Ireland starting 11 for tomorrow.

Seaneh

official.

Henderson

Finnan, oshea, dunne, harte

Carsley, Ireland, Kilbane, Duff

Keane, Long.

Vokes

A well-balanced back 4 with Finnan in his proper position finally! Good Lineup.

Ireland on the right wing I presume? Or Duff?

jesus_thats_gre

Kilbane will be on the left with Carsley and Ireland in the middle and Duff on the right probably. Or swap Kilbane with Duff.

event

would have preferred to see stokes up front, but long is doing well too, so good luck to him

id say the middle will be duff on the left, ireland on the right, the other two in th emiddle

Andrew 83

Looks a decently balanced team and should do the job.

Nuttzz

To see McShane dropped is a pity

BaZmO*

Nuttzz wrote:

To see McShane dropped is a pity

Was just gonna say the same. Is he injured?

Would've liked to see Stokes line out but at least we have him as an option and Long does deserve a shot too.

I'd say they'll more than likely line up like this....

Henderson

Finnan, O'Shea, Dunne, Harte

Duff, Ireland, Carsley, Kilbane

Keane, Long

woodyg

Is McShane getting regular games with the Baggies? If he is its a suprise to see him dropped as he has played very well since coming into the team.

BaZmO*

From the FAI website.

A surprise was the omission of centre-back Paul McShane after his two exciting performances in his first internationals against the Czech Republic and San Marino in Dublin. McShane is, however, on a yellow card and a second yellow in this match would automatically rule him out of next month's match at Croke Park against Wales. He is also carrying an injury, for he received a gash on his calf muscle in training and manager Staunton obviously did not want to risk losing him for Ireland's first match in Croke Park.

event

he played full back at the weekend IIRC

Dublin's Finest

I don't think McShane would have much to do really - that's probably the thinking behind omitting him.

redzerdrog

why are we playing a goalkeeper at centre half??

RasTa

God that team looks bad.

Time Magazine

RasTa wrote:

God that team looks bad.

Just thinking.

PHB

That team has imo, 5 of the top 11, the team of

Finnan-Dunne-McShane-O'Shea

McGeady-Ireland-Reid-Duff

Keane-Doyle

is quite a good team if you ask me

ullu

PHB wrote:

That team has imo, 5 of the top 11, the team of

Finnan-Dunne-McShane-O'Shea

McGeady-Ireland-Reid-Duff

Keane-Doyle

is quite a good team if you ask me

Steven or Andy?

PHB

Steven

Carcharodon

Thats an ok team in my opinion PHB, nothing special at all in international standards, alot of average players but what can we do about that.....
Missing that cutting edge player(s), hopefuly they can come together and be a group of players that work well together and prove difficult to beat no matter which team they play, doubt it with staunton though...

event

its san marino though

we should be able to beat em with the U21's

Raskolnikov

Seaneh wrote:

official.

Henderson

Finnan, oshea, dunne, harte

Carsley, Ireland, Kilbane, Duff

Keane, Long.

McGeady is injured, I'm not sure if A. Reid has returned to fitness, otherwise I'd rather see him and Duff on the wings. Glad to see Harte getting a run out, before his injury he's performed well, deserves a chance. The only player I'm not too happy about seeing is Kilbane. He's been ok recently, but definitely prone to poor form.

Otherwise, a good team, we should win 2-0 or so.

eirebhoy

Carcharodon wrote:

Thats an ok team in my opinion PHB, nothing special at all in international standards, alot of average players but what can we do about that.....

The Czechs always have a few average players in their team yet they're successful. With every player fit we could field a team close enough the standard of the Czechs imo.

_blank_

redzerdrog wrote:

why are we playing a goalkeeper at centre half??

Fúcking Stan Staunton making these rash decisions that could cost us games.

This just takes the biscuit.

Dropping one of our best centre halfs just because he's on a yellow. What? Because it's 'only' San Marino, and putting a goalkeeper in instead of him?

WTF like?


LOL by the way redzerdrog, you owe me a new keyboard

Reganio 2

The team I would like to see (not including injuries would be)
......................Given....................
Finnan.........Dunne.......McShane.....Harte
McGeady.....Kavanagh....Ireland....Duff
...............Keane..........Doyle
But that team SHOULD beat San Marino........... hopefully

event

seansouth wrote:

Fúcking Stan Staunton making these rash decisions that could cost us games.

This just takes the biscuit.

Dropping one of our best centre halfs just because he's on a yellow. What? Because it's 'only' San Marino, and putting a goalkeeper in instead of him?

WTF like?


LOL by the way redzerdrog, you owe me a new keyboard

im sorry, its not a rash decision

he is right to drop mcshane, he is obviously thinking of playing him against wales.

(unless of course you were joking)

The_B_Man

its already been said that he dropped McShane coz hes on a yellow and has a slight injury concern. Given the opposition, its a valid reason.

wba88

hey lads, to answer previous questions
McShane is getting his game for wba regularly, and the 'slight knock' he got against hull on saturday coupled with the yellow card he is on its not worth riskin him!

Games played by Paul McShane in 2006/2007 Goals
24-08-2006 English League Cup Leyton Orient 0-3 West Brom 0
09-09-2006 Football League Championship West Brom 2-0 Leicester 0
12-09-2006 Football League Championship Preston 1-0 West Brom 0
16-09-2006 Football League Championship West Brom 1-1 Southend 0
19-09-2006 English League Cup West Brom 3-1 Cheltenham 0
23-09-2006 Football League Championship Luton 2-2 West Brom 0
30-09-2006 Football League Championship West Brom 4-2 Leeds 0
11-10-2006 European Championships Ireland 1-1 Czech Republic 0
24-10-2006 English League Cup West Brom 0-2 Arsenal 0
11-11-2006 Football League Championship West Brom 0-1 Norwich 0
15-11-2006 European Championships Ireland 5-0 San Marino 0
28-11-2006 Football League Championship Sheff Wed 3-1 West Brom 0
02-12-2006 Football League Championship West Brom 1-0 Derby 0
10-12-2006 Football League Championship Barnsley 1-1 West Brom 0
16-12-2006 Football League Championship West Brom 5-0 Coventry 0
23-12-2006 Football League Championship Plymouth 2-2 West Brom 0
26-12-2006 Football League Championship West Brom 4-2 Preston 0
30-12-2006 Football League Championship West Brom 2-0 Ipswich 0
01-01-2007 Football League Championship Southend 3-1 West Brom 0
06-01-2007 English FA Cup West Brom 3-1 Leeds 1
20-01-2007 Football League Championship Leeds 2-3 West Brom 0
28-01-2007 English FA Cup Wolves 0-3 West Brom 0
31-01-2007 Football League Championship West Brom 2-1 Plymouth 0
03-02-2007 Football League Championship Hull City 0-1 West Brom 0
Goals: 1 Yellow cards: 6 Red Cards: 1

WhiteWashMan

seeing that team sheet, im tempted to go out and put a bet on a draw.
and im absolutely serious about that.

someone said we should win 2-0.

this is san marino. we should be putting 6 or 7 past them. half decent teams manage to do it, and yet ireland constantly grind out 1-0 or 2-1 draws against the most awful of teams. and sometimes we dont even manage to score at all. staunton is a joke. the team is a joke. at the least the rugby team should give ireland a bit of pride this year, the football tem certainly wont.

eirebhoy

WWM, there's absolutely zero chance of us failing to win tonight.

BaZmO*

WhiteWashMan wrote:

seeing that team sheet, im tempted to go out and put a bet on a draw.
and im absolutely serious about that.

someone said we should win 2-0.

this is san marino. we should be putting 6 or 7 past them. half decent teams manage to do it, and yet ireland constantly grind out 1-0 or 2-1 draws against the most awful of teams. and sometimes we dont even manage to score at all. staunton is a joke. the team is a joke. at the least the rugby team should give ireland a bit of pride this year, the football tem certainly wont.

Name your odds and I'll double them for ya!!

San Marino 0 - 13 Germany
Czech Republic 7 - 0 San Marino
Republic of Ireland 5 - 0 San Marino

_blank_

eirebhoy wrote:

WWM, there's absolutely zero chance of us failing to win tonight.

This simply isn't true.

Our main striker couldn't beat our centre half in a one on one on Sunday, when our centre half was deputising in goal for his club.

The other striker is making his debut, god knows what kind of nerves (which you are an advocate of when on about players not performing to their potential) he will be feeling.

A left winger on the right, where he has consistantly put in below par performances for the team over the last two years.

Ian Harte is not the most astute defender, but hey, we might get a free kick.

Debutante goalkeeper, who may also suffer from nerves.

gustavo

I would be cautiously optimistic about tonight more than anything , an early goal will be important to settle the nerves. Pity about players playing out of position I would say its at least a couple of years since O'Shea played at centre back for his club.

BaZmO*

seansouth wrote:

This simply isn't true.

I'd say that it most definitely is.

seansouth wrote:

Our main striker couldn't beat our centre half in a one on one on Sunday, when our centre half was deputising in goal for his club.

But yet he managed to score a hatrick against San Marino the last time we played them.
And in fairness, O'Shea's save wasn't a Goalkeeper's save it was a centre half's tackle.

seansouth wrote:

The other striker is making his debut, god knows what kind of nerves (which you are an advocate of when on about players not performing to their potential) he will be feeling.

He's banging them in for Reading at the moment (2 in the last 3). Plus I don't think nerves will be a factor as it's an away match and it's only San Marino.

seansouth wrote:

A left winger on the right, where he has consistantly put in below par performances for the team over the last two years.

And yet he's probably our most gifted player, and as a result of that he's generally marked out of the game, and with San Marino going for that tried and tested 1-9-1 formation somehow I don't see that happening tonight.

seansouth wrote:

Ian Harte is not the most astute defender, but hey, we might get a free kick.

Debutante goalkeeper, who may also suffer from nerves.

As I've said already, the 1-9-1 formation ain't gonna be troubling our defence too much.

_blank_

BaZmO* wrote:

it's only San Marino.

:rolleyes:

It was only Cyprus ffs.

It was only Lichtenstein that terrible day we got the draw there.

It was only Macedonia the day McAteer showed us his Kung-Fu.

Look, I hope Ireland win tonight, I really do, but I don't think it will be the cakewalk people are predicting. Far from it actually.

If we score more than three tonight I'll come back here and hold my hands up and say that I was wrong - no bother mate, but for too long I have heard the same crap spouted about opposition teams, and seen the results.

therecklessone

seansouth wrote:

Our main striker couldn't beat our centre half in a one on one on Sunday, when our centre half was deputising in goal for his club.

San Marino ain't a big team, therefore Robbie will have put in another stellar performance. We'll get a couple of goals and at least one cartwheel.

eirebhoy

seansouth wrote:

This simply isn't true.

Of course it is. They haven't ever got a point in 37 Euro qualifiers. They haven't scored a goal in Euro qualifying in 12 years. They're a Sunday league team. In fact we could easily field plenty of teams of Sunday league players that would beat them.

sean, seriously. I'm actually starting to think you haven't seen San Marino play. How in the name of god you can compare them to Cyprus.

woodyg

Lads have a little bit of confidence would yea's! We'll win tonight no doubts.
It will be a piss poor game to watch with San Marino going to hang right back and pack the defence. But we'll score a couple get the 3 points and move on to the bigger games. I'd say 4-0 tonight with Robbie getting 2 and Long getting on the score sheet.

BaZmO*

seansouth wrote:

If we score more than three tonight I'll come back here and hold my hands up and say that I was wrong - no bother mate

See you back here at 10 o'clock so.

_blank_

eirebhoy wrote:

Of course it is. They haven't ever got a point in 37 Euro qualifiers. They haven't scored a goal in Euro qualifying in 12 years. They're a Sunday league team. In fact we could easily field plenty of teams of Sunday league players that would beat them.

sean, seriously. I'd be worried if you are seriously comparing San Marino to Cyprus. Have you seen San Marino play?

Not live no, I stopped going to matches for various reasons.

I'm not comparing the San Marinese to the Cypriots. I am comparing the way people are saying this will be an absolute cakewalk for us to how they said the same thing about teams in my previous post.

Take the Lichtenstein example. At the time we played them and drew they were pretty much in the same place as San Marino, maybe got the odd draw here and there. I think they've a couple more, and a win over Malta or something like that. WE DREW WITH LICHTENSTEIN THAT DAY. Precisely because of the complacent attitude being shown here.

What is in place to stop that happening again?

_blank_

BaZmO* wrote:

See you back here at 10 o'clock so.

I won't be back online until I get to work tomorrow morning, but I promise I will do what I stated.

eirebhoy

seansouth wrote:

I'm not comparing the San Marinese to the Cypriots. I am comparing the way people are saying this will be an absolute cakewalk for us to how they said the same thing about teams in my previous post.

Well I personally wasn't the slightest bit confident of us getting anything off Cyprus when I saw Kilbane and Ireland were playing central midfield. You're right about Liechtenstein but that's not going to make me believe San Marino have a hope tonight.

BaZmO*

seansouth wrote:

Not live no, I stopped going to matches for various reasons.

I'm not comparing the San Marinese to the Cypriots. I am comparing the way people are saying this will be an absolute cakewalk for us to how they said the same thing about teams in my previous post.

Take the Lichtenstein example. At the time we played them and drew they were pretty much in the same place as San Marino, maybe got the odd draw here and there. I think they've a couple more, and a win over Malta or something like that. WE DREW WITH LICHTENSTEIN THAT DAY. Precisely because of the complacent attitude being shown here.

What is in place to stop that happening again?

You're right about the Lichtenstein match in the sense that anything can happen in football but I think that we've already had our "Lichtenstein" match in this group with the 5-2 Cyprus defeat but there were other factors involved in that match, e.g. injuries, team selection, Cyprus actually being a better team than people gave them credit for.

I know that anything is possible in football but I really really can't see us loosing this match, and in fact, I'm more than confident that we'll win comfortably. Have a look at the odds the bookies are giving for the match and it'll put it in some persective.

_blank_

BaZmO* wrote:

I really really can't see us loosing this match,

I never said that I thought we'd lose.

BaZmO* wrote:

and in fact, I'm more than confident that we'll win comfortably.

This is the issue here. What have you seen from any Ireland team in the past, say five years, to suggest that we'll go and give this shower a good hockeying tonight?

Where does the confidence come from?

BaZmO*

seansouth wrote:

This is the issue here. What have you seen from any Ireland team in the past, say five years, to suggest that we'll go and give this shower a good hockeying tonight?

Where does the confidence come from?

San Marino 0 - 13 Germany
Czech Republic 7 - 0 San Marino
Republic of Ireland 5 - 0 San Marino

perhaps?

event

WhiteWashMan wrote:

seeing that team sheet, im tempted to go out and put a bet on a draw.
and im absolutely serious about that.

someone said we should win 2-0.

this is san marino. we should be putting 6 or 7 past them. half decent teams manage to do it, and yet ireland constantly grind out 1-0 or 2-1 draws against the most awful of teams. and sometimes we dont even manage to score at all. staunton is a joke. the team is a joke. at the least the rugby team should give ireland a bit of pride this year, the football tem certainly wont.

ah quit moaning

if you cant get behind the team, get over to the rugby thread then

Pighead

In fairness to seansouth hes right in saying that in Ireland don't generally crush teams. Anybody expecting a 4 5 or 6 goal victory tonight may be a tad optimistic.

Take last years qualifying campaign when we played Faroe Islands twice. Results? 2-0 both home and away.
San Marino are ranked just 12 places below the Faroes. As seansouth says, its hard to know where this confidence comes from.

Personally I reckon Ireland will win 3-0 and there shall be no apologies necessary from the boards gaffer come the morning.

BaZmO*

Pighead wrote:

Take last years qualifying campaign when we played Faroe Islands twice. Results? 2-0 both home and away

Well apart from the Swiss putting 6 past them in their opening match no team scored more than 3 against them.

Pighead wrote:

San Marino are ranked just 12 places below the Faroes. As seansouth says, its hard to know where this confidence comes from.

Egypt are ranked 12 places below Holland, that doesn't make them a good team. Everybody knows FIFA rankings are to be taken with a pinch of salt.

I know what people are saying about over confidence (every Irish fan knows this only too well) but if we can't be confident about banging in a few against a team like San Marino (population < 30,000) well then we is rightly fooked.

At the end of the day 3 points is 3 points but we are more than capable of scoring a few against them, something we have actually done already).

Pighead

BaZmO* wrote:

Well apart from the Swiss putting 6 past them in their opening match no team scored more than 3 against them.

Yep thats a nice positive spin on it alright. Or you could have said everybody else in the group scored more against them than us bar Israel who scored the same.

BaZmO* wrote:

Egypt are ranked 12 places below Holland, that doesn't make them a good team. Everybody knows FIFA rankings are to be taken with a pinch of salt.

True but I think its fair to say that when you drop out of the top 160, most teams are as **** as each other(excluding American samoa, who bring the ****tiness to a different dimension)

BaZmO* wrote:

I know what people are saying about over confidence (every Irish fan knows this only too well) but if we can't be confident about banging in a few against a team like San Marino (population < 30,000) well then we is rightly fooked.

Theres not too many more people in the Faroes unless theres been a population explosion lately!

WhiteWashMan

event wrote:

ah quit moaning

if you cant get behind the team, get over to the rugby thread then

you can see it as moaning, but i think i have a right to have expectations on how the irish team performs.

ireland have consistantly underperformed over the last 10 years.

in fact, they are the spurs of world football. great on their day. pants on a bad day, and consistantly inconsistant.

seriously, who loses 5-2 to cypress?

BaZmO*

Pighead wrote:

Yep thats a nice positive spin on it alright. Or you could have said everybody else in the group scored more against them than us bar Israel who scored the same.

Or I could of said that we managed to keep a clean sheet against them in both matches...spin....spin....spin....

Pighead wrote:

Theres not too many more people in the Faroes unless theres been a population explosion lately!

LOL. Well 50K is neraly double 30k.

Andrew 83

WhiteWashMan wrote:

in fact, they are the spurs of world football. great on their day. pants on a bad day, and consistantly inconsistant.

My two teams (at least I have the old Barca membership to fall back on)

I think we'll win 3-0.

eirebhoy

WhiteWashMan wrote:

seriously, who loses 5-2 to cypress?

A team that plays an physically weak, attacking playmaker beside a left winger with not the slightest bit of a football brain in a 4-4-2 with 2 out and out wingers. I wouldn't even play S.Ireland in a 4-4-2 alongside Carsley in Cyprus tbh (and I'm sure Pearce would agree as he plays him in front of 2 central midfielders). San Marino's a different story though.