Republic of Ireland v Wales News 7th February 2011

No more withdrawals yet as far as I know but Gary Speed has announced his starting eleven.

Goalkeeper: Wayne Hennessey
Defenders: Neal Eardley, James Collins (captain), Danny Collins, Sam Ricketts
Defensive Midfield: Andrew Crofts, David Vaughan
Attacking Midfield: Andy King, Simon Church, Hal Robson-Kanu
Striker: Robert Earnshaw

Substitutes
Goalkeepers: Jason Brown, Lewis Price
Defenders: Darcy Blake, Chris Gunter, Lewin Nyatanga, Ashley Williams
Midfielders: Andy Dorman, Joe Ledley
Strikers: Jermaine Easter, Sam Vokes


The biggest surprise is that there’s no place in the starting line-up for Chris Gunter or Ashley Williams. Instead, Gary has chosen an all-Premier League back line.

The only Premier League players not to feature are Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Jason Brown (you can only fit one of them in the team and Jason hasn’t featured in any Blackburn squads this season) and Sam Vokes, a late call-up who has only recently returned from a hamstring injury. Scottish Premier League midfielder Joe Ledley is also on the bench.

The other Premier League players withdrew from the squad (Gary tactfully said that this made his job easier, which is a really nice way of looking at it) but it’s lovely to hear that Craig Bellamy has travelled with the squad despite not being in the squad and players including Gareth Bale have been to see his new manager. They can’t play but they’ve shown their commitment to Wales all the same.

Gary says he’s happy for David Vaughan to be his unsung hero (though he’s always very much sung around here).