Gibraltar V Republic of Ireland - Saturday, 23rd March 2019 - Euro 2020 Qualifier

**paul_oshea** · 21/03/2019, 1:11 PM

Yes cos you agree with me and therefore I agree with you.

**geysir** · 21/03/2019, 6:23 PM

I don't know about Stevens, whereas Matt and Séamus are hot to trot, both class players.
Matt in particular seems to very happy and chilled out

**shakermaker1982** · 21/03/2019, 6:35 PM

Any chance he could go with wing backs for Georgia? Coleman as a right sided CB and then Doherty in his best position? It would be a waste to play that formation vs Gibraltar but it must be something he has considered.

**geysir** · 21/03/2019, 7:40 PM

Fadó Fadó you could come close to predicting a McCarthy team but he's only in the door now. I think he'll approach both games similarly

**samhaydenjr** · 21/03/2019, 9:10 PM

I'm surprised that there hasn't been much concern about the Georgia game, given the depletion of our squad. They have a decent squad who will take points off the other teams in the group (and possibly more). We need to get six points off them to put ourselves in a good position and it looks like we'll be fielding a semi-experimental team. Am I worrying too much?

**backstothewall** · 21/03/2019, 9:18 PM

Originally Posted by shakermaker1982

Any chance he could go with wing backs for Georgia? Coleman as a right sided CB and then Doherty in his best position? It would be a waste to play that formation vs Gibraltar but it must be something he has considered.

I've been banging this drum for a while now. I think it would be a great system for us with the players we have and I believe MMcC used it at Ipswich. I think Coleman playing at centre back in a back 3 could be a revelation and it would free up Doherty and Brady to maraude into the opposition half as wingbacks. The option is there to play either a 5-3-2 or a 3-4-3 depending on the opposition.

Against Gibraltar there shouldn't really be any real defending to do. They are going to put 10 men behind the ball with 1 forward who they will be attempting to clear the ball to with little more ambition than him either winning a free kick or holding up the ball long enough let them get out and reform their lines.

As i said above I'd have thrown a lot more youth in for this one but within the limits of the squad Mick has picked I'd consider playing Coleman and Duffy at centre back for this (with one eye on Egan coming in against Georgia to make up a back 3). Once the game gets going the 2 full backs will probably end up playing as de facto wingers, with the wide men ending up coming inside as extra bodies in the penalty area. This team is a 4-4-4 on paper but in reality it will end up as a 2-4-4

------------- Randolph ------------
Doherty Coleman Duffy Stevens
Hourihane Hendrick Cullen O'Brien
-------- McGoldrick Hogan --------

Stevens deserves a chance at left back. I'd be playing Brady there against Georgia but there is no sense risking him against Gibraltar when Stevens is due an opportunity.

Hourihane on the right may seem an odd one at first glance. The thinking is that he has a great left foot and should get plenty of opportunity from that area to cut inside and put in-swinging crosses into the box or take on a shot. The thinking is exactly the same with O'Brien on the other side, with the obvious difference that O'Brien plays in that role for Millwall every week. Hourihane also offers a real danger from set pieces. Hendrick will probably end up floating around the edge of the area a lot of the time with Cullen offering a link between the centre backs and the more advanced players.

And up front McGoldrick and Hogan are playing and training together for Sheffield United. Why not take advantage of them hopefully having developed an understanding.

**liamoo11** · 21/03/2019, 9:36 PM

Originally Posted by samhaydenjr

I'm surprised that there hasn't been much concern about the Georgia game, given the depletion of our squad. They have a decent squad who will take points off the other teams in the group (and possibly more). We need to get six points off them to put ourselves in a good position and it looks like we'll be fielding a semi-experimental team. Am I worrying too much?

Yeah I'm with u on this. There is a giddy atmosphere around who mick will play which would be great if these were 2 friendlies or Gibraltar and a friendly but I agree Georgia could really come for blood on tuesday

**irishfan86** · 21/03/2019, 10:09 PM

I’m with you boys dreading Georgia. I’m hoping we have a very comfortable Gibraltar outing and the optimism, good feeling vibes from that & new coaching era gives us an X factor so we can grind out a win in Georgia. Could easily see a loss though unfortunately—my biggest concern is midfield though Whelan’s return does ease my fears a touch. He is still a very good sitter.

**geysir** · 21/03/2019, 10:15 PM

First up is Gibraltar, I dread Gibraltar, an improved team playing at home for the first time.

**Fixer82** · 22/03/2019, 8:23 AM

Gibraltar is a warm-up for the tricky Georgia fixture.
I think whatever team he picks will be the team for Georgia.

Has Doherty ever played Left Back?

**irishfan86** · 22/03/2019, 8:47 AM

Doherty played regularly at left fullback during the 2015/16 season if I recall correctly, and for a good chunk of 2016/17 as well.

**sbgawa** · 22/03/2019, 10:20 AM

Speaking as a Rovers fan with an obvious bias, i would start Byrne against Gibraltar , we need someone who can pick a pass and or do something creative.
We've all been saying for ages their is zero creativity in the Irish set up and he provides that in spades

**ifk101** · 22/03/2019, 10:23 AM

We can put together a decent back four but we are lacking "presence" in the center of midfield to play just two there, we have no right midfielder/ winger and there're no obvious choices for the wide positions if we go 4-3-3. Gibraltar will give us a game and Georgia will be a battle. Sorry state of affairs when the probability of dropping points in two games with Gibraltar and Georgia is high.

I'd pick the following:
Not keen to play Whelan but there's a need for an anchor in midfield and Whelan is the only one in the squad that can play that anchor (and tbf if he plays like the 30mins against the North he'll make us better). If Arter brings a bit of bite to the midfield maybe Hendrick is free to get on the ball more and demonstrate he can actually play ball? Brady in the team for his crossing and dead-ball deliveries and Doherty on the right because he's on form and probably is the most suited to play that side. McGoldrick in the team ahead of Maguire. Need height up front and hoping McGoldrick has a bit more cuteness/ professional experience to bring to the team.

Randolph
Coleman Duffy Egan Stevens
Whelan
Doherty Hendrick Arter Brady
McGoldrick

**Kingdom** · 22/03/2019, 10:27 AM

Richard Keogh has a broken hand, but has been kept in the squad, thus delaying surgery. If McCarthy wasn't going to play him, he surely would have allowed him to leave the squad. I'd say he's nailed on to start now alongside duffy.

**Olé Olé** · 22/03/2019, 11:30 AM

I feel we really could do with getting Maguire and Egan into the team. I know Mick's tenure I'd short but I think these lads, along with Alan Browne, could do with the experience under their belt for this round of qualifiers.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a 4-4-2. A midfield of Doherty, Hendrick, Arter and Brady with McGoldrick and Maguire up front. It might not work against better opposition, though it can be a 4-2-3-1 quite quickly.

That said, it doesn't include Doherty and he really deserves to play. It just so happens 2 of our 3 best players (Duffy) are right backs.

**pineapple stu** · 22/03/2019, 11:53 AM

The Georgia game is a good point; I think it's important to go with the same team for both matches if possible. If there's too many changes, then Georgia becomes another first match for McCarthy. Experiment in Gibraltar if the game is won after an hour

**geysir** · 22/03/2019, 12:32 PM

Most every competent manager would start of with the strongest possible team v Gibraltar away.
As group fixtures go, these first two games are as good as we could have gotten for the team in their current state and with a new manager, the Georgia game should be a good barometer.

**Stuttgart88** · 22/03/2019, 3:26 PM

Westwood
Coleman-Duffy-Keogh (or Egan)-Stevens
Doherty-Arter*-Byrne-Brady
Maguire McGoldrick

I like the idea of Cullen coming in and grabbing the role by the scruff of the neck, but I don’t see it.

Hourihane is very close but his deep lying work was weak under MON. So was Hendrick’s. Both play best in the opponent’s half.

If Mick doesn’t pick Stevens I’ll defect to England.

**geysir** · 23/03/2019, 7:06 AM

In the WC 2018 qual, Andorra were the bottom ranked team, tailed off at the bottom of pot 6. On their plastic pitch, they lost 0-2 to Portugal, 1-2 to Switz, beat Hungary 2-1, drew with Faroes, lost 0-1 Latvia. Scoring 2 goals is more than a satisfactory performance against a minnow on their home ground and should be enough for us.

**backstothewall** · 23/03/2019, 7:48 AM

I'm confident Mick will work them out. The ghost of Liechtenstein haunts Ireland in these sorts of games but I remember Mick hooking David Connolly and putting on The Doc after 25 minutes against Andorra during in his last spell in charge when he realised how vulnerable they would be to getting the ball in to a big man in the box.