What do we do about our midfield?

[cheifo]

I dont think we can qualify with a midfield with O'Shea or Kilbane but do we have any other options?Is McPhail worth a chance?Apart from Gibson(Man utd) and Garvan(Ipswich) who are both too young we dont seem to have anybody coming through.

[plasticpitch]

reid kavanagh..its our best hope

[Colbert Report]

The guy who said that Staunton should have had the balls to start McGeady on the right from the start is spot on. Steven Reid is one of the best central midfielders in the Premiership, yet we elect to put him on the right hand side in favour of an over the hill Everton reject in Kilbane and a downright embarassment for a football player in natural left back John O'Shea. Unreal. Liam Miller, Stephen Ireland, Graham Kavanaugh and Andy Reid were all better options in my opinion than either Kilbane or O'Shea.

[Emmet]

I don't think we're going to get an ideal balance in centre midfield for a while because we are so short there. But I do think Steven Reid is a better option than either Kilbane or O'Shea. I think that Duff might be better in the centre as well because then he'd be more involved - Alan O'Brien could take his place on the left wing.

[Soper]

The more I think about it, the more McPhail appears to be an option.He plays in a division where you don't have a lot of time on the ball, and yet his decision making and distribution is superb.He is a changed man.

[ken foree]

either a. reid or s. ireland should play centrally v. cyprus.

[brine3]

Steven Reid should be a dead cert to start there. He plays central midfield week in week out. Play your best players in their best positions. We're not spoiled for central midfielders at the moment, so to play our best one on the wing is criminally stupid.

As for who should partner him? I'd say Stephen Ireland or Graham Kavanagh. We can argue about that, but surely everybody agrees that Steven Reid should be in the centre.

[pete]

Stephen Reid was useless on the right of midfield. Never seen him excel for Ireland even in the centre but people keep saying he great at club level.

[eirebhoy]

Stephen Reid was useless on the right of midfield. Never seen him excel for Ireland even in the centre but people keep saying he great at club level.
I personally thought he was as bad as Kavanagh against Holland. He does seem to be a great all round player though and just needs a decent holding midfielder in beside him.

[brine3]

i thought reid was good last night when he was finally moved into the centre of midfield

[el punter]

Stephen Reid was useless on the right of midfield. Never seen him excel for Ireland even in the centre but people keep saying he great at club level.

100% agree with Pete. Reid was also very poor when captain against Holland before the injury. I don't watch the Premiership, so I don't know if he is outstanding when playing for Blackburn, but for me, he certainly hasn't done it for Ireland in quite a while - and when he has it was as a winger.

[DmanDmythDledge]

I feel that due to the lack of holding midfield players that Stephen Reid should be used in this role. Kilbane, O'Shea and Kavanagh have all failed to impress in this role. We have more creative midfielders than defensive midfielders so moving Reid into a more defensive position shouldn't be a problem. Stephen Ireland, Andy Reid, Stephen McPhail are all players I believe would do a good job in that role. I also think it would be worth trying in centre midfield in some capacity( I think he would be classified as DCM).

McGeady and Duff should be the two wingers. Kilbane never impressed me and I have always thought that he was rubbish. All Alan O'Brien has done has gone on one run vs Holland. He hasn't done anything to prove that he will be an option in the future. In fact I thought that the run he went on against Holland proved that he is not ready for international football as he showed lack of awareness as there was two better options to either side of him.

[billybunter]

i have honestly not seen much of mcgeady, but a lad i know who watches celtic week in and out swears by him. when i heard he was in the running for the team, i checked out some vids on youtube. granted highlight vids hardly tell the story, but based on what i'd seen i was well looking forward to seeing him in action. staunton fooked that up. cant comment on o'brien - never seen the kid in action. i think mcphail, andy reid, and stephen ireland are "birds of a feather" and any one of them would add a liam brady type creativity to the team - someone that can play a killer ball - fook it even to play the simple ball and keep posession would do at this stage. would love to see one of them paired with either kavanagh or stephen reid in the middle against the cypriots. being an exile (tampa, fl) it was dieheartening to see all those brilliant fans let down by a bunch of prima donna's. oshea needs to start producing - enough ****e about what he could/should add - he's a man utd player for long enough to know how to win a header (in either box!0 and hold and pass a ball. alex fergusone should sue royal antwerp for negligence for schooling him!!!. shay given, dunne, doyle were at least reasonably proud to wear the shirt. real pride is not a hug for all the players for the camera's before the match, kicking a water bottle on the sideline, or a grimace of determination when the camera's are on. real pride is putting your nut on the ball in the box, stepping up and burying the fookin ball in the back of the net like kevin moran used to - and o'shea has 4 inches on moran at set pieces! - moran would gobble him up. give mcgeady a run - 2/3 games, then lets judge him on that , (there's a lad over here that excels or dallas every week- Ronnie o'brien and he's beter than kilbane by a texas mile. give us some hope for the future. give the young lads a shot in the next 2 years and figure out a plan for some long term hope to see a major championships in the next 4-6 years. it is a sad thought when you have players talking about 'having to get something" out of the next game when its Cyprus away!! how times have changed. we need to do cyprus 2, 3 nil, and based on last night, Its hard to see us creating much for keane and doyle (or whoever) with a midfield of kilbane and o'shea!

[eighties mullet]

Mc Geady on the right, take some pressure off Duff on the left, who for the last 4 years has been relied upon to create everything. Stephen Reid as the holding midfielder and andy reid pulling the strings, o'sh@@ and Kilbane should never play for ireland again

[endabob1]

A midfield of
Duff, Ireland, S.Reid and McGeady

My only concern is that the 2 centre backs could do with a ball winner in front of them neither Reid or Ireland are really that type of player, in theory O'Shea should be but in Practice I'd rather see Pierce O'Leary come out of retirement than see O'Shea in an Irish midfield again.

[Stuttgart88]

Maybe my opinion on O'Shea's performance is based on how he started the game rather than how he finished it but I think he did well. Kilbane's distribution was far worse than O'Shea's. I thought O'Shea did the bread & butter stuff well for the first half and found his team mates with simple passes and helped contain their midfield.

My preferred choice of central midfield is S. Reid and A. Reid, or maybe Miller. It's a bit speculative but we can't go on with Kilbane playing CM.

No other game will be as tough as Germany away and I'd like to see a proper user of the ball in there in future.

The last time I can remember one of our front two actually being played in by a pass from the centre was Morrison running onto a Keane pass early in Paris.

I can understand Staunton wanting size & strength in the middle but for the remaining games I want to see him trust our creative players and hope that what they offer in an attacking sense outweighs any perceived negatives defensively. I still think we've every chance of 6 points by mid-October which'll be fine by me.

[wallis]

In my opinion what we lack is a real creative midfielder in the centre. You can sense Keanes frustrations at times and can understand why he feels the need to drop back into that 'pocket' and pick the ball up.

OShea, Kilbane , Reid etc are all solid enough and get the work done but there is no one who will run at the defence and commit some of the opposition. The few bright moments of our attack was when someone took the ball forward and ran at the germans forcing them onto the back foot. We picked up numerous freekicks in dangerous areas where they deliberately pulled down our players because they couldnt cope with it. Frings must have fouled four or five times without a card.

What I would like to see is someone else in the middle who can create. Is RK the answer ? In the last few months he has been playing in this kind of role for Spurs with great effect. Should we go 4-5-1 and give him a free role in the centre ?

Something else that has disappointed me is our lack of skills in the dead ball areas. We used to be good at this and one of our strengths was the height and power we had from free kicks. I counted at least 10 times where we had either a corner or free from wide positions and with the exception of Dunnes last minute header over the bar , I could not remember us making anything of them.

[youngirish]

I don't think we're going to get an ideal balance in centre midfield for a while because we are so short there. But I do think Steven Reid is a better option than either Kilbane or O'Shea. I think that Duff might be better in the centre as well because then he'd be more involved - Alan O'Brien could take his place on the left wing.

Alan O'Brien can't even get onto the pitch at Newcastle. He shoudln't even be in the squad.

JOS definitely needs to go. He again was seen to be solely lacking on saturday and was by far Ireland's worst player. How many chances is he going to get? If we replace him with Andy Reid, Joey O'Brien or Stephen Ireland (if he starts to get his game more regularly at City) then I think we'd see a dramatic improvement immeditately. I'd probably try McGeady on the wings with Duff also (or Andy Reid if he doesn't play in CM).

[Stuttgart88]

O'Shea would not be in my starting XI. But I can't say he was the worst on Saturday. I thought Kilbane was the one who stood out as being a square peg in a round hole despite, as usual, putting in a good honest shift.

I really do think though that our best midfield for the next 2 games will contain two out of A. Reid, Miller and McGeady. I wouldn't be unhappy with A. Reid RHM with Miller centrally.

We simply can not continue having no proper ball user in central midfield.

[casso36]

I dont think we can qualify with a midfield with O'Shea or Kilbane but do we have any other options?Is McPhail worth a chance?Apart from Gibson(Man utd) and Garvan(Ipswich) who are both too young we dont seem to have anybody coming through.


What needs to be done is MIDFIELDERS PLAYING IN THEIR POSITIONS!!! MIDFIELD FOR FLUCK SAKE!!! YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A GENIUS TO WORK THAT OUT!!!! But then again Stauton is a CLOWN (Dunphy Quote) And i tend to agree with him!!!

[German_Tim]

If I was Staunton, I'd pull Robbie Keane back in the midfield and play this way:


------------------Given

Finnan------O'Brien-------Dunne-------Harte

--------------------Reid

McGeady-----------------------------Duff

--------------------Keane

-------------Doyle-----------Morrison




Btw: Here the markings of the famous German football magazine "Kicker" (somehow I can't understand the bad ratings for Lahm, Frings, Doyle & O'Brien, who IMO deserved better marks - Kilbane & O'Shea can be happy with a 4, I think):

1 = great
2= good
3= satisfying
4= sufficient
5= deficient
6=insufficient


Deutschland: Lehmann (4) - Lahm (3), A. Friedrich (3), M. Friedrich (2,5), Jansen (3,5) - B. Schneider (2,5), Frings (3,5), Ballack (4,5), Schweinsteiger (3) - Klose (3), Podolski (3,5)

Trainer: Löw


Irland: Given (1,5) - Carr (4), An. O'Brien (4,5), Dunne (2,5), Finnan (3,5) - S. Reid (3), O'Shea (4), Kilbane (4), Duff (4) - Keane (3,5), Doyle (4)

Trainer: Staunton



Good night.

[Volcán Masaya]

If I was Staunton, I'd pull Robbie Keane back in the midfield and play this way:


------------------Given

Harte------O'Brien-------Dunne-------Finnan

--------------------Reid

McGeady-----------------------------Duff

--------------------Keane

-------------Doyle-----------Morrison




Harte at LB?

If you're going to play Keane in more of a withdrawn attacking midfielder role, then you're basically playing a 4-3-1-2. In that setup you can't really play two out and out wingers as you're putting way too much work on the DM (Reid in this case). Opponents would come barelling right down the middle. You need a DM, two solid central midfielders with the fullbacks taking up some of the role of the wingers and getting the crosses in (which both Carr and Finnan are well capable off, but Finnan out of place compromises that somewhat).

I don't know if we really have the players to pull it off.

Also, we're not using two of our most skillful players in that setup, Duff and McGeady (granted Duff leaves a lot to be desired recently).

a 4-5-1 (4-2-3-1) might be worth a shot, with the wide players switching. (Kind of like Mourinho's line-up's the last two seasons).

------------------Given

Carr------O'Brien-------Dunne-------Finnan

--------------Reid ----Carsley/O'Shea

McGeady------------Keane-----------------Duff

----------------- -- Doyle-----

[youngirish]

I dont think we can qualify with a midfield with O'Shea or Kilbane but do we have any other options?Is McPhail worth a chance?Apart from Gibson(Man utd) and Garvan(Ipswich) who are both too young we dont seem to have anybody coming through.

If there's one position we do have a deluge of players coming through it's central midfield. In addition to the ones you mentioned J O'Brien is a midfield player, Stephen Ireland, Chris Mc Cann and Michael Timlin, all are very young and all bar Timlin are getting regular games for their clubs. If pre-season is anything to go by Timlin will get his chance in the Fulham team before long too (probably the Carling Cup).

Give it a year and I'm sure one or two of the above will be good enough and there'll be no more need for O'Shea (hopefully). However you are right about not being able to do anything quick enough for this campaign unless O'Brien can play for Bolton in midfield regularly this season instead of as a full back.

[Stuttgart88]

The most frustrating aspect of all this though is that we're at the mercy of a foreign system run by corrupt tycoons and spiv managers who take a short-term approach to everything. They'd much rather buy talent & skim fees for themselves than nurture it. I asked the question, somewhat in naive hope, a few months ago that could Sunderland's Irish ownership at least provide a platform to develop Irish talent. Maybe it will.

If our football system could be more self-sufficient I'd be far more confident that a higher proportion of our talented players would fulfill their potential. I'd hazard a guess that instead of sending players to Antwerp or wherever, if some MUFC reserves played in Ireland for a bit it'd attract more attention from the anglophiles.

4-4-2 of Duff, S. Reid, A. Reid (or Miller) and McGeady looks best to me.

With regard to the comments about central midfield's inadequacies putting more pressure (and allowing extra marking) on Duff, I also think that a natural overlapping left footer at full back would ease Duff's burden too.

I'm critcal of Staunton's central midfield selection but given the job at hand for last weekend I'm supportive of the Finnan LB / Carr RB selection. I wouldn't be happy with it going forward though. If a defensive midfield is required I'd be happy to see Carr RHM in front of Finnan at RB. My worry is that a deal has been struck with Carr though.

[casso36]

If there's one position we do have a deluge of players coming through it's central midfield. In addition to the ones you mentioned J O'Brien is a midfield player, Stephen Ireland, Chris Mc Cann and Michael Timlin, all are very young and all bar Timlin are getting regular games for their clubs. If pre-season is anything to go by Timlin will get his chance in the Fulham team before long too (probably the Carling Cup).

Give it a year and I'm sure one or two of the above will be good enough and there'll be no more need for O'Shea (hopefully). However you are right about not being able to do anything quick enough for this campaign unless O'Brien can play for Bolton in midfield regularly this season instead of as a full back.

They'll never be good enough if they don't play!!! I thought the whole Staunton idea was to rebuild? Face it we all know that we won't qualify for the Euro2008 finals! He needs to play the youth coming through and see what they are made off, and if they are good enough.

If not we're screwed for the forseeable future!! Need new blood. Why not play the new ones coming up and blood them now and maybe in 4 years time will will be able to compete properly!!

[Stuttgart88]

As 5th seeds?

[dr_peepee]

As much as I want/hope the like of O'Brien and Ireland etc progress as players I don't think they are the answer to our midfield problem.

We need a defensive midfielder comfortable in posession. O'Shea is coping well in a defensive roll at UTD because he's surrounded by the quality that he doesn't have to actually "play" too much football once he breaks up play. Unfortunately he doesn't have that luxury for Ireland, which is why his flaws are far more evident playing for us. Even Hargreaves for England plays a similar roll. Some people have called for a return for Carsley, but having seen him for Everton I think he would be as exposed as O'Shea in our current squad.

I've said already that I think we need to cast the net wider to find the best foil for Steven Reid, even down a division to the like of McPhail, Whelan. (I've not seen them so I can't actually say if they're better than what we have)

As duff is being doubled up on maybe it's time to include McGeady regularly to expose the space created by the attention to Duff. I quite like the look of a team in a previous thread where McGeady, Keane, Duff played behind Doyle suported by the back four from Sat, Steven Reid plus ONE. It's actually not too different to the team that started against Sweden. But as I said I think the player playing beside Reid is the key to how it all works.

[German_Tim]

a 4-5-1 (4-2-3-1) might be worth a shot, with the wide players switching. (Kind of like Mourinho's line-up's the last two seasons).

------------------Given

Carr------O'Brien-------Dunne-------Finnan

--------------Reid ----Carsley/O'Shea

McGeady------------Keane-----------------Duff

----------------- -- Doyle-----


I think you won't manage to defeat the Czechs with only 1 striker. A 4:2:3:1 system surely is very popular these days...but at home I'd always play with at least 2 strikers (4:4:2 or 4:3:3) in order to create pressure on the opponent's defence!

Well, it's Staunton's decision...so we'll see what is gonna happen. Fact is, that you won't beat the Czechs & Slowakians (who have strong players like Mintal or Vittek - the "heart" of the Nuremberg Bundesliga team) without an improvement in midfield and attack!


PS: Why should Harte not play LB? :confused: IMO he's better than Carr, so Finnan could play his right position RB.

[geysir]

I don't agree with both McGeady and Duff being selected.
With our front two, we need one of the midfielders who can spot/anticipate the runs of Doyle and Keane and find them with a lucious pass, not a hopeful punt or just a cross from the corner flag
For that reason I wouldn't have both Duff and McGeady at LM and RM respectivly.
I would rather have Ireland, A Reid, Mc Phail or Miller at Right midf.
with a licence to pass the killer balls.

For a midfield anchor, atm, there is only Carsley or O'Shea.
Central midf. Reid or Reid
left midf. Duff or McGeady

The $64k Q is will Stan persist with KK? It's time for Bobby's input. You could surmise that whatever hopes we have are enjoined with Bobby's fate.

[plasticpitch]

just a point with regard to kevin doyle. his manager at reading has said that his best football is played when he picks the ball up deep and creates... a wayne rooney if ya like. if we were to play with one striker i think it would have to be him dropping deep. at least he holds the ball up . it was great to see him beat 3 germans in one run he had. problem is he was isolated all the time. how do we solve this problem

[Stuttgart88]

In the aftermath of Roy Keane's first retirement I felt that a 3-5-2 might be a solution.

My thinking was we had players with talent like Duff, Andy Reid, Robbie etc. but who we struggled to get involved, so add an extra man where it counts - either in the engine room, or further forward.

I've been hammered on this forum before for suggesting it. The Aussies and Croats used something along these lines in the WC. I saw the Aussies first hand & they were so well drilled by Hiddink. 3 big lads at the back, Grella permanently in front. We don't have a Grella but I reckon in about 7 positions we have better players, or at least as good.

Wales cover up for their inadequacies by doing the same.

The only time we tried something similar we botched it. Wrong players and no real understanding from management how it works.

I'd just love to see us tactically adaptable enough to at least use it as a plan B to either break down a defence minded minnow at home, or try and recover a deficit away, like on Saturday.

But deep down I don't think drastic action is required. Playing central midfielders in central midfield is where I'd start!

[NeilMcD]

Good post, Stuttgart I think in a lot of the hype surrounding saturday the main thing is that our central midfield needs to be sorted. As I said on another thread its the engine room and thats where you start first.

[Stuttgart88]

If a Kevin Nolan or Tim Cahill type player was available to us we'd be in much better shape.

A natural central midfielder has a central midfielder's instinct & awareness. He's naturally comfortable in that area of the pitch, and knows where to be, when to carry the ball, when to lay it off and when to play a final ball. O'Shea doesn't have these instincts. He's been brought up as a defender. Kilbane doesn't either. He's a limited but game & willing left winger. Every now & again they'll get it right but that's not good enough.

Whilst preferable, I don't think it's essential we have a holder & and a playmaker. A ball winner & a ball user combo would be just as good.

Douglas & Miller actually made a decent fist of central midfield in the second half against the Dutch. Neither is a world beater but I think it showed that having two players naturally equipped for the role is better than two makeshifts.

Graham Kavanagh is a genuinely natural central midfielder. But since his recall by Kerr I've only rated two of his performances - home to Cyprus & the Brazil friendly. Everything else has been a disappointment. He doesn't look like the answer, not even as a stop gap.

I think it's criminal that after 5 years in the Irish set up nobody really knows what Steven Reid is like in this position for Ireland. I thought he was good against Sweden and poor against Holland and I'm not sure I can remember another game where he started here.

There must be a combination of proper midfielders that can perform effectively.

This is how I see the candidates:


Steven Reid - athletic and comfortable in the middle. Great ball striker but lacks finesse.
Andy Reid - talent, vision & awareness. Lacks athleticism?
Alan Quinn - there's something about this guy I like. Busy, industrious and comfortable in the middle. Always looking to develop play.
Jonathon Douglas - puts himself about and full of energy. That's about all I've noticed of him though. Gets some goals for Leeds but I've seen him miss good chances too. At least he gets forward though.
Liam Miller - all the skill in the world but lacks presence. Villareal away will always stick in my mind. Maybe Steven Reid can cover for his weakness.
Graham Kavanagh - has the brain for the role but not the legs
Stephen Ireland - lots of talent but lightweight. Joey Barton complements him well at City. Who can do that for us? Steven Reid?
Stephen McPhail - having a good season to date at Cardiff. Proper old-fashioned playmaker, with great range of passing, but lacking presence. This type of players is protected in international football though. Extremely one footed (left).
Joey O'Brien - tall & athletic and favours central midfield. Injured right now but maybe worth a look if we're winning well against San Marino.
Owen Garvan - has it all apparently but is only a kid and has yet to play this season due to illness.
Kevin Kilbane - NOT A CENTRAL MIDFIELDER
John O'Shea - defender who can play a bit but that's all. Lacks concentration & awareness.

There are others on the fringes too but not realistic contenders. Glenn Whelan doesn't seem to be making progress. Potter is at Wolves now but not starting.

Others?

[NeilMcD]

Lee Carsley possibly

[colster]

In the aftermath of Roy Keane's first retirement I felt that a 3-5-2 might be a solution.

My thinking was we had players with talent like Duff, Andy Reid, Robbie etc. but who we struggled to get involved, so add an extra man where it counts - either in the engine room, or further forward.

I've been hammered on this forum before for suggesting it. The Aussies and Croats used something along these lines in the WC. I saw the Aussies first hand & they were so well drilled by Hiddink. 3 big lads at the back, Grella permanently in front. We don't have a Grella but I reckon in about 7 positions we have better players, or at least as good.

Wales cover up for their inadequacies by doing the same.

The only time we tried something similar we botched it. Wrong players and no real understanding from management how it works.

I'd just love to see us tactically adaptable enough to at least use it as a plan B to either break down a defence minded minnow at home, or try and recover a deficit away, like on Saturday.

But deep down I don't think drastic action is required. Playing central midfielders in central midfield is where I'd start!


Didn't we try a 3-4-3 against Chile (I think)? Kelly played as centre half.

[Stuttgart88]

That's right. It was Kelly's selection in that role that was a key error in my opinion.

soccerc told me that Kelly was an absolute disaster at centre-back up in Lurgan when we played the Norn Iron U21s.

He's slightly built but well suited to be an attacking full back.

3 at the back requires 3 strong lads in my opinion. I can't recall exactly how we were set up that day, but it did appear that the players were clueless as to their roles.

[youngirish]

There are others on the fringes too but not realistic contenders. Glenn Whelan doesn't seem to be making progress. Potter is at Wolves now but not starting.

Others?

I like the look of Chris McCann from Burnley more so than Whelan or Potter. Lots of potential but not a serious contender for a while yet. I reckon Timlin at Fulham is possibly an option by the end of this season also though it's too early to tell. We'll see how many games he gets. Hopefully he can break into the team like Ireland and O'Brien last year and hold onto his place.

[shakermaker1982]

Reid and Reid would be my starting central MF players. Kilbane and O'Shea have had their go and don't come up to scratch. Keep em in the squad for cover but nothing else.

I'd like to see Douglas and J O'Brien getting a fair crack as well but with no friendly this week we are going into the Cyprus game not knowing our best team.

[ken foree]

Others?

i remember o'connor and thornton being heavily touted on here and the latter, from what little i've seen, certainly has skill but perhaps too much youthful indiscipline, to put it nicely. would love to see s. ireland and s. reid in midfield.

[endabob1]

That's right. It was Kelly's selection in that role that was a key error in my opinion.

soccerc told me that Kelly was an absolute disaster at centre-back up in Lurgan when we played the Norn Iron U21s.

He's slightly built but well suited to be an attacking full back.

3 at the back requires 3 strong lads in my opinion. I can't recall exactly how we were set up that day, but it did appear that the players were clueless as to their roles.

Kelly is a tall lad who might fill out (not as much as dunne though:D ) but he cerainly does have the frame to be a centre back. He played most of his games for the Spurs reserves there but only ever played at right or left full for the first team, not sure where he's played since he went to Birmingham.

[Stuttgart88]

Doesn't look like Owen Garvan will be around for a while yet. From soccerscene.ie:

Ipswich Town midfielder Owen Garvan is determined to return to football stronger than ever.


Garvan has decided to take each as it comes and is not putting pressure on himself by indicating when he will return.


Garvan who broke onto the scene last year with Ipswich Town made 29 starts. Garvan actually made his League debut as a 16year old.

Although only 18 – he appears to have been around for ages – is suffering from post viral fatigue syndrome.

"It was difficult to accept at first, but I am handling it okay now. It might take some time, but I am determined to be back full of beans as soon as possible," said Garvan.

"I am on the mend. For a while I could not get out of bed on my own. I had no energy and needed help.

"I have been told that the next move has to come from me, and that I will know when I am strong enough to start thinking about training again.

"It is very frustrating and I rarely go up to the training ground any more as it makes it worse seeing everybody else running around. At the moment I am allowed one walk a day.

"There has been an improvement. But I have been told that it is likely to be a slow process. I will be doing all I can to get back, but I cannot set any dates yet."

[bwagner]

yea what about the 5 or 6 o 'connors we have playin in england...i get confused which 1 is which............

[ken foree]

Doesn't look like Owen Garvan will be around for a while yet.

awful news, godspeed.

[Billsthoughts]

jesus thats awful.
poor lad.
hope he gets better soon.

[geysir]

Ther's a long list of midfielders but you need to get a balance as was England's problem.
As long as O'Shea is fit he will be selected, no use in planning a midfield without him. S Reid beside him, Duff on the left and An other on the right. My choice is for the most skillfull player available, for RM, if Andy Reid gets in a few club games then he could or should get in ahead of KK.

[RoppongiRebel]

I think he is back playing football this season. He's had horrific luck with injuries but I always thought he looked handy. Could do worse than put him back in the squad. He is good on the ball and tackles (a bit) like vieira. Anyone know how he is getting on?

[Stuttgart88]

As far as I know he hasn't been starting but has been coming on frequently as a late sub. He's at Barnsley now, in the Championship.