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

[centre mid]

Deserved the goal,great delivery

[Insidetherock]

told ye.. im having a deju vu episode here.. i think we score another

[Nesta99]

Is that a more things change the more things stay the same lol

[shakermaker1982]

Phew.

I’d be raging if I was the Bulgarian manager :) the marking for that corner. Jesus.

Will take a point. Midfield needs sorting out. We’ve all been banging on about it for years, I don’t think Hourihane and McCarthy can make the step up needed for this system to be fully effective. Not good enough not brave enough on the ball.

[dynamo kerry]

Ha, and how many times have we conceded a late one like that too!!
Good goal
.made by Brady entirely..fair play to him.
A couple of comments

.every time I looked at Doherty his passing seemed poor but that may not be entirely fair.
Connolly looked bright and capable
Our midfield looked stale is a diplomatic way of putting it.
Stevens is decent
I like Robinson as a supersub
Would have liked to see molumby...

[centre mid]

PS, still think we score last minute.. hon Ireland
:) indeed

[passinginterest]

Connolly our man of the match? Looked bright all through. Midfield has a tough job in that system and got tired. Would be interested to see Arter and Molumby getting a run in there too. I though Hendrick was the best of the three first half and Hourihane had some good moments in the second, but none of them consistent enough.

Delighted for Kenny that they got the draw though. Must have been at least 65% possession? Under the last 3 managers we’d have had 30% possession and had to listen to bull about how the Bulgarians are very good technically and we can’t pass the ball the way they do.

[centre mid]

A lot more positives than negatives. Midfield continues to be a conundrum. Doherty for me continues to be a perfect fit for Wolves system but not a particularly good RB. Our defening for their goal was very poor but probably more down to Midfield.

Looking forward to the weekend.

[brine3]

I'll take a 1-1 away result ground out with good football over a Trap/MON/Mick/Jack 0-0 away result backs to the wall thing any day.

[seanfhear]

Connolly was good / very good.

Idah did ok for a young fella making his debut.

Doherty is a much better wing back than full back. I suppose he did not make any serious mistakes and he is relatively inexperienced at international level.

McCarthy was not the Messiah in this game anyway.

[youngirish]

1-1. Fair result but I thought Ireland were the better team against what was very limited opposition.

Positives
- We actually tried to play football.
- Connolly looked dangerous on the left.
- Long and Brady looked good when they came on.
- O'Dowda had a very good 30 minutes in the first half.
- Good old Irish goal when we needed it from Duffy.
- Some nice passes from Hourihane.

Negatives
- James McCarthy offered nothing and was rightly substituted.
- Doherty didn't justify his inclusion over Coleman.
- O'Dowda was poor in the second half.
- Terrible defending for the centre backs for the goal, in particular Duffy.
- Little creativity in the team. Only Connolly and Hourihane offered anything in this regard until Long and Brady came on.

[Olé Olé]

I have sympathy for Doherty. It is no coincidence that he looked much better when O'Dowda went off.

In the first half when O'Dowda was doing well, he was cutting inside and retaining the ball. He never found Doherty in space on the overlap, not the underlap for that matter. And in the second half Doherty was just isolated.

Stevens and Connolly dovetailed much better on the opposite flank because Connolly was making more dangerous runs both inside and outside the Bulgarian full back and was able to pull narrow when Stevens went outside him.

[osarusan]

Decent first half, faded second half, nice not to lose.

There's a structure to the team in attack, we had 8/9 players in their final third at times, but less so in defence. That system will need midfielders with leather lungs to last the 90 minutes.

Spells of lovely football too. Funny how capable they are of it when allowed/encouraged to do it.

[geysir]

In the end it took a back to basics, good old fashioned headed goal from our centre half.
As a starting point for the Kenny era, not too bad. Connolly is a keeper.
I wouldn't mark anybody's card too harshly just yet. Players fitness levels are varied and for what amounts to a new team, preparations for this game were far from ideal.

[seanfhear]

Brady did play well when he came on = Good

Long hungry like his old self = Good.

[pineapple stu]

. Connolly is a keeper.
I'm confused - before the game you said Randolph was the only choice for keeper? :)

[Eirambler]

Hard to know where to start with that, a certain amount to like about the performance but a lot to be frustrated about too. I feel I need to keep reminding myself that this is a longer term project and we can't change our style of play that much over the course of one weekend training camp and expect it all to click. But there are huge issues ahead of Slovakia - that Bulgaria team were absolutely awful and we almost lost to them.

On the plus side it was a welcome change to see us dominating possession and knocking the ball around reasonably comfortably. However, there seemed to be a real lack of urgency to the whole effort, especially during the period of the game between half time and the Bulgaria goal. We never really stretched out the Bulgarian defence at all with our passing - if we can't do it against them we will find it even more difficult against any decent team.

Midfield was really poor, I was disappointed that Molumby didn't start and even more disappointed that he wasn't introduced. We need a player who can pick a pass but also drive us forward in possession and build momentum and at the moment he is our best bet to that. Hendrick as usual didn't do a lot wrong but didn't do a lot at all either, for me he is a squad player at best and we need to take him out of the starting team now. I don't think we can play both him and Hourihane and expect our midfield to go well, we can only have one of them and Hourihane offers a threat from set piece delivery so he's the one to stay in for me. In fairness Brady was lively when he came on and is worthy of consideration also.

I saw enough of O'Dowda to make my mind up that I don't want to see any more of him - he's not good enough. Egan seemed off the pace at the back, both for the goal and another chance a few minutes later he let his man go - needs to do a lot better than that. Doherty didn't really do enough to justify the push for him to start, I'd still be happy enough to see Coleman at right back going forward. Connolly was good though, I like him every time I see him play, especially out on the left.

And, while it was great not to lose, it was a bit disappointing that the goal came from a header straight from a corner - basically in the end we played 85 minutes of passing football and created nothing and then played five minutes of direct stuff at the end and scored.

So at the end of all that we got a goal from a header from a centre back from a set piece and the national scoreline - 1-1. Hopefully we will see a bit of progress and a good few changes to the team for Finland.

[paul_oshea]

We rely on our centre back , he's our most dangerous attacking player. That's a sad indictment of where we are. Mick MC droll tones about get a corner out of it and a goal got very frustrating but it's exactly what happened.

Very little positives to take. Most of the young lads not ready for men's football yet. Connolly not consistent enough. Kenny stuck with what he believed in when it might have been easier to pull on the more senior experienced lads earlier in the game. That's a positive for me. Little else.

I'd like to see the same starting lineup again Sunday so we can give everyone a second chance. And hopefully we're never desparate enough to see James McClean in our team again.

[centre mid]

We rely on our centre back , he's our most dangerous attacking player. That's a sad indictment of where we are. Mick MC droll tones about get a corner out of it and a goal got very frustrating but it's exactly what happened.

Very little positives to take. Most of the young lads not ready for men's football yet. Connolly not consistent enough. Kenny stuck with what he believed in when it might have been easier to pull on the more senior experienced lads earlier in the game. That's a positive for me. Little else.

I'd like to see the same starting lineup again Sunday so we can give everyone a second chance. And hopefully we're never desparate enough to see James McClean in our team again.
Bit harsh Paul, Rome in a day etc.

A few players certainly reverted to type after HT but its early days. SK onky had them.for a few.days.

[Olé Olé]

I thought we were good. Much better than usual but slightly lacking ideas in the final third.

I would put that down to a few things.
- The team definitely wasn't used to the formation or playing it together.
- Hourihane was not willing to push up high.
- Hendrick was and showed good feet at times but didn't find the killer pass, bar the one when Connolly went offside and that was deflected. I think he'll be good in this formation after a few games in it.
- O'Dowda got on the ball and looked dangerous but very lateral in the first half. It was like he was given instructions to go narrow and let Doherty overlap but that ain't going to achieve much when he is running almost the opposite direction to Doherty. He missed a glorious chance in the first half too when Connolly pulled it back to him.
- Idah did quite well but he was dealing with scraps. I put that down to a lot of the above points. He wasn't fed much decent ball by those around him. And I think Bulgaria set up tightly in the middle too and that wasn't going to help Idah either. But, as I said, he was game and retained the ball in tight situations more often than not.

I thought Egan looked very comfortable. I think Stevens grew into it. I think Doherty grew into it too. Hendrick did not look like a man who hadn't played in six months- he looked really good and much more confident. McCarthy faded but I think the set up will suit him. Connolly is such a player- I really feel he is going to be important for us for such a long time. Brady looked bright when he came in.

Plenty take aways from that. Kenny will have learned a lot. I wish we had won and we could have on another day. But Kenny has learned something about every single player on the pitch tonight.

Looking forward to the next night. I would like to see Coleman get his game, as I think he will. I would like to see Brady in for O'Dowda, Didzy for Idah, Molumby for McCarthy and Browne or Arter for Hourihane.

[Olé Olé]

Brady did play well when he came on = Good

Long hungry like his old self = Good.
He looked very, very fit too. Not that he has looked unfit but it struck me immediately that he looked leaner than I would have expected.

[zero]

Brady is 10 times the player o'dowda is but as mentioned previously successive managers rate him so he must have something more than I've seen.

Overall a sense of relief to not lose. I thought we were poor in the second half and created very little which is concerning. Surprised to see how off the pace McCarthy looked. Doherty not fully at the races either which was puzzling.

it will be interesting to see how mcgoldrick dovetails with Connelly on Sunday.

[RiffRaff]

Its very early days but I would put that down as a disappointing result. Very ponderous display with too many backward passes and no urgency. Thought Hendrick, O'Dowd and Connolly did okay, Hourihane and McCarthy anonymous as usual.

[DCWA]

Not sure what what to make of it. Certainly positives from first half especially but would agree we were too ponderous in possession. Perhaps to be expected we are trying to reverse a decade of avoiding passing the ball. An incredible thing to say of a football team.

I think I would be inclined to agree more good than bad. Can see why Potter wasn’t keen on Duffy when trying to play a possession game as he struggles. Midfield needs sorted what more can be said there. Connolly is a star.

All the talk will of course be about Kenny but I must say delighted for Shane Duffy to have captained his country and to have scored a big goal in the process.

[DeLorean]

O'Dowda was our best player in the first half, pretty comfortably I thought but was very poor in the second. Not deserving of the ridicule by some. Got the 3/VM MOTM award actually, though I felt Connolly was definitely our best player over the full game, the biggest plus.

Delighted to see Brady playing such a key role in the equaliser, it's been a long time coming.

[dynamo kerry]

This thread is packed with folk I've not see on for ages..whither jByrne...or bluebeard...

[paul_oshea]

Is Bluebeard here? Bloody hell been ages! Riffraff too from oraff. Great to see !

[Eirambler]

I think we will have to accept that Duffy is going to cost us a shocker of a goal at some stage with us playing the passing out from the back game. It's just not his style of play at all, but obviously we need him in the team for the next while at least as the replacement options aren't ready yet and, to be fair to him, he does a lot of things well as we saw with the goal.

I mean there was one moment in the first 5 minutes where his first touch controlled the ball (poorly enough), his second touch knocked the ball about three yards in front of him and his third touch was a lunge at a Bulgarian to try and win the ball back from a position where he had it under no pressure at all, fouling the Bulgarian in the process. It was so bad I actually burst out laughing watching it. Then a few minutes later he tried a 30 yard cross field ball and sent it about five yards out of play.

I think we have had a rose tinted view of Duffy for a long time because our style of play under the previous managers was perfect for a player like him, his job was to win the ball back and hoof it up the field, and he was brilliant at it. But tonight showed us the issue that Potter identified and that has cooled interest in him from EPL teams, and it is potentially going to cause us a problem down the line as well.

[seanfhear]

Hopefully Duffy will get a load of practice bringing the ball out for Celtic.

[paul_oshea]

Kenny was fairly positive but negative in the performance if that makes sense. I enjoyed his interview straight away he picked out what was wrong. But also tried to be upbeat and was a little hard on himself. He's definitely been the most positive thing for me personally of the game and environs.

[paul_oshea]

Hopefully Duffy will get a load of practice bringing the ball out for Celtic.

I think Duffy will regress rather than progess. He won't be as sharp for th other side of his game either.

[Diggs246]

Guys. All I saw was two terrible teams.

[Scrufil]

Was it just me, or was the ref and his team awful? Any other game and that sliding lunge on Idah was a red card. Bulgarian player totally out of control but zip given. Remember the last time a ref ignored those type of tackles? Seamus came away with a broken leg.

If I was a conspiracy theorist I would suspect we are getting bad refs because we are not toeing the corrupt football line of the powers that be and we (via the oireachtas) brought down one of their cronies.

[elatedscum]

Kenny was fairly positive but negative in the performance if that makes sense. I enjoyed his interview straight away he picked out what was wrong. But also tried to be upbeat and was a little hard on himself. He's definitely been the most positive thing for me personally of the game and environs.

Where was the Kenny interview?

[backstothewall]

Guys. All I saw was two terrible teams.

Home advantage isn't what it was, but you would expect Bulgaria to be be looking to take 3 points against us. Much like ourselves they aren't the force they were in the 90s, but they aren't a minnow either.

I thought the way they played was an enormous compliment to us. They almost picked our pocket with a soft goal, and our equaliser was very late, but if their approach is any indication they will be fairly satisfied with a point.

With them sitting in the game didn't suit Idah, and we didn't have that bit of quality to find the pass to him that opened them up, but i feel more optimistic about the future after tonight. I feel like there would have been goals there for McGoldrick tonight. We don't have that player who can pick the lock, but we do have a very effective battering ram.

Plenty of positives.

[elatedscum]

It’s a hard one to judge, some of the rustiness can be attributed to it being so early in the season and also having so little time to work with the new management team.

Overall, we were a little bereft of ideas and when Bulgaria dropped deep with 11 men behind the ball in the second half, we weren’t really able to come up with anything to create meaningful chances or make their goalkeeper make a save.

Thought Randolph was good, comfortable enough and willing to receive the ball, handling was good. Did very well with that effort at the edge of the box where he had to slide, where the guy beat the offside trap and there were a few other moments, his header, his claim from the corner. Goal wasn’t his fault but I’m sure it’s something he’d like to have saved and probably would have 5 times out of 10.

Egan and Duffy, was good to see them be prepared to stretch wide and receive the ball in areas they wouldn’t normally. Obviously you saw Duffy’s limitations in terms of his first touch and his passing but you’d imagine it’ll get better the more he’s asked to do it. Both were somewhat at fault for the goal, mostly Duffy but Egan should really be communicating better when he drifts across to fill the gap and demanding Duffy moves with him. You’d also suspect that was a product of an early season and tired legs, with both covering much more ground than they normally would for Ireland.. Duffy had just found himself in the opposition half in possession a few seconds before and looked very leggy. Duffy did excellently for the goal he scored and he’s genuinely among the most dangerous individuals I’ve seen attacking a corner or cross in the opposition box.

Stevens was good and solid, comfortable without being spectacular and dovetailed well with Connolly and later Brady. Doherty was poor with a few decent moments. There were things outside his control, how he was fed possession, movement from the midfielders off the ball, what O’Dowda and Robinson did, and some of those things had an effect on his performance but generally he was poor in possession and his decision making wasn’t great. Still early doors in understanding the system but was his poorest performance for Ireland. I don’t buy the whole right wing back vs right back too much. I don’t think he’s any less capable of making that adjustment than Enda Stevens, who also plays as a wingback at club level, is on the other side. I just think he was poor last night. He was good against Denmark.

The midfield was the problem, as it often is, all of McCarthy, Hourihane and Hendrick we’re rusty and leggy and all were sloppy in possession. Hourihane had a few creative moments and Hendrick showed quick feet and strength on occasion but overall I’d be disappointed if I was Jeff, James or Conor. Hourihane gave away the ball badly for the goal.

Thought Connolly was very good. Looked a constant threat. Probably should have squared the ball when he robbed the defender and tried to shoot from a tight angle. But he was lively and our best player. O’Dowda had a good first half, drove at players well and somewhat justified his selection. The comments regarding him and Doherty made above are probably largely true. But also maybe a product of limited time on the training and trying to get ideas across. Robinson was decent and lively when coming on, the shot on his left was probably ill advised but he neither did enough to convince he should start the next game, nor did anything to hurt his chances going forward.

Robbie Brady’s performance was a positive, when compared to his previous few years for Ireland. Great delivery for Duffy. I’d genuinely always advocate for having one of Brady or Hourihane on the pitch at all times, as their set piece delivery is so far superior to everyone else and when you deliver well from set pieces, we will score goals.

Idah had his moments, and on occasion linked up well, like the ball to Connolly over the defender and in behind. I think he was a little easily bullied at times, in a way that Long in particular and McGoldrick wouldn’t have been - they do have 2 big and physical centre halves. He also tired and probably should have been taken off earlier. Long really didn’t have enough time to influence things but often found himself receiving the ball out wide trying to cross it when ideally I think you’d want him more central. I’m not sure it was the right call to start Idah really but understandable anyway,

Overall, it’s a work in progress. You’d hope for a win against Finland on Sunday and some solid progress made in terms of performance too. I think Coleman might deserve the start. Hopefully McGoldrick comes in for Idah. One of Molumby or Arter in for Hendrick and possibly one of Robinson, McClean or Long in for O’Dowda...

[pineapple stu]

Home advantage isn't what it was, but you would expect Bulgaria to be be looking to take 3 points against us. Much like ourselves they aren't the force they were in the 90s, but they aren't a minnow either.
Bulgaria were awful when we beat them 3-1 in Lansdowne last year, and worse when losing 6-0 at home to England shortly before that.

Granted, they've changed manager since, but their fall has been much further than ours.

Finland by contrast have qualifyied for the Euros and should be a step up on Sunday. (As an aside, it'll have the weird sideshow of a guy called O'Shaughnessey on the away team). Based on yesterday, I wouldn't be too confident tbh.

I think ordinarily, a draw in Bulgaria is a poor result at the moment. But look - it's a new manager trying new things at a time impacted by covid; have to make some allowances for it

[Stuttgart88]

1-1. Fair result but I thought Ireland were the better team against what was very limited opposition.

Positives
- We actually tried to play football.
- Connolly looked dangerous on the left.
- Long and Brady looked good when they came on.
- O'Dowda had a very good 30 minutes in the first half.
- Good old Irish goal when we needed it from Duffy.
- Some nice passes from Hourihane.

Negatives
- James McCarthy offered nothing and was rightly substituted.
- Doherty didn't justify his inclusion over Coleman.
- O'Dowda was poor in the second half.
- Terrible defending for the centre backs for the goal, in particular Duffy.
- Little creativity in the team. Only Connolly and Hourihane offered anything in this regard until Long and Brady came on.This was pretty much what I took away from it too.

Despite his club form Doherty just doesnt have the same urgency on the ball that Coleman does from an orthodox RB position. Coleman is far more proactive.

McCarthy had a promising start and showed for the ball in tight situations but his impact was minimal really. I didn't think Hourihane had a great game at all but when he dropped deep his impact was better, finding better passes. Of course by that stage the Bulgarians had retreated so he had a bit more time. I actually think Josh Cullen looks the man for that deeper lying midfield role.

I think Brady and Hendrick will do well under Kenny.

I think Idah isn't ready yet for this level.

Jack Byrne would have thrived in the area between the D and the centre circle! The game was crying out for an advanced playmaker in the first half.

I thought Randolph made one super catch under pressure from a difficult corner and did well not to spill a shot in the first half. I wouldn't fault him for the goal. He might have saved it but the fault lay further ahead.

Positive signs in how we try to deal with the ball, only resorting to chips up the touchline under pressure. It'll take time but we had a lot of possession and a lot of it good quality. Definding for the goal was brutal.


Overall I think the intention was good but the tempo was a bit slow, but bear in mind that this was pre-season for nearly all of them.

[ifk101]

Flat overall. Understand it's preseason and match fitness is not there, but still would expect a bit more energy for a new manager. Disappointing we didn't take first half chances as Bulgaria look like a team that will fold if they go behind. Echo the previous Brady comments - he wanted the ball and looks determined to get to back to his best.

[jbyrne]

5/10 performance overall for me.
We need to look at 5 at the back to get the best from doherty and possibly even stevens. Otherwise id play coleman and possibly brady as the full backs in a 4.
connolly will be good for us I have no doubt. I have a feeling that brady will get back to his best this season which is a real positive.

biggest concern is that we just don't get the best out of our players. most of them play much better for their clubs. some of the passing yesterday was needlessly very sloppy. quite frustrating really.

[Olé Olé]

This was pretty much what I took away from it too.

Despite his club form Doherty just doesnt have the same urgency on the ball that Coleman does from an orthodox RB position. Coleman is far more proactive.

McCarthy had a promising start and showed for the ball in tight situations but his impact was minimal really. I didn't think Hourihane had a great game at all but when he dropped deep his impact was better, finding better passes. Of course by that stage the Bulgarians had retreated so he had a bit more time. I actually think Josh Cullen looks the man for that deeper lying midfield role.

I think Brady and Hendrick will do well under Kenny.

I think Idah isn't ready yet for this level.

Jack Byrne would have thrived in the area between the D and the centre circle! The game was crying out for an advanced playmaker in the first half.

I thought Randolph made one super catch under pressure from a difficult corner and did well not to spill a shot in the first half. I wouldn't fault him for the goal. He might have saved it but the fault lay further ahead.

Positive signs in how we try to deal with the ball, only resorting to chips up the touchline under pressure. It'll take time but we had a lot of possession and a lot of it good quality. Definding for the goal was brutal.


Overall I think the intention was good but the tempo was a bit slow, but bear in mind that this was pre-season for nearly all of them.

Couldn't agree more on the Byrne point. Bulgaria were sitting so deep and narrow yet we couldn't pick them apart. Byrne would have been the man for the through balls. Hendrick tried but it probably isn't his game. Hendrick actually made a couple of nice passes from deep but he would follow it with 5 minutes of anonymity.

Am I right in saying Kenny normally does fit someone like that into his teams? McEleney or Ronan would be able for that? We didn't have an equivalent.

[elatedscum]

Couldn't agree more on the Byrne point. Bulgaria were sitting so deep and narrow yet we couldn't pick them apart. Byrne would have been the man for the through balls.

Not just that but is there anyone you’d rather have picking up the ball 25 yards from goal and being able to shoot? It’s a twofold thread, passing/movement creativity in the final third and goals from outside the box.

[geysir]

Doherty returned from holiday last week, was involved in a club transfer and has had no pre season. Probably Coleman was ahead of him on fitness and should have started.

[paul_oshea]

Hopefully Duffy will get a load of practice bringing the ball out for Celtic.


Where was the Kenny interview?

Sky sports. Also one on fai. It's funny if you view the fai one before and after together

[pineapple stu]

Not just that but is there anyone you’d rather have picking up the ball 25 yards from goal and being able to shoot? It’s a twofold thread, passing/movement creativity in the final third and goals from outside the box.
Funny, Byrne's cameo last year was against Bulgaria. Set up a goal and was generally very impressive (against a poor side). Bulgaria may have been slightly relieved not to see him in the squad

[Scrufil]

I am under the impression that Jack Byrne has been playing the last few games with Rovers carrying a back strain. Any Rovers fans can confirm this?

[Stuttgart88]

Couldn't agree more on the Byrne point. Bulgaria were sitting so deep and narrow yet we couldn't pick them apart. Byrne would have been the man for the through balls. Hendrick tried but it probably isn't his game. Hendrick actually made a couple of nice passes from deep but he would follow it with 5 minutes of anonymity.

Am I right in saying Kenny normally does fit someone like that into his teams? McEleney or Ronan would be able for that? We didn't have an equivalent.I don't know but I think it's something Mcgoldrick can also do, albeit much closer to the box.

[passinginterest]

Some really good points being made. If O'Shea and Clarke are starting in the premier league, will there be a place for Duffy in that team? It's too easy for teams to just close the other defenders and say to us, if you're going to play out it's going to be with Duffy and we'll close the other defenders. You could see Bulgaria making that adjustment, it's something that I know teams work on, even when they don't have video analysis etc. they'll see which defenders a team likes to play out through and then close off that option and force them to play through the weak links. Kenny will have to weigh up the massive benefits of Duffy both defending and attacking crosses versus his vulnerability in possession.

Doherty definitely looked a bit off fitness wise, and valid point made that he's only back from holiday and just transferred club so couldn't be fully up to speed. I do think O'Dowda did him no favours either by never looking for the overlap. Mick kept making the point on commentary that we weren't trying to get crosses in and that was a factor too, Kenny obviously wanted the front 3 getting it to feet and carrying it into the box or to the end line, rather than looking for the overlapping run and cross. Coleman probably starts against Finland, but expect Doherty to be sharper if he is in there.

I doubt McCarthy starts both games considering he reportedly had bad bruising going into the squad, so an opportunity for Arter most likely in the holding role. Presumably there won't be wholesale changes but things need a freshen up. I'd say McGoldrick will start, Arter will come in, Brady will probably start and maybe Coleman. Molumby might get a run off the bench this time and McClean too.

There's a lot to build on. There needs to be a bit more zip to the passing and craft in the final third if the style is really going to benefit results. I'm expecting and improvement against the Fins and hopefully a nice win.

[Stuttgart88]

This thread is packed with folk I've not see on for ages..whither jByrne...or bluebeard...
yeah, and unfortunately also with some that have never gone away :)

[backstothewall]

I think Idah isn't ready yet for this level.

I'm caught between 2 questions so i'm going to ask both.

1. Do you think we can say that based on 90 minutes in Sofia
2. Were expecting him to be ready as a 19 year old making his debut?

My reading of it was that the game didn't suit him. Bulgaria sat so deep that there was no space in behind, but that said he still did ok. He'll be a lot stronger when he's 24, but although he can't impose himself physically on a defender yet, he's big enough that he can't just be pushed out of the game.

The lad needs 5-10 caps before we can decide if this is his level. McGoldrick should come in against Finland, but i'd like to see him get a decent amount of time from the bench.