Training camp / Chile squad announced

[eirebhoy]

I'm not sure if McGeady knows yet but he's already in the squad for the training camp. :) I'm sure Stan will call another U21 player up too.

[dr_peepee]

The centre halves are fairly thin on the ground... I would've thought anyone playing regularly for their club at a good level would at least be worht a look. Especually given that Dunne is the only likely starter in the top flight this year, as O'Brien has been prone to loosing his place from time to time. That's the only gripe I really have with the squad as a whole

[John83]

The centre halves are fairly thin on the ground... I would've thought anyone playing regularly for their club at a good level would at least be worht a look. Especually given that Dunne is the only likely starter in the top flight this year, as O'Brien has been prone to loosing his place from time to time. That's the only gripe I really have with the squad as a whole
Who do we have coming through there? McShane?

[geysir]

The centre halves are fairly thin on the ground... O'Brien has been prone to loosing his place from time to time.
Yep its thin at the centre back, our weakest area in terms of back up. O'Brien is doing well at Portsmouth, afaik he's a first choice and only the odd injury(like Dunne) keeps him out and does fine for Ireland.

[bwagner]

Ladies and Gents dare i bring up kevin nolan just for a second, he didnt even make sven's reserve list...iam delighted for him , not because he wanted to play for his country and was over looked but the fact that he is toying with us......hahaha Kevin ,kids were picked ahead of you.

[Stuttgart88]

Who do we have coming through there? McShane?
Paddy McCarthy was a surprising ommission in my view. Captain of a Leicester side that was probably one of the better performing Championship sides since Kelly took over. Too old for U21s but definitely one for the future. I'd have thought he'd have made a 30 man squad.

[dr_peepee]

Yeah! McCarthy, McShane or Doherty.. If only as back up.

I think O'Brien finnished the season on the bench.... He didn't play anyway.

But while O'Brien and Dunne are first choice we really should be exploring other avenues aswell...

[tetsujin1979]

I think O'Brien finnished the season on the bench.... He didn't play anyway.
Didn't he pick up a niggle little injury and by the time he recovered, Harry had settled on a side and was picking up points, I don't think he was going to break into that. There's going to be a clear out at Fratton Park, so that should open up the centre half position again. I think O'Brien has the attributes that Harry looks for in a player so I expect him to be back in the side at the start of next season.

[eirebhoy]

Yeah! McCarthy, McShane or Doherty.. If only as back up.

2 of them voted player of the season a their clubs, another in the top 3. Coughlan also voted player of the season at Wednesday. I think Coughlan is probably the best of the lot atm but is in his 30's now.

[CraftyToePoke]

Yeah! McCarthy, McShane or Doherty

one lad at that level who never seems to get a mention is Delaney at hull, and he is a good deal younger than another guy, Coughlan, i saw Delaney earlier in the season and he showed very good pace when turned on a number of occasions.

he was also deemed unlucky by many not to have been given more of a chance at leicester, but the new manager at that time, Adams, is notoriously slow to give youth a chance.

[tricky_colour]

Ladies and Gents dare i bring up kevin nolan just for a second, he didnt even make sven's reserve list...iam delighted for him , not because he wanted to play for his country and was over looked but the fact that he is toying with us......hahaha Kevin ,kids were picked ahead of you.


Of course you can bring the matter up, one would think that Nolan
will probably never get called up for England as he didn't get the
call this time, A change of manager might change that but if I were
in Nolans position it would be pretty clear to me that my only realistic
chance of international football would be with Ireland. He might see it
differently though it does look like the writting is on the wall.

[FarBeag]

But Nolan cannot play for us ,so why continue to even to talk about him, just forget about the man for christ sakes.

[The Legend]

Exactly... so what if he didnt get picked by England, he doesnt want to play for anyone but them. If I lived in another dimension where some other country wanted me to play for them... I wouldnt, even if I never got an irish call up.

[Dr. Ogba]

Aaarrrggghhh no more Nolan talk!!:p

Have to agree with the talk about centre halves...Can't see the point of bringing Breen over. Centre-half is a position where experience is a vital asset so I would have thought that blooding lads like McCarthy and McShane now would have made a hell of a lot more sense than Bringing Breen...

God forbid Dunne and/or O'Brien get injured during the upcoming qualifying campaign, then what are we left with? Breen (useless even in his prime) and a couple of promising young lads (McC and McS) with absolutely no international experience??? Just doesn't make any sense at all...

[pete]

If anyone wants to talk about Nolan then find the Official Nolan thread & try not to pollute other threads with the wild theories of campaign to the Human Rights Courts 'n such.

[tricky_colour]

Well whether NOLAN WANTS TO PLAY FOR US OR NOT HE DOES HAVE SOME
IRISH BLOOD IN HIM MAYBE NOT AS MUCH A ROONEY BUT THEN HE HAS A
BROKEN TOE :p
SORRY FOR THE CAPS MY COMPUTER HAS GONE MAD :)

[dr_peepee]

Forgot about Delany... Also plays at left full. Must be in his mid 20's by now. Will probably get a shout for the B squad.

[Stuttgart88]

Yep, forgot about Delaney too. We've a proliferation of decent Championship level players. Many of these would have been (old) Division 1 players in the 80s I reckon. It's hard to pick between a lot of them and also the eL players. For example, how good would Delaney and, say, James O'Connor be in the eL?

[geysir]

We've a proliferation of decent Championship level players. Many of these would have been (old) Division 1 players in the 80s I reckon.
Well if they were playing in the late 80's ?? at least experience is on their side.:)

[dr_peepee]

Bit of a digression, I know... And also a large leap on my part. But I see Hull would be willing to let Charlton talk to Peter Tayler about the managers role.

Given his history of remembering and giving chances at higher levels to players to from previous clubs (Junior Lewis anyone) and the fact that he had Delaney with him before Hull also..... I wonder ,given the oppertunity, would he take Delaney to Charlton???

[CraftyToePoke]

Bit of a digression, I know... And also a large leap on my part. But I see Hull would be willing to let Charlton talk to Peter Tayler about the managers role.

Given his history of remembering and giving chances at higher levels to players to from previous clubs (Junior Lewis anyone) and the fact that he had Delaney with him before Hull also..... I wonder ,given the oppertunity, would he take Delaney to Charlton???

well i dont know about that but ill say one thing for sure, if Taylor were to be installed at charlton, ole craftytoepoke would be placing a large wedge on an immediate relegation for them:)

that said, you are right in saying he has tended to bring players with him and as ive said before Delaney showed good pace on more than one occasion when he was isolated v leicesters Hume earlier this season, would be interesting to see how he would do uptop.

[CraftyToePoke]

Yep, forgot about Delaney too. We've a proliferation of decent Championship level players. Many of these would have been (old) Division 1 players in the 80s I reckon. It's hard to pick between a lot of them and also the eL players. For example, how good would Delaney and, say, James O'Connor be in the eL?

yeah you're right, they could well excell at that level as Gavin etc are doing currently.

[Dublin12]

Can someone please explain to me why Gary Breen is still in the Ireland squad?,he proved last season that he can't cut in in the premiership and will struggle in the championship next season with his lack of pace,he's well past it and should've packed in international football after the last WC.Surely we have enough cover there without him being picked and if Steve Staunton is planning for the future and the 2010 WC surely P.McCarthy should be in the squad.

[tetsujin1979]

Given his history of remembering and giving chances at higher levels to players to from previous clubs (Junior Lewis anyone) and the fact that he had Delaney with him before Hull also..... I wonder ,given the oppertunity, would he take Delaney to Charlton???
It's possible, he had Delaney at Leicester as well, and when he took the Hull job, Delaney was among the first signings he made, if not the very first and has kept his spot through their climb through the divisions.

[Paddy Garcia]

[QUOTE=geysir]Yep its thin at the centre back, our weakest area in terms of back up. QUOTE]

Not sure about that. I think centre midfield is our weakest area in a long time, as long as I can remember anyway. We are used to a raft of CM players at top premiership teams, now we are possibly down to one:- Stephen Reid. We have had lean years before at CB, remember Harte having to play there for Jack. O'Shea could do the same today, even if not desired.

Over the years we have had the likes of McGrath, Townsend, Sheridan, then Keane, Kinsella and Holland in CM. It certainly always felt we had cover & more often than not a stronger midfield than England. Not now.

Now we have one clear candiate, two if O'Shea retains his place at Man U. But frankly no top class backup. One or two injuries in midfield and we are in serious trouble.

Garvan & co. will be needed sooner rather than later.

[dr_peepee]

Agree with your observations on the middle.. I'd even go as far as to say that not only have we no top class back up, but no top class individual CM's full stop...

I do acknowledge S Reids progress this year and still have high hopes for him, but I don't think we can put him in the top class bracket yet. No more than Kinsella and Holland were top class mind you, but if at 26/27 Steven Reid is held in the same esteem by Blackburn fans that Holland and Kinsella were once held in at Charlton and Ipswich respectivley I'll be content. I know he has the attributes to be better than them though but I'm not sure he has the mental strength.

I digress though... The thing is that even as we argue the merrits of our midfield options, there are a number contenders in this squad, but there are very few centre halves in a squad that, for me, should include all potential options over the next year or so

[TheJamaicanP.M.]

Agree with your observations on the middle.. I'd even go as far as to say that not only have we no top class back up, but no top class individual CM's full stop...

I do acknowledge S Reids progress this year and still have high hopes for him, but I don't think we can put him in the top class bracket yet. No more than Kinsella and Holland were top class mind you, but if at 26/27 Steven Reid is held in the same esteem by Blackburn fans that Holland and Kinsella were once held in at Charlton and Ipswich respectivley I'll be content. I know he has the attributes to be better than them though but I'm not sure he has the mental strength.

I digress though... The thing is that even as we argue the merrits of our midfield options, there are a number contenders in this squad, but there are very few centre halves in a squad that, for me, should include all potential options over the next year or so


Great post.

I agree that our lack of midfield options is a real concern. I'm a big fan of Reid and I think we need to build the midfield around him. Of the up and coming midfielders that I've seen, I'd only be confident of Garvan making the step-up. I'm still not convinced by Stephen Ireland and I think Joey O'Brien's lack of pace could be seriously exposed in an international midfield.
As regards Lee Carsley, I was under the impression that he had announced his retirement from international football. He's a limited player but strangely enough, I believe that himself and Reid might actually complement each other nicely. A number of posts talk about Kavanagh as a holding midfielder, but I don't agree with this. Kav is a lot more creative than he's given credit for and he likes to get forward. However, I have a feeling that Stan doesn't rate him as an international player. I was very surprised he started on the bench against Sweden. People might laugh at this suggestion, but I genuinely believe that Colin Healy's road to recovery will continue and he will return to the international fold. I'd love to see him fulfil his potential alongside Reid in midfield. What an athletic and agressive midfield pairing that would be.

People might not like to hear it but I think Stan is going to persist with O'Shea alongside Reid in midfield for the foreseeable future. I'm not O'Shea's biggest fan but I'll reserve judgement for the moment. Those posts which state that O'Shea won't play for Man U next season are rubbish. The lad has just signed a new four year contract. I'd almost bet that O'Shea will play as many games as any other United player next season. Somebody said that Smith will return and take the midfield place next season. I would argue that O'Shea's stint in central midfield this season has been a lot more impressive than Smith's was. In any case, Smith may never return to full fitness.

As for Gery Breen's inclusion in the squad, I can't fathom the reasoning behind it. I'd prefer if Stan worked with Dunne, O'Brien, McCarthy, Doherty, McShane and Delaney as his group of central defenders.

[NeilMcD]

I think breen is there in the same way that Laurant Blanc was at Utd and Nayet is at Spurs as more of a coach of defenders etc. I dont agree with it but just trying to see a logic behind it as it cannot be to play in my view.

[Stuttgart88]

I like Kavanagh & agree that he's far more talented in an attacking sense than just being a holding midfielder, but I think Emmet Malone's recent assessment was right. Something along the lines of him being a skillful, accomplished footballer but without the ability to change the game or exert his influence when up against the best tmidfielders in England.

[CraftyToePoke]

I think breen is there in the same way that Laurant Blanc was at Utd and Nayet is at Spurs as more of a coach of defenders etc. I dont agree with it but just trying to see a logic behind it as it cannot be to play in my view.

must be the 'old head' angle Satunton is using to include a guy like Breen, like you say, its the only plausable reason for his inclusion, but i think you can argue just as strongly that the experience gained by McCarthy or McShane at a time like this when theres no real pressure to produce results as yet, would be just as valuable, possibly more so in the long term as Staunton is likeky to have to turn to them at some point in his time as boss.

[NeilMcD]

Totally agree Crafty. I would rather mc Carthy or Mc Shane than Breen.

[Stuttgart88]

I presume McShane would have been in the U21 squad if he was fit but I think he's injured anyway. Can't understand McCarthy's ommission at all.

[eirebhoy]

Staunton said he would have called McCarthy up but he's injured too.

[pete]

Breen will struggle in the Championship if he gets a new contract. I cannot understand the rumoured link to Sheffield United. Breen was on his last international legs 2 years ago. He hasn't improved since.

BTW slightly off topic but i think the current Sunderland squad would struggle to make midtable in the Championship.

[CraftyToePoke]

Staunton said he would have called McCarthy up but he's injured too.


good to hear, McCarthy was playing through a couple of knocks towards the tailend of the season, groin and ankle i think, but didnt miss a game through injury at any point and i havent heard anything about him needing an op in the close season so hopefully its minor.

[Stuttgart88]

Yep, good to hear. I hadn't heard Stan say that.

[TheJamaicanP.M.]

Yea eirebhoy is right. Stan was quoted in some of the papers over the weekend saying that McCarthy would have made the squad if it wasn't for injury. Even with McCarthy and McShane injured, I think he should have called up Gary Doherty who by all accounts had a good season with Norwich. Doherty has established himself as a centre-half and is still only 25.

[CraftyToePoke]

Yea eirebhoy is right. Stan was quoted in some of the papers over the weekend saying that McCarthy would have made the squad if it wasn't for injury. Even with McCarthy and McShane injured, I think he should have called up Gary Doherty who by all accounts had a good season with Norwich. Doherty has established himself as a centre-half and is still only 25.

yeah but the Doc seems to do this in his career, he has good patches, in which he shows the ability which saw spurs sign him and Pleat extend his contract, but time and again he seems to follow this with a string of poor poor games and finds himself out of favour and having to do it all again.

but on current alone form id agree with you, it also suggests Stan doesnt see him as an option as the bigman upfront in emergencies, which i would agree with, ill never forget him coming on v france, rooting and tearing goodo all to no avail despite his best efforts, and i remember thinking, this is the side who dont even pick Anelka, some contrast.