GK - Baz/Kelleher nailed on. Is there a case for naming O'Leary ahead of Travers as the 3rd keeper given that if anything happened to Baz, he would be our only keeper playing regularly come March/June?

RWB - Doherty/Coleman nailed on. If Matt is still struggling for game time, we can give him 45/60 mins vs Latvia. Ogbene/Sykes/Browne can all provide further cover here. I'd leave Ebosele with the U21s until at least the September games.

LWB - Mc Clean is nailed on for a squad spot at least, given his form this season. Brady has barely been sighted for PNE since the WC and a 10 minutes red card at the weekend wont help his cause. Manning is the player in form, while O'Dowda continues to stay fit and perform well for Cardiff

CB - Collins/Egan/O'Shea are the likely starters vs France. Collins may need a run out vs Latvia if he continues otb for Wolves. Omobamidele, Duffy, Lenihan are likely the next 3 in line. Dunne/Scales/McGuinness/Cashin likely to miss out.

CDM - Cullen nailed on starter for France and unlikely to need game time vs Latvia. Is it a chance to give Coventry a spin vs Latvia. May not be a popular opinion but like Ebosele, I'd leave Hodge with the U21s (and name him captain) as he looks unlikely to get any further game time at Wolves this season.

CM - Molumby/Knight the likely starters vs France. Think they'll stick with Hendrick and Browne in the squad. Mc Grath's spot has to be in danger given his (and Dundee Uniteds) form. Surely Smallbone is worth a 1st cap vs Latvia. Time to dispense with Hourihane? Azaz a decent outside bet?

ST - Ferguson/Obafemi look the most dangerous pairing, but we need to be mindful of their game time between now and then, either/both may benefit from a 45/60 min run out vs Latvia in advance. Robinson is out and Connolly will struggle to get back in time (if he does, he's worthy of consideration imo). The fit again Idah, Parrott and Ogbene's lack of goals remain a concern, but neither Keane or Hogan are pulling up trees. Maybe it's time to dispense with the old guard. Like Ebosele and Hodge, I'd leave Cannon with the U21s for now.

Overall, I think he should name a big enough squad (28 to 30) and only field players vs Latvia who either need game time in advance of the French game (potentially Doherty/Collins/Ferguson/Obafemi)

or whom he doesnt expect to feature in the French game, so the Latvia game could be a good opportunity to have a look at the likes of Coventry/Sykes/Smallbone, maybe Azaz, maybe Manning.

Would include O'Leary and Sykes for sure over non-playing alternatives. Cyrus Christie and Danny McNamara probably not too far off either but there's only so many right backs you can pick.

Would see Cannon as still being a way off senior contention - he should concentrate on being the u21 main man for this campaign, that'd be a good achievement.

McNally, not McGrath 

Jay McGrath has gone from Coventry on loan to St Pats. Plays CB too

Luke Mc Nally, (Mc Grath was a scrum half I think) - aye he's likely in the list alongside Dunne/Scales etc. Looks a good prospect and has had a fine start at Coventry, but it's an area of the squad where we are very strong, unfortunately for him.

Regarding midfield, I'd say he'll go with Hendrick and Molumby v France, what with Knight playing away in L1.

Hourihane and McGrath should not be in the squad, and I'm also happy to leave Hodge with the 21's.

Azaz is worth a look in a position we are very light in and the Latvia match is a good chance for a few, including Coventry and Smallbone.  I'd put Manning in for that one too with an eye to a start v France.

Up top I'd be happy to see Ferguson and Obafemi start both matches...get some form up v Latvia for a spin at France.  Nobody else is really putting their hand up to displace either.

I just cant see Manning being brought in from the cold to start vs France, but I certainly think it's time he comes back in to the squad and he should get minutes vs Latvia. I'd probably leave Brady out of the squad based on recent form/playing time. O'Dowda continues to stay fit and he is playing well (seen Cardiff a couple of times recently).

I think it will be either Doherty at LWB vs France with Coleman at RWB or else Mc Clean will get the nod at LWB with Doherty at RWB. Barring injury, I cant see any other scenarios.

does anybody know the reason for the grudge against Manning held by SK? Chap in the pub told me something outlandish going back to his younger days.

Dress sense, sh*t tattoos and developed a weird accent seemly 

But, but, but, how come SK seems to like young Aaron C then? 

The squad as I see it right now:

Players in [] have been previously called up but not capped.

Players in () I think are near a call up.

                     Parrott                  Obafemi                     
                     Robinson               Ferguson                          
                     Idah                      Ogbene
                     Keane                    Connolly

                                                  (Cannon)

                                  McGrath         
                                  Browne
                                  Knight
                                  [Ronan]                
    Manning                  (Azaz)                       Doherty
    Brady                                 Molumby        Coleman
    O'Dowda     Cullen              Hendrick         Sykes
    McClean     [Coventry]       [Smallbone]    [Ebosele]
                      (Hodge)                                 (McNamara)              
              
                    O'Shea      Egan     Collins                         
                    Lenihan     Duffy     Omobamidele
                   [Scales]    [Dunne]  (McNally)

                                  Kelleher
                                  Bazunu
                                  Travers
                                 [O'Leary]

-Coventry & Smallbone need to be blooded, both playing regularly & well in the Championship now.

-Would also cap Hodge & Ebosele.

-Ronan and/or Azaz also need to be tried, the lack of creative-mids is holding us back.

-There's a conversation to be had about Cannon.

Players that played in 2022 that I don't think we'll see in green again:
Hourihane, Stevens, Christie, Hogan, Hamilton

Will be interesting to see if Kenny is up to dropping Hourihane from the squad. I'm not convinced, I think he'll pick him again. He'll probably get game time against Latvia.

There's a legitimate question over whether Bazunu should start vs France or not. He's undeniably having a bad season, if he makes the same kind of errors vs France as he's been making for Southampton we'll get hammered.

To add to that, in the Nations League he was comfortably out-performed by Kelleher, even though he was a Premiere League regular while Kelleher wasn't playing at all at club level.

NL'22:

Kelleher - played 4, conceded 3, 1 clean sheet in our biggest home win of the last 7 years.

Bazunu - played 2, conceded 4, 0 clean sheets.

Less fair to compare their friendlies as Kelleher got 2 easy games vs Malta & Lithuania, but:

Kelleher - played 3, conceded 2, 2 clean sheets.

Bazunu - played 1, conceded 2.

You Tell Me wrote: Will be interesting to see if Kenny is up to dropping Hourihane from the squad. I'm not convinced, I think he'll pick him again. He'll probably get game time against Latvia.

To be fair, Kenny has been pretty good about moving on players that aren't up to it as long as there's viable options to try.

And while a lot of people seem to think Kenny just loves Hourihane & won't drop him, the reality is he hasn't given Hourihane a competitive start since November 2020, that says exactly what Kenny thinks of him. The issue has been no players coming in to push him out once & for all.

That doesn't even take into account Hourihanes nightmare vs Armenia. He single-handedly almost got us relegated from a 2-0 lead. Kenny's binned players for a lot less than that.

As I said, Smallbone & Coventry both playing regularly and well in the Championship now. 9 years younger, higher ceilings, & a level higher.

84ccfc84 wrote: no mcgrath or scales near the squad please. get manning smallbone and hodge involved, its latvia stephen have a bit of balls. keep sykes in the squad also, could do with seeing more of him.

McGrath starts vs France for me. We've missed him across 2022.

McNally I'd say has leapfrogged Scales & Dunne as the 7th choice behind Egan, Collins, O'Shea, Lenihan, Duffy & Omobamidele. If he keeps his current for going he'll won't be far away from a cap.

Smallbone, Coventry, Manning & Sykes should all start vs Latvia for me.

will just have to disagree there cant go back to playing the likes of mcgrath. way below the level of player we need especially against France. 

The only reason Hourihane wasn't in the November squad's is because Derby wouldn't release him or Knight otherwise he would of been in the squad, Kenny said this himself. Also, he hasn't started any game since the home game against Lithuania in March '22 as far as I can see. 

McGrath starts vs France for me. We've missed him across 2022.

McNally I'd say has leapfrogged Scales & Dunne as the 7th choice behind Egan, Collins, O'Shea, Lenihan, Duffy & Omobamidele. If he keeps his current for going he'll won't be far away from a cap.

Smallbone, Coventry, Manning & Sykes should all start vs Latvia for me.

Cant agree with that, Mc Grath is struggling for game time at a team rooted to the bottom of the SPL. Just 2G, 2A all season in 20 odd games for an attacking midfielder is a poor return. It's a couple of seasons now since he showed the kind of form which warranted a place in the squad. He may well have had injury issues, but he hasnt completed a full 90 in the SPL since the 9th November, almost 4 months ago.

No way he starts vs France imo. It will be Cullen, Molumby, Knight imo, but if not, I'd have Hendrick, Browne or Smallbone ahead of Mc Grath.

As far as I remember, he didnt actually state that Hourihane would definitely have been in the squad. My recollection is that when asked, he simply said that Derby had refused to release players, so none of the Derby lads were considered. He didnt specifically mention Hourihane. Fwiw I dont think he'll name Hourihane assuming everyone else is fit, although tbf to Conor, he is having a very good season albeit in League One.

He said Derby refused to release both players.

In the live broadcast section he did reference they'd have both been in the squad.

https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/stephen-kenny-rues-loss-of-conor-hourihane-and-jason-knight-as-derby-refuse-to-release-duo-for-ireland-duty-42134505.html" rel="nofollow - https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/stephen-kenny-rues-loss-of-conor-hourihane-and-jason-knight-as-derby-refuse-to-release-duo-for-ireland-duty-42134505.html

Think I'd agree with this. He's powers are definitely on the wane but at least he is playing games which Doherty currently isn't 

The worry is he might pull some nonsense like trying to put Coleman in out of position at centre back again just to get him in the team.

I'd disagree, I think lads like Bazunu, Egan, O'Shea, Cullen, Mc Clean, Molumby, Hendrick, Knight have been getting plenty of game time (maybe too much in some cases) and I'd like to see them 100% focused, fit and fresh for the French game. Depending on game time between now and then, it does look like the likes of Doherty, Collins, Obafemi, maybe Ferguson might benefit from a spin out of some description (would only give Collins a full 90). As for your team vs France, I think Knight will start ahead of Hendrick and maybe Coleman at RWB (assuming he maintains his first team spot under Dyche) instead of McClean with Doherty shifting over to LWB.

The result of the Latvia game doesnt and shouldnt matter. I'd be giving a first cap to Smallbone and minutes to Duffy, Kelleher, Sykes, maybe Manning, Idah, Ogbene, maybe Azaz, Coventry, Omobamidele.

I’d be delighted if he was to come in and provide key link up between the midfield and forward line, but I’m unsure he can do so.

Ferguson needs no introduction and the other two definitely have the potential to play top flight football in the future depending on staying fit, how things go for them/what sort of ambition they show etc.

Sykes is playing very well too and can see the case for him over Smallbone but Smallbone is more likely to get to a higher level down the line in my humble opinion. 

Hopefully Doherty plays for Atletico the weekend and hopefully Obafemi,Parrott and Idah can continue to get minutes under their respective belts. 

I would be starting Doherty/Coleman at wing back for the French game. As good as McClean was in the Luxembourg and Azerbaijan games he was a liability defensively against Portugal in Faro and in Dublin.  

In fairness Kenny has been speaking out both sides of his mouth on a lot of things.

It's also the wrong approach to take too. He should be a lot more open minded about his selection for France.

all of those players were miles(!) better than mcgrath, all of those players, especially weso, were difference makers with the ball unlike mcgrath . hes a workhorse and he'll run himself into the ground. technically hes way off whats needed and the proof is in where hes playing his club football. 

In fairness, this is just absolute nonsense. Blaming him (which we have heard before) for the goals against Portugal with 9 of our players in the box is really disingenuous to say the least. 

Completely agree with this, no way should he know the majority of the starting team for the France game without having a look at some lads. For example if Manning or Sykes get a start against Latvia and play out or their skin (albeit against Latvia) , surely they should be considered for a start against France instead of going with the same faces every time. It completely discourages lack of competition for places when the new guys being called up know that no matter how hard they try or how well they train, SK will stick with the same faces

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCKuFJ9r4YU&t=633s&ab_channel=FAITV

9:58 - no doubt he should have got his block on - but it's a 9v4 in Ireland's favour.

Why, out of 9 Irish players in the box, nobody marking Ronaldo!

Not sure why he was blamed for the second goal either.

He was brought on with the purpose of stopping the supply of crosses down that side coming in as Doherty was goosed and not alone did the sub not stop the supply of crosses they actually got more joy with him on. The first goal he should have 100% done better for. 

“Which we have heard before” for every fan who wants to blame McClean for everything there is a fan who thinks he’s above criticism cause he shows “passion”. That argument is stale I literally praised him for how good he was against Luxembourg/Azerbaijan.

Two goals? Have you these eye things that you talk about? 

For the 1st, he gets beating to easy but he's not alone in taking blame. Ronaldo is standing in the box on his own.

We have 3 defenders who are meant to defend and a goal keeper whose job is to prevent goals. Why are they not being held to account like McClean is?

Laughable comment  Curious as to what you expected from him for the second goal? Doesn’t cover himself in glory for the first one but ‘at fault’ is a serious reach 

I cold imagine it might be a game he didn't want which could be the reason for him thinking that way. 

Why I would be harsher on McClean then Duffy for the slack defending losing Ronaldo is he wasn’t long on the field and was fresh as a daisy. Duffy shouldn’t be losing Ronaldo in that scenario but had played the full game and we were out on our feet at that point. 

You might disagree. He should have done better and overall I don’t think he made a positive contribution in that game.

But there are still 9 Ireland players in the box who should have done better and Ronaldo is unmarked and unchallenged for the goal.

There are a collection of errors but I wouldn't be singling any one player out on it.

McClean was fresh legs onto the pitch when others had spent the entire game backs against the wall defending. Out on their feet, physically and mentally exhausted.

What they needed from a substitute was to come on and take over some of that physical responsibility and not shirk his defensive responsibilities. Close down players, make it hard for Portugal, run around for the few minutes he was on.

He allows two piss easy crosses in from that side when he was barely on the pitch, he should have been full of running and well able to close down.

His contribution was awful, and in the context of the game he was at fault, undoubtedly so. If you find facts laughable you must get a hernia watching the news everyday 

where did he say that? (Kenny has been very quiet as of late!)

You seem to be the only one claiming he ‘at fault’?? Therefore I would say it’s not really ‘undoubtedly so’ as many others doubt that he was at fault. Maybe it’s a deeper lying issue and you just don’t like him?

He also said he didnt want any game in advance of France, but UEFA insist that teams must play a friendly if they dont have 2 competitive fixtures in a 2 game window, thus the Latvia game. 

I dont think it's any harm at all (5 days between the 2 games), a few lads, the likes of Kelleher, Duffy, Doherty, Collins, maybe Ferguson, maybe Obafemi might benefit from minutes either from the start or off the bench vs Latvia, while it also gives an opportunity to have a look at a few others, Smallbone, Sykes, Coventry, maybe Manning, Azaz in advance of the 2 game window in June where one would certainly hope for a different midfield make up vs Gibralter to that which is likely to play vs France and Greece away.

I respectfully disagree, he didnt even want the Latvia game. He will have a fair idea of his starting XI for the French game at this stage and I dont think a strong perfromance by the likes of Manning or Smallbone vs Latvia would change that (it might influence who gets a chance off the bench). He will use the Latvia game to give minutes to lads who he wants to start vs France but who are struggling for game time - Doherty, Collins, maybe Ferguson and Obafemi, but hopefully the rest of the selection will allow for a bit of experimentation e.g. I see no point starting Cullen vs Latvia, so why not take the opportunity to have a look at Coventry, ditto Knight and Smallbone. Kelleher and Duffy will likely need a game also. There are others too who will hopefully get minutes e.g. Sykes, Manning, Azaz, Omobamidele, but I dont expect any of them to start vs France.

Regardless of game time at Atletico, Doherty will play vs France (maybe at LWB with Coleman at RWB), he is one of our best players. He can get mins vs Latvia to improve his match sharpness but his underlying fitness will not be a problem given he has been working under a Conte regime and now a Simeone regime. He'll be fit as a butchers dog, match sharpness is the issue.

That would be a huge mistake, Coleman is terrible there. Luckily I dont see SK doing that. Barring injury it will be Collins/Egan/O'Shea imo.

Has SK ever played Doherty at LWB?

Zero chance Sykes starts vs France imo. He will hopefully get mins vs Latvia so we can get another look at him, but he doesnt really suit the way the Irish team is set up currently.

I'd agree that blaming Mc Clean in isolation is entirely unfair, but I think it's fair to say that defending isnt the strongest area of his game. However, it aint the strong suit of Manning, Brady or O'Dowda either and at least Jimmy gets the crowd up and puts it all in. I think he has a fair chance of starting vs France, certainly ahead of the 3 I've just listed, but it may be Doherty who gets the nod at LWB with Coleman playing at RWB. 

I remember at least once vs Portugal away, where Doherty and Connolly linked up really well down the LHS, in fact all our threat came down that left flank in the game and Connolly was taken out by Cancelo when about to score. Doherty was excellent in that game!

According to some Aletico accounts, Doherty is going to start at the weekend. Don't know how much truth is behind it though. Be great to see him get some minutes regardless. 

Absolutely, even a couple of starts over the next 3 weeks would be great for him and us. He's a damn good player, think he was poorly treated at Spurs under Conte tbh. Looked every bit as good, if not better than the competition there any time I saw him play for them. Against France, we will need our best players on the pitch and to my mind he is one of them. First name on the teamsheet for me, regardless of his game time at Atletico.

https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/atletico-madrid/20230228/1001952430/primera-prueba-cholo-5-3-2-doherty-memphis.html" rel="nofollow - https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/atletico-madrid/20230228/1001952430/primera-prueba-cholo-5-3-2-doherty-memphis.html

With no time to lose, Cholo began to test for this commitment. Without three of the four full-backs on the squad available, everything indicated that Matt Doherty, who has not yet made his rojiblanco debut, would have his first opportunity. But for now, it seems that he will have to wait. Because Simeone is considering changing the system for Saturday's game and returning to 5-3-2, with Marcos Llorente and Yannick Carrasco as wingers. Giménez, Savic and Hermoso would form the line of defenders.

Ah ffs. He's not gonna get a look in there is he..

Im not too sure we'll set up like we have been against France, 3-5-2 would leave us fairly open especially with a front 2 who wouldn't see much of the ball.

I reckon we'll go back to a 3-4-2-1 shape as we did against Portugal home/away and Serbia home.

Sykes or McGrath would fit into one of the 2 behind the lone striker.

Can see either Idah reclaiming that role up front or Ferguson being thrown in. Someone strong and physical that can hold up the ball up well enough.

Changing his entire formation to avoid having to play him isn't a great sign alright.

Start is the name of a Tapas place in Madrid 

You're right, JR. McNamara is having an excellent season at Millwall - a team with good play-off possibilities. It's a bit like Manning really - both have been excellent Championship players and should be in our match-day squads. It must gall them that Parrott is a walk-up Kenny favourite despite being a three-time Championship failure. 

If they ever manage 4 goals and 2 assists in 750 minutes of international football, maybe they'll be in a position to complain.

Seems a bit of an unfair demand to make of two wing backs, one of which has never been given a chance to show what he can do in the senior squad.

Yeah Brick, we can't bring in a full back/wing back unless they have 4 goals and 2 assists for their country!

I think, unfortunately for Mc Namara, he is going to have to wait until the skipper hangs up his boots. His case for inclusion is less compelling than that of Manning's on the other flank and added to that, Coleman and Doherty are two of the first names on the squad list. We also have Browne, Ogbene and more recently Sykes in the squad, all of whom have experience playing in the position. Ebosele has also been called up in the not too distant past.

McNamara has had a decent season for a Millwall side punching above their weight, but his figures arent particularly impressive for a RWB, 29 starts and 1 sub app this season in the Championship, just 1 assist and a Whoscored rating of 6.70. Christie at Hull 24 starts, 4 sub apps, 3 goals, 1 assist and a Whoscored rating of 6.76 probably has a stronger claim based purely on form and I dont think he'll be selected either. Lyons has also had a good start to his Blackpool career with a goal already after just 5 starts and 2 sub apps since his January move.

By way of comparison Manning has the 4th best Whoscored rating in the entire Championship (7.18) and has 3 goals and 6 assists in 29 starts and 2 sub apps plus he has been named Man of the Match 7 times (only 1 player in the Division has more), McNamara has 0 MotM awards.

While I dont want to be overly critical of Troy, who after all has only just turned 21, and I admire your tenacity in continually fighting his corner, there's a clear argument to be made that if all 9 striking options (10 if you include Cannon who seems to have taken his starting spot at PNE) were available, and selection was purely down to form over the season, then Parrott would struggle for a place in the squad, let alone the team. He has 2 goals, a deflected cross and a penalty, and 0 assists in 20 games (1,212 minutes) of football in the Championship this season and a Whoscored rating of 6.50. That's a poor return by anybody's standards.

Well said, John. My comment about Parrott was clearly relative.

I would say McNamara's case is stronger if anything. For one thing, unlike Manning, he can actually defend. He has more pace than Manning also.

I wouldn't get too hung up on the WhoScored stuff, it's always going to favour a more attack minded wing back than a solid defensive type.

For my money I think McNamara will go on to have a better international career than Manning. I get the feeling it won't happen under the current manager though for whatever reason.

I accept some of that, but I still dont think the case for McNamara's inclusion for the next squad is as strong as Manning's based not just on form, but also on competition for the spot, unless you think McNamara should be ahead of either Coleman or Doherty in the pecking order. Manning is competing with McClean, Brady and O'Dowda. McNamara will have to be patient, I dont think his omission to date is particularly controversial and I havent seen enough of him play to give an opinion on whether or not he will have a better international career than Manning. He will also have plenty of competition from younger players coming through when Coleman retires e.g. Lyons/Ebosele.

There are plenty of curious Kenny selections that are worthy of criticism, I just dont think his omission of McNamara is one of them.

I just think, when your two main players in a position are in their 30s, and mid 30s in Coleman's case, it might make sense to integrate another younger option, especially when one of the games is a friendly. On the left you can argue that there will likely be at least one 20 something available in O'Dowda, even if Manning isn't picked.

Fair enough, in which case, it should probably have been done before now. As things stand it looks likely that Doherty will need minutes vs Latvia and we are likely to have Coleman, Browne (who has played almost half his games this season as a RWB), Sykes ditto and Ogbene in the squad. 

In any case, barring injuries I dont see McNamara as being a priority introduction for this next squad. I would be more critical of Kenny for his ongoing exclusion of Manning than I would be of him for not introducing McNamara at this point in time, but tbh I wouldnt even be as critical as some have been regarding Manning - I dont think it's that clear cut, Mc Clean, Brady (at the time i.e. November) and O'Dowda were all also playing well. This time around Brady seems pretty much out of favour at PNE, so it will be interesting to see if Kenny retains him in the squad, maybe on the basis of his experience, ability to play elsewhere on the park, set pieces. Both McNamara and Manning may well have to wait for the next campaign/manager to get a chance.

He has 6 goal involvements in 7.5 games worth of playing time - he has delivered when playing for Ireland big time, that is the long and short of it.

France XI:

Ferguson------Obafemi

McClean-----Browne-------Molumby-----Doherty

Cullen

Egan---------Collins-------O'Shea

Bazunu

I'd nearly go for Knight instead of Browne because of his energy and running in the centre of the park.

If Doherty does not play between now and the game, it could be Coleman playing on the right or a case of Doherty on the left and Coleman on the right.

Isn't Molumby enough for that? Someone who can progress the ball to the front 2 is needed. For all the stick he gets, genuinely think Hendrick is the best man for that.

I wouldn't be at all disappointed with that line up and I think it wont be far off. However, fwiw I think SK will select Coleman at RWB and give him the thankless task of going up against Mbappe, with Doherty getting the nod at LWB. I also think SK will start Knight ahead of Browne. I'm not saying that team would be my own preference, but I think that's what we will see barring injuries.

Controversial. 

I think you'd have a point if Ireland had been flying during the period in which Parrott has been contributing, but we simply havent, we have been poor as a team for the most part, Scotland game notwithstanding where I acknowledge Parrott had a good game and did well to get on the end of an exquisite Obafemi through ball. His other 3 goals came in friendlies, 2 vs Andorra and 1 (admittedly a match winner) vs Lithuania. I'm not saying he has done badly in his fledgling Ireland career, but I'm not sure he's done enough to make him undroppable given his ongoing run of poor form at club level.

 

If all our striking options were fit and available and the U21s had a competitive game, I think there's a genuine argument to be had that Troy should drop down for now. In saying that, given the injuries to Robinson and Connolly, I think it is highly unlikely that Troy doesnt make the squad. Even if both were fit, I think SK would likely still select him, I'm just not sure that he should.

I'm a long time supporter of Hendrick on here, purely because I think he gets way more stick than is warranted. It's not his fault that he's only as good as he is, nor is it his fault that there has been really nobody better than him for a long time now, but I dont see us progressing the ball through midfield in the French game, so I dont think it's a game that will play to Jeff's strengths. Knight and Molumby have the tenacity and work rate to press hard and get up in support of the front 2 when required, that's not Hendrick's game. I even see some advocating for a switch back to the 3-4-2-1 and playing an additional midfielder McGrath ahead of Obafemi and I'd imagine that is more likely than Hendrick starting in a 3-5-2.

Issue with Hendrick is he needs to be in a 3 man midfield he was a passenger in the 2nd half against Armenia away the day we needed someone to step up get on and keep the ball etc.

As for Parrott he will be in the squad but I would think his starting place might be under threat. Evan Ferguson is the first name picked and Obafemi might get the nod with him. Think personally it’s a game for Ogbene but I don’t see him getting picked.

I think assessing the Ferguson-Obafemi combo for that 60 minutes would make more sense. 

Whatever happens, the outcome will likely be toothless tigers Parrott and Idah up front against France. Hopefully John O'Shea will have strong input because Kenny/Andrews plotting France's downfall is disaster on a stick. 

Do you seriously think young Evan Ferguson won’t start against France? I don’t see how he can’t start him but that’s just me. 

I do see Parrott potentially starting with Ferguson for sure.

He's wumming as usual, have Parrott and Idah ever even started as a pair for the seniors before? It's way down the list of likely partnerships.

I'm leaning that way. If 9fingers says the lad's a Sassenach that's ceart go leor with me. 

Honestly! So now if SK arrives at the right decision it's going to be as a result of O'Shea joining the coaching ticket??? Bizarre.

Dont see any scenario whereby Idah/Parrott is the preferred combo barring injury (or maybe if O'Shea advocates for it )

Would also need to be careful involving Obafemi in the Latvia game, as pointed out by others, he has got injured in 2 previous camps. No doubt you would be the first to hang Kenny out to dry if Oba starts vs Latvia and gets injured. He's clearly not match fit yet, got just 2 sub apps (30 mins) out of the last 4 Ch games, before starting the FA Cup game last night and he was withdrawn on 60 odd mins despite the score still being 0-0 vs 10 men.

Ferguson/Obafemi is clearly the combo most favour, but a number of posters have suggested he might revert to a 3-4-2-1 for the French game and I think that could be a viable alternative also.

I was shocked at how slow Obafemi looked last night, always thought he was quite pacey. As you said, prob down to still getting back to full fitness.

It's clear that's his best position.

Evan Fergusion is the MVP of this international window