IT IS DOUBTFUL that Giovanni Trapattoni and Marco Tardelli are Fantasy Premier League enthusiasts but if the pair were checking the weekly scoring they would have discovered some interesting reading.
Top of the Irish goalkeeping pile is Norwich City's Mark Bunn, who has yet to win an Irish cap but declared his intention to wear the green jersey back in December.
Bunn has been deputising for the injured John Ruddy and picked up 11 of his 39 points last week with a save penalty save and a clean sheet against QPR. With Kieren Westwood yet to feature for Sunderland and tonight's No1 David Forde plying his trade in the Npower Championship with Millwall, our back-up stopper would by all-time record caps holder Shay Given, who earned four points back in August but hasn't featured in the league since.
In defence, our leading player is Joey O'Brien - a player left out of the squad to face Poland altogether. At West Ham, the Dubliner has played 23 times and his two goals have helped him climb to 12th overall in the Premier League defenders list. Tonight's central pairing John O'Shea and Ciaran Clark are also top of the Irish FF centre-halves.
Damien Duff retired from international football at Euro 2012 and it is benefiting his club career as he has 83 points during the current campaign. On the opposite wing, Anthony Pilkington, who would have been making his debut tonight but for an injury he picked up over the weekend, is Ireland's top scoring midfielder while James McCarthy and Glenn Whelan, both starting at Lansdowne Road, take the two spots in the centre of the park.
James McClean narrowly misses out on a starting berth but is first sub.
Up front, Jon Walters (actually down as a midfielder on the FPL site) sits on 94 points with a tally of five goals and three assists. West Brom's Shane Long has also scored five goals this season and partners the Stoke man. Wes Hoolahan, meanwhile, would be the second player introduced from the bench.
Total FF cost... £75m. As it's restricted to the Premier League, there are omissions such as Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), Aiden McGeady (Spark Moscow) and players from the Championship but what do you make of the team?
Goalkeeper
Mark Bunn - Norwich (39 points)
Defenders
Joey O'Brien - West Ham (81 points)
John O'Shea - Sunderland (73 points)
Ciaran Clark - Aston Villa (55 points)
Ian Harte - Reading (35 points)
Midfielders
Damien Duff - Fulham (83 points)
James McCarthy - Wigan (70 points)
Glenn Whelan - Stoke (69 points)
Anthony Pilkington - Norwich (86 points)
Strikers
Jon Walters - Stoke (94 points)
Shane Long - West Brom (82 points)
Subs: Shay Given (4 points), Alex Pearce (32 points), Enda Stevens (12 points), Seamus Coleman (33 points), James McClean (73 points), Darron Gibson (19 points), Wes Hoolahan (67 points).
This is what the Ireland team would look like if it was picked on Fantasy Football points
Credit: Fantasy Premier League
IT IS DOUBTFUL that Giovanni Trapattoni and Marco Tardelli are Fantasy Premier League enthusiasts but if the pair were checking the weekly scoring they would have discovered some interesting reading.
Top of the Irish goalkeeping pile is Norwich City's Mark Bunn, who has yet to win an Irish cap but declared his intention to wear the green jersey back in December.
Bunn has been deputising for the injured John Ruddy and picked up 11 of his 39 points last week with a save penalty save and a clean sheet against QPR. With Kieren Westwood yet to feature for Sunderland and tonight's No1 David Forde plying his trade in the Npower Championship with Millwall, our back-up stopper would by all-time record caps holder Shay Given, who earned four points back in August but hasn't featured in the league since.
In defence, our leading player is Joey O'Brien - a player left out of the squad to face Poland altogether. At West Ham, the Dubliner has played 23 times and his two goals have helped him climb to 12th overall in the Premier League defenders list. Tonight's central pairing John O'Shea and Ciaran Clark are also top of the Irish FF centre-halves.
Damien Duff retired from international football at Euro 2012 and it is benefiting his club career as he has 83 points during the current campaign. On the opposite wing, Anthony Pilkington, who would have been making his debut tonight but for an injury he picked up over the weekend, is Ireland's top scoring midfielder while James McCarthy and Glenn Whelan, both starting at Lansdowne Road, take the two spots in the centre of the park.
James McClean narrowly misses out on a starting berth but is first sub.
Up front, Jon Walters (actually down as a midfielder on the FPL site) sits on 94 points with a tally of five goals and three assists. West Brom's Shane Long has also scored five goals this season and partners the Stoke man. Wes Hoolahan, meanwhile, would be the second player introduced from the bench.
Total FF cost... £75m. As it's restricted to the Premier League, there are omissions such as Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), Aiden McGeady (Spark Moscow) and players from the Championship but what do you make of the team?
Goalkeeper
Mark Bunn - Norwich (39 points)
Defenders
Joey O'Brien - West Ham (81 points)
John O'Shea - Sunderland (73 points)
Ciaran Clark - Aston Villa (55 points)
Ian Harte - Reading (35 points)
Midfielders
Damien Duff - Fulham (83 points)
James McCarthy - Wigan (70 points)
Glenn Whelan - Stoke (69 points)
Anthony Pilkington - Norwich (86 points)
Strikers
Jon Walters - Stoke (94 points)
Shane Long - West Brom (82 points)
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