Joey O'Brien

[richieos]

Joey O'Brien is thinking of going down the same road as stephen ireland and retiring from international football at the age of 22. this is absolutely shameful. he says its because he hasnt been starting the games, hes a youngster with 3 caps, why doesnt he work hard and train hard instead of crying to the media?

[noddy102]

Joey O'Brien is thinking of going down the same road as stephen ireland and retiring from international football at the age of 22. this is absolutely shameful. he says its because he hasnt been starting the games, hes a youngster with 3 caps, why doesnt he work hard and train hard instead of crying to the media?

It is a ridiculous story indeed.
To think he is even considering doing so, and then you think back to somebody like Carsley, who was a bit part player in the Irish squad from day one, up until he decided it was time to retire when Kerr went after the Swiss game, it would make you cringe.
It doesn't say a lot about O'Brien's professional attitude towards football at all.

If he just keeps quiet, and concentrates on returning to regular football after overcoming his long injury problems, then maybe he'll get his chance. A little less conversation and a little more action please Joey.

[seanfhear]

Joey O'Brien is thinking of going down the same road as stephen ireland and retiring from international football at the age of 22. this is absolutely shameful. he says its because he hasnt been starting the games, hes a youngster with 3 caps, why doesnt he work hard and train hard instead of crying to the media?
If this story is true then these young footballers(also stephen Ireland) are beginning to turn international football into a laughing stock.
Is it going to get to the situation that FIFA are going to have to make playing for your country compulsory.
In some players defence a lot of the supposed "big clubs" are exerting big pressure to discourage players playing for countries that these clubs do not consider to be high profile enough.
This seems to be the state of football today.The only power that we have is to withdraw our support from these clubs.

[tetsujin1979]

report on rte.ie - http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2008/1026/obrienj.html
comes from an interview in the mirror

[Irish_Praha]

He's some idiot with a friendly game just around the corner he could have gotten his chance. Now that he's gone crying to the media what position would that put Trap in if he was going to give him a start? It would look like he played him because of his outburst. He may have just talked himself out of the team.

He has a right to be disappointed that likes of Whelan and Gibson are getting into the team ahead of him but he is also still very inexperienced and has no devine right to start. He should just continue to play like he is, keep his head down and work hard. If he is good enough he will get his chance. He's only 22 years of age and if some reason Trap doen't rate him the next manager will be in place when he's 24.
This sickens me.

[holidaysong]

I don't want players like him or Stephen Ireland playing for my country. If they could even contemplate retiring from international football at that age then they should be told where to go.. There are plenty of other Irish players who would kill for the chance to represent their nation!

[Rambling Along]

I thought he was out injured anyway and thats why he didn't play vs Cyprus???:confused:
If he was fit last Wednesday he should have started!

[Qwerty]

Mind boggling. The Stepehen Ireland fiasco wasn't really a huge surprise but Joey O'Brien!! unless he was asked leading questions and it was a set up job by the journo. But if it's true then it is a disgrace when players like McGeady & McCarthy will have to put with abuse in every domestic game for their decision to play for Ireland. I think I am going to shift codes completely to rugby, if the players don't why should we??

[Crosby87]

Sorry but after reading what he said it makes sense. I mean he is not Pele, he has to work hard even to play at Bolton. Its a lot of sacrifice to show up and not play at all, his point is if he isnt playing than he might as well not be there, whats the difference? I mean that makes sense to me.
As Roy says Trap has gone a path with some of the players and thats the way its going to be.
Joey makes a good point how is not playing in the games "playing for your country?"

[richieos]

Mind boggling. The Stepehen Ireland fiasco wasn't really a huge surprise but Joey O'Brien!! unless he was asked leading questions and it was a set up job by the journo. But if it's true then it is a disgrace when players like McGeady & McCarthy will have to put with abuse in every domestic game for their decision to play for Ireland. I think I am going to shift codes completely to rugby, if the players don't why should we??


because were not meant to follow the example of these idiots, were meant to stick by our country no matter what, in every sport

[Rambling Along]

You can see why he's frustrated though.

I thought he was injured for the Cyprus game but after learning that he was fit I feel he should have started centre-midfield, he should definetley be ahead of McShane anyway!
It baffles me that a player playing week in-week out in the Premiership can't even make the bench!

[Docboy]

Its a lot of sacrifice to show up and not play at all, his point is if he isnt playing than he might as well not be there, whats the difference? I mean that makes sense to me.

I hardly call it a sacrifice. These players harp on about spending time away from their families when they get to be home at lunchtime everyday after training. They see more of them than regular people get to see theirs. Just another punk throwing a strop...

[jebus]

Sorry but after reading what he said it makes sense. I mean he is not Pele, he has to work hard even to play at Bolton. Its a lot of sacrifice to show up and not play at all, his point is if he isnt playing than he might as well not be there, whats the difference? I mean that makes sense to me.
As Roy says Trap has gone a path with some of the players and thats the way its going to be.
Joey makes a good point how is not playing in the games "playing for your country?"

Nonsense. He should have been dreaming of playing for his country his whole life, and he's close to doing that, especially as he could fill the right back position in a few years. By playing his hand now he's just shown how much of a whinger he is. Kick him out of the squad and only let him back when he has issued a full apology is what I say.

Someone mentioned Carsley being a bit part player his whole career a few posts up and it's a good point. We want dedication like Carsleys in our squad, not the nonsense that Ireland and O'Brien are bringing. To think a player of the ability of John Sheridan was happy getting just 34 caps and we have this lot moaning about being bench warmers or getting insults off their team mates. :rolleyes:

Football, it's just not as good as it used to be

[paul_oshea]

I'm afraid, that, you are right jebus :(

[Bohemian1890]

If this story is true then these young footballers(also stephen Ireland) are beginning to turn international football into a laughing stock.
No that happened when the Granny rule came in.

[Razors left peg]

No that happened when the Granny rule came in.

How did letting the likes of Ray Houghton, Andy Townsend, John Aldridge etc play for the country of their family make a laughing stock of International football....

[Boh_So_Good]

Joey O'Brien is thinking of going down the same road as stephen ireland and retiring from international football at the age of 22. this is absolutely shameful. he says its because he hasnt been starting the games, hes a youngster with 3 caps, why doesnt he work hard and train hard instead of crying to the media?

There are LOI players who WANT to play for Ireland you know. Unfortunately there is an unwritten rule that says you cannot play for Ireland unless you shop at Sainsburys.

[Boh_So_Good]

Football, it's just not as good as it used to be


Put "British" in front of that and you are correct.

[Crosby87]

Football is fine. This weekend was fun. But.....
If our WC drive ends with the leave of a Bolton Man who doesnt play then what's the point anyway? At 22, if he was worth anything he would be in the fold already. All you people talking up JO are the same ones who were talking up Paul McShane 18 months ago......... and Stokes......No offense but all I heard was Stokes this and that.....And Jamie McCarthy now. In a year it will be someone else......
Joey OBrien. Good Lord. If he wants to leave so be it. If he is 22 and too immature to earn his spot on the side so be it. If they need him he will come back in 5 years or whatever and we will be talking up someone else who ultimately wont work out b/c we will be talking up someone else!! (Who probably isnt born yet!)

[Bohemian1890]

How did letting the likes of Ray Houghton, Andy Townsend, John Aldridge etc play for the country of their family make a laughing stock of International football....
Its more than the granny rule tbh.

Qatar have something like 4 South Americans playing for them and a few Africans who have no family connections with them,Japan have one(Alex).Spain have Senna.

Stephen Reid played for England,didn't get picked for a bit then decided well ill play for Ireland,IMO players like that should not be allowed to just switch.

Another reason you highlighted above,Jack Charlton gave leaflets to certain Irish players and asked them to stick it on the back of the dressing room door.

It went along the lines of"do you have an Irish granny,would you like to play for Ireland":othat is how he found a couple of players.

Just a few reasons of why it has become a joke:(.

[ifk101]

I'd like to think he was misquoted in some way but it doesn't appear to be the case. Otherwise I agree with Jebus.

But Joey O'Brien should look at his own performance against Cyprus last year if he wants to know why he didn't play against them this time.

[Razors left peg]

Its more than the granny rule tbh.

Qatar have something like 4 South Americans playing for them and a few Africans who have no family connections with them,Japan have one(Alex).Spain have Senna.

Stephen Reid played for England,didn't get picked for a bit then decided well ill play for Ireland,IMO players like that should not be allowed to just switch.

Another reason you highlighted above,Jack Charlton gave leaflets to certain Irish players and asked them to stick it on the back of the dressing room door.

It went along the lines of"do you have an Irish granny,would you like to play for Ireland":othat is how he found a couple of players.

Just a few reasons of why it has become a joke:(.

the Qatar example you used is fair enough, I dont know much about it but I would assume though that it is because of citizenship laws where they have lived in the country long enought to get a passport rather than the granny rule like with Senna for Spain and Deco for Portugal.
That is very very different to someone like Kevin Kilbane who was born and raised in England but raised as an Irish man and there is no prouder Irish man on the National team than him. Even going back to the Charlton era when alot of our players were got using the granny rule, can you really say that the players didnt run themselves into to ground for the green shirt.
I would take the commitment of Kilbane, McGeady, Houghton, Mick McCathy, John Aldridge etc over the likes of Steven Ireland and Joey O Brien both who were born and raised in Ireland

[Newryrep]

Resolution in Germany to a plaer Manager problem

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/feedarticle/7928656

[shakermaker1982]

why not just arrange to have a little meeting with the Trap one on one expressing your concerns instead of running to the media? What will this achieve other than fans going ape against you? Who the hell is advising the kid?

[geysir]

Qatar have 3 South Americans in their team, they live and play their football in Qatar. Same with the 3 Africans.
Same with the rest of the squad, all drawn from the national league.
That would be a proud day for the LOI, to have total representation in the national team.

[bennocelt]

Mind boggling. The Stepehen Ireland fiasco wasn't really a huge surprise but Joey O'Brien!! unless he was asked leading questions and it was a set up job by the journo. But if it's true then it is a disgrace when players like McGeady & McCarthy will have to put with abuse in every domestic game for their decision to play for Ireland. I think I am going to shift codes completely to rugby, if the players don't why should we??


:eek: - its a pity most of us cant do that - football is and always will be number one

[seanfhear]

The decline in the standing of international football has come with english premiership clubs getting too big for their boots.
The Irish supporters of these english clubs have contributed to this in no small way.
Irish football supporters should withdraw their support from these clubs until they show respect to the football associations of smaller nations.
There was a time when clubs would be proud of their players playing international football now they want nothing to do with it especially if its for the smaller countries.
These clubs have no appreciation for all the fans that are attracted to football by the World Cup Finals or the European Championship Finals or International football.

The one thing that I do sympathise with the clubs is that FIFA have not sorted out compensation for the clubs if their players get injured on international football.
FIFA should introduce a small levy world wide to pay adequate compensation if a player gets injured playing for his country.

[gaiscíoch]

The decline in the standing of international football has come with english premiership clubs getting too big for their boots.
The Irish supporters of these english clubs have contributed to this in no small way.
Irish football supporters should withdraw their support from these clubs until they show respect to the football associations of smaller nations.
There was a time when clubs would be proud of their players playing international football now they want nothing to do with it especially if its for the smaller countries.
These clubs have no appreciation for all the fans that are attracted to football by the World Cup Finals or the European Championship Finals or International football.

The one thing that I do sympathise with the clubs is that FIFA have not sorted out compensation for the clubs if their players get injured on international football.
FIFA should introduce a small levy world wide to pay adequate compensation if a player gets injured playing for his country.

What I don't understand is that the FAI can charge 80euro for a ticket to see Ireland vs Cyprus. Pay all the players the appearance fee the demand. But can't pay the clubs for the use of the player.

Joey O' Brien should have started for Ireland vs Cyprus. He is better than Mc Shane, better than Whelan and better than Gibson (at this moment in time).

If you ask me Trap is creating hassle for himself with some strange decisions to say the least. But the easy out for him would be to use these players as subs why not give Reid 20mins, O'brien 15 etc this would avoid all the hassle.

[brianw82]

I would take the commitment of Kilbane, McGeady, Houghton, Mick McCathy, John Aldridge etc over the likes of Steven Ireland and Joey O Brien both who were born and raised in Ireland

Here here. Stephen Ireland spits on thousands of Irishmen who would give their right arms to pull on the green jersey.


Irish football supporters should withdraw their support from these clubs until they show respect to the football associations of smaller nations.

Irish football supporters should support clubs in Ireland, not British clubs. Full stop.

[paul_oshea]

What I don't understand is that the FAI can charge 80euro for a ticket to see Ireland vs Cyprus. Pay all the players the appearance fee the demand. But can't pay the clubs for the use of the player.

Joey O' Brien should have started for Ireland vs Cyprus. He is better than Mc Shane, better than Whelan and better than Gibson (at this moment in time).

If you ask me Trap is creating hassle for himself with some strange decisions to say the least. But the easy out for him would be to use these players as subs why not give Reid 20mins, O'brien 15 etc this would avoid all the hassle.

trap doesn't commit any hassle for himself, he picks his team and has done so for 30 years. He doesn't just pick players to keep the boat afloat.

[gaiscíoch]

Here here. Stephen Ireland spits on thousands of Irishmen who would give their right arms to pull on the green jersey.



Irish football supporters should support clubs in Ireland, not British clubs. Full stop.


Why should they? In an ideal world L37 my nearist LOI side who have no ground, training facilities that are only being prepared now would have have more sense than to let a priest destroy a club who once played at the Bernabeu.

[gaiscíoch]

trap doesn't commit any hassle for himself, he picks his team and has done so for 30 years. He doesn't just pick players to keep the boat afloat.

Yes but if you take off the sails then the boat boat wont go anywhere....
I know he is going to do things his way but it's a long campaign and we need the Joey O Briens and Andy Reids of this world. Dare I say if Trap fielded the side he did against Cyprus away from home we would have been beaten.

[shaneker]

I'm so shocked by some of the stuff coming out of this. The idea that the granny rule has made international football a laughing stock is ridiculous, I know plenty of foreign-born first and second-generation Irishmen who would be sickened if they heard they 'weren't Irish enough' to play for their country. Anyway, as has been said before, Roy Keane, Stephen Manchester and Joey O'Brien are Irish born and they are the most high-profile examples of walking away from the Ireland team. Faulty logic.

And as for 'Irish football fans should support Irish teams', with the greatest respect - who the f*ck are you to tell people who they can and can't support? A young Irish kid grows up being passionate about football he sees played by the likes of Barca or Milan, but he should support an Irish team 'full stop'? This isn't the Beijing Olympics, nobody has the right to demand a person cheer for any particular team. Its desirable for national team success that Ireland has a strong national league, but its an individual choice. Get off your high horse.

Trap has got us 7 points from 3 games. We are 4 points clear of our rivals for 2nd place - which means we have them by the balls when we play them, as they will have to win, playing into an Italian's hands - and stand to catch Italy if we win our game in hand. Somehow, I think the fault about prima donna footballers placing paycheck above national pride lies elsewhere.

[as_i_say]

its fair enough he's frustrated but its not like he's a world beater or anything. he had a shocker in midfield against cyprus and i wouldnt have him near there. Mcshane is playing well and regularaly at Hull right back, even though he was dreadful for us. Its right that he's down the pecking order.

So shut your moaning you over paid git and just get on with it like the rest of us.

[mark12345]

"Qatar have something like 4 South Americans playing for them and a few Africans who have no family connections with them,Japan have one(Alex).Spain have Senna.

Stephen Reid played for England,didn't get picked for a bit then decided well ill play for Ireland,IMO players like that should not be allowed to just switch."


You mentioned the Granny Rule being joke. More like you who's the joke. As the lad said how does getting the likes of Aldridge, Houghton, Townsend become a joke. They were of Irish parents or grandparents who left Ireland for economic reasons, like tens of thousands of other Irish over the years. So you would deny the sons of those folks the chance to play for their country?

What's your take on all the North Africans playing for France - would they have won the World Cup and Euro 2000 without the likes of Gallas, Vieira, Henry, Trezeguet etc? What about England and all the Carribean players they have had over the years? Mehmet Scholl for Germany, Platini for France instead of Italy. There have been many many examples through the years of players playing (or not playing) for the land of their parents - think of all those we lost to England.

It's a fact of life and has been for decades, but the Irish (should I say the elitist Irish) appear to be the only ones who have a problem with it. I would say get used to it Bohemian 1880. And if that's the only thing that bothers you about the current Irish international team then you've nothing to worry about.

[Lionel Ritchie]

Stephen Reid played for England,didn't get picked for a bit then decided well ill play for Ireland,IMO players like that should not be allowed to just switch.. Can you name me the rule he broke? ...and anyway you're not allowed "just switch". It's a ratcheted, one-way switch that any dual national is allowed make before their 21st birthday if they haven't disqualified themselves by winning competetive caps. I can't believe we're still debating this sh1te when there's scarcely a team left in International football that doesn't have dual nationals involved.



Another reason you highlighted above,Jack Charlton gave leaflets to certain Irish players and asked them to stick it on the back of the dressing room door.

It went along the lines of"do you have an Irish granny,would you like to play for Ireland":othat is how he found a couple of players.
I thought I'd heard and seen all the utter, utter sh1te lifted straight from the letters page of the Daily Sport and regurgatated as though t'were fact ...until now. :rolleyes:


...and just on topic -JOB should go way and dry his eyes and concentrate on nailing down his place in his thin gruel of a premiership side before getting further p1ssy-eyed about not being the first name on Traps team sheet.

[tetsujin1979]

Stephen Reid played for England,didn't get picked for a bit then decided well ill play for Ireland,IMO players like that should not be allowed to just switch.When did Steven Reid play for England? I wasn't aware he did.

[Bohemian1890]

"Qatar have something like 4 South Americans playing for them and a few Africans who have no family connections with them,Japan have one(Alex).Spain have Senna.

Stephen Reid played for England,didn't get picked for a bit then decided well ill play for Ireland,IMO players like that should not be allowed to just switch."


You mentioned the Granny Rule being joke. More like you who's the joke. As the lad said how does getting the likes of Aldridge, Houghton, Townsend become a joke. They were of Irish parents or grandparents who left Ireland for economic reasons, like tens of thousands of other Irish over the years. So you would deny the sons of those folks the chance to play for their country?

What's your take on all the North Africans playing for France - would they have won the World Cup and Euro 2000 without the likes of Gallas, Vieira, Henry, Trezeguet etc? What about England and all the Carribean players they have had over the years? Mehmet Scholl for Germany, Platini for France instead of Italy. There have been many many examples through the years of players playing (or not playing) for the land of their parents - think of all those we lost to England
Mehmet Scholl was born in Germany.
Platini is French he was born in France,and played for the country of his birth so what your point:confused:

[John83]

When did Steven Reid play for England? I wasn't aware he did.
He played for them at some youth level. I'm sure there's a statto about could pull up the details.

I'd be a bit wary of criticising a player based on some comment in a paper. The number of quotes taken out of context in sports journalism for a headline is unreal. There are often leading questions to get the quote the journalist wants too, and most pro footballers aren't very good at dealing with that sort of thing. Sometimes too, the quote is taken out of proportion - "Yeah, not playing is disappointing, but we'll see" becoming, "PLAY ME OR I'M GONE, TRAP - O'BRIEN". Can anyone quote the question and response?

[co. down green]

When did Steven Reid play for England? I wasn't aware he did.

Think he played a couple of games at u16 level for England

[back of the net]

Mind boggling. The Stepehen Ireland fiasco wasn't really a huge surprise but Joey O'Brien!! unless he was asked leading questions and it was a set up job by the journo. But if it's true then it is a disgrace when players like McGeady & McCarthy will have to put with abuse in every domestic game for their decision to play for Ireland. I think I am going to shift codes completely to rugby, if the players don't why should we??

and if u quit supporting irish football because of scenarios like this , then u are just as fragile to the irish cause as they are

u are better off supporting rugby if thats ur attitude....no loss

[TonyD]

And as for 'Irish football fans should support Irish teams', with the greatest respect - who the f*ck are you to tell people who they can and can't support? This isn't the Beijing Olympics, nobody has the right to demand a person cheer for any particular team.

You're so right. I agree 100%, and I'll be supporting Italy when they come to Croker ;)

[gustavo]

What's your take on all the North Africans playing for France - would they have won the World Cup and Euro 2000 without the likes of Gallas, Vieira, Henry, Trezeguet etc? What about England and all the Carribean players they have had over the years? Mehmet Scholl for Germany, Platini for France instead of Italy. There have been many many examples through the years of players playing (or not playing) for the land of their parents - think of all those we lost to England.
.
Gallas and Henry were born and bred in Paris

[Guts&Glory]

I want cases of evidence not unsubstantiated hearssay!!


Its more than the granny rule tbh.

Qatar have something like 4 South Americans playing for them and a few Africans who have no family connections with them,Japan have one(Alex).Spain have Senna. The reason behind this is when you spend X amount of years resident in a country (time depends on country in question and varies between 5 and 10 years for most) you can apply for citizenship of that country.

For example Arsenal keeper Almunia and Cudicini of Chelsea could apply for English citizenship and passport next year and possibly be selected for England. This is the National Law of the countries in question and nothing to do with football. It would go against the Court of Human Rights to deny those players to play for 'their' new country as they hold a passport for that country.

Stephen Reid played for England?????? WHEN and at what age? ,didn't get picked for a bit then decided well ill play for Ireland,IMO players like that should not be allowed to just switch. They cannot switch if they have played for senior team but you can switch until your 21st birthday (provided no senior cap) - FIFA Rules

Another reason you highlighted above,Jack Charlton gave leaflets to certain Irish players and asked them to stick it on the back of the dressing room door.

Never heard that story being quoted anywhere, by anyone, former player/coach or any player that saw such a leafelt.

Quote names and places where read and players who took up any offer from these apparent leaflets rather than making stuff up.

From reading many books about the era from different people at the time (Aldridge, Bonner, Cascarino, McGrath and Charlton himself) What he (Jack C) did do is ask players to find out of any lads at their clubs that had Irish heritage. EG went to see John Aldridge at Oxford and Aldridge said he would play for Irleand and then asked what about Ray Houghton he is Irish...next thing Ray said he would be delighted with a call up and he got one.

It went along the lines of"do you have an Irish granny,would you like to play for Ireland":othat is how he found a couple of players

Just a few reasons of why it has become a joke:(.

[lopez]

Gallas and Henry were born and bred in Paris'Born and bred'? What exactly does that mean?

[Boh_So_Good]

Originally Posted by shanekerins View Post
And as for 'Irish football fans should support Irish teams', with the greatest respect - who the f*ck are you to tell people who they can and can't support? .

Alright, now I can stand in the Cussack Stand and shout "Forza Italia!" for 90 odd minutes without a hint of irony. You have made me see that supporting a team based on your country or community is silly unless they are some premiership side. So applying that Oirish Soccer Fan mentality to it's ultimate logical conclusion I will be supporting Italy at Croker and not that second rate rubbish.

What's the point in supporting second rate teams just because they are Irish...right?

[lopez]

No that happened when the Granny rule came in.I suppose I should stop going to Ireland games as I wasn't dropped on Irish soil. Another t'ick tw*t that missed out the history lesson on emigration.:rolleyes:

[SkStu]

Alright, now I can stand in the Cussack Stand and shout "Forza Italia!" for 90 odd minutes without a hint of irony. You have made me see that supporting a team based on your country or community is silly unless they are some premiership side. So applying that Oirish Soccer Fan mentality to it's ultimate logical conclusion I will be supporting Italy at Croker and not that second rate rubbish.

What's the point in supporting second rate teams just because they are Irish...right?

great post BSG. Bet you dont get one decent reply.

[Stuttgart88]

Back to the original point of the thread: O’Brien should just knuckle down and get on with it. I can understand that he was frustrated at being overlooked in favour of Gibson. In my opinion, given our scarce resources in CM, he was the most obvious candidate to replace S. Reid, especially as Trap cited height as a factor. He’s a useful squad player to have because of his versatility but on the basis of what I’ve seen Garvan and O’Toole excite me far more as a midfield prospect. With these two coming through and Kevin Foley as right back O’Brien may not even be in the squad on merit soon anyway.

Some good man management is required in these situations. Brady should have a word with him.

I took offence to the “sitting in the stands like a fan” remark, thinking it was patronising.

I know Dean Kiely has retired himself once but contrast recent remarks about working with Trap and the potential to learn from him even at 37 was just too much to turn down, with O’Brien’s petulant rant.

[Bluebeard]

On the Granny Rule being the herald of international mockery:
Alfredo Di Stefano (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfredo_Di_St%C3%A9fano) - see point 2.
Irish Footballers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_Irish_international_footballers)
It wasn't a mockery then. What has made it a mockery now are a hunsdred small little things over the years:
Things like certain clubs behaving like they are bigger than their FAs, and the FAs of other countries, and advising players which country they should declare (e.g. Kevin Gallen), or regularly announcing players are unfit, when two or three days later they can play without any difficulty in the clubs next game;
Things like players being told they are gods, and paid accordingly;
Things like it being quite easy to earn 100 caps without ever reaching a World Cup or Continental Cup finals;
Things like football being a way of becoming an endorsement specialist and shagging galmour models, rather than something you do because it is in your heart.

Looking back at people like Paddy Mulligan or Dave Langan, or many others, they didn't earn shedloads and did it because they loved it, for club and for country. Dave Langan has had many difficulties in the recent past, while Paddy Mulligan is a security guard now - I do not think that the likes of Joey O'Brien forsees that as his future at the age of 60 odd, and I would not class him in the same calibre of Mr. Mulligan or Mr Langan. Granted he is only young, but even so. As far as I am concerned, Joey O'Brien, like a number before him, fails to concern me any more.

What does concern me is that in five years' time we'll have a whole brigade announcing that the current management regime are muppets for failing to bring back poor put-upon Joey and Stephen, and that they should all be sacked. Football fans memories seem to be no more than a season or two long - the absence our little pre-Maradonas will be seen to be the reason we have failed to be at least one notch higher than we are, and the push to bring them back will mask any longer term real inadequacies in either the playing squad or the way that football in Ireland has been run for a number of years.