Micks first eleven.

 

             Randolph

Coleman Duffy Egan Stevens

        Arter McCarthy

Doherty Browne O'Dowda

            McGoldrick

------------Randolph

Coleman--Duffy--Egan--Stevens

Doherty--Arter--Hendrick--O'Dowda

------------Browne--------------

------------Obafemi-------------

Coleman Duffy Egan Doherty

               McCarthy

            Browne Brady 

 O’Dowda                  Robinson

               Maguire

If Robinson is still out, put Brady on the left and a cat in the middle. If the cat is out, Arter or Hendrick.

+1 This Brady obsession is baffling.

The three of them are luxury players, teams like us can just about afford to fit one of them in the starting eleven. 

Our best chance of getting any creativity into the team is to play two sluggers in the middle, with one of Browne, Hourihane or Hendrick in front. 

Put O’Dowda on one wing and Robinson on the other and lump a few balls into the box. 

I think Mick will go something like this in midfield; 

O’Dowda-Arter-Browne-Williams-Robinson.

On reflection I agree with you 100%. It’s very unlikely Mick will play more than one out of Hendrick/Hourihane/Browne in midfield.

One of Meyler/Whelan/McCarthy usually accompanied Arter and Hendrick in a midfield trio for the last 2 qualifying campaigns and Euro 2016. With the lack of game time and injury problems for McCarthy and Meyler’s drop down to League 1, Shaun Williams should probably start for Ireland as that defensive midfielder. Honestly I do think it makes most sense to go with a back 3. Matt Doherty and Enda Stevens are two of our most inform and consistent performers. They both play as wing backs for their respective clubs in Wolves and Sheffield United. There’s no guarantee that they would be as effective in a back 4. Should we really jepordise the form of 2 of our most inform players by playing them out of position. In the case of Matt Doherty particularly, should we really be playing him as a right midfielder or left back just to shoehorn an out of form Seamus Coleman into the team as right back! Playing Doherty as left back would also mean Enda Stevens would be on the bench which is surely a negative. We should be playing to our strengths. Another positive with the 3-5-2 is that we can play two strikers. I do think we really struggle when playing a lone striker up top. Long really has no hope when he’s just running after aimless long balls which is hopefully a thing of the past anyway. However I do think some of our best performances under O’Neill was when he played Murphy and Long up front in a 4-4-2 diamond! The games against Italy and France at Euro 2016 are prime examples of that. I thought we looked far more dangerous with Murphy as a target man who would complement Long’s pace. The problem with the 4-4-2 diamond is that it leaves us quite open in midfield and defence which Eriksen and Denmark showed us in the 1-5 drubbing. I don’t think a 3-5-2 formation would cause us those problems as you have 3 central midfielders and it can become a 5-3-2 when the wing backs track back! If you look at our current striking options McGoldrick stands out as the most inform striker with an impressive 10 goals for promotion chasing Sheffield United. However McGoldrick plays in a 3-5-2 with his striking partner Billy Sharpe up top! McGoldrick might not be as effective playing as a lone striker for us. So playing a 3-5-2 would also play into our strikers strengths not just our wing backs. The injured Robinson at Preston should probably partner McGoldrick up front for us if we take into account goals scored this season but you could make arguments for the likes of Long, Maguire and Obafemi. Taking into account all the above I think this is our strongest team. I admit Coleman may not be suitable at centre back but since he is one of our few top premier league players on his day I think it would be no harm giving him a try at it like the English did with Kyle Walker. I also accept that playing a 3-5-2 would rule out playing the inform Callum O’Dowda. I do think the pros largely outweigh the cons but that’s just my opinion along with the rest of this rabble 😂😂😂!
 

A fair enough side. 

Re: Brady, he is one of the very few players who can pass and move and actually open up space. I literally cannot think of another midfielder who can do that other than (funnily enough) Williams. Even though he has been desperate the last couple of years, I still hope that mick can bring some of the old magic out of him

Browne has a better chance of starting than Arter Hendrick. He's an absolute shoe in on current form.