Reflections on World Cup 2018 Qualifiers

Positives
Ireland were the lowest seeded team from the group stages to reach the play offs, and the only fourth seed to do so
We went through the qualifying campaign unbeaten away from home
The average age of the squad has dropped from 30.2 at the Euros last year to 28.5 for the play off squad - a minor change, and the retirement of Robbie Keane accounts for a lot of it, but still a positive
The squad is currently ranked 26th in the world
Beating Austria away from home was the first away win against higher ranked opposition in a qualifier since 1997 against Lithuania
Since the ranking system was introduced by FIFA in 1993, no manager had won two away qualifiers against higher ranked opposition until Martin O'Neill's teams beat both Austria and Wales.
O'Neill has almost doubled the number of victories against higher ranked opposition from six to eleven with the wins over Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Italy, Austria and Wales.
In three away games against our main group rivals Wales, Austria and Serbia, we took seven points from a possible nine

Negatives
Only two players scored more than once in the qualifiers. Counting Duffy's goal in the play offs brings the list to three.
We were the lowest scoring team to qualify for the play offs with 12 goals in 10 games. Croatia were the second last scorers with 15 goals. A counter point to this is that Slovakia missed out despite finishing second in their group, and scoring 17 times
The effects of Coleman's injury, on the player himself, on the result of the Wales game, and on the rest of the qualifiers cannot be underestimated
In three consecutive home games against our main group rivals Wales, Austria and Serbia, we took two points from a possible nine
Taking off two central midfielders, to bring on two attacking/creative players, when facing one of the best attacking central midfielders in the Premier League, is a criminal change. Whatever about training or tactics, I really want to hear Martin O'Neill's explanation behind that change
While there has been no formal announcements yet, the end of a qualifying campaign brings with it player retirements. At the moment there's no obvious replacements for the expected retirees

And some general observances
Whatever preparation the management team does, or doesn't do, it seems to work better away from home than before a qualifier in Dublin.
I saw several tweets from journalists complaining about players not speaking to them after the game in the mixed zone. Players have Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts to issue statements after games now.
Qualifying Group D itself was poor. None of the top four sides overly impressed. Serbia topped the group with the lowest points total of the UEFA group winners
Despite the "tinkerman" style accusations against the manager, the starting XI is pretty settled IMO - Nine players started seven or more of the ten qualifiers

World Cup 2018 UEFA Qualification Group D

Following the conclusion of the group stages with the memorable 1-0 win against Wales in Cardiff, we've compiled the appearance data for players across the qualifiers.

Goalkeeper Darren Randolph is the only player to start all ten games, with James McClean and Stephen Ward following him on nine start.

Daryl Murphy and Aiden McGeady were introduced from the bench nine times during the qualifiers, the rest of the squad combined were only introduced 12 times.

While no player was sent off over the course of the qualifiers, Robbie Brady did manager to pick up four bookings, while no other player had more than two

James McClean's four goals (as many as Gareth Bale) made him the top scorer, with Dary Murphy's three goals in second. Combined, their seven goals is more than the combined five goals the rest of the squad scored

Player	Starts	Intros	Bookings	Red Cards	Goals
Darren Randolph	10	0	1	0	0
James McClean	9	0	2	0	4
Stephen Ward	9	0	1	0	0
Jonathan Walters	8	0	1	0	1
Shane Duffy	8	0	1	0	1
Ciaran Clarke	7	1	1	0	0
Jeff Hendrick	7	0	2	0	1
Shane Long	7	0	1	0	1
Robbie Brady	7	0	4	0	0
Glenn Whelan	6	2	1	0	0
Cyrus Christie	5	1	1	0	0
Seamus Coleman	5	0	1	0	1
David Meyler	4	2	2	0	0
Harry Arter	4	1	1	0	0
Wes Hoolahan	4	1	0	0	0
Daryl Murphy	2	4	1	0	3
John O'Shea	2	1	0	0	0
Richard Keogh	2	0	0	0	0
James McCarthy	2	0	0	0	0
Aidan McGeady	0	5	1	0	0
Stephen Quinn	0	1	0	0	0
Eunan O'Kane	0	1	0	0	0
David McGoldrick	0	1	0	0	0

Republic of Ireland V Wales - Friday, 24th March 2017 - FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifier - Squad predictions

On Friday week, Martin O'Neill's team will take to the pitch at AVIVA Stadium, 132 days after their last game against Austria in Vienna. According to reports, the manager will name his squad for the qualifier, and the friendly against Iceland on the following Tuesday, tomorrow. With that in mind, we've examined the appearance details for Irish players to predict the squad.

Goalkeepers
Kieren Westwood, Darren Randolph, Ian Lawlor.
Pretty straightforward choices here. Westwood and Randolph have been squad stalwarts for O'Neill since he took over, with Randolph likely to start the qualifier and Westwood looking to add to his caps in the friendly. We've added Ian Lawlor as the third choice keeper with an eye to the future. The former Manchester City trainee has slotted straight into the Doncaster first team since signing for them in January, keeping four clean sheet in his eleven appearances to date for Donny, and should be playing League One football next season.

Defenders
Stephen Ward, Greg Cunningham, Ciaran Clark, Richard Keogh, Paul McShane, John O'Shea, Seamus Coleman, Cyrus Christie
After some excellent performances in Preston North End's defence, Greg Cunningham should be looking forward to another call up to one of Martin O'Neill's squads and possibly his first cap since 2013. Cyrus Christie has returned from injury successfully for Derby and is unfortunate to find himself vying for the same position as the form full back in the Premier League, and Ireland captain, Seamus Coleman.

Midfielders
Jonathan Hayes, Daryl Horgan, Harry Arter, Jeff Hendrick, Glenn Whelan, James McCarthy, Aiden McGeady, James McClean, Wes Hoolahan, Robbie Brady (suspended for Wales)
Hayes currently tops the SPL assists chart with nine of his passes resulting in goals, three more than the closest challenger (although some sites do credit St Johnstone's Dan Swanson with seven assists). Horgan has taken to the Championship like a duck to water with two goals and three assists in his eleven appearances for Preston so far. Aiden McGeady is in excellent form, and is the current Championship Player of the Month.

Strikers
Jonathan Walters, Shane Long, Daryl Murphy, Adam Rooney
We would also like to see the manager examine the nascent League of Ireland season,where Sean Maguire has already notched three goals. Otherwise,  Martin O'Neill might want to extend his squad selection to Australia, where Andy Keogh and Roy O'Donovan have scored seven and six goals respectively since the Austria game

Extended squad members
Colin Doyle, Robert Elliot, Derrick Williams, Matt Doherty, Andy Boyle, Alex Pearce, Conor Hourihane, Darragh Lenihan, David Meyler, Kevin Doyle, Sean Maguire

Note that, at the time of writing, James McCarthy, Richard Keogh and Ciaran Clark's injury situation has yet to be clarified.