Ireland vs. Poland - Preview

Trapattoni's selection to play against Poland at Lansdowne Road tomorrow night is predictable enough, retaining the now-outmoded 4-4-2 formation with Conor Sammon making his début up front alongside Shane Long. David Forde starts in goal, with McShane, O'Shea, Clark and Cunningham across the backline, and Brady, McCarthy, Whelan and the beautifully coiffed James McClean (below) in midfield.

While the selections of Clark, Cunningham, McClean and Brady are quite positive in terms of developing players with potentially long-term usefulness, the persistence with two central strikers is a frustrating call, given that Wes Hoolahan - and the flexible 4-5-1 formation which he would enable - looks to be outside of Trapattoni's thoughts. Euro 2012 seemed to suggest that the 4-4-2 formation could be easily combated by teams pressing high up the pitch, forcing concession of the ball, and allowing numerical supremacy in the midfield area - supported by attacking full-backs - to set up attacking opportunities. Even in the qualifiers for that tournament, Russia, Armenia, Macedonia and Estonia enjoyed long periods of possession against Ireland by taking advantage of their greater midfield numbers, and the technically sound Swedish and Austrian teams will now look to do the same.

Trapattoni's two-pronged strike-force was initially employed to get the best from Robbie Keane, who compensated for his inability to play as a lone striker, or central playmaker, with commendable finishing ability when playing off a target man, borne out by his outstanding goalscoring record at this level. However, pure finishers like Keane (see also Andy Cole, Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen) are conspicuous by their absence in the modern game at the highest level - European forwards are expected to contribute to the build-up play, whether as ball-holders on the forward line or as link-men in the gap between the opposition's midfield/defensive lines. Keane, for all his qualities, can play neither role effectively, which, more than anything, forced him out the door at Liverpool and Spurs. With Keane in decline, and Wes Hoolahan looking like a huge asset as an attacking midfielder for Norwich, now is the perfect time for Ireland to catch up with the rest of Europe in adopting a more fluid midfield/attack dynamic. Trapattoni's selection of a Sammon-Long front two, with Long as a direct replacement for Keane, looks to be a stubborn persistence with a failing status quo.

Indeed, Ireland played a 4-5-1 against Germany - but utilising your extra midfielder as a man-marker alongside two 'sitters', leaving the lone striker isolated, and wide players hugging the touchline as auxiliary full-backs, is a system designed to lose games. European football has moved on, and Trapattoni seems stubborn in his refusal to follow suit. Irish football will be the loser, as another chance is wasted to develop and improve this Irish team before two crucial games.

Meanwhile, the Polish team has yet to be announced, but should contain a sizeable Bundesliga contingent, including top striker Robert Lewandowski and captain Jakub Blaszczykowski, both of the ever-impressive Borussia Dortmund, which should be a daunting prospect for an Irish team containing five players from the English second tier.

Irish XI to play Poland:

David Forde (Millwall)

Paul McShane (Hull)

John O'Shea (Sunderland)

Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa)

Greg Cunningham (Bristol City)

Robbie Brady (Hull)

Glenn Whelan (Stoke)

James McCarthy (Wigan)

James McClean (Sunderland)

Conor Sammon (Derby)

Shane Long (WBA)