New Blood?

[TheOwl]

Ok so we now have a year of meaningless friendlies to look forward to, so which players should we look to give a bit of experience too before the next round of qualifiers begin?

Obviously the likes of Kevin Doyle, Stephen Elliott, McGeady etc… will see more action than they are currently seeing, but have we anyone else coming through or are we well and truly funked?

One thing we definitely need, is just more natural footballers, people who are comfortably on the ball and who can play to an open expansive style, because the lack of creativity in the team at the moment is chronic, we aren’t even creating chances let alone scoring goals.

One player I’d love to see in the squad, even as just an option to have on the bench, would be Wes Houlihan, but then again I would say that wouldn’t I?

[A face]

One player I’d love to see in the squad, even as just an option to have on the bench, would be Wes Houlihan, but then again I would say that wouldn’t I?

Well how many more in eL would you put forward ... none at City now tbh (unless Flynnie starts scoring again) ... Wes is good enough to make the squad anyway.

[Closed Account 2]

I dunno maybe give Mahon a run out, but aint that young any more...

Wish Thornton hadnt mucked up at Sunderland.

There is not a lot of talent banging on the door though.

[TheOwl]

Wes is the only EL player I think who could enhance the Irish squad myself tbh.

[Colbert Report]

I can't wait to see what guys like Liam Miller and Aidan McGeady can do.

Here is our starting lineup for the opening match of the 2010 World Cup:

Given
Finnan O'Brien Dunne Harte

A Reid Miller O'Shea Duff

Keane Elliott

[Colbert Report]

Actually, maybe that Kelly kid at full back instead of Harte.

[Closed Account 2]

Liam Miller... I think we have to just accept he aint going to set the world alight.

[RedX]

I think Elliot could become a regular in the coming years..he looks sharp and has an eye for goal..Kevin Doyle will see some action whether its out wide right or upfront..Owen Garvan might get a call but maybe to young..he is playing regularly in the centre of midfield with Ipswich Town this season..i would like to see more of Alan Quinn also..Mc Geady needs to sort out his club problems over the next 12 months to get a run..i am not sure about Wes Houlihan..he is a decent player but i suppose the only way we can find out can he do it is given the chance at that level..besides him there is not to much on offer in the eircom league for the seniors yet..

[TheOwl]

I can't wait to see what guys like Liam Miller and Aidan McGeady can do.

Here is our starting lineup for the opening match of the 2010 World Cup:

Given
Finnan O'Brien Dunne Harte

A Reid Miller O'Shea Duff

Keane Elliott

Ugh - I hate your central midfield partnership.

I think we have to start considering Reid as a centre-midfielder, maybe with Joey O'Brien eventually playing alongside him. Glenn Whelan is having a difficult season with Wednesday (my English team), but he has been given a lot of responabilty, being captain and asked to play every game (despite only being 21). He has the abilty to get plenty of caps though, he might have to leave Wednesday for a more footballing minded team mind you, but I hope he stays with us for a while yet.

[TheOwl]

I think Elliot could become a regular in the coming years..he looks sharp and has an eye for goal..Kevin Doyle will see some action whether its out wide right or upfront..Owen Garvan might get a call but maybe to young..he is playing regularly in the centre of midfield with Ipswich Town this season..i would like to see more of Alan Quinn also..Mc Geady needs to sort out his club problems over the next 12 months to get a run..i am not sure about Wes Houlihan..he is a decent player but i suppose the only way we can find out can he do it is given the chance at that level..besides him there is not to much on offer in the eircom league for the seniors yet..

Forgot about Garvan, you could be right regarding his age, but if we are looking at 2010 he could be a key figure.

Alan Quinn should be in the squad.

[deadman]

o'shea would be lucky to see the bench on the back of his two most recent performances. cowardly tonight.

and A Reid's lack of a right foot severly limited his options on the wing

[oconghc2]

if i ever see O shea in midfield (or team even) ill top myself!!!

hope he proves me wrong though!! Thought he looked like a lost puppy there tonight!

[RedX]

Forgot about Garvan, you could be right regarding his age, but if we are looking at 2010 he could be a key figure.

Alan Quinn should be in the squad.



I know Garvan is young but should'nt any player that is playing regulary in the premier or Championship be worth a look?..he is playing very well right now and as they say if you are good enough then..

I remember seeing John O Shea a few years ago for the Under 21's..people were raving about the guy before hand and i was looking forward to seeing him..he was fantastic that night..so composed and really good on the ball..looked like a real gem and i was delighted..but at this moment in time he should not be in the squad never mind the team..he has been terrible and i mean very poor recently..i would love to bump into him one day and ask him whats gone wrong?..its really strange...

[sligoman]

I dont think anyone in the EL at the moment could improve the Irish squad:(

[robbie_B]

I reckon septembers league one player of the month Lee Trundle might be in line for a call up at some stage. Whoever is in charge needs to try something new. The long ball up to the forwards just doesn't cut it at International level.

[Qwerty]

We need men not boys, that is the #1 problem with the current setup - apart from Roy Keane we have a squad of little boys. What this team need is a player with a personality like Vinny Jones, we need some hard men. Please stop the roll call of callow yewts and find some battle hardned men.

[mypost]

I dont think anyone in the EL at the moment could improve the Irish squad:(

Whether you want them chosen or not, the Ireland side is going to have to gradually turn to LOI players for selection in the next few years. The production line from England is drying up. Fewer English clubs are taking on Irish kids these days, and even fewer of them make it to the first team. Before, they only had English kids to compete against, now they must compete with kids from all over the world, and fewer are making it. Even less have the quality and talent to succeed at International level. LOI players represent the long-term future of the squad. The domestic standard at home is improving, the players play in a highly competitive league, and play week in, week out in full-time club set-ups. Too many of the current International squad don't play every week at their clubs, and they carry their patchy club form onto the International scene, and the country suffers as a result.

I'm not calling for a NL XI at International level, but as there are not enough young players coming along, we are going to have to change the LOI ban mindset, and consider playing the very best players from our league soon. We can start by giving them run-outs in friendlies, of which some of them will impress, and they can then play full friendlies. If they impress again, they can progress on to playing qualifying fodder, by which time they will probably be hooked up with a good English club. Then they may become available for selection for all Ireland senior games.

It disappoints me that we ignore NL players when playing very weak sides in qualifiers, like Andorra, Cyprus, Faroes, Liechtenstein, etc. :( That has to be the initial goal for players from the NL. They should be introduced to the international side gradually, i.e. 1 or 2 players every year, so they can blend in with the rest of the squad, without disrupting the side's results or performances, it improves their ability and technique, which in turn makes them better players, and improves the image of the league at the same time. We are not short of players, we have an entire domestic league full of players who would bust a gut to get in the national side, and the best of them wouldn't let us down, if given the chance either. With not enough quality young players coming through at English clubs, LOI players will be the long-term future of the Ireland senior International side, and those who don't want them in the team have to wake up to that prospect, sooner rather than later.

[mchurl]

there is plenty of irish talent coming through. Stephen kelly at spur will be in the squad soon....Glenn Whelan is quality..Owen Garvan will be top quality...Paul mcshane will be in man u's 1st team next year...Alan quinn should defo be at least in the squad...Joey O'Brien will be class...Anthony stokes at arsenal will be a 30 goal a season man in the ep therefore wll bang n goals for ireland...Hopefully willo flood will brak into man citys 1st team whe he returns fro coventry...Ian morris is a creative midfielder at leeds...Darren O'Dea will be an accomplished defender up at celtic...Andy keogh is one of the top scorers in league 1 and is still only 19..

The quality is there we just have to make sure it is nurtured and don givens doen't get his hands on them!!:p

[concanta]

if kerr stays or there is a new manager they should should make it clear that no player will be in the squad if they are sitting in the reserves...ie this is meant for the likes of Miller - he should either move or go out on loan for a while .....all our players need to be playing

[Dodge]

there is plenty of irish talent coming through. Stephen kelly at spur will be in the squad soon....Glenn Whelan is quality..Owen Garvan will be top quality...Paul mcshane will be in man u's 1st team next year...Alan quinn should defo be at least in the squad...Joey O'Brien will be class...Anthony stokes at arsenal will be a 30 goal a season man in the ep therefore wll bang n goals for ireland...Hopefully willo flood will brak into man citys 1st team whe he returns fro coventry...Ian morris is a creative midfielder at leeds...Darren O'Dea will be an accomplished defender up at celtic...Andy keogh is one of the top scorers in league 1 and is still only 19..

The quality is there we just have to make sure it is nurtured and don givens doen't get his hands on them!!:p
Historically, we'l be lucky if 2 of them make the breakthrough

[concanta]

please god let it be centraql midfielders thats where i fear for our future
strikers we are OK and on the wings and defence we are ok

as mentioned on other posts you do not have to have a team full of world class players to get to world cup, look at ukraine, crotia, sweden, slovakia in playoffs

[junkie]

Wes Hoolahan.

He would have made a difference last night if he was on the pitch but c'mon he's playing eL so he obviously isn't good enough just in the same way Doyle wasn't ''good enough'' 5 months ago. :rolleyes:

[razor]

I think there are a few players in the Championship in England that deserve a run, Alan Quinn, Garreth O'Connor ( 5 goals this season), Kevin Doyle, Mark Kennedy, James O'Connor, and I know its a sin but maybe even Lee Trundle.

[drummerboy]

Joey O’Brien and Glenn Whelan.

[eirebhoy]

please god let it be centraql midfielders thats where i fear for our future
Fortunately a lot of the players coming through are central midfielders. Garven, O'Brien, Potter, Whelan, Gibson, Timlin, Ireland.

[pete]

Unfortunately some people get carried away when a young irish player makes a few appearances.

Maybe its time to start picking the best footballers (those that can pass & run) for under age teams to try to develop them?

[TheOwl]

Anthony stokes at arsenal will be a 30 goal a season man in the ep therefore wll bang n goals for ireland

I believe this when I see it, I seem to recall a certain Dessie Baker banging in the goals for Man U's youth and reserve teams, and look what happened to him.

[eirebhoy]

My hopes for Stokes have falling a lot since last year. Very few Irish players with big potential will make it.

[Kingdom]

I think Elliot could become a regular in the coming years..he looks sharp and has an eye for goal..Kevin Doyle will see some action whether its out wide right or upfront..Owen Garvan might get a call but maybe to young..he is playing regularly in the centre of midfield with Ipswich Town this season..i would like to see more of Alan Quinn also..Mc Geady needs to sort out his club problems over the next 12 months to get a run..i am not sure about Wes Houlihan..he is a decent player but i suppose the only way we can find out can he do it is given the chance at that level..besides him there is not to much on offer in the eircom league for the seniors yet..
Without trying to p!ss anyone off, thats probably the most level-headed post from an eL fanatic(as I see you) about the senior squad and eL players.
Fair play.

[brine3]

A few players I'd like to see get their chance in green:

Stephen Kelly (Carr and Finnan will be 30 when the next qualifiers begin)
Steven Reid
Ronnie O'Brien
Joey O'Brien

And Alan Quinn deserves to be in the squad. Kerr played him in friendlies, with much success, but when the push came to the shove he reverted back to the likes of Mattie Holland and Kevin Kilbane in the centre. Kerr doesn't have the guts to change things around in the competitive matches.

[concanta]

is paul mcshane any good? some people seem to think he is very good?

[pete]

is paul mcshane any good? some people seem to think he is very good?

Hes probably only played or or two U21 games so seems optimistic to think eh ready for seniors.

[Roverstillidie]

The quality is there we just have to make sure it is nurtured and don givens doen't get his hands on them!!:p

but the fundamental point is that since charlton we have **** all to do with the nurturing process.
the fai abdicated that responsibility to english clubs, and now there is a squeeze cross channel we have no plan b.

[Kingdom]

Perhaps this is the wrong thread but this is something that I've been considering for the past few weeks.

Bare in mind all the friendlies that were played before this year with the 'fringe' players getting a run. The likes of Alan Quinn (remember his performance against Holland?), Liam Miller, McGeady and then Rowlands and Clarke.
This was BK's was of blooding these guys to the squad without the pressure of competitive games to begin with. He saw the group we had been drawn in and fancied his chances with the tried and tested, and given the start to the group and the understandable hunger the players would have to redeem themselves after Euro2004, decided to give the tried and tested one more chance.
It didn't work, so now those fringe players are called up to the full squad, given either

a)retirement
b)lack of hunger
c)poor form
of those established players.

To be fair to Kerr he stuck with the same group of players throughout, made the additions when glaringly obvious (Doyle, Connolly), and now is the time to move on.
He has said that he has told the FAI what he wants to do (either he meant that he wants to remain or that he outlined his plan for the next campaign if given the chance) and maybe it does involve starting from scratch and getting rid of the Kavanagh's the Holland's the Cunnigham's

He has set his stall out insofar as he won't accept poor performances like Robbie Keane's recent ones and will substitute him if necessary. Same with Andy Reid last night.
He brought in Harte at left full when it was glaringly obvious JOS wasn't up to the job. However if he hadn't started Keane last night the crowd would have bayed for his blood. IMO he would have been justified as again Robbie did nothing.

Maybe Kerr will have his contract renewed. Maybe there will be a new beginning with a lot of the youngsters being given the chance. After all if we do get a pox group as is quite likely, with little or no expectation to qualify what ahrm will it do to put a few young lads into the team with the idea being to gear them towards the WC 2010 qualifying series.

Who knows? As far as this team goes I'd like a few enthusiastic Irish lads given a chance, especially as some of the establishment seem non-pushed at the mo. If it means forsaking the next European Championships in order to make the next world cup, I for one would accept it.

[Thomo]

kevin doyle
stephen ireland
willo flood
erm........ cant thhiink of 2 many more

[concanta]

we need to get rid of givens for the u21s
looking at that team they shoudl be a lot better than they are
i am sure its partly down to him

[Dodge]

Wes Houlihan is certainly not good enough for international football

[declan hide]

Ronnie O'Brien...is this the guy that went to Juve? who does he play for and what age is he now?

[Irish_Praha]

Ronnie O'Brien...is this the guy that went to Juve? who does he play for and what age is he now?

He's surely worth a try?

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=338599&root=mls&cc=5739

O'Brien came back in 2004 and enjoyed the type of renaissance he hoped for when he originally arrived. He finished with 10 assists, second most in MLS, and established himself as one of the league's best midfielders. O'Brien has continued to improve this season. He is largely considered the key reason FC Dallas started the season so strongly, putting together an MVP-like half-season. Now instead of being regarded as one of the league's best midfielders, he is now considered one of the league's best players.

His stellar play has raised the usual questions. Will he make a move back to Europe? Will he play for the Irish national team, which he represented on the youth levels? Answers to both of those questions are tied into his love for his adopted home.

"You can never say you'll never go back," said O'Brien of a potential return to Europe. "If a team comes in with a good enough offer and they really want you, well then they'll come in and buy you, but I'm not pushing to go back. I'm not putting feelers out there to go back."

The Irish national team is a touchier subject for O'Brien, who cites an unfriendly relationship with current Ireland manager Brian Kerr as the key reason he wouldn't consider playing for his home country.

"I don't get on with the manager and I don't really want to play for him," said O'Brien. "If the manager changed, and they came and asked me, I might think about it then but at the moment I'm not even thinking about it. "We don't get on and I wouldn't travel all that way," said O'Brien. "I'm happy in Dallas. I don't want to leave the team high and dry for something I wouldn't be happy doing." :eek: