Cannon is being played wide right at Sheffield United by Selles. It's not his position at all, he's an out and out centre forward.
Printable View
Cannon is being played wide right at Sheffield United by Selles. It's not his position at all, he's an out and out centre forward.
Just a thought on the 23 man squad stuff. When HH joined there was a lot of talk about needing the players to fight for places and make them more competitive in general. I really doubt the FAI would quibble over a couple of grand worth of flights and hotel bills. Limiting the squad sort of guarantees that the players who want to be picked will feel more pressure.
This window is the first in a very, very long time where, outside of maybe Philips, I'm content with the selection but also wishing we could accommodate Ebosele and one or two others.
If the goal was the make the players fight harder for their places, it's working.
Apparently Festy throwing a tantrum about being left out of squad. Has removed all Ireland references from his social media.
He did that before when Crawford didn't pick him for the Under 21s. Kenny had to prematurely call him up to the seniors to smooth things over if I remember correctly.
He'd probably be the next call up if someone like Ogbene cries off, so he needs to just calm down.
Yeah very childish. I dont think he can switch countries at this point so he needs to cop on
No, he's long since cap-tied to Ireland. But maybe he's going to be more of a Stephen Ireland type that ends up not playing at all. He's a useful bench option with his pace, but he's far from essential to the squad.
Looks like Molumby could be in line for a late call up as Phillips has gone off injured against Hibs this afternoon. Potentially an improvement to the squad I'd suggest.
Johnny Kenny called up as Parrott's replacement ...
Strange
He said Louie Barry was unlucky not to make it. Barry plays in one of the best championship teams, but he calls up Kenny. I literally don't get it.
Are you confusing him with another player? Sheffield United are bottom of the Championship
Well fair enough !
I would say they won't be there for long
I know Cannon's form has been crap the last year or so, but calling Kenny up ahead of him still feels like a kick in the teeth there. Kenny's barely made an impression at Celtic.
Guess we can presume Robinson is finished for the foreseeable, despite double figures in the Championship for a relegated team last year. Only a sub this year though (as Cardiff have raced to the top of the table)
I’d have gone with Cannon as well. Not trying to beat down on Kenny but he's not currently doing enough at club level to merit the call-up (not in the Celtic squad yesterday?). But importantly for me, he is a new player for HH, right? Was under the impression the games leading up to the WC qualification had a double purpose of allowing HH the time to get to know the players available to him.
I think Barry is seen as more of a wide forward than a centre forward. Cannon is out of form and being played out of position at his club. I like him and would see him as a much better longer term prospect than Kenny, but in the short term I can understand going with Kenny as someone who seems to be playing well in the limited game time he has been getting.
Realistically it's unlikely the selected player here will see game time, unless it's in a situation where either game is dead as a contest when a substitution is made. They will be behind Ferguson and Idah at centre forward at a minimum, and maybe behind Szmodics too.
I’d have called up Millenic Alli to replace Parrott. Kinda think all of Coleman, O’Dowda, Molumby, McGrath, Ebosele and him have been hard done by with this squad
I expect / suspect that Coleman is well contactted in advance about these matters ~ Or at least I would expect that.Quote:
Originally Posted by elatedscum
As someone who is fond of a possible left-field call that never comes to pass (Graham Carey I'm looking at you) - that's a very good one ES. And to be fair, he's been on a bit of a roll this year for sure.Quote:
Originally Posted by elatedscum
Not that Alli wouldn't be an interesting choice, but would Graham Burke be more deserving? Alli hadn't played above League One standard until this year, and scored four goals for Luton in 16 games before they were relegated. One goal in seven appearances this season.
I agree that Alli is potentially worth a call up, he has dealt well with every step up in standard he has faced in the last couple of years. That said, he generally not playing centre forward at Luton (but could be a usefully versatile squad option for us at some point).
Burke is being outshone in the goalscoring stakes anyway by Pádraig Amond, who has 12 for Waterford compared to 7 for Rovers for Burke.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
I know goals isn't the only metric for a forward, but given Amond was never capped, I don't see that Burke is really going to add much. And I don't think Alli would add much either for the reasons you say.
But beggars and choosers...
Burkes minutes wouldnt be anywhere near Amonds, he certainly has the technical ability to play at that level but i dont see it happening at this stage.
He was superb agaisnt Drogs at the weekend , best player outside Pat Byrne in my time watching Rovers and not by much.
Fair, yeah. Just looked it up and it's 1500 v 2500Quote:
Originally Posted by sbgawa
That makes the goalscoring record comparable, but Amond is with a weaker side of course
They are completely different players. Burke is an advanced playmaker who scores and assists. Amond is an out-and-out striker.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
I think it's worth supporting this point.Quote:
Originally Posted by sbgawa
Some of the things I've seen Graham Burke do on a football pitch - high up important - are wonderful and would beg the question 'why isn't he elsewhere?'. But the question also needs to be asked whether is the Rovers set-up and the support network there allowing him to maximise his talent (for whatever reason) and if that's the case, then why should we 'discrimate' against that just because he's playing domestically.
The same could equally have been said about a Git Forrester. It's one thing to take relatively light-hearted abuse from a travelling mob of 450 Rovers fans compared to getting dogs abuse from 15k of your own fans in London Road.
And the output he provides for a team is in way comparable to what Amond provides. Their roles are totally different (I would have thought).
Ah, he's one of the best players I've ever seen in Ireland. You're right, though, Rovers cater to his skillset, and he's happy here. He's back to his best this season, and that's the main reason Byrne wasn't getting enough minutes to keep him happy. Burke has been better, and we can't really play both of them, particularly not in Europe. Sometimes it works, but really you need to let Burke float and get involved in the play wherever he wants. Not sure that would work for Ireland. I used to think it was more his lack of speed that held him back from a move elsewhere, but he's actually deceptively fast. He just glides past players. So good in tight spaces as well. He probably should have moved to a country other than England to play, but I'm glad he didn't.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom
I'd personally love to see us have a technician like that in the squad, but I don't know if we will ever utilise them properly. We had Hoolahan and failed to get the most out of him, and he was a level above anything we can call on now.
Log in to foot.ie kinda excited that its match week at the start of a new WC... see a debate about Graham Burke getting in squad.... immediate realization that we probably arent qualifying :sad:
It's the hope that gets ya !Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
If Burke gets called into the Ireland squad again then call it all off. There's a reason he doesn't start week in week out for Shams.
On a sidenote, while it's obviously good that the game on Saturday sold out, I hate that it did. Between those poxy bundle packages and then the singular tickets costing something like €80 minimum. That just sets such a bad precedent. And if you're not living around Dublin, forget about going to an Ireland game at a reasonable price again. You either pay for several games that will be a nightmare to get to all, or pay double the amount you should be for a single game.
Let's be honest though, I doubt Burke is anywhere close to a call up. Difficult to see any domestic based player other than Honohan getting in a squad any time soon. Obviously there are longer term prospects such as Melia, but he's a year or two away at a minimum I'd say.Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
He's one of the first names on the teamsheet when we are playing our full-strength team. Not sure what you mean here.Quote:
Originally Posted by MoydowMonty
Anyway, the discussion was from a fairly throwaway comment earlier in the thread, there's 0 chance Graham Burke is called up to another Irish squad. No need for the histrionics folks. Nobody is claiming he will qualify us for the WC.
Premium tickets were at €100. Up €20 from the last competitive game... Shocking stuffQuote:
Originally Posted by MoydowMonty
I bought two tickets on Ticketmaster for 55 lids each ( upper west) that is fair for a WC qualifier
I remember when we played in croke Park under trap and if memory serves it was more expensive and the was circa 14 years ago
Might as well get the ball rolling on predicted starting line up
Kelleher
O'Brien Collins O'Shea
Doherty Cullen Taylor Manning
Azaz Johnston
Ferguson
There is no middle finger big enoughQuote:
Originally Posted by elatedscum
KelleherQuote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
Doherty
O’Brien
Collins
Manning
Cullen
Knight
Azaz
Ogbene
Ferguson
Szmodics
I think McAteer will be very close after June. Question might be whether HH considers Manning to be strong enough defensively to play left back, or whether he wants to move Doherty across or play Scales there.
Kelleher
O'Brien Collins O'Shea Doherty
Cullen Knight
McAteer Azaz Manning
Ferguson
From reading a few pieces the last few days, I'm wondering is Lawal a banker to start? And if he is, at who's expense?
Kelleher, Doherty, Collins, Cullen, Knight, Ferguson. They are bankers - I'm not sure anyone can disagree with that given what we've seen from 88 and what is available.
Dara O'Shea is likely, but was dropped specifically in one of the recent games.
Manning is probable, given issues with set-pieces in Smallbone & Brady's absence.
So that makes:
Kelleher, Doherty, Collins, O'Shea, Manning, Cullen, Knight, Ferguson. and leaves 3 places available.
If Lawal goes into centre-midfield given his versatility (and my hunch above), that would leave 2 wide players or 2 supporting attack players behind Ferguson.
Kelleher, Doherty, Collins, O'Shea, Manning, Cullen, Lawal, Knight, Ferguson.
So that would be 2 from Azaz, Szmodics, Ogbene, McAteer, Johnston. I cannot see him omitting Azaz, nor can I see him picking one of the wider players (Cheo/Johnston) along with Azaz as it would seem imbalanced. So I'm gonna suggest he'll pick both Azaz & Smodzics who will play off Evan, and go wider on the defensive and in the press, and narrow when countering on the attack. That would tie in with not losing the game in Dublin and then rotating as has been suggested given the 4 day turnaround in Yerevan where there might be more scope for front-foot football and playing a higher attacking team with Cheo and Johnston in from the start.
Kelleher, Doherty, Collins, O'Shea, Manning, Cullen, Knight, Azaz, Ferguson, Ferguson.
On the other possibilities (352; O'Brien vs Manning in a 4231; etc):
- I think it would be an extremely bad idea to play Jake O'Brien right back in a 4 up against a high-positioned Kerkez; imo it would be a recipe for disaster.
- despite my preference for 3 at the back given our strengths, we just can't adapt to it sufficiently, so I'd prefer the 4 defenders that we seem comfortable with.
https://media.makeameme.org/created/...f10a6a85a2.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom
It's a 4-4-2 shape these days, no? That's HH's preference from what I can see. Don't think the Lawal suggestion is too far left field as the midfield picks indicate HH wants physicality and height in the central midfield area.
He seemed to be a fan of the 4-5-1 (variants) that shifts to 3 at the back but it was 3-4-2-1 v. Senegal IIRC. I'd go with the 3-4-2-1 myself...
------------------CK
-----Jake------Collins------Dara-----
Dots---Cullen---Knight---Manning
--------Azaz---------Johnstinho-----
-------------Fergilicious------------
I am desperate for Lawal to be the answer to the MF problem we have but it might be a step too far to hand him his debut in a start v. Hungary in a WCQ?