Kevin Kilbane

[Condex]

The most inform Irish player in the premiership this season.
He was playing in the middle against Arsenal and according to reports played very well.

[Beavis]

Yeah I'm delighted he's doing well at the mo,I always check the paper to see how he's done.Hopefully he's proving his critics wrong,many of them Ireland fans,but I always thought he did a job for us

[Plastic Paddy]

I'm just off out the door for the ten-minute walk to Loftus Road to watch him in action this afternoon for Everton against Fulham. I'll report back on how he does.

:) PP

[carnstien]

Kevin Kilbane should never set foot in an Irish midfield again, playing Duff, the best left-midfielder in the world, out of posistion to accomidate a horse like Kilbane is madness.

[Beavis]

Not arsed going through this again,but I'll just reiterate once what I've said many times before.
You can have Duff on the pitch in his best position granted and have Kilbane on the bench,but who's on the right?Lee Carsley?Finnan?Reid?Not wingers or players who will cause any damage really.Or you can play Duff right and Kilbane left where you have two wingers capable of going down the line and getting crosses in and being a threat to the opposition.My choice would be the latter option but that's just me.

[Plastic Paddy]

Kilbane was superb through the centre of midfield for Everton today in what was overall a lacklustre team performance. For anyone that's watched him closely in the green, he was a different player altogether. Proof positive, were it needed, that he is a total "confidence" player. Worth the admission fee alone, and if Kerr persists with him in the squad, I won't complain if he can reproduce the same form as today.

But therein lies the $64,000 question. :rolleyes:

:D PP

[carnstien]

Originally posted by Conor74
You weren't at the Ireland - Russia game in Dublin I take it? The only midfielder who looked competent was Kilbane.

Its a very sad state of affairs when Kilbane shines in any midfield. And now with truely talented players like Duff on the left, Andy Ried, Miller and Finnan or Carr on the right available, there should be no place for a workhorse like Kilbane in the Irish midfield, he is simply not good enough and is not even in the same league as the players mentioned above.

[Slash/ED]

Duff on the left and Andy Reid out of position on the right is far better then Kilbane anywhere and our best player woefully misued for about the 50th time.

[Slash/ED]

Originally posted by Conor74
True, but to date we've not really had the opportunity to experiment. Hopefully the upcoming friendlies will see if players like Reid and Miller (or maybe even an ageing Kavanagh, everything should be checked) can make the grade at international level...

Yeah, we've friendlys to try these things out but ideally I think that's our best system. Duff on the left and Andy Reid on the right but given a free role to more or less do what he does for Forest, probably Miller and one of the other potential central mid fielders in the middle.

[adamcarr]

I never really liked kilbane but on his recent form he should be one of the first names on the teamsheet. What a goal he scored today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D :D :D :D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gspain]

Kilbane has done well in greenh. He has always given 100% and never hid. That's all we can ask. He is also flying with Everton at the moment.

Yes he has his limitations but we've played a lot worse.

Course he is not in Duff's class but neither is anyone else in our squad. He is well worth a place in thew squad and room can be made for him in the team. I wish the lot of them had his guys and commitment.

[Gary]

Originally posted by carnstien
Its a very sad state of affairs when Kilbane shines in any midfield. And now with truely talented players like Duff on the left, Andy Ried, Miller and Finnan or Carr on the right available, there should be no place for a workhorse like Kilbane in the Irish midfield, he is simply not good enough and is not even in the same league as the players mentioned above.

I find that a very blinkered view. OK, KK will never be a world beater, but he has been quite consistent for Ireland (pls, no-one say consistently crap, because that is total BS). Agaisnt Russia he was outstanding, in the World Cup, he was one of our stars.

I am delighted he is doing well for Everton, in the Premiership, playing in central midfied . Between himself and Matty Holland, we have two in form players for that position.

To say that Andy Reid is the answer is twaddle. One place where Kilbane isnt in his league is in reality. Prem Vs 1st Div. Reid, while a good prospect, has played one international against the super streangth of Canada. he is shining for forest who are getting dizzy at the height of 20th in English 1st Div. Miller, has no experience, and plays for a good team in a league the standard of the eL 1st division.

Ok, lets be honest, ideally, we would have better players than KK, we dont, he is playing well, so please stop begrudging and support him. Though i get the feeling that even if he were to score a hat trick in the world cup final some would still say he is rubbish.

[Slash/ED]

Originally posted by Gary
in the World Cup, he was one of our stars.


I stopped reading after that. Please tell me you're taking the ****, if not, who was our other star? Ian Harte?

[Gary]

*prepares for laughter and abuse*

I think Gary Breen was outstanding for us in the World Cup. Harte? Well he is out of his depth.

And Slash/Ed, try and have an open mind about what i said about KK.

[Slash/ED]

Breen was class yes but I'm afraid having an open mind with what someone says is hard when they claim something as outlandish as Kilbane was one of our stars during the world cup.

[tiktok]

my position on this kind of debate has always been that you play your form players. At the moment we have three (well, four, but I won't go there Conor;) ) Irish players playing very well in central midfield roles in the Prem.

Holland, Kilbane and DeLap are all having very good seasons.
Duff has been magnificent for Chelsea.
Kavanagh and Reid have being doing well in the first.
Whatever four we pick should be from that selection. I'd have

Kilbane Kavanagh Holland Duff
although Delap offers more going forward than Kavanagh, i think graham should get another decent shot.

[Éanna]

Originally posted by carnstien
Kevin Kilbane should never set foot in an Irish midfield again
I wouldn't have expected you to say anything less stupid :rolleyes: Kilbane has had a brilliant start to the season, and was one of the most consistent performers in the euro qualifiers. IMO, he should be given a chance in the centre- christ knows we've nothing else there

[Plastic Paddy]

Originally posted by Éanna
Kilbane has had a brilliant start to the season, and was one of the most consistent performers in the euro qualifiers. IMO, he should be given a chance in the centre- christ knows we've nothing else there

Having seen him in the flesh yesterday, so to speak, I agree. He's a "confidence" player, and right now, he has that confidence. Worth another shot IMHO.

:D PP

[SeanieBoy]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gary
[B]I find that a very blinkered view. OK, KK will never be a world beater, but he has been quite consistent for Ireland (pls, no-one say consistently crap, because that is total BS). Agaisnt Russia he was outstanding, in the World Cup, he was one of our stars.

I would go as far as to say that KK played good in about 10-15% of his games for Ireland, to say he had a good WC must be a joke, it is a toss up against Harte to say who was worse & I think that Harte wins. KK's only talent is to kick the ball & attempt to run around defenders & usually ends up running into them(Cameroon WC). If we persist with Kilbane when we have definate talent in Miller & A.Reid, plus Kavanagh is having a great season for Cardiff. I still believe McAteer can do a job on the right, seeing that S.Reid is not addapting to the Premiership too well.

[scouser]

Originally posted by Conor74
You weren't at the Ireland - Russia game in Dublin I take it? The only midfielder who looked competent was Kilbane.

I take your point about Duff, but it may be a case of having to play our best 11, and given the lack of talent around at the moment Kilbane is either in that bunch or very close to it. It's a pity, because he is a limited player...

I was at the game and I thought Kilbane was average as usual. Accomodating Kilbane by playing our best player out of position is madness. Accomodating Kilbane full stop is madness.

Scouser.

[only1kilbane]

From someone who has been a long time Kevin Kilbane fan my views might be a bit biased. He is the most hardworking player in the Irish team and if we had 11 of those in Basel we might have stood a chance !

Of all the Irish players in the prem league at moment he is the player in the best form. Form players should be picked !

And to andy reid i was at the sunderland notts forest game on sat and he was brillant. I think with kilbane on the left and reid on the right we can provide a real threat !

Jason Mc had a good game as well so i think he could come back into play !

[NigeSausagepump]

I've always been amazed at the various analyses of Kilbane's performances for Ireland. To some he's the epitome of hard work, consistency and earns accolades like "one of our top performers in the World Cup" etc. To others he's an abject donkey who couldn't kick a hole in a wet paper bag.

There have even been games where I've read people's opinions (including journalists) that he has been absolutely appalling, and others which say he was outstanding. What, I wonder, is cause of this wide divergence in opinion?

For my money he's always tried 100% and bled green blood, but sadly that hasn't been enough to mask his lack of skill. The fact that the official FIFA coaches report after the WC last year said that Ireland improved greatly when Duff went to the left wing spoke volumes to me. Much as I may claim to know my football, I won't claim to know as much as a panel of experienced international coaches.

I haven't seen him for Everton this year, but if he is playing out of his skin in a central role, I reckon he's defo worth a run there in a friendly. We can't afford to dispense of his services too lightly. However that said, I'd agree with the view that we are more potent with Duff on the left, almost irrespective of who plays on the right or partners Robbie upfront.

[Éanna]

He's had some awful games, no denying that, but he never hides like so many others. We really need someone like that in the middle right now, and he has to be worth a shot.

[Falconblade]

Originally posted by Éanna
he should be given a chance in the centre- christ knows we've nothing else there

Discounting Kinsella again? I think he and Matty Holland had a great partnership during the world cup in the middle.

I'm a big fan of Kilbane and probably always will be, but I can't see a place for him in the national side at the moment. Still the problem of who to put on the right though. I'm not a fan of playing people out of position; it rarely solves anything long-term.

[tiktok]

Originally posted by Falconblade
Discounting Kinsella again

nothing against the man, but I'd discount him at the moment, he's not playing first team football at all, he hasn't gotten a look in at Villa since he went there.
he should definitely be behind Holland, Delap, Kavanagh, Kilbane for the centre spots.

[carnstien]

Originally posted by tiktok

he should definitely be behind Holland, Delap, Kavanagh, Kilbane for the centre spots.
Miller and Andy Ried should be given a chance to show what they can do as a central midfield partnership. My reasoning behind this is that what was there for the European Chapionship qualifiers is simply NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Why, we didn't ****ing qualify!

Our strongest midfield might prove to be Duff on the left, with Andy Ried partnered by a more heavyweight player like Delap or Healy in the middle with Miller on the right.

One thing is for sure, things need to change, cause what was there for the qualifiers was a disgrace to the county.

[Plastic Paddy]

Originally posted by carnstien
Miller and Andy Ried should be given a chance to show what they can do as a central midfield partnership. My reasoning behind this is that what was there for the European Chapionship qualifiers is simply NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Why, we didn't ****ing qualify!

Our strongest midfield might prove to be Duff on the left, with Andy Ried partnered by a more heavyweight player like Delap or Healy in the middle with Miller on the right.

One thing is for sure, things need to change, cause what was there for the qualifiers was a disgrace to the county.

For once, I tend to agree with you. Where I differ slightly is that I think Matty Holland can still do a job for us and will provide useful continuity in the centre of the park, although longer-term I would hope to see Delap used there and Miller and Reid establish themselves. I'm not sure that I agree with using Miller on the right though, as when he's played there for Celtic this season he's been largely anonymous. I think Andy Reid could adapt to do a job for us there, or - here's hoping - if Steven Reid recaptures the form that saw him earn a move to the Premiership, other options will then exist.

And KK can be used to warm the bench, coming off it to run at defences for the last twenty minutes when we need him. There. Everyone's happy now. ;)

:D PP

[Slash/ED]

Andy Reid isn't a central mid fielder. No disrespect to them, but if we weren't playing against Canada we'd have found that out, he's a wide man or an 'in the hole' player. You'd need Miller in the middle and Reid on the right for that to work, not in his best position, but he's versatile enough to cope and if you give him freedom to rome he'd do a very good job there for us.

[Éanna]

I'd have holland and Kinsella out of the squad in the morning. Holland is a waste of space who wouldn't know a decent tackle if it kicked him up the hole, Kinsella might be worth a shot if he gets some first team football again.

[tetsujin1979]

Funny, I thought Holland had his best game in a long time against Canada. Lots of running in the middle of the park, made a mess of tackles and kept possession well. Kind of like Neil Lennon at Celtic, everyone complains he doesn't get forward enough and doesn't contribute to the game, yet when he's missing the results tend to suffer.

On top of that do you think any international manager in the world is going to leave out the captain of a side in serious contention for a Champion's League spot?

[max power]

i got a t shirt amde up last summer and i got a lot of positive comments about it, i got just "Kevin Kilbane is sh*t" printed on the front, a lot people wanted to buy one and asked were there ian Harte ones available

[carnstien]

Originally posted by Éanna
I'd have holland and Kinsella out of the squad in the morning. Holland is a waste of space who wouldn't know a decent tackle if it kicked him up the hole, Kinsella might be worth a shot if he gets some first team football again.
I agree, I'd still have Holland in the squad but only as backup.

Holland and Kinsella showed that they are not good enough in the qualifiers and changes definatly need to be made.

I disagree that Andy Ried is not a natural central midfielder. I think he is played on the left because he is left footed, but in reality he is an ideal attacking central midfielder, with his toughtness, excellent passing and ability to score bags of goals from midfield.

[John83]

Originally posted by carnstien
I disagree that Andy Ried is not a natural central midfielder. I think he is played on the left because he is left footed, but in reality he is an ideal attacking central midfielder, with his toughtness, excellent passing and ability to score bags of goals from midfield.
"toughtness", eh? I haven't seen the lad play other than the Canada game of which I missed the first half, but I was under the distinct impression that he reckons tackling is a rugby thing.

[Falconblade]

If not Kilbane or Kinsella, who would you play in the middle? Miller or Reid (both attacking players) would leave us too exposed at the back.

I agree it's tough to put Kinsella in when he hasn't played, but I think we're suffering from a lack of options.

[Slash/ED]

Delap and Miller is a better combination then any involving Kilbane or Kinsella. Maybe they'll prove me wrong in the friendlys, but Kilbanes 50 caps and Kinsellas being a former Villa reserve leads me to doubt they will.

[carnstien]

Originally posted by Falconblade
If not Kilbane or Kinsella, who would you play in the middle? Miller or Reid (both attacking players) would leave us too exposed at the back.

I agree it's tough to put Kinsella in when he hasn't played, but I think we're suffering from a lack of options.
I think either Miller or Andy Ried need to play in the middle, with the other one, (I'd say Miller, but I'm not sure) on the right.

This is because the centre of our midfield is totally devoid of creativity and that is not going to be provided by Kilbane and Kinsella.

Miller or Ried will need a holding player beside them, I think Delap deserves a chance but is ultimatly a limited player. Colin Healy looks a real talent, but looks like he will be stuck in division 1 for a while, John O'Shea anyone?

[fromthenorthffs]

Colin Healy looks a real talent, but looks like he will be stuck in division 1 for a while

That and the broken leg, Mark Kinsella can do a job til he comes back

Reid on the right, we have **** all else out there.

Kilbane deserves a place somewhere, but i can't see it. Certainly if we ever loose a striker, move duff up and put kilbane on the left. Kilbane has been playing quality football for Everton and Ireland whether we like it or not. For the first time in years his club form actually deserves a call up

Andy O' Brian and O'Shea should be a centre back partnership for the next 10 years.

Throw someone in at the deep end for 3 or 4 games at left back, see if they sink or swim

Time to blood a new-look young first 11, and play them together for a while.