needless free(in a dangerous area) or penalty.

[Duggie]

i like our central 3 in midfield, im really glad fahey is playing. no pace in the team tho apart from mcgeady, would have loved to see long in there....aaaaaahah

[Olé Olé]

Delighted to see Fahey too. Remember the last time he played against a German side in Ireland? He was awesome against Hertha Berlin. I hope he does well.

[the bear]

i like our central 3 in midfield, im really glad fahey is playing. no pace in the team tho apart from mcgeady, would have loved to see long in there....aaaaaahah

Is that Alan Partridge?

Very happy with Fahey and Coleman selections. Wouldn't of picked Cox on the wing but I can live with it as he is a good footballer. O'Shea marshalling the defence is the big worry for me.

[theworm2345]

Where are the goals supposed to come from? In the league, Jon Walters has 3 goals from open play in the last year. Only one of those came since last November and that was just him bundling over Bogdan on the last day of the season. If we were away Walters (effectively) alone up front might make sense, but at home not so much.

[tetsujin1979]

Did I miss something?I..it..erm..umm..never mind, I'm a complete plank today

[paul_oshea]

Am I the only one not happy to see ward off and kelly on for coleman? Everything else I'm pretty happy with. The only reason I see ward still in there at the moment is because of my point further down , that is that he is more attack minded than say kelly or wilson in that position, and given all the other disruption, he and Mcgeady have a good understanding of his system and tactics and experience of playing together compared with the other players in the team. Having said that if the system and formation is completely different then that negates the point about Ward and Mcgeady having a good understanding of traps system and tactics - perhaps they just have a good understanding of eachother and eachothers game, and thats what works. I still shudder at the thought of our left side comprising Mcgeady and Ward, it is so weak defensively. I personally think when you have a rasping winger like Mcgeady you need a solid full back, who stays put, and then give the mcgeady the freedom of just attacking rather than attacking and defending - he never does one very effectively cos he has to concentrate on both.

I actually think Trap is well aware that Walters offers less of a threat than Long, but realises if we are chasing a game or holding out for a draw that Long offers far more of a goal threat at that time of the match than if he started. It's a very astute move in my opinion - but there's a caveat, that he starts walters up top and not Cox.

I'm actually happy with this, he has set out his stall - as he mentioned coleman is more attack minded than kelly, as is ward than wilson - he is going with an attacking 11 rather than a back four and midfield who sit back and "attempt" to soak up pressure. What I cant understand is why he has waited this long and in such an important game when we were all looking for this? The cynic in me thinks that he knows this is a lost cause but there is something to gain personally by playing what has been suggested all along, getting a walloping and then having a "told you so" moment like the Uruguay game.

I hope the players go out their and prove this formation and tactics worth it - but I really don't hold out much hope. Its strange I am always somewhat optimistic going into games that we can achieve a backs to the wall draw, but I can't even see this now. Traps point of experience is ringing in my ear.

[PatJR]

Assuming this is a 4-5-1 with Cox or Walters wide then the onus will be on that wide player to get forward to supoprt the lone striker. That potentially leaves Coleman pretty exposed and I don't think he is good enough to deal with it. Similar point has been made about the left side but I think McGeady will be more disciplined and whilst I'm not a Ward fan I think he'll cope better. I expect we will get hammered on Coleman's wing.

[tetsujin1979]

McGeady and Ward were on the left away to Russia, correct?

[PatJR]

McGeady and Ward were on the left away to Russia, correct?

OK, fair point. Expect it down both flanks so. For me it's just the wrong position, wrong match for Coleman. Lots of people will see it as positive but it's flawed in my opinion, should have been Kelly & Coleman.

[paul_oshea]

Did I miss something?

Ah those countries are all the same out that way.

[nigel-harps1954]

Ah those countries are all the same out that way.

Funnily out there they'd probably be saying the same about ourselves and England/Scotland etc.

[Noelys Guitar]

Walters is a completely different player from Keane in every way. Not starting Long (like for like)is beyond ridiculous at this stage. Far from unsettling the German defense Walters as the lone battering ram is playing into the Germans hands. Cox has offered nothing in the competitive games he has played. Gets involved for about 10mins then becomes a spectator. Its going to be up to the likes of McCarthy to step up another gear for us to have any chance.

[Murfinator]

Coleman over Kelly is a ridiculous, bizarre and disappointing decision. Kelly has been one of our most reliable players the past few years and has been very unfortunate to not have a starting place, whereas Coleman has been poor in each of his cameos. To not start him under any circumstances would be mystifying, to not do it when we're desperately short of experience and composure is outright bizarre. Certainly hope Trap knows what he's doing with this because I'd say this is one of and if not the most wild and potentially costly selections decisions he's made in his tenure.