will anymore eL players get capped next year?

[gypsyfella]

i think a few looked good this season and hoped Europe would helpo more players make the step up...

but from what Kerr said y'day it doesn;t look good...

Kerr warns league stars
19 December

Brian Kerr has warned eircom League players hoping to emulate Glen Crowe and Jason Byrne?s call up to the senior international side: you?ll have to prove yourself at a higher level to get into my team.

Kerr insists that there are few bigger and more passionate eircom League fans out there than him, but he is not convinced that the standard of the players in the league are ready yet to make the step up to senior internationals.

Shelbourne and Cork have boosted the league?s image this year, but Kerr believes that the players still have a long way to go to trouble Robbie Keane and co.

He said: ?The general Irish public who are not interested in the league as much as we would be don?t care about domestic players making it to my team. It?s a nice idea for them but at the end of the day they want to see the best players.

?We?ve seen some progress with the teams in Europe this year but unfortunately the teams we?re comparing ourselves to have not done so well. Rosenborg only got a couple of points this year, while Deportivo, who beat Shels, didn?t score a single goal. It?s getting harder all the time.

?I don?t see things changing dramatically in the near future because if there?s someone in the league that is good enough to be in the International team then clubs in England or Scotland would want to sign them.

?And most clubs here are still delighted if a club wants to sign their player, but we?re still selling players at the price we were selling players ten year ago.

?That might change if we start winning in Europe but for me I doubt there is anyone who has as much respect for league and toughness of competition in the league as me ? but the reality is that the international standard is so much higher.

?Glen Crowe got a go in Greece and he did quite well, but his form dipped in the league soon after that. I took Jason Byrne in then and he did OK, but that?s it.

When you look at Jason in European competition he only got a couple of chances in the games they played and failed to score. But if he was on a pitch every week getting those chances with people breathing down his neck ? how would he be?

?Robbie Keane creates stuff for us and scores goals with his runs but that?s because he?s creating them every week with Spurs ? where he has to face defenders that are all over him.

?We have seen a few players make it to the under-21 side but the reality of the senior side is that I?m not even picking players from the 2nd or 3rd division in England and in Scotland I can?t really look outside the top 2 or maybe Hearts who are being helped with their Euro exposure.

?Change might occur, but it will take a long time and that?s where the technical development plan will help move things along.?

[Clones Road Cas]

We need an Irish B Team. Or an Olympic team. It would be an ideal stepping stone for players to shine without actually having to move to foreign climbs to play in lower leagues 'proving themselves at a higher level'.

Other countires do this with their domestic leagues, we even do it with our junior leagues and first division clubs with some success. crowds of up to 10,000 would be likely and Tolka Dalymount Turners Cross would provide ideal venues. Would also improve the prospects of the irish clubs in Europe if the players got more experience of big matches and other styles of play.

Come on FAI get your thumb out of your arse.

Clones Road Casual

[patsh]

We need ........ an Olympic team. Bang on.I can't understnd why we don't put an eL represenataive side in for this competition. I think there is some age requirement (U 23?), but no matter whether we qualify or not, eL players should be getting this type of competition.

[eoinh]

How come Kerr doesnt call on irish internationals plying in england to prove themselves at a higher level. Surely for their own careers and Irelands progress we need some of these guys playing in europes top league - spain.

Why did Kerr mention Rosenborg as an EL team didnt play them this season.

You cant anyway take Rosenborgs one bad season as an indication. They are bound to fail every now and again. Didnt they have the record of qualifying for the CL 9 times in a row?

[Sheridan]

Bang on.I can't understnd why we don't put an eL represenataive side in for this competition. I think there is some age requirement (U 23?), but no matter whether we qualify or not, eL players should be getting this type of competition.
Qualification is via the European Championships at Under-21 level (squads at the Olympic finals themselves comprise Under-23 teams with three optional overage platers). Unless the FAI decided to field an entirely eL-based team at this level, there's no chance of the scenario you outline above coming to pass.

I'm stunned and dismayed by these comments from Kerr, I think he's revealed himself to be the Barstooler's Barstooler. I shall have to switch from indifference towards the "national" team to actively rooting against it, it's nothing but a cancer on Irish football and can only hold it back.

[Hibs4Ever]

Kerr is right. No EL player is ready yet. Jason Byrne might score on Friday nights in the EL, but some of the chance he missed in Europe were a joke. Kerr gave him a chance, which boosted Byrnes profile and the profile of Shels. But decided Byrne wasn't ready for it. Now the Shels fans spend every match slagging off and singing songs of hatred towards our international manager. Face it lads, he's WAY down the pecking order.

[patsh]

Kerr may be right, but it sticks in the craw when he then goes and picks the likes of Macken to represent "his country".....:rolleyes:

[Hibs4Ever]

Why does he single out eL players. No mention of Lee, Connolly etc. Think it's bad management to single out players and say that they won't get a place.


He was most likely ASKED this question about EL players

[Hibs4Ever]

Kerr may be right, but it sticks in the craw when he then goes and picks the likes of Macken to represent "his country".....:rolleyes:

Macken is a Premiership player. And whether you like it or not, he is a Republic of Ireland international. Accept it and support him

[Macy]

Bottom line is Kerr goes to the eL and makes an informed opinion whether their good enough for the squad. If doesn't, then fair enough IMO.

However that doesn't mean I accept the likes of Macken and Morrison should even be playing for our international team, but that's a different arguement...

[Éanna]

kerr is a fool. give a man a suit and watch the change in attitude. he guy is absolutely full of himself. if he meant what he said, why did he play yer man elliott, and not give kevin doyle a chance when he scored in europe and for the U21's and elliott had hardly played first team football? the man is so blinded by his own ego he probably can't even remember what the eircom league is :rolleyes:

[Hibs4Ever]

Kerr goes to more EL matches than most people on this site. Are we starting an anti Brian Kerr site here, because he won't pick players from the clubs you support over players you know nothing about.

[Éanna]

he can go to all the games he wants. and keep his "man of the people" image if he wants. I still think he's a fool. Anyone who puts morrison in any team needs their head checked, especially at the expense of the likes of doyle or elliott. I have no intention of getting drawn into a debate about kerr, or turning it into an anti-kerr rant, I just don't like the guy. I think he's got too big for his boots and is forgetting where he came from.

[Hibs4Ever]

Sorry to hear you don't support your country then.

[OneRedArmy]

kerr is a fool. give a man a suit and watch the change in attitude. he guy is absolutely full of himself. if he meant what he said, why did he play yer man elliott, and not give kevin doyle a chance when he scored in europe and for the U21's and elliott had hardly played first team football? the man is so blinded by his own ego he probably can't even remember what the eircom league is :rolleyes:

Elliott has scored 9 goals (I think?) in the English first division, or whatever its called these days, which is a FAR higher standard than the EL.

Oh ye of short memory to accuse Brian Kerr of forgetting his past. The mans forgotten more about domestic football than you'll ever know.

Face it, the EL standard is improving, but it ain't there yet. The only reason Crowe and Byrne were picked at the time was that the alternatives up front just weren't there, eg David Connolly, who has long ago proven his inadequacy at international level.

And Kerr is right, name me one Irish club which has turned down a 6 figure plus transfer fee for a player. I'm certainly not aware of any.

Or maybe Kerr just has an anti-Cork bias :rolleyes:

[dcfcsteve]

Qualification is via the European Championships at Under-21 level (squads at the Olympic finals themselves comprise Under-23 teams with three optional overage platers). Unless the FAI decided to field an entirely eL-based team at this level, there's no chance of the scenario you outline above coming to pass.

I'm stunned and dismayed by these comments from Kerr, I think he's revealed himself to be the Barstooler's Barstooler. I shall have to switch from indifference towards the "national" team to actively rooting against it, it's nothing but a cancer on Irish football and can only hold it back.

People - take the blinkers off. Kerr is basically pointing out the truth here. He has to pick the team that will do the best job for Ireland on the pitch. Now I wish it wasn't the case, but there isn't a single player in our league worthy of regular listing within the ROI squad. Fact. Kerr could add Crowe or Byrne to the occasional squad for meaningless friendlies and bring them on in injury time, but that wouldn't do anyone - including the players- any good.

And in the very year that our league finally does make ostensible improvements in Europe and in the public's eyes, what happens - the international team also improves, and edges towards being in the world's top 10. So the gap remains as big as ever.

The Eircom League is a lot more cosmpolitan now than it probably ever was. We have players from nationas throughout Europe and elsewhere in the world - many from countries light-years down the international rankings than Ireland. Yet, how many of these overseas players are CURRENT internationals for their own country ? Eric Lavine with Barbados, and that's it as far as I can recall (though I am open to correction). If we can't supply players of international standard for lesser nations, why are we demanding the right to do so for the nation ranked 12th in the world ? We've plenty of Ulstermen playing in the Eircom, yet haven't delivered a Northern Irish international in over 15yrs (pre-injury Liam Coyle). And they're ranked 107th in the world, ffs !

Like he says, Kerr is a genuine Eircom League fan. But he's also not in a position to use that to currently provide anything other than token gestures of recognition to our league when picking his team, which he feels isn't the right thing to do. Any realistic person who understands football can't blame him for that.

[pineapple stu]

I'm stunned and dismayed by these comments from Kerr, I think he's revealed himself to be the Barstooler's Barstooler. I shall have to switch from indifference towards the "national" team to actively rooting against it, it's nothing but a cancer on Irish football and can only hold it back.


kerr is a fool. give a man a suit and watch the change in attitude. he guy is absolutely full of himself. if he meant what he said, why did he play yer man elliott, and not give kevin doyle a chance when he scored in europe and for the U21's and elliott had hardly played first team football? the man is so blinded by his own ego he probably can't even remember what the eircom league is

Can't believe the stupidity of some people here! Ask most eL fans and they'll say that the Premier Division is about about Division 2 standard, with maybe the lowre teams being Division 3 standard and probably top half in Scotland(whether or not that's true is a different argument!). Yet Kerr has expressly stated that he has the same message for players in those divisions as for the eL players! So what's the problem?! :confused: :rolleyes:

I've seen Kerr at plenty of matches, even at Belfield in the First Division last year. To say he's forgotten the eL is ridiculous. When there are clubs in the league who can't even beat teams of Estonian or Liechtensteinian internationals, how on earth can you turn around and whinge when the players aren't called up for the national team to play France or Switzerland? Kerr's job is to pick the best Ireland XI he can - including ex-pats, emigrants' children and whatever is available to him - and not to boost the eL.

If a player is good enough, he's good enough, and only then should he get a call-up. And if anyone knows who those players are, it's Kerr.

[Passive]

Kerr is only speaking the truth. No player who plays in the EL should get an international call-up. The standard of football in the EL is simply not good enough. We're on a par with Division Two, yet when a Division Two player gets picked everyone goes mental.
I love to see EL players get call-ups (I cheered for Glen Crowe, FFS, and that was in his gypo days!) but we can't expect Kerr to start picking players from the EL routinely because the standard just isn't good enough. If the FAI bothered their arses actually attempting to develop the EL then we could all aim to have EL players fighting for international recognition within the next ten years. But the FAI don't give a crap. So it's not going to happen.

[patsh]

Macken is a Premiership player. And whether you like it or not, he is a Republic of Ireland international. Accept it and support himNot everybody is blinded by the hype of "The Premiership", a two, possibly three, team league.
I don't have to support anybody who would have decided that he was Chinese, if it suited his needs.

Whether you agree with Kerr or not, his opinion was needless, pointless and damaging.
Needless because it puts the eL down for no reason.
Pointless becuse no club or player in the eL can suddenly decide to join a league that Kerr thinks is at a "higher level".
Damaging to the league becuse it gives even more ammunition to the pr*cks who will seize every opportunity to belittle and disparage the eL, without EVER having seen it.
He could have simply said that he was always hopeful about the eL or some other harmless stuff and passed the question off. He could have simply kept his mouth shut.

[Slash/ED]

What I don't understand is he says he can call up Hearts players because of their form in Europe yet can't call up EL players. Look at Shels and Hearts form in Europe, Hearts got a whole one round further and that was only because they benefitted from the seeding given to them from two other clubs. Shels had to face what turned out to be a top team who finished first in their group and are challanging for one of Europes strongest leagues. Hearts couldn't even finish third in their group! Shels drew with this team before going out in the second leg, if Hearts played Lille they'd be doing well to even match that and if Shels were seeded in that draw I'd be very confident we'd have gotten to the next round.

Yet he says Hearts players, well Maybury, has proved himself at a high level now and Shels players, lets look at his direct competitor, Owen Heary, hasn't? What a joke. Heary got MOTM marking Spains first choice 15m rated winger against a world class team, not a high enough level eh? He's proven himself against internationals constantly, against teams like Split, Deportivo, Lille and Rosenborg, not many of our players can boast that they've aquitted themselves at a level that high. He also fails to mention how Rangers, despite being seeded, went out of the CL in the same round as Shels, and they faced an easier task then we did. They then benefitted from seeding in the first round of the UEFA cup, and still needing bleedin' penaltys to get through that, before failing to finish in the top three. Considerabley higher a standard that what Shels did? I think not.

I mean some of his comments are a joke, it really is like he's training to run the league down.

"I took Jason Byrne in then and he did OK, but that?s it."

Yes Brian, because any striker that doesn't score in two minutes of play should be disregarded immeditally as they're not up to it :rolleyes:

"And most clubs here are still delighted if a club wants to sign their player, but we?re still selling players at the price we were selling players ten year ago"

That's wrong, Shels have turned down approaches from English clubs for their players constantly. It's well known Coventry wanted Wes Hoolahan, and Steve Williams said he was approached by clubs in England but was happy to stay at Shels.

"We?ve seen some progress with the teams in Europe this year but unfortunately the teams we?re comparing ourselves to have not done so well. Rosenborg only got a couple of points this year, while Deportivo, who beat Shels, didn?t score a single goal. It?s getting harder all the time."

And this, for me, defies all logic. First of all, he forgets to mention Lilles form. They won their group in the UEFA cup, something Rangers and Hearts oh so spectacularly failed to do, and are challanging for the title in one of Europes strongest leagues. He also fails to mention the Deportivo side that faced Shels had 10 of the 11 players who played in that match against AC Milan. It's like he's looking for the negative. Also, does he really think that Coventry Citys bench, where we're picking Barrett from, would do any better than that? Now I consider the first division to be a higher level alright but for someone who can't even break into the first team consistently of one of it's worst sides it's a different story, yet he'll give him chance after chance and ignore a player who got MOTM against Deportivo.

Rant over :)

But to the Pats fan, I'd imagine all this will do is make the Brian Kerr chants at Shels games even louder.

[Hibs4Ever]

I was saying he is a premiership player in comparison to an EL player. I don't support English soccer. But it doesn't take rocket science too see its a better standard of players than here

[Slash/ED]

I was saying he is a premiership player in comparison to an EL player. I don't support English soccer. But it doesn't take rocket science too see its a better standard of players than here

Nobodys saying the premiership isn't better than the EL, but he doesn't just pick premiership players. If we had 23 premiership players it wouldn't be an issue.

[harry crumb]

I like Kerr and all that, but it annoys me is that he has never been seen at Turners Cross. Where was he when we beat Malmo? Where was he when Doyle scored against NEC?

In general the standard is not good enought for the international team but there are individuals that surely must be close enough to the standard.(Heary, Doyle)

I think Kerr is doing an excellent job overall and he is very lucky to have Damien Duff. But Kerr is a lucky manager.

[Hibs4Ever]

If you read the whole thread you'll see I was talking about Jon Macken being picked

[Slash/ED]

If you read the whole thread you'll see I was talking about Jon Macken being picked

Macken has now lost his place in the Man City first team, and when he was there he was rubbish. He played in the premiership but he certinaly did not prove himself to be a premiership standard player.

[Hibs4Ever]

I'd say you Kerr haters are great fun to be around in Lansdowne Road. Great support altogether. Well done lads.

[patsh]

I was saying he is a premiership player in comparison to an EL player. I don't support English soccer. But it doesn't take rocket science too see its a better standard of players than hereI wouldn't deny for a minute that, on the whole, the premeirship is a much higher standard thah the eL, obviously.
However, no matter whether he choose to speak about this himself or was asked a question, he did a lot of needless damage to a league that so many clubs are trying so hard to improve in the face of incedible difficulties put in it's way by the soccer authorities, of which he is the main "face", and he has added to thsoe difficuties now.

[pineapple stu]

"I took Jason Byrne in then and he did OK, but that?s it."

Yes Brian, because any striker that doesn't score in two minutes of play should be disregarded immeditally as they're not up to it :rolleyes:

He would have seen Byrne in training for two days as well, don't forget. Plenty of time to form an opinion. That's why you have training, after all.


If we had 23 premiership players it wouldn't be an issue.

But we do have 23 Premiership and First Division players, which I've no problems about. Barrett has four goals for Coventry this season, so he is at least getting plenty of first-team action. Have to agree with you about Maybury and Hearts though.

Would be interested to see why he said these things. If he was asked by a journalist, he's hardly going to turn around and tell him to sod off.

[pineapple stu]

But Kerr is a lucky manager.

How do you figure that?! The amount of preparation he puts into each match surely means that any good fortune is well-earned, not lucky! :rolleyes:

[patsh]

I'd say you Kerr haters are great fun to be around in Lansdowne Road. Great support altogether. Well done lads.FFS.....:rolleyes:
Stupid post....:rolleyes:
Are you seriously trying to say that those who might dislike/disagree with Kerr are somehow lesser in thier support for their own country?
Get a grip man, I detested Charlton and McCarthy, for instance, so did that mean I wanted my country to lose?:mad:

[Slash/ED]

He would have seen Byrne in training for two days as well, don't forget. Plenty of time to form an opinion. That's why you have training, after all.

Byrne would barley have trained, he was flown over at the last minute along with Douglas and would probably have been knackered for the little bit of training he did take part in.


But we do have 23 Premiership and First Division players, which I've no problems about. Barrett has four goals for Coventry this season, so he is at least getting plenty of first-team action. Have to agree with you about Maybury and Hearts though.

Would be interested to see why he said these things. If he was asked by a journalist, he's hardly going to turn around and tell him to sod off.

Barretts in and out of the Coventry team and personally I've never rated him. For me, he's still living off his reputation of being a promising youngster at a club like Arsenal.

And yeah I'd like t see why he said these things but even if he was asked by a journalist he didn't have to completley run down the league and it's players like he did. He's done alot of harm with these comments to the league he's supposedly such a fan of for me, more than he needed to.

[Hibs4Ever]

Well if what you're saying is what you call "support" then fair enough. Sorry.

[gypsyfella]

Jesus lads just calm doon a bit! :)

it was in the SUnday MIrror and im sure it was Kerr who was asked about the eL players - not just come out with it!

it is very negative but i spose what he's getting at is that he wants players who are playing at that higher level consistently - i.e. not just one run in a summer...

Hearts werent great no, but in the case of Maybury he has to deal with better players than Heary on a regular basis plus he's played in Europe in the last few years.. not only this...

hard to see who would make the step up next season tho eh. cant see any myself..

[patsh]

it was in the SUnday MIrror and im sure it was Kerr who was asked about the eL players - not just come out with it!And he could have given a non-commital, say nothing really, answer.

[Éanna]

Sorry to hear you don't support your country then.
Its not my country. It has nothing to do with me. the "Republic of Ireland" represents british football and the FAI. It doesn't even represent the whole of ireland. It picks brit cast-offs like morrison holland and macken. So why should I support a joke of a team representing a joke of an association, supported by (mostly) idiots who support british football over their own? What has the ROI team ever done to support Cork City, or the eircom League? Nothing. So why should I support them?

I'd say you Kerr haters are great fun to be around in Lansdowne Road. Great support altogether. Well done lads.
I don't hate him at all. I was glad to see him get the job. I just think he's made some very silly mistakes and I'm very annoyed about them. I don't go to landsdowne road, because I refuse to support a british team picked by the FAI, and line the FAI's pockets for the privilege.

[Éanna]

Elliott has scored 9 goals (I think?) in the English first division, or whatever its called these days, which is a FAR higher standard than the EL.

you completely missed my point. over the summer when kerr was making noises about picking elliot, he didn't have those 9 goals in div one and had hardly played any first team football, while Doyle was pretty much equalling his scoring rate with the U21's, and scoring goals in europe. And as far as I'm concerned Nijmegen (and malmo and nantes) would be of AT LEAST first div standard in england.

[Slash/ED]

Hearts werent great no, but in the case of Maybury he has to deal with better players than Heary on a regular basis plus he's played in Europe in the last few years.. not only this...


So were Shels, Heary was playing superbly against the likes of Rosenborg long before this season. And it is on the European form of Hearts that Kerr is picking Maybury, at least he said as much himself, otherwise every player in the SPL would be pushing for a place in the international team. I seriously doubt the quality of the players Maybury faces regularly is good enough to be considered a high enough level to be picked for our international team, going by what Kerr has said.

[Éanna]

I'm a fan of maybury's, I think he 's a very solid player, but Heary has just as much claim to a place in the squad as he has IMO

[drinkfeckarse]

And he could have given a non-commital, say nothing really, answer.

If he had done that, people would still have moaned that he could have said something!!

All he's done is point out the obvious lads, no need to get hysterical about it.

And before anyone asks, I support the EL, I try to take in a game whenever I'm home, be it the Rams or City.

The simple answer is he doesn't think anyone in the EL is good enough at the moment because it's not the strongest league and they are not up against good quality players every week. Put them into a better league, be it the Premiership, Championship or La Liga and then he will see if they can cut it.

[Slash/ED]

The simple answer is he doesn't think anyone in the EL is good enough at the moment because it's not the strongest league and they are not up against good quality players every week. Put them into a better league, be it the Premiership, Championship or La Liga and then he will see if they can cut it.

Or the SPL, that centre of world class football that we're picking Maybury from...

[Éanna]

Put them into a better league, be it the Premiership, Championship or La Liga and then he will see if they can cut it.
put them into a team for a friendly and watch them train for a few days, and any manager worth his salt will be able to see if they can cut it. why should a fella have to emigrate to play for his country? its sad

[OneRedArmy]

you completely missed my point. over the summer when kerr was making noises about picking elliot, he didn't have those 9 goals in div one and had hardly played any first team football, while Doyle was pretty much equalling his scoring rate with the U21's, and scoring goals in europe. And as far as I'm concerned Nijmegen (and malmo and nantes) would be of AT LEAST first div standard in england.

I don't think I've missed your point. Your point became clear in your last post.

You'd rather the Irish team was made up of the best XI domestic players and you presumably accept the huge drop in performance that would entail. A valid opinion if not my own.

I'm no huge fan of English or particularly Scottish football, but the standard is demonstrably better. Shels and Cork are the only teams that play football anywhere near English division 1 standard, and they only do it once in a while, ie a few matches a season in Europe. The EL premier division is a division lower than that ON AVERAGE (and I'm being charitable here) and therefore whilst your Heary's and Doyle's of the world might have the potential to do it, they would need to be playing regularly at a higher standard.

Proof of this is the fact that 90%+ of the players the EL attracts from England are failures moving home. Failure is a hard word, but its true. If they were knocking in a bucketload over there or playing a blinder, they wouldn't comeback. Plain and simple.

Yes, as patsh says Kerr could have said nothing, but his comments are tough love and there's no point living in the clouds about this.

I think the standard has improved over the last few years and is improving, but its got a long way to go.

Kerr told the truth and there's no point calling him a traitor for saying it. We should be putting pressure on the FAI to invest in the domestic game to narrow the gap and get more players in the squad.

[drinkfeckarse]

put them into a team for a friendly and watch them train for a few days, and any manager worth his salt will be able to see if they can cut it. why should a fella have to emigrate to play for his country? its sad

That's a fair point but it's a kinda catch 22 situation, he's not going to call them up because the league isn't strong enough so even if they are playing well he doesn't see it, because he just thinks the players they are up against are not good enough.

[Slash/ED]

Proof of this is the fact that 90%+ of the players the EL attracts from England are failures moving home. Failure is a hard word, but its true. If they were knocking in a bucketload over there or playing a blinder, they wouldn't comeback. Plain and simple.


So was Clinton Morrison (Spurs) Matt Holland (West Ham) Graham Barrett (Arsenal and Brighton) and many many others. Doesn't stop them getting into the national team because, believe it or not, players can actually improve with age. By your criteria, Matt Holland failed with a premiership team as did Morrison and are both now regulars in the premiership thus proving the premiership is a lower standard than the premiership :confused:

[drinkfeckarse]

Or the SPL, that centre of world class football that we're picking Maybury from...

Nobody's saying it is Slash, but the fact is Maybury will be up against a better quality of player there more often than he would in the EL....even if it is only the Old Firm every 6 weeks or so.

[Slash/ED]

Nobody's saying it is Slash, but the fact is Maybury will be up against a better quality of player there more often than he would in the EL....even if it is only the Old Firm every 6 weeks or so.

How is the odd match against the Old Firm while consistently playing a lower standard of player better than the odd match against Lille, Split, Deportivo, Rosenborg and co while consistently player a lower standard of player.

[Éanna]

IYou'd rather the Irish team was made up of the best XI domestic players and you presumably accept the huge drop in performance that would entail. A valid opinion if not my own.
yes. I would. I wouldn't call Kerr a traitor. I think he's made some bloody stupid decisions, aside from the whole eL vs England debate, but I'm sick of him being portrayed as some kind of example to this league,someone we should seek to emulate. Face facts, the FAI couldn't care less about us, so why should we care about them. If Kerr (or anyone else) wants to go and help the FAI, good luck to them, but they're moving into the sphere of british football when they do so, and thus leaving this league behind.

[Paulie]

So why should I support them?

I don't hate him at all. I was glad to see him get the job. I just think he's made some very silly mistakes and I'm very annoyed about them. I don't go to landsdowne road, because I refuse to support a british team picked by the FAI, and line the FAI's pockets for the privilege.

Two questions:

If you don't support them why were you glad to see him get the job?

Why were you annoyed about some of the silly mistakes that you feel he made?

If you didn't support them surely you wouldn't care who got the job or get annoyed at any mistakes you feel he made.

As for not going to Lansdowne I reckon the real reason is because it would take you too long to get to Dublin on that high horse of yours.

[OneRedArmy]

So was Clinton Morrison (Spurs) Matt Holland (West Ham) Graham Barrett (Arsenal and Brighton) and many many others. Doesn't stop them getting into the national team because, believe it or not, players can actually improve with age. By your criteria, Matt Holland failed with a premiership team as did Morrison and are both now regulars in the premiership thus proving the premiership is a lower standard than the premiership :confused:

Most of the returnees to the EL were struggling to establish themselves in second and third division teams never mind the premiership!!!

Moore, Fenn and Farrelly are a minority.

People do get better with age, but then again Kerr is running an international team, not a player rehabilitation exercise.

[Éanna]

If you don't support them why were you glad to see him get the job?
all the sky loving morons who said he couldn't get the job cos he never worked in England. And i love nothing better than seeing them with egg on their faces. because they're idiots, and everything that shows them up is a good thing.


Why were you annoyed about some of the silly mistakes that you feel he made?
Because when I watch football I like to see things done right, and people who make stupid mistakes bug me. Like Brian kerr. Also, on principle, the macken thing is just utterly revolting.


As for not going to Lansdowne I reckon the real reason is because it would take you too long to get to Dublin on that high horse of yours.
Not at all. I travel the length of this country (and further) every year to see city. thats my priority. Paying 30-odd euro to sit in a crap ground with no atmosphere and watch a bunch of over-paid prats is not my ideal way to spend my hard-earned cash. The fact that I'd have to drive to Dublin and spend hours in the car only makes it worse. And, like I said, I hate giving any money to the FAI