Paul McShane

[geysir]

There's a good 4 page article on McShane in the ST.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2427061,00.html

Doesn't credit a journalist, probably Rowan.

[tetsujin1979]

He's in the "Boy's a bit special" feature in this month's FourFourTwo as well, the one with Rooney on the cover

[macdermesser]

There's a good 4 page article on McShane in the ST.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2427061,00.html

Doesn't credit a journalist, probably Rowan.

Great write up on him .. didn't know about his outburst in the dressing room at halftime of the czech game. we should not be worried about him ... looks like he is a chip off the old keane block.

I wonder will he go onto to play in centre midfield though?

[antrimgreen]

Hopefully his performance against the Czechs is the first of many great games played by him. And with that fire in his belly, i can only say that i could grow to love this guy.

[DmanDmythDledge]

I don't think it's anything to worry about that he is a sub at the moment. He's a class player and won't be ignored for too much longer.

[McGinty]

There's a good 4 page article on McShane in the ST.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2427061,00.html

Doesn't credit a journalist, probably Rowan.

great article, probably the best i've read in a while about a young player

seems well able to handle anything thrown at him, but he'll need to be gettin regular first team football fairly soon

[Chippy]

There's a good 4 page article on McShane in the ST.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2427061,00.html

Doesn't credit a journalist, probably Rowan.

Quality article alright (although I wouldn't describe Cry Palace as being local rivals of Brighton !!!!!).
McShane looked class on his Lansdowne debut & it seems that he has the temperment & drive to go with it. Please God, he doesn't turn out to be another John O'Shea or Liam Miller ..........

[paul_oshea]

although I wouldn't describe Cry Palace as being local rivals of Brighton

they hate eachother becuase of something said by the manager of crystal palace after a cup match in the 70's. they hate eachother.

[Collyontour]

I hope we're not all building him up too much. He looks like a good prospect but we've seen a lot of them over the years..........

[tetsujin1979]

they hate eachother becuase of something said by the manager of crystal palace after a cup match in the 70's. they hate eachother.

There was an article about it in FourFourTwo a while back, in the "More than a game.." section. Even though they are 60 miles apart, they truely, truely despise each other

[eirebhoy]

Yeah, McShane's jersey that he wore in the Palace game was sold for about £1k on Ebay.

[Kingdom]

Great article or not, there is a lot of worrying things to be read in that piece.


A few of his more senior teammates took exception and thought the novice was trying to showboat on his first outing with the Ireland squad.
Oh dear , oh dear. I really am starting to lose faith in this squad. More and more I feel like why should I bother wasting time and money supporting them.


"McShane set himself a goal of playing for Ireland at under-14 level. Having achieved that, he went on the trial circuit to England that clubs in Dublin are happy to put young teenagers through. “A lot of different scouts came to watch when I was on trials with Irish teams. There were a lot of different games and a lot of different players, it was like a cattle market"


We don't have to worry about this guy I think. It gets said a lot, probably unwisely so but he's got the proverbial wise head

[geysir]

Senior players taking exception to McShane.
It might have happened then again it might not have happened.
More likely to have been that the statement was the product of what is called journalistic licence.

[livehead1]

More likely to have been that the statement was the product of what is called journalistic licence.
lol, also known as twisting the truth

[Dr. Ogba]

West Brom drew 3-3 last night in the Championship with their defence coming in for particular criticism from the new manager Tony Mowbray. McShane sat on the bench all night but I have a feeling we won't be waiting too long before he breaks back into the first team...

[WeAreRovers]

West Brom drew 3-3 last night in the Championship with their defence coming in for particular criticism from the new manager Tony Mowbray. McShane sat on the bench all night but I have a feeling we won't be waiting too long before he breaks back into the first team...

True enough but it was the Swiss clown in goal who was at fault for 2 of the goals not the centre-halves.

KOH

[cavan_fan]

I love this story but I'm a bit confused. If he doesnt like smug, happy to accept mediocrity, lazy gits why does he room with O'Shea.

[Dr. Ogba]

I love this story but I'm a bit confused. If he doesnt like smug, happy to accept mediocrity, lazy gits why does he room with O'Shea.


They're the original odd couple...{cue title music} :o

[tetsujin1979]

Probably knew him better than the rest of the squad from his time at United.

[gspain]

True enough but it was the Swiss clown in goal who was at fault for 2 of the goals not the centre-halves.

KOH


Saw the goals on Sky and the defence looked a total shambles.

[passinginterest]

I love this story but I'm a bit confused. If he doesnt like smug, happy to accept mediocrity, lazy gits why does he room with O'Shea.

Considering it was probably O'Shea's best game in an Ireland shirt in a few years (apart from the incident we dare not mention) it was probably to give him a kick in the backside!

[Dodge]

Love the fact that people who've seen him play ONE game have decided he should be playing instead of the people working with him every day.

[passinginterest]

In fairness it is a bit much to think McShane is the saviour of the Irish back four after one game, but, it only took one game to realise Paul Butler was never good enough, so I guess you can learn a lot! Everything you read about him or hear him say is positive and it's hard not to be excited about him. Hopefully he'll be back in the West Brom team now too.

[Billsthoughts]

Spoke to season ticket holder at West Brom today and he said Macshane is an excellent player. he said that Robson went looking for O Shea and got MacShane and they feel they got the better player. amen to that!

[Qwerty]

Claridge is at it again, review #3 I think of an Irish player:

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2058588,00.html

Steve Claridge
Tuesday April 17, 2007
The Guardian


Consistent, committed, even predictable - just some of the words you wouldn't associate with many players at West Bromwich Albion. But Paul McShane goes against the grain somewhat after his summer transfer from Manchester United.
In a team where shape and balance sometimes play second fiddle to players just wanting to be on the ball, McShane tries to bring those much needed qualities simply by doing the horrible things well. He can play centre-half - as he did against Sheffield Wednesday last week - and right-back and is equally at home in either position as he is comfortable on the ball with bags of energy and enthusiasm, which is evident in the way he plays.

He sees no fear in the challenges he makes: his one aim is to get the ball, whether it be in the air or on the ground, but such bravery can sometimes get you injured. It must be hoped that with experience will come the recognition of when it is the right time to make a challenge and the right time to hold back.
Crowds love people who look as if they enjoy playing the game and, when the team is not doing well, players with the willingness to run that bit further or chase lost causes can have the same effect as a great bit of play in raising supporters' spirits. I like the way that, even when the team is struggling, he does not hide from his responsibilities on or off the ball. Equally, do not think for one minute that he cannot play because he certainly can.

His abilities on the ball are shown best at full-back. He gets forward at every opportunity, which is invaluable because, as in the 3-2 defeat by Crystal Palace at The Hawthorns last month, his winger didn't always give the width he might have. This enabled McShane either to link up and play one-twos or to overlap, getting himself into good crossing positions from which his delivery was very good, particularly when on the run.

Good in the air, with decent pace, this former Manchester United trainee will always be the type a manager appreciates because he knows exactly what he's going to get every week. This fact was not lost on his international manager, Steve Staunton, who gave him his first Republic of Ireland cap against the Czech Republic in a Euro 2008 qualifier last October, in which they gained a creditable draw and McShane was named man of the match.

McShane had a couple of loan deals before his move to West Bromwich - at Walsall and Brighton - and made quite an impression at the latter, winning both the player of the season award and the away supporters' player of the season award. That's some achievement for a loan player - particularly one who knows he is unlikely to sign for the club - and it says an awful lot about his attitude and application.

This may not be a player who finds the game as easy as others in his team but that does not mean to say they couldn't do with a few more like him.

How he rates

Age 21

Born Co Wicklow, Rep of Ireland

Position defender

Height 5ft 11in

Weight 11st 5lb

From Manchester United

Heading 8/10

Attitude 9/10

Tackling 8/10

Pace 8/10

Team responsibility 9/10

Value £1.5m

[Colbert Report]

Value only 1.5 million?? Any chance he goes to Sunderland in the summer?

[dr_peepee]

Anyone else reckon he could do a job in Lee Carsleys role as an anchor?

[Stuttgart88]

Pretty fair assessment of McShane I'd say.

As for McShane stepping up like McGrath or Lawrenson, I'd be happier trusting a young midfielder to do that. It takes an exceptional player, and a very experienced one, to do that kind of job. O'Shea has more of the type of game required and he's been shown up at international level, so I'd think McShane would struggle. Leave him to do what he does best methinks.

[tetsujin1979]

Agreed, McShane has played 4 games for Ireland at centre half and in that time we've only conceded 2 goals. In the previous 4 games (admittedly against superior opposition) we conceded 11 goals (1 VS Chile, 4 VS Holland, 1 VS Germany, 5 VS Cyprus).
Let's not try to fill a position he's not familiar with, leave him at centre half.

[Stuttgart88]

I reckon McShane would have made a big difference in Cyprus. Cyprus are hardly "superior" - not in the German / Dutch league by a long long way!

[tetsujin1979]

According to some stories, Stan was ready to play McShane in Cyprus, due to his performances in training. But when he was discussing it with Sir Bobby, he convinced him to start with Andy O'Brien instead.

*disclaimer* this is entirely rumour, and I can't find anything concrete to back it up, but was mentioned in several reports in the build up to the Wales game.

[eirebhoy]

Yeah I think I remember Stan actually saying that, or at least quoted as saying it.

[NeilMcD]

A stupid thing for Staunton to say in my view. As the old saying goes, you are the gaffer dont blame it on the international consultant.

[Kingdom]

yes I remember that quote by Stan. Said he was convinced by bob to play O'Brien despite McShane playing well in training,

[geysir]

I understood Stan's comment to be more of a pre-match boost to McShane's confidence before his debut in the Czech game than a pass the buck effort.
At least if Stan knows anything it's about setting up the defence at the back. We could have the makings of a back 4 as good as any that we have had before.
Claridge is the real suprise here, a pleasant obsession with writing out positive essays on our young talent.

[Noelys Guitar]

Seems like McShane will be a Sunderland player before the weekend. Fee has been agreed with West Brom.

[Bungle]

It would be a great move for him. I'd be delighted to see him moving to the premiership with such an ambitious club who are going places.

Hopefully Steven Elliot will move to the Baggies as well.

[eirebhoy]

Fee has been agreed with West Brom.
Where'd you hear this?

[Bungle]

I saw it earlier on elevenaside.

[Noelys Guitar]

Elliot not going to West Brom though. At least not yet. But he is on the way out of Sunderland. Good move for McShane. Should be first choice and if he keeps improving then great for us.

[DmanDmythDledge]

The eleven-a-side article does not mention a fee being agreed yet.

http://www.eleven-a-side.com/acrossthewater/irish_soccer_detail.asp?newsid=28201

[soccerc]

Seems like McShane will be a Sunderland player before the weekend. Fee has been agreed with West Brom.

Great move, Keane has always shown a keen interest in and being impressed by McShane from the time he arrived as a trainee at Old Trafford.

[citizenerased]

great move for him and for us... hell have a chane to really establish himself

[SunderlandBohs]

Been inpressed by him at centre back with Ireland. Type of player we love up here in the North East. He gives 100% & rarely does anything wrong. Does anyone know the fee? Also heard Keane has made a bd for Stephen Carr.

[Stuttgart88]

I met Robbie Keane 2 years ago & told him McShane was good. He'd never heard of him!

[tetsujin1979]

Also heard Keane has made a bd for Stephen Carr.

From http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/keane-plays-green-card-798096.html

And Keane's green-fingered dealings won't stop there as the former Irish international is pursuing Newcastle's unsettled full-back Stephen Carr as he looks to assemble a squad at the Stadium of Light capable of prospering in the top flight.

[Noelys Guitar]

From http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/keane-plays-green-card-798096.html

I've heard the Carr story is a journo make up but could be wrong. The player I believe Keane is switching his intentions to is Kevin Doyle. Thats only if Nugent decides to stay on at Preston and wait for Everton to come in for him. Lita is "only" being offered 20 grand a week. So Doyle must be on something close to that figure. I'm sure sunderland can better that.

[Stuttgart88]

Regarding Nugent, and Elliott going to WBA:

Last season David Nugent scored 15 goals in the Championship & was credited with 5 assists from 42 starts, 1 sub appearance.

In 2004/5 Stephen Elliott scored 16 goals in the Championship & was credited with 5 assists from 29 starts & 13 sub apperances.

Why is one worth £6 million, the other £1 million?

[paul_oshea]

cos that was last season and elliot has been injured on and off for 2 seasons?!?!

or are you alluding to the english thing again stuts, i dont think it can be in this case....

[SunderlandBohs]

Regarding Nugent, and Elliott going to WBA:

Last season David Nugent scored 15 goals in the Championship & was credited with 5 assists from 42 starts, 1 sub appearance.

In 2004/5 Stephen Elliott scored 16 goals in the Championship & was credited with 5 assists from 29 starts & 13 sub apperances.

Why is one worth £6 million, the other £1 million?

I agree! When Sleeves is fully fit he's top class. The reason one worth £6m & the other is worth £1m is because one is English the other isn't. If Keane is to pay big money on a forward I'd rather it was Doyle. Doyle is only valued at £8m. That's a bargain for proven prem striker!