Team for the play-off game?

If we do make the play-offs. What is the best 11 available to us? and what will Trappatoni pick?

Assumptions:

Stephen Ireland will not suddenly be turned from white trash in to a considerate Irishman and will NOT be having a change of heart.

Andy Reid will play blinders for Sunderland, score 3 goals but willl still NOT be considered by Trappatoni and Co.


Stephen Reid will be fit (possible?)
Stephen Finnan will be fit.
Everyone else will be fit.

Trappatoni may play the predicable 4-4-2 as follows:

.........................Given.................... .............

Finnan..........O'Shea..................Dunne..... ..........Kilbane

McGeady.........S. Reid.........K.Andrews..............Duff

.................Keane...........Doyle............ .................

???

Comments and questions?

Is this the best 11 available?

This team has not played together to my knowledge so Trappatoni may continue with Whelan Andrews even if S. Reid is fit.

A fit Finnan and Reid would be a huge plus but they have little match playing fitness. Can't see Trappatoni risking playing Finnan but we don't have great options.

Kilbane is VERY dodgy but it is probably too late for replacement and he is capable on any day of playing a blinder if he maintains 100% focus.

Still very predictable for any opposition and lacking fluidity. Trappatoni is not making the best use of Robbie Keane but this won't be addressed before the play-offs.

Is Trapatoni capable of making changes to allow for the opposition? No indicators of this to date.

It's pretty much proven that McGeady provides much more that S. Hunt. Would Trappatoni leave both out and play S. Reid, Andrew, Whelan, Duff ?! Unlikely and ps. S. Reid cannot play anywhere other than in the center IMO.

An injury to which one or two players would end our chances of qualifying?

Will the games with Italy and Montenegro provide an opportunity to find our best 11?

I liked the look of the partnership of Whelan and Reid in Traps first couple of games and I would think thats his first choice pairing

Over the 2 games I really think we would need something of a secret weapon. Ireland has been so predictable over the years ( especially with kerr) id like to see the likes of Lawerence get a run out and Best .. this guy is a loose canon and other teams wouldnt have much knowledge on him.

If Finnan is fit, I'd be happy for Dunne and St. Ledger to stay together, and O'Shea to go to left-back. It probably won't happen, though, if Kilbane doesn't make any more calamitous errors against Italy or Montenegro. Like Razor, I believe Whelan will start alongside Reid. Hunt will probably keep his place over McGeady, definitely for the away leg. McGeady will need to deliver a good performance, and a goal/assist in one of the last two games if he's to get in ahead of Hunt. 27 caps, no goals, and very few assists; not a compelling statistic for an attacking midfielder, albeit one who seems very talented.

I've been impressed with Best... I think he'll be a good player for us in the future!
If S. Reid is fit, it would be more likely the midfield pairing would be Reid & Whelan, but i think Andrews offers more going forward

Given
Finnan-O'Shea-Dunne-Kilbane(yikes!)
Duff-S.Reid-Whelan-Hunt
Doyle-Keane

subs:
Westwood
McShane
S. Kelly
Fahey
McGeady
Andrews
Folan

For me

................................Given............. .....................

Finnan..........St. Ledger..........Dunne.............O'Shea

McGeady.........S. Reid.........G. Whelan..............Hunt

......................Keane...........Doyle....... ..................

Subs:
Ward
Westwood
Duff
Folan
Andrews
Lawrence
Kelly

Quote:

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Originally Posted by backtowalsall

For me

................................Given............. .....................

Finnan..........St. Ledger..........Dunne.............O'Shea

McGeady.........S. Reid.........G. Whelan..............Hunt

......................Keane...........Doyle....... ..................

Subs:
Ward
Westwood
Duff
Folan
Andrews
Lawrence
Kelly

---

Hunt ahead of Duff, are ya insane??:eek:

Nope. I think Hunt offers more work and adds an extra bit of steel to the midfield.

Duff hasn't done it for me since he left Chelsea

Quote:

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Originally Posted by backtowalsall

Nope. I think Hunt offers more work and adds an extra bit of steel to the midfield.

Duff hasn't done it for me since he left Chelsea

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He's been brilliant at the international level in my opinion. First name on the team sheet if fit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by backtowalsall

Nope. I think Hunt offers more work and adds an extra bit of steel to the midfield.

Duff hasn't done it for me since he left Chelsea

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You missed the match last saturday so because he chipped a sweet ball in for Keanes winner against Cyprus. I'm not being overly unkind to Hunt when I say I reckon he'd have run it out before he realised he'd missed the chance to cross it in 5 seconds and 20 yards back.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lionel Ritchie

You missed the match last saturday so because he chipped a sweet ball in for Keanes winner against Cyprus. I'm not being overly unkind to Hunt when I say I reckon he'd have run it out before he realised he'd missed the chance to cross it in 5 seconds and 20 yards back.

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That was a classy delivery for Robbie alright.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by seanfhear

That was a classy delivery for Robbie alright.

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I watched it all right. No doubt it was a great cross, but I was screaming at him to put it into the box, as i had been all night whilst he was messing about doing everything but putting a cross in.

But my main reason is that we have no real option apart from McGeady on the right, and i think a midfield with both McGeady and Duff is too lightweight, especially for the away leg.

Folan has to play alongside Doyle up front or we're going nowhere. Given the problems we have in getting out of our own way in the middle of the park, the big Hull City man is the outlet we need to punt long (I know it's not the best method but it's all we have for now).

I agree with the sentiment that Best should be included - he's a good looking player and I think he has a big part to play from the bench from here on out (he scored again yesterday).

I would go with (injuries allowing):

Given
Finnan Dunne O'Shea Hunt

Lawrence Andrews Duff

Keane

Doyle Folan

With Best and McGeady on the bench we have serious contributors to bring in late on.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by backtowalsall

Nope. I think Hunt offers more work and adds an extra bit of steel to the midfield.

Duff hasn't done it for me since he left Chelsea

---

I honestly cant find the words to disagree with you strong enough. He has been fantastic for us consistantly and is still indispensible, Hunt isnt half the player Duffer is

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lionel Ritchie

You missed the match last saturday so because he chipped a sweet ball in for Keanes winner against Cyprus. I'm not being overly unkind to Hunt when I say I reckon he'd have run it out before he realised he'd missed the chance to cross it in 5 seconds and 20 yards back.

---

Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
Nope. I think Hunt offers more work and adds an extra bit of steel to the midfield.

Duff hasn't done it for me since he left Chelsea

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone who thinks that Hunt offers more in ANY dept. than Duff needs to check their prescription!

ps, he scored a class winner for Fulham tonight (as well as being responsible for our last results!)

Duff was man-of- the- match for Fulham today, capped by a terrific goal. Went off injured at the end though, hope it's not serious.

I don't think Trap likes Finnan, maybe because he sees him as being too old?

He left him out of the Austraila squad even though hewas fit at the time and mentioned him in the same sentence as Lee Carsley. It was along the lines of "We don't forget about Carsley and Finnan"etc.

Anyway if Reid is fit I think he'll be the only change from the Cyprus match, replacing Andrews.

Hunt definitely deserves his place in front of McGeady based on club form so far this season. He's back to his best, and even though he was poor in Nicosia McGeady was worse when he came on.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mark12345

Folan has to play alongside Doyle up front or we're going nowhere. Given the problems we have in getting out of our own way in the middle of the park, the big Hull City man is the outlet we need to punt long (I know it's not the best method but it's all we have for now).

I agree with the sentiment that Best should be included - he's a good looking player and I think he has a big part to play from the bench from here on out (he scored again yesterday).

I would go with (injuries allowing):

Given
Finnan Dunne O'Shea Hunt

Lawrence Andrews Duff

Keane

Doyle Folan

With Best and McGeady on the bench we have serious contributors to bring in late on.

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This just won't happen. I don't know why you rate Folan so highly - he's likely played his last Premiership match as Hull are keen to offload him to a Championship club on loan. I know what you're saying about long balls but we'd get killed with the midfield you're proposing. We need two strong wingers in order to give the full backs a passing outlet. We can't long ball it every time.

If everyone is fit, I'd go with
Given
Finnan Dunne Josh Kilbane
McGeady Whelan S. Reid Duff
Doyle Keane

But we should wait until we qualify for the play-offs first.;) Both Italy and Montenegro are capable of beating us.

I really think Ireland have looked best when Folan was stuck up front as the long ball outlet. I'd like to see him tried up front with doyle and have keane playing off them. have steven reid as a holding midfielder if fit, or andrews. duff and ? on the wings. why cant trappa try out a different formation. he has his mind stuck on a 4-4-2 with two boring centre midfielders who dont link up with the strikers. I'm getting tired of trappa. I know we are getting results but we have been lucky on a few occasions to get them results. If we go to the world cup and play the same way we're playing now we won't win a game, might draw ONE!!

The praise that Folan is getting is staggering. Some even suggesting that we have no hope without him! :D

Anyway I'd go with this (providing all are fit)

Given
Finnan Dunne St. Ledger O'Shea
Lawrence Reid Whelan Duff
Keane Doyle

Playing keane away from the goal is foolhardy, and personally I think Doyle offers us more than Folan. Steven Reid for Andrews is the only change we really need. Finnan back would be nice but I won't hold my breath.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brendan 82

The praise that Folan is getting is staggering. Some even suggesting that we have no hope without him! :D

Anyway I'd go with this (providing all are fit)

Given
Finnan Dunne St. Ledger O'Shea
Lawrence Reid Whelan Duff
Keane Doyle

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I'd go for that. Some people may argue that Hunt or McGeady should be in ahead of Lawrence but I feel the balance of the team would be much better with Duff on the left and a natural RMF player on the right. If you think about it he's probably the best if not the only out-and-out RMF player in the squad. He has show he can take a decent free kick and he's an agressive direct player like Hunt but with more control.
If he is having a stinker it's a great option to have McGeady or hunt come off the bench to terrorise a tired defence.

Hilarious post by backtowalsall about Hunt being better than Duff!! OMG!!! Lawrence makes Hunt look bad. I do like Hunt, but as an Impact sub when the teams are tired, thats when he shines. When he starts, the opposition suss him out in the first ten mins and he turns invisible.. Folan gets his head to every long ball, we need his knock downs late in games.

My Team
GIVEN

FINNAN DUNNE OSHEA KILBANE

LAWRENCE S REID WHELAN DUFF

KEANE DOYLE

Impact Subs: Hunt, Folan, Andy Reid.

Other Subs: Foley, McGeady, St Ledger, Long, Best, Andrews etc

Trap has to take note of A Reids performance's and weight loss before the world cup, because he'll have to be included in the wc squad if he keeps up the good work.

McGeady will prob run from Celtic in January, Aston Villa? He needs to play premiership football because he has so much potential!

This could be Kilbanes last first team start! He'll hopefully give everything!

Lawrence deserves the start after that man of the match display and his shooting ability!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by M@ttitude

Hilarious post by backtowalsall about Hunt being better than Duff!! OMG!!! Lawrence makes Hunt look bad. I do like Hunt, but as an Impact sub when the teams are tired, thats when he shines. When he starts, the opposition suss him out in the first ten mins and he turns invisible.. Folan gets his head to every long ball, we need his knock downs late in games.

My Team
GIVEN

FINNAN DUNNE OSHEA KILBANE

LAWRENCE S REID WHELAN DUFF

KEANE DOYLE

Impact Subs: Hunt, Folan, Andy Reid.

Other Subs: Foley, McGeady, St Ledger, Long, Best, Andrews etc

Trap has to take note of A Reids performance's and weight loss before the world cup, because he'll have to be included in the wc squad if he keeps up the good work.

McGeady will prob run from Celtic in January, Aston Villa? He needs to play premiership football because he has so much potential!

This could be Kilbanes last first team start! He'll hopefully give everything!

Lawrence deserves the start after that man of the match display and his shooting ability!

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No worries on that score, he's given everything on 98 previous occasions.

Everyone fit I'd go with...
Given
Finnan St. Ledger Dunne O'Shea
McGeady Whelan S. Reid Duff
Keane Doyle

But then it depends who we get...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JGKyne

Everyone fit I'd go with...
Given
Finnan St. Ledger Dunne O'Shea
McGeady Whelan S. Reid Duff
Keane Doyle

But then it depends who we get...

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Fairly sure Trap this will be close to trap's 11, except I can't see him dropping Kilbane (assuming Reid has had some game time)

I find the 4-4-2 too static and would play a kind of 4-3-2-1 but flexibility is not something Trap considers so doesn't matter waht anyone on her thinks!

Given
Finnan Dunne O'Shea Kilbane
McGeady Whelan S. Reid Duff
Keane Doyle

If Reid not fit:

Given
Finnan Dunne O'Shea Kilbane
McGeady Whelan Andrews Duff
Keane Doyle


SO, ASSUMING EITHER of the 3 11's ABOVE ARE PICKED, WHAT IS THE CHANCE OF SUCCESS SAY AGAINST RUSSIA, CROATIA OR NORWAY?!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Scram

SO, ASSUMING EITHER of the 3 11's ABOVE ARE PICKED, WHAT IS THE CHANCE OF SUCCESS SAY AGAINST RUSSIA, CROATIA OR NORWAY?!

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Whatever about Russia and Croatia, we have no chance against Norway considering their out of the running for the play offs.:p

I'd say Best has to be pushing for Folan's place. He did well against S.A and is scoring regularly in the Championship.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zenokelly

Whatever about Russia and Croatia, we have no chance against Norway considering their out of the running for the play offs.:p

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:p Yes indeed, I knew that, d'oh! A case of too lazy to check the others.

Please substitute Norway for any mediocre team that may make the play-offs (excluding us as we can't meet ourselves)

My Personal team


.........................Given.................... .............

O'Shea..............St Ledger..............Dunne...........Finnan

McGeady.........S. Reid.........K.Andrews..............Duff

.................Keane...........Doyle............ ...........

Depending on the team we are playing, i might start Folan. Personally i think Trap will swap Finnan for Zinedine, and Hunt for McGeady

I definitely wouldn't be breaking up the Reid-Whelan partnership after how they performed against Norway, Georgia and Montenegro.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by carloz

My Personal team


.........................Given.................... .............

O'Shea..............St Ledger..............Dunne...........Finnan

McGeady.........S. Reid.........K.Andrews..............Duff

.................Keane...........Doyle............ ...........

Depending on the team we are playing, i might start Folan. Personally i think Trap will swap Finnan for Zinedine, and Hunt for McGeady

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You couldn't possibly intend to play Finnan at left back?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Scram

You couldn't possibly intend to play Finnan at left back?

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I do. He has played there in a handful of games for us, and to be honest id have him there over Kilbane any day of the week.

Finnan at left back ain't a bad shout.

When we played Wales at Croke under Stan I remember him Finnan at LB and O'Shea on the right. Everyone thought it was another Staunton howler but our defence was very solid that day. I remember O'Shea and Finnan playing much better than they had been previously.

Finnan at left back ain't a bad shout.

When we played Wales at Croke under Stan I remember him Finnan at LB and O'Shea on the right. Everyone thought it was another Staunton howler but our defence was very solid that day. I remember O'Shea and Finnan playing much better than they had been previously.

I will go with whatever team trap picks as he knows more about football than i do and he will have seen them and close hand too but lets get to a play off first by beating the italians at home and putting a bit of pressure on them for their final match.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NeilMcD

I will go with whatever team trap picks as he knows more about football than i do and he will have seen them and close hand too but lets get to a play off first by beating the italians at home and putting a bit of pressure on them for their final match.

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You don’t have much choice in that!

I wanted to see what posters think the team will be IF we make the play-offs and what they think our chances are i.e. as per my original post…up there ^^

My team would be:

Given,
Kelly,O'Shea,Dunne,Finnan
S.Reid,Andrews,Whelan,Duff
Keane,Doyle.

Ok ill probably get shot down for this but i think Finnan can easily do a job for us at left back and Kelly is a decent enough player who has performed for us in the past both of whom are less likely to drop a clanger unlike Kilbane.
I really dont think that Mcgeady adds much of an attacking threat to the team, S. Reid is a much better option imo and has played that position for Ireland and at Club level in the past. In fairness Whelan and Andrews have done reasonably well as a partnership so I would keep them together. The front two pick themselves obviously.