More retirements?

[dynamo kerry]

the indo suggests that more players would go if kerr stays on

who do you think they mean?

holland anyway I suppose..

kav - hardly

finnan - constantly overlooked for an iffy carr?

[Closed Account 2]

Holland could be likely, maybe Paddy Kenny, Gary Breen. Would have said Harte, but he is back in the fold now.

Dont think Liam Miller will "retire", but I dont see any sane manager picking him in the squad again.

Dont see Finnan quitting yet, esp as he is now likely to be regular 1st team player.

Kav wont walk out on us, he cares too much to do that.

[dynamo kerry]

I agree on kav but should he get a game.

just found out about carr this avo.. disappointed but not upset.

miller has no place in the squad until he's playing first team ball.

didn't thin kof kenny. you might be right there.



my take on the possible replacements


Let's face facts. Brian Kerr is on his way. There's no practical sense to saying he isn't. However we here at irishvibe wish to focus on the players for a little bit. They had a part to play too and with several of them announcing their retirement from international football (some more missed than others) it's time for others to step up and try to carry the banner. Irishvibe looks at some of the likely lads, some we've seen before, some we're seeing for the first time. Read on...

So far Roy Maurice Keane, Kenny 'The king' Cunningham and Steve 'no nicknake' Carr have all shuffled off their international coils and have planned to be walking dogs (presumably) on international days. Also considering that certain people perhaps should retire or perhaps have severly diminished roles in future campaigns (ok, we mean Skilbane, Ginger Pele as a striker, Matty Holland (sorry) and Graham Kavanagh) there appear to be a few slots opening up. The entirety of centre midfield for example.Our selction criteria here is that they be young, first choice at their club and hungry for success. Let's look at the candidates.

Stephen Reid
Blackburns loss of the Duffer yielded their gain of Stephen Reid and he's not let them down since. Some storming football, competing for places with some fairly big names like Brett Emerton, Tugay, Robbie Savage and Mort Pedersen (all until recently full internaitonals). Reidy has yet to really fulfil his potential for Ireland since a horror injury kept him out for almost a season and a half. Having initially being a right sided midfielder for Millwall he's been in an attacking centre mid for Rovers and a good one too. He's certainly in with a shout for a spot in the park for Ireland. It's up to the next manager to decide where though. Based on his competituve nature it seems with more exposure he could well be a big hit for us on the drive to 2006.


Ronnie O'Brien
Abandoned to success out in Dallas, Ronnie, former 'Person of the Century' Candidate has been nothing short of sensational. Twice an MLS All-star and in the running for Player of the year regularly he's much loved over there. With so many of the US team playing at home it's a wonder he's deemed unsuitable for the Irish squad. With strong running ability,. good control and a good tackle in him it's difficult to see why he should be denied a chance if he wants it. He's previously displayed a reluctance to be drawn on it but has been less than positive about the Irish set-up.



http://www.irishvibe.com/article257.html

[junkie]

With the way things are going it wouldn't surprise me if Given or Duff made a shock announcement next week!* :eek:













* I frickin' hope to god not!

[Fergie's Son]

Why would Paddy Kenny quit?

Duff or Given leaving would be a massive, massive blow.

[dynamo kerry]

can't see given packin it in. duff is a scary thought. paddy kenny has gotten very little out of his participation but it would be understandable if he said enough was enough.

doubt it though

[RiffRaff]

I've been quite shocked by the growing trend of people retiring to "concentrate on their club career". When its Irish players though, it just makes me angry. I know i'm being old fashioned, but for me the idea of playing professional football, winning trophies and european medals should all be with the aim of playing for your country. So when its my country, i don't feel like thanking players for their contribution whether they retire at 29 or 39. we now have quite a few people who have retired, who could either be important members of the squad, or available in an injury crisis, between Cunningham, Keane, Carr, Kiely, Kelly and maybe Carsley. In my opinion, it should be the national team manager who decides when a player should step aside and let the younger players take over and any player who takes that decision is letting us down and walking out on their country. None of them get any sentiment from me.

[dynamo kerry]

it wasn't too cool when mick decided aldo was finished, when jack dragged brady off the pitch. .both of those had earned the right to step aside in their own time

as for anyone under 30. if they can' make a contribution I'd rather they stepped aside and said they weren't up for it. carr hasn't looked really bothered for a while. probablt for the best.

[RiffRaff]

Aldridge and Brady are two players whose commitment could never be questioned,and the fact that they made themselves available while no longer being able to reach the standards of previous years puts them up in my estimation. Brady went on the infamous south American tour just after the Falklands war, when english clubs refused to allow their players to go. As far as i rememebr he was the only first team regular in a squad of lower divsion and league of ireland players. In Eoin Hands autobiography, he describes how he and Terry Conroy spend hours trying to talk him out of walking out of the tour after the team got hammered 7-0 by Brazil. This must have been a very embarassing experience for Brady, but he stayed and played in the next match against trinidad (which we also lost!). I wonder how many of our squad now would be prepared to go through that?

[Fergie's Son]

Brady did get his revenge though by scoring against them in Lansdowne in a friendly (Brazil that is).

[thejollyrodger]

kavanagh only came into the squad recently and I think he is happy enough. Holland may be on that will retire. MAybe Kilbane might retire ??? I cant see anyone else apart from that. Well, maybe a third choice goalkeeper

[Zidane]

I dont think anybody else needs to retire. there is the European championships coming up and I could see a few going after that.

Holland, Kav and Kilbane could still play up until then.

Breen may hang around if there is a chance of getting a few games now that Cunningham has retired.

[livehead1]

kilbane will never retire, he loves it too much as for duff though, it wouldnt come as a suprise and its a horrible thought . scholes quit england as he wasnt enjoying it and if you watch duff on the pitch for ireland, he really does not seem to enjoy himself AT ALL, dont even think i've seem him look remotely like smiling

[Lionel Ritchie]

can't see given packin it in. duff is a scary thought. paddy kenny has gotten very little out of his participation but it would be understandable if he said enough was enough.

doubt it though

Paddy Kenny is still quite young and in any case he's playing for a championship side (for now) so can have no real complaint at the moment -unlike Dean Kiely who was still second fiddle when he was playing blinders for Charlton Athletic and Steve Harper was keeping Shay out of the Newcastle team.

[gustavo]

kilbane will never retire, he loves it too much as for duff though, it wouldnt come as a suprise and its a horrible thought . scholes quit england as he wasnt enjoying it and if you watch duff on the pitch for ireland, he really does not seem to enjoy himself AT ALL, dont even think i've seem him look remotely like smiling


thats a load of crap , a lot of players dont smile on the pitch doesnt mean they dont enjoy playing for their country.

[pete]

Carr is only 29 years old & since Newcastle don't have European games could hardly be said to be playing that many. Strange decision. I expect Breen & Holland to follow shortly.

[elroy]

kilbane will never retire, he loves it too much as for duff though, it wouldnt come as a suprise and its a horrible thought . scholes quit england as he wasnt enjoying it and if you watch duff on the pitch for ireland, he really does not seem to enjoy himself AT ALL, dont even think i've seem him look remotely like smiling


I dont think Breen, Holland or Kilbane will retire. One thing no Irish fan could accuse either of those three is not giving 100% when playing for Ireland. Limited players they may be but not in endeavour. I think particularly the likes of Holland who is struggling for first team football wont retire from international scene just yet.

As for Duff not enjoying himself and not giving it his all, anyone who saw him at the Israel game hammering the ground in sheer frustration would see how much it meant to him.

Disappointed Carr has left, wouldnt have being a first choice for me but still would have being a useful option. Im afraid to say but perhaps it shows how the players feel about their chances of qualifying for a tournament in the near future-slim to none.