David McGoldrick F Notts County b.1987

[nigel-harps1954]

[Charlie Darwin]

ffs Nigel I wanted the foreign language one

[John83]

Here's the goal (and highlights). Different angle to above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7gT_ZHtpoQ&t=2m7s

[irishfan86]

I was going to bring it up in the match thread but given McGoldrick isn't going to be playing figured I'd post this here.

For the World Cup campaign we're going to have to figure out a couple of things.

Is McGoldrick going to be starting? If so, I think we need a new formation. He can't play as the tip of the spear and he can't play as a wide forward in a 4-3-3.

My sense is that Kenny is really hoping Idah plays himself into the starting central role and McGoldrick can become more of an option off the bench.

Personally I'm a big McGoldrick fan and believe he will have a role to play in our World Cup qualifying campaign. I'd be inclined to go with a 4-4-1-1 or a 4-2-3-1, with McGoldrick playing centrally behind the main centre forward, which is likely going to be Idah.

Maybe we can't justify building the team around a guy who's going to be 33 next month and he is destined to be a casualty of Kenny's system.

Curious to get your feedback on this.

[paul_oshea]

I said before this round of games that if McG played in the front 3 I wanted someone to be central of those in "front" 3 alongside him, to go central as he dropped deep. It definitely happened more in the October games, but it still didn't happen enough.

McG is 33 at most 1 more campaign, if we are building for the future like everyone is saying, then we cant be looking at him, especially given how injury prone he is.

Either way we have to be looking at him as a bench option at best. I believe the style of play and the way we've played this round of games hinges on Idah being a finisher and a burst of pace and strength coming centrally into the box. If, and its a big If(doesn't look so good so far this season) he kicks on from where he is now and establishes himself as a good goal scorer for club then we could be in a very good position in 2 years time(with parrot hopefully coming into the senior side at that point too).

[elatedscum]

I was going to bring it up in the match thread but given McGoldrick isn't going to be playing figured I'd post this here.

For the World Cup campaign we're going to have to figure out a couple of things.

Is McGoldrick going to be starting? If so, I think we need a new formation. He can't play as the tip of the spear and he can't play as a wide forward in a 4-3-3.

My sense is that Kenny is really hoping Idah plays himself into the starting central role and McGoldrick can become more of an option off the bench.

Personally I'm a big McGoldrick fan and believe he will have a role to play in our World Cup qualifying campaign. I'd be inclined to go with a 4-4-1-1 or a 4-2-3-1, with McGoldrick playing centrally behind the main centre forward, which is likely going to be Idah.

Maybe we can't justify building the team around a guy who's going to be 33 next month and he is destined to be a casualty of Kenny's system.

Curious to get your feedback on this.

It’s not necessarily the formation. Liverpool are a great comparison that everyone knows, Firmino plays in a very similar way to McGoldrick in terms of his movement and his link up play. In Liverpool’s 4-3-3, the goals primarily come from the fast wide players who are more narrow than most (which in turn allows the full backs bomb forward and cross). If Connolly and Robinson are able to do that job, then we could score goals. Doherty and Stevens are both capable of it, as is McGoldrick. I think ideally, you’d prefer a left footer on the right wing, who is able to cut inside - but we don’t have many of those in the pipeline...

[Philly]

Honestly, I kind of expect McGoldrick to fade into the background or retire soon enough. He's 33 next month and it's a long time to World Cup 2022. I think him and Long will not be in the team by next summer.

[Razors left peg]

Ive said previously that when I rewatched the Slovakia game that I thought McGoldrick was awful. Yes he looked busy because he was dropping so deep to get on the ball but by doing that he was never in the right position to receive the ball up front. I thought it was very undisciplined performance for a striker in that system especially when we didnt have Connolly to fill the gap in the 9 position. Would have been ok if he was playing in the 10 position

[irishfan86]

My attitude is that Kenny has to take responsibility for that by ordering McGoldrick not to drop, or alternatively using a player that will maintain more discipline and aim to play on the shoulders of the defenders. I'm less inclined to blame McGoldrick for doing his natural thing -- especially as my interpretation of the performance was the complete opposite.

As I've mentioned above, my actual preference is to have another player on the field who will play on the shoulder of the last defender and allow McGoldrick to play in behind.

[Razors left peg]

Fair point about Kenny and as I said I think if Connolly was playing he would have been cutting in to play on the defenders shoulders. I suppose they might have been training that way but when Connolly was forced out McClean was never going to offer the same threat.

But taking the game on its merits it was baffling to me that he was given man of match by some people. Its all well and good looking busy but it has to be in right areas.

[paul_oshea]

Its all well and good saying kenny shoudn't have told him to drop or trying to blame mcg for dropping, if he hadn't we wouldn't have created 2 chances, we weren't getting anything up until he started to drop and looked very uncreative, he had no choice but to drop. It wasn't like he started the game dropping deep. The two best chances possibly.

[Razors left peg]

I might be a 1 man minority with my opinion. I just heard Richie Sadlier saying he was brilliant in Slovakia

[paul_oshea]

What youre saying makes sense, what Ireland are missing is a 12th player one to fill the centre of the 3. If only the rules would allow it.

Because at present we cant get a player to sit in the centre, because if he does no ball gets up to him and if he drops we've no one coming central to receive the ball centrally, and no proper wide men with pace to receive and go past. Like Warren Zevon said, stuck between a rock and a hard place and we're down on our luck

[Razors left peg]

Or you play McGoldrick where Hendrick was picked a play 3 in front of him

[irishfan86]

I can't help but think Kenny is forging ahead with his favoured system as opposed to designing a system to best fit the personnel.

In terms of personal preference I'm not a fan of 3-5-2 but given our players I honestly do think it would make the most sense. I do have sympathy for how COVID and the lack of friendlies has impeded the ability to experiment during friendlies or what have you.

[Razors left peg]

Agreed, I think if Idah or Parrott make the step up the current system would make more sense, McGoldrick is a stop gap until then

[paul_oshea]

I can't help but think Kenny is forging ahead with his favoured system as opposed to designing a system to best fit the personnel.

In terms of personal preference I'm not a fan of 3-5-2 but given our players I honestly do think it would make the most sense. I do have sympathy for how COVID and the lack of friendlies has impeded the ability to experiment during friendlies or what have you.

Agreed and regardless of personnel available he sticks to the same system.

[paul_oshea]

Agreed, I think if Idah or Parrott make the step up the current system would make more sense, McGoldrick is a stop gap until then

Yep its hinging on either or both of those players really. If it works out it will be seen as a masterstroke, if it doesn't well you live and die by the sword.

[Stuttgart88]

It's also hinging on the likes of Obafemi, Afolabi, Cassidy and whoever elses makes the cut from our young forwards and attacking midfielders. In fact I'd hazard a guess and say all our future success hinges on the quality of players we produce.

433 isn't a stick to beat Kenny with, nor will it be the making or breaking of us. Playing football well will be. We've created chances and so far we have been far less easy for teams to play through. The balance hasn't quite worked just yet but the way people talk about formations you'd swear it was table football with players only allowed to move within a few inches of their nominal position. 433 /4231/4312 is all the same really, just nuanced depending on the players picked and how the game develops.

I'd say that each of the players picked in the XI yesterday was picked in a role that suited him. We lacked a bit of creativity but in the absence of McG there's really only Byrne and SK made the decisoon not to play him.

I'd agree (and have done before) that 352 seems to suit available personnel. I don't think reverting to 442 would be anything but regressive.

[tetsujin1979]

I thought the 2+3 we were using on Sunday played more like a flat five at times, and it left Long very isolated up front. When the five midfielders moved, they moved together and we could have been caught on the break a few times