Interesting selections choices.
RE keepers, considering Randolph is back fit. I probably would have sent Travers to play in Armenia and called up McDermott or Talbot or whoever to be 3rd keeper for the friendly against New Zealand. Means you can keep Bazunu with the 19s and you’ve got Travers working with Kenny. And it possibly gives O’Hara an opportunity against New Zealand.
Surprised he hasn’t replaced Masterson with an actual centre half. Thought Ledwidge was poor at left back v Iceland. Could have gone for any of Nolan, O’Hora, O’Driscoll, Ndaba or Irish based lads Finnerty, McCarthy, Kelly, McNally.
I don’t mind the O’Keefe call up considering he’s the only viable full-back who Kenny is yet to call up at some point (Leahy, Clarke, Cotter, Ledwidge, McNamara, Wilson, Carroll, L O’Connor, T O’Connor). Dara O’Shea is probably the only lad guaranteed to start against Armenia. Never good when 4 of your first choice back 5 are missing.
If Obafemi has been called up to the senior squad ahead of Shane Long, that’s a mistake by McCarthy, unless Long is injured. Obafemi has played less lately than Long and Long is still an infinitely more intimidating prospect in terms of his strength and pace and intelligence/experience using his body. Even when he’s not scoring goals, he’s still giving centre backs a hard day’s work. He’s still drawing fouls and penalties. If I was a Danish centre back, honestly, Shane Long is the one lad who I really wouldn’t want to face, more than any other striker we have. So to not even include him in the squad is criminal. Thinking back, I think maybe he does better against better opposition. I can remember games against Chelsea, United, Liverpool, Germany, Belgium, France etc where he caused real problems for defenders.
Scully makes sense but Kenny clearly sees something in Power that he’s yet to show on the pitch. He’s picked him ahead of Barrett, but really he’s also picked him ahead of an actual number 9 which Obafemi can be. It leaves us very light in that department. Keena and Grant are unproven yet at this level.
Perhaps this is the negative of us playing all of our competitive games together and so early in the group to accommodate the Kenny situation. As it progresses and you lose players to the senior squad or players to suspension and injury, you haven’t had the friendlies interspersed to blood other viable alternatives. Or maybe it’s just bad luck that all of Kelleher, Travers, O’Connor, Masterson, Leahy, Clarke, Molumby, Connell, Connolly, Farrugia, Obafemi, Afolabi, Parrott are all unavailable at the same time...
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