Cyprus…

…yeah, the name itself inspires some fear, irritation and many more feelings amongst us lot. It’s one of those countries up there with Israel, Liechtenstein and Macedonia, famed by the Irish for being the opposition on some of the darker recent nights in our qualifying history. Truth be told, our recent record against the Cypriots is alright, with five wins and a draw in six qualifying games since World Cup qualifying in 2002. The only real problem is the seventh game…more on that on another date.

Traps has decided to maintain faith with the side given a bit of a lesson by the Australians a fortnight ago, naming the same squad for the qualifier in Nicosia. (There’s also a friendly against the South Africans in Thomond Park the Wednesday afterwards) The 24-man squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers
Shay Given (Manchester City)
Kieran Westwood (Coventry City)
Joe Murphy (Scunthorpe United)

Defenders
John O’Shea (Manchester United)
Kevin Foley (Wolves)
Richard Dunne (Manchester City)
Stephen Kelly (Fulham)
Kevin Kilbane (Hull City)
Eddie Nolan (Preston North End)
Sean St. Ledger (Preston North End)

Midfielders
Aiden McGeady (Celtic)
Damien Duff (Fulham)
Darron Gibson (Manchester United)
Glenn Whelan (Stoke)
Keith Andrews (Blackburn Rovers)
Liam Miller (Unattached)
Stephen Hunt (Hull City)
Andy Keogh (Wolves)
Liam Lawrence (Stoke)

Strikers
Caleb Folan (Hull City)
Kevin Doyle (Wolves)
Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Shane Long (Reading)
Leon Best (Coventry City)

Opinions? Kevin Kilbane is still in the squad, which angers me at best…Having said that, there’s not really another viable option at the moment, and Traps seems to have gone cold on the idea of Eddie Nolan filling that slot on a permanent basis, perhaps after his mistake for the Nigerians goal in the friendly back in May, which was complimented by a pretty poor performance. For the moment, it’s a case of persisting with Kilbane, but it’s hardly ideal.

Nice to see St. Ledger also given a place in the squad once again, because of all the negatives we could have taken out of that Australian performance, he was not one of them. I get the impression that we may well start with as experienced a back four as we can get for the qualifier in Nicosia, given the importance and potential difficulty of the match, so expect St. Ledger to be on the bench, with a central two of Dunne and O’Shea most likely, with Kilbane on the left and Stephen Kelly on the right, but certainly it wouldn’t hurt to give St. Ledger a go later on in the match, depending upon the circumstances we find ourselves in at that point.

Midfield is more or less as you were, although it was bitterly disappointing to learn of Stephen Reid’s new injury setback in his return to first team action for Blackburn Rovers last night, during their League cup win at Gillingham. Reid was unlikely to make the squad for the pair of matches in September, but news of another injury setback is not what he needs, it’s not what we need (Bugger to what Sam Allardyce needs).

After a promising start for Glenn Whelan and Darren Gibson in the centre of midfield towards the beginning of the qualifiers, their lack of control when facing up to superior opponents has become all too obvious in recent fixtures, so perhaps it’s time to look elsewhere for our central options. If Stephen Reid is fit, then he plays, because his ability in that position was becoming obvious for all in the period prior to his horrendous run of injuries, going all the way back to our opening Euro 2008 qualifier in Germany. Sans Reid and that idiot playing at Eastlands…perhaps it’s time to give Keith Andrews and Liam Lawrence their heads in the centre of midfield. Andrews certainly has the look of a fairly classy player about him whenever I see him turn out for Blackburn. Able to mix the combative and creative elements necessary for the role, it may be time to give him a chance.

Same applies for Lawrence, although he strikes me somewhat more as a forward-thinking central midfielder rather than someone who could muck in and break up the play. His performances for Stoke have been noticed in the English media, and while it’s safe to say he’s probably found his upper limit amongst clubs staving off relegation from the Premier League, at the moment he seems a safer bet than the somewhat limited Whelan. Ironic perhaps to be calling for new blood in Nicosia amongst the midfield, while the situation seems to dictate experience in defence, but I saw nothing to encourage from the performances of Whelan and Gibson in the friendly at Thomond a few weeks ago, so a revamp in the centre of the park may be what’s required to get past the Cypriots. The wide positions fill themselves, it just depends on what wing Traps chooses to start Duff and McGeady, hopefully common logic will prevail. Also expect to see Stephen Hunt at some point, who has made a good start to the season with his new club at Hull.

Another point to be made regards the selection of Liam Miller. Miller currently finds himself without a club after being released during the cull at Sunderland over the summer, however Traps continues to select him for the national squad. I’ve always had a certain amount of time for Miller, although I felt his decision to move from a guaranteed starting place at Celtic Park to Manchester United’ reserves was at best baffling, at worst stupid. He clearly has some talent as a central midfielder, if perhaps lacking the bite to snuff out better attackers defensively, nor the creativity to unlock better defences. However, until he gets a contract with a club, be it at Premiership, Championship, SPL level or wherever, his inclusion in the national side is a mystery.

We’re not taling about a crucial aspect of our side who just happens to find himself in between clubs, we’re talking about a substitute central midfielder. Surely that position would be better filled by someone who has at least been through the rigours of an intensive pre-season schedule, topped up with friendlies and hopefully some competitive performances either in the Premiership or more likely, the Championship? For the time being, Birmingham City’s Keith Treacy sounds like a far more viable option, at least if it’s only to fill up the numbers. If required in an emergency, you at least expect him to be able to play the full 90 if necessary, with Miller’s example, it’s perhaps another story. Hopefully there’s a justification behind Traps’ faith in Miller…

Up front, if we go with two again, expect it to be Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle, despite my own utter lack of faith with Doyle as an international striker. From the first time he performed competitively for Ireland on that night in Cologne where it all started going wrong for Stephen Reid, right up to his dire showing against the Australians, I’ve had concerns over how capable Doyle is to play at this level. There have been some bright moments (Skip to 2:41, the rest is more or less irrelevant), but in general he seems a bit slow and a bit weak when faced up to international defenders.

I’d be far more inclined to make the case for Caleb Folan, who gave the Italians untold problems up to and including THAT goal in Bari back in April. It might be harking back to the old tactic of route one football, hit the lad and let the little lad finish it off, but in truth, it might be the best we have at the moment. Keane is better suited for us as an out and out striker, recieving the ball from midfield or the second striker, and using his finishing ability to get the goal. If Folan is able to put the chance on a plate for Keane, rather than the captain having to forge his own chances, then all the better. Hopefully the Cypriots might not be able to deal with Folan’s aerial prescence, leaving their defence susceptible to the long ball and a number of chances for Keane, one of which he will inevitably take. It’s a system I don’t see Doyle being conducive to, but it’s a system I can see working against the home side. Therefore, Folan might just be the best option available as the strike partner for Keane, at least for the match in Nicosia. Shane Long’s inclusion is somewhat negligable (And, for what it’s worth, a half-fit Noel Hunt is probably a better option), while Leon Best’s inclusion is reward for his decent start to the season for Coventry. Don’t expect him to feature in Nicosia, but a run-out a few days later at Thomond might be in the pipeline.

Overall, it’s a squad which can be critiqued, but ultimately it’s not far off our best selection. Grim though that may seem, but in truth if we perform to our potential, there’s enough talent in that line-up to hopefully see off these Cyrpriots for the sixth (and hopefully last for a while) time in eight matches. I’m hoping to throw up a preview of the Cypriots themselves in the next few days, along with a look at the match itself and perhaps go back to a few previous fixtures, including that dark night in October ‘07. It was a repressed memory…

Talk later everyone