Is Trapatonnis' position as manager now untenable re McCarthy

[SkStu]

I do think he should've been capped competitively by now but it's got nothing to do with a potential nationality switch.

absolutely. The switching of allegiances is the most drastic result of him not having been capped though.

[Brendan 82]

I love this "who do we think we are trying to beat Italy? They were in the WC Final!". What garbage, they couldn't even beat the mighty New Zealand

[SwanVsDalton]

I love this "who do we think we are trying to beat Italy? They were in the WC Final!". What garbage, they couldn't even beat the mighty New Zealand

Russia didn't even qualify for WC. They beat us up. Slovakia beat them and did qualify. But they only managed a draw against us. And Slovakia couldn't beat New Zealand either. So New Zealand = Slovakia > Russia > Ireland...right?!

Italy have quality players, by and large we don't. Poor World Cup doesn't change that.

[SkStu]

I'm not an apologist but think that some criticism here is English tabloid stuff..

sometimes the comedic tabloids make a welcome relief from the stern broadsheets though... :)

[Noelys Guitar]

Some of the above posts could be cut and paste jobs from the week before the Cyprus away game under Stan. Losing 5-2 away was'nt a bolt from the Blue. There was an underlying problem with both his tactics and team selections. And lets get this straight once and for all. The Slovakia team we played away was missing a number of their best players. They had also just been beaten by Armenia 3-1. We conceded (as in previous games under Trapattoni) a goal from a corner kick. We look vunerable from every corner kick against us which is ridiculous. As for his comments after the Russian defeat saying that no matter what formation he put out it might not have been good enough reeks of defeatism. We have three young players McCarthy, Coleman and Clark who genuinely have the potential to be playing for any of the top 6 sides in the Premiership in the near future. Not since Keane and Duff came on the scene have we had such talent. There is no rule book that says you must first play in a couple of friendlies to get picked to play in competitive games. The three players mentioned should be fast tracked straight into the side.

[boovidge]

Is James McCarthy going to turn us into world beaters overnight though? Traps a bit OTT conservative with his squad selections but I'd still rather that than handing out caps like confetti as in the Staunton reign. Even if we gave a few new faces a chance we'd still be doing well to qualify for tournaments. Ciaran Clark, McCarthy and Coleman aren't going to turn us into Spain.

[Noelys Guitar]

Is James McCarthy going to turn us into world beaters overnight though? Traps a bit OTT conservative with his squad selections but I'd still rather that than handing out caps like confetti as in the Staunton reign. Even if we gave a few new faces a chance we'd still be doing well to qualify for tournaments. Ciaran Clark, McCarthy and Coleman aren't going to turn us into Spain.

How will we know until they get to play a few games for the senior team. But again look at the players that are being picked. A first division player, a guy not getting his game for Stoke and a guy who was on the bench for Derby in their last game and who played right back when Derby got beaten by Crawley. No justification for it.

[gastric]

Trap's continuing conservative attitude and picking of experienced players continues to frustrate many including myself, particularly when it comes to friendlies and the upcoming Celtic Cup. We do need to get McCarthy qualified as to lose him would be bloody stupid and the longer we risk it the higher the chances of him reconsidering his options.
No, he will not make us as good as Spain, but his promise along with the likes of Meyler in midfield certainly give me a feeling of excitement for the future. And this to me is the biggest problem with Trap's game plan and the teams he puts out. Where is the excitement? Where is the blooding of future players who will one day lead the team? Trap's objectives are very short term and in truth are boring me to the point of not really being interested.:D

[Noelys Guitar]

Trap's continuing conservative attitude and picking of experienced players continues to frustrate many including myself, particularly when it comes to friendlies and the upcoming Celtic Cup. We do need to get McCarthy qualified as to lose him would be bloody stupid and the longer we risk it the higher the chances of him reconsidering his options.
No, he will not make us as good as Spain, but his promise along with the likes of Meyler in midfield certainly give me a feeling of excitement for the future. And this to me is the biggest problem with Trap's game plan and the teams he puts out. Where is the excitement? Where is the blooding of future players who will one day lead the team? Trap's objectives are very short term and in truth are boring me to the point of not really being interested.:D

Great post and gives me hope. Skstu, Mr O'Shea and Trapapony and others sussed out the situation before the rest of us and deserve great credit for swimming against the tide of imbeciles (card carrying member myself). Your now a tabloid sensationilist if you question the ability of a very suspect manager. By people who went to same college as Cowen and Fitzpatrick!

[bennocelt]

Great post and gives me hope. Skstu, Mr O'Shea and Trapapony and others sussed out the situation before the rest of us and deserve great credit for swimming against the tide of imbeciles (card carrying member myself). Your now a tabloid sensationilist if you question the ability of a very suspect manager. By people who went to college with the lowlifes who ****ed up this country.

cough;)

[Drumcondra 69er]

Wouldn't surprise me to see him get called up if others pull out, think it was Traps innate conservatism that meant he didn't call him up as he hadn't played a game since his injury when the squad was named. King obviously has no such qualms.

Think there's been an over reacation from people looking for any stick to beat Trapatonni with to suit their own agenda, huge amount of second guessing in elements of the media and on the thread from people who in reality know nothing about the nuances of the situation.....

[paul_oshea]

Who beat us 3-0 at home in a competitive game?

That poor Slovakia team got to the WC last 16, something we'd kill for. It was harder to play a talented French team over 2 legs in November when they didn't have 3 weeks cooped up together abroad to implode. Not beating Italy wasn't Trap's fault - poor finishing and poor concentration caused that. I've got criticisms of Trap but I think he barely put a foot wrong in Slovakia. Keane had a stinker and unless the bad defensive organisation at the corner is Trap's fault (it could well have been) not beating Slovakia isn't a stick to beat him with. We had enough experienced players to have seen that game through. I maintain that we played well enough to win that game, we just didn't. I've seen many a team play worse than we did and win.

Trap doesn't seem to know enough about who our best players are / were, or what their attributes are. McShane should never have been picked at full back over Kevin Foley, Keogh should never have been played wide midfield and so on. This, and our tendency to cede initiative when ahead, is what bugs me most.
Sorry conceding 3 goals at home in a competitive game. I actually forgot we pulled 2 back :D

Sometimes reading this forum it reminds me of hearing dunphy or giles or andy gray picking out 1 or 2 plays in a game and saying that is the generic systemic problem for that team i.e. taking out a point in isolation and using it as your argument. Everyone does it, good or bad I mean. Anyway the point you have raised is fair enough, one game, one team though and its not an isolated incident, remember that they were missing 3 of their better players, 2 very good players. However as noely has pointed out on numerous occasions we look very suspect from corners and set pieces, to be honest any in swinging ball from a height worries me, and a lot of that has to do with balls being played in over the top and kilbane getting caught out. How did that talented french team do in their previous qualifying campaign? They were very very average and luck enough. Serbia were hardly world beaters as showed in the world cup.

This argument we played the 2 finalists from the previous campaign means very little, at the end of the day you are only as good as your last game - relative to the opposition obviously - might be a bit drastic but a couple of games or more and it backs itself up, not 2, 3, 4 years ago.

[osarusan]

Think there's been an over reacation from people looking for any stick to beat Trapatonni with to suit their own agenda
What agenda is that?

[Drumcondra 69er]

What agenda is that?

There are elements in the media (Hyland and Fanning for a start) who have used any opportunity possible to have a go at Trapatonni since he got the job ahead of their enligtened preference of Terry Venables......

Their agenda is to create as negative an atmosphere as they can around this Irish team as far as I can see.

[Sullivinho]

There are elements in the media (Hyland and Fanning for a start) who have used any opportunity possible to have a go at Trapatonni since he got the job ahead of their enligtened preference of Terry Venables......

You shouldn't be reading anyone who shows a preference for Venables over Trap. A brain cell will expire with each word comprehended.

[Drumcondra 69er]

You shouldn't be reading anyone who shows a preference for Venables over Trap. A brain cell will expire with each word comprehended.

:) Very true!

[SwanVsDalton]

This argument we played the 2 finalists from the previous campaign means very little, at the end of the day you are only as good as your last game - relative to the opposition obviously - might be a bit drastic but a couple of games or more and it backs itself up, not 2, 3, 4 years ago.

You're right, the two finalists argument is fairly meaningless. But the real argument is we played two potentially very good sides, with far better quality players than us, and got very credible results.

To return to your other (true) point about using arguments in isolation - how come excuses (luck, poor opposition) are made for our good results and we simply performed badly for the good ones? Noely's right, our defending from set plays is concerning and our inability to hold on to a lead is downright hair pullingly frustrating. But Stutts' is right too - we played well in Slovakia and we've played well in other games without getting out due.

There's plenty to be concerned about but enough to keep me optimistic too. Unfortunately this thread is full of hyperbolic extremes of each.

[Alf Honn]

This is Trap at his vindictive best. Got away with it before but heading into our final lap of Euro qualifiers may not be so lucky.

There is no logic to omitting McCarthy for what he describes as a match where fringe players will be used.

With his shunning of Andy Reid since guitar-gate, is it not possible that McCarthy is being taught a lesson (Trap-style) after pulling out of the May friendlies at the RDS?

Wigan said he was too knackered and needed a rest, so surely the lad can't be blamed.

Teaching a lesson is fine to a degree (if done properly) but is it worth it if our Whelan/Green midfield gets further found out in the Macedonia qualifiers and it costs us qualification?

On Monday, Trap said McCarthy's comeback meant it was 'too tight' for him to be considered even tho he's deemed fit enough to travel thousands of miles away for the 21s less than 24 hour later. Sounds like Porkies.

[tetsujin1979]

Has everyone who keeps mentioning Green as a starter forgotten that the last starting central midfield partnership was Whelan and Fahey?

[Alf Honn]

Has everyone who keeps mentioning Green as a starter forgotten that the last starting central midfield partnership was Whelan and Fahey?


No. Knee injury put Green out of last game.

Derby's finest has started all four qualifiers.

[Scooby Doo]

I'm not doubting Trap's capacity for vindictiveness and agree that its possible that McCarthy's exclusion is related to his pulling out of the summer training camp etc.

However, if this is the case, then why is Keith Treacy not being subjected to similar treatment from Il Gaffer? Didn't Treacy pull out of an early season squad because of 'tiredness', with news of said pull-out being accompanied by a few eyebrow-raising quotes that prompted many on here to question whether or not he should wear the green again.
McCarthy's 'sins', if they be that, were not on the same level as Treacy's dissent, if I remember correctly.

[SwanVsDalton]

This is Trap at his vindictive best.

Take off the tin hat. There's no evidence to suggest McCarthy's omission has anything to do with Trap throwing a wobbly.

As Scooby pointed out, it's not consistent with other players. And Trap's constant references to McCarthy (http://greenscene.me/2011/01/trapattoni-and-mccarthy-in-quotes/) (he talks in far more positive terms and far more frequently about McCarthy than about Andy Reid) are hardly indicative of any vindictiveness.

[OwlsFan]

The anti Trap media is starting to grow. I am not sure how Trap was supposed to get to see games the next day after an international but hey, it is nice to bash the Irish manager:

Evening Herald Article By Paul Hyland

Thursday February 10 2011

ARE you having a laugh, Giovanni? Darron Gibson's words and the perfect summariser for the Ireland manager's continuing and baffling bad-mouthing of James McCarthy.

But there's a bigger problem now than Trapattoni's loose tongue. It goes deeper than that.

Trapattoni and his assistant Marco Tardelli sat together at the Aviva Stadium last night, apparently scouting the opposition for the remaining Nations Cup fixtures this summer and that was really having a laugh.

Russia lost 1-0 to Iran in Abu Dhabi last night. Macedonia were beaten at home by Cameroon and Slovakia, almost unbelievably, lost in Luxembourg.

Surely Ireland's €2m manager could have learned something from travelling to one of those games, particularly Skopje where an African team found a way to beat Macedonia.

Instead, Trapattoni spent a few hours throwing petrol on the McCarthy story and just to add a bit more spice, once again pointed Gibson to the Old Trafford exit door.

Trapattoni's morning-after press conference is established as a more thoughtful and calm forum for discussing the immediate fallout from the last game. But yesterday was very different.

For the first time since he was hired, Trapattoni had to face an accumulation of tough questions, put off in the past out of deference first to his status in the game and more recently to his health.

As ever, his answers were contradictory but a recognisable theme has been established to deal with McCarthy and Gibson.

He spoke of McCarthy once again in disparaging terms; comparing the young Wigan midfielder to himself and Marco Tardelli at 21 and throwing the dreaded agent into the mix.

“We were men at 21. We did not ask an agent to decide for us. He must decide for himself – not the agent,” he said.

Later in an RTÉ interview with Tony O'Donoghue, he hardened his position further and heaped pressure onto McCarthy.

“We cannot force the player to play with us. He is 21 years old. I was a man at 20. I could decide which (club) to play (for). He is a free man, decide. We cannot ask why, why, why. Ask him.”

SPOKEN

But what is it that McCarthy has to decide? Ask him what? Unless Trapattoni knows something the rest of us don't about McCarthy's intentions, there is no issue about his nationality.

The most recent contact with McCarthy by anyone connected with the FAI came from Under-21 boss Noel King and he has indicated that there was no sign of a change of heart.

Trapattoni has not spoken to McCarthy and it would appear that when he claimed that he and Marco Tardelli had “called” him before the Algeria/Paraguay friendly series, he meant that he had called him into the squad.

Worse still, he does not see any value in a face-to-face meeting and he dragged up Stephen Ireland to justify this policy, unfairly bracketing McCarthy with the most extreme example he could find of a player unmoved by the excitement of representing his country.

This is now a farce. Trapattoni is doing nothing more than digging a bigger and bigger hole for himself. He is standing over ill-judged and intemperate remarks and seems happy to rake up deeply sensitive issues to prove some, as yet, unidentifiable point.

He roped Roberto Martinez into his argument when he claimed the Wigan manager told him the decision not to come to Dublin was taken by McCarthy.

In doing so, he revealed details of a private conversation. During all of this, he paused to take aim at Gibson again – not allowing the player to enjoy his fantastic goal for even 24 hours.

“He can do more,” Trapattoni insisted. “He has big potential and the right mentality but I said a year or a year and a half ago that if I were Gibson I would go to another club where I can play continuously.

“With this you can build your mentality. In the end, you need to play, play, play. “You can take confidence from this, but I think he is fantastic.”

You'd never guess. This is washing underwear in public. Take the player to one side and make a point, but does Trapattoni have to share it with the world if the impact is almost certainly going to be a negative one? It was actually six months ago when Trapattoni suggested that Gibson should leave Manchester United and this was the response. “If Trapattoni wants me to move somewhere like Stoke where I'll get more games, but have little chance of winning anything, then I just don't know,” Gibson then said. “To move on from United just doesn't make sense to me.”

INCONSISTENCY

The final and most telling inconsistency in Trapattoni's position is this: Gibson has made his decision to stay at Manchester United. Like Trap and Tardelli, who were “men at 21”, he is in control of his own destiny and made a choice.

Trapattoni believes it is the wrong choice but maybe he should just be a man and respect Gibson's position. Maybe he should just be a man, take a trip to see McCarthy in Wigan and repair the damage he has done.

And while he's at it, be a man and offer an olive branch to Andy Reid. Perhaps he could ask him to have a chat with McCarthy and if there is a need, explain why he is so proud to be an Irishman and how much it hurts to be on the outside looking in.

[jbyrne]

And while he's at it, be a man and offer an olive branch to Andy Reid. Perhaps he could ask him to have a chat with McCarthy and if there is a need, explain why he is so proud to be an Irishman and how much it hurts to be on the outside looking in.

i am a proud Irish man and hate looking in from the outside too. if Trap thought reid could do a job for us in the way he wants he would be in the squad. he obviously doesnt

[SkStu]

yeah Owlsfan. FFS.

;)

[Murfinator]

Some Facts worth considering.

-> By FIFA ruling a club cannot prevent a player from playing for their international team, to do so would provoke sanctions. Wigan didn't prevent James linking up with the squad they requested him not to and he obliged, the decision to pull out of the squad was ultimately his.

-> People say its perfectly reasonable for him to do this as keeping his focus on important games for Wigan could be critical to his career but also worth bearing in mind was this was his last chance to show his international manager what he could do prior to important international matches. Ultimately by ensuring he is available for Wigan's important games has ensured he won't be available for Ireland's important games and reasonably so as Trap can't plan a team around a player he has next to no first hand experience with.

-> James had the option to link up with the squad at the very least even with restricted game time as a clause, a 20 minute run out in the second half would have done his fitness no harm and the time spent prior to the game linking up with his international team and manager would have done the world of good. This was again an option he refused and unlike the previous without a clear valid reason.

I feel like the onus is on James in all this, Trapatoni's words might be wild and unfortunate but James's actions are those of a man with questionable commitment to his international team. I feel like McCarthy is the one people should be shaking their fist at right now for pulling out and then refusing to quell speculation about his loyalty but as usual the insecure public go for the manager.

[mypost]

Trappatoni is never going to get sacked due to the massive payout he would receive. If we don't qualify for Euro 2012, I would be very disappointed to see his contract renewed however. He came in at a real low for Irish football and his conservative tactics and his consistent squad selections were exactly what we needed at a time of turmoil and crisis.

As far as the results have gone, Trappatoni hasn't been much better that Staunton. His win ratio is similar (37% for Trap vs 35% for Steve), but where he has really been let down is the number of times that Ireland has surrendered a lead. It's the sit back and defend the one goal lead that works well for teams like Italy because they actually have good defenders and can let the opposition have the ball.

Examples of matches that I'm talking about:


Ireland v Bulgaria (surrender the lead with 16 minutes remaining)
Bulgaria v Ireland (lead held for 4 minutes)
Ireland v Italy (lead held for 3 minutes)
Cyprus v Ireland (lead held for 20 mins, went on to win)
Slovakia v Ireland (lead held for 20 minutes)

Out of those games, we only won one of the four I would expect us to win. Beating Italy would have been nice, and made for a tense final group game, but you couldn't be too disappointed with that one.

I didn't expect to beat Bulgaria or Slovakia at their place, the point in Bulgaria more or less protected the play-off spot, and was our first ever point out there. If KK hadn't lost the plot, we may have got 6 points instead of 2. Slovakia had just beaten Russia a few weeks before, and Italy in the World Cup. Yet we have a divine right to go to the likes of there and wallop them?? That point out there could be the difference between qualifying and not, especially if we win the home game.

The last gobshy lost his first 2 competitive games. We've now lost 2 competitive games in 3 years, and unbeaten away from home in that time. I'm happy enough with how we're doing.

[Drumcondra 69er]

The anti Trap media is starting to grow. I am not sure how Trap was supposed to get to see games the next day after an international but hey, it is nice to bash the Irish manager:

Evening Herald Article By Paul Hyland

Thursday February 10 2011

ARE you having a laugh, Giovanni? Darron Gibson's words and the perfect summariser for the Ireland manager's continuing and baffling bad-mouthing of James McCarthy.

But there's a bigger problem now than Trapattoni's loose tongue. It goes deeper than that.

Trapattoni and his assistant Marco Tardelli sat together at the Aviva Stadium last night, apparently scouting the opposition for the remaining Nations Cup fixtures this summer and that was really having a laugh.

Russia lost 1-0 to Iran in Abu Dhabi last night. Macedonia were beaten at home by Cameroon and Slovakia, almost unbelievably, lost in Luxembourg.

Surely Ireland's €2m manager could have learned something from travelling to one of those games, particularly Skopje where an African team found a way to beat Macedonia.

Instead, Trapattoni spent a few hours throwing petrol on the McCarthy story and just to add a bit more spice, once again pointed Gibson to the Old Trafford exit door.

Trapattoni's morning-after press conference is established as a more thoughtful and calm forum for discussing the immediate fallout from the last game. But yesterday was very different.

For the first time since he was hired, Trapattoni had to face an accumulation of tough questions, put off in the past out of deference first to his status in the game and more recently to his health.

As ever, his answers were contradictory but a recognisable theme has been established to deal with McCarthy and Gibson.

He spoke of McCarthy once again in disparaging terms; comparing the young Wigan midfielder to himself and Marco Tardelli at 21 and throwing the dreaded agent into the mix.

“We were men at 21. We did not ask an agent to decide for us. He must decide for himself – not the agent,” he said.

Later in an RTÉ interview with Tony O'Donoghue, he hardened his position further and heaped pressure onto McCarthy.

“We cannot force the player to play with us. He is 21 years old. I was a man at 20. I could decide which (club) to play (for). He is a free man, decide. We cannot ask why, why, why. Ask him.”

SPOKEN

But what is it that McCarthy has to decide? Ask him what? Unless Trapattoni knows something the rest of us don't about McCarthy's intentions, there is no issue about his nationality.

The most recent contact with McCarthy by anyone connected with the FAI came from Under-21 boss Noel King and he has indicated that there was no sign of a change of heart.

Trapattoni has not spoken to McCarthy and it would appear that when he claimed that he and Marco Tardelli had “called” him before the Algeria/Paraguay friendly series, he meant that he had called him into the squad.

Worse still, he does not see any value in a face-to-face meeting and he dragged up Stephen Ireland to justify this policy, unfairly bracketing McCarthy with the most extreme example he could find of a player unmoved by the excitement of representing his country.

This is now a farce. Trapattoni is doing nothing more than digging a bigger and bigger hole for himself. He is standing over ill-judged and intemperate remarks and seems happy to rake up deeply sensitive issues to prove some, as yet, unidentifiable point.

He roped Roberto Martinez into his argument when he claimed the Wigan manager told him the decision not to come to Dublin was taken by McCarthy.

In doing so, he revealed details of a private conversation. During all of this, he paused to take aim at Gibson again – not allowing the player to enjoy his fantastic goal for even 24 hours.

“He can do more,” Trapattoni insisted. “He has big potential and the right mentality but I said a year or a year and a half ago that if I were Gibson I would go to another club where I can play continuously.

“With this you can build your mentality. In the end, you need to play, play, play. “You can take confidence from this, but I think he is fantastic.”

You'd never guess. This is washing underwear in public. Take the player to one side and make a point, but does Trapattoni have to share it with the world if the impact is almost certainly going to be a negative one? It was actually six months ago when Trapattoni suggested that Gibson should leave Manchester United and this was the response. “If Trapattoni wants me to move somewhere like Stoke where I'll get more games, but have little chance of winning anything, then I just don't know,” Gibson then said. “To move on from United just doesn't make sense to me.”

INCONSISTENCY

The final and most telling inconsistency in Trapattoni's position is this: Gibson has made his decision to stay at Manchester United. Like Trap and Tardelli, who were “men at 21”, he is in control of his own destiny and made a choice.

Trapattoni believes it is the wrong choice but maybe he should just be a man and respect Gibson's position. Maybe he should just be a man, take a trip to see McCarthy in Wigan and repair the damage he has done.

And while he's at it, be a man and offer an olive branch to Andy Reid. Perhaps he could ask him to have a chat with McCarthy and if there is a need, explain why he is so proud to be an Irishman and how much it hurts to be on the outside looking in.

Hyland's been at it since day one with Trap, he was a major cheerleader for Venables and was well ****ed off he didnt get it. Joke of a journalist and has an awful style to boot.

[paul_oshea]

"and that was really having a laugh"

have the irish public , readers, intellectual abilities deteriorated thiis much? Who actually buys this stuff

[The Fly]

have the irish public , readers, intellectual abilities deteriorated this much sense I left for good?

Oh. My. God.

[paul_oshea]

But seriously fly, if he is writing it, its cos people are reading it.

[John83]

And he means that if what you quoted hinted at declining standards, the standard of English in your post suggested some sort of head trauma.

[paul_oshea]

And he means that if what you quoted hinted at declining standards, the standard of English in your post suggested some sort of head trauma.

I know, its muphrys law -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law

Almost like a rhetorical question, in that I answered my own question through how poorly I wrote it . :D

[John83]

Paul, your post is to Muphry's Law what die Endlösung is to Godwin's.

[Stuttgart88]

Paul was so eloquent in his TV interview on Al Jazeera* yet he writes utter drivel sometimes. That's what frustrates me. He's like Darron Gibson, you know he can do it but he just doesn't. Paul's writing definitely has another couple of kilometers in it.

* my computer crashed when about to answer Paul earlier. No, I never saw it again.

[paul_oshea]

However I wrote what I wrote doesn't really matter. Its getting technical for the sake of it. The point is what matters.

He writes like a 12 year old. How has a 12 year old a job writing for a paper with a decent circulation. thats the point.

Stutts, i dont have time the time like others to check what I write, although with 9k + posts that is hard to argue, but mainly I'm at work and I cant be seen to be on this thing the whole time, so its quick in and go. Unlike the rest of you I don't have time to be dwelling over what I write and spending time thinking about it. So yes, we all have brain farts or whatever you want to call them, I just write them sometimes, but the points themselves I would stick by, however they are written.

[Stuttgart88]

only joking man, chill...

[paul_oshea]

No but its a fair point. but with this many posts its hard to get them all right ;) :D

Long day, still on this work thing at home so...

Anyway Trap is the man for the job, feck the naysayers :D

[Crosby87]

You did an interview on Al-Jazeera?

[ArdeeBhoy]

James McCarthy has been called into the U21 squad for the Feb 9th game v Cyprus. This is a bad joke and surely brings into question not only Trapatonni's judgement but suggests he holds ridiculous grudges against certain players. With such a small pool of players to choose from we can't afford to be upsetting/demotting players like McCarthy. If this decision is not reversed then Trapatonni has to go.

With respect NG, this current supposition is as ridiculous as the one that James McCarthy is somehow the saviour of Irish soccer....

Trap might be a 'boring old fart' tactically/selection-wise but we're stuck with him until at least the summer, if not the autumn. Unless of course, Fate or illness intervene.

[Crosby87]

Ardhee Boy is watching too many old Sopranos episodes. "Carmine (Trap) is healthy as a horse. If anything were to happen to him, all these problems would go away. But he's healthy as a horse." Maybe we can get Dr Peepee to inject him with something during a "routine physical" arranged by Alfred Honn.
I kid, I kid.

[gastric]

The size of this thread plus the other thread show the impact the possibility of McCarthy changing allegiance has had on Irish supporters. If he does change I think it will be what Irish supporters remember most about Trap's reign along with Henry's goal. It's sad, but true that we often remember the bad things, rather than the good things. While this is hard to admit, it also gives me a better appreciation of how NI fans feel when we acquire their players like Wilson and Gibson, however, the best comparison would in fact be how Duffy changed allegiance.

[Stuttgart88]

You did an interview on Al-Jazeera?He didn't let me get a word in edgeways. That's why I have it in for him.

[OwlsFan]

On Sport at 7 on RTE there was an interview with Mick Martin who was at the Slovakia v Cameroon match last night and will be reporting in detail to Trapp et al. Seems to have been a poor game with terrible pitch conditions and no enthusiasm on the part of the Slovakian players to engage in heroics (so probably not a lot to be learned from it in the context of our next outing). No mention of that in Hyland's rant against Trap.

[KK77]

The anti Trap media is starting to grow. I am not sure how Trap was supposed to get to see games the next day after an international but hey, it is nice to bash the Irish manager:

Evening Herald Article By Paul Hyland

Thursday February 10 2011

ARE you having a laugh, Giovanni? Darron Gibson's words and the perfect summariser for the Ireland manager's continuing and baffling bad-mouthing of James McCarthy.

But there's a bigger problem now than Trapattoni's loose tongue. It goes deeper than that.

Trapattoni and his assistant Marco Tardelli sat together at the Aviva Stadium last night, apparently scouting the opposition for the remaining Nations Cup fixtures this summer and that was really having a laugh.

Russia lost 1-0 to Iran in Abu Dhabi last night. Macedonia were beaten at home by Cameroon and Slovakia, almost unbelievably, lost in Luxembourg.

Surely Ireland's €2m manager could have learned something from travelling to one of those games, particularly Skopje where an African team found a way to beat Macedonia.

Instead, Trapattoni spent a few hours throwing petrol on the McCarthy story and just to add a bit more spice, once again pointed Gibson to the Old Trafford exit door.

Trapattoni's morning-after press conference is established as a more thoughtful and calm forum for discussing the immediate fallout from the last game. But yesterday was very different.

For the first time since he was hired, Trapattoni had to face an accumulation of tough questions, put off in the past out of deference first to his status in the game and more recently to his health.

As ever, his answers were contradictory but a recognisable theme has been established to deal with McCarthy and Gibson.

He spoke of McCarthy once again in disparaging terms; comparing the young Wigan midfielder to himself and Marco Tardelli at 21 and throwing the dreaded agent into the mix.

“We were men at 21. We did not ask an agent to decide for us. He must decide for himself – not the agent,” he said.

Later in an RTÉ interview with Tony O'Donoghue, he hardened his position further and heaped pressure onto McCarthy.

“We cannot force the player to play with us. He is 21 years old. I was a man at 20. I could decide which (club) to play (for). He is a free man, decide. We cannot ask why, why, why. Ask him.”

SPOKEN

But what is it that McCarthy has to decide? Ask him what? Unless Trapattoni knows something the rest of us don't about McCarthy's intentions, there is no issue about his nationality.

The most recent contact with McCarthy by anyone connected with the FAI came from Under-21 boss Noel King and he has indicated that there was no sign of a change of heart.

Trapattoni has not spoken to McCarthy and it would appear that when he claimed that he and Marco Tardelli had “called” him before the Algeria/Paraguay friendly series, he meant that he had called him into the squad.

Worse still, he does not see any value in a face-to-face meeting and he dragged up Stephen Ireland to justify this policy, unfairly bracketing McCarthy with the most extreme example he could find of a player unmoved by the excitement of representing his country.

This is now a farce. Trapattoni is doing nothing more than digging a bigger and bigger hole for himself. He is standing over ill-judged and intemperate remarks and seems happy to rake up deeply sensitive issues to prove some, as yet, unidentifiable point.

He roped Roberto Martinez into his argument when he claimed the Wigan manager told him the decision not to come to Dublin was taken by McCarthy.

In doing so, he revealed details of a private conversation. During all of this, he paused to take aim at Gibson again – not allowing the player to enjoy his fantastic goal for even 24 hours.

“He can do more,” Trapattoni insisted. “He has big potential and the right mentality but I said a year or a year and a half ago that if I were Gibson I would go to another club where I can play continuously.

“With this you can build your mentality. In the end, you need to play, play, play. “You can take confidence from this, but I think he is fantastic.”

You'd never guess. This is washing underwear in public. Take the player to one side and make a point, but does Trapattoni have to share it with the world if the impact is almost certainly going to be a negative one? It was actually six months ago when Trapattoni suggested that Gibson should leave Manchester United and this was the response. “If Trapattoni wants me to move somewhere like Stoke where I'll get more games, but have little chance of winning anything, then I just don't know,” Gibson then said. “To move on from United just doesn't make sense to me.”

INCONSISTENCY

The final and most telling inconsistency in Trapattoni's position is this: Gibson has made his decision to stay at Manchester United. Like Trap and Tardelli, who were “men at 21”, he is in control of his own destiny and made a choice.

Trapattoni believes it is the wrong choice but maybe he should just be a man and respect Gibson's position. Maybe he should just be a man, take a trip to see McCarthy in Wigan and repair the damage he has done.

And while he's at it, be a man and offer an olive branch to Andy Reid. Perhaps he could ask him to have a chat with McCarthy and if there is a need, explain why he is so proud to be an Irishman and how much it hurts to be on the outside looking in.

Paul Hyland.... enough said.

[tetsujin1979]

The anti Trap media is starting to grow. I am not sure how Trap was supposed to get to see games the next day after an international but hey, it is nice to bash the Irish manager:

Evening Herald Article By Paul Hyland

you had me right up until the highlighted section

[paul_oshea]

You did an interview on Al-Jazeera?

ya I was wearing a niqab inspired by my love of chuck norris films with suspenders underneath.

[paul_oshea]

Paul, your post is to Muphry's Law what die Endlösung is to Godwin's.

Yes it is, the idea behind muphrys law is that you try to correct someone and you make a mistake yourself in correcting them, ironic almost.

My post was ironic because i was asking the question of how a journalist as bad as that has a job in irish media, was it because the general public have become so ignorant and are happy with that level of writing and reporting, the irony in this case being that what i wrote was like what a 12 year old child would write.

[bennocelt]

Evening Herald Article By Paul Hyland




Russia lost 1-0 to Iran in Abu Dhabi last night. Macedonia were beaten at home by Cameroon and Slovakia, almost unbelievably, lost in Luxembourg.

Surely Ireland's €2m manager could have learned something from travelling to one of those games, particularly Skopje where an African team found a way to beat Macedonia.

.

That quote is a but silly, I mean Jesus an African team, can u imagine:mad:

[Uncle_Joe]

My mam is a reader of the Evening Herald for as long as I can remember and for as long as I can remember Paul Hyland has consistantly written complete garbage for every article he has penned.
I imagine that the only people who actually take the guy serious are the silly housewives who buy the filthy rag. (No offense mam)