Mexico v Republic of Ireland - Met Life Stadium NJ - Friday, 2nd June 2017 - Friendly

[DannyInvincible]

Maguire and Sheridan must be wondering why they couldn't have been involved.

Maguire should have been called into the training camp in Fota Island at the very least. It was only down the road from Cork, after all, so there was nothing to lose by having a look at him. Anyhow, as it happens, he has scored twice against Dundalk in Oriel Park this evening and has played very well generally with O'Neill and Keane looking on, so he will hopefully have given them something to think about.

Sheridan isn't available, at least not for the Maxico/Uruguay games anyway. Jagiellonia play their final game of the season on Sunday and can win the league if they win their game and Legia fail to win theirs, so it's a pretty crucial date and there's no way his club would have released him this week(end) considering how pivotal he has been to their title-charge.

Whether or not Sheridan would have been called up otherwise, it's hard to know. I got the sense that he wouldn't have been from O'Neill's words; O'Neill spoke of a few players still being ahead of Sheridan.

Edit: Maguire has just scored his hat-trick.

[Diggs246]

O'Neill was at the cork game...... is it too late for a call up

[Eminence Grise]

No, too early. He hasn't signed for a mid-table Championship team yet.:rolleyes:

[tricky_colour]

It is no surprise we lost they had Jesus on their side and he scored the first goal.

[tetsujin1979]

O'Neill was at the cork game...... is it too late for a call up
Keane was there too

[Eminence Grise]

It is no surprise we lost they had Jesus on their side and he scored the first goal.

Yeah, but he's usually rubbish on crosses. Good man for a comeback all the same.

[CraftyToePoke]

Yeah, but he's usually rubbish on crosses.

Being fair he was nailed going up for one one time.

[mark12345]

looking at the Mexican squad they have a heavy sprinkling of Mexicans clubs, the Mexican league is no great shakes I've had the pleasure of a couple of games live and I'd put it somewhere with Europes lower leagues or championship level. So why are they so much better than us and producing much better players? That question still isn't answered, how international teams with players from average leagues are still miles ahead of us in terms of pace, power, speed ant technical ability.

Duffys a worry, all over the shop again. I think Brighton if they want to stay up will have to bring in another CB and Duffy will lose his place before end of next season.

We're still not scoring goals either or taking our chances, 1 goal in 4 or so games, a major worry.

I'm very much pro changing systems and formations, but you lose the merit of it when you are playing with a very weakened squad and many players who wouldn't be used to playing that way and who wont actually be making the first 11 in a competitive game, coupled with a side like Mexico who are in top gear ahead of their important WC qualifiers then there is nothing really gained at all. So long as MON doesn't use it as a reason for saying we don't have the ability or players to play that system in the future.

Duffy was a worry but then so was the whole defence. Formation which will likely not be used again for some time. We were taken to school as far as technique and passing goes. Long balls to nowhere - if they don't work the first few times they probably won't work for the rest of the game. Thought Horgan was impressive when on the ball. Hoolahan was also a class apart when he came on.

[Diggs246]

I wonder could he walk across Walter's

[tricky_colour]

Yeah, but he's usually rubbish on crosses. Good man for a comeback all the same.

Yea, I though about the crosses one too but I didn't want to go to hell.:p

[tetsujin1979]

Gleeson had to wait ten years after his debut for his first goal, wonder if there's any player who went longer before their first strike?
checked this out, and there's two Irish players who went longer than Gleeson between making their debut, and scoring their first goal.
One is really well known, the other I'd never heard of. Any guesses?

[backstothewall]

checked this out, and there's two Irish players who went longer than Gleeson between making their debut, and scoring their first goal.
One is really well known, the other I'd never heard of. Any guesses?

I feel compelled to mention Aldo

[Charlie Darwin]

looking at the Mexican squad they have a heavy sprinkling of Mexicans clubs, the Mexican league is no great shakes I've had the pleasure of a couple of games live and I'd put it somewhere with Europes lower leagues or championship level. So why are they so much better than us and producing much better players? That question still isn't answered, how international teams with players from average leagues are still miles ahead of us in terms of pace, power, speed ant technical ability.

Duffys a worry, all over the shop again. I think Brighton if they want to stay up will have to bring in another CB and Duffy will lose his place before end of next season.

We're still not scoring goals either or taking our chances, 1 goal in 4 or so games, a major worry.

I'm very much pro changing systems and formations, but you lose the merit of it when you are playing with a very weakened squad and many players who wouldn't be used to playing that way and who wont actually be making the first 11 in a competitive game, coupled with a side like Mexico who are in top gear ahead of their important WC qualifiers then there is nothing really gained at all. So long as MON doesn't use it as a reason for saying we don't have the ability or players to play that system in the future.
The top of the Mexican league is a very good standard. It's like how the French league is no great shakes but Monaco and PSG quite clearly are, and Lyon will be again soon. There's decent money at the top and a lot of Mexican players prefer to play there even though they'd probably earn more in bog-standard Championship sides. They have a great football culture that runs through everything - we don't.

[tetsujin1979]

I feel compelled to mention Aldo

nope, debut in March 1983 against Wales, first goal two and a half years later in October 1988 against Tunisia
I thought he might have been up there alright, but he's well down the list

[tetsujin1979]

First time in 222 games that we didn't field a Dubliner in starting lineup.

https://twitter.com/noriordan/status/870445830544789505
did some checking on this, the previous time to that game that no Dublin born player didn't start a game was the 2-0 loss to the Dutch in USA '94 and it turns out no Dublin born player started a game in that tournament!

[Charlie Darwin]

nope, debut in March 1983 against Wales, first goal two and a half years later in October 1988 against Tunisia
Go to bed, tets.

[Charlie Darwin]

did some checking on this, the previous time to that game that no Dublin born player didn't start a game was the 2-0 loss to the Dutch in USA '94 and it turns out no Dublin born player started a game in that tournament!
I'd say everyone would include Paul McGrath (and Dave O'Leary before him) as Dubliners.

[DannyInvincible]

An update from training earlier:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2vgWnl7_WI

Did the players who were in the US not get a proper chance to sleep?

[Closed Account]

Gleeson had to wait ten years after his debut for his first goal, wonder if there's any player who went longer before their first strike?


I think everyone saw thiis and went............ "I know who'll know..... Tets"

I can't guess, i've been drinking gin since 5pm

[Charlie Darwin]

I think everyone saw thiis and went............ "I know who'll know..... Tets"

I can't guess, i've been drinking gin since 5pm
Thought you'd be more of a JD man.

[Closed Account]

Worth a shout,
Generally I miss a lot of Ireland games because the Mayo league opine to play games he same weekend.
I've torn a quad, more painful than it sounds, any foot.ie members want to meet up before the Austria game?
Joe

We could get to know Towk????

[CraftyToePoke]

Id love a good rampage with a load of the lads from here Joe but I'm not a lucky ticket holder for the game sadly, presently anyway.
if it happens, the gathering, I could be persuaded though.

We could spike TOWK

[pineapple stu]

nope, debut in March 1983 against Wales, first goal two and a half years later in October 1988 against Tunisia
I thought he might have been up there alright, but he's well down the list
March 1986, not 83.

Graham Kavanagh had a big gap in his international career, but never scored for us I think. Ditto Liam O'Brien and I think Liam Daish. John O'Shea has a huge gap between goals 1 and 2, but that's different.

[geysir]

checked this out, and there's two Irish players who went longer than Gleeson between making their debut, and scoring their first goal.
One is really well known, the other I'd never heard of. Any guesses?
That has to be multi millionaire Dave O'Leary.

[Drumcondra 69er]

Few thoughts on the game for anyone interested.....

http://afalsefirstxi.blogspot.ie/2017/06/mexicant.html

[DannyInvincible]

Anyone else notice Ronan Curtis of Derry City is named in the squad on wikipedia?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland_national_football_team#Current _squad

Oddly, Curtis had also appeared in the squad list that was handed out to media personnel (https://twitter.com/noriordan/status/870407738727292930/photo/1):

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DBRPN8rWAAAvvpZ.jpg

Presumably, someone took the info from Wikipedia, which somebody had edited as a joke.

Curtis laughed it all off: http://www.derryjournal.com/sport/football/derry-city/derry-city-goal-hero-ronan-curtis-laughs-off-bizarre-inclusion-in-ireland-senior-squad-1-7991764


And while the current Ireland U23 international found his inclusion amusing, he admits it's very much his long term aim to one day make his way into the senior set-up.

...

"Apparently I was in the Ireland team to play Mexico last night so I just flew back there especially for the Galway game," he laughed. "It was a bit crazy to see that last night. But that's the aim to get there at some point. Hopefully I can get across the water in the next couple of years and play at a higher level but Derry is an unbelievable club and I love playing for them. I just have to be patient."

[tetsujin1979]

That has to be multi millionaire Dave O'Leary.
Correctamundo! 14 years between his debut in 1976 and his first goal in 1990!

[tetsujin1979]

Another pointless piece of trivia - James McClean earned his 50th cap against Mexico, 1920 days after his debut in 2012. Only Glenn Whelan (1908 days) has reached the milestone quicker for Ireland

[DeLorean]

Heard Keith Andrews saying that the physical caps are only handed out for each year you've played in an international game. So basically somebody that played forty times in four years would only get the same amount of caps as somebody who played one game a year for four years. I think that's what he said anyway.

Unlike McClean, I suppose a very high percentage of Whelan's first fifty caps would have been starts.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Whelan and Arter arrived at camp this morning, a day after everyone else, so I'd imagine they will be on the bench for Uruguay seeing as they haven't trained.

With that in mind.

Westwood
Christie, Keogh, O'Shea, Ward
Brady, Hendrick, O'Kane, McClean
Hoolahan
Walters

Bewildering as to why Arter and Whelan couldn't arrive at the same time as everyone else, though in fairness Whelan has 80 caps as opposed to 5.

https://www.thesun.ie/sport/football/1068964/harry-arter-will-be-fit-for-uruguay-friendly-and-for-irelands-world-cup-qualifier-with-austria/

Whelan's brother was getting married. Well, that's half of the mystery solved.

[tetsujin1979]

Heard Keith Andrews saying that the physical caps are only handed out for each year you've played in an international game. So basically somebody that played forty times in four years would only get the same amount of caps as somebody who played one game a year for four years. I think that's what he said anyway.

Unlike McClean, I suppose a very high percentage of Whelan's first fifty caps would have been starts.
This is correct, Whelan has 48 starts, two introductions from the bench in his first 50 caps
McClean has 27 starts and 23 introductions
Only Shane Long has less starts in his first 50 caps - 23
John Giles, Mick Martin, Liam Brady, Packie Bonner, Ray Houghton and Steve Staunton started every one of their first 50 appearances.

[pineapple stu]

Who's the second long-scoring answer we've never heard of?

[DannyInvincible]

On the Ronan Curtis thing... Even more bizarrely, the Wikipedia edit (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Republic_of_Ireland_national_footb all_team&diff=prev&oldid=782932005) that inserted his name in the squad list was made from a Mexican IP address (https://whoisip.ovh/187.226.21.196). :confused:

[tetsujin1979]

Who's the second long-scoring answer we've never heard of?

Harry Duggan - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Duggan
Scored on his final appearance for the Irish Free State (as the team were known at the time) 10 years after his first appearance

[tetsujin1979]

iWn5k26pPCU

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