Brady has struggled to recapture his Euro 2016 form for Ireland. SIPA USA / PA Images
SIPA USA / PA Images / PA Images
WHERE MARTIN O’NEILL plays Robbie Brady this evening could have a big impact on the game.
The Dubliner has featured in a number of positions at both club and international level — from anywhere across the midfield to left-back, where he finished the last game against Austria.
“Robbie has played in a number of positions, not only for club, but also for country and I think he can adapt,” O’Neill said at his press conference earlier this week.
“Naturally, if it came to the point, particularly at club level, you would probably say that he would prefer a certain position and try to get used to that.
“But for us, he has played in a number of positions, never moaned.”
Brady has had a positive start to the season with Burnley, producing a sublime assist for his side’s last-minute equaliser against Tottenham at Wembley last weekend.
Having been in and out of the Clarets’ team last year, Brady has started all three of Burnley’s Premier League matches so far this season, impressing in particular in his side’s shock 3-2 win over Chelsea.
Since last summer when he was arguably Ireland’s best player at Euro 2016, as with his slow start to life at Turf Moor, Brady has invariably looked below par for the Boys in Green too.
For the first 60 minutes at the Aviva Stadium last June, Ireland produced arguably their worst performance of the campaign, and Brady was as big a culprit as anyone else.
He lacked sharpness as the Boys in Green struggled to develop any rhythm in their play, though he improved to a degree and set up the equaliser after being moved to left-back in the second half.
“It’s just generally good to see him playing well again,” O’Neill said. “He’s recovered the form that he showed for country anyway in the Euros and he’s just getting his confidence back again.
“I think that wherever we decide to play him, I don’t think one, he will complain — but he wouldn’t complain anyway — and two, I think he would be reasonably happy with it.”
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If Ireland are to prevail in Tbilisi, they will likely be dependent on the 25-year-old having a major influence on proceedings.
But if he can replicate the form he has shown for Burnley in recent weeks, expect the visitors to prosper in the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena this evening.
2. How much will Serbia come into O’Neill’s thinking?
Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill (right) sits in the dugout with John O'Shea. PA Wire / PA Images
PA Wire / PA Images / PA Images
MARTIN O’NEILL HAS publicly stated that he will not pick his team to play Georgia with the Serbia game in the back of his mind.
However, privately, you wonder whether the 65-year-old is considering saving some players for the match on Tuesday.
A number of individuals in the Ireland squad may struggle to cope with the intensity of two big games in three days, particularly when you consider the heat at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena this evening and the travelling the squad have to do.
Key players such as Stephen Ward (32), Glenn Whelan (33), Jon Walters (33) and Wes Hoolahan (35) aren’t getting any younger, and so requiring them to play twice in such a short space of time is a big ask.
Consequently, it would be a big surprise if O’Neill picks the exact same starting XI for both these big matches.
3. Can Ireland break Georgia down?
The Georgia team pictured prior to their qualifier against Wales last year. EMPICS Sport
EMPICS Sport
Ireland traditionally have found Georgia tough opponents, despite winning all eight previous fixtures against them. They have never managed to score more than two goals against the Eastern European outfit in the seven competitive fixtures the teams have played, while they have only once beat them by more than one goal in these matches.
It will therefore be interesting to see what kind of approach the Boys in Green adopt.
For Georgia, a draw will be considered a good result, whereas Ireland need a win.
With that in mind, the hosts could start the game with a defensive, cautious mindset and allow Ireland to dominate, as the Georgians did against Wales.
In that game at Cardiff City Stadium, Georgia sat back to begin with, and Wales went ahead after 10 minutes through Gareth Bale.
The Euro 2016 semi-finalists appeared set for a comfortable victory, but their play became lax as the game wore on and Chris Coleman’s side started to tire.
As a consequence, in the second half, Georgia played with more ambition. They became increasingly dangerous on the counter-attack, and were rewarded when Tornike Okriashvili nodded home on 57 minutes.
Having made it look easy in the first half, Wales were lucky to escape with a point in the end, as Georgia passed up more than one golden opportunity late on.
Ireland were similarly fortuitous when the teams met in Dublin in October 2016. The hosts triumphed thanks to a bizarre 56th-minute Seamus Coleman goal, but were second best for large spells of the contest.
The Georgians lost that game despite having 57% of the possession, and two shots on goal compared to Ireland’s three.
Consequently, there is a balance needed in the selection. They’ll require as many creative players and goal threats in the side as possible against the defensively stubborn Georgians, but they cannot afford to be too open or the Irish team will likely be exposed on the counter-attack, just as Wales were.
Despite only playing sporadically, Wes Hoolahan has been involved in some of Ireland’s best attacking moments in this campaign, setting up vital goals against Moldova and Austria.
The Norwich man could be needed to open up the Georgians, though there are other decent attacking alternatives too.
Aiden McGeady has memorably starred against the same opponents in the past, while he has been in decent form at club level of late.
Elsewhere, James McClean has been a revelation at times during the campaign, scoring more goals than any other Irish player, while Jon Walters — who looks set to win his fitness race — has been a key figure consistently throughout the campaign.
Shane Long has had a disappointing opening to the season at Southampton, failing to start any of their games so far, but his pace could trouble a Georgian backline that has looked sluggish in the past.
In midfield, O’Neill also may be tempted to hand a competitive debut to Conor Hourihane, given the goal threat the Aston Villa man tends to provide from midfield, though it would be no surprise either if the Derry native opted for the greater experience of Glenn Whelan and Harry Arter at the Cork native’s expense.
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Is Robbie Brady back to his best and more Georgia-Ireland talking points
Updated at 10.58
1. Is Robbie Brady back to his best?
WHERE MARTIN O’NEILL plays Robbie Brady this evening could have a big impact on the game.
The Dubliner has featured in a number of positions at both club and international level — from anywhere across the midfield to left-back, where he finished the last game against Austria.
“Robbie has played in a number of positions, not only for club, but also for country and I think he can adapt,” O’Neill said at his press conference earlier this week.
“Naturally, if it came to the point, particularly at club level, you would probably say that he would prefer a certain position and try to get used to that.
“But for us, he has played in a number of positions, never moaned.”
Brady has had a positive start to the season with Burnley, producing a sublime assist for his side’s last-minute equaliser against Tottenham at Wembley last weekend.
Having been in and out of the Clarets’ team last year, Brady has started all three of Burnley’s Premier League matches so far this season, impressing in particular in his side’s shock 3-2 win over Chelsea.
Since last summer when he was arguably Ireland’s best player at Euro 2016, as with his slow start to life at Turf Moor, Brady has invariably looked below par for the Boys in Green too.
For the first 60 minutes at the Aviva Stadium last June, Ireland produced arguably their worst performance of the campaign, and Brady was as big a culprit as anyone else.
He lacked sharpness as the Boys in Green struggled to develop any rhythm in their play, though he improved to a degree and set up the equaliser after being moved to left-back in the second half.
“It’s just generally good to see him playing well again,” O’Neill said. “He’s recovered the form that he showed for country anyway in the Euros and he’s just getting his confidence back again.
“I think that wherever we decide to play him, I don’t think one, he will complain — but he wouldn’t complain anyway — and two, I think he would be reasonably happy with it.”
If Ireland are to prevail in Tbilisi, they will likely be dependent on the 25-year-old having a major influence on proceedings.
But if he can replicate the form he has shown for Burnley in recent weeks, expect the visitors to prosper in the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena this evening.
2. How much will Serbia come into O’Neill’s thinking?
MARTIN O’NEILL HAS publicly stated that he will not pick his team to play Georgia with the Serbia game in the back of his mind.
However, privately, you wonder whether the 65-year-old is considering saving some players for the match on Tuesday.
A number of individuals in the Ireland squad may struggle to cope with the intensity of two big games in three days, particularly when you consider the heat at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena this evening and the travelling the squad have to do.
Key players such as Stephen Ward (32), Glenn Whelan (33), Jon Walters (33) and Wes Hoolahan (35) aren’t getting any younger, and so requiring them to play twice in such a short space of time is a big ask.
Consequently, it would be a big surprise if O’Neill picks the exact same starting XI for both these big matches.
3. Can Ireland break Georgia down?
Ireland traditionally have found Georgia tough opponents, despite winning all eight previous fixtures against them. They have never managed to score more than two goals against the Eastern European outfit in the seven competitive fixtures the teams have played, while they have only once beat them by more than one goal in these matches.
It will therefore be interesting to see what kind of approach the Boys in Green adopt.
For Georgia, a draw will be considered a good result, whereas Ireland need a win.
With that in mind, the hosts could start the game with a defensive, cautious mindset and allow Ireland to dominate, as the Georgians did against Wales.
In that game at Cardiff City Stadium, Georgia sat back to begin with, and Wales went ahead after 10 minutes through Gareth Bale.
The Euro 2016 semi-finalists appeared set for a comfortable victory, but their play became lax as the game wore on and Chris Coleman’s side started to tire.
As a consequence, in the second half, Georgia played with more ambition. They became increasingly dangerous on the counter-attack, and were rewarded when Tornike Okriashvili nodded home on 57 minutes.
Having made it look easy in the first half, Wales were lucky to escape with a point in the end, as Georgia passed up more than one golden opportunity late on.
Ireland were similarly fortuitous when the teams met in Dublin in October 2016. The hosts triumphed thanks to a bizarre 56th-minute Seamus Coleman goal, but were second best for large spells of the contest.
The Georgians lost that game despite having 57% of the possession, and two shots on goal compared to Ireland’s three.
Consequently, there is a balance needed in the selection. They’ll require as many creative players and goal threats in the side as possible against the defensively stubborn Georgians, but they cannot afford to be too open or the Irish team will likely be exposed on the counter-attack, just as Wales were.
Despite only playing sporadically, Wes Hoolahan has been involved in some of Ireland’s best attacking moments in this campaign, setting up vital goals against Moldova and Austria.
The Norwich man could be needed to open up the Georgians, though there are other decent attacking alternatives too.
Aiden McGeady has memorably starred against the same opponents in the past, while he has been in decent form at club level of late.
Elsewhere, James McClean has been a revelation at times during the campaign, scoring more goals than any other Irish player, while Jon Walters — who looks set to win his fitness race — has been a key figure consistently throughout the campaign.
Shane Long has had a disappointing opening to the season at Southampton, failing to start any of their games so far, but his pace could trouble a Georgian backline that has looked sluggish in the past.
In midfield, O’Neill also may be tempted to hand a competitive debut to Conor Hourihane, given the goal threat the Aston Villa man tends to provide from midfield, though it would be no surprise either if the Derry native opted for the greater experience of Glenn Whelan and Harry Arter at the Cork native’s expense.
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