id go with
.....................Given
Kelly......Dunne......McShane......O'Shea
McGeady.....Ireland.....Carsley.......Hunt
........................Keane(c)
..........................Doyle
As much as id like to see it, i dont think he will start Andy Reid, as he will remain loyal to stephen ireland he Mcgeady is on Fire in training at the moment
'How can I hate women, my Mums one!!!' Chris Finch
everyone was hailing the new 4-3-3 formation after the game in Croker .. anyone think that we'll go again with this?
If that is the case, I could see the lineup being
....................Given
Kelly......Dunne......McShane......O'Shea
.......Reid ..........Carsley.......Kilbane
................Ireland........Keane(c)
..........................Doyle
not saying that is the team I would pick ..
I actually do like the look of that tbh. I'd swap Kilbane for Hunt though for a bit of width in the three man midfield.Originally Posted by macdermesser
Staunton will go for this though I reckon:
.............................Given
Kelly..............Dunne........McShane........... O'Shea
............................Carsley
A Reid.............................................. ......McGeady
............................Ireland
........................Keane....Doyle
Interesting line up there Mac. Food for thought.
Stan has to get the mindset right regardless of selection. He should be asking each one of them how much they want to play in a Euro finals & that if they want it they have to go out and show it. Play with tempo and without fear. If you’ve got talent use it. If we go one down go out and get the game back.
This team has strengths and weaknesses. Playing cautiously and hoping for a break will expose these weaknesses. Play to our strengths, engage the opposition in a game and we’ll have every chance. This is lower second tier opposition at best on Saturday.
If I was being a realist I could see this all going horribly, horribly tits up. The romantic in me wonders if our statistically demonstrable inability to beat decent teams away is ready to be punctuated by an improbable three points on the road. If we were to win one I'd want it to be against the Czechs -yet if we lose to Slovakia I think the wheels will come off.
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
That'd be pretty much my team but with Reid on the left & McGeady on the right, still have the option of Hunt of the bench to run at them
Anyone think, with the amount of defensive injuries, that he might play 3 at the back?
E.G.
Given
O'Shea Dunne McShane
McGeady Ireland Carsley Reid Hunt
Doyle Keane
I don't think so, not to start with anyway.
I can see our midfield having 5 with Keane dropping in and 4 at the back.
What, you'd play Ealing Green in nets, with Given as sweeper?
The thought had crossed my mind but I don't see it happening. If football was a game of 12 a side we'd be a great team, but optimising the XI we must pick is tough. No selection is without its weak points.
To switch from 442 at this stage could be courting disaster.Robbie does not seem to play well in wide midfield position.What are their central defenders like, anybody know?
Have the FAI now "tapped up" Ealing Green?
:Given
Kelly
Dunne
O'Shea
McShane
Ireland
Reid
Carsley
McGeady
Keane
Doyle
Personally this is the team id go for. Id prefer O'Shea to stay beside Dunne as i think McShane would give McGeady better protection than O'Shea. I only barely put McGeady in there ahead of Hunt, and his performance against the Danish has him there. I have dreadful visions of him repeating the performance he had in Croker against the Slovaks. As someone pointed out, the Slovaks are a very average second tier side and we really should be beating them. I really think someone has to stamp their autority on the game very early on, such as the memorable way Roy Keane did to Marc Overmars in 2001. Id love to see a full hearted tackle from McShane or Dunne in the first minute, we really have to let them know we mean business. I think that Ireland have become a bit too timid a team as of late and in away matches like these we really need to change this. Plus WE have to set the tempo of the game, not the Slovaks. If they set the tempo we will be camped in our half for 90 minutes. I truely believe we can beat them but it is 100% up to us. I feel if Slovakia get a result it will be because we ****ed up somehow or Stans strange tactics will come back into play. I think the difference will be Andy Reid, he is like a present day John Sheridan and has a fantastic range of passing. He excited me more than any other Irish player in the squad and i have a feeling the Slovaks will overlook him. It will be interesting to see how Doyle fairs.....if he isn't doing the business by the 60th minute i would let Andy Keogh have a run. For some reason i have a hell of a lot more belief now than i usually have for away matces against decent opposition. Maybe im just being very blinkered
There's some very sensible and interesting line ups there but whatever anyone feels is the right way to go - I will eat a winos jockstrap if Kilbane doesn't start at whatever position.
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
yeah kilbane will start,, it galls me and i hate the whole height argument..we cant afford to give possesiona way cheaply over there and kilbane has always been a main candidate for that...
'How can I hate women, my Mums one!!!' Chris Finch
I'd be ok with him starting on the left, Hunt taking over later.
I too thought about McShane "protecting" McGeady's side, but only if both are on the RHS. Can McShane realistically be expected to play LB?
I'd go with
Given
McShane O'Shea Dunne Kilbane
McGeady Carsley Reid Hunt
Doyle Keane
I would have played Ireland instead of McGeady if Finnan was playing since finnan could over lap and deliver good crosses and allow Ireland to drift inside but without finnan I feel we need a natural winger to play on the right.
I don't like playing McShane at RB instean of CB but I think McShane would definitely do a better job protecting McGeady than JOSH
I'd go with
Given
Kelly McShane Dunne Kilbane
McGeady Carsley O'Shea Reid
Doyle Keane
Mo rogha:
Given
Kelly - Dunne - McShane - O'Shea
McGeady - Ireland - Carsley - Kilbane
Keane - Doyle
Life isn't all beer and football...some of us haven't touched a football in months
The reality is that he won't drop Kilbane.He may even put him in the middle with Carlsley which would be a disaster.
There is no such thing as a miracle cure, a free lunch or a humble opinion.
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