Donât think he has started a game yet. A couple of sub appearances thus far
Marc Wilson hauled off after 40 mins after a bit of a shocker. Best showed a nice bit of control for the second goal.
Impressed with Leon Best tonight. Played a part in all 3 goals and did a lot of unselfish work similar to what Doyle / Long / Cox do for Ireland. Has outshone Walters even though Walters scored a penalty.
Whats the standard in the Polish league like Balbec?
Why did you try to be cool in front of TASD earlier by pretending you werenât really going to watch it?
I wasnât really watching it but was impressed with Best in the bits I saw, which coincidentally included 3 goals. Itâs not really that hard to understand.
Appreciate you trying to clear up the confusion but still doesnât ring true to me. Iâm willing to let it go for now though
OâShea confirmed as being out of both matches this morning. Despite his poor form of late for us it is a fairly big blow.
Thats a fairly serious blow, its not like we can replace the likes of him easily. Long is said to be back in light training.
Gibsonâs apparently injured too but heâs probably behind Fahey now as well as the starting midfield duo.
Kelly and Ward for the full back positions then. Kelly is alright defensively but poor on the ball. Ward is shocking defensively but ok going forward. Estonia better be shite.
Wonder will Fahey get the nod over Whelan? Other one is up front to partner Keane. Has Trap partnered Cox and Keane from the start yet? Cox did come on in Moscow for Doyle but I donât think Walters or Long were in the squad for that game. Long partnered Keane in Slovakia but how fit will he be either.
Cox and Keane started and linked very well together in Macedonia.
I doubt he will start Fahey ahead of Whelan/Andrews in the home leg, but wouldnât be surprised to see him start the second leg
The second leg is the home leg.
I honestly donât know why I wrote home there. Ment away, brain mustnât been in gear.
WBA arent as confident for Longâs chances.
WEST BROM ASSISTANT boss Michael Appleton says Ireland will probably face Estonia in their Euro 2012 play-off games without Shane Long.
The Baggies striker suffered severe bone bruising thanks to a horror tackle from Aston Villa defender Alan Hutton last month.
Giovanni Trapattoni named the former Reading man in his squad for the games â as well as Kevin Doyle and Robbie Keane â but Appleton, who is tipped to replace Roy Hodgson at some stage in the Hawthorns top job, thinks the trip to Talinn comes too soon for the Tipperary man.
âShane has not broken his leg or anything like that,â Appleton told the clubâs website this morning. âBut it is one of those injuries you have to be really cautious with.
âUltimately, he is doing everything the physios are asking him to do. Heâs working hard on the bikes. But, at the moment, he has not done any impact stuff.
âHe is doing a lot of cardiovascular work to keep his heart-rate up while protecting the leg.
âI would be very surprised if he is available for the Ireland games. He would have to make a massive recovery in the next week or so.
âFrom Shaneâs point of view, I imagine he will be desperate to play â but heâs quite a sensible lad. He realises he has a chip in his bone which needs to heal before he can play again,â the coach added.
Darren OâDea wasnât in the Leeds squad last night. He got a knock against Birmingham last week and another against Cardiff at the weekend so could be doubtful depending on his recovery. He came off before half time during the Cardiff match. Initially I thought it was due to getting the run around but it turns out if was the knock heâd picked up in the previous game.
It was reported as a serious enough concussion I believe?
Something like that
Simon Grayson has revealed Leeds defender Darren OâDea was suffering from dizziness when his error gifted Cardiff a goal in Sundayâs 1-1 draw.
The Republic of Ireland international had a clear start in a foot race with City striker Joe Mason as he headed towards his own goal in the 17th minute, but hesitated, failed to clear and was pick-pocketed by the lively striker, who promptly scored his third goal in as many games.
Grayson felt the Celtic loanee received a shove in the back from Mason in the build-up to the goal, but also confirmed his player, who had taken a head knock against Birmingham on Wednesday, had suffered another blow to the head early on and was struggling to find his bearings.
He was substituted after 30 minutes and Leeds went on to level through Robert Snodgrass, although they would have won were it not for a stunning performance from City goalkeeper David Marshall.
âHe (OâDea) got a knock on the head in the last five minutes against Birmingham, suffered a bit of dizziness, declared himself fit yesterday after training, got a bang on it in the first part of the first half,â Grayson said afterwards. "He had a lack of vision down one side and a bit of blurriness as well so heâs got concussion.
âI think it probably did (affect him leading up to the goal). He got a little nudge, he knows he maybe should have cleared it and that was something that maybe contributed to it.â
I would have presumed that Andrews would be more likely to miss out than Whelan if Fahey does play but I donât see it happening anyway.
Cox and Keane were good together in Macedonia and theyâd seem the obvious option with Walters coming off the bench for one of them.
Losing OâShea is a big blow defensively. The days of being overloaded with full-backs are long gone.
I presume Kevin Foley is still injured as well?