Republic of Ireland V Norway - Wednesday, 17th November 2010 - Friendly

**Wolfie** · 16/11/2010, 12:21 PM

Pity that Jamie McCarthy is injured, may well have got the nod due to so many drop outs.

**Charlie Darwin** · 16/11/2010, 1:09 PM

Ken Early on twitter:

given (c), kelly, o'shea, o'dea, cunningham, lawrence, fahey, whelan, duff, long, doyle

http://twitter.com/#!/kenearlys

I assume Lawrence's inclusion is to accommodate Fahey in the centre and give him a little more protection. Perhaps second half it'll be Fahey on the left, Coleman on the right and Wilson in the middle. A little bit disappointing but at least we're seeing some new faces. Would have liked Walters to start instead of Doyle too, but I guess he needs to try the new combination in the event of Keane missing more games.

**geysir** · 16/11/2010, 1:22 PM

I expected him to go for Kelly and O'Dea starting.
Wilson and Coleman should get a decent stint with Walters coming on also.

**tetsujin1979** · 16/11/2010, 1:23 PM

Little surprised there's no debutants in the starting lineup, but overall I'm happy with that.

**rebelmusic** · 16/11/2010, 1:26 PM

Made it pretty clear he'll change it around in the second half. Would actually prefer to see Coleman off the bench around the 50 min mark

Can't understand the Kelly start, Trap really doesn't have faith in Foley.

**geysir** · 16/11/2010, 1:34 PM

Re Kelly, it's a question of experience with the set up, rather than actual ability.

**drummerboy** · 16/11/2010, 1:38 PM

While I would have liked to see Foley start, Kelly has done well in the past, bar one mistake. He has also found himself back in favour at Fulham and has been playing well for them. However I would like to see Foley, Coleman, Wilson and Walters all getting 30 minutes at the very least.

**Charlie Darwin** · 16/11/2010, 1:42 PM

Kelly and Foley are both playing regularly at the same level in the same position. There's not an awful lot to tell between them but I think Kelly is the better defender.

More from Early:

"trap believes fahey has long-term potential at CM. says he has a good personality. also wants to look at wilson in that position"

Good to hear. My impression from the past year or so is that he didn't trust Fahey in the centre, so it's nice to see he's had a change of heart.

**tommy_c12000** · 16/11/2010, 2:01 PM

How Kelly can start ahead of Coleman or Foley is beyond me? Lawrence is a poor call as well, ahead of Coleman, McGeady and Hunt. Also, Whelan has been awful in recent games and isn't up to it. Would have loved to have seen Wilson start. Come off the stage Trapper u bluffer!

The only reason Kelly is starting at the moment is because of the rift between Mark Hughes and Paintsil. He simply isn't a premiership footballer. There is no doubt that he will be upgraded in January. Granted he can defend reasonably well, this pales into insignificance when he cannot pass or cross the ball.

http://cc.fulhamfc.com/forum/topics/...age=2#comments

**tommy_c12000** · 16/11/2010, 2:03 PM

Couple of positive notes are Cunningham starting and Fahey in at midfield. At last Trap has started a centre mid who can actually pass the ball. . . . . . . . . .

**geysir** · 16/11/2010, 2:09 PM

Can't remember a game without KK starting, he must be seriously injured.

**Charlie Darwin** · 16/11/2010, 2:17 PM

Originally Posted by tommy_c12000

How Kelly can start ahead of Coleman or Foley is beyond me? Lawrence is a poor call as well, ahead of Coleman, McGeady and Hunt. Also, Whelan has been awful in recent games and isn't up to it. Would have loved to have seen Wilson start. Come off the stage Trapper u bluffer!

The only reason Kelly is starting at the moment is because of the rift between Mark Hughes and Paintsil. He simply isn't a premiership footballer. There is no doubt that he will be upgraded in January. Granted he can defend reasonably well, this pales into insignificance when he cannot pass or cross the ball.

So Kelly's starting because the manager prefers him to the other players? Give that man a free transfer.

Kelly is a first-team player for a Fulham side who've conceded 13 goals this season. Foley's team have conceded 23, the joint third-worst defensive record in the division. Is it that hard to believe that Trap's gone with the more solid defender?

**tommy_c12000** · 16/11/2010, 2:41 PM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

So Kelly's starting because the manager prefers him to the other players? Give that man a free transfer.

Kelly is a first-team player for a Fulham side who've conceded 13 goals this season. Foley's team have conceded 23, the joint third-worst defensive record in the division. Is it that hard to believe that Trap's gone with the more solid defender?

If Trap had taken time out of his busy schedule of sipping on his apple martinis poolside at his villa to visit Craven Cottage he would have discovered (like every other fulham supporter) that Kelly isn't a Premiership footballer, simple as that. Foley has been having a great season as testified by Manc Irish Wolf on the Kevin Foley thread.
[COLOR=#506f5c]http://www.molineuxmix.co.uk/vb/showthread.php?t=54647[/COLOR]
It is a no brainer, Foley should be in at right back.

So by your logic:
- Man Utd have conceded 15 goals this season, Aaron Hughes is a better player than Rio Ferdinand.
- Liverpool have conceded 17 goals season, that makes Kelly better than Glen Johnson as well, etc, etc, could go on but I've better things to do with my time.

Don't think looking at a team's overall statistics is a strong an indicator as you think it is when it comes to picking the best individuals for international football

**Charlie Darwin** · 16/11/2010, 2:43 PM

Maybe he should just call you up and get his opinions straight from the source.

Seriously, "Kelly isn't a Premiership footballer"? Half a dozen managers would disagree.

I wasn't claiming defensive records are the sole indicator of ability, and you're right to point out evidence to the contrary, but it's fairly clear to me that Foley's main attributes are going forward while Kelly is a very solid defender.

**KK77** · 16/11/2010, 2:46 PM

Can't believe Coleman isn't starting. Joke.

**tommy_c12000** · 16/11/2010, 2:53 PM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Maybe he should just call you up and get his opinions straight from the source.

Seriously, "Kelly isn't a Premiership footballer"? Half a dozen managers would disagree.

I wasn't claiming defensive records are the sole indicator of ability, and you're right to point out evidence to the contrary, but it's fairly clear to me that Foley's main attributes are going forward while Kelly is a very solid defender.

I probably am being a bit harsh on Kelly. He is a viable option if O'Shea, Foley and perhaps Coleman (still not convinced by his defensive capabilities) aren't available. But I would have definitely started Foley ahead of Kelly for this friendly. I really do hope Trap would pick the phone up and give me a shout, not sure if the conversation would end amicably though. . . . . .

**SwanVsDalton** · 16/11/2010, 2:56 PM

Would've liked to see Coleman get a start, but have no doubt he'll have serious impact off the bench and hope he gets a good run. I'd expect at least half hour / 40 mins for him, Wilson and Walters. Team's OK, could've been a bit more exciting but I'm very interested to see Fahey at CM, not to mention O'Dea, Cunningham and Long getting to develop their claims.

EDIT - And there isn't much to choose between Foley and Kelly imo. Kelly shades it thanks to experience but hope Foley gets a decent run too.

**Charlie Darwin** · 16/11/2010, 2:59 PM

Originally Posted by tommy_c12000

I probably am being a bit harsh on Kelly. He is a viable option if O'Shea, Foley and perhaps Coleman (still not convinced by his defensive capabilities) aren't available. But I would have definitely started Foley ahead of Kelly for this friendly. I really do hope Trap would pick the phone up and give me a shout, not sure if the conversation would end amicably though. . . . . .

I'd have started Foley too for this game but I still think Kelly is the better player. It's a sensible enough decision - O'Shea isn't getting much football, Dunne has been struggling with injuries for a long time and Sledge isn't quite right, so he may well need a new face to step up for the next competitive game. I don't think Coleman is going to be that player for at least a couple of years (or he could turn out to be a sensational winger who's wasted at full back) and it won't hurt to have Kelly for a bit of continuity.

**shakermaker1982** · 16/11/2010, 3:06 PM

Extremely disappointed with that line up.

If Keane, Dunne, Kilbane and Green were fit we'd have seen them in the starting 11 as well.

**SwanVsDalton** · 16/11/2010, 3:14 PM

Originally Posted by shakermaker1982

Extremely disappointed with that line up.

If Keane, Dunne, Kilbane and Green were fit we'd have seen them in the starting 11 as well.

I don't see why people get disappointed. Blooding new players is always about balance, about experienced faces beside them to help them out but also about getting a result. There'd be nothing worse than a bunch newbies taking a thrashing on their debut.

Coleman's the main one to lose out, but that's a side with four players developing on the international stage, O'Shea back at CB and Kelly staking a claim at RB. All healthy competition, all intriguing for any fan.