Bulgaria V Republic of Ireland - Thursday, 3rd September 2020 - UEFA Nations League

[kennedmc]

I guess what I'm saying is....McGoldrick is in the form of his life and Brady has been up to a whole lot of nothing for an extended period now. Why should we give Brady such a crucial position and play McGoldrick essentially out of a position as a No. 9?

I'd love to include Brady somewhere on the field but I'm not sure on form he's earned it (and I appreciate he's had a horrible time with injuries and it isn't entirely his fault).
Agree re Brady. He is way off a number 10 role or even centre mid at any decent level at this stage of his career.

His awareness and speed of thought is too slow. He' need to be coming on to tne ball and have rhe game in front of him.

That's why he spends most of his time at Left full / left wing back now.

Re Kenny line up McGoldrick could play a Firmino role , dropping deep and with the pace of connolly / long or obamei out wide. 433

[Bielsa´s irish]

Agree re Brady. He is way off a number 10 role or even centre mid at any decent level at this stage of his career.

His awareness and speed of thought is too slow. He' need to be coming on to tne ball and have rhe game in front of him.

That's why he spends most of his time at Left full / left wing back now.

Re Kenny line up McGoldrick could play a Firmino role , dropping deep and with the pace of connolly / long or obamei out wide. 433

im based on the players SK likes or has talked about. if we play 4-3-3 Shane Long has to start as a number 7 role, right forward, which is for me his best position. The today's 4-3-3 needs lots of energy and practice otherwise youve got outnumbered in midfield.

i think Kenny will try a 4-2-3-1 from what i ve watched of his teams for Eire.

Brady cant play left back in my opinion, only as an emergency cover. But the guy is a midfielder

i would try a 3-3-1-3 but thats very hard in a training camp of 3 days.

[irishfan86]

If 4-2-3-1 I'd go with something like this -- in practice could be more of a 4-3-3 at times as McGoldrick and Connolly take up attacking positions and Doherty drops back into the defensive third.

--------------Randolph----------
Coleman--Egan--Duffy---Stevens
-------McCarthy----Hourihane
Doherty------McGoldrick----Connolly
--------------Obafemi--------

[DCWA]

we've got to rate strikers for their goals scored.

Chris Wilder disagrees entirely with that. I strongly suspect Stephen Kenny does / will as well.

[ColourfulPeanut]

we've got to rate strikers for their goals scored. Defenders for defending and midfielders for marking and creating football. That club got lucky, because goals came from everywhere, but he has to score more. Simple.

McGoldrick needs the football around him, at his feet. He is more of a bit like a classic number 10 than a number 9.
No we don't. Roberto Firmino scored 9 goals this season.

That's less than:
Neal Maupay
Troy Deeney
Michail Antonio
Teemu Pukki
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Chris Wood
Tammy Abraham

Do you think they're all better strikers or they've had a better season than him? Rating strikers on goals alone is nonsense and shows a complete misunderstanding of the roles they play in the team or the nuances to the position. Why do you think Sheffield United got goals from elsewhere? Why do you think Wilder rates him so much? He's a very good footballer in fine form, he's crucial to how they play and he'll be a key figure for us.

[Fixer82]

I think Sheridan is a proven number 9, the guy is playing at a higher level than the likes of Hogan and Collins. And for the last 5 years. He could be a super-sub. Played C.L Europa league etc. Knows eastern europe, which is a plus! Keeps on scoring goals, is a penalty taker. Of course Daryl Murphy was preferred by MON-Roy in that place. We need options and different assets upfront.

I will put Kelleher as Randolph´s understudy like Given was.

I always like the idea of having something of an unknown quantity up front.
I’d like to see him in green again.
He’s decent with ball at feet but is a serious aerial threat which we don’t really have at the moment.

[Kingdom]

I think Kenny wont change a bit for this year matches and he will try to prepare the 11 for the Slovakia game later on. And because of this crisis worldwide he wont be calling a squad bigger than a 25/28 players panel I think if everyone is fit and injury free.

i think he will bring some younsters by degrees. Will check the granny-rule boys, and will check some options up-front better than lackluster players Hogan and Collins)



Good post. I wouldn't be surprised to see the squad link up in England ahead of travelling to Bulgaria, it would be understandable. This is what I think will come to pass for a travelling squad.

GK: Randolph; Travers; McDermott;
DF: Coleman; Christie; Duffy; Long; Egan; Dara O'Shea; Stevens; Manning;
MF: Doherty; Molumby; McCarthy; Cullen; Hendrick; Brady; Byrne; McClean;
FW: McGoldrick; Idah; Connolly; Obafemi;

I think one of Brady or Hourihane is in trouble. Personally I'd like to see Alan Browne included, but I think it would be hard for Kenny to include Molumby, Byrne, Cullen and Browne ahead of Brady and Hourihane, despite Brady not being in anyway effective for a long time for us, and in general.
I just have a gut feeling that Idah is going to be included, and honestly, I think he'll start in Bulgaria. The boy scores goals, its that simple.

-------------Randolph,

Coleman, Duffy, Egan, Stevens;
--------Molumby, McCarthy,

---Doherty, McGoldrick, Connolly,
-----------------Idah

[DeLorean]

Good mixture there and a nice looking side. The (probably necessary) shoehorning of Doherty aside, looks very well balanced.

[jbyrne]

Good post. I wouldn't be surprised to see the squad link up in England ahead of travelling to Bulgaria, it would be understandable. This is what I think will come to pass for a travelling squad.

GK: Randolph; Travers; McDermott;
DF: Coleman; Christie; Duffy; Long; Egan; Dara O'Shea; Stevens; Manning;
MF: Doherty; Molumby; McCarthy; Cullen; Hendrick; Brady; Byrne; McClean;
FW: McGoldrick; Idah; Connolly; Obafemi;

I think one of Brady or Hourihane is in trouble. Personally I'd like to see Alan Browne included, but I think it would be hard for Kenny to include Molumby, Byrne, Cullen and Browne ahead of Brady and Hourihane, despite Brady not being in anyway effective for a long time for us, and in general.
I just have a gut feeling that Idah is going to be included, and honestly, I think he'll start in Bulgaria. The boy scores goals, its that simple.

-------------Randolph,

Coleman, Duffy, Egan, Stevens;
--------Molumby, McCarthy,

---Doherty, McGoldrick, Connolly,
-----------------Idah

don't think he will pick cullen ahead of hourihane. he will pick long over obafami. other than that id agree with the above squad

[Fixer82]

we've got to rate strikers for their goals scored. Defenders for defending and midfielders for marking and creating football. That club got lucky, because goals came from everywhere, but he has to score more. Simple.

McGoldrick needs the football around him, at his feet. He is more of a bit like a classic number 10 than a number 9.

Under Charlton, and McCarthy at times (2002 Qualifying) strikers were often low on scoring. Didn't matter as long as the team were scoring

[ColourfulPeanut]

Important to note too that our next U21 qualifier isn't until October. So this presents a good chance to get as many U21s involved at senior level as we want, without sacrificing our best chance to qualify at 21 level for the first time ever.

[liamoo11]

If 4-2-3-1 I'd go with something like this -- in practice could be more of a 4-3-3 at times as McGoldrick and Connolly take up attacking positions and Doherty drops back into the defensive third.

--------------Randolph----------
Coleman--Egan--Duffy---Stevens
-------McCarthy----Hourihane
Doherty------McGoldrick----Connolly
--------------Obafemi--------

Mcgoldrick hasn't the legs or the inclination to play as a 10 in a 433. He would offer nothing defensively leaving McCarthy and hourihane totally overloaded. Doherty was hopeless playing as a right side midfielder in a 442 he would be totally lost as the wide right side attacker in a 433. When has he ever played that position? He would make mcclean look like a silky winger in comparison. Shoe horning players into a team out of position is an awful strategy especially at a time when we have promising attacking players.

[ColourfulPeanut]

Doherty needs to play and play in his preferred position. If that means that Coleman misses out then so be it. Doherty is too good for us not to pick him in the exact role he excels at.

[liamoo11]

Doherty needs to play and play in his preferred position. If that means that Coleman misses out then so be it. Doherty is too good for us not to pick him in the exact role he excels at.

I totally agree on this Coleman or Doherty simple.

[Kingdom]

I totally agree on this Coleman or Doherty simple.

Liamo, a couple of questions:

- Are we going to play a 3-5-2? If yes, great! If not, Doherty doesn't play in his preferred position anyway.
- Where has Didsy played for us? As a 9 who comes back into midfield. That can't be denied by anyone. It's his strength, coming onto the ball from deep, and playing it forward. Up to now - with Ireland - he has little in front of him when he does get the ball, and he has to work double hard anyway.

If Kenny is true to wanting to have as much of the ball as possible, he'll be an attacking 4231 or 433, an he'll want his ball players and grafters on the pitch, in the positions that suit them best. He absolutely would not have made the remarks about Doherty if he wasn't going to start him. He's been clear that he doesn't want to go down the road of 3 at the back (certainly not to begin with), and he was definitive that Coleman is the captain, so honestly I don't see any other solution.

He likes a goalscorer as the focal point of attack - that's another reason I don't see McGoldrick as the 9. The only senior striker we have that has a decent record of goals at senior level is Long. Idah has a goalscoring record at underage, and in the limited number of starts at club level.

[Kingdom]

And it's important to remember that we play Bulgaria and Finland first.
Both are very winnable games.
I thought it was pointed the reference he made last week to Pukki qualifying Finland on his own with 10 goals, considering we only scored 7. He made a clear distinction between scoring of goals and creating chances. McGoldrick creates chances, Idah scores goals.

[DeLorean]

- Are we going to play a 3-5-2? If yes, great! If not, Doherty doesn't play in his preferred position anyway.

A crucial point - "the exact role he excels at" doesn't appear to be on the table anyway.

[liamoo11]

Liamo, a couple of questions:

- Are we going to play a 3-5-2? If yes, great! If not, Doherty doesn't play in his preferred position anyway.
- Where has Didsy played for us? As a 9 who comes back into midfield. That can't be denied by anyone. It's his strength, coming onto the ball from deep, and playing it forward. Up to now - with Ireland - he has little in front of him when he does get the ball, and he has to work double hard anyway.

If Kenny is true to wanting to have as much of the ball as possible, he'll be an attacking 4231 or 433, an he'll want his ball players and grafters on the pitch, in the positions that suit them best. He absolutely would not have made the remarks about Doherty if he wasn't going to start him. He's been clear that he doesn't want to go down the road of 3 at the back (certainly not to begin with), and he was definitive that Coleman is the captain, so honestly I don't see any other solution.

He likes a goalscorer as the focal point of attack - that's another reason I don't see McGoldrick as the 9. The only senior striker we have that has a decent record of goals at senior level is Long. Idah has a goalscoring record at underage, and in the limited number of starts at club level.

Hi kingdom. I was responding to the post that had us playing 433 which I think is likely the formation. In that formation I cant see how mcgoldrick can be the point of the diamond in a 3 man midfield he just does not have the athleticism or discipline. If we were playing 442 he would be a perfect 10 as a partner up top for an obafemi or long droping deep getting turned linking with the number 9 but in a 433 that number 10 needs to be someone like Byrne, Brady, hourihane or smallbone (would love if it was crowley) and even then they would all need be really disciplined and conditioned to do the defensive side the lenght and breath of the pitch. Mcgoldrick just isn't enough of an athlete for that .

Doherty or Coleman are both good right backs. I agree Doherty is much more suited to right wing back and is defensively suspect as a right back when he doesnt have 3 centre halves covering him. But still I would have him start ahead of Seamus as a right full and hopefully develop in that role. If u play Doherty as the right side of a front 3 you turn 433 into a lopsided 541 with Doherty sucked back into midfield and lacking the guile and creativity to help create chances in tight congested spaces where he is not running on to the ball and has to play with his back to goal. I'd hate to give up long or Robinson or obafemi or even o dowda playing in that position to fit in Doherty. Doherty is maybe 28 and has never played in an attacking 3 I really cant see why we would do it other than wanting to get Coleman and Doherty into the team because they are in our top 11 individual iplayers , but we know 11 individual players isn't the same as a cohesive team for instance someone had molumby McCarthy and Cullen playing as a midfield 3. Now each of those are lovely players but only 2 can be part of a 3 because otherwise you have no one who is suited to been the advanced player in the 3 , which happened earlier in McCarthy's career with us when we played him out of position and then criticised him. You need to pick players in my opinion who suit the position not because they are the next best player in a generic category such as centre midfielder . An attacking midfielder who is a 7 out of 10 as an attacking midfielder is better in that position than a defensive midfielder who is an 8 out of 10 as a player in his preferred position.

Exciting times really hope Kenny makes tough decisions and picks players to suit positions and the way he wants to play not just putting square pegs into round holes even if those square pegs are very good players

[Bielsa´s irish]

yes i think he is gonna start this team. The Idah remark is good. He may even play McClean anywhere on the pitch. He is a great player with a lot of heart. With McCarthy he could form a great partnership.

where McGoldrick is gonna play?

[Bielsa´s irish]

i keep on with my team: i THINK he would try with Connolly up front but im not sure.

may play McGoldrick or Long up front.

Duffy or K.Long

Connolly as a forward with MCClean out wide? Or Connolly taking responsabilities and helping Stevens
i prefer Connolly roaming around...
I see Manning out wide left or in midfield as well.
Doherty can cover right left back and christie as well. There are some youngsters who could cover left back as well..... that Collins chap is just 19 years old fast...is an option as a makeshift left back


in a 4-2-3-1
1-Kelleher or Randolph
2-Coleman (c) or Doherty or O'Connor
3-Stevens or Doherty
4-K.Long or Duffy
5-Egan or Clark
6-Hourihane or Arter
7-Doherty or Robinson
8-McCarthy or Hendrick
9-S.Long or McGoldrick or Idah/Obafemi
10-Brady or Byrne or Manning
11-Connolly or McClean or Odowda

[tetsujin1979]

You've been warned about random capitals Bielsa. Drop the YBIG routine.

[Bielsa´s irish]

You've been warned about random capitals Bielsa. Drop the YBIG routine.

d'accord Javert! lets go back to topic. allez aussi victor hugo

[Diggs246]

cant be too long for this squad to be announced, right? like now!

[Philly]

Squad announced Monday along with a new kit apparently!

[Razors left peg]

i keep on with my team: i THINK he would try with Connolly up front but im not sure.

may play McGoldrick or Long up front.

Duffy or K.Long

Connolly as a forward with MCClean out wide? Or Connolly taking responsabilities and helping Stevens
i prefer Connolly roaming around...
I see Manning out wide left or in midfield as well.
Doherty can cover right left back and christie as well. There are some youngsters who could cover left back as well..... that Collins chap is just 19 years old fast...is an option as a makeshift left back


in a 4-2-3-1
1-Kelleher or Randolph
2-Coleman (c) or Doherty or O'Connor
3-Stevens or Doherty
4-K.Long or Duffy
5-Egan or Clark
6-Hourihane or Arter
7-Doherty or Robinson
8-McCarthy or Hendrick
9-S.Long or McGoldrick or Idah/Obafemi
10-Brady or Byrne or Manning
11-Connolly or McClean or Odowda


Im sorry but this is daft, you have O'Connor as a possible starter? "The kid needs to see if hes up to League 2 standard 1st.

I really dont like the idea of Doherty starting in a front 3. Hes a good attacking fullback but hes not a forward. If he had to be shoehorned in somewhere Id rather it be left back, or have Coleman go to left back.

[tetsujin1979]

He's a troll who got bored on YBIG and is trying the same tired routines here.

[CraftyToePoke]

Im sorry but this is daft, you have O'Connor as a possible starter? "The kid needs to see if hes up to League 2 standard 1st.

I really dont like the idea of Doherty starting in a front 3. Hes a good attacking fullback but hes not a forward. If he had to be shoehorned in somewhere Id rather it be left back, or have Coleman go to left back.

He's a WUM .... With form.

[Razors left peg]

Thanks lads, I'll ignore him in future.

On the Doherty point though, I know others have said he has to be in the team somehow, even if it means Coleman gets dropped. Coleman is captain and will not be dropped any time soon so I think that Doherty will probably just his back up unless he can switch to the left. Although I think Stephens will have a lot to say about that.

[Bielsa´s irish]

well im not a wum or troll or whatever you call it. I have been prosecuted since i posted that i wasnt from Hurlingham, Argentina where iam right now

My knowledge is there. I guess SK will give chances to the yougnsters and he is gonna built for the future

tetsujin1979 (https://foot.ie/members/1858-tetsujin1979) man, you are a maniac iam an honest fan, knock it off my dear flower

[DeLorean]

I really dont like the idea of Doherty starting in a front 3. Hes a good attacking fullback but hes not a forward.

I'm not sure if anybody is quite suggesting that, though I might be wrong. I think it was Nigel-Harps who said Kenny is a 4-3-3 manager and unlikely to change too much from that. On that basis I'd assume Doherty (if shoehorned) would be right of the midfield three, as opposed to the attacking three.

[Razors left peg]

I'm not sure if anybody is quite suggesting that, though I might be wrong. I think it was Nigel-Harps who said Kenny is a 4-3-3 manager and unlikely to change too much from that. On that basis I'd assume Doherty (if shoehorned) would be right of the midfield three, as opposed to the attacking three.

Usually in a 4-3-3 your 3 midfielders would have 2 sitting and 1 playing off the front man ( Kenny did this with U21s). In that type of formation the midfield is narrow and the width comes from the 2 wide of the front 3.

My point being that Doherty doesnt fit anywhere there.

[DeLorean]

Well I think it's safe to say he's not going to use him in either of those roles specifically. Worth reminding ourselves what the man himself said about this "conundrum"...


It depends on what way we will play. They are two exceptional players and right-back is a really strong position for us.

Séamus and Matt has been a conundrum.

It’s hard to believe Matt is 28 years of age and he’s only played three competitive games for Ireland.

He’s been hugely influential for Wolves and he is a genuine goalscoring right-back.

He scored against Denmark, joining in the general play and getting in at the back post.

Séamus is getting back in the team at Everton. He was out for a while but has got himself back in with some great defensive performances.

Séamus is a brilliant captain and what a servant to Irish football.

He represents Irish football brilliantly and has been a great player.

So it is an issue, could they both play in the same team? Yes.

How would we play and what way would we intend to play?

We would have to see all that.

I think at times they might be competing and at times they won’t be.

Either of them could play left-back, in a back three Séamus can play narrow, Matt can sometimes play advanced in midfield. These are all conundrums.

Sometimes it will be a straight decision and sometimes it won’t.

[Bielsa´s irish]

I'm not sure if anybody is quite suggesting that, though I might be wrong. I think it was Nigel-Harps who said Kenny is a 4-3-3 manager and unlikely to change too much from that. On that basis I'd assume Doherty (if shoehorned) would be right of the midfield three, as opposed to the attacking three.

OK that is what i thought...
but where connor ronan played in the "esperanzas de Toulon" tournament? Was he in midfield? in a 4-3-3?

[Bielsa´s irish]

Well I think it's safe to say he's not going to use him in either of those roles specifically. Worth reminding ourselves what the man himself said about this "conundrum"...

the only way i see it is in a 3-4-3 or a 3-5-2 formation

[Jovial Rambler]

Regardless of whether SK is a 442 manager, i think he does need to adapt to a back 3 in order to get our best players on the pitch in their most effective positions.

Randolph
Doherty coleman duffy egan stevens
Mccarthy cullen
Long mcgoldrick connolly

We have players such as Clark who are also familiar with playing in a back 3, and brady would provide decent cover at LWB.

With the players we have at our disposal a back 3 could be maintained through injuries and supensions, not just reverted to when doherty and coleman are both available.

[Diggs246]

Didn't MON play a back three for awhile, after we got hammered by wales? if memory serves we stopped conceding goals, but seemed incapable of putting an attack together

[DeLorean]

Didn't MON play a back three for awhile, after we got hammered by wales? if memory serves we stopped conceding goals, but seemed incapable of putting an attack together

He tried it alright but not really with the personnel who could make it work. We got the runaround in that friendly against Mexico anyway using it, not sure about Wales.

[nigel-harps1954]

Regardless of whether SK is a 442 manager, i think he does need to adapt to a back 3 in order to get our best players on the pitch in their most effective positions.

Randolph
Doherty coleman duffy egan stevens
Mccarthy cullen
Long mcgoldrick connolly

We have players such as Clark who are also familiar with playing in a back 3, and brady would provide decent cover at LWB.

With the players we have at our disposal a back 3 could be maintained through injuries and supensions, not just reverted to when doherty and coleman are both available.

So...we're effectively doing away with a midfield in your book?

[irishfan86]

I think the idea with a 5-3-2 is that your wingbacks join the midfield in attack, and your wide forwards also drop into midfield when you lose possession. It's not that you "do away with a midfield," it's just that you drop the idea of a static midfield.

It really does require the right personnel though and a team well versed in the system. I don't think there's any question that we have the personnel. The major issue is getting everyone comfortable with the system within the short time frames of international windows. It does help that a decent chunk of our squad play similar systems with their clubs.

[nigel-harps1954]

I think the idea with a 5-3-2 is that your wingbacks join the midfield in attack, and your wide forwards also drop into midfield when you lose possession. It's not that you "do away with a midfield," it's just that you drop the idea of a static midfield.

It really does require the right personnel though and a team well versed in the system. I don't think there's any question that we have the personnel. The major issue is getting everyone comfortable with the system within the short time frames of international windows. It does help that a decent chunk of our squad play similar systems with their clubs.

But that's not a 5-3-2 posted. That's a 5-2-3, with two attacking wing forwards.

If you're playing a 5-3-2, you need to have 3 solid central midfield players in there. You can't play two wingers as well as two attacking wing backs.

[Bielsa´s irish]

The squad will be released on Monday.

dont think of any other player who could be selected outside of this extended list

Darren Randolph (West Ham United)
Mark Travers (Bournemouth)
Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool)
Sean McDermott (Kristiansund)
Seamus Coleman (Everton)
Dara O'Shea (West Bromwich Albion)
Shane Duffy (Brighton & Hove Albion)
John Egan (Sheffield United)
Kevin Long (Burnley)
Cyrus Christie (Fulham)
Ciaran Clark (Newcastle United)
Enda Stevens (Sheffield United)
James McCarthy (Crystal Palace)
Ryan Manning (QPR)
Harry Arter (Fulham)
Darragh Lenihan (Blackburn Rovers)
Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers
Alan Browne (Preston North End)
Jack Byrne (Shamrock Rovers)
Jeff Hendrick (Newcastle United)
Robbie Brady (Burnley)
Callum O´Dowda (Bristol City)
Connor Ronan (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Conor Hourihane (Aston Villa)
Jayson Molumby (Brighton and Hove Albion)
Josh Cullen (West Ham United)
James McClean (Stoke City)
Callum Robinson (Sheffield United)
David McGoldrick (Sheffield United)
Cillian Sheridan (Wisla Plock)
Aaron Connolly (Brighton and Hove Albion)
Troy Parrott (Tottenham Hotspur)
Shane Long (Southampton)
Sean Maguire (Preston)
Adam Idah (Norwich City)

[tetsujin1979]

Idah is with Norwich

[Fizzer]

Obafemi should be in the squad, Smallbone has a chance also, as does Knight.

[Diggs246]

Obafemi should start imo.
I think people are going to be v disappointed with the squad.
I dont think obafemi. Molumby or smallbone will make it

[liamoo11]

I really hope Kenny picks a squad of players he wants to play the type of football he wants not just the players who have played the most league football. 23 man squad

Keepers : Randolph kelleher and travers. O hara will never be good enough at this level i think and o Leary looked poor with his feet for Shrewsbury in the fa cup

Defenders : Doherty Steven's Coleman Duffy Egan Clark (back fit now) Masterson manning

Masterson has higher ceiling than long or lenihan and is by miles the best footballing centre half we have so I hope Kenny nurtures him to help mature him as an international. O shea would also be close and would be competing against Masterson I guess but I would have Masterson as the better footballer

Manning poor left full defensively but offers alot offensively so would be great to find a way to have him involved and can be improved as a defender hopefully


Midfield : McCarthy Cullen Hendrick hourihane Brady molumby byrne

This gives you 3 defensive midfielders McCarthy cullen and molumby 2 eights in hourihane and Hendrick and 2 10s in Brady and byrne.

Browne gets left out cause we dont need another 8 and I don't think he is a creative 10 if we going to try and play through midfield

O dowda just hasn't done enough to be a 10 and I think Byrne and Brady have an edge on him but I like o dowda. When crowley is eligible I'd see him involved

Whelan gets leapfrogged by molumby on the basis of trying to build for future

Arter misses out cause he has been poor for us so far

Smallbone maybe it's a bit early especially since it's not a tying him down situation now if those new rules are coming in. Bit early for knight as well in an area that we have reasonable depth.


Attack : mcgoldrick long obafemi Robinson connolly

Mcclean misses out as we have to experiment at some stage and give minutes to less experienced players who are younger and appear more suited to a ball retention style of play

Maguire misses out as I think Robinson is just a bit better

Partott and idah miss out as it's just a bit early I think but hopefully few months into season they will push long and Robinson for a place

[Bielsa´s irish]

I really hope Kenny picks a squad of players he wants to play the type of football he wants not just the players who have played the most league football. 23 man squad

Keepers : Randolph kelleher and travers. O hara will never be good enough at this level i think and o Leary looked poor with his feet for Shrewsbury in the fa cup

Defenders : Doherty Steven's Coleman Duffy Egan Clark (back fit now) Masterson manning

Masterson has higher ceiling than long or lenihan and is by miles the best footballing centre half we have so I hope Kenny nurtures him to help mature him as an international. O shea would also be close and would be competing against Masterson I guess but I would have Masterson as the better footballer

Manning poor left full defensively but offers alot offensively so would be great to find a way to have him involved and can be improved as a defender hopefully


Midfield : McCarthy Cullen Hendrick hourihane Brady molumby byrne

This gives you 3 defensive midfielders McCarthy cullen and molumby 2 eights in hourihane and Hendrick and 2 10s in Brady and byrne.

Browne gets left out cause we dont need another 8 and I don't think he is a creative 10 if we going to try and play through midfield

O dowda just hasn't done enough to be a 10 and I think Byrne and Brady have an edge on him but I like o dowda. When crowley is eligible I'd see him involved

Whelan gets leapfrogged by molumby on the basis of trying to build for future

Arter misses out cause he has been poor for us so far

Smallbone maybe it's a bit early especially since it's not a tying him down situation now if those new rules are coming in. Bit early for knight as well in an area that we have reasonable depth.


Attack : mcgoldrick long obafemi Robinson connolly

Mcclean misses out as we have to experiment at some stage and give minutes to less experienced players who are younger and appear more suited to a ball retention style of play

Maguire misses out as I think Robinson is just a bit better

Partott and idah miss out as it's just a bit early I think but hopefully few months into season they will push long and Robinson for a place


I dont think Manning as a left back. could be a left mid. options for stevens are derrick williams and greg cunningham.both injured.

[Bielsa´s irish]

randolph

coleman egan clark

doherty mccarthy stevens

brady

conolly mcgoldrick s.long

[Bielsa´s irish]

Obafemi should start imo.
I think people are going to be v disappointed with the squad.
I dont think obafemi. Molumby or smallbone will make it

dont see them. Only Molumby

[Diggs246]

Is the squad announced today? if so what time does anyone know?

[tetsujin1979]

yes, and they're usually around 12.