But, It’s been his childhood dream to score in Euro 2012…

fact is we have young players bitting at the heals to show us wat they have got, pace and stamina, we can’t go forward on past performances it just doesn’t work. we need fresh thinking and new direction and new players are the solution. coybig

yes he’s past it. Walters and Long much more effective partnership

Nothing against Robbie. He is a great player and always could provide a goal but we need someone to hold up the ball in the Spanish game. We are not going to have it very much or for very long so the more time we can have it in there half the better. If we play to up front I would rather start Long and Walters with Keane as an impact sub if we are getting ball into their box.

probably should have come off at h/t on Sunday, playing at the lower standard in MLS is showing him up

Nothing to lose at this stage.

Robbie did well for Ireland over the years but he should be dropped .He was found out the other night that he had his day. Maybe as a sub.

Drop him & bring long & Walters in – they deserve a chance and can find the goal. Sure Keane has been great over the years but he’s practically retired playing in the Mickey mouse league. Put McClean in for Whelan too.

All this talk of changing players is akin to shuffling the deck-chairs on the Titanic. I was in Poznan on Sunday and it was sadly obvious from early on the in the game our players are out of their depth at this level. The Croats can play and were in our lads faces forcing mistakes. The system employed by Trap has been found out and the better teams can create chances at will. It was a great achievement to qualify, however we will have to look long and hard at where we go from here. I’d love to be proven wrong but I honestly believe it’s beyond our team to get a result tomorrow.

Drop glen whelan instead

the whole team are going to have to put in a hard shift and im not sure if robbie is up to the job of of dropping into midfield to give a dig out……id start him but if hes not producing the goods id replace him with shane long…hes not afraid to put himself about and can nick a goal

Start the young players and see how it goes. Keane can come on midway in the second half when others are getting tired and he’s on fresh legs

He can get us a goal out of nothing he’s done it before and can still do it. He is not the problem the service into him is if we can get that right we have a chance.

Trapp has been found out. Far too loyal and conservative. Against SPain we have to go 4 5 1. long or Walters up front McClean & Hunt for McGeady & Duff, Gibson for Whelan and go for broke.

play long and walters and what about kelly for john o’ shea who was just dreadful against Croatia ?

Duff, McGeady keane & Doyle out, McClean, hunt, Gibson & Walters in

In fairness to robbie(the best Irish striker we’ve had), look who he was relying on for ball supply… Probably the worst midfield pairing in Europe never mind the euros. Drop whelan, mcgeady & Doyle. Bring in Mcclean, Gibson & Walters.

Robbie Keane has scored 53 international goals for Ireland. No other player in this competition has scored more. One bad game does not make him a bad player. People need to stop overreacting. Step back a little and consider his performances over the past 10 years. If he is playing poorly Trap can substitute him, as he did against Croatia.

Most people say Andriy Shevchenko is past it..

He should play with Walters to half time at least. Long should feature at some stage for his speed and willingness to close down though.

trap should drop keane and doyle.. play gibson as extra midfielder and put walters up front on his own

Robbie Keane should start. He is a natural finisher and has proven that on the biggest stage before v Germany and the spot kick v Spain in 2002 WC and many times since. True he hasn’t scored recently for Ireland but service is crucial. Even the greatest strikers need decent ball. Remember who passed the ball to Keane for his first goal for Liverpool? Torres. Spain will be wary of Keane which could possibly be the greatest decoy for Long or Walters. We can get at Spain via Duff and McGeady and can be dangerous on set pieces. I wouldn’t bet against Keane scoring if we were to get one past Casillas. Spain like to walk the ball into the goal and although it will defiinitely be a hard day at the office, i for one am going to be optimstic!

I find it strange that most comments agree what the changes need to be. I’m sure even the players would agree with change (not Robbie) and most anyone with an understanding of the game. England were happy to blood Chamberlain an eighteen year old and he was their MOM. Trap says Mclane is not ready, I’m sorry but Trap you’re the one not ready

Why is this only coming up now? Surely all those silly friendlies had at least some benefit and showed Robbie is past it. This smacks of poor management. Damage is done and its only now that changes could be made. So highly annoying to think we could have a good defensive line but with atracking flair of McClean, Walters or Hunt, Long pressing defences with swift breaks. The lack of respect Trap is showing is beyond
belief. “We must not attack, we are not good enough” so loosing is okay so long as we loose well!? Aaahhhh! SO ANNOYING!

4-2-3-1
Gk: Given
RB: Kelly CB Dunne & O’Shea LB: Ward
DM: Whelan & Andrews
RW: Walters AMC: Duff LW: McGeady
CF: Long

Trap is as stubborn as an old mule so nothing will change. Keane is not sharp because he is playing in a sub standard league where the biggest challenge that faces him is counting all them dollars. Walters is hungry and shows a bit of aggression and pride in the jersey. Walters, Mc Clean, Hunt, Long are all better options than Keano but Trap will stick with the same same old…

I’d make sure he dropped Kevin Doyle before Keane.
Sorry but Doyle has been terrible for the last couple of years.

Sometimes the ball bounces off Keane and into the goal. Just leave him hang around there- 6 yards out- and it kick it at him very hard.

Give Robbie half a game whether 1st or second it doesn’t really matter tbh.I think Glenn Whelan should be the one to be dropped, midfield were woeful , his 1st thought was to play ball backwards , not a positive thought in his head it seems.. give Gibson a chance i reckon and Stephen Hunt for his agressiveness

mcgeady has to get the axe. he was woeful against the croats and everyone else for that matter. cant understand how a guy whos a winger plays with his head down, reminds me of porborsky, headless chicken

Why does trap insist on sticking to the exact same players so rigidly every match? His system obviously didnt work well against croatia so what’s there to lose? Change it up trap.. Start McLean and Duff on the wings throw on Gibson and Long and see what happens. The Walters Long partnership is a no brainer imo …

Like O’ Gara in the rugby, he would be far more important to us as an impact sub.

No! Keane should be played on Thursday, this guy has done so well for Rep., hes one of our best, we need the best we have in order to defeat Spain on Thursday.

I really think Trap has been found out. His old style doesn’t work in the modern game, and his insistence on sticking to players who are past it shows that he is past it too. For me making the statement that he brought on Cox to assist Ward defensively when we were 3-1 down said it all! How stupid can a manager be to do that. The best way to ‘assist’ Ward was to put their midfield and back line under pressure by attacking them..We are going to be hammered by Spain if Trap doesn’t change his mind and give a few of the younger attacking players a run. Doyle can’t even get into a team that has been relegated, and Keane is past it..what chance have we of getting goals from play. 14 goals scored in our qualifying matches….10 from set pieces…I think that says it all.

Keane can’t do the lone striker.

Robbie isn’t the problem. He’s done well for us when it mattered. I do think Doyle should be dropped though. He had a pretty average season (and when i say average, i’m being kind) with Wolves. I’d hope that Walters or Long would start up front with Robbie and McClean come in for McGeady. McGeady was very ineffective against the Croats. McClean has something to prove and I think he could do a job for us.

tipp and wexford up front 4 4 2

With the way Spain play Robbie will be isolated and won’t be able to do much unless the ball comes to him in the box which will be unlikely. We need pace and somebody who can hold the ball up and bring others in to play. I know it won’t happen but we need Shane Long and Walters to start tomorrow. Long will give us pace around the back and Walters is direct as well as being able to hold the ball up. Any defender would hate playing against Walters. I’d keep the rest of the team how it is. Bring Keane on in the last 20 if we need a goal!! Actually tbh..We’re just screwed!

he’s no Roy Keane

Doyle upfront with Walters playing behind him in a 5 man midfield