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Giovanni Trapattoni: tough decisions ahead. INPHO/James Crombie

Open thread: who would you have in your 23-man Ireland squad?

The Boys in Green are off to Poland and Ukraine. But whose boarding pass would you stamp?

SO WE NOW know we’re off to Poland and Ukraine next summer.

And we even know which pot we’re in for the draw on 2 December.

But which players should be on the plane for the journey east?

Giovanni Trapattoni will probably pick three goalkeepers, eight defenders, seven midfielders and five strikers to make up his regulation 23-man squad.  (Though he has indicated that he may sacrifice at forward for a midfielder.)

Here’s the runners and riders….

Goalkeepers from: Shay Given, Keiren Westwood, David Forde, Darren Randolph.

Defenders: Richard Dunne, John O’Shea, Stephen Kelly, Stephen Ward, Sean St Ledger, Darren O’Dea, Paul McShane, Kevin Kilbane, Kevin Foley, Damien Delaney, Ciaran Clark.

Midfielders: Glenn Whelan, James McCarthy, Seamus Coleman, Darren Gibson, Keith Andrews, Keith Fahey, Damien Duff, Aiden McGeady, Andy Keogh, Liam Lawrence, Stephen Hunt, Marc Wilson.

Forwards: Leon Best, Robbie Keane, Shane Long, Kevin Doyle, Simon Cox, Jonathan Walters.

Then there’s possible bolters like Anthony Stokes, Anthony Pilkington, Wes Hoolohan,  Stephen Ireland, David Meyler, Robbie Brady, Rory Delap, Paddy Kenny, Stephen Reid, Andy Reid, Keith Treacy, Caleb Folan.

Not to mention the possible passport-office-botherers like Anton Ferdinand, Jermaine Pennant and Jamie O’Hara.

So who would make up your 23-man panel for next June?

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11 Comments
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    Mute Brian
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    Nov 16th 2011, 1:50 PM

    Considering the way we play I can’t understand how Rory Delap has never been called up. Especially considering how much we rely on set pieces.

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    Mute Brian
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    Nov 16th 2011, 1:40 PM

    Not many warm up games so I think there won’t be any suprises as Trap is too cautious to allow untested players into his system. Wes Holahan looks good for Norwich but it’s a long shot. James McCarthy has hardly played for Wigan and been on the bench a lot which doesn’t bode well.
    We’re going to sink or swim with pretty much the same players we used over the two legs against Estonia.

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    Mute Paddy Hickey
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    Nov 16th 2011, 1:53 PM

    Given, Westwood, Forde.
    Dunne, OShea, Ward, St Ledger, ODea,Clark.McCarthy,Coleman,Andrews,Fahey,Duff,McGeady,Pilkington,Delap, Best,Keane,Long,Doyle,Walters.

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    Mute Adrian Russell
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    Nov 16th 2011, 2:07 PM

    Pilkington’s an interesting one Paddy

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    Mute David Horgan
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    Nov 16th 2011, 11:14 PM

    Terry Phelan will surely squeeze in there somewhere

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    Mute emmomac
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    Nov 16th 2011, 6:35 PM

    3 keepers is such a waste of a space

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    Mute Liam Daly
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    Nov 16th 2011, 4:41 PM

    Robbie Brady and David Meyler are both great talents if the stay injury free.

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    Mute Cian Walsh
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    Nov 17th 2011, 11:04 AM

    Goalkeepers: Shay Given, Keiren Westwood, Paddy Kenny
    Defenders: Richard Dunne, John O’Shea, Stephen Kelly, Stephen Ward, Sean St Ledger, Ciaran Clark, Seamus Coleman
    Midfielders: Glenn Whelan, James McCarthy, Anthony Pilkington , Keith Andrews, Damien Duff, Aiden McGeady, Stephen Hunt, Wes Holohan
    Forwards: Leon Best, Robbie Keane, Shane Long, Kevin Doyle, Jonathan Walters

    1
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    Mute Ronan Kelly
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    Nov 20th 2011, 4:34 AM

    The squad essentially picks itself in most places. The most competition seems to be for striker, where it looks like we’ll have to leave a decent player or two behind. Not a bad situation to be in I suppose. Trap has a lot of faith in Cox, but I think him and Best are likely to miss out. For me, Coleman has to come. Not only is he a quality player, but versatile enough to play both fullback and on the wing.

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    Mute John Rowley
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    Nov 16th 2011, 2:17 PM

    Shay Given, Keiren Westwood, Paddy Kenny,
    Richard Dunne, John O’Shea, Stephen Kelly, Stephen Ward, Sean St Ledger, Stephen Reid, Ciaran Clark.
    James McCarthy, Seamus Coleman, Darren Gibson, Keith Andrews, Keith Fahey, Damien Duff, Aiden McGeady
    Robbie Keane, Shane Long, Kevin Doyle, Jonathan Walters.
    Robbie Brady, Anthony Pilkington

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    Mute Ed de Feu
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    Nov 16th 2011, 10:30 PM

    My Final 23- GK-Given,westwood,Forde
    DEF-Dunne, o’shea, Ward, St Ledger, wilson, Coleman, O’Dea, Kelly
    MID-Duff,McGeady, whelan, andrews Mccarthy ,Hunt,Meyler,Fahey
    ATT-Keane, Doyle, Walters Long
    Trap wont bring all these players but its probably his best available squad

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