Can Jon Walters flourish in an unbalanced attack, are we about to see the emergence of Seamus Coleman as an international force and how in the hell do you cope with the German midfield?
Let’s be frank about Walters
It’s entirely not his fault, but the selection of Jonathan Walters as the lone striker in a new Ireland formation has raised more than a few eyebrows and rightly so.
The Stoke man is a good player and is a Premier League regular for a reason, but both he and Simon Cox would appear to be playing out of position in what looks like an unbalanced attack, with the man who is most in-form and most suited to the lone striker role left twiddling his thumbs on the bench.
Walters is perhaps a better option than Robbie Keane would have been as a lone striker, but he probably would have been even more suited to the role Simon Cox is being asked to fill, something he has done for Stoke behind Peter Crouch this season.
Maybe Trap knows better and the trio of McGeady, Walters and Cox could cause a problem, but we can’t see it and will anxiously be awaiting the time when Shane Long is ushered into the fray from the sub’s bench. That’s assuming Trap doesn’t do the unthinkable and leave him there for 90 minutes, of course.
Will we be looking at Ireland’s future right-back?
First of all, it’s great to see Seamus Coleman being given a start in a competitive international. He suffered a little bit from second season syndrome last year, but already this season he’s delivering on the promise he showed in the 2010/11 campaign and we have a feeling that the occasion tonight won’t faze him one bit.
There have been calls for his inclusion for ages now, but even though his logic for excluding other players has been a bit baffling, Trap had his reasons for biding his time with the Donegal man.
He was playing right wing for his club after all and David Moyes shared Trap’s concerns about Coleman’s defensive abilities; the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool last season a case in point.
Tonight is a huge chance for Coleman to stake a claim for a permanent right-back berth
Now, he’s been given his chance and although Ireland will be under the cosh, the new formation might actually suit him. In the 4-4-2, a full-back venturing beyond the halfway line was nearly a cardinal offence, but with three men in a condensed midfield, the onus will be on the full-backs to provide a little width.
If he was looking for role models, there are none better than Philipp Lahm who will be absent tonight (thank God), but hopefully everyone will be raving about another flying full-back by the end of the night.
How do you solve a problem like the German midfield?
Ireland’s switch to a three-man midfield is not before time and probably should have been done before tonight. Glenn Whelan has gone on record about the difficulties faced playing in a two-man midfield and being outnumbered in the international arena, but of all teams to do it against, a change in formation was an absolute must against the Germans.
After all, this is a team whose midfield riches are such that they have named only one striker in their squad for tonight’s game – Miroslav Klose – and had only one additional forward, Mario Gomez, in their squad for the Euros in the summer.
Jogi Loew can afford to leave as talented a player as Mario Gotze on the bench, but it doesn’t seem that big a deal when the five he has selected all play for clubs with realistic ambitions of winning the Champions League.
Khedira and Schweinsteiger will ensure solidity and a steady supply of possession in the two holding roles and ahead of them, not only do Reus, Ozil and Muller have flair, they have bucketloads of pace as well and could provide plenty of headaches for the Irish midfield trio as well as our full-backs if they are allowed the space and time to do so.
Stopping them from running riot is an unenviable task, but if Ireland are to have any chance of an unlikely win or even a draw, nullifying their influence will be crucial.
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