Great. Kelly, Harte and Kilbane all in the starting line-up. I can fully understand why people on this board are so sure we'll turn the Swiss over.
A few months ago these guys were in the team that almost got to the quarter finals. And now after one bad game, suddenly we cant beat the Swiss?
I won't nit pick, but Kelly wasn't an integral part of the team which almost got to the quarter finals. You can look at it that way, yes. Or you can look at current form, which for me is slightly more instructive. Kelly and Harte are getting panned weekly by Leeds fans. Kelly has always done ok in my eyes, certainly not enough to warrant a starting place above Mills however. As for Harte......I think everyone knows what the story is there. Kilbane, according to the Observer report on the Sunderland-Villa match was playing left back and treated the ball like a 'hot potato', hoofing it away anytime it came near him. A confident man? I don't think so. And I could go on. Holland's Ipswich are mired close to the Div1 relegation zone, MacAteer is injured at present, Breen has had a nightmare start for the Hammers and Duff, according to FIFA, is wasted up front, where he will undoubtedly start. I will be absolutely delighted if the team can stuff my portents of doom down my throat by hammering the Swiss, and I will be roaring them on with gusto, but I really think we're going to be found out by a sharp, developing and confident Switzerland team.
Re: John O Shea Just as there is a possibility that Duff will start on the left and Morrison up front. However, the painful reality is that barring injuries, the team will be: Given Kelly Cunningham Breen Harte MacAteer Holland Kinsella Kilbane Duff Keane
I agree with everything NS has said there, and that team is not nice to look at.... Anyway, if form, not who's best mates with McCarthy was what counted, Kenna would get in the team ahead of Kelly. He's been brilliant this season as Birmingham skipper, Kelly doesn't get a game and when he does he's hardly set the world alight, Kenna has the experience to be capable of taking up the role if Carr and Finnan are out.
Starting every game doesn't qualify as integral? Wow, tough crowd. Umm.....for either game against Holland (not to mention half of the other qualifiers), McAteer would have been happy to get the tea-lady's job if we were going by form. Or getting a game. The rest, as they say, is history. lmao. This coming after all the posts in the other thread about what a good job he'd done and how it would solve our left back problems forever. Uh huh. I don't know which side of the argument is more ridiculous.
Why is Ireland either going to get stuffed by the Swiss or hammer them? What ever happened to hard-earned 1-0 wins?
Here we go again, history. If you want to dredge that up, if Roy Keane hadn't been playing, we'd have lost both of those games, regardless of whether MacAteer or Pele was playing right wing. If we don't play our best players, we don't do as well. Stunning fact that. Similarly, if we don't play our best players against poor little, easily beaten Switzerland, we won't do as well. Not a tricky concept, I would have thought. LMAO. I think you'll find discussions regarding Kilbane at left back were only undertaken in the context of Mick's inexplicable love affair with our Kev. Ideally I would like to see him about as close to the Ireland team as Neptune. If he must play, as one would assume he will, I think he should play left back rather than Hopalong Harte. I never said he did a good job at left back, and I never will. He's a poor player who has enjoyed a very fortuitious set of circumstances and a friendly manager and been elevated beyond his station.
Entirely irrelevant. You were talking about picking players based on form. Is there some flaw in your original argument that you have to go back to the good ole Keano debate? Please, show me where anyone said that they'd be easily beaten. It's my opinion that we should beat them. It's also my opinion that it won't be easy. Why the extremes? No, I think you'll find that in the specific case that I mentioned discussions regarding Kilbane at left back were undertaken in the context that he'd played well at left back in the Premiership, supposedly proving his value as a possible replacement for Harte.
I haven't got the energy to nit pick over the contextualisation of Kevin Kilbane or whether if Player X played against Team Y the result would have been different. I would just like to make it clear that I was not one of the punters who screamed from the rooftops before the Russia match about how great Ireland are, and is now saying Switzerland are going to thrash us. I said before the Russia match I had a bad feeling about it. I am saying now I think we'll draw against Switzerland. I even think Mick McC is the best man for the job...I think the team would be vastly improved if he played his best players in his best positions. Now, aside from all the petty point-scoring, I think that's a fairly reasonable opinion, n'est-ce pas?
Carr to return for training at Spurs. If he is fit, is he the best as a right back player? Who is the best at the moment without injury? Carr, Finnan, Kelly or any other options? This is my simple question. Please let me hear your opinion!
It's betwene Carr and Finnan and most people agree Carr, when fit and back on his game, is probably the best right back in Europe, so most people would say Carr, but Finnan is class too. He wont be fit for this match though, I wouldn't say.
Grand, seeing as I didn't want to in the first place. Fair enough, my mistake Again, not interested - sorry if that's the impression that came across. Of course. I don't agree 100% with it, but it's still a valid opinion. maiko - I'd say Carr probably has the edge over Finnan when he's fit - he has an extra spark and verve that Finnan doesn't quite have...
The thing about Carr is that he's been out of the game for a year and his rehabilitation is dogged by breakdowns. As such, there is no knowing how much of an edge has been taken off his game. It bothers me greatly to see the pattern of him getting back into trainning for a few weeks and then straight back out again. Something there is clearly not right and, when you browse their web site, your mind boggles at the length of the club's injury list... What is going on there? Don't tell me that faith-healer is involved...
Erm, no they don't. Bixente Lizarazu? Carlos Puyol? Carr's pretty good but the best right-back in Europe he ain't, not by a long shot.
Re: Re: Finnan Out of Swiss Match I don't really think anyone rates Bixente Lizarazu as the best right-back anywhere. He's not even the first choice right-back for Bayern, amazingly. They always play him out of position on the left.... Puyol's never been that impressive, apart from last season, when he was admittedly very good, culminating in a fine World Cup. However, one season does not a great player make.
Well he's the best in England and better then those two mentioned so he's one of, if not, the best in Europe.