U-21 starting XI announced

[tetsujin1979]

From fai.ie:

The Ireland team to play Cyprus in the U21 European Championship tie in Larnaca on Friday at 2 pm was announced by manager Don Givens as follows:

Wayne Henderson (Brighton & Hove Albion);

Keith Keane (Luton Town), John Fitzgerald (Bury), Paul McShane (Brighton & Hove Albion), Marcus Painter (Birmingham City);

Willo Flood (Coventry City), Darren Potter (Liverpool), Joey O’Brien (Bolton Wanderers), Aiden McGeady (Celtic);

Stephen Ward (Bohemians), Jay Tabb (Brentford),

Strong midfield, but I have to say the rest of the team looks decidedly weak, bar Henderson and McShane.

Is commentary available anywhere - kick off is 2pm our time, 4pm local time. Should still be really hot, but not as hot as earlier in the day

[pete]

Does this leave a bench like this?

Darren Quigley U.C.D
Kevin Derry Derry City
Henry McStay Portadown
Alan Sheehan Leicester City
Gary Dicker U.C.D
Glenn Whelan Sheffield Wednesday (is he injured?)
Roy O’Donovan Cork City
Karl Bermingham Burnley

Does Givens just call up eL players to sit on the bench?

[Poor Student]

Is Henderson the lad who will be too old after the Swiss game?:confused: Why not start young Darren Quigley off? Will this be on Sky?

[Dodge]

Does Givens just call up eL players to sit on the bench?
Ward's starting

[Poor Student]

I've looked on Sky and RTE schedules and this doesn't appear to be on TV or radio.

[pete]

Givens comments make no sense. He says qualification not the main goal but when qualification hopes gone he brings in new young players & leaves older players out. However Givens doesn't leave ALL the older players out...

Henderson, Potter, Whelan, Flood & Tabb will all be 22 next year. :rolleyes:

Is there any wonder Givens has only ever managed young players. Imagine him managing a club team :eek:

[Poor Student]

I really don't see the point in Henderson. He's old and not very likely to step up to senior level. Quigley is very young and full of potential and there's nothing at stake.

[Stuttgart88]

I really don't see the point in Henderson. He's old and not very likely to step up to senior level. Quigley is very young and full of potential and there's nothing at stake.

I think Deeney is probably better than Henderson myself but I think he has started every game but one for Brighton this year, keeping Blayney, a Norn Iron senior international squad member and Premiership stand-in, on the bench. By & large Henderson has done well so I wouldn't rule him out. Many Irish underage keepers have faded into oblivion (Alex O'Reilly) but I wouldn't call time on Henderon yet.

I don't know Quigley I admit. Is he as good as Flash Brogan or Charlie McCormick? :) :)

[eirebhoy]

Does Givens just call up eL players to sit on the bench?
He calls them up because of the stick he's been getting. If he felt they were good enough they'd be in the team.

Midfield very attacking though. Potter-O'Brien is as attacking as Lampard-Gerrard.

BTW - surely the right back of Luton is Kevin Foley, not Keith Keane? I could be wrong though.

[pete]

Don Givens should pick his strongest squad/team for every competitive game & leave friendlies for trying out new players. If eL players are good enough they should be picked too (any that have played in recent years have always been as good & usually better than UK based alternatives).

I'm just waiting for Don Givens to take credit for Kevin Doyles progress when/if he gets an international cap when the truth is he dropped him for some games.

[tetsujin1979]

I'm just waiting for Don Givens to take credit for Kevin Doyles progress when/if he gets an international cap when the truth is he dropped him for some games.
He does that for any player that comes through the U-21 ranks to play for the senior side (Miller, Reid, Barrett most recently). It's the whole reason he's still claiming to be right for the job, that he's to produce players for the senior side, not get results. Which is about the dumbest thing anyone has said in football. Anywhere. EVER.

[Troy.McClure]

The fai site (http://www.fai.ie/history.asp?hlid=221622) has him down as helping Clinton Morrison get to the full team. Didnt the Clint only play 2 u21 matches? And even then that was only to regester him as Irish! :o

[tetsujin1979]

1-1 at the moment according to livescores.net. Dunno who scored though, not listed.
Even with the inexperienced back line, conceding against Cyprus is pretty pathetic.

Hmm, still 0-0 according to Sky Sports. Nothing on aertel. Can't trust anyone these days!!

[tetsujin1979]

It's actually 1-0, heard the update at 3 on 2fm. Pretty pathetic game according to the reporter. Goal came from a mistake by McShane.

[Stuttgart88]

83 mins gone. Flood scored to make it 1-1 after 76 mins.

[Poor Student]

It's 1-1 according to aertel. Willo Flood on 76 mins. 84 mins in. Livescore has it 1-1 for at least 30 mins.:confused:

[zerocoolie]

looks like it ended 1-1 .... panayi in the 30th and Flood in the 76th..

[Poor Student]

Yep, definitley a 1-1 draw, final result.

[eirebhoy]

Not suprised to see Whelan brought on at half time.

[Poor Student]

Well done Don. 8 games without a victory.

[CollegeTillIDie]

I think Deeney is probably better than Henderson myself but I think he has started every game but one for Brighton this year, keeping Blayney, a Norn Iron senior international squad member and Premiership stand-in, on the bench. By & large Henderson has done well so I wouldn't rule him out. Many Irish underage keepers have faded into oblivion (Alex O'Reilly) but I wouldn't call time on Henderon yet.

I don't know Quigley I admit. Is he as good as Flash Brogan or Charlie McCormick? :) :)

Way better than Flash Brogan. Charlie McCormick when he wasn't acting the maggot was a very good keeper .

[CollegeTillIDie]

Well done Don. 8 games without a victory.

Well it's like this. The FAI do not expect to win Under 21 tournaments nor even to qualify for Under 21 tournaments so he is not under that pressure.
Their function seems to be to develop players for the Senior squad.And it is highly questionable as to how many of the present crop will make the grade as seniors.

[pete]

Givens job must be the easiest in football. Not expected to win matches & almost impossible to judge if hes the reason why players progressing to the senior squad. One things for certain his players don't learn to defend with U21 squad.

[Troy.McClure]

Here is a question he was asked by QPRnet. Id guess that he's happy getting his pay cheque in a comfy job. Why wouldnt he be? Like Pete said, no pressure.



You were Ireland caretaker manager after Mick McCarthy’s departure; having been an accomplished international yourself did you have any ambitions to take the job full time?


DG: No I was quite happy to stay on the development side. I’ve been doing it for four years now and I’ve seen plenty of players come through and get full caps, it’s a very rewarding feeling. When they make their debut I end up being more nervous than the kid though! I work with them for eighteen months and when they get on with the full side I’m kicking every ball with them!


I’m happy doing what I’m doing at the moment but you never know what’s round the corner. An offer could come up in the future but you never know. Right now it’s very satisfying helping players come through and improve. Once a player gets to under 21 status with us he already has the ability, after that it’s all down to what’s between their ears, so sometimes it’s not just about coaching the technical side of the game. You can spend half an hour just talking through things with a player and making sure the attitude is right, that’s just as important as the football coaching.*

[pineapple stu]

A disgraceful performance. Think the senior game, but five times worse. Cyprus - a team with no points and one goal to date - dominated and deserved to win. They were the only ones throwing in tackles and blocks. Their wingers tore our full-backs to pieces (one was replaced after screwing up for the goal). The team evidently had no idea what they were doing out there - no ideas from set-pieces, they didn't know each others' runs and were passing into vast swathes of empty spaces quite regularly. Only McGeady (first half) and Flood (second half) came out with any partial credit, in my opinion.

I never really paid much attention to the U-21, to be honest - not the end of the world if we don't qualify - but if this is the grounding Givens is giving them to prepare for the step up, he has to be sacked as soon as possible. Alas, it seems he's cosy with the top brass in the FAI, so it won't be happening any time soon.:mad:

[eirebhoy]

For tonights game Whelan replaces the injured Potter in midfield, rest of the team will stay the same. This will make the world of difference in my opinion. What was Givens up to playing to attacking midfielders in the centre. He's making Joey O'Brien look terrible.

[Troy.McClure]

How, with such a talanted midfield, are we doing so badly? Up to 2 or 3 games ago we had pretty good strikers too.

The mind boggles as to why that guy still has a job with the FAI. :o

[tetsujin1979]

I think the defence is relatively weakened compared to recent squads, and the strikers are also disimproving. So the defence are going to concede more and the strikers are going to score less. Sounds like a recipie for losses alright.

[Peadar]

The team for tonights game is:

Henderson (Brighton); Deery (Derry City), McShane (Walsall), Fitzgerald (Bury), Painter (Birmingham City); Flood (Coventry City), O’Brien (Bolton Wanderers), Whelan (Sheffield Wednesday), McGeady (Celtic); Tabb (Brentford), Ward (Bohemians).

After the pathetic display on Friday which cost €14 to see and €10 for the programme, there isn't a hope in hell that I'm going to Tolka in this weather for more of the same.
McGeady, you're not off the hook, I'll have my spies there to report back.

[tetsujin1979]

Hendersen is captaining the side, despite the fact the O'Brien captained the Bolton reserves for large parts of last season, and Whelan wore the armband for Wednesday earlier this season. And Givens has stated Flood could be a future captain of the U-21's, so why not give him the armband tonight??

[pineapple stu]

And Givens has stated Flood could be a future captain of the U-21's, so why not give him the armband tonight??
True. And if Quigley is the future keeper for the team, why not play him? Makes no sense.

[dancinpants]

1-0 down at the moment

[razor]

Beaten 1-0.
Givens Out. the man is an absolute disgrace.

[eirebhoy]

McGeady, you're not off the hook, I'll have my spies there to report back.
From what I heard you'll be a little disappointed. :)

[OneRedArmy]

Based on tonights performance, if thats the future, then God help us.

As a Derry fan, I was delighted for Kevin Deery, who was probably the pick of the back four and at least threatened to get forward on a few occasions.

Flood didn't impress and the front two ran around a lot but offered little else. Tabb was constantly offside and Stephen Ward is the new Cascarino, and not in a good way.

McGeady certainly has the talent but he flatters to deceive. Firmly from the 'why beat 2 men and pass, when I can beat another 4 and run into a blind alley' school. At least he looks like a footballer though, I couldn't say that about most of the rest.

The Swiss looked so much more threatening on the ball than we did, lightening quick on the break.

I've never had an opinion on the Cork fans Givens out campaign before now, but purely on the basis of what passed for football tonight, I'd give him the heave ho.

[tetsujin1979]

Here's my opinion
Hendersen looked good, a little dodgy on crosses, but saved well on at least 2 occasions to deny Swiss a definite goal. Definately needs to boss his defence more though.
Deery looked good and played well with the other back 4, but too many of his passes were back to the centre halves rather than forward to midfield
Fitzgerald didn't impress me much, was at fault for the goal too, it was his man that got free to score
McShane was fantastic, misjudged the ball early in the first half, and didn't make another mistake for the rest of the game. Could have scored midway through the second half from a free. The goal was punched into the goal, people may criticise him for not getting to the ball, but it was Fitzgerald's man.
Painter was playing his own game, the other 3 were staying in a line and watching for runs, he was drifting further and further forward.
McGeady seemed to be a bit of a one trick pony, flick it with the outside of his heel, needs to know when to beat someone and when to pass. Some decent looking free kicks came to nothing. Could be a confidence thing too.
O'Brien did ok, nothing special but nothing very wrong either. Didn't see what all the fuss is about to be honest, but I get the impression to him (and others) this was a nothing game.
Whelan was organising all around him, faded a little in the second half I thought.
Flood seemed to be the creative outlet for the team, anything good was coming down the right side through him, he was pushing forward more than any other midfielder. He's still underage for the U-21s in the next qualifying series, but he should be pushing for a senior spot.
Ward tried hard, but he and Tabb were working off scraps.
Tabb impressed me with his workrate and pace, but his size counts against him.

The Swiss were much better organised and their forwards definately had pace to spare over our back 4.

Givens has to go, when you look at how successful England's U-21s are with a part time coach in Peter Taylor, how are we not aspiring to the same level with a full time coach?

[drinkfeckarse]

Givens has to go, when you look at how successful England's U-21s are with a part time coach in Peter Taylor, how are we not aspiring to the same level with a full time coach?


We are not aspiring to the same level because we have a coach who openly admits that results don't matter and as far as he is concerned, he is only there to help the players progress to Senior level. In his eyes, he is not there to help us qualify for tournaments. Only in Ireland could we get away with and accept an attitude like that.

Results breed confidence Mr Givens:rolleyes: , don't you think the players would benefit in the long term from being involved in a succesful international team!? Playing with confidence means more often than not that you are playing well:rolleyes: When a manager has an attitude like that it's only natural for it to rub off on the players which is why I think they'll not be too bothered about losing games because they're only there for the "bigger picture". The more I read and find out about Givens the more I bemoan the state of of our underage set-up.:mad:

[Peadar]

From what I heard you'll be a little disappointed. :)

I never like to see any young player fail. It disappoints me that he was no better last night.


McGeady certainly has the talent but he flatters to deceive. Firmly from the 'why beat 2 men and pass, when I can beat another 4 and run into a blind alley' school.


McGeady seemed to be a bit of a one trick pony, flick it with the outside of his heel, needs to know when to beat someone and when to pass.

[razor]

Oct 11, 2005: Rep of Ireland 0-1 Switzerland
Oct 8, 2005: Cyprus 1-1 Rep of Ireland
Jun 3, 2005: Rep of Ireland 2-2 Israel
Mar 25, 2005: Israel 3-1 Rep of Ireland
Sep 6, 2005: Rep of Ireland 1-2 France
Oct 8, 2004: France 1-0 Rep of Ireland
Sept 7, 2004: Switzerland 4-2 Rep of Ireland
Sept 3, 2004: Rep of Ireland 3-0 Cyprus


Givens Out !!

[gspain]

Oct 11, 2005: Rep of Ireland 0-1 Switzerland
Oct 8, 2005: Cyprus 1-1 Rep of Ireland
Sep 6, 2005: Rep of Ireland 1-2 France
Oct 8, 2004: France 1-0 Rep of Ireland
Sept 7, 2004: Switzerland 4-2 Rep of Ireland
Sept 3, 2004: Rep of Ireland 3-0 Cyprus


Givens Out !!

You forgot our glorious 2-2 draw with Israel and our 3-1 defeat in Herzliya. :D

Maybe sad but last night was a huge improvement on Cyprus however our
U21s made our senior team's performance look good in Cyprus.

I thought we were worth a draw. I was impressed by Flood and McGeady and Joey O'Brien eventhough he was taken off. The defence looked solid.

Decent away support too so we'll need to make plenty of noixe tonight.

[tetsujin1979]

Might have been a bit over-critical of McGeady, he is 2 years behind the rest of the players at this level. He does need to reign in the tricks a bit, and play the ball to available players, not try to beat 2 midfielders and run at the defence. I saw him 2 years ago in the States against Liverpool on the right of midfield and he was fantastic, the Liverpool defence couldn't get near him

[pete]

McGeady was terrible & was only concerned with showboating & making an impression on scouts. I don't know what Givens keeps giving him a game when he clearly not a team player.

Ithought we looked disorganised in defense & predicatble in attack. Tabb ran around a lot to no avail & caught offside probably 10 times. Swiss looked comfortable. I'm biased of course but O'Donovan had only 10 minutes play & created 3 chances.

[tetsujin1979]

I barely noticed O'Donovan on the pitch