Poll: Irish National Team

So I recently got FM, and so far it's been great. I started a career at 1860, with results that have been fairly mediocre, though always close. Anyway, I also made myself the Irish National Coach, and I was wondering what the best tactics for them might be. I'm not on the PC where FM is installed till Monday, so I'm not 100% sure, but I think we're fourth in our qualifying group, closely behind Austria and Sweden, with Germany destined for first. It'll be a hard task to reach the play-offs, but definitely not impossible. The tactics will need to be spot on though, so I was wondering which of these makes the most sense to you guys:

1) The classic 4-4-2. Ireland have been playing this since forever, with mixed succes. The most likely starting line up would be:

Keane		Long
McClean	McCarthy	Gibson		McGeady
LB		Dunne		O’Shea		Coleman
			Westwood/Kenny

LB would be either Cunningham, Kelly or Ward. Neither of them are outstanding, but they're all okay. The advantages of this are having everything very solid - though nothing is outstanding. Another plus, though this would often be the case anyway, is the Coleman-McGeady duo on the right, two of our very best players. Maybe the only weak point is the left side, with McClean being played slightly out of position, and the LB not being great. A possibility would be moving McGeady to the left and playing Coleman in midfield, with O’Shea as right back and St Ledger as central defender.

2) The 4-2-3-1. Again a mainstream choice to make, but could be very effective.

			Long
McClean		McCarthy		McGeady
		Gibson		Whelan
LB		Dunne		O’Shea		Coleman
			Westwood/Kenny

The good point here is using McClean, McCarthy and McGeady as an attacking trio a bit behind a strong striker, most likely Shane Long. This would be a nice, attacking minded formation, with Coleman and McGeady again linking up on the right wing. The downside is bringing in Whelan (or maybe Andrews) beside Gibson, who both don’t really have the class needed to defeat Sweden, or even Germany. In a year or two Jeff Hendricks could take over beside Gibson. Leaving Keane out would of course not be easy, might prove necessary though, especially since he’s not at his best anymore.

3) The Dutch-style 5-3-2, alternatively also a 5-4-1.

		Keane		Long
McClean		McCarthy		McGeady
?		Dunne	O’Shea	St Ledger	Coleman
			Westwood/Kenny

Well, I think everybody will know what I’m talking about here. This formation would clearly be there to give Coleman a lot of space to get things going, once again linking up with McGeady in front of him. Obvious weakness is practically surrendering the midfield from a defensive point of view, though making McCarthy a playmaker with a lot of freedom mightn’t be the worst idea either. The central three defenders should also make up for the lack of defense in midfield. Another problem of course is who to put at LB. I put a ? there because I really don’t think any of the left backs I have have enough quality to justify a selection for a position so important in this formation. One possibility would be playing O’Shea there, though that seems a bit stupid. Alternatively, Somebody like Cox could play there, though it would leave us very vulnerable there.

4) A diamond 4-4-2.

Keane		Long
			McCarthy
McClean					McGeady
			Gibson
LB		Dunne		O’Shea		Coleman
			Westwood/Kenny

See everything I said about the normal 4-4-2, except that Gibson can make the game from behind, whilst McCarthy can play the strikers hopefully great passes and create many chances that way. If I go with a 4-4-2, this is my preferred option.

Also, if you have any suggestions for say players I didn’t mention, feel free to put them forward!

Also, you’ve got some great forums here. Keep the good work up!

Players worth calling up:
Jack Grealish
Jack Colback (If eligible)
Stephen Quinn
Sean Murray
Mark O'Brien
Tommie Hoban
Sean Maguire

EDIT: The formatting won't really work, but you get the idea.