Wes hoolahan - is trap off his head

[mark12345]

I've been saying it since Norwich were in the Championship last year but Hoolahan deserves a place in the Irish starting eleven. And on the evidence at Anfield today (October 22) our esteemed Mr Trapattoni is off his head for not including him in the Irish midfield.

Hoolahan is everything Whelan and Andrews are not, and if McCarthy was ahead of him in the queue he is clearly behind him now.

Hoolahan was second best at Anfield only to Suarez, and that's saying something. Hoolahan was the heart beat of Norwich, everything came through him. What a fine player - better than any Irish midfielder since Roy. Please Mr Trapattoni see sense and include him against Estonia. That way our midfield will be a factor in the game, instead of just watching the game go by (a la Whelan, Andrews).

[theworm2345]

http://foot.ie/threads/58807-Wes-Hoolahan

[Kingdom]

Was Weso playing in centre midfield, or withdrawn off the centre forward?

[Charlie Darwin]

Hoolahan is everything Whelan and Andrews are not
Small, lazy and defensively suspect?

[Supreme feet]

As far as I could see he was in a free role behind the striker. Seemed to drift around into different positions, with Bennett and Fox doing the 'donkey work' behind him. It's easier for a small, technical player to look impressive in that position - look at Liam Miller for Celtic in 03/04 or Stephen Ireland for City in 08/09. Different story when you play deeper in midfield.

[Junior]

Mark, you are off your head.

Next friendly squad gathering is the time for Wes and not before.

[paul_oshea]

i have to say one thing i noticed from wes yesterday on a few occasions when he got the ball that had been cleared from defence between the 18 yard line and midfield he took it well and brought someone else into play, on 2 occasions they broke and counter-attacked. Should great control and vision on all occasions.

Something we severely lacked in Russia for example. But with Wes in midfield I'm sure we would have being even more over-run if that was possible....

[Murfinator]

Wes could only fit into a 4-5-1 system and we don't play a 5-man midfield? Trap would be off his head to include him unless he plans on changing his formation and if he had the slightest inkling to do that we wouldn't have had the Andy Reid fiasco 2 years ago.

[third policeman]

As far as I could see he was in a free role behind the striker. Seemed to drift around into different positions, with Bennett and Fox doing the 'donkey work' behind him. It's easier for a small, technical player to look impressive in that position - look at Liam Miller for Celtic in 03/04 or Stephen Ireland for City in 08/09. Different story when you play deeper in midfield.


Then play him there! We should build our team around our better players and not around our most mediocre ones. Thought Pilkington and Tierney did well too.

[Supreme feet]

Then play him there! We should build our team around our better players and not around our most mediocre ones. Thought Pilkington and Tierney did well too.

The eve of a playoff is not the time to start building a team. The 4-4-2 formation has been necessary to accommodate Keane and Doyle, who have been easily two of our top five players over the last three years.

Keane's demotion to the MLS and Doyle's uncharacteristic lack of form may change that in the near future, and we could feasibly do well with a 4-5-1, Hoolahan playing behind one of Long, Doyle or Walters... but there's no room to mess about with the system now.

[Kingdom]

I've not done a count or anything, but given the way the EPL has gone, I'd say many of our players are used to playing a 433 / 451 formation now, so they should be used to the whims of such systems.

That said, to change a system in place for the best part of 3 years now, on the eve of our best qualification opportunity in 10 years would be madness. The stats would lead me to believe we'll get through the play-off, to change the system and risk chaos wouldn't be worth it for me.
However, upon qualification, the book has to be thrown out the window, all the available players evaluated, and a system that suits the team and the squad best decided upon and the friendlies that will be forthcoming used as necessary.

I've heard Belgium are on for March. That game will be perfect. They could give us a serious hiding over there, and while I'd never like to see us getting whipped, it could come early enough in our (hopefully) prep for Polkraine.

It goes without saying any player available to us, and willing, should be in consideration. if that player is tearing it up in the highest league our players ply their trade in, then it's a no-brainer. Wes slots into this catagory.

Whether people choose to believe it or not, there are alternatives available to what we have in place at the moment. If the maangement go with a lone striker supported by two wide players and a "10", then that system suits a few players we have. Hoolahan and McCarthy play their for their clubs generally, while it's conceivable that Keane and McGeady are dainty enough to play their too.
It's one of the reasons I have genuine hope for our team. We don't have a team of Goetzes and Ozils but we do have a good blend of destructive and constructive players there.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility that the likes of Meyler, McCarthy, Fahey, Coleman, Cunningham, Hoolahan and others have a part to play in our immediate future.
---------------Given---------------
Coleman---Dunne---O'Shea----Cunningham
--------Meyler--------Fahey-------
----McGeady--Hoolahan--Duff----
--------------Doyle--------------

[Serb]

It's not beyond the realms of possibility that the likes of Meyler, McCarthy, Fahey, Coleman, Cunningham, Hoolahan and others have a part to play in our immediate future.

---------------Given---------------
Coleman---Dunne---O'Shea----Cunningham
--------Meyler--------Fahey-------
----McGeady--Hoolahan--Duff----
--------------Doyle--------------

I don't see Hoolahan ever playing competitively under Trap honestly. If we were ever going to see a formation like the one you've posted under Trap, McGeady or Keane would be in the hole, and not Hoolahan. I think he's too one dimensional to feature under Trap — that's not to say he's not a good player, it's just that his strongest position seems to be behind the striker, and he's not going to be brought along to be deployed in a role that will almost certainly never exist. You'd never pick him in the centre or on the wing ahead of any of the players in previous squads.

On top of that, it's easy to forget just how old Hoolahan is. He'll be 30 before the Euros even begin. Only Duff, Hunt, Keane and Andrews are older in the midfielders and strikers. Having said that, if you're playing good football, you deserve a chance, but the window of opportunity is closing fast in his case.

[mark12345]

Mark, you are off your head.

Next friendly squad gathering is the time for Wes and not before.

Sadly, that's exactly when he'll be played - in the next friendly. Hopefully 'your' type of player (Whelan and Andrews) will have got us to the Euro finals by then.

But if you have doubts about Hoolahan's ability just ask yourself if either Whelan or Andrews could have taken his team by the scruff of the neck and turned the tide against Liverpool last Saturday?

I seriously doubt it and if you are honest Junior, you would say the same.

[mark12345]

Aside from the 'Hoolahan For Ireland' business - just an observation made of the Liverpool v Norwich game which, to me anyway, can have a major bearing on Ireland (if our players and manager would only learn from such situations).

Norwich were so overrun in the opening 20 minutes that it reminded one of the way Russia outplayed Ireland at the Aviva, or the way Germany outplayed us in the campaign before last, and will likely do again in the next.

But the Canaries had enough wits about them to realize that they were being killed by the 'sword' of quick and intricate passing. They decided to take matters into their own hand and fought fire with fire. All of a sudden Liverpool couldn't get the ball anymore and no longer could they run through the Norwich ranks like water down a hill. Doubt entered the minds of the Liverpool players (or so it appeared on TV) and the pendulum swung in Norwich's direction. Norwich kept playing football the sensible way and I don't believe there was more than two long passes in the second half. It takes some mental fortitude to do what Norwich did at Anfield on Saturday last, and I'm glad for them that they reaped the rewards.

Now do you think the next time Shay Given rolls the ball out to John O'Shea, Richard Dunne or Stephen Ward, any or all of these lads will opt for the measured pass to an Irish team-mate, and build the play from the back? Or do you think the aforementioned trio will just belt the ball long to the grateful feet of an Estonian defender? When will our lads ever learn that long balls to nowhere generally end up there, and if you keep it up that's generally where the team ends up too.

That's my rant.

[Crosby87]

At this point, based on recent performance, is it not fair to say Wes should be in the squad over McCarthy?

[Colbert Report]

This is not the time to be adding new players to the set-up. Trap has stated that he's likely to leave regardless of whether we make the finals or not.

[SkStu]

This is not the time to be adding new players to the set-up. Trap has stated that he's likely to leave regardless of whether we make the finals or not.

when? Or is this more of your silly carry-on?

[The Legend]

This is not the time to be adding new players to the set-up. Trap has stated that he's likely to leave regardless of whether we make the finals or not.

lol, what? so if we make the finals we need a new manager?

[Colbert Report]

Keep in mind that Trap's contract expires at the end of the qualification process, regardless of whether we qualify. Trap is fuming that he hasn't been offered a new contract already and says he'll be open to offers regardless of whether we qualify. I heard it on OTB a couple of weeks ago.

[EastTerracer]

Keep in mind that Trap's contract expires at the end of the qualification process, regardless of whether we qualify. Trap is fuming that he hasn't been offered a new contract already and says he'll be open to offers regardless of whether we qualify. I heard it on OTB a couple of weeks ago.

Where's your evidence that Trap is "fuming"? He has been playing a very public negotiation game and trying to get a contract before the playoffs but he knows that winning the playoff will guarantee him a new deal. He's actually been very calm about it (while applying a subtle amount of pressure on the FAI) and I have seen no evidence that he is annoyed by the situation.

He certainly hasn't stated, as you claim above, that he is likely to leave whether we qualify or not. Of course he is entitled to listen to any offers he gets when his contract expires but do you really think he would turn down the chance to manage in a major finals next summer?

[Charlie Darwin]

Trap's not happy that he hasn't been offered a new contract yet. He's playing hardball but there's no way he'd walk away before the Euros, should we qualify. We would have the pick of Europe's unattached managers to select from going into the tournament. And his contract expires in July, after the tournament.

If we do qualify, he will be given a new contract. The players want him in charge and he always lets John Delaney appear in photographs so the only way he's not going to be our manager next campaign is if he loses to Estonia or his own ego allows him to quit.