Republic of Ireland V Poland - Sunday, 29th March 2015 - Euro 2016 Qualifier

[Littlest Hobo]

I'm using this thread to analyse the Poland team who we face next at home in a little over 4 months time. To get the chatting started, I've done some simple analysis on the them over their first 4 games.

Their first XI has been fairly consistant with a handful of regular subs used. I've highlighted their club side, age, caps to date and games and goals this campaign.
I haven't included a few lads who only made one appearance against Gibraltar.

Barring injuries and anyone getting hit by a bus, this is what we should face in March.

GK
Szczesny - Arsenal (England) - A:24 - C:22 - 4 games.

DF
Piszczek - Borussia Dortmund (Germany) - A:29 - C:39 - 3 games.

Szukala - Steaua Bucharest (Romania) - A:30 - C:10 - 4 games, 1 goal.

Gilik - Torino (Italy) - A:26 - C:28 - 4 games, 1 goal.

Jedrzegczyk - Krasnodar (Russia) - A:27 - C:14 - 3 games.

MF
Grosicki - Rennes (France) - A:26 - C:27 - 4 games, 2 goals.

Krychowiak - Sevilla (Spain) - A:24 - C:23 - 4 games, 1 goal.

Maczynski - Guizhou Renhe (China) - A:27 - C:6 - 3 games, 1 goal.

Mila - Slask Wroclaw (Poland) - A:32 - C:33 - 3 games, 2 goals.

FD
Milik - Ajax (Holland) - A:20 - C:13 - 4 games, 3 goals.

Lewandowski - Bayern Munich (Germany) - A:26 - C:65 - 4 games, 4 goals.

Subs:

DF
Olkowski - Cologne (Germany) - A:24 - C:7 - 1 game.

Wawrzyniak - Amkar Perm (Russia) - A:31 - C:43 - 2 games.

MF
Rybus - Terak Grozny (Russia) - A:25 - C:31 - 3 games.

Sobota - Club Brugge (Belgium) - A:27 - C:17 - 3 games.

Jodlowiec - Legia Warsaw (Poland) - A:29 - C:26 - 2 games.

The defender Gilik picked up a second yellow away to Georgia and so is suspended against us. It's similar to us losing O' Shea, considering his importance to them.
They may call up Wawrzyniak as his replacement, who played against Gibraltar and Germany.

The only players I recognise are Szczesny in goal, Piszczek at the back and Lewandowski up front. All 3 lads are class and play at top clubs. The others, I have no idea about.
So between now and March I'll try to post regular updates on their form, injuries and the like, so we can get the know who we are facing.

[ArdeeBhoy]

If we were to win, we could still sneak automatic promotion.
A draw, the most likely result IMO, struggle to still scrape third lies on, possibly.
Defeat, equals virtually certain non-qualification, with 6+months to go...
Depressing if so.

[Littlest Hobo]

If we were to win, we could still sneak automatic promotion.
A draw, the most likely result IMO, struggle to still scrape third lies on, possibly.
Defeat, equals virtually certain non-qualification, with 6+months to go...
Depressing if so.

The blokes up top are who we are facing. have had a good run of it, but not the greatest bunch on paper. if we can get everyone fit and playing regularly at their clubs, then anything is possible. can't see whats stopping us targeting 3 points with confidence.

[TrapAPony]

Would like us to line out something like :

..............Westwood

Coleman O'Shea Keogh Wilson

.....McCarthy..... Whelan

McGeady ................Brady

..............Hoolahan

......... ...........Keane or Long

[ArdeeBhoy]

Agreed, except we won't.
Injuries and the demands of the PL will see to that.

And Delaney or Duffy at the back, Keogh/Ward are both liabilities. Plus MO'N has his favourites, so no chance of anything close to that/these teams.?

[shakermaker1982]

What has Forde done wrong?

[Metrostars]

Need to win this one. The 4 teams could be all on 10 points after this round, the half way point.

[Stuttgart88]

If there was any message from O'Neill's tenure at Celtic it was that his sides were usually poor away from home but almost always victorious at home. Let's hope this trend continues. My recollection is that many of Celtic's famous victories at home were won by set pieces, often delivered by Thompson.

If Poland are so good how come Scotland drew 2-2 there? Of course we can beat them. All square at the half way point with 3 home games left would be a position as any of us would have taken.

[Charlie Darwin]

If there was any message from O'Neill's tenure at Celtic it was that his sides were usually poor away from home but almost always victorious at home.
That's more of a Celtic trait in general I think.

[jbyrne]

If there was any message from O'Neill's tenure at Celtic it was that his sides were usually poor away from home but almost always victorious at home. Let's hope this trend continues. My recollection is that many of Celtic's famous victories at home were won by set pieces, often delivered by Thompson

think that's why brady needs to be accommodated for his set pieces. much of a muchness between him and mclean generally but bradys set pieces are much better

[OwlsFan]

think that's why brady needs to be accommodated for his set pieces. much of a muchness between him and mclean generally but bradys set pieces are much better

McLean brings more physicality and energy and Brady as you say is better at set pieces. Our deliveries (McGeady) in particular were poor until Brady came on. Six of one, half dozen of the other.

[Littlest Hobo]

It's only just started and this thread has already been side-tracked by all sorts of other chat...!

Back on track... Poland are at home to Switzerland on Tuesday night.

[ArdeeBhoy]

If there was any message from O'Neill's tenure at Celtic it was that his sides were usually poor away from home but almost always victorious at home. Let's hope this trend continues. My recollection is that many of Celtic's famous victories at home were won by set pieces, often delivered by Thompson.

If Poland are so good how come Scotland drew 2-2 there? Of course we can beat them. All square at the half way point with 3 home games left would be a position as any of us would have taken.

Except that was a decade ago, so wouldn't extrapolate anything from that sadly.
Football has moved on, doubtful MO'N has improved by much tbh?

Polska aren't unbeatable but given our woeful record of beating anyone of note in this same last decade or so, as chronicled here
http://foot.ie/threads/147164-Eligibility-Rules-Okay?p=1792610&viewfull=1#post1792610
reckon our chances are 10-15% at best...
:(

[Philly]

Hearing that McCarthy is a doubt for this one.

[bishbash]

id go

Forde
Coleman. Wilson
O'Shea. keogh.

McCarthy Gibson

McGeady. Hoolahan. Brady

Long

We need to keep it much more that we have done. Lewandowski will punish us if we give up the chances we gave against Scotland, he will take the half chances. Brady's set pieces were dangersous but on top of that his delivery in open play is much better than McCleans. If he can come close to matching his work rate he's a far better option. The 3 in the middle allows us more of a chance to get both wingers on the ball higher up the pitch, maybe get more/better crosses for the likes of long or even keane. Keane for me can only play if we are going to have more possession if not he's lost out there.

[Littlest Hobo]

id go

Forde
Coleman. Wilson
O'Shea. keogh.

McCarthy Gibson

McGeady. Hoolahan. Brady

Long

We need to keep it much more that we have done. Lewandowski will punish us if we give up the chances we gave against Scotland, he will take the half chances. Brady's set pieces were dangersous but on top of that his delivery in open play is much better than McCleans. If he can come close to matching his work rate he's a far better option. The 3 in the middle allows us more of a chance to get both wingers on the ball higher up the pitch, maybe get more/better crosses for the likes of long or even keane. Keane for me can only play if we are going to have more possession if not he's lost out there.

I actually quite like this team. I doubt MON will go with this as somehow he'll justify a reason to find room in there for Whelan and Quinn... :rolleyes:

[bishbash]

No it's going to be the tried & tested unfortunately. I'd actually prefer Quinn at this stage as he's probably got a better range of passing than Whelan & he puts his foot in. MON will surely try something in the friendly games, be some bit inventive or creative that may stand to us going forward.

[jbyrne]

McLean brings more physicality and energy and Brady as you say is better at set pieces. Our deliveries (McGeady) in particular were poor until Brady came on. Six of one, half dozen of the other.

ian harte wasn't the best defender in the world but was great at set piece delivery and therefore got selected. for a team like us set pieces are critical and therefore I feel it justifies bradys selection

[OwlsFan]

ian harte wasn't the best defender in the world but was great at set piece delivery and therefore got selected. for a team like us set pieces are critical and therefore I feel it justifies bradys selection

Hmmmm, Harte. I used to have a go at Mick for selecting him. I think McLean also offers more in defence than Brady but I agree there isn't much between the two.

An important factor in the Polish game will be the ticket office (and for the Scots game). Those at the friendly in Lansdowne a year or so ago will recall that well over half of the crowd was Polish. This has got to be avoided.

[BonnieShels]

Hmmmm, Harte. I used to have a go at Mick for selecting him. I think McLean also offers more in defence than Brady but I agree there isn't much between the two.

An important factor in the Polish game will be the ticket office (and for the Scots game). Those at the friendly in Lansdowne a year or so ago will recall that well over half of the crowd was Polish. This has got to be avoided.

We should give them just 5% so. That's all the rage.

[jbyrne]

An important factor in the Polish game will be the ticket office (and for the Scots game). Those at the friendly in Lansdowne a year or so ago will recall that well over half of the crowd was Polish. This has got to be avoided.

i dont think the importance of this can be over stated. if the poland tickets go on public sale they will be snapped up by irish poles and we could easily see 15 to 20,000 poles creating a home like atmosphere for their team. time to get the FAI thinking cap on if it exists!

[paul_oshea]

If there was any message from O'Neill's tenure at Celtic it was that his sides were usually poor away from home but almost always victorious at home. Let's hope this trend continues. My recollection is that many of Celtic's famous victories at home were won by set pieces, often delivered by Thompson.

If Poland are so good how come Scotland drew 2-2 there? Of course we can beat them. All square at the half way point with 3 home games left would be a position as any of us would have taken.

30 away gmaes in Europe or something and no wins.

We're not really capable of beating them given how oneill sets us up(and we havent beaten anyone of note for about 13 years home or away), but we need to win it and based on waht O'Neill said I am holding him to it "the onus is on the home side to win". If he doesn't set up to do that then he is a hypocrit.

Strachan outwitted him, he put more thought into the game and they got the goal.

Our performances were just as poor and consistent for Fridays game as they were for Georgia, Germany and the last few years. We lost becuase we lacked the luck we got against Georgia and Germany.

[BonnieShels]

We beat France over 90min in Paris and but for the vagaries of the ET and AG system that would be a win. :()

Can't really blame MON for the goal.

Some critical player errors at that moment, and I think Hendrick is the most culpable from what I recall, caused us to concede.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Yeah, but Paris was 5 years (today) ago.

Feck all relevance to now.
We should have courted, or do, the likes of Noble or Kane more forcefully never mind eejits like Grealish.

[paul_oshea]

We beat France over 90min in Paris and but for the vagaries of the ET and AG system that would be a win. :()

Can't really blame MON for the goal.

Some critical player errors at that moment, and I think Hendrick is the most culpable from what I recall, caused us to concede.

McGeady moved out of the space that allowed Maloney to shoot into that area. None of them picked them up, 3 or 4 scottish players ran out and all were left, you could see what was happening a mile off(or at least 80-90m away where I was standing, it was a good finish though. I just remember saying to another lad why is no one coming out to meet and pick them up, 15 seconds later we could see the net moving.

Ah thats a measure of how desperate we are if we need to keep going on about France, we drew over the course of the whole match. The game finishes when the final whistle is blown and its the end result that matters not what happened at half time or after 90 - if extra time is played. No one has ever won a game 1-1.

[jbyrne]

Yeah, but Paris was 5 years (today) ago.

Feck all relevance to now.
We should have courted, or do, the likes of Noble or Kane more forcefully never mind eejits like Grealish.

has noble shown even the slightest bit more interest than Grealish to represent us? id say the complete opposite is true

[Stuttgart88]

I thought the free that Hendrick conceded just before the goal was naive and unnecessary. Poor old Jeff was culpable on at least two bases for the goal. It's hard to be critical though, it was a tough game to be thrown into as part of a two man midfield accompanying a less mobile player and facing a midfield three. I have no doubt that had we played a three in the middle Quinn would have shadowed Mulgrew all night long. Instead Mulgrew was highly effective and had space to attack.

[ArdeeBhoy]

has noble shown even the slightest bit more interest than Grealish to represent us? id say the complete opposite is true
The point stands, our squad isn't good enough and no kidding ourselves otherwise will solve the problem.
They have the good and bad cops, so MO'N/RMK need to be forcefully pursuing players than they seem to be.

And at least my example is about an established EPL player (or a very promising one who missed out on) rather than some fringe joker who might never turn out to be any good anyway.

[ArdeeBhoy]

An important factor in the Polish game will be the ticket office (and for the Scots game). Those at the friendly in Lansdowne a year or so ago will recall that well over half of the crowd was Polish. This has got to be avoided.


i dont think the importance of this can be over stated. if the poland tickets go on public sale they will be snapped up by irish poles and we could easily see 15 to 20,000 poles creating a home like atmosphere for their team. time to get the FAI thinking cap on if it exists!

Don't see how it can or will be. The FAI are only interested in filling the stadium, to 40k Poles if necessary.
That's not the issue. The crowd is irrelevant. It's how and who we play.
And the same v.Alba in June.

The latter doesn't exactly inspire with confidence, so a question of bucking a trend, but without a deeper squad unsure how we can make any meaningful or necessary contingencies.

[paul_oshea]

At this stage we need to better scotland and polands next results, probably need to better more than just the next ones, because we have poland away from home as our last game. Conceiveably we could all be on 10 points if we managed to beat Poland hallf way through the campaign. Its like starting from scratch, but poland have a home game to come against us where we could get nothing and they get 3. We have germany at home and they have Germany away I'd imagine we would be more likely to get a draw against Germany than they will, but that still leaves them 2 points ahead of us, so we would have to ensure we beat scotland after that game. And so the same process for Scotland. Georgia play scotland in september, when they will be well out of contention for anything other than finishing higher than Giblatar, as with all these teams, the interest will have waned and they will not put up the same fight, so Scotland should come out on top easy enough. Both Ireland and Scotland play Germany at home and the scots have poland at home their second last game, I think thats when we will find out what chance we have of qualifying, Germany wont be home and dry as originally thought and will come to us looking/needing to win(not like a few years ago when they came), I feel that SCotland will match or outdo us against the Germans, I feel they are more likely to get a draw than we are. The group is going to be very tight indeed, assuming we beat Poland at home. Its more than likely we will be competing directly with the scots now for third, and I don't see the georgians that late in the day doing us any favours.

So ya, the penultimate round of fixtures will be very telling, hopefully we wont be out of it by then, but there is a good chance we will be.

I honestly don't see us finishing ahead of scotland now, and therefore dont see us qualifying.

[jbyrne]

Don't see how it can or will be. The FAI are only interested in filling the stadium, to 40k Poles if necessary.
That's not the issue. The crowd is irrelevant. It's how and who we play.
And the same v.Alba in June.

The latter doesn't exactly inspire with confidence, so a question of bucking a trend, but without a deeper squad unsure how we can make any meaningful or necessary contingencies.

really, the potential for 40,000 poles in our stadium is irrelevant? what frame of mind would it put our players in for the game if they walked out to their own stadium full of away fans?

good home support can have a massive effect on the team

[Stuttgart88]

I don't think Poland are as strong as people seem to be afraid of. The German result had a fair chunk of luck ascribed to it, not least when Podolski hit the bar at 1-0, and relying on a rare Neuer error to score from an even rarer attack. If we had won the game the same way Paul would be quick to highlight that aspect.

I'm not being overly positive or naive, but we weren't a million miles off a different result on Friday, and I think there is little between us all. That said, I just don't see how anything less than wins at home to Poland and Scotland will be enough. I think we'll need wins in both, and a point away in Poland. It's a big ask of O'Neill.

[Stuttgart88]

really, the potential for 40,000 poles in our stadium is irrelevant? what frame of mind would it put our players in for the game if they walked out to their own stadium full of away fans?

good home support can have a massive effect on the team

This is where the FAI customer relations team can earn their corn. Don't release tickets on general sale until necessary. Prioritise season ticket holders, supporters clubs and known buyers of tickets from previous games. Launch a big campaign to ensure season ticket take up: England, Scotland, Poland and Georgia as a bundle ought to be attractive, plus a possible home play off.

[paul_oshea]

Stutts down through the years we have heard the same, I dont think X is that good, I dont think Y is that good.

They might not be but I know that we are NOT that good, and we arent capable of beating any decent team really. Don't devalue the other team before realising how poor we are and incapable we are, but again if the right players are picked I think we are a match for many teams.

[paul_oshea]

Oh and everytime we are not that far off a result or a different result its usually down to we haven't done enough to actually get a goal, and eventually we concede.
Sometimes we get a bit of luck or the rub of the green and we get a draw or a win.

[Stuttgart88]

Stutts down through the years we have heard the same, I dont think X is that good, I dont think Y is that good.

They might not be but I know that we are NOT that good, and we arent capable of beating any decent team really. Don't devalue the other team before realising how poor we are and incapable we are, but again if the right players are picked I think we are a match for many teams.again Paul, you're agreeing with me despite appearing not to agree with me. I think there's not much between the three of us. We have home advantage which used to count under most managers, but not Trap, probably because we were too cautious. I said its a big ask of O'Neill but by saying this I was saying that it is within his powers to select a team and an approach that will get these wins. I'm not saying it is likely but it is possible. If Iceland can beat Turkey and Holland I am not giving up hope of Ireland beating Poland and Scotland. Would I bet on it? No.

[OwlsFan]

This is the team we beat them with on their last visit: David Forde, Paul McShane, Ciaran Clark, John O’Shea, Greg Cunningham, Robbie Brady, James McCarthy, Glenn Whelan, James McClean, Shane Long, Conor Sammon.

Unlikely to have more than 4 changes for their next visit all things being equal.

[Stuttgart88]

Wow, no way would I have recalled that starting XI. I'd probably recall better the starting XI that drew 0-0 with them in Dalyer in the 80s with Buckley and Campbell upfront.

Still, my memory is suspect these days though my continence is still reliable.

[ArdeeBhoy]

This is where the FAI customer relations team can earn their corn. Don't release tickets on general sale until necessary. Prioritise season ticket holders, supporters clubs and known buyers of tickets from previous games. Launch a big campaign to ensure season ticket take up: England, Scotland, Poland and Georgia as a bundle ought to be attractive, plus a possible home play off.

Except most of that is how they sold the current season tickets, unsure how many sold, but 10k max. AFAIK.
As for the FAI, we all know 'efficient' they are. Still scope for 20k minimum away fans if they don't get their act together, which is pretty likely.
Maybe someone should petition them further with the sensible content of this post, but don't hold your breath.

I'll predict a 1-2 to Polska now with 15k away fans and 1-1 v.Alba with 20k visitors. Though ultimately the numbers will be irrelevant. It'll come down to a lack of quality and tactical nous.

I do sincerely hope I'm wrong though.

[DeLorean]

Delaney said in the programme that they're offering a package 'hat-trick' for Poland, England & Scotland. That's a good start I think and something I'll definitely be taking advantage of. Think you get to choose your own seat also, within reason.

[Duggie]

Delaney said in the programme that they're offering a package 'hat-trick' for Poland, England & Scotland. That's a good start I think and something I'll definitely be taking advantage of. Think you get to choose your own seat also, within reason.

is it a fight to the death gladiator style type within reason......:fighter:

[mark12345]

Would like us to line out something like :

..............Westwood

Coleman O'Shea Keogh Wilson

.....McCarthy..... Whelan

McGeady ................Brady

..............Hoolahan

......... ...........Keane or Long


Without doubt our defence needs to be better than it has been in recent games (Germany excepted). But having said that when facing the Poles in Dublin we need to think about building the team (horses for courses) from the front.


FORDE

COLEMAN O'SHEA WILSON McLEAN

McCARTHY

McGEADY GIBSON/QUINN

HOOLAHAN


McGOLDRICK LONG

[DeLorean]

It's McClean people, not McLean. I've restrained long enough.

[Charlie Darwin]

It's McClean people, not McLean. I've restrained long enough.
For somebody who's just been let off a leash, that was surprisingly mild. Roy would be ashamed of that.

[DeLorean]

Feels good though.

[Charlie Darwin]

Feels good though.
At least throw your slippers on the floor or something. Go mad.

[IsMiseSean]

Off topic but is there a date for a friendly with this game? I know we've nothing pencilled in yet.

[DeLorean]

Was wondering the same, there's usually something in February isn't there?

[DannyInvincible]

Was wondering the same, there's usually something in February isn't there?

Indeed, that's when San Marino come good. Might be worth a game?

[ArdeeBhoy]

It'll be another sh*t home friendly? If there is a game? Lithuania?