Wes Hoolahan (M Cambridge Utd b.1982)

[Kingdom]

Apart from the Saudi goal, the goal and performance against Russia at home in 2003 is what I remember. He was exceptional that day.

[Stuttgart88]

Duff scored a lovely solo goal in a low key friendly win over Canada.

[DeLorean]

Terrible but like most players/people, once they retire, they're soon forgotten. I can remember his goal against Saudi Arabia obviously but I am hard pressed to remember the other 7. No doubt there is an anorak out there who can remember them without the use of Google. Delorean ?

I'm flattered! I do have a freakish memory for certain things, certain goals, certain games, what I was doing that day, etc. but Google is very much my friend for other stuff. I used to watch my recordings of Ireland highlights over and over too when I was young, not so much in the noughties though so I'm not as sharp with some of that decade.

Off the top of my head I remember that deflected goal in the Russia game that is mentioned above, him banging one into the top corner against Croatia after cutting in from the right in a friendly, another deflection against Sweden in Stan's awe-inspiring first match (in fact he may have been lucky to have been even credited with that one if I remember correctly) and against Wales en route to Nations Cup glory.

I wouldn't have remembered that he scored in that Canada game, although I'm pretty sure Keane got the other two. That's six accounted for including the Saudi one, the other two aren't coming too freely to me at all.

[tetsujin1979]

Scored against Norway in Kerr's first home game in charge as well. That was my first time in Lansdowne Road.

[DeLorean]

I've zero recollection of that goal. I barely even remember the fixture which is kind of surprising seeing as I remember Kerr's first game pretty well, the 2-0 win in Scotland. Kilbane scored a header in that, who got the other one? I think it was another header.

[pineapple stu]

A scuffed last-minute effort in Georgia, hit into the ground and bouncing over the keeper.

Was it the first goal under Staunton? Into the area, past a defender and into the near bottom corner.

One of the goals in that silly Home Nations thing in Lansdowne Road.

A great goal in a friendly against Canada when he ran from inside his own half.

That's the best I can do I think!

Edit - didn't see the second page...

Here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Duff#Internationals_goals)'s the answer if you do want to give up. Don't click if you want to keep guessing!

[pineapple stu]

I remember Kerr's first game pretty well, the 2-0 win in Scotland. Kilbane scored a header in that, who got the other one? I think it was another header.
Morrison I think?

Remember listening on the radio; wasn't on TV as I recall. (Or else it was only on Sky and I wasn't bothered going down the pub to watch)

[DeLorean]

A scuffed last-minute effort in Georgia, hit into the ground and bouncing over the keeper.

That's another one that escapes me! Must check the score as I presume that was a qualifier, can't remember us heading to Tblisi for a friendly anyway.


Morrison I think?

Remember listening on the radio; wasn't on TV as I recall. (Or else it was only on Sky and I wasn't bothered going down the pub to watch)

Morrison sounds right, although I'm less convinced it was a header now. Kind of had a centre back type goal in my head. Yeah, I don't think it was televised which makes it more surprising I remember it but not the Norway game with any detail.

[DeLorean]

Here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Duff#Internationals_goals)'s the answer if you do want to give up. Don't click if you want to keep guessing!

I checked there and we have the lot now with Tets adding Norway and you adding Georgia. I really can't remember that Georgia one, yet another 2-1 against them! Was it a winner?

[pineapple stu]

Just been googling - the curse of the internet!

Morrison is right alright, and it wasn't a header. The Guardian's live-blog of the game (https://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/feb/12/minutebyminute.sport2) is still up.

The Georgia was a qualifier alright - but it was Doherty who got the late winner (and nearly got taken out by a glass bottle, which you could hear hitting the stanchion just as Doherty ran past celebrating); Duff's was the opener.

QT_UImU_RZU

[DeLorean]

Ah... I actually do remember the Doherty winner now. We beat Albania 2-0 around that time as well to give the campaign a little bit of a lifeline. Think Doherty might have scored or set up a goal in that too.

[tetsujin1979]

Morrison I think?

Remember listening on the radio; wasn't on TV as I recall. (Or else it was only on Sky and I wasn't bothered going down the pub to watch)

yeah, it was Morrison. I lived pretty close to my manager in work at the time, we met in the pub to watch it.

[paul_oshea]

ya i remember that goal from Doherty, sure it was a huge deal at the time and everyone making out he had saved kerrs skin/face. was it the 86th minute he got it? didnt click the link - but I can remember the goal well.

Every team has had a lucky escape from Georgia, we have had more than our fair share of them. Its like Ireland used to be in the rugby chasing the elusive scalp, cursing decisions/what ifs/what could have been. Still they must be feeling somewhat hard done by they havent had a few down the years.

[Stuttgart88]

Ah... I actually do remember the Doherty winner now. We beat Albania 2-0 around that time as well to give the campaign a little bit of a lifeline. Think Doherty might have scored or set up a goal in that too.doherty with a late header in Georgia with Breen knocking the ball across the goal I think.

I don't remember beating Albania 2-0. It was 0-0 in Tirana I think, and then a horrible 2-1 (or 3-2) home win when we got an OG to win deep in injury time, Doherty putting the unfortunate defender under pressure.

Having lost the first two group games we started climbing the table prompting the non-football media to call Kerr a miracle worker.

[pineapple stu]

Yeah, 0-0 out there and 2-1 in Lansdowne Road alright. Wasn't that the game Dunphy was giving out about the fans celebrating like mad at the end? Never mind that last-minute winners always feel more special anyway.

[Irish_Praha]

I thought I had clicked on the Wes Hoolahan thread.
Any news on him?
Staying with Norwich, not retiring from international football?

[Fixer82]

There was a goal he scored in a home game where him and Connolly both went for it. I think it was the game where Doherty scored the jammiest late winner. Came off the defender and went in after Doherty miskicked it. Was it Latvia or Albania? Or Georgia?

[Fixer82]

Wessi just scored twice v Hannover

[tetsujin1979]

Goals online here, both complete **** takes of the Hannover defence
72u9v7kV_No
Robbie Brady didn't play, calf strain apparently

[DeLorean]

He's pure class, that touch to take him through for the second goal was unreal.

[Fixer82]

He's pure class, that touch to take him through for the second goal was unreal.

Absolutely. Both goals pure class

[Fixer82]

Signed new deal with Norwich til 2018. Probably a good move. If he was with a Premiership club he mightn't get much game time.

[DeLorean]

Bit more here. (http://mobile.canaries.co.uk//news/article/2016-17/wes-hoolahan-norwich-city-contract-3219551.aspx) High praise from Neil.

[tricky_colour]

Lovely goals from Wes, the second in particular, a joy to behold, I can well imagine some of our "strikers" buggering that one up.

The most pleasing things is there is no doubt in Wes's mind he was going to score.

When Wes sold that dummy the keeper put in an order for a dozen.

[Stuttgart88]

Easier to do at 3-1 down in a friendly than at 0-0 on 84 minutes in a must win Finals game obviously :)

[SkStu]

Scored Norwichs second as they took a 3-0 lead within 25 minutes at Ewood Park.

[paul_oshea]

Who were the centre backs for blackburn

[DeLorean]

Póg Mo Goal - Mythbusters: O’Neill Doesn’t Trust Hoolahan (http://pogmogoal.com/republic-of-ireland/mythbusters-oneill-doesnt-trust-hoolahan/24258/)


I thought Duff's comments were a bit inaccurate myself and disappointing because they carry more weight than Dunphy's, or at least they generally should.

[OwlsFan]

I didn't see anything in that article attributing a direct quote to Duff about O'Neill not trusting Hoolahan. It said Damien Duff’s claim that O’Neill seems reluctant to praise Hoolahan in interviews appears more to do with the *****ly atmosphere that seems to pervade any chat between the manager and RTE’s Tony O’Donoghue.

[DeLorean]

Yeah, that's what I meant. I've heard O'Neill praise Hoolahan plenty of times so I thought Duff was kind of talking sh!te about that.

[OwlsFan]

Tony O’Donoghue was the same with Trapp, only far more vitriolic. I think he takes his lead from Dunphy. I can't blame MON for reacting aggressively. Which one of us wouldn't if we were questioned by an outsider on the way we performed our job? I would certainly tell them to what to do with themselves. These sort of questions do undermine the manager and MON has every right to react aggressively if he so chooses. If TOD has the right to ask the question then MON has the right to respond in any manner he chooses. It was interesting that TOD chickened out of mentioning Wes in the interview after the game so one up to MON.

[DeLorean]

Exactly. I can sense a hesitance with TOD now, where there was an eagerness to interrogate Trap. He was safe enough in the knowledge that Trap wasn't going to be able to articulate anything too destructive in return, but MON has the ability to make him look silly and insignificant.

[paul_oshea]

I don't agree at all, I just think TOD doesn't like the confrontation too much. O'Neill can get quite nasty quite quickly as he is ultra defensive. TOD has every right to ask him the questions, especially around players and an inability to hold onto a lead. Nothing TOD asked him the last night was unjustified.

[DeLorean]

Yeah but O'Neill had his back up from day one with regards Tony. He was obviously aware of the crap he used give Trapattoni and how he's basically a spokesman for Dunphy. If O'Neill was reading or hearing about Dunphy tearing him to shreds for not playing Hoolahan, and then one of the first things Tony asks is why Hoolahan is or isn't playing, then I think it's easy to see why he would be defensive. Personally I just think that O'Neill has zero respect for the RTÉ panel or TOD so he doesn't want to entertain them in the slightest, even if the questions do happen to be reasonable at times. They've made their own bed with their over the top analysis so I must say I kind of enjoy O'Neill's approach.

[tetsujin1979]

I didn't see anything in that article attributing a direct quote to Duff about O'Neill not trusting Hoolahan. It said Damien Duff’s claim that O’Neill seems reluctant to praise Hoolahan in interviews appears more to do with the *****ly atmosphere that seems to pervade any chat between the manager and RTE’s Tony O’Donoghue.
It says Dunphy said it

Shunned by the Italian, Hoolahan’s continuing absence for the first qualifier under Trap’s successor allowed Dunphy to continue to beat that drum, something he did throughout the Euro 2016 campaign. Except it wasn’t backed up by the statistics.
The pundit repeated his argument after the Polish defeat in the final game of the campaign that Martin O’Neill didn’t trust the player, except the Irish coach did trust him to play a role in all, or part of, eight of our ten qualifiers.

[OwlsFan]

It says Dunphy said it

The Heading of the Article is: "O'Neill doesn't trust Hoolahan" but reading the piece, it should be entitled "Dunphy says O'Neill doesn't trust Hoolahan" which is a big difference.

Interesting article below by Vincent Hogan whom I quite like:

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/vincent-hogan-walters-a-leading-light-in-a-team-whose-heart-cant-be-questioned-35119634.html

[osarusan]

I think that Tony O'Donoghue gets a very bad rap on here. I don't think there is more than once or twice I've ever considered him to have been over the top with his questions.

It all seems to stem from him asking Trap some tough questions (but reasonable questions, I felt - obviously others don't) when we were going through a horrible phase.

[SwanVsDalton]

Didn't the TOD/MON stuff start after an interview early-ish in MON's reign? Think it might have been after Scotland away, can't remember precisely but there was definitely a debate on there on whether TOD had been OTT (if I remember right, I think he had gone in a bit two footed and emotively, notwithstanding the legitimate critical questions that had to be asked).

Also, was TOD implicated in that complete hatchet job of Noel King when he was caretaker pre-MON or just Dunphy?

There is definitely a feeling that he gets his lead from Dunphy and I think, on occasion, TOD has conducted some interviews in a slightly unbalanced way that crossed over the line from critical analysis. It's also not great interview technique to rankle your interviewee so much you get nothing from them forever and ever amen.

[DeLorean]

I think that Tony O'Donoghue gets a very bad rap on here. I don't think there is more than once or twice I've ever considered him to have been over the top with his questions.

It all seems to stem from him asking Trap some tough questions (but reasonable questions, I felt - obviously others don't) when we were going through a horrible phase.

I think it stems from that too, in fact I've no issue with him otherwise. I felt he lost the run of himself during the Trap era, constantly asking the same questions that Trap had attempted to answer over and over. Just because it wasn't the answer that most of us wanted to hear doesn't mean he should have been harassed about it at every opportunity. Trapattoni was getting paid to do what he thought was best, not what Dunphy and even the fans thought was best. I remember him asking Trap if he would consider his position after the gut wrenching game at home to Austria as well, which I felt was uncalled for in its timing at the very least.

[DeLorean]

The Heading of the Article is: "O'Neill doesn't trust Hoolahan" but readingthe piece, it should be entitled "Dunphy says O'Neill doesn't trust Hoolahan" which is a big difference.

The 'Mythbusters' bit is an important part of the headline.

[paul_oshea]

I think it stems from that too, in fact I've no issue with him otherwise. I felt he lost the run of himself during the Trap era, constantly asking the same questions that Trap had attempted to answer over and over. Just because it wasn't the answer that most of us wanted to hear doesn't mean he should have been harassed about it at every opportunity. Trapattoni was getting paid to do what he thought was best, not what Dunphy and even the fans thought was best. I remember him asking Trap if he would consider his position after the gut wrenching game at home to Austria as well, which I felt was uncalled for in its timing at the very least.

Why not? Of course it is? Do we want some sort of investigative interviews or just simply banal mundane keep-him-happy questions? I know what we should be looking for, everyone complains about footballers and managers giving the same run of the mill answers. TOD spices that up with his line and tone of questioning.

Part of O'Neills salary, and I don't normally agree with dunphy on anything, is to answer to the media, conduct media duties. It's no one else fault but his if he takes things personally.

If you aren't getting the answers you dont want, but honestly believe in your questions, then keep going. Just ask Andrew Jennings.

[DeLorean]

Except he doesn't ask interesting questions, he's just the fall guy for the RTÉ panel. He's met his match in Marty though.

[pineapple stu]

I think that Tony O'Donoghue gets a very bad rap on here. I don't think there is more than once or twice I've ever considered him to have been over the top with his questions.

It all seems to stem from him asking Trap some tough questions (but reasonable questions, I felt - obviously others don't) when we were going through a horrible phase.
I'd agree with that. Post-match interviews are a complete waste of time if they're just letting the manager say whatever he wants. O'Donoghue does push things a little bit - which is exactly what you want.

I think the main controversial TOD interview was the one with Trap after the Kazakhstan game away, and to be honest, the questions he put to Trap were exactly the ones I was thinking myself. So that's just TOD doing a good job, in my book.

He mayn't be perfect in his interviewing, but he's a lot better than some are saying here. It's similar to the difference between BBC/Sky and RTÉ punditry.

[OwlsFan]

..or the broadsheets and the tabloids.

[paul_oshea]

Except he doesn't ask interesting questions, he's just the fall guy for the RTÉ panel. He's met his match in Marty though.

In your Very Humble opinion.

[DeLorean]

Obviously.

[sparky12345678]

it seems to be getting out of hand though.

Fans here have been clamouring for his inclusion for a decade but while its great to have him, there is no future in it, sadly. All the posturing from the media is too late and seems a bit silly and over blown. Sure, he played well, he contributed and its a nicer style but if Martin included him every game and he didnt live up to that hype we/the media would complain about our aging squad.

[SkStu]

Almost all blame for Hoolohans short intl career lies with Trap really. Criticism of MON for not starting a 34 year old in every game is nonsense. However, if his body can take it, he is definitely still good enough to start and influence almost all games.

[samhaydenjr]

Almost all blame for Hoolohans short intl career lies with Trap really. Criticism of MON for not starting a 34 year old in every game is nonsense. However, if his body can take it, he is definitely still good enough to start and influence almost all games.

I know - why on earth did Trap not see the potential in a 27-year-old League One player in 2009-2010 and stubbornly persist with picking Premier League players like Damien Duff, Stephen Hunt, Glenn Whelan, Liam Lawrence, Darron Gibson and Keith Andrews along with that hoofer Aiden McGeady? And why didn't he bring him into the squad for the crucial autumn qualifiers on the basis of a few Championship appearances?

OK, more seriously, I know he could have given him more of a chance over Paul Green, Martin Rowlands or Liam Miller, but it's not like they were central to our plans at the time. And yes, during Hoolahan's first Premier League season he could have given him a chance to prove himself in the pre-Euro 2012 friendlies but I guess he was more impressed with James McClean. Look, Trap was obviously a bit conservative in bringing in players (he admitted as much himself when talking about Seamus Coleman) but it's not like Hoolahan would have had 100 caps if Trap had never been our manager - after all, he was playing during the tenures of McCarthy, Kerr and Staunton and they never picked him.

[SkStu]

Woah, settle down there! It's just an opinion.

Obviously I was not a fan of Trap and his conservative selection policy was something that drove me crazy but Hoolohan was excelling at that stage of his career and would have been worthy of many more caps than he got under Trap anywhere along the way - he didn't get that. I don't think Trap gave him a fair shot. 27 is not old. Here we are 7 years later and he's still going well.

I never said he'd have 100 caps but he deserved more genuine opportunities from Trap during his tenure. Traps conservative game plans, approach to squad selection and general laziness cost Hoolohan some well deserved caps. That's all.