Nations League B/C Promotion/Relegation Playoffs - March 2025

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Originally Posted by Razors left peg

So who's the Molumby replacement in the midfield?

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The midfielders last time were Cullen, Knight, Azaz, Molumby and Moran. So Smallbone and Taylor are in for Molumby and Moran.

The rough template seems to be 3 keepers, 8 defenders, 5 midfielders and 7 wingers/forwards. If he insists on sticking to 23 man squads there's going to be a lot of players missing out every time because right now we have more than 40 players you could make a case for to be in the squad, without having to go anywhere near League 1.

Keepers - Kelleher, Bazunu, Travers, O'Leary

Defenders - Doherty, Coleman, O'Brien, Dunne, Collins, O'Shea, McGuinness, Scales, Omobamidele, Cashin, Duffy, Egan, Abankwah, Brady, O'Dowda, Manning

Midfielders - Cullen, Smallbone, Molumby, Knight, Taylor, Azaz, Moran, McGrath, Browne

Wingers - Ogbene, Ebosele, Sykes, Vata, Johnston, McAteer

Forwards - Ferguson, Parrott, Cannon, Idah, Robinson, Szmodics, Armstrong.

Not to mention lads that are even further down the order but still playing Championship including McLoughlin, Stevens, Keane, Connolly, Obafemi and many others.

Sykes can play CM. RM and RWB. He's there for versatility and he is listed as a midfielder in the release. I think he is replacing the versatility of Festy on the right and also offers extra cover for Molumby in the midfleld area in addition to Smallbone and Taylor. My take is that Moran is in competition with Azaz and McGrath and is currently 2nd in the order there based on HH's comments.

Personally, I think it is too soon for Abankwah and am surprised that Manning doesnt make the 23 ahead of COD based on how he has won his spot at Southampton.

Not getting too upset about any of it though - those calls are all marginal.

Sykes can also play RB which he has for Bristol at times so covers there too like Festy has done. Don't know who starts RM but if we're chasing the game Sykes gives you an attacking option at RB.

Think we did it with Festy in one game he came on at RM and we replaced the RB late in the game with McAteer and dropped Festy back to RB.

I think a lot of it goes down to squad make-up, like I struggle to comprehend why we are limiting ourselves to 23.

Going through my issues:

- Keepers, fine considering O'Leary's wife is expecting a kid
- Right-back, I'd rather have Coleman over Dunne, no issue with Dunne in general - and even if you want Dunne, just take Seamie anyway - he brings so much to the group in terms of leadership, guidance etc. I thought maybe Seamie or Everton didn't want him called up, considering he's been injured since the last Ireland camp - but having your captain available and excluding strikes me as bad management
- Centre-half, I think Duffy is unlucky to miss out at the expense of Abankwah, as much as I like James, not really sure he's ready yet and I think he's a long way off what Collins, Omobamidele, O'Brien and O'Shea were when they got their first call-up. Maybe you don't miss Scales much for the second leg if everyone is fit, so ok with that, even if I'd have called him up
- Left back, Manning considering his performance against Liverpool on Saturday where he kept Salah so quiet, i'd have had him ahead of O'Dowda, who I don't really trust defensively
- Midfield, just a numbers game - I'd have had Finn and Moran in ahead of Sykes - have yet to see Sykes do it for Ireland, as much as I'd love him to. HH said Molumby was ready if we needed him for the second game, I'd have called him up and had him training with the squad rather than a call-up 2-3 days before the second match.
- Wingers, I'd have Robinson in the squad
- Strikers, no issue

On the Coleman issue we really do need to start building for the future. He should be back in for the June friendlies and given a proper send off but let's face it, he's barely played this season and his incredibly injury prone.

Saying all that they could have made a 24 man squad with an agreement that Seamus is over for leadership and support and not intended for match day squads. We have a bad history of handling the end of players careers who don't voluntarily retire. Shane Long and James McClean come to mind

It's the right time to move on from Coleman I think. He shouldn't want to be there as a glorified mascot anyway, he's probably down to fourth or fifth choice right back now, I'd say Doherty, O'Brien, O'Shea and Dunne would all start there before him. And they're all fit, so it's hard to see him having a playing role from here. He'll get a send-off game in June and won't play in the World Cup qualifiers - he might not even be playing professional football by the time they start.

Football dressing rooms are funny little ecosystems and, whether it actually makes a difference or not, having experienced heads around the camp is something that is generally valued by a lot of top coaches. Just today, as an example, Thomas Tuchel surprised a few when he included 34-year-old Jordan Henderson in his England squad ahead of younger, in-form midfielders such as Morgan Gibbs-White and Conor Gallagher. The reason: "What he brings to every team is leadership, character, personality, energy. He makes sure that everyone lives by standards and with this characterisitic he embodies everything that we try to build."

The same logic could arguably be applied to Seamus Coleman if you were to make a case for his inclusion. Let's not forget that he is a player who is regarded by none other than Carlo Ancelotti as being a leader in the same vein as Sergio Ramos and Paolo Maldini. You can argue the toss over whether he ever reproduced his club form for Ireland, but what is not in doubt is that he was one of the few top class players we had in the squad over the last 10 years - the type of player that opponents knew and respected. I think we certainly missed him when he was out, but others - McClean, Duffy, Hendrick, Egan et al - helped to keep us competitive.

When we qualified for Euro 2016, the likes of Shay Given, John O'Shea, Glenn Whelan and Robbie Keane were still big figures within the dressing room, even though they didn't play as much. Those guys passed the baton onto Coleman et al. However, I think we may have lost a sense of continuity within the squad between the end of the Kenny era and into the Hallgrimsson era - there has been a huge turnover of players and something of a generational gap.

PS - Of course, a generational gap or break is not always a bad thing. In some cases it is necessary. I'm reminded of the way Germany stagnated in the early 2000s, despite reaching the final of the 2002 World Cup. It wasn't until the new generation was ushered in en masse that they flourished again.

It will be interesting to see how the team lines up.

A lot of people talking about Parrott and Ferguson up top. That hasn't always worked because it takes a body out of midfield. Can we get a 5-3-2/4-4-2 hybrid on the pitch using Collins to work?

Kelleher
Doherty O'Brien Collins O'Shea Brady
Cullen Knight Smallbone
Ferguson Parrott

Kelleher
Doherty O'Brien O'Shea Brady
Knight Cullen Collins Smallbone
Ferguson Parrott

We really need midfielders, as we know, but we could also do with a succession plan at left back. Dunne coming in is great - could we shift Doherty? Manning being overlooked consistently is noteworthy.

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Originally Posted by SkStu

Sykes can play CM. RM and RWB. He's there for versatility and he is listed as a midfielder in the release. I think he is replacing the versatility of Festy on the right and also offers extra cover for Molumby in the midfleld area in addition to Smallbone and Taylor. My take is that Moran is in competition with Azaz and McGrath and is currently 2nd in the order there based on HH's comments.

Personally, I think it is too soon for Abankwah and am surprised that Manning doesnt make the 23 ahead of COD based on how he has won his spot at Southampton.

Not getting too upset about any of it though - those calls are all marginal.

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Sykes celebrates his recall with a goal for Bristol City tonight against Norwich (playing right side in a 3-5-2 / 3-4-1-2).

Psych!

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Sykes broke down the right and the expectation was he would drill a cross into Wells but he checked back onto his left and just bent a lovely finish around Long and into the far corner.

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Sykes just strolled into the penalty area, he cuts in on his left and strokes it in.

A top quality finish, brilliant technique.

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The home side take an early lead!

And what a beauty.

Norwich with a dangerous cross from the left that was a fraction overhit in behind the defence.

But Bristol City then win the ball back in midfield, it's played to Mark Sykes on the right, who drives into the area.

He cuts back on his left boot and curls a lovely strike into the top left corner!

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Lovely goal

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Originally Posted by Olé Olé

It will be interesting to see how the team lines up.

A lot of people talking about Parrott and Ferguson up top. That hasn't always worked because it takes a body out of midfield. Can we get a 5-3-2/4-4-2 hybrid on the pitch using Collins to work?

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I see what you're doing there, but I think you need incredibly energetic, capable full backs to get the width you need in a system like that. I like Brady, and he'll get up the pitch, but it's asking too much of him. Doherty I don't trust but recent form seems better and maybe he could do it on a good day. I doubt we'll see us quite that narrow, except possibly against an elite side.