John O'Shea

[Ceirtlis]

O'Shea is a follower not a leader, he can get through games for Man Utd without doing much wrong and that is why they held onto him but he is not the sort of player that could be one of the better players in any team. He has been playing well recently fair play to him and he played well against Slovakia for Ireland as well.

[as_i_say]

another blinkered view on this forum.
o’shea has been playing well recently with a few important goals thrown in. doesn’t always do it for us but not as bad as some people on here make out

obviously you missed my sarcasm. He is doing better recently, but its only when you compare how usually p!ss poor he is, with his current form (his last maybe 5/6 club games he has played well).

Consistently the worst player in an Irish shirt over the past few seasons-I watch his every move for ireland and his performances have been dire. San marino at home being the highlight. someone playing regularly for the best team in England should not always be this cr@p for ireland.

[Wolfie]

It's an obvious point but I think Stan may show a reluctance to drop O'Shea. In fairness to O'Shea, he's been a bit steadier of late but still nowhere near the positive, pro-active and dominant influence Ireland require. (This is based on Irish performances as he's being carried at United to a certain degree).

I think Joey O'Brien (if fit) and Finnan should be the full backs for the Autumn.

O'Shea should not be let anywhere near the midfield either.

[youngirish]

It's an obvious point but I think Stan may show a reluctance to drop O'Shea. In fairness to O'Shea, he's been a bit steadier of late but still nowhere near the positive, pro-active and dominant influence Ireland require. (This is based on Irish performances as he's being carried at United to a certain degree).

I think Joey O'Brien (if fit) and Finnan should be the full backs for the Autumn.

O'Shea should not be let anywhere near the midfield either.
Stephen Kelly and Darren O'Dea should be looked at in the left back role as an alternative to O'Shea even though it's not their preferred role they both look confortable enough there.

I agree 100% with you about the midfield. The day Staunton puts O'Shea back in central midfield is the day he should be handed his P45.

[citizenerased]

i dont get it.......!!

[jbyrne]

Consistently the worst player in an Irish shirt over the past few seasons-I watch his every move for ireland and his performances have been dire. San marino at home being the highlight. someone playing regularly for the best team in England should not always be this cr@p for ireland.

how do you know he is the worst if you are only watching him??? the fact that you admit you "watch his every move" illustrates the vendeta many ABUs have against him and want to pick on every mistake. and before you ask i'm not a utd fan.
he is nowhere near our best player but isnt half as bad as people on here say

[youngirish]

how do you know he is the worst if you are only watching him??? the fact that you admit you "watch his every move" illustrates the vendeta many ABUs have against him and want to pick on every mistake. and before you ask i'm not a utd fan.
he is nowhere near our best player but isnt half as bad as people on here say

I'm not an ABU but O'Shea has been shi*e for Ireland. Anyone who has ever kicked a football or watched a few games could see that. Do I need to list examples?

If so Switzerland in Basle in the Euros, Cyprus away (twice), Holland at home, San Marino away, Germany away, Croatia at home and Israel at home are all games you should watch.

In many of the other games he has been average at best. He has rarely been better than average (if ever) but is frequently worse. He has turned me into an ABOS (anything but O'Shea).

[OwlsFan]

O'Shea hasn't been great for Ireland but his last two games have shown a distinct improvement and his form at Man U seems to have picked up as well. Credit where credit is due.

[eirebhoy]

I still think it's all about standards though. If a 25 made his debut for Irelandagainst Slovakia and Wales and put in similar performances to O'Shea I wouldn't have been impressed. He always looks nervous, rarely moves too far forward and isn't convincing in defence.

[Wolfie]

O'Shea hasn't been great for Ireland but his last two games have shown a distinct improvement and his form at Man U seems to have picked up as well. Credit where credit is due.

It's a fair point - despite the reservations.

He'll need to retain that upturn in form for the next few weeks as well..........

[Metrostars]

I see John O'Shea has now scored more Premiership goals than Shevchenko this season. May be Stan should play him up front :D

No he hasnt. Both have scored 4.

[John83]

He has turned me into an ABOS (anything but O'Shea).
I'd be one of those, only I still have nightmares about Ian Harte.

[as_i_say]

how do you know he is the worst if you are only watching him??? the fact that you admit you "watch his every move" illustrates the vendeta many ABUs have against him and want to pick on every mistake. and before you ask i'm not a utd fan.
he is nowhere near our best player but isnt half as bad as people on here say

:D ABU!

i would rather see united win against any team that does not contain any irish players because o shea plays for them and is part of the irish set up. i hope he will pull the finger out for ireland but he has been consitently crap.

as for watching his every move you are implying that im using my eyes as a webcam on oshea-rubbish.

but yes, i do think he has consistently been the WORST player for ireland in the past few years, given the fact he plays nearly every game for us, his attitude is poor and he is lazy/falls asleep on the pitch.

its not his fault he keeps getting picked but it is his fault for being sh!te, ill admit he's been solid lately for man u but then again i coudnt care less about them, or any other english team ;)

[Dr. Ogba]

To be fair to O'Shea I thought his performance against Slovakia was flawless and I would consider him to be still first choice full back (what side depends on the whims of "de gaffur") for September....Am hoping for decent performances from Foley/Geary/S. Kelly over the summer now to put pressure on him but, at the moment, its his position to lose...

[youngirish]

I'd be one of those, only I still have nightmares about Ian Harte.

At least he was good at freekicks.

[DeNiro]

To be fair to O'Shea I thought his performance against Slovakia was flawless and I would consider him to be still first choice full back (what side depends on the whims of "de gaffur") for September....Am hoping for decent performances from Foley/Geary/S. Kelly over the summer now to put pressure on him but, at the moment, its his position to lose...

While there was an improvement, I would hesitate to use the word flawless in a description of his performance. At one stage the left winger was scorching him for pass, but he recovered. It was only when McGeady out paced the same winger and tricked away from him that I realised how slow O'Shea is. He's an average premier league player, but nothing more!

[macdermesser]

I know people will just love me for resurrecting this thread ... vying for top spot with Ian Harte best left full in the world thread .. but saw this on youtube today .. and thought it was worth posting.


A dangerous question to ask .. but what would have happened had it gone in ...

4dtgqs6u17U

[stiofain]

Oh the memories....

[RogerMilla]

if that one had gone in we would most likely have made it to germany , the french could have brought back platini fernandez and just fontaine for the next few games but we would have had the upper hand from then on

[Torn-Ado]

if that one had gone in we would most likely have made it to germany , the french could have brought back platini fernandez and just fontaine for the next few games but we would have had the upper hand from then on

they would have equalised late like Israel.

[macdermesser]

France never looked like scoring ..

we would have finished on 19 points and France on 19. Of course, we might have played more defensive in the home game and the second best team in the 2006 World Cup would have been out.

Very thin line between success and failure. Maybe O'Shea would be a hero now too! "O Shea, O Shea O shea O shea" to the tune of Ole Ole.

A lot of oul nostalgia guff going on here at the moment :-)

[RogerMilla]

France never looked like scoring ..

A lot of oul nostalgia guff going on here at the moment :-)

its the silly season macder , not much else to keep us occupied,
i see o'shea has signed on again at united and a huge wage increase , he is a great utility man for them , needs to make a position his own on the ireland team and then just stay there. we will see the best of him then

[DmanDmythDledge]

Going by this I'd stick him upfront.:D
JPUpdRYDbMo

[RogerMilla]

was some goal alright , any striker would be proud , thats the trouble with the fella , its the potential that he hasnt so far managed to reach in the green jersey

[Irish_Praha]

I'll always remember the shocked look on his face after scoring, as if to say "Did I do that!?" :D

It shows he has the skill if given space and time on the ball but against top-level teams and at international level you usually don't get so much time. His main problem seems to be that he doesn't react in time to make a quick decision when under any type of pressure and unfortunately when he plays for Ireland he always seems to be under pressure.

[tetsujin1979]

I'll always remember the shocked look on his face after scoring, as if to say "Did I do that!?" :D

It shows he has the skill if given space and time on the ball but against top-level teams and at international level you usually don't get so much time. His main problem seems to be that he doesn't react in time to make a quick decision when under any type of pressure and unfortunately when he plays for Ireland he always seems to be under pressure.

Maybe that's because the opposition have identified him as a weak link?

[DmanDmythDledge]

I'll always remember the shocked look on his face after scoring, as if to say "Did I do that!?" :D
He was doing his version of the Cantona vs Sunderland celebration.

[Irish_Praha]

Maybe that's because the opposition have identified him as a weak link?

But he seems to be under pressure even when there's no opposing player anywhere near him.
I haven't read this whole thread but the general opinion on post match threads is that he doesn't care about playing for Ireland and is lazy and careless. I myself think he cares a lot and lets the occasion get to him resulting in indecision and taking the wrong option or a poor pass. Some people just can't handle the pressure of 30,000 plus fellow country men watching you when you are in possession of the ball. The Czech incident could be seen as him being too lazy to get back and help his CB partner or another case of making the wrong decision when under the pressure of being in the green shirt. Being shifted around 3 or 4 different positions for his club cant help much either. I definitely think he has the skill to play at international level but would question if he has the mental toughness, for such a big lad sometimes he plays like a pansy. Stan and/or Fregie should introduce him to a sports psychologist. If no improvements are seen it will become obvious that pressure or no pressure he is unable to make a quick decision when on the park.

[Colie]

Well I can safely say it wasn't John O'Shea. He'd be excited that somebody recognised him!!!Please mate, Johnno is after Keane, Irwin & Lawrensen in the honours list. That's some serious company.

[jmurphyc]

Please mate, Johnno is after Keane, Irwin & Lawrensen in the honours list. That's some serious company.

Is this a p*ss take?

[Razors left peg]

Is this a p*ss take?

well name the other Irish players that have more medals than him?

[srfc19]

i think steve finnan might?

[Razors left peg]

i think steve finnan might?

I dont think he has, United have won alot more than Liverpool in last few years

[jmurphyc]

well name the other Irish players that have more medals than him?

Well, after re-reading the person's thread I'm not sure what he was trying to say. John O'Shea has a fair few medals, fair enough, but it doesn't take away from the fact that he is a relatively poor player whose game hasn't developed to anywhere near the standard it could have. I'm just sick of the guy's attitude and don't like it when people make him out to have made the right choice in sticking with Utd. Perhaps I was being a little too harsh though...

[stojkovic]

well name the other Irish players that have more medals than him?

Ronnie Whelan
Steve Heighway

Houghton and Aldridge have leagues and cups but no Euro medals. But have played in two World Cups and a Euros.

Brady has two Serie A titles which gotta count extra.

And Gilesy of course has a **** load.

[stojkovic]

Anyway dont forget the following players who have World Cup winners medals ;

Frank Leboef
Eric Djumbo Djumbo
Kleberson
Stefan Guivarch

Doesnt make them great players.

[Razors left peg]

Ronnie Whelan
Steve Heighway

Houghton and Aldridge have leagues and cups but no Euro medals. But have played in two World Cups and a Euros.

Brady has two Serie A titles which gotta count extra.

And Gilesy of course has a **** load.

Why does Serie A titles mean more than Premiership?????

[Razors left peg]

Anyway dont forget the following players who have World Cup winners medals ;

Frank Leboef
Eric Djumbo Djumbo
Kleberson
Stefan Guivarch

Doesnt make them great players.

When exactly did Cameroon win the world cup??

[stojkovic]

Why does Serie A titles mean more than Premiership?????

The only Irish (even including British) player to win one. And at a time when foreigners were restricted to two per club.

BTW Im not stating a fact just making an observation ;)

[stojkovic]

When exactly did Cameroon win the world cup??

Oh yeah twas Africans Cup he won in 2002. Just lumped hm in with Kleberson cuz they were both sh1te.

[Razors left peg]

The only Irish (even including British) player to win one. And at a time when foreigners were restricted to two per club.

BTW Im not stating a fact just making an observation ;)

Fair enough, but Im just making the point that John O Shea knocking seems to be fashionable on here.Hes not a superstar but at the same time Alex Ferguson has kept him as part of a winning squad while discarding plenty of dead wood over the years so he must see something in him, and I for one think he is our best option to partner Dunne

[Razors left peg]

Oh yeah twas Africans Cup he won in 2002. Just lumped hm in with Kleberson cuz they were both sh1te.

Granted... but both were dumped long ago by United while O Shea stayed on.As Ive said hes not a great player but hes not nearly as bad as he is made out to be.... Ive seen some clowns on here say that there are better defenders in the Eircom League

[stojkovic]

Fair enough, but Im just making the point that John O Shea knocking seems to be fashionable on here.

I don't even mention the guy's name anymore. You can't flog a dead horse.

[Maroon 7]

Please mate, Johnno is after Keane, Irwin & Lawrensen in the honours list. That's some serious company.

Well he has plenty of medals alright. Even if his main function at United is to keep the bench warm.

Anyway dreadfully poor form by those players not signing the kids autographs. McGrath probably felt like chinning them only for he's so placid.

[gilberto_eire]

For a country not exactly blessed with a great pool of players(squad always needs to be filled with lower tier players) i think the John O'Shea bashing on here is pathetic tbh, never hear it in ''the terraces'' either.

Why do any of ye care if he decided to stay at United and be a squad player, cause i can't see any other reason then that for the flak, does nobody ever remember these guys have lives off the screen and he might be as settled in Manchester as i am in Galway(i wouldnt leave Galway for anywhere maybe he's like that with Manchester).

Let's also remember he's a squad player for the biggest club in the world and best in Europe, i suppose someone like Nicky Butt took the better option?? :rolleyes:

Don't know where to look for figures but i'm guessing when you consider all the cups United play in he must have made at least 20 appearances last season, hardly worth leaving the worlds biggest club over. Fergie rates him highly enough to keep offering him contracts anyway and since we're no world beaters and he never disgraced the shirt i don't see why people can't get over bashing him!!

My only prob was him turning from the shot in Bratislava and you can say that's a reaction!!

[jmurphyc]

For a country not exactly blessed with a great pool of players(squad always needs to be filled with lower tier players) i think the John O'Shea bashing on here is pathetic tbh, never hear it in ''the terraces'' either.

Why do any of ye care if he decided to stay at United and be a squad player, cause i can't see any other reason then that for the flak, does nobody ever remember these guys have lives off the screen and he might be as settled in Manchester as i am in Galway(i wouldnt leave Galway for anywhere maybe he's like that with Manchester).

Let's also remember he's a squad player for the biggest club in the world and best in Europe, i suppose someone like Nicky Butt took the better option?? :rolleyes:

Don't know where to look for figures but i'm guessing when you consider all the cups United play in he must have made at least 20 appearances last season, hardly worth leaving the worlds biggest club over. Fergie rates him highly enough to keep offering him contracts anyway and since we're no world beaters and he never disgraced the shirt i don't see why people can't get over bashing him!!

My only prob was him turning from the shot in Bratislava and you can say that's a reaction!!

I don't have a problem with him but I do think he should have left Utd by now. I don't personally know the guy but from a footballing point of view staying at Utd is an easy option to take and he's very much in his comfort zone.

People keep talking about Fergie rating him; if Ferguson rated him that much he'd entrust him with more time on the pitch and in important games too. How much do he feature in Utd's games in the knockout stages? Did he even get on the pitch? He gets the last 10 minutes in the league when the game is safe and he can't mess it up and consequently gets his shiny new medal to add to his collection. I could understand if the guy was a squad player at the club, but he's not. He's merely an afterthought. Everyone talks about how Ferguson keeps him, but Fergie doesn't have to sell to buy, and of course it's always nice to have an spare option lying about.

I like him as a player and I think he is still possibly good enough to start the campaign as first choice centre back with Dunne. I just think the guy owes it to himself to develop as a player by getting game time and I can't see it happening anytime soon at Utd. If he wants to stay at Utd and win dozens of trophies then obviously that's his call, but how much will he have contributed to it. Will he be able to look back on his career when he's finished and say that he got the best out of the game? I don't think so.

I do think some of our fans take it a bit too far with him in saying he's a disgrace and shouldn't wear the shirt again and don't mean to make out like I'm one of them despite my grievances towards him though.

[Dyl10]

For a country not exactly blessed with a great pool of players(squad always needs to be filled with lower tier players) i think the John O'Shea bashing on here is pathetic tbh, never hear it in ''the terraces'' either.

Why do any of ye care if he decided to stay at United and be a squad player, cause i can't see any other reason then that for the flak, does nobody ever remember these guys have lives off the screen and he might be as settled in Manchester as i am in Galway(i wouldnt leave Galway for anywhere maybe he's like that with Manchester).

Let's also remember he's a squad player for the biggest club in the world and best in Europe, i suppose someone like Nicky Butt took the better option?? :rolleyes:

Don't know where to look for figures but i'm guessing when you consider all the cups United play in he must have made at least 20 appearances last season, hardly worth leaving the worlds biggest club over. Fergie rates him highly enough to keep offering him contracts anyway and since we're no world beaters and he never disgraced the shirt i don't see why people can't get over bashing him!!

My only prob was him turning from the shot in Bratislava and you can say that's a reaction!!

I think he's brutal, but fair play on putting together a very persuasive post

[Angus]

Earlier this century somebody posted about Irish players refusing to sign autographs - clearly we all then got transported to a parallel vortex where the relative shinyness of John O Shea's medals became topic numero uno

I like O Shea - fair play to him - at a top club - making money - keeping fit - playing reasonably regularly against good oppo

As for the Irish stars - leaving aside mitigating circumstances, this is a disgrace. There may be mitigating circumstances but they would want to be bloody good ones......

[jbyrne]

Don't know where to look for figures but i'm guessing when you consider all the cups United play in he must have made at least 20 appearances last season, hardly worth leaving the worlds biggest club over.

yes, made a minimum of 15 starts in all competitions. much more as a sub also.
after watching the poor show last sat night some people still think oshea is not worthy of a place in our team!! hilarious

[Kingdom]

I don't have a problem with him but I do think he should have left Utd by now. I don't personally know the guy but from a footballing point of view staying at Utd is an easy option to take and he's very much in his comfort zone.

People keep talking about Fergie rating him; if Ferguson rated him that much he'd entrust him with more time on the pitch and in important games too. How much do he feature in Utd's games in the knockout stages? Did he even get on the pitch? He gets the last 10 minutes in the league when the game is safe and he can't mess it up and consequently gets his shiny new medal to add to his collection. I could understand if the guy was a squad player at the club, but he's not. He's merely an afterthought. Everyone talks about how Ferguson keeps him, but Fergie doesn't have to sell to buy, and of course it's always nice to have an spare option lying about.

I like him as a player and I think he is still possibly good enough to start the campaign as first choice centre back with Dunne. I just think the guy owes it to himself to develop as a player by getting game time and I can't see it happening anytime soon at Utd. If he wants to stay at Utd and win dozens of trophies then obviously that's his call, but how much will he have contributed to it. Will he be able to look back on his career when he's finished and say that he got the best out of the game? I don't think so.

I do think some of our fans take it a bit too far with him in saying he's a disgrace and shouldn't wear the shirt again and don't mean to make out like I'm one of them despite my grievances towards him though.

Thats a really good synopsis of O'Shea, perhaps if the voices stopped long enough in my noggin I'd have put something as good as that together. :)