Stan names squad for summer friendlies

1

He’s rested a load of players. Interesting to see O’Shea in the squad even though he’ll have had a long season with ManU. Perhaps he’ll get the armband or maybe Kilbane will. Trying to think of any other young players he might also have included and O’Dea is the stand out. There must be some important U-21 competitive games clashing with these game or it doesn’t make sense that O’Dea and Stephen Quinn aren’t in the squad.

Nine upcapped players in Staunton’s squad

Tuesday, 8 May 2007 13:00

Stephen Staunton has included nine uncapped players in the Republic of Ireland squad which will travel to America later this month to play two friendlies against Ecuador and Bolivia.

Colin Doyle (Birmingham), Sen St Ledger (Preston), Alex Bruce (Ipswich Town), Derek Geary (Sheffield Utd), Joseph O’Cearuill (Arsenal), Darren Potter (Wolves), Caleb Folan (Wigan Athletic), Daryl Murphy (Sunderland) and Andy Keogh (Wolves) have all been drafted into the squad for the games on 23 and 26 of May.

Staunton has named 23 players in his provisional squad, which will be finalised after the Championship play-off semi-final between Wolves and West Bromwich Albion.

Speaking at the announcement, Staunton said: 'This is an opportunity for players to stake a claim to be in the squad when the Euro 2008 campaign resumes in the Autumn.

‘It will give me and the management team a chance to look at these players up close and it will also give them valuable international experience’.

Republic of Ireland Squad to play Ecuador and Bolivia:

Nicky Colgan - Barnsley
Wayne Henderson - Preston North End
Colin Doyle - Birmingham City
Stephen Kelly - Birmingham City
Paul McShane - WestBromwichAlbion
Sean St Ledger - Preston North End
Alex Bruce - Ipswich Town
Derek Geary - Sheffield Utd
Joseph O’Cearuill - Arsenal
John O’Shea - Manchester United
Kevin Kilbane - Wigan Athletic
Darren Potter - Wolves
Stephen Ireland Manchester City
Stephen Hunt - Reading
Alan O’Brien - Newcastle United
Kevin Doyle - Reading
Shane Long - Reading
Caleb Folan - Wigan Athletic
Daryl Murphy - Sunderland
Stephen Elliott - Sunderland
Liam Miller - Sunderland
Anthony Stokes - Sunderland
Andy Keogh - Wolves

2

O’Dea and McGeady are excluded because of the Scottish Cup Final.

Potter and Keogh or McShane will miss out depending on who gets to the Championship play-off final. Surprised Ward didn’t get a chance.

It’s a chance for Doyle to get the sub-keeper’s slot if he gets some game time. Henderson hasn’t impressed and Colgan is useless. Not sure why Paddy Kenny isn’t in there.

3

That squad seems to be based on no logic whatsoever. If under 21’s have important games coming up then why include Stokes? It is a pointless exercise in going to America if players like Ward are not included. Staunton probably doesn’t know he exists though.

4

The U21 games theory was speculation from Bandage I think. As far as I know there are no important under 21 games coming up.

To be fair on the Ward point he already has:

Keogh
Folan
Murphy
Connolly
Elliott
Stokes
Doyle
Long

as strikers. It’s already far too many. Still I thought he’d get a chance ahead of Doyle, who might want the rest, and he deserves a slot ahead of Folan.

5

Yeah, U-21 games was speculation. Didn’t realise the games were on 23 and 26 May - thought they were in early June.

6

O’Shea is captain! That’s a disgrace. He’s the least worthy captain in the history of the game. I’d have absolutely anyone as captain ahead of him because he’s a coward.

7

A new low.

8

Duff’s had an operation on a broken foot and could be out for 6 months which would rule him out of the remaining qualifying games. Despite criticising him in the past and being completely baffled by his decision to join such a joke of a team like Newcastle it has to be said that he’s played well in this campaign, even in the games like Cyprus where others were a disgrace. Big opportunity for the likes of McGeady and Hunt to stake a claim for the shirt now. Hunt’s on the summer tour whereas Aiden has Scottish Cup Final commitments with Celtic so Hunt could steal a march on him.

9

Bit dubious to see Miller and Elliot pull out due to family commitments. Nothing surprises me with a rat like Miller though. From RTE:

Five withdraw from Ireland squad

Wednesday, 16 May 2007 14:50

Five players have withdrawn from the Republic of Ireland squad for next week’s games against Ecuador and Bolivia in the United States.

Sheffield United’s Derek Geary has ankle and thigh injuries and Wigan Athletic’s Caleb Folan has a hamstring tear.

Sunderland’s Liam Miller and Stephen Elliot plus Manchester City’s Stephen Ireland will miss the games because of family commitments.

Ireland manager Steve Staunton has called up Cork City’s Joe Gamble and Aston Villa’s Stephen O’Halloran.

Staunton said that he won’t decide on whether to add more players to the squad until he sees the outcome of tomorrow night’s English Championship play-off between West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Three players - West Brom’s Paul McShane and the Wolves duo Darren Potter and Andy Keogh - were named in the original squad last week.

Republic of Ireland Squad to play Ecuador and Bolivia:

Goalkeepers:
Nicky Colgan - Barnsley, Wayne Henderson - Preston North End
Colin Doyle - Birmingham City.

Defenders:
Stephen Kelly - Birmingham City, Paul McShane - West Bromwich Albion, Sean St Ledger - Preston North End, Alex Bruce - Ipswich Town, Joseph O’Cearuill - Arsenal, John O’Shea - Manchester United, Stephen O’Halloran - Aston Villa.

Midfielders:
Kevin Kilbane - Wigan Athletic, Darren Potter - Wolves, Stephen Hunt - Reading, Alan O’Brien - Newcastle United, Joe Gamble - Cork City, Shane Long - Reading.

Forwards:
Daryl Murphy - Sunderland, Anthony Stokes - Sunderland, Andy Keogh - Wolves, Kevin Doyle - Reading.

10

Think we were speculating before about whether Stan actually knows what players are qualified to play for Ireland or not. He’s called up some randomer from America to the squad now. Apparently he has Irish lineage and is a star of ‘COLLEGE SOCCER’. Owen Garvan at Ipswich and Roy O’Donovan of Cork City have expressed their disappointment at not getting a call up. Sheasy has pulled out so Kilbane has assumed the captaincy. This is the really big game on Wednesday night, never mind Athens.

11

From today’s Irish Times:

The late inclusion of the 20-year-old American [Joe Lapira] will hardly have cheered up O’Donovan who has been averaging a goal a game for City since late last season and who revealed his frustration at not being called up after Friday night’s defeat of Bohemians, in which he once again scored.

The Cork-born striker expressed dismay that of the B team that played against Scotland late last year only he and Stephen McPhail have been overlooked on this occasion. “Well he doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” countered Staunton yesterday, “because I talked with Stephen and if he hadn’t been going in for an operation, he’d have been here.” That should certainly cheer O’Donovan up.

12

A great way for Staunton to motivate a possible future player of his by telling the media that he doesn’t know what he is talking about. What a fool we have as manager.

13

For such an incompetent manager he’s an arrogant bastard isn’t he? Stupid comment and even worse to suggest that O’Donovan would be the only guy from the B team who didn’t merit a call up.

14

4 successive victories in the qualifiers would suggest he is not that incompetent.

Ye are like the English media baying for the blood of your nation’s boss.

15

4 successive victories in the qualifiers would suggest he is not that incompetent.

Ye are like the English media baying for the blood of your nation’s boss.

Not one good performance in those matches.

Mediocre against Slovakia, poor against Wakes, awful against San Marino, mediocre against San Marino.

I expect more from my national team than insipid mediocrity. And we do have an absolute clown for a manager.

16

I hope we get slaughtered out there I really do. This guy is a complete clown who should not be allowed near a football team.

I want his head on a platter never mind his blood

17

Not one good performance in those matches.

[/quote]

not one good performance yet we won the 4 games - thats a good sign. Wait til we do start performing.

18

not one good performance yet we won the 4 games - thats a good sign. Wait til we do start performing.

[/quote]

Beating San Marino twice is not a good sign of anything - especially when one of them is a last minute winner. Likewise beating a truly dreaful Wales team at home is not a positive sign at all. That’s the bare minimum we should expect.

And why did you stop at the last 4 internationals? Why not include the horrific loss to Cyprus, the inability to beat a weakened Czech side at home and a pitiful capitulation away to the Germans.

The saddest part is that for all our talk of low seedings this was an easy qualifying group. Two automatic qualifiers means all we needed to do was match the Czechs who are way off the pace themselves. We’ve laughably underachieved under a joke of a manger serving a joke of an organisation. If there was no media in this country Carsley still wouldn’t have played for Staunton. That says it all for me.

19

Some little bits of encouragement from the small bits I’ve seen of this. Not sure how strong/weak the Bolivia and Ecuador teams were but Darren Potter and Stephen O’Halloran look like worthy additiions to the squad to me. Didn’t rate Daryl Murphy the season before last but he seems to have come on leaps and bounds.

20

Agree on all of that. I thought our best players on Wednesday night were O’Halloran and Potter. And Murphy has improved drastically also. Watched last night too and we were a bit all over the place at the back which was to be expected given they’d never played together as a unit. When O’Halloran came on at left back and Kelly went into the centre things improved greatly also. Murphy was excellent when he came on too and Stokes was lively and showed some good skils and had a few long range efforts beaten away by the 'keeper. Definitely appears to have been a worthwhile couple of games for their development and I think both opponents were relatively strong as they’re stepping up Copa America preparations.