Squad announced for friendlies

[Condex]

Have to agree with the previous post.
EL players are just not good enough, all EL teams usually
get knocked out in the first round of European competitions.

[Slash/ED]

Have to agree with the previous post.
EL players are just not good enough, all EL teams usually
get knocked out in the first round of European competitions.

Well that's plain wrong.

Tell me, if EL players aren't international standard, why did O'Flynn consistently outshine Barrett in the Ireland U21s? Why is it when our youth teams play generally the better players play over here, yet they never ever get considered for the full squad.

The EL is roughly at the level of the SPL, bar the obvious two teams. Bohs beating Aberdeen over two legs and Shels loseing only by a goal to Killie, despite at the time only being part time, in the last two meetings between non old firm SPL sides and EL sides in european competition show this. As such, the very best players in the EL are good enough to be given a chance at international level, espically ahead of someone with around four senior goals in about four years of playing senior football in the english first division.

[Slash/ED]

Good shout.....until we get the Brazilian/Romanian ladies into the breeding programme....which is in process.....a long time,alas,before Irish EL players Good enough to make jump direct to international football!

Anyone who's good enough,if not snapped up as a youth,will inevitably move cross-channel.....the one thing the Br*ts do better....their domestic Lges.in Eng./Scotland,is again alas,Far superior to the EL product!

Though EL clubs have had excellent results v.SPL in Europe,on a regular basis,the best clubs,eg.Shels,Bohs.,would struggle do to any better than Partick this season!IMO,EL=Scots.Div.1/Eng.Div.2/3......

No harm in wanting to get better though!Mainly down to money.........

if that was the case then the spl sides would have showed their 'superiority' over at least one of the four matches. They didn't.

[1MickCollins]

the point is the standard in the league of ireland is about 2nd division or low down 1st division standard. kerr knows this as much as anybody he manged in it for a good number of years. He also does nogt want to take players away from their squads if the season is up and going. The job of the Irish football manager is to pick the best players available to him at the time. Kerr knows more about football then anyone on this board and it his is view and you have to respect it. If all the league of ireland players were all so good they woudl not be playing in the league of ireland as they would be off earnign higher wages were ever they could get it. thats the way of the world, its called looking after your family. If we only picked players based in Ireland we woudl never get anywhere and we would get beaten consistantly by most international teams.

Some EL might survive in the lower reaches of Div, but Div 3 would be more like it. No way any EL team would survive in Div 1.

[Slash/ED]

PLEASE NB.word 'REGULAR' !

I would say that playing four matches and no 'superority' being showed by the SPL sides in any of them is pretty 'REGULAR'. There's nothing to suggest they couldn't keep on doing it.

[lopez]

Well f*ck me. I feel like I've just arrived at a party and the drinks have all been consumed and everybody's either kicked f*ck out of each other or f*cked each other.

My two cents, for what it's worth: Sheridan, I've a lot of sympathy with what you (and SlashEd) say, and I can say it because despite being, ahem, a 'product of the (English) footballing system, END OF. That's where [I] was educated, that's where [I] learned [my] football, that's who should reap the rewards,' I've yet to find a team that is suitable for my services :( , although I was once told that Luton is a good place to go. I'm desperate for the EL game to rise to the heights of the Norwegian and Danish leagues (both countries with similar populations to Ireland). Unfortunately the footballing culture in Ireland - and what Neil says the status of the (local) game - is that Britain is the be all and end all for any decent player. Bohemians and Shelbourne - great clubs with great histories - are sidelined for whom? Wycombe Wanderers FFS. Hopefully things will change but with cheap flights to Manchester and the John Lennon airport and a product that every media outfit promotes with a vengeance this is going to be hard. It's chicken and egg time to break the cycle although bringing in a couple of local players for the upcoming friendlies may have sent the message to some people: EL game down the road next week; Irish internationals are playing; Let's go!

As for your aversion to 'blood nationalism' well that's tough. If you lived my life, being verbally abused about my 'blood' nationality by people in authority you'd think should know better, such as teachers, then you'd understand that your insinuation that I and my brothers and sisters should salute the as*e of the German lady, is nothing but utter tosh. Get over it! Ireland is about to join the real world concerning citizenship (something that has been in Britain for over two decades) and citizenship's priority is always based on blood first and soil after.

[4tothefloor]

Good shout Lopez. Slash/ED, I know where you're comin from, and I respect that, but you're blinded by your passion for the EL. You're obviously a genuine hardcore supporter, but there's no way you can justify saying that EL players are above what Kerr has picked for his squad. Your heart is in the right place, but your head aint listening. Fair play for making your case bud, but I don't think Kerr could have picked any other squad to be honest!

[Slash/ED]

Well, 4onthefloor, I'm not saying Byrne and co should be in the squad ahead of the success stories in England, people who have made it over there, the one person I have a problem with is Barrett. He's in and out of a mid table first division side and in about three years in the first division has scored, I think, 3 goals. I'm open to correction there. I'm not saying Byrne should be a first choice, or thrown in against France or something, but he's good enough to be a fringe player ahead of people who simply aren't cutting it in the lower parts of the English league.

Anyway, even aside from the Eircom League, there's plenty of people I'd of picked playing in England ahead of the people he has picked, as I said earlier.

[4tothefloor]

But isn't Barret mostly a midfielder now, rather than a striker?

[Condex]

Well that's plain wrong.

Tell me, if EL players aren't international standard, why did O'Flynn consistently outshine Barrett in the Ireland U21s? Why is it when our youth teams play generally the better players play over here, yet they never ever get considered for the full squad.



Barrett is not international class either. I watched last night Div1 playoff match and can honestly say most of the players on display would struggle in the premiership.

[Slash/ED]

But isn't Barret mostly a midfielder now, rather than a striker?

Yes, but he was called up as a striker unfortunately.

[Bowsy]

Agree entirely when it comes to calling up the very average Barrett. Has done nothing to warrant a call up this season.
Although I have always argued against EL players in the national side was dissapointed not too see any in the squad. In such a huge squad and 3 games in a short period of time it is a perfect opportunity to put the arguement to bed and let some EL players prove their worth. I don't think anyone on this forum is against the EL improving but to put players who are not up to International standard in the squad just because they play in Ireland would be detrimental to the national team. Our domestic league simply is good enough yet. Seeing as improving the league is to the end of improving the national team this is hard to justify. Brian Kerr knows more of the EL than anyone. Football fans generally aren't interested in long term goals in less they have to be. As Lopez said it's the old chicken and the egg thing. We are a very small nation with soccer the 3rd choice sport(this being especially true outside the greater Dublin area and Cork). Denmark and Norway don't suffer this problem, nor do they have a huge European domestic league like England's scouting their schoolboy talent. Even then all their league's real stars go to England, Germany, etc as soon as they're spotted. Would love to see a truly powerful EL but perhaps we have unrealistic aims. 3rd choice sport in a country of 4 million vs first choice sport in a country of 60 Million.

[pete]

Kennedy (Wolverhampton Wanderers), S Reid (Blackburn Rovers), Barrett (Coventry City), Connolly (West Ham United)

None of the above are goos enough even for enlarged squad.

Kennedy, Reid & Connolly have proven thier uselessness many times over.

[Bowsy]

Kennedy, Reid & Connolly have proven thier uselessness many times over.

Bit hard on Reid. Had a few poor Irish perfomances in an injury hit season with Blackburn. Only 22 and looked like a great prospect before being muck against Russia and Turkey. A couple of poor games does not contitute proving your uselessness many times over. I still believe he will come good.

[dynamo kerry]

But isn't Barret mostly a midfielder now, rather than a striker?

yeah and as for him only scoring 4 senior goals in 4 yrs - bull

2003-04 coventry 2 league + 1 cup = 3

2002-2003 QPR 7 league = 7

brighton and hove alb. league = 1

2001-02 colchester league = 4

qpr league =2

so thats 17 goals then

[Slash/ED]

Sorry, that was me, I forgot his loan spells to second divison clubs. It's still an embarassingly bad record.