Ireland V Germany 12th October & Faroe Islands 16th October 2012 - World Cup 2014 Q

[Fixer82]

I think Walters will do as good a job as possible as one striker. He is well able to hold the ball up and wait for others to arrive. i'd rather have Long on beside someone like Walters rather than on his own so maybe it's a wise move. Cox on the wing though.....he's a striker.
What wingers have we got on the bench?

[back of the net]

If there was ever a game where the crowd were needed as a 12th man ....then this is it


Will be our of greatest results of the last 25 years if we can pull this off

[paul_oshea]

Mschane what a donkey, or a blessing in disguise?

He cant play walters up top now, without anyone coming off him.

This will be a second string side now. Be interesting what Trap does, with limited options.

[dong]

Shane Long's treatment under Trap is nothing short of a disgrace. It will be unforgivable if he doesn't start him tomorrow.

[TrapAPony]

Shane Long's treatment under Trap is nothing short of a disgrace. It will be unforgivable if he doesn't start him tomorrow.

Walters will play

[Duggie]

Walters will play

i wish he wouldnt, shane long is ten times the player. he has pace to burn is brilliant in the air and is a good finisher. walters has no real composure in front of goal. who is going to score for us if hes roughing up the defence. worst case scenario put long on the right wing, if cox plays we can forget it.

[the bear]

Walters will play

Long and Walters are the most suitable for the lone front man role. I would go with Long but there is a lot to be said for springing him off the bench for the last 30mins when the Germans are tired. Is Brady the next winger in line to come off the bench?

[peadar1987]

Walters will run until his testicles fall off and cause a real physical problem for the defence. When they're tired, Long can come on with fresh legs and tear them to pieces. That's how Johnny is used at Stoke, at least.

[peadar1987]

Long and Walters are the most suitable for the lone front man role. I would go with Long but there is a lot to be said for springing him off the bench for the last 30mins when the Germans are tired. Is Brady the next winger in line to come off the bench?

In before me!

[the bear]

Walters will run until his testicles fall off and cause a real physical problem for the defence. When they're tired, Long can come on with fresh legs and tear them to pieces. That's how Johnny is used at Stoke, at least.

Johnny should provide good protection while also delivering maximum pleasure

[ArdeeBhoy]

We're not going to score regardless of who plays up top. Unless Trap dramatically changes his tactics. Or the Germans all share a gene with McShane & Ward.

[Olé Olé]

I wish Trap, at this stage, would throw caution to the wind and stick Coleman in at RB, McClean on the wing and Long up front. Three young, lively and exciting Premier League players. Instead, we'll get Kelly, Cox and Walters causing less problems for Germany and whose to say they'll be any better defensively? They probably are physically stronger than the younger players, but keeping up with the 5'11" Reus and 5'9" Götze is more of the problem than out-muscling them.

Long's goalscoring record (.276) is also superior to Walters' (.083). Where are the goals going to come from, even if Trap is thinking that Walters will be a better provider? After Keane, Long's 8 goals put him well ahead of Fahey, Andrews at Cox who have 3 each. Scoring goals may not be the most pressing issue, keeping the Germans out will be.

I do rate Walters, he's caused good sides problems in the past (Chelsea, for instance) but I'd much rather see Shane Long's pace being employed against the less-than-nimble Mertesacker.

[paul_oshea]

I think Trap sees Long as a perfect impact sub, leave the battering ram on from the start - walters - to tire himself and the german defence out (if that really works in this day and age with the fitness level of professional footballers is another question), then bang bring Long on, running the channels slipping inside the 2 central defenders and causing a nuisance. Its not a flawed logic, but I think Walters is very limited with no one to play alongside him, we saw this out in kazakhstan.

[SwanVsDalton]

I wish Trap, at this stage, would throw caution to the wind and stick Coleman in at RB, McClean on the wing and Long up front.

McClean's injured.

I hope he starts Coleman at this point, seems he actually has a realistic chance of playing. Think the loss of Robbie will shade it in Kelly's favour (more experience).

[nigel-harps1954]

Team announcement in about 10 minutes on RTÉ.ie and RTÉ News Now channel.

[geysir]

Bated breath all round.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Really?

[Fixer82]

I'd actually rather see Kelly take Ward's place at LB, as he's a better defender, and Coleman play RB.
i think Ward would be a better winger than LB. He's good going forward but can't defend very well

[christo]

Team announcement in about 10 minutes on RTÉ.ie and RTÉ News Now channel.

Some exciting footage of a door going on...

That RTÉ New Now channel has disappeared on me...

[Closed Account]

Starting XI v Germany - Westwood,
Coleman, O'Shea, O'Dea, Ward,
McCarthy, Andrews, Fahey,
McGeady, Walters, Cox