Drama free would be nice. If Denmark can finish the job then our world Cup group will be as manageable as we coukd possibly have hoped forOriginally Posted by CraftyToePoke
& we're off.
I want to see Taylor start, take a longer look at what he does.
Don't lose, cap tie the other lad, steady drama free window.
A Parrott goal would be the shine on the apple.
Drama free would be nice. If Denmark can finish the job then our world Cup group will be as manageable as we coukd possibly have hoped for
Bulgaria will be down four players
from https://www.instagram.com/p/DHd-UIBNIyN
Bulgaria coach Ilian Iliev will not be able to count on four players for the playoff second leg with the Republic of Ireland from the Nations League tournament
Dimitar Mitov, Viktor Popov and Alex Petkov are out of the squad due to injuries, and Zhivko Atanasov will miss the match due to suspension
Instead, CSKA goalkeeper Ivan Dyulgerov will travel to Dublin, who received a call-up earlier today to join the squad
The second leg with the Republic of Ireland is on Sunday at 9:45 p.m. at the Aviva Stadium
Even allowing for Knight not being suspended, it's a bit mad that Molumby isn't in the squad for this. Even off the bench it feels like his energy could be useful if things don't prove straightforward tomorrow night. Just another thing that doesn't make sense about the constant 23 man squads.
And they'll still take more players to Dublin (24) than Ireland will have in Dublin (23)
They can still only name 23 in the match day squad
I am torn between wanting to see another few faces start to see how they'll do, and having the same starting xi for continuity's sake
I'd go continuity tbh. There's been a lot of chopping and changing in the past year, what with O'Shea taking the first couple of games last year, then HH not knowing who the players were for the first window, then seven changes from the England game to the Bulgaria game (injuries and suspension a big factor, granted). Be nice to get some semblance of a settled team
He might push Azaz out to one of the wider positions to get more of a target man up front, probably Ferguson, alongside Parrott. That would mean taking either Johnston or Manning out of the team.
Manning didn't do much wrong, but I'd be tempted to drop him and put Ferguson in from the start. Manning felt like a slightly more defensive pick for the away leg.
You could put Azaz straight in where Manning was or put him on the right and shift Johnston across to his more favoured position cutting in from the left.
Having the lead from the away leg gives us a little bit of breathing space to try something else out and change it again mid game if it's not working.
-----------------Kelleher
Doherty Collins O'Shea Brady
-------------Cullen Knight
-------Azaz Parrott Johnston
----------------Ferguson
If it's going well it would be good to see Dunne and Abankwah getting a run to continue our run of capping dual eligible players. Vata and Armstrong would be other players it would be good to see again if circumstances allow. And some more decent minutes for Taylor if he doesn't start.
Last edited by Eirambler; 23/03/2025 at 9:19 AM.
Could be reading way too much into it, but could Josh Cullen doing the press conference with HH mean that Nathan Collins might be dropped? It would be a bit of a surprise, but Collins made a lot of unforced errors (which luckily went unpunished) in the last game.
End Apartheid Now! One Team in Ireland!
I'd be shocked. If you look at the last press conference, Collins showed he needs a bit of PR training. Lots of sighing and adjusting his seat. HH gave him a couple of bemused looks. I might be reading into it too much but suffice to say I'm not surprised someone else was used this time
It's surprising that Collins isn't better at it, usually all top-level players get a fair bit of media training and he's been at enough clubs that I'd have thought he'd have gotten it somewhere.
Was reading on a Brentford forum that the club don't really see him at captain material either at this point, while his football has been great they think he has a way to go on that side of it as well.
Being at home you'd hope we'd set up a bit more attacking than the other night. Whatever about the 2 defensive midfielders which was spoken about previously, I hope we don't have 2 fullbacks on the left side again. I'd pick Manning at left back over Brady, and then I'd agree with the rest of the team pretty much.... although I would still prefer O'Brien instead of Doherty I think
Its really not that complicated!!!
I was pretty close here! O'Brien for O'Shea the only difference.
O'Brien and Ferguson in for Manning and O'Shea
Parrott and Ferguson both starting, so a bit more attacking than the away game, which makes sense
Harsh on O'Shea?
Its really not that complicated!!!
Probably but O'Brien is doing well in the Premiership too. He probably deserves his start. O'Shea is the unlucky lad to miss out. All in all, I think its the result of healthy competition. HH is wedded to a left footer at left back in spite of the dip in playing levels between that and the options available across the rest of the back four. I can see his logic. It just means that with everyone else fit, someone has to be disappointed.
If nothing else it's probably the tallest center half pairing in International football
Its really not that complicated!!!
I like that lineup a lot.
Some day we might get O'Brien and McGuinness alongside each other, which would be taller again!
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