To be honest, from that midfield, the one that makes the least sense is Walters. Why in the name of f**k Trap persists with him on the right hand side I don't know. He offers very little.
Green isn't as bad as most people make him out to be. His isn't Messi, granted, but some of the abuse he gets is over the top. Wes was never getting the nod for this one. Had McCarthy been injured it was a possibility but with it being Whelan out, Green was always the likely replacement.
Walters is there to win the high balls lumped forward to the right and to add muscle in the final third. He's limited as a wide midfielder in the orthodox sense.
Would like to have seen Brady and / or Hoolahan just to have at least one other proper footballer out there but having seen Green and McCarthy play well together in Stockholm I won't grumble. I've nailed my colours to the mast regarding replacing Whelan as being the single most important change that can be made to the usual team / system so it'll be interesting to see if this is right.
Maybe that's the thinking but I really don't think anything he offers in the air comes even remotely close to compensating for what we lose by playing him there. The second Sweden goal the other night came from a stupid high ball towards our right hand side. Don't get me wrong, I like Walters up top but as a wide midfielder, we may as well be playing my ould wan.
Last edited by back of the net; 09/09/2013 at 5:01 PM.
Here's to Sweden slipping on a banana in Astana tomorrow
Last campaign we had the unlikely defibrillator boost to our dying qual hopes when Slovakia were hammered by Armenia at home, so who knows anything?
It's both sunny weather and mood-wise in Wien.
Though doubtful will be so by 2240 C.E.T.
In some ways a relief?
I'm happy enough with the back line and the front line. As always, it's the midfield that's sketchy. Walters isn't a winger. None of our strikers are wingers. Yet every ****ing game we play a striker as a winger. I just don't get it. Presumably Robbie Brady is fit and good to go? He should be down the right. Brady also offers a top quality set piece (something which I think Pilkington is also decent at).
I'm not totally against Paul Green — no-one is in doubt about his ability; average at best; maybe David Meyler could have been brought in, but I think right now, they're around the same level. Paul Green, at club level anyway, is good for a few goals every now and then, so maybe he'll claim the winner? Imagine that.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the game, I hope we can win this regardless of our chances of qualifying in the long run.
Last edited by Serb; 10/09/2013 at 2:16 PM.
Sweden 1-0 inside 2 mins
It was fuppin' inside 30 seconds! Kazakhstan started from the kick-off like headless chickens on speed.
Disappointing line up. He's already playing for the draw. Time to put this thing out of it's misery. Get someone new in who just might experiment a little bit.
There is no such thing as a miracle cure, a free lunch or a humble opinion.
OMFG!!! Brady is talking some serious balls defending Trapp!!
They say who finishes second in our group could miss out on playoffs anyway being the second placed team with lowest points.
I was just thinking the blue murder that would ensue if England happen to be in that second placed scenario..... seriously there would be a riot!!!
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