August 14th in the Cardiff City Stadium - 7:45pm kick off
Squad is to be named later today
First on the list, Darren O’Dea
Ireland captain Robbie Keane has been left out of the Ireland squad to face Wales in August.
Manager Giovanni Trapattoni has decided to rest his captain for the tie, while Dunne has not been selected due to lack of competitive action.
Trapattoni feels the centre back needs to prove his fitness before being included and that there are between three and five defenders that can fill the same role.
Also absent from the 26-man squad are Kevin Doyle, Andy Keogh, Richard Keogh and Damien Delaney.
Speaking today in Bray, as part of the FAI’s 2013 AGM Festival of Football in the county, the Republic of Ireland manager said: "We can draw a lot from our performances in May and June.
"The team showed strong character and enthusiasm against Spain, England and Georgia, and picked up three vital points against the Faroe Islands.
"The players have demonstrated that they are building on each game, and are working very well together.
"This fixture will allow us one more opportunity to prepare for the important World Cup qualifiers in September against Sweden and Austria.
“We will use this time to experiment and develop confidence ahead of the games. I am looking forward to assembling the squad in Cardiff on August 11.”
Ireland have four World Cup UEFA Group C qualifier clashes in September and October playing Sweden (6 September), Austria (10 September), Germany (11 October) and Kazakhstan (15 October) as they close their group stage campaign.
Republic of Ireland squad to face Wales on 14 August:
David Forde, Keiren Westwood, Darren Randolph, John O’Shea, Sean St Ledger, Marc Wilson, Seamus Coleman, Stephen Kelly, Darren O’Dea, Ciaran Clark, Paul McShane, Glenn Whelan, James McCarthy, Paul Green, Jeff Hendrick, Aiden McGeady, Anthony Pilkington, James McClean, Robbie Brady, David Meyler, Stephen Quinn, Wes Hoolahan, Shane Long, Connor Sammon, Jon Walters, Simon Cox.
O’Dea 
McShane 
Green o_O
Sammon :rolleyes:
Anthony Pilkington has withdrawn again. He can fuck right off as far as I am concerned
Gareth Bale has been included in the Welsh squad.
Ah that’s just not acceptable. He’s not that good that we should be making allowances for him.
Those jews were more worthy of a passport than that cunt of a man
He hasn’t played a single game in pre-season through injury! What the fuck is he supposed to do?? This is another Marc Wilson situation where everyone thinks he doesn’t care a damn until he’s finally injury free and available and plays a load of matches in a row.
Pilks is a top lad and is fully committed.
[quote=“Thrawneen, post: 813602, member: 129”]He hasn’t played a single game in pre-season through injury! What the fuck is he supposed to do?? This is another Marc Wilson situation where everyone thinks he doesn’t care a damn until he’s finally injury free and available and plays a load of matches in a row.
Pilks is a top lad and is fully committed.[/quote]
Glen Whelan > 10 “Pilks”.
It’s Glenn, mate, and he can fuck off. If he starts against the Swedes, we’re fucked.
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=14px]Stephen Quinn, Anthony Pilkington and Simon Cox have been forced to withdraw from the Republic of Ireland squad to face Wales in Cardiff next Wednesday due to injury.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=14px]Pilkington has withdrawn after picking up a knee injury during pre-season training with Norwich.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=14px]Cox was carried off with an ankle injury during Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 victory over Hartlepool in the Capital One Cup last night.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=14px]Quinn was injured playing for Hull City last night in a friendly in Germany.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=14px]Yeovil Town’s Paddy Madden has been placed on a standby list for the squad, which will assemble in Newport on Sunday.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=14px]As expected, Stephen Henderson has been drafted in to the squad to replace David Forde after the Galway was forced to undergo knee surgery.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=14px]Striker Robbie Keane had been left out of the initial 26-strong squad for the friendly fixture as he is in action with Los Angeles Galaxy in the United States, while centre-back Richard Dunne continues to work on his match fitness after joining QPR from Aston Villa in the summer.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=14px]Manager Giovanni Trapattoni is looking to continue the good form of 2013, where they were unbeaten until the 2-0 defeat to Spain in New York at the start of June, claiming impressive victories over Georgia and the Faroe Islands and holding England to a 1-1 draw at Wembley.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=14px]“We can draw a lot from our performances in May and June. The team showed strong character and enthusiasm against Spain, England and Georgia, and picked up three vital points against the Faroe Islands,” the Italian said when naming his provisional squad last month.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=14px]"The players have demonstrated that they are building on each game and are working very well together.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=14px]“This fixture will allow us one more opportunity to prepare for the important World Cup qualifiers in September against Sweden and Austria. We will use this time to experiment and develop confidence ahead of the games.”[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=14px]Ireland host Sweden on 6 September and then travel to Austria looking to keep up the chase for second spot in Group C, where three sides are locked on 11 points, five behind leaders Germany after six matches.[/SIZE][/FONT]
Aiden McGeady is now out as well
Bonus
[SIZE=4]Trapattoni’s concern for injury victim Pilkington[/SIZE]
Monday, August 12, 2013
Anthony Pilkington might have pulled out of an Irish squad for no less than the fifth time but, despite the large number of raised eyebrows which must have greeted that recent withdrawal, Giovanni Trapattoni yesterday made it clear that not only has he no doubts about the Norwich man’s commitment to Ireland, he is anxious his current injury problems do not also rule him of out of contention for next month’s World Cup games against Sweden and Austria.
Speaking after an Irish training session in Newport ahead of Wednesday’s friendly against Wales, Trapattoni said he had spoken to Wes Hoolahan about his club-mate’s injuries and also texted Pilkington to advise him to take good care of himself.
“Pilkington had to pull out with a swollen knee and it’s a pity because this would have been a good opportunity to see him,” said Ireland’s manager.
“Hoolahan told me that he has pain and needs injections. I haven’t spoken to him directly [since his withdrawal] but I sent him an SMS saying ‘be careful, because if you continue with the injections it could be dangerous for the future’.
“I am confident about the professionalism of his doctor at Norwich but I also said ‘pay attention because we need you in September when we have very important games’. I just made him aware of that.”
Although Trapattoni said he shares David Forde’s optimism that the goalkeeper will have recovered from knee surgery in time for the games against Sweden and Austria — despite his club, Millwall, putting a four- to six-week timeframe on his recovery — the manager confirmed Keiren Westwood will take his place in the starting line-up on Wednesday in what could turn out to be a World Cup rehearsal for the Sunderland man.
Suggesting that the keeper’s confidence took a blow when he was relegated to the bench at the Stadium of Light last season — and subsequently replaced as Ireland’s No 1 by Forde — Trapattoni said he sees this week’s game in Cardiff as an important psychological boost for the player.
“We want to give him this opportunity to lift his morale by starting this game,” he said. “This is something I’ve spoken about with [goalkeeping coach] Alan Kelly. We want to show confidence in him. In football, the goalkeeper is a man alone, and it is important that he is psychologically secure.”
On the subject of another man whose confidence must have taken quite a buffeting in recent times, Trapattoni said that for Kevin Doyle, who has been left out of the latest squad, it “would be better if he gets a move” from League Two Wolves. He also said that, with reference to the example of James McClean in his transfer from Sunderland to Wigan, it would be up to Doyle and his agent if they thought it fit that the player should take a drop in wages to facilitate a transfer.
“Kevin is intelligent and will know what to do,” said Trapattoni.
Shane Long looks set to be a certain starter on Wednesday night while, if the manager follows through on his idea of playing 4-1-1-1, there could also be a role for Hoolahan in the No 10 slot. New boy Paddy Madden, who trained with the senior squad for the first time yesterday, will also be hoping for a shot at his debut.
“He’s a mix of Cox and Long,” said Trapattoni of the Yeovil Town hotshot. “He’s quick and has good personality.”
While few are expecting Gareth Bale to feature, the international obsession with his future has an understandably heightened appeal here in his native Wales, with a local journalist yesterday asking Trapattoni if he thought the player could really be worth £100 million.
And while the Italian did not disguise his admiration for Bale, he also made clear that he regards such astronomical figures as having no place in the real world.
“This money,” he smiled, “for me there is no player worth this money. One player cannot alone win a game, not even Messi or Ronaldo or even, in the past, Pele or Cruyff. They all need the team.”
There have been no new pull-outs from the Irish squad following the weekend games and while, for a variety of reasons, a number of players missed yesterday’s first training session, they were all expected to arrive in camp by this morning.
[quote=“Thrawneen, post: 813602, member: 129”]He hasn’t played a single game in pre-season through injury! What the fuck is he supposed to do?? This is another Marc Wilson situation where everyone thinks he doesn’t care a damn until he’s finally injury free and available and plays a load of matches in a row.
Pilks is a top lad and is fully committed.[/quote]
I withdraw my comment.
Westwood
Coleman
Clark
O Shea
Wilson
Walters
McCarthy
Whelan 
Brady
Hoolohan
Long
I’m not comfortable with Clark being in pole position to partner O’Shea for these qualifiers next month. St Ledger is almost definitely out with a medial knee ligament injury and Clark was appalling in the home Austria encounter. Metalurh Donetsk’s Darren O’Dea has been much better for Ireland than Clark.
[quote=“myboyblue, post: 817041, member: 180”]Westwood
Coleman
Clark
O Shea
Wilson
Walters
McCarthy
Whelan
Brady
Hoolohan
Long[/quote]
All the causes cèlebres of recent years included apart from McClean.
Am I right in saying the whole team plays in the premier league except McCarthy? Would be ironic seeing as he’s probably the most highly rated. Is there any talk of him getting a move?