The Irish in Britain

Coleman got caught out a bit by Louis Boa Morte for West Ham’s first goal…

And fluffed an open goal :frowning:

James McCarthy made the bench for Wigan today too which is good to see. Celtic Cup will be too soon for him which is a pity because he’s unlikely to get in for the Macedonia game for his first cap. Still good to see him back in the Wigan squad.

Why do you say that?? It’s only January. He’ll probably get game time in Wigan’s next game and, I imagine, be in their first XI by the first week of February. If the options are Green or Andrews I think even the senile old wop will have to recognise that McCarthy is far better than them both. Reasons to be cheerful…

It does depend on how quickly he gets back into the Wigan team alright but that could be a few games depending on fitness etc. If he was in the team now he’d probably be in the Irish squad for the Wales game which is announced tomorrow I think. I think trap is unlikely to play him competitively without seeing him in a friendly first. Certainly unlikely to start him.

I’d certainly have him in the squad anyway, just not certain Trap would.

I think it’s the fact the squad is being chosen tomorrow that might count against McCarthy. Trap probably doesn’t even know he’s fit again.

I’m watching QPR/Coventry at the moment to see Celtic target Kieren Westwood; he just made a quality save and Coventry went up the other end and took the lead almost immediately. Stephen O’Halloran is playing left back for Coventry and being tested by Wayne Routledge. I think he got capped on that USA tour under Stan where Lapira et al were also used. Hadn’t heard much of him in the last couple of years.

How did SOH play in the finish Bandage?
my brother used to play with him for Springfield and i remeber when he signed for Villa ~2003 big things were expected of him,
he never actually made an appearance for Villa in the 4 years he was there ( proving that there most be a strong anti-Cobh aganda at Villa Park with Steven Ireland also been frozen out).
i remember SOH went on loan to southampton and swansea and must now have found his way to coventry,
i hope he can get a regular place here.

In other Cobh related news John O Flynn came on after 60 mins and impressed i believe in their 2-1 win over Walsall.

Last week i reported that SPL scoring sensation Connor Sammon was weighing up a move to Scunthorpe from Kilmarnock,
He has now confirmed that the move is off and he celebrated yesterday by getting the winner in Kilie’s 1-0 win over dundee united.
i hope Trapp will include him in his plans for the future, Sammon in banging in goals week in , week out and did love to see 2 form players like himself and Shane Long given a decent chance now.
FFS, if Trapp is going to pick fking Cillian Sheridan who was a proven failure at Plymouth, Celtic, Motherwell and St>johnstone against Argentaina surely he will give Sammon a chance against Wales…

what do the forum think?

I doubt he’s even being considered for tomorrow’s squad announcement Bandage. Wigan would hardly let him go with his rehabilitation not complete yet.

Sammon isn’t up to it. He’s been shit for years, he’s in a bit of form that’s all. I’d prefer to see Samsunspor’s Billy Mehmet get a chance.

McCarthy was on the bench for Wigan though yesterday, was he not? The Wales game isn’t for a couple of weeks so he should be available for selection for it in that case if he’s back in the Wigan match day squad.

I don’t like correcting my learned friend mickee but Dundee United snatched a last gasp equaliser yesterday.

I cant really agree with that.
He always impressed me for UCD and whilst i am suprised to see him scoring so prolifically this season ( albeit the SPL is a slightly lower standard than LOI premier divsion) , surely a striker in form is worth giving a chance to in this set of friendly games?

Tell me more about Billy Mehmet at Samsunspor? How is he doing this season?

He was but sometimes when you’re back after a long injury it’s a long time between getting on the bench and being available to start. Look at what happened to Meyler recently, there’s no rush with McCarthy. This isn’t a FIFA or UEFA tournament I don’t think so I presume caps won’t count as competitive games… anyone know?

He just joined after being released from that Superlig side with the funny name beginning with G.

From the sunday tribune

[size=“5”]Time may be called on emerald idle[/size]

With some of his most important players no longer regulars with their clubs Giovanni Trapattoni may be forced to make some changes. Miguel Delaney gives his post-midterm report

IT was towards the end of the October defeat to Russia that Robbie Keane’s playing time at Tottenham became a genuine issue rather than an unfortunate inconvenience. On one of the rare occasions that Ireland stretched the Russian backline, a one-on-one appeared to be on.

Even at his peak, Keane was never the quickest. But he did possess a sharpness that meant he usually made the best of such opportunities. Eleven months before, he had outmanoeuvred the French defence to bear down on Hugo Lloris when provided with a similar ball at the Stade de France.

He ultimately missed that chance. This time at Lansdowne Road, he completely missed the boat. Two Russian defenders got back ahead of him to comfortably shepherd the ball away. With Keane seemingly having lost more than a half yard of pace because of his time on the bench, you could almost have picked the rust off him. Worse, however, is the fact that at – 30 years of age – it looks like the sort of rust that could give way to rot.

Keane’s club appearances have become an increasing issue over the last few years. But, to his credit, he overcame a difficult time at Liverpool to produce his best campaign in an Irish shirt. Keane scored six group-changing goals to put Ireland on the brink of the World Cup that night in Paris. And such recent highs mean he remains an automatic choice for Giovanni Trapattoni.

It must be a worry for the manager, though, that Keane’s playing time has become something of a trend among his most trusted players. The Irish squad’s most internationally-renowned stars – Keane, Shay Given and John O’Shea – have all played a worryingly low amount of their clubs’ league minutes this season, as our stats show. Worse, the man that Trapattoni has identified as his “Gennaro Gattuso” and evidently the lynchpin of his midfield – Glenn Whelan – hasn’t even played a fifth of Stoke City’s games.

While injuries have been a factor, it’s a problem that’s particular inopportune at a time when many of those players are at the wrong side of their peak and in a team already collectively criticised as stagnating. Ireland’s lack of spark isn’t going to be helped by a lack of playing time.

Essentially, the key question is at what point are past achievements rendered irrelevant by present inertia?

The key response, of course, is that we’re painfully short of players with a similar profile to Given, Keane or O’Shea. Of the Irish who have accumulated the minutes that any ambitious pro would consider acceptable, a majority play in the lower divisions. In fact, if you take a first XI of those with the most time on the pitch (see panel), seven are outside the elite. Even worse, many of those who appear most regularly for their teams are at the wrong end of their table, as the Wolves trio of Kevin Doyle, Stephen Ward and Kevin Foley indicate.

It’s been argued on these pages before that international football is largely comprised of loose collections of stars rather than actual tight-knit teams. As such – and as Greece 2004 and Ireland at Italia 90 proved – any well-organised outfit can go an awful long way. But there is a critical mass. Trapattoni couldn’t fill his team with lower-division players just because they’re playing regularly and expect to reach a major championship.

Then again, he doesn’t need to. Looking through Irish players’ minutes, it’s not all misery. For a start, Trapattoni suddenly has a number of options in a position that was a real concern just a season ago: full-back. One of them also increases the choices on the wing and, most pleasingly of all, is among the most promising players in a generation: Seamus Coleman. The wide positions in general present Ireland with the widest range of players.

At the other ends of the pitch, the stars may be suffering but it’s hard to think of a time when we’ve had so many dependable – if not necessarily world-beating – goalkeepers and strikers.

The main area of concern is central midfield. It’s an indictment of our current options that James McCarthy has played more than most despite the fact he’s been injured for the past three months. In that area, Trapattoni has looked for Whelan to lead. But while prior achievements may see Keane continue to be picked, Whelan hardly has enough.

Ultimately, it all depends on how badly players are affected by prolonged spells on the sideline. Sometimes, as appears to have happened with Keane, they lose their edge. Others, however, thrive on the trust a manager shows during a difficult time. We only have to look at Ireland’s last successful campaign for evidence of that. Jason McAteer wasn’t playing for Blackburn Rovers in 2001 but played some of the games of his life for Ireland.

Crucially, however, one of the main men alongside him was never going to be dropped by his club team. Today, Trapattoni doesn’t have the luxury of a Roy Keane. And those that come anywhere close to the former Manchester United captain’s effect aren’t playing. In that situation, relying on the McAteer-style trust effect right across the pitch might be a touch too far. Perhaps the lack of playing time across his first XI should finally be the sign for Trapattoni to freshen things up.

mdelaney@tribune.ie

January 23, 2011

I find it very hard to take young journalists seriously, especially ones who don’t go to any matches and therefore don’t mix with players and journalists to get inside info, but Miguel Delaney writes some very good, well researched articles in the Sunday Tribune.

I’m not sure what the solution is though.

Who are the alternatives to Keane? There’s nobody remotely close to him. Shane Long is third best but he’s not really top class. Leon Best might just be an option, Walters won’t really be much of a difference to Folan.

In midfield McCarthy should hopefully be able to replace Whelan but he’s been injured so that has been stalled. Gibson you’d like to see get in there in the medium term too (or sooner) but he’s played only one 90 minutes in the Premier League this season and has even less game time that Whelan. Wilson is featuring a bit for Stoke but he’s not seeing much of the ball in that central midfield as everything goes back to front in the shortest time possible.

That says enough.

Stick to the jew league stuff Mickee, it suits you more.

On one hand Rocko you suggest players from the Championship or LOI may be good enough to play for Ireland, but then you dismiss someone who suggests RK is living off rep and may deserve to be dropped.

Simple question, would an in-form Shane Long scoring a few goals here and there be preferable to you than an idle Robbie Keane? Genuine answers only please.

I don’t particularly rate Shane Long. I hope he disproves my opinion of him, and in fairness he did well in his last international games. But I don’t think he has the ability to score goals regularly in international football. I think Keane has that ability, as he has proven so would always favour him, all other things being equal. He needs games though. That’s part of the problem, you could make a case for playing him against Wales because he’s not seeing much game time at club level. I expect he’ll move somewhere though and if he’s playing in any way regularly then I’d play him ahead of Long. If he genuinely idle then it would be hard to keep him in the team.

Artlicle in todays Tribune debating the merits of Paddy Kenny, Kieron Westwood and Shay Given. While Given is our number one, his lack of gametime is very worrying in much the same was as Robbies is. It looks highly unlikely that Given will get a move in this transfer window now so its another few months of inactivity in store for him. Kenny has been in great form for QPR since his move there and surely deserves a look at again in an Ireland shirt?

+1
cheers kev for seconding my staement that Sammon has always been impressive for UCD in the LOI.
what was your opinion of him when he moved to Derry? , i always thought he linked up very well with Mark Farren but i know you have seen an awful lot more of LOI games than most people on here and have a reasoned, balanced viewpoint of all matters in sport ( mainly based on your personal experiences of playing and watching sport on all levels and providing spinning lessons) and life in general so i’d really, really, really like to have your input here.

rocko, for the solution, well, i think we have to work with what we have.
i know you are saying that Long is not world class and you are correct, he most certainly is not but right now there are no world class players playing in the ROI setup and i need we think to realise that.
we need to pick the best eleven players that we have and get on with it. I include Robbie Keane here, even tho he is not good enough to get a game at spurs ( or many EPL teams i would estimate, he would struggle in Birmingham) he is still better than the options we have. therefore i would play keane.
Doyle, i would not start, he is having an atrocious season with wolves and is been badly shown up in the last two seasons, Doyle’s skill on the ground and pace are simply not good enough , so he tries to play the role of a target man , however he is not strong enough for this type of game.
Long is scoring goals for Reading but he has found his level there, he is a better player now than Doyle in my opinion ( dosent reflct well on Doyle i know).
Walters is not a good player at all, either is Best, utter shit is all they are. the reason why i rate Long over Best, Doyle and Walters is that he is a natural goalscorer, a poor one yes but at least he is a goalscorer.

i also think if that horrible cunt Anthony Stokes got his act together he could be a decent player and do a job for Ireland some day, the guy has great talent and potential and if he had half the attitude or application that Shane Long has he could be playing at so much a better level then he is at , but for now i wouldnt have him near the squad .

its keane and Long for me and i still would love to see Sammon get a run

Ok i completely agree with you here, and i also think Long is quite limited, at that level.

I would have Westwood ahead of Kenny…looks a fine keeper any time I have seen him, surprised he hasn’t been signed by a bigger club yet