If I were a betting man (though I'd be bankrupt 10 times over), Georgia at 5/1 doesn't look too shabby.
I doubt if McClean will be axed after one (non) performance under Mick.
If I were a betting man (though I'd be bankrupt 10 times over), Georgia at 5/1 doesn't look too shabby.
I doubt if McClean will be axed after one (non) performance under Mick.
Whats Georgia 0-1 ?Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
14/1Quote:
Originally Posted by CraftyToePoke
Are there fans who could bet against their own team? Are there not conflict of interest laws against it?
If McClean is dropped, that presumably means Brady on the left and Brady was pretty brutal when he came on against Gibraltar. So not necessarily the better option on the left than McClean at this point in time. I'd play Coleman and Doherty again as against Gibraltar, don't see any other option within the squad selected, and drop Maguire for an extra body in midfield. Let Hendrick drift in midfield, add Arter for bite and have somebody anchoring it all.
Duffy would be a loss, his hoofing notwithstanding. A real threat from set pieces and a solid defender.Quote:
Meanwhile, McCarthy has a major fitness concern ahead of the game with Georgia with Shane Duffy forced to miss training this morning.
"Shane has got a sore ankle but we just left him out today. He's going to have a scan and see if there's anything serious. I'm hoping if he's ok but might not be."
Just file it under contingencies for crumbs of comfort.Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
I answered your question. There's no need to be rude about it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Olé Olé
I fear all the evidence points to us losing tomorrow... we might get a goal but I doubt we will keep them scoreless.. maybe a draw but im not confident at all
To me there were three really disappointing aspects in the Gib game (ignoring the only one goal side of things): Duffy's distribution (from his very first touch), Stevens anonymity (and almost fatal error) and Maguire unable to hold the ball up. That's said, can't judge performances on one game but I think we should somehow try and accommodate both Doherty (we have few enough players playing at the top level and doing well) and Coleman (too early to speak of his demise). I like Judge. He can pass and move.
Georgia have outplayed us most times we have faced them and we still for the most part have come out on top. They even outplayed Switzerland and managed to lose 0-2. I would still fancy us to win but they need to be put under pressure and not allow them play.
Agree - this game is about being effective, being aggressive, winning the ball and getting on with the play.Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
Georgia didn't outplay Switzerland, they had passages of very good play in the 1st half. In the 2nd half the Swiss almost totally dominated and pinned them to their rearguard. They are just about worthy of 4th seed, not consistent enough to make it higher. But on their day they'll do in a better team.
It's not going to be easy for usQuote:
Originally Posted by zero
But it's not going to be easy for them either
I've a tendancy to ****e on a fair amount with my posts. It does nobody any good.
Keeping it simple, We need to press Georgia high up the pitch, from the start and often. Our goalkeeper is too deep when we have the ball up high, and it forces our defenders to drop back further than required.
I'd drop McClean. I'd drop Maguire. Withdraw McGoldrick into his natural position, with Byrne alongside him. We don't have any wingers in our squad, so trying to accomodate them in a 442 or 451 isn't going to work. Arter has the athleticism to cover roving full-backs, where is where our width is going to have to come from. We have one right-sided player who is tearing up the PL in an attacking sense on the right-side. It's Doherty, and he should be played there. Stevens doesn't appear to be as proficient in that regard on the left. But having Brady on that side might compensate. There's another reason why Byrne, Maguire, Judge, Brady won't get picked together. Defensive set-pieces.
------------------Randy
Doherty----Keogh----Egan-------Stevens
-------------------Arter--------------------
------Hourihane----------Brady----------
------------Byrne------McGoldrick-------
-------------------Collins------------------
Agree with this except I’d drop Hogan and put Judge in as no.10 behind McGoldrick. Give McGoldrick 45 minutes to prove himself after a poor performance against the Spanish BritsQuote:
Originally Posted by backstothewall
That makes more sense than my version given that Hogan isn't even in the squad!Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
I'm convinced that 3 at the back is the future for us though.
Owlsfan - The Swiss had 25 shots to 6 and 65% of the ball vs Georgia!
Mick isn’t going to take any risks. He cannot afford to and doesn’t have time to experiment by chucking in kids in must win games. It’ll be 451 or 442.
Following his comment about Doherty it would not surprise me to see him dropped with Brady coming in. Harsh but he isn’t going to drop Coleman.
It really is an average squad and is completely unbalanced. We don’t have any wingers and we don’t have a striker who is consistent at getting the ball in the net.
If we had a ball player at CB it would really push the team forward and open things up. Duffy and Keogh are great at blocks and defending set pieces but the modern game needs a centre back to start attack’s and being comfortable on the ball. The days of lumping it long just does not work anymore.
I don’t think in my lifetime that I’ve ever expected us to lose against theoretically inferior opposition,and definitely not at home,kills me to say it but I fully expect us to lose tomorrow.Theres just too many players that aren’t international standard.Duffy’s probably our best goal option so hopefully he’s not out.Doherty’s having a brilliant season and we’re considering dropping him because basically we don’t have a midfielder that he can pass inside to and expect to get the ball back.I’d take any kind of draw and hope someone can find form for the next round or that we can find some better players.
Given the makeshift nature of our team for this game, I'm not sure that we can even refer to Georgia as theoretically inferior - the gap on paper is looking quite narrow, if we consider Shaktar Donetsk, Lokomotiv Moscow and Vitoria de Setubal to be on a par with Burnley, Brighton, Wolves and Everton and Magdeburg, Luzern, Zurich, Gent and Sturm Graz to be reasonably comparable to Preston, Middlesbrough, Stoke and Sheffield United. Five of our starters on Saturday had fewer than ten caps.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fizzer
There is no learning curve option here - we can't afford to play like we did against Gibraltar, even taking the wind and the pitch into consideration - this team, which again is pretty makeshift, will have to click from the start tomorrow and all of them will have to play close to their best if we are to have any reasonable level of confidence that we will beat Georgia. If they manage it, even if it's a messy, ugly, single-goal victory, then they, and Mick, will actually deserve some plaudits for getting the campaign off to a safe start and giving us a platform to take on to the games against Switzerland and Denmark, when we will hopefully have a stronger team.
That said, I am very concerned about our chances tomorrow
Who are the youngest players in the squad? I think we need the fastest fittest young players to start in midfield. The age profile of the team lacks balance.
I agree with most of this, however watching switzerland especially first half the last day and early second half they played long ball after long ball. They obviously identified Georgia's midfield as their strong point and wanted to avoid it. They did this by playing long balls a lot of the time and bypassed the midfield, that's what caught Georgia out a few times and hurt them with the first goal. And even with all these high balls they still had something like 68% possession first half. I think Georgias midfield is very good but they are lacking a striker to finish up or a proper number 10 but their backs especially with balls over the top are susceptible to mistakes. Their midfield is very accomplished though and certainly better than ours. The striker who scored against us plies his trade in America and even has to pay his own flight back but he still has a decent international record.Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
We are very imbalanced though I think that's the big problem and its all round pegs and square holes, that's why I'm begining to agree with Kingdom lets just play our best players in their best positions and worry about the rest against the bigger teams after. That's why we always look so confused and frustrated on the ball because of this imbalance and making up through formation and tactics. I dont think though having Duffy would be a problem if we had a proper midfielder to pick up the ball off him and turn and use it. And his remit was simply to always pass to this player, but we dont so he cant play. And this is from someone who has always thought he shouldnt be playing. But against better sides when we've needed the draw I was happy to have him there, especially with his size but hes even getting worse from set pieces. I think his height and aerial prowess will cause Georgia problems though
----------Randolph
Doherty Duffy Keogh Stevens
----------Whelan
Hendrick Houlihan Brady
-------McGoldrick
--------------Maguire
Not very imaginative, but that's largely our problem. Whelan in to shield the back four and take short passes from Duffy. Could probably line up as a misshapen 4-4-1-1.
---------Randolph
-----Coleman Duffy Egan
Doherty ----------------Brady
----Hendrick Arter Houlihan
-----McGoldrick
--------------Maguire
A bit more imaginative. WBs transitioning between 5-man defence, 5-man midfield, or 4-man midfield allowing Hendrick/Houlihan/Brady to push forward supporting the forwards. Coleman in as ball player out of defence.
Common theme in both: Duffy should not be passing the ball out of defence.
I would be very suprsied if Seani keeps his place. I know everyone was sh*t on Saturday but he looked very light weight
Your Eminence, total fabrication.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eminence Grise
Things are that bad youre making up players.
Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
Just pining for Wes I suspect.
Whelan is BACK!
God help usQuote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
So is the Christmas Tree!!Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
I’m beginning to suspect Kenny will be in post a lot sooner than we think.
Youngest player is 27. Depressing stuff really.
I think we'll know more after todays game, but yeah agreed.Quote:
Originally Posted by third policeman
We have been brutal so far.
Ah, knickers. Freudian slip - you know,where you say one thing and mean your mother. And wishing Wes was still the bright young prospect lining up for Shels against Deportivo la Coruna. Would you notice if I slipped in a P McGrath in defence as well?Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
Missed most of the first 10 mins but looking pretty decent so far. Five shots already is more than the total for most games in recent history.
It's an improvement for sure, but we're shockingly reliant on the long ball, which Georgia aren't defending well
They're streets ahead of us technically though
Decent tempo and keeping possession well enough, a bit of purpose about us.
Anybody else finding that the RTE player is pausing all the time?
We need more tennis balls, if that's the result!
Wes who? It's Hourihane for me now! Sweet strike.
Actually enjoyable to watch. Pressing suits us so much better than sitting back.
Now please, please, don’t start to stand off them and let them back into it. I know the goal was a set piece but it was won by playing a bit of football around their box and it was the second or third one. It might not be total football but it’s a significant improvement so far.