As of right now what 24 man squad would you call up?

Shay Given (GK)
Paddy Kenny (GK)
Colin Doyle (GK)

John O Shea (DL/R/C)
Ian Harte (DL) Damian Delaney
Kevin Kilbane (DL/ML)
Stephen Kelly (DR)
Steve Finnan (DR) Retired
Joey O Brien (DR/C/DM)
Andy O Brien (DC) Retired
Richard Dunne (DC)
Paul McShane (DC/ R)
Sean St Ledger

Damien Duff (ML/R)
Stephen Hunt (ML)
Aiden McGeady (ML)
Steven Reid (MC)
Andy Reid (MC/L/R)
Stephen Ireland (MC/R) (Does not want to play) Martin Rowlands
Lee Carsley (MC)
Liam Miller (MC) Liam Lawerance
Jay Tabb

Robbie Keane (FC)
Kevin Doyle (FC)
Clinton Morrison (FC)
Daryl Murphy (FC)

Leaving out Shane Long was the only tough decision.

With first team of

Given

Kelly Dunne O Shea Delaney

Duff S.Reid A.Reid McGeady

Keane Doyle



I think both Carsley and Ireland need a 5 man midfield to function and Keane or Doyle aren't great options to play as lone strikers.

Will there not be more than 24 picked given it's a 'who might play a part in the campaign' squad? Anyway, your thread; your rules. But for contingency sake I'll assume none of the retirees are available.


GK: Given............... Doyle........ Murphy?? (3)


Def: Dunne, O'Shea, McShane, Kelly........... 4 of; McCarthy, Doherty, Delaney, Foley, Ledger (8)


Mid: Carsley, Reid, Reid, J. O'Brien, McGeady, Hunt, Duffer........... 1 of; Rowlands, Lawrence, Tabb, Garvan (8)


Fwd: Keane, Long, Doyle............ Morrison, Stokes (5)

Semi-noticeable absentees; Kilbane, Miller, Walters, Murphy, Elliot, Keogh

Keepers: Given, Kenny, Colin Doyle.

Defenders: Dunne, Finnan, Andy O'Brien, McShane, Carr, McCarthy, Joey O'Brien.

Midfielders: Ireland, Carsley, Lawrence, Kilbane, Miller, Garvan, Hunt, Duff, McGeady, Andy Reid, Stephen Reid.

Forwards: Kevin Doyle, Keane, Morrison, Long, Keogh.

I'd go 3-5-2

Given; Finnan, Dunne, O'Brien; McGeady, Hunt, Carsley, Stephen Reid, Andy Reid; Kevin Doyle, Keane.

Midfield is a tough one. There are quite a few good options. Leaving Ireland out is a tough one, not to mention Lawrence, Duff and Kilbane.

Mine would be

Shay Given (GK)
Paddy Kenny (GK)
Colin Doyle (GK)

John O Shea (DL/R/C)
Damian Delaney(DL)
Kevin Kilbane (DL/ML)
Stephen Kelly (DR)
Steve Finnan (DR)
Joey O Brien (DR/C/DM)
Andy O Brien (DC)
Richard Dunne (DC)
Paul McShane (DC/ R)

Damien Duff (ML/R)
Stephen Hunt (ML)
Aiden McGeady (ML)
Steven Reid (MC)
Andy Reid (MC/L/R)
Liam Lawrence (MC/R)
Lee Carsley (MC)
Wes Hoolahan (MC)

Robbie Keane (FC)
Kevin Doyle (FC)
Clinton Morrison (FC)
Shane Long (FC)

Wes Hoolahan and Liam Lawrence have been two of the most impressive players in the Championship this season so they deserve their chance. I think Andy O'Brien will come bak to us but not Finnan. I have my doubts whether Ireland wants to come back.





My Starting team


----------------------Given

Kelly-------Dunne--------------A. O'Brien--------------Kilbane


Duff----------Carsley--------------S.Reid--------------Hunt

-----------------------A. Reid

----------------------R. Keane

Tough on Doyle i know but our midfield was getting so overrun in the last campaign that i think we will have to drop him or Keane.
McGeady would be a good sub to run at the tired defenders during the second half.

GK Given,Kenny,Henderson
DF Dunne,Kelly,McShane,O'BrienJ,Kilbane,O'Shea,Harte ,St Ledger
MF Reid A, Reid S,Duff, Carsley , Hunt , Garvan , McGeady , Ireland , O'Donovan
ST Keane , Doyle , Morrison , Keogh ,

Team

Given
Kelly Dunne McShane O'Shea

Carsley A Reid

S Reid Keane Duff

Doyle

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ciaran

Let's all hope for the team's sake we'll be saying this about Trap too. :D

---

Ok Einstein. I left out a full stop, how observant of you. Wish you could spot a good player when you see one and answer the several questions posed to justify some of you idiotic posts.

If we're not taking retirements into account

Kiely
Given
Kenny

Finnan
Kelly
O'brien
Dunne
McShane bla
O'Shea
Kilbane

McGeady
Lawrence
Hunt
Duff
Carsley
Holland
Steven Reid
Ireland

Keane
Long
Morrison
Doyle

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by danonion

If we're not taking retirements into account

Kiely
Given
Kenny

Finnan
Kelly
O'brien
Dunne
McShane bla
O'Shea
Kilbane

McGeady
Lawrence
Hunt
Duff
Carsley
Holland
Steven Reid
Ireland

Keane
Long
Morrison
Doyle

---

Andy Reid not in squad at all?????
And as for having Matt Holland in there thats just funny

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Razors left peg

Andy Reid not in squad at all?????
And as for having Matt Holland in there thats just funny

---

Oh i totally forgot about Andy he's a given. Its pretty easy to defend Holland's selection. When i judge players I try to ignore what year they were born. Age affects every player differently, and if anyone thinks we have a deep enough squad that we can stamp a sell-by date on players, they are far more optimistic than I am about our prospects. Matty is a competent central midfielder, a position where we are desperately lacking players. Also he's a born leader.

First off, I believe in having 3 goalkeepers, 2 players for every position in your formation, and three extra utility players, who can play a number of roles
So 3 goalkeepers + 9 defenders + 9 midfielders + 5 forwards = 26 man squad (yes I've been stuck into Football Manager 2008 lately)
Not going to include Finnan and O'Brien. If we're going to start including players who are not available to us right now, why not Nolan, Cahill, Matthew Connolly, or indeed Eto'o, Kompany or Ronaldo?

Goalkeepers:
Shay Given
Colin Doyle
Paddy Kenny

Defenders:
Damien Delaney
Richard Dunne
Paddy McCarthy
Paul McShane
Sean St Ledger
Alex Bruce
John O'Shea
Stephen Kelly
Kevin Foley

Midfielders:
Damien Duff
Stephen Hunt
Andy Reid
Stephen Ireland
Stephen Reid
Aiden McGeady
Lee Carsley/Joey O'Brien
Mark Yeates/Liam Lawrence
Glen Whelan/Kevin Kilbane

Forwards:
Robbie Keane
Kevin Doyle
Noel Hunt
Clinton Morrison
Jonathan Walters/Stephen Elliott

Notes

• Kilbane dropped to utility player
• Garvan, McCann, Stokes and Long are better off with the U-21s at the moment unless they are in far better form than a member of the squad in the same position - e.g. Stephen Ireland still qualifies for the U-21
• Simple philosophy - play each player in his natural position
• 2 wingers playing off one defensive central midfielder and one creative central midfielder
• Up front, one target man and one out and out striker

Starting line up
First choice in bold and underlined
Second choice underneath in plain text
If it's a choice of two, then whoever is in better form
Take your pick of the subs from the second choices

Code:

---

                        Shay Given
                        Kenny/Doyle
Stephen Kelly        John O'Shea        Richard Dunne(c)Damien Delaney
Kevin Foley        St. Ledger        Bruce                John O'Shea
                /McShane        /McCarthy       
Aiden McGeady        Stephen Reid        Andy Reid        Damien Duff
Yeates/Lawrence        Carsley/O'Brien        Ireland                Hunt/Kilbane
/Flood                /Whelan
                Kevin Doyle        Robbie Keane
                Morrison/Lee        Elliott/Hunt

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by danonion

Oh i totally forgot about Andy he's a given. Its pretty easy to defend Holland's selection. When i judge players I try to ignore what year they were born. Age affects every player differently, and if anyone thinks we have a deep enough squad that we can stamp a sell-by date on players, they are far more optimistic than I am about our prospects. Matty is a competent central midfielder, a position where we are desperately lacking players. Also he's a born leader.

---

Even at his peak Holland was no more than a decent player and I was never a fan of his. To be totally honest I havent even seen him play for a long time and until recently I actually had thought he had retired so I cant completely judge him fairly, but I have to believe that we have better options that him now

Is Gary "The Doc" Doherty finished?

I think he was Norwich's PotY (Player of the Year) last year, or maybe the year before. The main reason I ask is because he's held a special place in my heart since his winner against the US a few years ago meant I won a 400/1 accumulator, and I wouldn't like anyone who gave me such a turn become an outcast without me raising an argument in their defence. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Razors left peg

Even at his peak Holland was no more than a decent player and I was never a fan of his. To be totally honest I havent even seen him play for a long time and until recently I actually had thought he had retired so I cant completely judge him fairly, but I have to believe that we have better options that him now

---

Actually I think he has retired, but could be mistaken. I thought he retired immediately after our draw with Switzerland in the World Cup qualifiers, along with Kenny Cunningham. If Trapattoni feels he could add something then he should definitely be approached. I can't really make a judgement on him either as I haven't seen him play in a good while.

I agree, Doherty deserves a call up. He's an experienced (30+ caps) central defender. We don't have many.

I know you've said a 24 man squad, however I hope he brings a much bigger squad (to Portugal) of up to 40 made up of approx 30 contenders for the senior team, 6 U21s 2 U19s 2 U18s to give them a taste of the future. According to press reports he is bringing a number of U21s. He could also bring a couple of the top EL players however that probably wouldn't suit their clubs as it's mid season, the downside to Summer football.

Shay Given (GK)
Paddy Kenny (GK)
Joe Murphy (GK)

John O Shea (DL/R/C)
Damien Delaney (DL)
Kevin Kilbane (DL/ML)
Stephen Kelly (DR)
Steve Finnan (DR)
Joey O Brien (DR/C/DM)
Andy O Brien (DC)
Richard Dunne (DC)
Paul McShane (DC/ R)

Damien Duff (ML/R)
Stephen Hunt (ML)
Aiden McGeady (ML)
Steven Reid (MC)
Andy Reid (MC/L/R)
Stephen Ireland (MC/R)
Lee Carsley (MC)
Liam Miller (MC)

Robbie Keane (FC)
Kevin Doyle (FC)
Andy Keogh(FC)
Daryl Murphy (FC)

----------------------Given

Joey O'Brien----O'Shea-----Dunne(c)----Finnan

McGeady-------S.Reid------A.Reid------Hunt

-----------------Murphy
----------------------------Keane


Glenn Whelan, Liam Lawrence, Paddy McCarthy, Noel Hunt, Clinton Morrison, Jay Tabb and Owen Garvan are on the cusp.

There's little to tell between some of the selection. The third keeper for exaple (well except Colgan). I'm not gonna argue the merrits of selceting Doc say over Bruce or St Ledger. I've seen more of Doherty than the others, that's about it. The left full spot is clearly an issue, but by all accounts the full backs won't be as advanced under Tapp so it mightn't be as much of an issue. I think the fullback out of position on the other flank only becomes a huge problem when they're required to overlap. I read an interview with the "famous" Arenal back four and they said under Graham they were coached to show the ball inside each time, so whatever "foot" you were was less relevant if you were playing on the opposite side. Might be a solution in this case. We have to choose tactics to suit the players we have. I dunno..

I'd go for a 4-2-3-1 (as I've said many times) but reserve Hunt and Lawrence for a plan B 4-4-2 if required during a game.

Some of the selections on this thread are laughable - Morrison, Harte, Delaney, Lawrence etc

Shay Given
Colin Doyle
Joe Murphy

Stephen Kelly
Richard Dunne
John O'Shea
Kevin Kilbane
Paul McShane
Darren O'Dea

Damien Duff
Stephen Hunt
Stephen Ireland
Joey O'Brien
Aidan McGeady
Lee Casely
Liam Miller
Andy Reid
Steven Reid

Long
Doyle
Keane
Murphy


1st eleven if 4-4-2 which seems unlikey with this bucko in charge

Given

Kelly Dunne O'Shea Kilbane


McGeady O'Brien Ireland Hunt

Doyle Murphy

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by finnpark

Some of the selections on this thread are laughable - Morrison, Harte, Delaney, Lawrence etc

---

What's Long or Murphy done that Morrison hasn't??? And Lawrence (or Walters for that matter)... Have we got the strength in depth on the right wing to laugh at his inclusion??? Ye have to start being realistic...

The inclusion to the two highlighted would in no way be laughable.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by finnpark

Some of the selections on this thread are laughable - Morrison, Harte, Delaney, Lawrence etc

Shay Given
Colin Doyle
Joe Murphy

Stephen Kelly
Richard Dunne
John O'Shea
Kevin Kilbane
Paul McShane
Darren O'Dea

Damien Duff
Stephen Hunt
Stephen Ireland
Joey O'Brien
Aidan McGeady
Lee Casely
Liam Miller
Andy Reid
Steven Reid

Long
Doyle
Keane
Murphy


1st eleven if 4-4-2 which seems unlikey with this bucko in charge

Given

Kelly Dunne O'Shea Kilbane


McGeady O'Brien Ireland Hunt

Doyle Murphy

---

Really! Why do you think this.?Why is Darren O' Dea not laughable and Damian Delaney so funny for instance? How is Liam miller any better that Liam Lawrence/Wes Hoolahan/Martin Rowlands? Long instead of Morrison ha ha. Your team selection is even more crazy. What sort of a midfield is that? They would be destroyed as they are way too light weight and none of the Reid's or Duffer included. Kilbane at left back and no Robbie Keane. Jesus wept I say. I think the laugh is on you mate. I am off to get drunk.;)