Squad for France and Faroes [Archive]

harps1954

29/09/2004, 11:24 AM

Brian Kerr today, Wednesday, 29 September 2004, announced a squad of 24 for Ireland’s upcoming World Cup games with France and Faroe Islands.

Matt Holland and Liam Miller having missed the last two games against Cyprus and Switzerland through injury, return to the squad. Matt has played two reserve games in the last week and hopes to be involved with the first team at Arsenal next Saturday. Liam came on as a substitute in Manchester United’s last two games on Saturday and Tuesday night. John O’Shea has recovered from the thigh muscle injury that forced him out of the match in Switzerland is also back in the squad.

Richard Dunne returns to the squad and Graham Barrett retains his place having been a late addition through withdrawals in the September games.

The squad will assemble in Dublin for training on Tuesday 5th October and depart for Paris on Thursday 7th returning to Dublin on Sunday 10th in preparation for the game with the Faroe Island on Wednesday 13th in Lansdowne.

Squad v France & Faroe Islands

Shay Given (Newcastle United) Born: 20/04/76 Caps: 63
Paddy Kenny (Sheffield United) Born: 17/05/78 Caps: 3
Nick Colgan (Barnsley) Born: 19/09/73 Caps: 8
Stephen Carr (Newcastle United) Born: 29/08/76 Caps: 33 Goals: 0
Andy O’Brien (Newcastle United) Born: 29/06/79 Caps: 15 Goals: 0
Kenny Cunningham (Birmingham) Born: 28/06/71 Caps: 60 Goals: 0
Alan Maybury (Hearts) Born: 08/08/78 Caps: 9 Goals: 0
Richard Dunne (Manchester City) Born: 21/9/79 Caps: 20 Goals: 4
Gary Breen (Sunderland) Born: 12/12/73 Caps: 61 Goals: 7
John O’Shea (Manchester United) Born: 30/04/81 Caps: 16 Goals: 1
Steve Finnan (Liverpool) Born: 20/04/76 Caps: 31 Goals: 1
Andy Reid (Nottingham Forest) Born: 29/07/82 Caps: 10 Goals: 1
Matt Holland (Charlton Athletic) Born: 11/04/74 Caps: 43 Goals: 5
Roy Keane (Manchester United) Born: 10/08/71 Caps: 61 Goals: 9
Kevin Kilbane (Everton) Born: 01/02/77 Caps: 56 Goals: 4
Liam Miller (Manchester United) Born: 13/02/81 Caps: 5 Goals: 0
Graham Kavanagh (Cardiff City) Born: 2/12/73 Caps: 8 Goals: 1
Alan Quinn (Sheffield United) Born: 13/06/79 Caps: 5 Goals: 0
Graham Barrett (Coventry City) Born: 6/10/81 Caps: 5 Goals: 2
Damien Duff (Chelsea) Born: 2/3/79 Caps: 46 Goals: 6
Gary Doherty (Norwich City) Born: 31/01/80 Caps: 28 Goals: 4
Alan Lee (Cardiff City) Born: 21/08/78 Caps: 7 Goals: 0
Clinton Morrison (Birmingham) Born: 14/05/79 Caps: 24 Goals: 7
Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur) Born: 08/07/80 Caps: 54 Goals: 21

Plastic Paddy

29/09/2004, 11:33 AM

Alan Maybury? Nick ****ing Colgan? :confused:

What planet are you on, Mister Kerr? I really do wonder sometimes...

:rolleyes: PP

Peadar

29/09/2004, 11:38 AM

What planet are you on, Mister Kerr? I really do wonder sometimes...

:rolleyes: PP

Squad PP, Squad.

It's the starting XI you need to worry about.

inexile

29/09/2004, 11:46 AM

NeilMcD

29/09/2004, 11:53 AM

Before people start giving out about who is in the squad etc, lets point out who is out of the squad and if they would have done any better

Ian Harte, David Connolly and Jonathan Macken, Stephen Reid (injury) Colin Healy (injury) Graham Stack, Stephen Elliot, Jason Byrne, Glen Crowe, Wes Houlihan, Joe Murphy.

If there are any more could people please add them.

I think only Harte for Maybury would have been a viable option and maybe Stephen Elliot, but I think his time will come in November with the friendly. Harte is the only one who appears to be in trouble and have a fight on his hands to get back in

Kingdom

29/09/2004, 11:54 AM

Kerr has picked a fine squad regardless of whether Maybury is in it.
Nicky Colgan is a fine keeper , no doubt some people would have preferred Graham Stack. I'm surprised the Honey Monster is back considering his comments to one of the Sunday papers a couple of weeks ago,

Surely Brian could have given the Gooch the chance to claim a place.... :p

Dan K

29/09/2004, 11:56 AM

cant really argue with that squad no notable omissions except for macken maybe, i think i would have included him he is playing at a higher level than lee has ever done no dispespect to Alan Lee but is there any chance Kerr is omitting him to avoid a backlash over the Granny rule?
Rory Delap.

Confused how Kerr calls him up when he's on **** form, then leaves him out as he gets better. :confused: :rolleyes:

Donal81

29/09/2004, 11:57 AM

How fit is Liam Miller? Will he start, do you reckon? Haven't heard anything about him for a while...

inexile

29/09/2004, 11:58 AM

Surely Brian could have given the Gooch the chance to claim a place.... :p[/QUOTE]

for all his qualities id rather have seamus moynihan there unless Gooch could play left full!!

Plastic Paddy

29/09/2004, 11:59 AM

Squad PP, Squad.

They're still nowhere near good enough for the squad, P.

It's the starting XI you need to worry about.

Believe me, I am worried. Despite the optimism expressed by many posters that is currently bathing this site in bright light, I think the French could still cream us. And that's made all the more likely with journeymen like Maybury and Colgan littering the place.

Kerr has picked a fine squad regardless of whether Maybury is in it.
Nicky Colgan is a fine keeper , no doubt some people would have preferred Graham Stack.

I think bringing Sam home must be going to your head. Unless I've missed a huge dollop of irony somewhere...

:ball: PP

inexile

29/09/2004, 12:01 PM

Rory Delap.

Confused how Kerr calls him up when he's on **** form, then leaves him out as he gets better. :confused: :rolleyes:

Id have Delapdancer in there for the same reason id have Macken because they are playing regularly in the premiership. IMHO I think you have to pick players who are playing at the higher level and no disrespect but that why at the moment when there is a full squad available to chose from there wont be any EL league players in the squad, i know ill prob be lynched for that but im afraid its a fact

Kingdom

29/09/2004, 12:07 PM

I think bringing Sam home must be going to your head.
I think you're right :)

thejollyrodger

29/09/2004, 12:28 PM

I think the sqad is decent enough. There are lots of crap irish players and its difficult to exclude them all.

France could well make an example of us and it could end up 4-0 to France. :(

A draw would be a great result

Kingdom

29/09/2004, 12:36 PM

Thats a sobering thought as well. Surely the poor performances of the French can only go on for so long. Maybe we will take a trouncing. Maybe we won't. After their result at home to Israel the Frogs will be up under pressure to perform.

Peadar

29/09/2004, 12:52 PM

Surely the poor performances of the French can only go on for so long.

They've been going on since the 2002 World Cup!
It's the mood in the camp that's wrong.
All we can hope for is that they play all their disgruntled star players.
If they bring in French based players with a point top prove then we could be in trouble. That said, if we keep our shape and decipline, no one will beat us 4-0

drinkfeckarse

29/09/2004, 12:55 PM

Nicky Colgan is a fine keeper ,

:D :D , thanks for that Kingdom! Was having a bad day at work until I read that.....cheered me up no end!!

inexile

29/09/2004, 1:05 PM

i think thats the french teams problem they dont perform under pressure when they are expected to do well, they won the world cup as underdogs, didnt perform in euro 2000 final or semi and were relativley lucky to win that, they were shocking at Japan/Korea 2002 and not so great this Summer they just dont seem to have the heart for it especially without Paddy V, the likes of Pires, Wiltord etc look great when things are going well but give them and aggressive marker and they may as well be up in the stand i think we will definitly get a point outta Paris

tetsujin1979

29/09/2004, 1:11 PM

Before people start giving out about who is in the squad etc, lets point out who is out of the squad and if they would have done any better
Ian Harte, David Connolly and Jonathan Macken, Stephen Reid (injury) Colin Healy (injury) Graham Stack, Stephen Elliot, Jason Byrne, Glen Crowe, Wes Houlihan, Joe Murphy.

If there are any more could people please add them.

I can only think of Clarke and Rowlands.

I'd have Clarke in for more cover at left full, O'Shea's been playing at right full and centre midfield for United lately, think Rowlands would just be a squad player, going on recent performances for QPR. Why Stack isn't in ahead of colgan (higher league, better form, European games) is beyond me

Stuttgart88

29/09/2004, 1:15 PM

For a start, why do we always insist on 3 keepers? You can always call someone up at the last minute if needed. Even still, surely Stack can benefit going forward but Colgan???

Dunne deserves his place back so that’s good. But with Dunne back is Breen really required? Doherty, O’Shea, Dunne are cover at CB if necessary.

I'd prefer Delap over Holland as the latter can’t possibly be fit enough. I wonder is there an issue between Delap & Kerr? Every time he’s selected he drops out. When he’s fit & on form he’s not selected.

I really feel for Delap. Has he ever played for Ireland in his preferred position?

He played in that weird Ireland vs Ireland game at Tolka years back at left-back and subsequently has always been played at right midfield, including that humiliating pre-WC2002 warm up game against USA(?) where McCarthy gave him the illusion he had a chance of playing his way into the WC squad. That was a humiliating disgrace that Mick should be ashamed of. He even played upfront in the away leg of the Turkey play-off if I remember right.

Delap is a central midfielder and one of our better ones. I’d have him in over KK all the time, quite simply because he’s suited to the position.

And in terms of the bigger squad picture, I’d include Delap ahead of Breen. This is contentious (and contradictory) but if we needed a centre-half with 20 mins to go I think Delap could do a job there too. In reality what are the chances of us needing to bring on a centre-half and Doherty, O’Shea AND Dunne are no longer options?

I said on another thread that Macken should start. I thought he looked good at the weekend. Clinton can’t get a game and Macken is currently preferred to Fowler at City, albeit by default because Fowler’s apparently got attitude problems.

I don’t rate Maybury and think that Clarke is a better bet, and possibly Michael Doyle too.

Elliott’s exclusion I’m less concerned with as I’d like the U21’s to do well. He’s getting close though.

eirebhoy

29/09/2004, 1:22 PM

Dunne deserves his place back so that’s good. But with Dunne back is Breen really required? Doherty, O’Shea, Dunne are cover at CB if necessary.
Breen is a replacement for Cunningham. Dunne/Doc are replacements for O'Brien. Whatever you think of Breen as a footballer, every centre half partnerships needs an organisor, in my opinion of course. I'd prefer to drop Doc for Macken. Doc hasn't played at centre half for his club since last season.

Stuttgart88

29/09/2004, 1:33 PM

I agree an organiser is required. That's why Cunningham is so vital and it's no coincidence that he brings the best out in his partners for club & country.

However, I think that Dunne is growing in stature (cue comments about his weight!!) and although he's young I think he's looking increasingly mature and from what I've seen he's the leader in the City defence.

Is Breen really the organiser we need? I'd have thought he's more cover for O'Brien actually.

Personally I think the blanace we require in the middle of defence is a combo of a ball winner & a more mobile player,and I'd fear for a Breen / O'Brien partnership.

Superhoops

29/09/2004, 1:38 PM

Isn't it great that we now have depth enough to argue about who has been left out of a squad of 24 players.

Not many years ago we had about 16 or 17 players and 5/6 real make weights.

Only if Given, Cunningham or Duff pulled out of the squad would I say we were really weakened.

eirebhoy

29/09/2004, 1:45 PM

Maybe you're right but you always see camera's pointing at the likes of Cunningham and Breen and they are always chatting to their partner. Lets forget Dunne for a second. Doc, O'Shea and O'Brien are woeful without an organisor beside them and if they partnered each other they would not play to their full ability. Breen is prone to the odd slip up or lack of pace but he'd still bring out the best in O'Brien and have him in the right place at the right time.

If Dunne is his clubs organisor, fair enough, i'd stick him in if Kenny was ever unavailable. Come to think of it, Dunne has been in Everton's first team since he was about 17 so he does have a lot of experience.

Phil Babb was one player who always needed a No.1 beside him throughout his career. :)

Stuttgart88

29/09/2004, 1:53 PM

Sure. Have you ever noticed how well O'Brien played alongside Woodgate but he & Bramble together are a disaster? O'Brien appears to be the senior partner in his paring with Elliott and one of the things I'm hoping for in O'Brien is increased maturity. I actually think it's not a million miles away - he was top notch in Basle IMO.

Bowsy

29/09/2004, 1:57 PM

I think Dunne is really working hard and developing into the player he was expected to be at 17-18. I think people forget he's only 24. Very young for a centre half.
Agree with EB about Breen being our second best organiser(not defender). O'Brien needs a stabilising influence. Compare O'Brien with Woodgate/Cunningham to O'Brien with Bramble.

I'm happy with the squad but for a couple of players. I hope the French don't come out humbly with a point to prove as no matter who we have on the field they will probably murder us. A draw would be brilliant but depending on the French's attitude I'm hoping of witnessing one of the all time great wins.

tetsujin1979

29/09/2004, 2:20 PM

thought Dunne's has played very well for Man City over the last few games, steady improvement from nearly getting sacked from the team this time last year.

His rebound at the weekend let in Cole, but if he didn't get the block in, Reyes was lurking, he's regularly up for the MOTM award, and came second in the City fan's player of the year poll, ahead of Anelka, so I reckon he'll well worth his place in the squad. Can't see him against the French, even with experience against Henry already this season, but he should be due a run out against the Faroes, maybe even a goal from a set piece? He was up for every corner against Arsenal, gave Lehmann something to think about.

Lionel Ritchie

29/09/2004, 2:21 PM

Believe me, I am worried. Despite the optimism expressed by many posters that is currently bathing this site in bright light, I think the French could still cream us. And that's made all the more likely with journeymen like Maybury and Colgan littering the place. PP

He's had two clubs!!! Spent years at Leeds and has now been what? 3 maybe 4 years at Hearts.

As for Colgan ...In most respects I agree with you. He's certainly third in the pecking order now and is not there as competition for Shay -merely as cover for him. While I've a lot of time for Colgan -he's playing third flight football and if you're giving the job to the guy with the best CV rather than the familiar face about the place then Graham Stack should be there instead of him and Joe Murphy could make a good case for himself ahead of Nicky too.

I think Rory Delap can feel hard done by not to make the squad when he sees four 2nd flight midfielders in there.

eirebhoy

29/09/2004, 2:29 PM

Colgan is third choice anyway:

Subs v's Cyprus: Kenny, Doherty, Breen, Finnan, Maybury, Quinn, Lee.

Subs v's Swiss: Kenny, Doherty, Maybury, Breen, Kavanagh, Quinn, Barrett.

Kerr probably rates Stack ahead of Colgan too but he's not stupid enough to give a player his debut in a competitive match, especially a goalkeeper against France. Wait until the friendly in November to pass judgement, I'd be suprised if Colgan is still included.

Roo69

29/09/2004, 2:56 PM

Let's Not Kid ourselves,just pray for No injuries this w/e.......Don't care who plays in the 2 games,IF we can get 4 points.......can see a few(No prizes :rolleyes: for guessing who!)going missing after the French game,whatever the result ! :(

Who ? Barrett, Maybury ?

tricky_colour

29/09/2004, 3:12 PM

No Carsley then?

He is eighted in the Actim index and Everton are 3rd in the
Premiership, a point behind Chelsea.

Going by the index he would be 5th choice in the Arsenal squad
and first choice in any other Premiership squad bar Bolton and Everton.

Thats the biggest surprise for me.

Slash/ED

29/09/2004, 5:21 PM

It's a farce Delap is out and Quinn and Barrett are in mid field ahead of him. What does he have to do to get into our squad? Carsley too is better than those two.

NeilMcD

29/09/2004, 5:27 PM

It is not all about ablity and from. Look at Greece, a lot of it is down to teamwork. Kerr is picking players in the squad that are pulling the same way as the rest of the squad is. Carsley is treating the Irish squad like an a la carte menu. He decides he does not want to play due concentrate on his home life and to get back in Everton squad. Kerr obviously feels well he has to got to really earm his way back in and not just walk back in. Plus his form for Ireland does not mean he woudl ever walk back into our squad. Delap is a mystery and I woudl have him in ahead of either Barrett or Quinnn and I woudl have Harte in ahead of Maybury. Other than that I woudl not make changes. However we are not at training for the build up to matchs. Maybe Harte and Delap are not good team players within Kerrs set up .

mjpcc

29/09/2004, 6:05 PM

We are very weak up front at the moment. Robbie Keane is not playing well and our other options Morrison, Lee, Doc etc do nothing to inspire one with confidence.

The French could do a lot of damage down our left wing.

What would anyone think of the following . A 4-3-2-1 formation.

Given
Carr Cunningham O Brien O Shea
Finnan Keane Kilbane
Reid Duff
Keane

Carr & Finnan are both hot at the moment at would be good defensively and in attack. We Need Kilbane to help out John O, He will also work hard in attack and more importantely in mho in defense.

The trio of Duff (all you neeeeeeeed is Duff Duff) , Keane and Reid should cause some bother to the French defense.

Well, am I brill'nt or awesomely stupid .................................. :D :ball: :ball:

eirebhoy

29/09/2004, 6:06 PM

Barrett is a right sided midfielder/winger so he's not really stopping Delap from getting in the team. Most teams bring 23 players but Kerr brought 24.
Given
Kenny
Colgan

Carr
Finnan

Maybury
O'Shea

Cunningham
Breen
O'Brien
Dunne

Duff
Reid

Miller
Barrett

Holland
Roy
Kavanagh
Kilbane
Quinn

Robbie
Morrison
Doc (Kerr always brings 4 strikers so I presume he's using Doc as a striker like the Swiss game)
Lee

Kerr may not play players in the positions he brought them in as but thats basically what most managers do. 3 keepers, 2 left fulls, 2 right fulls, 2 left mid's, 2 right mid's, 4 central mids (he brought 5 though), 4 forwards.

Quinn is the only real creative central midfielder which, I presume, is the reason he was brought. Just in case its 0-0 against the Faroe's after 75 minutes. ;) While Delap deserves a place it would be instead of Holland, Kavanagh or Kilbane.

eirebhoy

29/09/2004, 6:13 PM

The French could do a lot of damage down our left wing.
Why do we always think like that (including me)? I rate Giuly very highly but I rate Duff higher. Why can't we be doing damage down our own left wing? :)

Superhoops

29/09/2004, 6:35 PM

What would anyone think of the following . A 4-3-2-1 formation.
Given - Carr Cunningham O Brien O Shea - Finnan Keane Kilbane - Reid Duff -
Keane

We Need Kilbane to help out John O

Why does O'Shea need helping out?, He is not reliable, I would play Dunne at LB, at least he can defend!

Otherwise, above looks good.

Metrostars

29/09/2004, 6:40 PM

When was Delap's last cap anyway? or he last callup? It seems like years ago. Has Kerr ever included him in any of his squads?

concanta

29/09/2004, 6:48 PM

This would be my team if I was the manager

Given

Carr
Cunningham
O'Brien
O'Shea

Finnan
Holland
Keane
Duff

Morrison
Keane

We have to go with experience and the tested players - I am not the greatest Matt Holland fan but he ahs the experience and he has never let us down in a big game

I would consider having Reid play behind Keane and drop Morrison
I feel bad dropping Kilbane - he woudl defintiely need to come on if we were still in the game fighting for a draw or a win after an hour - he is the type we need if we are 1-nil up

Slash/ED

29/09/2004, 6:49 PM

He was in the last squad but got injured. His last cap though must have been a good while back.

eirebhoy

29/09/2004, 9:42 PM

When was Delap's last cap anyway? or he last callup? It seems like years ago. Has Kerr ever included him in any of his squads?
He played 30 minutes against Canada, was on the bench v's Brazil, played 25 minutes against the Czech's, wasn't available for the end of season friendlies and was called up for the Swiss and Cyprus match.

I am not the greatest Matt Holland fan but he ahs the experience and he has never let us down in a big game
HAHAHA. :D :D :D Thats put a smile on myself after watching my team lose tonight.

mjpcc

30/09/2004, 3:41 AM

Why do we always think like that (including me)? I rate Giuly very highly but I rate Duff higher. Why can't we be doing damage down our own left wing? :)

Because Carr /Finnan on the right are better defensively. O Shea on current form is not as good a left back as Carr or Finnan are right backs. Both Carr and Finnan are playing well at the moment and would I believe give us good defensive and offensive options.

While on the left wing Duff/O Shea just seem too weak defensively to chance against the French at home. Kilbane will add some steel.

:ball: :ball: :ball:

mjpcc

30/09/2004, 3:50 AM

Why does O'Shea need helping out?, He is not reliable, I would play Dunne at LB, at least he can defend!

Otherwise, above looks good.

O Shea has not been playing well this season and has not been playing at left back at all. Carr/ Finnan on the right are both hitting top form for their
respective clubs.

I think Dunne might be ok at right back - where we do not need him - he has played there for Man City & Everton but I never saw or heard of him playing
left back for either. :ball: :ball: :ball:

tetsujin1979

30/09/2004, 9:01 AM

I think Dunne might be ok at right back - where we do not need him - he has played there for Man City & Everton but I never saw or heard of him playing
left back for either. :ball: :ball: :ball:

I've only ever seen him play left full once, that was against Greece in Don Given's game in charge between Mick leaving and Brian getting appointed. He did win MOTM but it was the most dire game of football I've ever seen.

eirebhoy

30/09/2004, 2:27 PM

Because Carr /Finnan on the right are better defensively. O Shea on current form is not as good a left back as Carr or Finnan are right backs. Both Carr and Finnan are playing well at the moment and would I believe give us good defensive and offensive options.

While on the left wing Duff/O Shea just seem too weak defensively to chance against the French at home. Kilbane will add some steel.

:ball: :ball: :ball:
I think you've missed my point. Do you think the French are saying, "Duff is going to destroy of right hand side so lets drop Giuly and play a defensive player"? No they're not.

BTW, you said "The French could do a lot of damage down our left wing". Finnan and Carr play on the right so I don't see where you're coming from.

The French have very little width down their left wing (where Finnan/Carr would be playing) so why don't we exploit it?

What I'm saying is think positively as I'm sure the French aren't thinking of droping Giuly to put a defensive player in.

onenilgameover

01/10/2004, 4:24 PM

Didn't Carsley show an interest in returning to the squad for the French game? I would have him in the squad at least. Even if he has been chosen to give internationals a bit of a rest........... look at the benefit it has made to his game he made the right decsion obviously! I worry about Reid now Reserves for forst is a far cry from the Stade de France, I reckon he might blow it if he is played but i reckon he needs to get a half then take him off if he is not with it. The midfield for Ireland against the Swiss was in bits I reckon something has to change. Kilbane might need to make way alright. Kav in my opinion is not fast enough and there's gonna be alot of running so he might not be up for that. If Keane (Roy) is effecting the rest of the team badly can he be guaranteed a game? I reckon he needs to put in a big performance and show himself to be the amazing player he is. This is a big game for Ireland and we need a big game from him. He is crucial but only if he plays. Having said all that here is what I would go with.......

Given

Carr
O'Brien
Cuningham
O'Shea

Finnan
Holland
Keane
Reid
Duff (Playing the floating role with Reid on the Left Finan on the Right. Holland Fianan and Keane are defence enough so thats enough cover)

Keane up front

Morrison and Kilbane lose out but but will be great cover if we needed to change things around. Holland to play only if he says he is 100 percent and looks well on Sat. I don't trust Kilbane after Basel. But when has Kerr last dropped him? Morrisson is on a bit of a run but he can't do 90 minutes he looks bad, I'm usually sick of him after and 1 hour and a half..............

tricky_colour

01/10/2004, 11:51 PM