Worst Irish international you have seen play

[Wolfie]

Wasn't he the bloke who Kevin Keegan chipped in the early 80s? We lost 2-0 at Wembley.]

That goal is immortalised on BBC's 101 Great Goals :(

[geysir]

I was at that game, it was well worth supressing.
I'll need some of that psychiatric help now.

[Noelys Guitar]

I was at that game as well. Fran O'Brien was drafted in by Giles. He had a nightmare game.

[bennocelt]

Don't watch many Ireland games do you? Kilbane rarely lets the team down and has made telling contributions in many of those 70 caps including some vital performances in this campaign already.

Worst Irish international? pull the other one.

think you are the one not looking at the game, all kilbane does is run and run and run and then losese the ball

[pineapple stu]

The worst other performance I saw was by another member of the wild geese whose name eludes me. Played in a friendly as a forward last year I think and made no effort whatsoever. His only cap. Is it Jonathon Macken?
Yeah, Jon Macken. Played in the 1-1 draw against Bulgaria. Don't recall a single contribution from him, to be honest.

Amazed (though I probably shouldn't be) the number of people who rate players with little flair but a huge engine among the worst players ever. Kilbane, McGoldrick, Morris? Give me a break...

Surprised no Bohs fan has been on to nominate Gareth Farrelly.

[Superhoops]

A new slant on this. Put together the worst players in a team:

Ron Healey

John O'Shea
Paul Butler
Pierce O'Leary (or Barry Murphy)
Fran O'Brien

Gary Howlett
Austin Hayes (RIP)
Billy Newman

Mickey Evans
Glen Crowe
Cathal Muckian

[Noelys Guitar]

Alfie Hale on the subs bench along with O'Keefe. O'Keefe was completely unencumbered by talent. When I saw him play at Dalyer in a friendly against Mexico he was beyond bad. Someone in the crowd shouted out that Jimmy Saville had got him into the team.

[Superhoops]

Alfie Hale on the subs bench along with O'Keefe. O'Keefe was completely unencumbered by talent. When I saw him play at Dalyer in a friendly against Mexico he was beyond bad. Someone in the crowd shouted out that Jimmy Saville had got him into the team.

I think there have been far worse than those two, especially Alfie Hale. Alfie got 13 caps, albeit over a long period. Eamonn O'Keefe got 5 caps over a four year period. He was a real football journeyman and his list of clubs is interesting.

I would rate Hale a better player than say Liam Buckley or Alan Campbell. What about Jerome Clarke whose international career involved replacing Johnny Giles for 12 minutes.

In the 70's and early 80's there some very ordinary players were selected for Ireland. Many only got one shot and good luck to them.

[RiffRaff]

I think there have been far worse than those two, especially Alfie Hale. Alfie got 13 caps, albeit over a long period. Eamonn O'Keefe got 5 caps over a four year period. He was a real football journeyman and his list of clubs is interesting.

I would rate Hale a better player than say Liam Buckley or Alan Campbell. What about Jerome Clarke whose international career involved replacing Johnny Giles for 12 minutes.

In the 70's and early 80's there some very ordinary players were selected for Ireland. Many only got one shot and good luck to them.

Eamon O'Keefe was involved in a very long and drawn out appeal to establish his eligibilty which if i remember correctly, took years. When he started this he was a top flight player with Everton and when he finally won the case he was playing in the lower divisions and approaching veteren status. I always thought Eoin Hand felt some sense of obligation to give him a few caps after all that. I seem to remember he was also included as an overage player for an under 21 tour

[geysir]

To get onto the worst team a cap should have played a full game.
Preference should go to the worst who played a competitive game.

There's a list of LOI players capped in friendlies who have not been mentioned yet, Synan Braddish, Tommy McConville, Miah Dennehy,
even Mick Smith got a cap. It's a selection nightmare :)
There was some sort of a selection policy for friendlies that depended on whoose turn it was to be rewarded.

[Superhoops]

To get onto the worst team a cap should have played a full game.
Preference should go to the worst who played a competitive game.

There's a list of LOI players capped in friendlies who have not been mentioned yet, Synan Braddish (2 caps in the space of a week), Tommy McConville (6 caps), Miah Dennehy (11 caps and went to Notts Forest), even Mick Smith got a cap (against the perennial opponents, Poland). It's a selection nightmare :)
There was some sort of a selection policy for friendlies that depended on whoose turn it was to be rewarded.

Apart from Mick Smyth there were several other 'one cappers'. There was a thread on this some time ago.

[Superhoops]

Eamon O'Keefe was involved in a very long and drawn out appeal to establish his eligibilty which if i remember correctly, took years. When he started this he was a top flight player with Everton and when he finally won the case he was playing in the lower divisions and approaching veteren status. I always thought Eoin Hand felt some sense of obligation to give him a few caps after all that. I seem to remember he was also included as an overage player for an under 21 tour

His grandparent(s) were Irish but eligibility was in question because he had played for England's semi-professional team a couple of times.

He was 28 when he was capped at senior level. Between that and his second cap, he played 4 times for the U-21's and I reckon he must have been the oldest ever U-21 player, 30 years old, when he scored 4 goals against China U-21 in the Toulon tournament in 1983.

[shelbourne1904]

To get onto the worst team a cap should have played a full game.
Preference should go to the worst who played a competitive game.

There's a list of LOI players capped in friendlies who have not been mentioned yet, Synan Braddish, Tommy McConville, Miah Dennehy,
even Mick Smith got a cap. It's a selection nightmare :)
There was some sort of a selection policy for friendlies that depended on whoose turn it was to be rewarded.

Was Synan Braddish not with Liverpool reserves when he was capped.And it is totally unfair to say these were token caps.These guys were the best available and deserved caps at the time of selection.Tommy Mc Conville was a clas defender as was Al Finnucane and a few other LOI players at the time.
By the way I remember the crowd calling Alfie Hales name to come on agaisnt Poland and as far as I can recall he scored and made the other Irish goal to force a 2 all draw in Dalyer???Was it Mick Meagan ( Huddersfield and Everton) who he replaced???Miah Dennehy beat Tomacheski ,the "clown" keeper in another Polish match the week they put England out of the world Cup.

[geysir]

Was Synan Braddish not with Liverpool reserves when he was capped.And it is totally unfair to say these were token caps.These guys were the best available and deserved caps at the time of selection.Tommy Mc Conville was a clas defender as was Al Finnucane and a few other LOI players at the time.
By the way I remember the crowd calling Alfie Hales name to come on agaisnt Poland and as far as I can recall he scored and made the other Irish goal to force a 2 all draw in Dalyer???Was it Mick Meagan ( Huddersfield and Everton) who he replaced???Miah Dennehy beat Tomacheski ,the "clown" keeper in another Polish match the week they put England out of the world Cup.
Many of the better LOI goalies got a cap each in friendlies but you'd have to be dripping in acid not to consider Peter Thomas to be the outstanding class goalie of his time. I'd say there was something fishy about the way some of those caps were given. Mick Smith ffs, ahead of Thomas, insane.

Synan B. came on against Turkey in a friendly at Landsdowne, I think he got the ball once and flunked it. Too inexperienced and naive.
I'll definitly give you Tommy Mc and Al Finnucane, at a minimum they would give a good account of themselves at internat. level, same with Alfie Hale and Mick Leech.

[Donal81]

Jon Macken, definitely, although he only got one shot at it.

Of the players that have played regularly for us over the past 20 years, I would have thought that John O'Shea has been the least effective. Every other player that springs to mind - Ian Harte, Kevin Kilbane, Gary Breen - have more than enough moments to remove them from the list. Harte's goals, the odd good challenge from Breen (and he and Cunningham formed a half-decent partnership), Kilbane's work rate as well as a few important goals. I've seen the bloke play for Ireland more times than is good for one's health and I've never seen him contribute to the team's performance, an awful indictment of a player.

Picking out one-hit wonders is easy enough but probably unfair on them. It's the ones who are picking up cap after cap without putting in the effort that deserve to be strung up!

[Noelys Guitar]

Who would be the manager??? I would have to go with the old FAI selection crew.

[pineapple stu]

What about Éamon Dunphy?

[geysir]

Has to be a bona fide manager, Mick Meagan stand out tall, no contest

[gspain]

Mick Smyth was a decent keeper. Miah Dennehy was a decent striker too - scored the winner v Poland a few days after the knocked England out of the 74 world Cup.

Guys like Tommy McConville, Synan Braddish, Jerome Clark were also top LoI players in their day. I don't recall any real surpise LoI selections in the 70's and 80's.

There was certainly a period in the 40's and early 50's when some poor quality players were capped from the LoI. Some people with influence from at least one club would try and flog them across the water after ensuring they got selected for the national team eventhough better players were available.

[Stuttgart88]

Some people would try and flog them across the water after ensuring they got selected for the national team eventhough better players were available. Good to see we've taught Brazil something about football.

[as_i_say]

Gary Breen? I can;t think of a single time he let the team down. Absolutely shocking at times at club level (wolves play off cringe!)but a player punching way above his weight for us. had a great qualification campaign in 02 and played very well in the world cup itself. Just dont understand having him near this thread at all.

Kilbane-see my earlier post. Can be frustrating a lot of times but has made many important contributions and always gives 100%.

Neither deserve to be anywhere near muck like John O shea who really HAS consistently been awful for ireland in his multiple caps and as such would get my vote hands down if for nothing else missing that sitter against France.

[Stuttgart88]

missing that sitter against France.I hold many things against O'Shea (not in the David Norris conext) but not that missed chance. It came to him in an instant, he connected well and it flew wide of the post. It was more difficult than you think, especially for a defender.

[Torn-Ado]

I hold many things against O'Shea (not in the David Norris conext) but not that missed chance. It came to him in an instant, he connected well and it flew wide of the post. It was more difficult than you think, especially for a defender.

Yeah but you just know well that if happened to hit anyones elses foot, it probably would have crept it. It was the like the backstard could just do no right.

:( :rolleyes:

[Wolfie]

Neither deserve to be anywhere near muck like John O shea who really HAS consistently been awful for ireland in his multiple caps and as such would get my vote hands down if for nothing else missing that sitter against France.

Conceded that needless peno against Israel in Dublin too. :( :( :(

[Bluebeard]

Yeah but you just know well that if happened to hit anyones elses foot, it probably would have crept it. It was the like the backstard could just do no right.

:( :rolleyes:

have you never followed Ireland before?

[Torn-Ado]

have you never followed Ireland before?

Fair enough. You could add a few more players into that bracket. :(

Unfortunately.

[pineapple stu]

Joe Lapira?

[Donal81]

Gary Breen? I can;t think of a single time he let the team down. Absolutely shocking at times at club level (wolves play off cringe!)but a player punching way above his weight for us. had a great qualification campaign in 02 and played very well in the world cup itself. Just dont understand having him near this thread at all.

Kilbane-see my earlier post. Can be frustrating a lot of times but has made many important contributions and always gives 100%.

Neither deserve to be anywhere near muck like John O shea who really HAS consistently been awful for ireland in his multiple caps and as such would get my vote hands down if for nothing else missing that sitter against France.

Although I can't give precise examples, the memory throws up a million visions of us conceding a goal, watching the replay on the tele and seeing Breen miles away from his man. He was never a completely reliable defender (even Mick McCarthy conceded that he wasn't "everyone's cup of tea") and was the target of much ridicule as a result (a lot of which was unfair, in retrospect). He had some shocking games for Ireland but, like you say, played great in the World Cup. Ultimately, he made himself part of a team in 2002 that could be excellent on its day, which was a hell of an achievement for a player of his average abilities.

Kilbane has had plenty of good games for Ireland and plenty of muck ones - rather like Gary Breen. I think we agree on O'Shea. :D

[geysir]

Conceded that needless peno against Israel in Dublin too. :( :( :(
O'Shea might be a lot of things and has a long list of shortcomings but Benayoun's theatrics imo won that penalty.

[fergalr]

If its who has been the worst player to amass an unbelievable amount of caps then its Kilbane by a long way. Put it another way if there anyone else so talentless who has even won 50 caps let alone nearly 100?

For one-off awfulness Paul Butler has rightly got a few mentions. The other one I remember is Alan Mahon who played 20-30 minutes of some friendly and was abysmal beyond belief.

[as_i_say]

I remember Alan Mahon alright-miss kicked the ball on the right touch line trying to cross and fell over himself-- he was incredibly nervous. we didnt need to try another left sided player at the time unfortunatley for him.

By the way things are going O'Shea will get those 50 caps:mad:

[Superhoops]

If its who has been the worst player to amass an unbelievable amount of caps then its Kilbane by a long way. Put it another way if there anyone else so talentless who has even won 50 caps let alone nearly 100?

For one-off awfulness Paul Butler has rightly got a few mentions. The other one I remember is Alan Mahon who played 20-30 minutes of some friendly and was abysmal beyond belief.

Absolute bullsh*t. :mad: Kilbane has always given at least 100%. Sure he has 'bad days at the office' but over the years he has never failed to turn up when selcted for the squad, has played in any position he has been asked to play even to accommodate others and as mentioned previously, no matter what number of caps he eventually gets, his display in Paris that night would ensure he is miles away from being the worst player to amass an unbelievable number of caps. Without any doubt, the player who leads this category by a mile is John O'Shea.

[brine3]

I thought Kilbane's best performance was Holland away in 2000, and all those other matches when he spent all his time covering for Ian Harte.

He's given 100% since then (can't fault him for that) but he's just not up to the job of international central midfielder. People go on about his Paris performance, but all I remember from sitting in Stade de France is cursing his poor positioning and constant wasting of possession. O.k., he worked his socks off, but we need more than that at international level. That said, if the the more talented players tried as hard as Kilbane we'd be cruising.

[tetsujin1979]

I thought Kilbane's best performance was Holland away in 2000, and all those other matches when he spent all his time covering for Ian Harte.
Personally I thought it was the 1-0 win over Portugal at home, think he captained the side that night

[geysir]

I don't know about that Tets, are you referring to the friendly win?
Didn't KK just play half that game?

[Stuttgart88]

I thought KK's second half performance against Cameroon in Niigata was immense. He had a very muted first half and my suspicion is that Mick told him (and others) to conserve energy given the heat. From the moment Harte nearly gifted Cameroon their second goal Kilbane made that side of the pitch his own and won so many headers and flicks, the value of which Owls Fan raightly bangs on about.

[shakermaker1982]

I have to admit I've started to appreciate Kilbane an awful lot more. He runs round like a headless chicken at times but he tries. I'd prefer to see him on the bench but he gives his all so cannot complain.

[cavan_fan]

As has been said this needs to be divided by caps, an award for those who got less than five caps one for 5-30 and one for 30+

The mid range guys who always astonished me with their appearances were Morris, Coyne and Kernaghan

[stojkovic]

As has been said this needs to be divided by caps, an award for those who got less than five caps one for 5-30 and one for 30+

The mid range guys who always astonished me with their appearances were Morris, Coyne and Kernaghan

I agree we should have catagories
1-5 caps Paul Butler ?
5-25 John Devine ?
25-50 Chris Morris ?
50+ John O'Shea ?

Anyone remember Ken de Mange getting capped.

Always criticised Hartey when he played but missed him when he left. He had no pace and couldnt tackle but his distribution, corners and free kicks were first rate - remind you of anyone (clue - the most overrated, multi millionaire ever to kick a ball).

I always felt that in 2002 Killer and Hartey should have swopped positions.

[cavan_fan]

Always criticised Hartey when he played but missed him when he left. He had no pace and couldnt tackle but his distribution, corners and free kicks were first rate - remind you of anyone (clue - the most overrated, multi millionaire ever to kick a ball).


Agree that one element needs to be who else was available. A lot of the time Harte was the only option at LB

[Fergie's Son]

The mid range guys who always astonished me with their appearances were Morris, Coyne and Kernaghan

Morris was a solid player. He did well for us and should not be on this list.

Coyne was a limited player but he had a good WC in '94 and did what was asked of him.

Kernaghan was equally limited but was a solid player as well and scored a few nice goals.

[Noelys Guitar]

I agree we should have catagories
1-5 caps Paul Butler ?
5-25 John Devine ?
25-50 Chris Morris ?
50+ John O'Shea ?

Anyone remember Ken de Mange getting capped.

Always criticised Hartey when he played but missed him when he left. He had no pace and couldnt tackle but his distribution, corners and free kicks were first rate - remind you of anyone (clue - the most overrated, multi millionaire ever to kick a ball).

I always felt that in 2002 Killer and Hartey should have swopped positions.

Did you know John Devine made a single (record) while at Arsenal? Heard it on RTE radio. Truely dire stuff.

[stojkovic]

Did you know John Devine made a single (record) while at Arsenal? Heard it on RTE radio. Truely dire stuff.

Did van Morrison produce it :D

[RiffRaff]

Did van Morrison produce it :D

:p:p:

[Noelys Guitar]

Did van Morrison produce it :D

Not sure! Van might have been a better full back than Devine. Brighter on that side of team and no moondancing.

[Dermotron]

Paul Green

[nigel-harps1954]

Looking back now on what people were saying about John O'Shea...wonder does everyone have the same opinion now?!

[Eminence Grise]

97 posts and I can't believe no perpetually dissatisfied grumpy-drawers has mentioned Robbie Keane!

(:bomb:... lights fuse, throws bomb and runs for cover:soldier:)


Trying to decide whether David Savage or Alan O'Brien deserve the dishonourable mention...

[TrapAPony]

Joey Lapira, Paul Green, Paul Butler & Paul McShane must be on this list....

[Supreme feet]

Any one of Joe O'Cearuill, Alan O'Brien, Alan Bennett, Paul Green, Peter Murphy, Joe Lapira, John Thompson, Paul Butler, Jim Goodwin and Barry Quinn. Cillian Sheridan and Stephen Gleeson could be added to that list in time, but they're still young enough to prove me wrong.

Of those, I think Butler and Quinn were the only ones playing regularly at a high level when they were capped; we've really dragged the murky depths of the barrel with some of our selections over the years. Of those with 20+caps, Keogh, McShane and Miller should get a mention.