Euro 2012 Squad Discussion

[EAFC_rdfl]

Joe, how come you don't have darren randolph in the keepers list?

[Closed Account]

Joe, how come you don't have darren randolph in the keepers list?

Just took that list from callups and recent callups on Wiki. He'd be ahead of B Murphy I'd say.

[shakermaker1982]

The defensive 'system' we deploy for our two wingers isn't exactly rocket science. Particuarly for a player like McClean who already tracks back, works hard and keeps on running like Forest Gump. Fair enough if it was somebody like Stephen Ireland then yes it would be a wasted project in trying to convert him to our evil ways but McClean will fit right in and that is why I think he'll make the plane. I hope so anyway....

Hunt has played 66 minutes of PL football since the 1st of January. It's gonna be a big ask of him to be match fit for June.

[paul_oshea]

Agenda : Teach McClean the defensive system.

"when you lose the ball you track back. When you dont have the ball you sit deep. When you have the ball you run with it and try to set up a goal scoring chance. If you lose the ball to a corner, take the corner, if you lose the ball for a throw or kick out to the opposition track back to cover the left full back. If you lose the ball to a counter attack, track back to cover the left back area and any runs from midfield in your opposite number. The defensive system."

[shakermaker1982]

you just need an Italian accent now Paul!!

[Charlie Darwin]

McClean strikes me as the type of player who could learn Trap's defensive system in his sleep. His instinct seems always to be to help out his full back anyway, and he seems to have an endless supply of energy. Having only played half the season, he'll also be relatively fresh compared to Hunt who's been troubled with injury.

[Closed Account]

Fair enough lads, too be clear, I'd bring along McClean too. But I doubt Trap will.

Plus you're taking a rather simplistic view of international football. I've linked to this article before http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...y-gray-pundits

Switch to our world and the level of detail that goes into games still, to this day, amazes me. Every player has his own script, what to do, when to do it, information on the player he's up against, including weight, height, age, strengths, weaknesses, even what that opponent is likely to do when the ball comes to him in certain situations. We memorise every single set piece, where we have to stand, run and end up. We even memorise this for the other players so we know where everyone else will be at any given time.

To some players, this level of detail comes naturally, they are students of the game. Love every part of it. Interviews with James McClean certainly indicate that he is enthusiastic about it all and it does augur well for the future. But I still maintain that Trap is more likely to stick with Hunt who he knows, and from what we know of Trap, he certainly errs on the side of caution.

[paul_oshea]

I wasn't disagreeing with what you were saying about how Trap works joe. Far from it, i just think the whole thing is a bit naive(not your point). Thats a good article, it certianly gives a lot of credit to a footballers tactical intelligence and memory, something most wouldn't think about, or at least only from a simple amateur viewpoint of mark this player, he likes to come inside, he will pull on yer left etc etc, but not to that level. But how much really during a game does a player remember/think about, i would say very little - they shoudln't have that much time to think.

[shakermaker1982]

I do enjoy reading TSF articles every week. However I cannot imagine Balotelli playing with his ipad 24 hours before a game checking out the runs his oppenents might be making in a game!

This in depth analysis obviously takes place within the PL but I think at international level you don't have the time to over analyze your opponents, particularly at tournament football. Players may only have 3 days rest in between games and are probably resting up or getting treatment to cure ailments. Brian Kerr did try and implement video sessions into his pre match ritual but it didn't go down too well with the squad from what I remember. That is not to say I don't believe in scouting your opponents and keeping a close eye on the danger men but I'd try and strike a balance.

[SwanVsDalton]

The squad could be getting a third official warm-up friendly pre-tourney. Would be more useful than playing a Serie C side anyway.

[geysir]

And on May 7, we'll know who the 23rd man is.

[paul_oshea]

Is anyone worried about too many warm up matches? I gather they will be quite competitive and thats what worries me.

[SwanVsDalton]

Not sure. Think they'll be competitive but is there not a wide acceptance for no one to over do it? I mean for our players to not go crazy and the opposition not to be too reckless and wreck someone pre-tourney.

For some reason I have zero memory of our warm-up's pre WC2002 (Saipan probably overshadowed them) but I remember at least our Germany warm-up pre 94. That didn't seem overly competitive, notwithstanding the good result.

[paul_oshea]

As a midfielder or a defender how do you impress without being competitive. That extra bite makes you standout.

I dont mean lunging in at tackles, but that extra competitiveness and bite could cause you or others injuries, but if you want to impress its a numbers game init?

[jbyrne]

the risk of picking up an injury or two has to be balanced with the risk of the whole team entering the tournament without playing a decent enough match for 4 weeks after the league season ends. i think the risk of holding back in friendlies and thereby the squad losing a bit of sharpness is greater.

pre 2002 we played nigeria at home and didnt play well at all and we played a local Japanese team and McAteer got injured

[paul_oshea]

Sorry JB I dont quite get your second sentence, are you saying we need to be sharp, that is of greater importance than holding back?

[Stuttgart88]

It's a balancing act. You need to be match sharp without wearing yourself out and risking injury. Easier typed than done. I would guess that JB is saying that risking an individual injury is a price worth paying for the whole team being sharp and ready for action.

[paul_oshea]

We landed on the moon. Eureka!

[jbyrne]

It's a balancing act. You need to be match sharp without wearing yourself out and risking injury. Easier typed than done. I would guess that JB is saying that risking an individual injury is a price worth paying for the whole team being sharp and ready for action.

yes, thats what i meant. dont have as much time to give to my posts these days!

sorry (to some) for the rugby example but we went into the 2007 rwc without enough pre-tournament game time for our players and had a stinker as a result. it only takes two weeks of match inaction for your sharpness to be dulled and thats what we should look to avoid imo.

[Olé Olé]

At the end of Soccer Saturday on RTÉ this evening Darragh Moloney turned attention to an article in the Daily Mail tomorrow. From what I picked up the article is carrying direct quotes from Trap to the effect that McClean is "90-99%" certain to be in the squad for the Euro's. The article also states that there will be 5 strikers (Doyle, Walters, Keane, Long and Cox, presumably) and 4 wingers and 4 central players.

Keith Fahey could be out of the Euro's with a recurrent groin problem, which is a real pity for the guy given how his career has gone so far. Anyway, that would leave McClean, Hunt, Duff and McGeady as Trap's 4 wingers of choice.

Now, if Fahey does prove himself fit then Trap is left with a conundrum. In Fahey's absence the 4 wingers would pick themselves, regardless of which flank they play on regularly. However, if Fahey was fit then Trap would have to select 4 from 2 predominantly right-sided midfielders for Ireland in McGeady and Fahey, while the left-sided wingers would be McClean, Hunt and Duff. I've seen Hunt to fill in on the right for Ireland and Roy Hodgson played Duff on the right for Fulham but if I'm going on the basis of Trap's past selection. Given that McGeady and Duff are the staples of an Irish squad under Trapattoni, competition for the other 2 spots would be strong. Issue being that Fahey would be the only right-sided player of the 3 and, henceforth, likely to be picked. So then, we're left with the McClean versus Hunt debate as we've consistently been having. If these quotes are accurate then McClean is likely to win out, or so it would seem. That is, unless Trap is "90-99%" certain that Fahey will miss the Euro's which would be like a pre-emptive Neurofen tablet, getting to the source of selection headaches before they even happen.

That is until Trapattoni has to choose his 4 centre midfielders. This looks a straight-forward decision, with Andrews and Whelan having performed well under Trapattoni and Gibson and James McCarthy in fine Premier League form. Were we not so familiar with Trap's methods then we could expect any combination from the group to start. But accustomed as we are to Trap's ways that the name Paul Green must also be factored into this equation. I would hazard a guess that Andrews, Whelan and Gibson are the three most certain of their places on the plane. I reserve some doubt as to whether Trap will make the right call and bring James McCarthy, of resurgent Wigan fame, rather than the championship level Green.