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Cracking gesture by Robbie there to hand over his shirt to a former Inter team mate as he was subbed out.
Robbie scores the third and is congratulated.
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Sad to see Foley in his kit and squad number that he is handing over to McShane 
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Fuck sake, get over the Foley thing lads. He hasn’t died
Foley starts the second half.
Foley on for Dunne, Forde for Westwood, Walters for Keane, Long for Cox.
Some great clichéd quotes from this RTÉ report…
Giovanni Trapattoni played the diplomat as he and his Republic of Ireland players were honoured at a civic reception in Montecatini this evening.[size=4]
The 73-year-old, who was welcomed to the Tuscan spa town’s Stabilimento Tettuccio by the current Miss Italy, Stefania Bivone, will lead his adopted nation into Euro 2012 battle against his native country in the final round of games in Group C next month.[/size]
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But he told an audience of local dignitaries, including Irish ambassador Patrick Hennessy, and invited guests he would be making no predictions as to the result.[/size]
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Trapattoni said: "Italians must be very jealous because there’s a town in Italy that has been painted in green and even Miss Italy, who is the symbol of Italy, is actually here on the side of the Irish.[/size]
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“I often compare the Irish and Ireland to the town where I grew up. I always give merits whoever deserves them. I’m not going to say let the better team win. I’m just going to say, ‘Let’s be competitive’.”[/size]
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Montecatini has laid on a warm welcome for their visitors with many shops decked out in their colours for what has been declared ‘Irish Week’.[/size]
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The Italians are also preparing for the tournament in Tuscany, where their Coverciano base was today visited by police investigating new allegations of match-fixing.[/size]
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Trapattoni chose Montecatini having used the facilities on several occasions in the past, but admitted he did not expect to have his former player Cesare Prandelli’s side so close by.[/size]
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He said: “We chose Montecatini not knowing Italy would be nextdoor, but we will continue to focus on our work because we think we can be very competitive and play against any team.”[/size]
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Trapattoni, of course, was born on St Patrick’s Day, although he told guests even he cannot rely on divine intervention.[/size]
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He said: "When John Delaney, the chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland, came to me, I asked him if he chose me because I was born on St Patrick’s Day.[/size]
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“I told him straight away, ‘I don’t do miracles - only the players can do miracles’.”[/size]
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Delaney said: "People often talk about the luck of the Irish - we are lucky to have Giovanni Trapattoni with us and we are lucky to be in such a beautiful town.[/size]
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"Giovanni always says the Irish and the Italians have a lot in common. He feels at home in Ireland and we also feel very welcome here.[/size]
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"We know that Giovanni likes Montecatini. He has been here many times and one of the reasons he has chosen to come here is that the town has always brought him good luck and success.[/size]
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“Of course, we hope this trend will continue and we hope we will have a successful tournament at Euro 2012.”[/size]
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Trapattoni and his players were formally welcomed to Montecatini by Mayor Giuseppe Bellandi, who said: "We are lucky that the coach of the Irish team - we call him ‘Mister’ - is a beloved man in Italian sport and in sport in general.[/size]
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“He is a unique person. We offer you what we have, which is art, culture and health - and we also have Miss Italy, who has honoured us here today with her presence, and she is a lovely sweet girl.”[/size]
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Referring to the forthcoming game between the two nations, he added: “You bring the beer and we will bring the wine and whoever loses, we will get drunk together.”[/size]
Finished 5-0. Second half goals from Long and Walters. No injuries reported.
Kevin Foley is seething according to the tweets of Irish football journalists in Italy. Saving sharing his quotes for tomorrow’s papers though.
…
Bad form from Trap imo, Foley is a much better right back than McShane. I’d prefer Andrews, Kelly anyone really at centre half than McShane. McShane is simply not good enough for international football or football at any reasonable level
How could Foley be expected to wait around after being treated like that?
[size=2][size=1]"Words can’t really describe how I feel. I’m just gutted. It was tough.[/size] [/size]
[size=2][size=1]"The lads have been great with me, but there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s hard to take. I sort of feel betrayed. It’s just one of those things but it feels like a kick in the balls. [/size][/size]
[size=2][size=1]“I wanted to play tonight, I wanted to prove a point, that I was fit to play. I could have trained last week and been involved in the game, but he said there was no rush, that they could wait for me to train in Italy. So I trained in Italy for two days and felt great and then all of a sudden he pulls me this morning just before the end and told me I wasn’t in the squad. That was hard to take.”[/size][/size]
More great man-management from Trap.
Agreed, it was a tough decision to make, but Trap did what he thought was right and Foley had to accept his decision.
who is this lad foley-never heard of him
mcshane used to play for manchester back in the day so he must be good
[quote=“KIB man, post: 634572”]Bad form from Trap imo, Foley is a much better right back than McShane. I’d prefer Andrews, Kelly anyone really at centre half than McShane. McShane is simply not good enough for international football or football at any reasonable level
How could Foley be expected to wait around after being treated like that?[/quote]
Ignoring the nonsense about Andrews at centre back for a moment…
The issue of their competence at right back doesn’t really come into it too much. Kelly and O’Shea are both better right backs then either of them and the chances of Foley or McShane featuring their were negligible.
The squad balance changed with Green replacing Fahey which made Foley’s capacity to play in the centre of midfield redundant. With the doubts over the fitness of 3 centre backs (albeit one of them likely to play right back) then McShane is the most suitable candidate.
The timing is poor and obviously tough on Foley. Naming the squad early backfired a bit in that Trap was hoping to avoid these situations. But he has to pick the best and most suitable squad and I think he’s done that. Foley has every right to feel the way he does but he was highly unlikely to play any part anyway. Wouldn’t blame him if he doesn’t hang around but could see him getting a call up at some stage anyway.
Has it been mentioned that Trap has said that Green may start against Spain? The man’s a fucking lunatic.
Could you explain this one for me Rocko? Did it change due to Greens lack of ability to play on the wings or something?
under no circumstance should Paul McShane be anywhere near an Irish international side. There is a reason why he barely even plays in the second tier of English football. It isnt a grand conspiracy, he is utterly shite.
I’m serious about Andrews, Kelly definitely at centre half over him all day long. Im worried that the likes of Green, O’Dea and now McShane will actually see game time at the Euros. Our squad is carrying two more tards than it was last week which is unneccessary.
To use Dunphy terminology, Trap is wrong wrong wrong about bringing these two into the squad. I agree with Thrawneen, I reckon both will see game time at the Euros.
the Irish squad is shit mate-even the good players are past it -trap is a miracle worker getting us so far- 90% of the team are journeymen, arguing whether mcshane or foley are better squad players is a nonsense-they are both shit
Fahey was the utility option in midfield as he can play centrally or wide on the left and right. Trap before alluded to the fact that Kevin Foley could do a job for us in central midfield if needed. If there were injuries/suspensions in the squad and we had to start Fahey outwide the there was a chance that Foley might have been considered as a stop gap in midfield off the bench, with Fahey being replaced by an out and out central midfielder this was far less likely (although it was probably unlikely that foley would have been used in midfield barring an emergency) so he would have been travelling as a third choice right back and nothing more. With three of the four central defenders carrying knocks it makes sense for them to call in someone who can cover both right back and centre half as opposed to just right back
Yep. Fahey was mainly a wide midfielder who could fill in centrally. Green is a central midfielder. Foley is a full-back who can fill in to centre midfield. Foley’s versatility was a positive factor in his favour. However the central midfield cover that he was providing wasn’t as required once Green became another dedicated backup central midfielder.
The squad has always been imperfectly balanced because of the 5 strikers. That means we’re short in one position. The fact that Foley could play in defence and in midfield meant he was the initial solution to that problem in that we weren’t leaving either midfield or defence short. However, once there were a number of injury concerns over the defence, coupled with the additional options in central midfield, it meant that Foley was third choice right back and fifth choice central midfielder and therefore surplus to requirements.
There’s certainly a chance that either or both will see game time at the Euros. The same was true about Fahey but injuries dictated that he wasn’t involved. It was impossible to envisage any sort of normal circumstance in which Foley would have played any role however. He wasn’t going to feature and there was no point in bringing him, knowing he wouldn’t play.
I’m not a fan of McShane, not sure there are many, but he has international experience, he knows what’s required of him and he’s the best cover we have behind O’Dea. Andrews isn’t a viable or realistic option. Kelly is but it would depend on who he is partnering. He could possibly play with Dunne but I think we’d be too weak aerially if he played beside St Ledger.