With the players who are out I would go with:
Given
Carr
Cunningham
O'Shea (playing there cause O'Brien is injured)
Finnan
A. Reid
Keane
Miller
Duff
Macken
Morrison
I mostly agree with you (this is getting to be a habitOriginally Posted by carnstien
- should I be worried?
) but I'd play the poison dwarf instead of Macken, at least for the first half. I think his all-round mobility and tendency to come in from deep (like Robbie Keane) would work better in combination with Clinton. I know Macken gives us an aerial option up front, but I'd like to see how Connolly currently rates in the lead forward role.
PP
Semper in faecibus sole profundum variat
Fair enough but the only reason I really threw Macken in there was because he hasn't played for us before and I think it might be good to get a look at him.I mostly agree with you (this is getting to be a habit
Solid enough selection. Would give Miller and Kilbane a half each in centre of the park. O'shea still at left full and Breen at Centre Half. Also agree with PP and would start Connolly and Morrison up front to see how we cope in Robbie's absence.
_____________________Given_____________________
Carr_______Cunningham_______Breen________O'Shea
Reid/Miller_______Keane_______Kavanagh_______Duff
__________Connolly______Macken/Morrison_________
Fergie plays Keane in centre back because he has no confidence in O'Shea at CB and either do I, even though its only a friendly.
Given
Carr Cunningham Breen O'Shea
Miller Kilbane Keane Duff
Connolly Morrision
tbh this is our last friendly before we play the qualifiers and while it'd be nice to get a look at some others I think we should start with the team that'll bear most resemblance (play most like) that which will start in those games.
With half an hour to go I'd make the following subs to have a look...
Barrett/Miller
Kavanagh/Kilbane
Reid/Duff
Finnan/O'Shea
Cork City: Making 'Dream Team' seem realistic since 2007.
I agree with the last post, I think in midfield we have quite a few good options but to be honest there is only 2 places available in the irish team in my opinion
Given
Carr Cunningham O Brien O Shea
Miller Keane Space Duff
Keane Space
Robbies place will be taken by Connolly tonight and Morrison will probably play upfront. Macken will then come on at some point to get a run and his first cap. Kilbane will take the space in midfield that is between him and Holland. Reid will come on for either Duff or Miller depending on who needs the run out more. Breen will probably start instead of O Brien but he may take a look at Finnan at left back and O Shea at centre back, but then again Breen has not played in ages, so he will need a game under his belt too.
The way that QPR players ran straight throught the heart of the Sunderland defense on Saturday to score two goals, doesn't augur well for Breens international future.
Well you have a choice between Breen and Doc.
Its a pity Dunne didn't get a call up when Kerr heard about O'Brien.
For Bulgaria:
Given
Carr Cunningham O’Shea Finnan
Reid Kavanagh Keane Duff
Lee Connolly/Morrison
In O’Brien’s absence I think O’Shea is worth another look at centre-half. We can’t rule him out just because he was poor in Basle. He was beside Breen that day but Cunningham tends to bring out the best in less experienced partners.
I think Finnan deserves a look at left back. Has he ever played left back for Ireland?
Reid is playing better than Miller at the moment.
I’d like to see Kavanagh start alongside Keane, though I think Miller may get the nod and Kavanagh may come on to replace Keane.
Lee must start ahead of Macken otherwise it’ll send out a bad message. I only saw scraps of Cardiff’s game on Friday and Lee seemed to do OK, a few very good knock downs and lay offs.
I’d expect all 4 forwards to get at least 25 minutes.
Any permutation of Kav, Miller, Kilbane, Reid and Duff could finish the game. Keane won’t play more than 60 minutes and I don’t think Quinn or Maybury should feature.
Although I admit to having seen relitively little of Kavanagh, I find it hard to accept that a 1st division player, who is coming to the end of his career should start ahead of a youngster who has just forced himself into the ManUre team.
Would at some point like to see him use a five man midfield leaving a lone striker up front as we may well end up doing this for real if we are protecting a lead away from home. In this case it would be wise to leave Morrison up front on his own and look to use Kav as an extra man in midfield (capable of scoring, good passer and can run from midfield). Unfortunately this is unlikely to happen as Stuttgart88 points out Keane will play no more than 60 (i'd be suprised to see him for the second half.) Feel that it is a chance that will be missed out on and trying it in freindlies later in the campaign will be largely pointless as our two hardest away games will be over by then.
Where am I now? I'm over here,
I've got those empty pockets and I can't afford a beer.
I have said this so many times. If Miller was 30 and Kavanagh was 23 everyone would be calling for Kavanagh to partner Keane. Robert Earnshaw hardly scored when Kavanagh was injured at the end of last season.
Kav is rated by many managers as being the best midfielder in the second flight. Was regularly impressed by him when he was with Stoke and have seen him play a couple of times for Cardiff and has carried on this form. Equally thought he played well against Brazil so he is worth a go. Don't forget by the time of the World Cup he will ony be 33 years old even the next Euros he will only be 35 so will have something to offer. Worth looking at.
Its the grey hair that makes him look old but he's had that since I remember first noticing him at Stoke.
Where am I now? I'm over here,
I've got those empty pockets and I can't afford a beer.
Carnstein, I just think at this point in time Kavanagh might do better than Miller, though he’s clearly not for the long term. A fully fit Miller alongside Keane would probably do well, though I’d have some worries about Miller without Keane as I think he has difficulty imposing himself. I also don’t think it’s quite right to say Miller has “forced” his way into MU’s team.
Radio 5 Live described Miller on Sunday as being “neat and tidy, nothing more”. Kavanagh is at least that and is more robust. In fact I think it’s very odd that he was overlooked in favour of Kinsella for so long in the 90s. I’ve seen quite a bit of Kavanagh over the years and have always liked what I saw. In his one recent chance for Ireland he did pretty well against Brazil. Lack of pace could be a weakness.
Wide right could be Miller’s best position, though it’ll be hard to displace Reid from this spot if Duff starts on the left.
They’re not easy choices but it’s good that we have options. Judging by the range of views on the board the team far from picks itself.
I think Kav suffered from his loyalty to Stoke. Should have moved on like Kinsella and have played his early career at a higher level. Admittedly his teams have been in the 1st and 2nd divisions but he has always been at the hub of the action in any club game i've seen him play. Was a little surprised by the poorness of his delivery against Brazil however. Worth a look but behind Kilbane and Holland in the centre of the park for me.
Can't agree with you here, for along time when he was with Stoke (post Icelandic take over) they looked like a side that had both the financial power and ambition to do better, with Kav at the heart of this. Before the 2002 World Cup he said that he wished to leave Stoke to improve his chances of getting into the Ireland team for Japan and Korea, fair enough. Where did he end up? Cardiff, a club in the same division as Stoke with about the same horizons and ambition.
Was at the Stoke v Cardiff game when he returned to the Brittania and believe me the people around me didn't believe that he had shown much loyalty (we're not talking the usual 'Judas' or 'City reject' chants but real venom - the subject of Kav is still pretty much taboo in O' Banton mansions)
Where am I now? I'm over here,
I've got those empty pockets and I can't afford a beer.
Yeah, his set pieces were poor against Brazil but he must have impresssed Kerr in training to be first choice free kick taker in his first match under Kerr. He takes Cardiff's set pieces and they are always very accurate. I was looking at the Irish times yesterday and he was only behind Reid with the amount of crosses this season and also in the top 3/4 players with shots and shots on target (8 with 5 on target AFAIK). Plus he has an assist.
BTW, I'd recommend the Irish Times sports section on a monday to see how the Irish are getting on at club level.
Sorry Pat, didn't mean to bring up a sore point. Perhaps loyalty wasn't word, but he certainly has played a lot of football at lower level despite being at least as good as Kinsella IMO. I always just put it down to loyalty, lack of ambition or liking being the big fish in a small pond.
Team (Probable): Given (Newcastle United); Carr (Newcastle United), Breen (Sunderland), Cunningham (Birmingham City), O'Shea (Manchester United); Miller (Manchester United), Keane (Manchester United), Quinn (Sheffield United), Reid (Nottingham Forest); Duff (Chelsea), Morrison (Birmingham City).
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