ALL SET TO GO LONG
The number nine can lock in his name among Ireland’s all-time greats with goals at the Euros
EURO 2016 is Shane Long’s opportunity to make a name for himself and add it to the list of Ireland’s best strikers.
He is now fully established as the main man in the role on this team and he has clearly relished the chance to claim it.
He comes to France on the back of a good season with Southampton but I feel there is still more to come, which must be a frightening proposition for the other teams in Euro 2016.
With his pace and power he can cause massive problems for defenders, no matter who they are or who they play for.
He has scored against the Premier League’s better sides in recent months, and got that brilliant goal against Germany.
He is still only 29 and has scored 16 goals in 62 internationals, mainly as a substitute. That already puts him seventh on Ireland’s top goalscorers’ list behind Tony Cascarino, John Aldridge, Don Givens and Frank Stapleton and just five behind Niall Quinn who is second to Robbie Keane’s 67.
And to be up there with those two, he has to do it in a major finals. This is Shane Long’s time.
His strength is his pace and he can hurt any team badly because he is too fast for defenders and better in the air than most of them. Sometimes you even see him get on the end of his own flicks.
Robbie Keane will be on the bench and eager to get among it and score. But there is no real pressure on Long, not even from himself, although I have no doubts, like the rest of the squad, he will want to score and make an impression in a major tournament and be a part of a winning side.
Looking at the rest of the starting line-up against Sweden, although Martin O’Neill likes to throw the odd curveball, there should not be any major surprises.
Obviously the fitness of Jon Walters is vital, but there are still two games to go if he is not fully fit to face the Swedes tomorrow evening.
It might be a risk to play him but he has proved with his goals and ability to impose himself on the opposition that he is a real threat.
I am sure that Martin and the medical staff, Dr Alan Byrne and physio Ciaran Murray, will have been having many conversations over the last few days to make sure he is right and there will be no risks taken. But he will be desperate to play.
If Walters doesn’t make it, there is every chance that would lead to a change in the system, and James McClean would be the most likely to come in. He has also shown in the recent friendlies that he can play upfront, if needed.
Darren Randolph should start because he was the Number One until the end of the campaign. He is in there by right.
Shay Given has all the experience and Keiren Westwood has probably had the best season of all the Ireland goalkeepers, including his superb performance in the Wembley play-off final, but Randolph should get the nod.
Séamus Coleman has had a quiet season by his standards, and he has been seriously affected by injuries. He has only played one full game since the middle of April but he is one of those naturally fit players.
Like Robbie Brady he will have the licence to get forward. Brady could be our most potent weapon and also has the ability to play further up the field, if Stephen Ward comes in.
He has the potential to be one of the best set-piece takers at the tournament and is a dangerous supply line for us. This could be a big couple of weeks for him.
With his vast experience, and over 100 caps, John O’Shea is certain to start as one of the centre backs. Then, it really is a toss of the coin between Shane Duffy and Ciaran Clark.
I just feel Duffy has played his way into the team with his very good performances against Switzerland and Holland.
I know he has yet to play a competitive game but he does bring a real physical presence to the defence which may be needed against Zlatan Ibrahimovic. To have two six-foot four centre backs against Sweden would be no bad thing. Glenn Whelan will be vital in quelling the threat of Ibrahimovic. His game awareness is very good and he will thrive on the added responsibility of trying to prevent easy through balls to Ibrahimovic.
He has had another excellent season at Stoke and no doubt comes into this tournament full of confidence and showed in the recent friendly against Holland just how important he is. From a protection point of view, he is second to none.
He is prepared to take the ball, which people don’t give him enough credit for, and he will keep us ticking over when we are trying to take the sting out of games.
Sweden did prove against Wales last week that they are not just a one-man team and they won well. But we know that if Ibrahimovic plays they will want to get the ball to him. Whelan has to prevent that happening.
His partnership with James McCarthy has been one of the real positives from the second half of the qualifying campaign, and Martin O’Neill’s reign so far. They are a very good pairing.
Stephen Quinn is going to run Jeff Hendrick very close for the other slot. This could be where the manager springs a surprise. He clearly liked the way Quinn has been playing, singling him out in his press conference.
But after doing so well in the qualifying campaign, and playing the majority of games, I think the manager will want to show some loyalty to Hendrick at this stage. But it’s another coin toss.
If we can nullify the threat of Ibrahimovic, we have enough quality to score goals and then it is up to the other lads to provide the creativity to get chances.
It is a shame Harry Arter is not fit. He would’ve offered us something different and given us a breather, which is the job Wes Hoolahan does so well.
Hoolahan has the ability to take players out of the game and he will have quite a few touches on the ball and can take it in tight situations and provide through balls for the movement of Shane Long.
That is why he has to start. He is the one who can unlock Sweden, get the ball to Shane Long and score. He will have an important say in that.