Wales v. Republic of Ireland - Monday, 9th October 2017 - World Cup 2018 Qualifier

[shakermaker1982]

I’m guessing Wales will go back to wing backs with 3 CB. If so we need to match up in midfield and really go after their full backs.

Haven’t got a clue who will get picked. We are unpredictable and I like that.

[seanfhear]

Getting the balance right between getting someone sent off and showing the correct amount of aggression is going to be difficult in this game .

James McClean needs a ‘ “ control “ pep talk if he plays .

Harry After must have been trying to show he had an " Aggressive Mindset Capability “ in the cameo against Moldova .

Lets put it this way it would be an easy game to get sent off in .

[Colbert Report]

Who would be your counterweights to Ramsey and Joe Allen? They'll dictate the play all night long if they are not challenged. And Hendrick and Meyler certainly won't mix it up with them. Arter will. There is a slight risk with his temperament but we're going to need something in the middle to disrupt long bouts of Welsh possession. Ashley Williams has more than enough about him to negate Murphy, so it's going to be down to a McClean, O'dowda or Brady to find the net for Ireland

Fair point. Pushing Hendrick up, dropping Murphy, moving Brady out to the wing and pushing Shane Long up front to make room for Arter is certainly an option. So to answer your question, Meyler and Arter? I suppose Glenn Whelan could get the nod as well, but I don't think he will.

[CraftyToePoke]

Fair point. Pushing Hendrick up, dropping Murphy, moving Brady out to the wing and pushing Shane Long up front to make room for Arter is certainly an option. So to answer your question, Meyler and Arter? I suppose Glenn Whelan could get the nod as well, but I don't think he will.

Wise to drop a two goal last game guy to accommodate in Arter a man who has fluffed all his auditions thus far while keeping Long in the eleven ?

[mark12345]

I like that team but ward has done little wrong to be dropped. For me, Brady is over hyped, his set piece delivery is not as good as is proclaimed and has gone missing in a few games this campaign, notably Austria at home. He should be one of our big players and we need a massive game from him on Monday.

Overall on paper we are as good if not better than the Welsh team. Is winning in Wales more difficult than winning in Austria, think not.

Or to put it another way. Is winning in Wales easier than winning in Georgia, or beating Austria at home. Eh......let me think about that one for awhile.

[mark12345]

Fair point. Pushing Hendrick up, dropping Murphy, moving Brady out to the wing and pushing Shane Long up front to make room for Arter is certainly an option. So to answer your question, Meyler and Arter? I suppose Glenn Whelan could get the nod as well, but I don't think he will.

Hope Whelan doesn't get the not. I'll say no more on that subject. Regarding Hendrick and Meyler they are both floaters - ie they like to float along unruffled and spray passes about the park. It's not going to be that type of game in Cardiff. Another thing, I would not have Long in the starting eleven. He will be hoping to be a sub (deep down I'm talking about) and to see himself come on late and score the winner. I would start McGeady simply because he poses a threat any time he has the ball. But not a bad team otherwise

[backstothewall]

I like that team but ward has done little wrong to be dropped. For me, Brady is over hyped, his set piece delivery is not as good as is proclaimed and has gone missing in a few games this campaign, notably Austria at home. He should be one of our big players and we need a massive game from him on Monday.

Overall on paper we are as good if not better than the Welsh team. Is winning in Wales more difficult than winning in Austria, think not.

I agree Ward has done nothing wrong but Brady at left back was a means of getting him into the team.

This game being something of a cup tie I don't think form is all that relevant. I think we need as many as possible of our best players on the pitch and giving it their all. Brady at leftback was a means of getting him in the team as well as Hoolahan and McClean.

I'd take him off set pieces though. They've been pathetic thus far in the campaign.

[Colbert Report]

Wise to drop a two goal last game guy to accommodate in Arter a man who has fluffed all his auditions thus far while keeping Long in the eleven ?

Murphy simply not mobile enough. Unless we are looking to play the long ball, I don't see any place for him in the starting lineup. He scored two goals against Moldova, not Spain or Brazil.

[CraftyToePoke]

Unless we are looking to play the long ball

It wouldn't be exactly out of the blue now would it if we did / (when we do)


He scored two goals against Moldova, not Spain or Brazil.

That's neither here nor there, he scored two vital goals for us and another one away in Serbia.

[liamoo11]

I think mcgeady and
MccLean come into play wide with long up front to give us pace to get out, Brady slots in with meyler(unless McCarthy is wild card) and Hendrick is asked to push on to support long and occupy allen

[tricky_colour]

How about Meyler and Hourihane in midfield.

8 goals between them so far this season which more goals than the Irish midfield have scored between them since records began I would imagine.

Throw in Murphy and you can get the 5 gaols we need to top the group?

[mark12345]

How about Meyler and Hourihane in midfield.

8 goals between them so far this season which more goals than the Irish midfield have scored between them since records began I would imagine.

Throw in Murphy and you can get the 5 gaols we need to top the group?

I like Hourihane. Don't think O'Neill will start him, but if someone was to get injured, I would have no hesitation in putting him in. He is every bit as good as Meyler and Hendrick

[seanfhear]

It wouldn't be exactly out of the blue now would it if we did / (when we do)



That's neither here nor there, he scored two vital goals for us and another one away in Serbia.Murphy is scoring goals at club level as well . He lacks pace but maybe O'Dowda and McClean can get down the wings/ inside and Murphy can supply a physical battering ram and a finish .

[mark12345]

Had a dream last night that it was 1-1 late in the game in Cardiff.
On comes Hogan and Maguire in a last throw of the dice with 15 minutes left.
Maguire beats the full back and puts it on a plate from which Hogan nets a very late winner.

[elroy]

Anyone else heading over ticketless? Offered three tickets this morning for £450!! Mad, hoping possible to get for much less over there but may be wishful

[jbyrne]

Anyone else heading over ticketless? Offered three tickets this morning for £450!! Mad, hoping possible to get for much less over there but may be wishful

if they are irish end tickets then take them. you will regret it tomorrow if you dont.

if they wales end tickets then best left alone given there is a fair chance you will be denied entry

[elroy]

if they are irish end tickets then take them. you will regret it tomorrow if you dont.

if they wales end tickets then best left alone given there is a fair chance you will be denied entry

Wales end tickets. Presumably if you went in without colours it would be fine but what's point forking out that money if you can't enjoy/support the team

[tetsujin1979]

from https://twitter.com/FAIreland/status/917073928941654017

Squad Update | Martin O'Neill has confirmed that James McCarthy, Jonny Hayes and David McGoldrick have returned to their clubs

[DannyInvincible]

Nerves and excitement properly beginning to build now. There's always a chance of Duffy getting a goal from a set-piece - he's a serious aerial threat - but I'm hoping we approach this like we approached the game against Italy in Lille last summer rather than how we approached the game against Poland in Warsaw at the end of the last qualification campaign where we similarly needed a win, yet didn't go for it until the last ten minutes.

Let's hope the long flight back from Georgia affects Wales' preparations.

[DeLorean]

Brady at leftback was a means of getting him in the team as well as Hoolahan and McClean.

I'd take him off set pieces though. They've been pathetic thus far in the campaign.

Who would you put on them instead? I can't think of anybody that has anywhere near the same quality when he gets it right. It's easy to just float a ball into an area, much more difficult to whip in a ball that will likely cause consternation, as Brady always aims to do.

They have been poor for us recently but we know what he's capable of from dead balls. Off the top of my head he has scored a couple of beauties for Burnley in recent months, one against the PL champions in waiting and one to save a match deep into injury time. His teasing free kick led to Walters' second goal against B&H in the last campaign and well as the corner that led to Long's goal against the Netherlands pre-Euros.

I agree with whoever said he should either be left back or left midfield though, he's not effective in the central role. Ward and McClean's form has put O'Neill in an awkward position here, but Brady is more important that either of them so something should give I think. Personally I'd probably keep McClean as an impact sub.

[tetsujin1979]

Shane Long out according to Nathan Murphy: https://twitter.com/nathanmurf/statuses/917321144612655104

Shane Long will miss tonight's game through injury #COYBIG (https://twitter.com/hashtag/COYBIG?src=hash)

[seanfhear]

Heart says Ireland .

Head says Wales .

Better play the game to find out ! Come on Ireland !

[seanfhear]

Shane Long out according to Nathan Murphy: https://twitter.com/nathanmurf/statuses/917321144612655104Would have been nice to have a fully fit Shane Long on the Bench . He is good coming off the bench and his pace offers something that we don’t have that much of .

His form for us hasn’t been good and in hindsight how fit was he against Moldova .

[Diggs246]

Longs out guys

[DeLorean]

I think it'll be a score draw. We'll die with our boots on and live to lament some of the more frustrating aspects of the campaign.

Long is a loss. I wouldn't have started him but there's nobody better from the bench. Just as well Maguire & Hogan are involved now.

[NeverFeltBetter]

All set-up for Maguire to be the hero!

[JimEire123]

Longs out guys

not sure Long would have been starting.

Randy
Christie Duffy Clark Ward
Meyler Arter
Brady Hendrick McClean
Murphy

Would rather have ODowda or Holohann than Arter but cest le vie

[seanfhear]

What about Hero Hogan .

[osarusan]

I just hope we start with Hoolahan and give it a go from the start.

None of this 'keep it tight for an hour' stuff and only press in the last 30 minutes.

[seanfhear]

I just hope we start with Hoolahan and give it a go from the start.

None of this 'keep it tight for an hour' stuff and only press in the last 30 minutes.Pretty sure its going to be the latter .

[Diggs246]

Pretty sure its going to be the latter .

I'm not so sure anymore, with no long to spring from the bench he may well go for it from the start

[shakermaker1982]

Randolph

Christie Duffy Clark Ward

Brady Meyler Hendrick McClean
Wes
Murphy

I’m hoping Wes doesn’t miss out. Probably at expense of Arter/O’Dowda. The latter could be the wildcard MON plays. Brady isn’t a number 10. If he has 2 or 3 rubbish set pieces then he should be taken off them.

Got to target their wing backs and double up on both sides. Push them back and get the crosses into Murphy. He’s on fire at the moment and will score if he gets a sniff.

[seanfhear]

I'm not so sure anymore, with no long to spring from the bench he may well go for it from the start
We will be watching very nervously . I hope we do make it but it ain’t going to be easy .

[mark12345]

Shane Long out according to Nathan Murphy: https://twitter.com/nathanmurf/statuses/917321144612655104

Opens up the door for my 'dream' tandem of Hogan and Maguire

[mark12345]

We will be watching very nervously . I hope we do make it but it ain’t going to be easy .

It will be a nervous evening - you are correct about that.
But my nerves will evaporate if I see an Irish team sheet I don't like. I'll crawl back under my rock of pessimism at that point.
O'Neill has a massive part to play tonight. His 'performance' in the dressing room before kick off (in putting the correct players on the pitch from the off and giving them the proper instructions) will be monumental towards the outcome.
I will not tell him how to do his job, but merely hint that the initials 'WH' have to be on that team sheet.

[IsMiseSean]

I thought it would be 4-3-3 before Long's injury.
Randolph
Christie, Duffy, Clark, Ward
Hendrick, Meyler, Brady
Long, Murphy, McClean.

I have no idea what MON will do now.
If we're going to do it I think it'll be a 0-1 job.

[osarusan]

Pretty sure its going to be the latter .

Yeah, me too, but i hope not.

I know Hoolahan can last an hour at most, but if the game is close at all with 30 minutes to go, Wales are probably going to get more and more defensive anyway, and we'll likely end up whacking balls into the box. Don't need Hoolahan for that.

[Real ale Madrid]

I'm well up for this tonight lads. I just went into Tesco's and caught a big bunch of leeks and threw them onto the ground.

Then went to the daffodil section of the local garden centre and bought 200 packets of daffodil bulbs - I'M NOT GOING TO PLANT A SINGLE ONE!

COME ON IRELAND!!!!!!

[seanfhear]

I'm well up for this tonight lads. I just went into Tesco's and caught a big bunch of leeks and threw them onto the ground.

Then went to the daffodil section of the local garden centre and bought 200 packets of daffodil bulbs - I'M NOT GOING TO PLANT A SINGLE ONE!

COME ON IRELAND!!!!!!Perhaps we could do with a flower growing out of our backside.....to paraphrase a Spanish manager when it was said that his team had been lucky against Ireland....he replied that it was the Irish that had a flower growing out of their backside .

So perhaps you could “ plant “ one of those bulbs for tonight .

[Real ale Madrid]

Perhaps we could do with a flower growing out of our backside.....to paraphrase a Spanish manager when it was said that his team had been lucky against Ireland....he replied that it was the Irish that had a flower growing out of their backside .

So perhaps you could “ plant “ one of those bulbs for tonight .

Ach - just a bit of humor - its a very tense day - made all the more tense really by the fact that we are massive underdogs going into this. At least the nervousness in the lead up normally you can expect to get a result - but I fear with the players we have missing - we are going to get a hiding tonight. Hope I'm wrong of course and Seani bags the winner. But can you imagine 12 months ago going into this game and needing a win without Coleman, McCarthy, Long and Walters ? I think the optimism is misplaced.

[DeLorean]

I don't understand the narrative that we have "nothing to lose". I've read it on here and seen/heard it elsewhere. We have World Cup qualification to lose, same as Wales do.

Not only that but, considering the brilliant position we were in, it would be nothing short of a disaster if we don't even make the playoffs. If anything, Wales are the ones going into this in a bonus territory of sorts, given the difficult situation they found themselves in before the last round of matches.

Just because we're the slight underdogs doesn't mean we have nothing to lose... we have everything to lose. It's not like we're travelling to play Spain or something with no expectations.

[Philly]

Any chance of McGeady starting now Long is out? He has been performing at club level, O'Neill trusts him, and he could be given a free role between Murphy and midfield.

[passinginterest]

Randolph

Christie Duffy Clark Ward

Brady Meyler Hendrick McClean
Wes
Murphy

The above is probably what I'd go with too.

What I expect is;
Randolph

Christie Duffy Clark Ward

Brady Meyler Arter Hendrick McClean

Murphy

Also possible that he'll stick with O'Dowda and play McClean or Brady off Murphy. Brady has been lost any time he gets a free or central role so I hope he's left out wide. McClean can play that second striker role but wouldn't be there for creativity. Possible he might go ultra conservative too and start Whelan over Arter or Wessi.

Expect Wessi, McGeady and McGuire off the bench in the last 15 if we're chasing it/

[Jovial Rambler]

That is, or should be, the only call MON has to make. Arter or Wes.

[tetsujin1979]

Ireland's record vs Wales: https://twitter.com/irish_abroad/statuses/917358857567068161

Games: 14, Wins: 5, Draws: 4, Losses: 5

[geysir]

No clamor for Glenn to return? He's been blanked out of every possible permutation here as if he never existed.
A case of rapid, benevolent repressed memory syndrome?

[mark12345]

I'm not so sure anymore, with no long to spring from the bench he may well go for it from the start

We have enough threats to put the ball in the Welsh net - Robbie Brady from free kicks, Duffy / Clark / Ward from corners, Hogan or Maguire with a direct run at their defense (something Wales will not be expecting to be honest). It is keeping the ball out at the other end which scares me. STOP RAMSEY AND ALLEN AND YOU STOP WALES.

[mark12345]

Randolph

Christie Duffy Clark Ward

Brady Meyler Hendrick McClean
Wes
Murphy

The above is probably what I'd go with too.

What I expect is;
Randolph

Christie Duffy Clark Ward

Brady Meyler Arter Hendrick McClean

Murphy

Also possible that he'll stick with O'Dowda and play McClean or Brady off Murphy. Brady has been lost any time he gets a free or central role so I hope he's left out wide. McClean can play that second striker role but wouldn't be there for creativity. Possible he might go ultra conservative too and start Whelan over Arter or Wessi.

Expect Wessi, McGeady and McGuire off the bench in the last 15 if we're chasing it/

Murphy on his own up to is just not going to do it - Ashley Williams and James Chester will be bored for the ninety minutes.
And if MON picks that type of team he will deserve every failure that comes his way.
Remember this is a game where we have to go for it - he has said it himself (ie we have to carry an attacking threat).

[DeLorean]

No clamor for Glenn to return? He's been blanked out of every possible permutation here as if he never existed.
A case of rapid, benevolent repressed memory syndrome?

I'm not a Whelan fan at all but I'd have no great preference for Arter starting tonight, truth be told. He's looked indisciplined and a bit of a headless chicken for us so far. Whelan might be the more obvious choice to deal with the threat of Ramsey.

Preferably Hoolahan would just start though but can't see it happening after the amount of game time he got on Friday.

[davey]

For those in U.K. who don't have Sky, you can watch the game live on S4C. It's on Freesat, Virgin and also live on the iplayer. Think it's Welsh language commentary though.