Ireland v Switz (scores, everything)

Villain

I'd go for:

---

Given

---

Finnan- Cunningham - Dunne - O'Shea
Elliot - S. Reid - Kavanagh - A. Reid
---- Morrison - Robbie K --

Ok let me put some words behind it as I'm sure a lot will disagree, Firstly IMO Dunne and Cunningham are the best 2 we have in that position O'Brien is not up to it imo. Then I went for finnan at right back as I think Carr is lacking form in a big way, I was going to go with Harte but I think O'Shea can still do a job there, the main reason I went for him is his aerial ability I think he's the tallest we have or very near it anyway and he's handy to have in the box for high balls expecially if we go deep and try to defend a lead which we always do.

Then to the midfield, firstly yes I know Elliot is a striker but he has played on the right for Sunderland recently and I think he has the pace to cause the Swiss left back a few problems. S. Reid has been playing in the middle for Blackburn and has done well and Kavanagh will get stuck in. A. Reid is the only option we have to replace Duff unless you want to put Kilbane out there and tbh I wouldn't pick Kilbane for my U13 side.

Then up front we have experience and goals in Robbie and Clinton.

I doubt Kerr will pick a simalar side but IMO it's an option, what do you guys think?

Big Nelly

irish1 wrote:

Kavanagh will get stuck in.

Kavanagh has already shown on a number of occasion he isnt fit to get stuck in, pass or contribute to play at all......he was absolutely dreadful on Sat and if it was Robbie Keane who had played that bad you would see the 2-3 page thread on here about how useless he is........why people keep picking him is beyond me.....he is over 30 now and if he wasnt any good from when he started to play till now well then he shouldnt be allowed in the squad let alone the team.....play Reid there who is at least one for the future and will gain from the experience!!

Vokes

county wrote:

just seen kerr`s record on sky,out of 35 games in charge only 4 defeats thats not a bad record

But in 3 years, they haven't beaten a Top 80 team in a competitive game.

Anyways, we definitely need Harte playing. We need to take advantage of every attacking opportunity available to us. But i can't see Kerr picking him

Villain

Big Nelly wrote:

Kavanagh has already shown on a number of occasion he isnt fit to get stuck in, pass or contribute to play at all......he was absolutely dreadful on Sat and if it was Robbie Keane who had played that bad you would see the 2-3 page thread on here about how useless he is........why people keep picking him is beyond me.....he is over 30 now and if he wasnt any good from when he started to play till now well then he shouldnt be allowed in the squad let alone the team.....play Reid there who is at least one for the future and will gain from the experience!!

Kavanagh had a poor game but he will up it for tomorrows game, I just don't rate Holland he loses the ball too much, Kavanagh can get stuck in but also gives teh simple 10 yard pass, I know his form isn't great but the alternatives aren't up to much either imo.

What you think of elliot on the right?

eirebhoy

Big Nelly wrote:

Kavanagh has already shown on a number of occasion he isnt fit to get stuck in, pass or contribute to play at all......he was absolutely dreadful on Sat and if it was Robbie Keane who had played that bad you would see the 2-3 page thread on here about how useless he is........

That was Kav's first bad game imo. He has always been poor on set pieces for us though which is suprising considering he sets up about 5-10 club goals a season from set pieces. As I said earlier, a player i rate very highly, Kenny Cunningham, was as bad as him on Saturday. There's a 5 page thread on Foot.ie about dropping Robbie so he already is getting stick.

irish1 - I wouldn't be disappointed to see that lineup.

stevenmu

irish1 wrote:

Firstly IMO Dunne and Cunningham are the best 2 we have in that position O'Brien is not up to it imo.

I agree Dunne is better than O'Brien individually, but we always seem to look shaky at the back with Dunne and Cunningham, O'Brien and Cunningham generally seem to be more solid.

Big Nelly

irish1 wrote:

Kavanagh had a poor game but he will up it for tomorrows game, I just don't rate Holland he loses the ball too much, Kavanagh can get stuck in but also gives teh simple 10 yard pass, I know his form isn't great but the alternatives aren't up to much either imo.

What you think of elliot on the right?

Ok one good game from Kavanagh for Ireland? I know I havent seen one good game and honest to God you have to admit that was the worst display from anyone I have seen in an Ireland Jersey for years....think Kilbane was that bad in the game against Macedonia all those years ago but that was his debut!!!

Holland had a great game on Sat and steadied the ship.....if he hadnt to have come on God knows what would have happened.....I would put him ahead of Kavanagh because he is proven at this level and in good form....also Holland loses ball...watch highlight of game and see how many times Kavangh DIDN'T lose ball...once from what I can remember and that was on goal.....

Eliott on right would be a non starter for me....we have f**k all strikers so if we need a goal in second half what do we do if playing Eliott on right???? nothing except Doc or Connolly to bring on....would leave Eliott on bench and throw on if we are desperate!!! Eliott also showed in a few games in PL when Mick played him out right he wasnt very effective....moved up front and they won the next game.....

Big Nelly

eirebhoy wrote:

There's a 5 page thread on Foot.ie about dropping Robbie so he already is getting stick.

Thats a joke......sick of that bulls**t to be honest.........Keane is one of our best players and can always pop up with a goal.....after all who is the top scorer for Ireland??........has been getting a few for Spurs in the last few weeks and looks sharpe.....see goal against Villa????

Keane had an ok game on Sat....setup a goal and nearly scored....what else is he supposed to do when his midfield cant string a pass together!! sure him and Eliott where up front running around trying to get ball and looked around and no midfield so Cyprus just passed to midfield and there running around was just menaing they where tired towards the end......

Where would Ireland have been in last few years without Robbies goals?????????????????

Pigman II

Big Nelly wrote:

Where would Ireland have been in last few years without Robbies goals?????????????????

Eh not to bad off tbh considering he's only scored 4 goals in this group and 2 of them were penos.

Big Nelly

Pigman II wrote:

Eh not to bad off tbh considering he's only scored 4 goals in this group and 2 of them were penos.

Ahh sure thats ok then!! let Harte take them :rolleyes: as already shown it takes skill to take a peno....anyway I said last few years!! not the last year or so!!!

Pigman II

Ok then, 'last few years'. Not counting his strike against Israel last June he hasn't scored a goal (peno or otherwise) for us in any 'real' game since the finals of WC2002. Hows that for you?

TBH I shouldn't even be mentioning that Israel goal because they are supposedly the 4th seeds and only even seem like a decent outfit at the moment because of the rubbish they have to play in this group.

Serbian

I'd have to agree that firstly, Robbie has scored some extremely important goals for Ireland. I don't think anyone really doubts that (and if they do they may want to think back to a humid June evening in the Kashima Stadium, Japan).

I also agree that Ireland need him, even if he isn't in form. He may not be playing well, but the fact is he is a better striker than any of the other players in the squad. Elliott has scored 0 in 6 starts, Connolly has 1 goal in 2 starts, Clinton didn't start any games for Birmingham before he moved back to Palace, where he has 4 goals in 7 games I think -- but it is the Championship.

Only Morrison's record is in any way impressive and he's playing in a lower division. Robbie has only started 1 game for Spurs, but has 2 goals, which I think is some indication of his potency despite very limited chances.

joker77

Senderos sat out training today, has an infection and it won't be known until tomorrow if he's going to play or not

eirebhoy

The Swiss backup for Senderos seems very poor.

lili

well, make your squad, make your tactic, discuss of all you want...
but pleaaaase, beat them!
you can do it with a big heart.

for france, we will try to score as much as possible. vieira reconized that the french played crap agaisn't the swiss. if domenech decide to put an offensive squad, we will see...
to bad anelka haven't been called.
thuram will certainly annonce his retirement from the french squad after this match.

evilhomer

As has been mentioned in this thread already Cunningham has seemed poor for a while now. Doesn't look great for Birmingham or Ireland.

He has been a great servant to the Irish team, but I can't help but think that the reason our midfield and defence are so disconnected recently is because Cunningham is dropping off the back four because he is afraid to be beaten for pace.

With O'Brien He wasn't so bad because O'Brien is a very fast Centre-Half. But maybe the fact that Dunne isn't "the flash" either, has him dropping off?

joker77

evilhomer wrote:

As has been mentioned in this thread already Cunningham has seemed poor for a while now. Doesn't look great for Birmingham or Ireland.

He has been a great servant to the Irish team, but I can't help but think that the reason our midfield and defence are so disconnected recently is because Cunningham is dropping off the back four because he is afraid to be beaten for pace.

With O'Brien He wasn't so bad because O'Brien is a very fast Centre-Half. But maybe the fact that Dunne isn't "the flash" either, has him dropping off?

Good point there, was kind of wondering what the story was - I think at the moment Dunne is the best centre-half, but for some reason I felt more confident with Cunningham and O'Brien! I can't see Kerr changing it for this match though..... as I already said, I think he should change both the full-backs though

eirebhoy

Cunningham-O'Brien should never have been seperated.

Agent Smith

what ststion is the match on tomorrow, RTE or sky or what?>

Vokes

RTE, natch. Couldn't do with out my triple helping of Gilesy, Brady and the Dunphinator!

Jivin Turkey

eirebhoy wrote:

Cunningham-O'Brien should never have been seperated.

I agree fully, and I can't believe the amount of abuse Cunningham is getting. Yes, he had a bad game on Saturday, but has been probably one of our most consistent performers so far this campaign.

I was also thinking of Elliott on the right, but mainly because I don't want Carr near the pitch. Same goes for O'Shea, give Harte another chance, he couldn't be any worse.

Even put Keane on the right, give him a chance to run at players. If Finnan can hold a right flank with Garcia in front of him at club level he can do it with Keane there against Switzerland.

S. Reid in the middle and A.Reid on the left.

Ruu_Old

anywhere to watch it online or will i have to settle for the radio online again?

Dublin's Finest

I shall be watching it at 5 o'clock in the morning.

The ****ers better win 'cause I don't like sacrificing sleep.

Big Nelly

Ok anyone know if there is delayed highlights on TV3 like they do with the friendly's????? in college till 10 tonite! if not will have to record....switch off every radio, mobile and contact to the World and go home at 10 and watch then!!!! God it is going to kill me.....

Villain

To all the Irish Fans heading to tonight’s game:

At 7:45 tonight 11 Irish men will take to the field for one of the nations biggest ever games.
The players need you but more importantly your country needs you.
We have to get the atmosphere going from the very first whistle.
Every time an Irish player gets the ball we have to support him
And when we’re under pressure we have get behind the team.
The hopes of our nation rest not only on the players and staff
But also on every fan that goes to tonight’s game.

Germany is just 3 games away so
Lets get behind the team and show our support.
So I want to hear very single fan singing and shouting

Come on Ireland!!!!!!!!

redspider

I would agree with irish1's sentiments. The fans need to get behind the team and try and become that 12th man. Dont get on the backs of players too early if they make a mistake, try not to "ooh and ahh", as that trickles down to the players and reduces their confidence further. Lets stay positive.

Btw, rumour had it around the camp yesterday that Kerr is picking Kilbane on the left and A Reid on the right. Whether that will turn out to be the case or not we will have to wait and see.

I heard part of Johnny Giles' selection on the radio this morning, somewhat surprising with A Reid in centre midfield!

S Reid - Holland - A Reid - Kilbane
--- Robbie K --- Elliot ---

He goes for Kilbane on the left as well.

Did anyone hear his back 4 selection?


I think that Kerr is stuck between a rock and a hard place with making a selection as there are going to be weaknesses no matter what. If the players play above themselves and do well and Ireland win, he will be seen as a genius. If the players underperform, if mistakes are made at the back, Kerr will be seen as a poor manager.

11 hrs to go ....

redspider

Ronan|Raven

JUst got my ticket. It will be a nervy one alright but here is hoping we can pull a win out of the bag.

Agree with the previous two posts here is hoping the crowd get going from the start and it isnt full of the usual twats I end up sitting beside who look at ya funny for getting excited and not sitting there like on the couch!

yom 1

From what I have seen and heard on the news this morning Kerr is thinking of bringing in Harte for O'Shi te at left full(which he should). But then instead of stickin the useless turd on the bench he wants him in Centre midfield. :eek: :eek: He is asking for trouble if he does this.

Pigman II

irish1 wrote:

At 7:45 tonight 11 Irish men will take to the field for one of the nations biggest ever games.

Get a grip will you! It's one of our biggest games ever ... this week. I could name you 30 games bigger than this one.

irish1 wrote:

Lets get behind the team and show our support.

Agreed.

Big Nelly wrote:

Ok anyone know if there is delayed highlights on TV3 like they do with the friendly's?????

Delayed highlights or delayed full match? Either way it doesn't look like TV3 or Setanta are showing this match either live or deferred so I guess you'd better set your VCR for Net .... sorry RTE2.

Villain

Pigman II wrote:

Get a grip will you! It's one of our biggest games ever ... this week. I could name you 30 games bigger than this one.

Well it's the biggest we'll have for a while if we lose, i.e. the Euro Qualifiers will be the next one.

Plus it'll be a while before the World Cup comes to Europe again. I just want every fan to get behind the team until the final whistle blows. Perhaps I'm going a litlle OTT but I really really want to go to Germany and see Ireland play in the Finals.

[Jackass]

Ahh Pigman....It's one of those games that only comes along every 4 or so years...Of course it's a hughe game!!

I agree with Irish1...we need every fan in that stadium to make as much noise for the Irish team as they can....wear your jerseys, bring your flags, beat on drums, blow those trumpets....Come on lads...let's get the landsdowne roar back!!!

C'MON IRELAND!!!

quarryman

Originally Posted by irish1
At 7:45 tonight 11 Irish men will take to the field for one of the nations biggest ever games.

Irish grandparents maybe (some of them anyway).

there's been a lot bigger than this, calm down.

also even IF we got through its hard to expect us causing any upsets in the competition. if we lose/draw tonight we simply aren't good enough to be there.

though i agree with most of your other points....

redspider

yom 1 wrote:

From what I have seen and heard on the news this morning Kerr is thinking of bringing in Harte for O'Shi te at left full(which he should). But then instead of stickin the useless turd on the bench he wants him in Centre midfield. :eek: :eek: He is asking for trouble if he does this.

I think that would be a gamble. Harte is not a good defender, even he will admit that. And he is lacking pace. O'Brien is faster than Dunne, but if Dunne is playing, then defence would be a weak point as Cunningham is also slow. We will need pacey defenders to counter breaks if we are attacking and Carr would have to be a choice for that, even though he lacks the skills going forward, usually. Its a conundrum.

O'Shea might have a better game in CM than at LB, but he is playing inconsistently these days so its very hard to tell how he will do in advance. Bringing on Harte just for his free-kicks, etc, probably wont work, and risks letting the Swiss get at us at the back. I wouldnt gamble on it.

There are no easy choices for Kerr really. No doubt there will be 100's of "hindsight geniuses" on here saying afterwards - "what the hell did he do that for?" or, if the team do well "I knew he should have done that".

I'd say he will do his usual stunt and wont announce the team until 1 hr before kick-off or whatever the Uefa/Fifa regulation is. I am sure that whatever 11 is picked there will be a vast majority that wont be satisfied, as there are just so many combinations, what-if's, etc.

I'll be watching this match closely in terms of formations, etc.
The video is set.

redspider

Pigman II

I think the huge varity of team selection predictions here and on other boards
will give a clue to the legacy of Brian Kerrs time as manager and that is ... that in 3.5 years he never managed to clearly define who his best XI was and in particular who would replace each player in the case of unavailability.

I know 'squad rotation' is all the fashion these days but IMHO for international football (due to the relative unfamiliarity of players to each other) you need to know in stone who is going to play each game and who is going to fill in for who ie the team should basically pick itself. Otherwise you still get 11 players going out on the pitch but only half a team.

Villain

Well to be fair Pigman, if everyone was fit and available I think he would know his best XI or at least most of it.

Pigman II

irish1 wrote:

or at least most of it.

That's the key point I'm trying to make.

Villain

It's a very fair point too.

stevenmu

redspider wrote:

I heard part of Johnny Giles' selection on the radio this morning, somewhat surprising with A Reid in centre midfield!

S Reid - Holland - A Reid - Kilbane
--- Robbie K --- Elliot ---

He goes for Kilbane on the left as well.

Did anyone hear his back 4 selection?

I don't think he really mentioned the back 4, I think they mentioned something about whether Harte or O'Shea should start left back, but no conclusion really.

I could see his point about Reid, he's are most creative midfielder available, but I think he's weak on the defensive side and we can't afford to concede even one goal so it'd be a big risk.

BaZmO*

yom 1 wrote:

From what I have seen and heard on the news this morning Kerr is thinking of bringing in Harte for O'Shi te at left full(which he should). But then instead of stickin the useless turd on the bench he wants him in Centre midfield. :eek: :eek: He is asking for trouble if he does this.

I dunno about Harte coming in instead of O'Shea. I think he might be a liability, he's not exactly what you'd call a pacey defender! And as for him starting because of his dead balll abilites, surely Andy Reid can take care of that?

Also, how can people say that this isn't a huge game for us? If we don't win we don't go to the World Cup! How much bigger does it get?

B.

BaZmO*

stevenmu wrote:

I don't think he really mentioned the back 4, I think they mentioned something about whether Harte or O'Shea should start left back, but no conclusion really.

He said that O'Shea should be picked ahead of Harte because of Harte's lack of pace, something we're already lacking. And as a result, our defence sits too deep isolating are midfield. Which is a fair point imo.

B.

Villain

Actually speaking of dead balls, can anyone explain why Kavanagh was taking them in Cyprus, especially after S Reid came on. S Reid used to take every dead ball when he was with Milwall and he scored a few nice ones too AFAIK.

bonkey

If we don't win we don't go to the World Cup! How much bigger does it get?

A game where winning meant you did go to the world cup finals?
A game in the finals?

redspider

stevenmu wrote:

I don't think he really mentioned the back 4, I think they mentioned something about whether Harte or O'Shea should start left back, but no conclusion really. I could see his point about Reid, he's are most creative midfielder available, but I think he's weak on the defensive side and we can't afford to concede even one goal so it'd be a big risk.

Thanks for that. I heard Ronnie talk about the Harte/O'Shea options, and keeping O'Shea in midfield, but as you say, no conclusions. Even the analysts have no straight fordward and clear answers for Kerr.

As for your point Pigman, I know where you are coming from but I dont think you can blame Kerr for not having a fixed starting 11. With International football, and more so with small countries, you have a limited pool to pick from with players of descending talent. Whereas at club level you tend to get more players of the same level, or at least you should. So, Kerr, like many others, picks players in positions which are not natural to them or their best position, because he has no one else as good. eg: A Reid on the right side.

Its about compromises and getting the best team out on the day. If Ireland had 11 brilliant players in the exact formation of a 4-4-2 and 11 reasonable players as back-up in each position, then the team and squad would pick itself. But we dont, thats reality and Kerr can only manage what he has at his disposal and whats available after injuries, niggles, suspensions, club commitments, etc.

If Ireland fail to win, many will jump on the badwagon and say he made a "Pig's ear" of it!

redspider

BaZmO*

bonkey wrote:

A game where winning meant you did go to the world cup finals?
A game in the finals?

Yeah, but we can't get there unless we win this match! It's a much of a muchness really!

B.

MrJoeSoap

redspider wrote:

If Ireland fail to win, many will jump on the badwagon and say he made a "Pig's ear" of it!

redspider

Losing a one and two goal lead to Israel was making a "pigs ear" of it! If we win tonight it will be a great result, but the damage has already been done. We shouldn't HAVE to win tonight.

yom 1

BaZmO* wrote:

I dunno about Harte coming in instead of O'Shea. I think he might be a liability, he's not exactly what you'd call a pacey defender! And as for him starting because of his dead balll abilites, surely Andy Reid can take care of that?

The main reason I think Harte should be in is because of the quality of ball he can put into the box. I cannot remember 1 single good cross on Saturday but Harte will provide that for us if he plays tonite. Assuming Clint starts then he can use his height and strength to get on the end of some of these. This for me outways the fact that his lack of pace may leave us open a little at the back because we have to score to win.

BaZmO*

yom 1 wrote:

I cannot remember 1 single good cross on Saturday but Harte will provide that for us if he plays tonite

As I said, Andy Reid can cross the ball and he didn't play on Saturday. I'd just be worried about Harte's pace if he was to play.

From listening to Kerr and other players talking today, it sounds like we won't be pushing too early to win the match as they don't want to go behind in this match.

B.

wheres me jumpa

i think our best chance is to get at them early. allow the swiss time to get settled into the game tonight could be a big mistake. yes i now our record of defending goals but i really wouldnt fancy us seeking a goal with 20 mins left.

Pigman II

ButcherOfNog wrote:

i wish i could show some optimism for this game, but i can't. The team has no ideas with keane and duff out, and the manager has shown a complete lack of ideas since he took over. i hope it isn't but i think it'll be a 2 goal defeat.

Sounds about right unfortunately. Everyones hoping for a Holland'01 performance but our team looks more like that vs Portugal-Nov95 atm unfortunately

I'll keep my fingers-x'd anyway!

Draupnir

Pigman wrote:

in 3.5 years

Brian Kerrs been manager since May 2002 has he?