Finnan retires from International Football

[Block G Raptor]

yes, perhaps the identity of the new Ireland manager being leaked to the players.

Was Finnan signed by houllier could there be history there?

[Morbo]

Do you know what makes me laugh "supporters" who openly critise players who serve our country with distinction. Which in my opinion Finnan has done and what does he get a nice send off of "just doesn't want to play for his country anymore". Thats absolute crap. If your looking for someone who "just doesn't want to play for his country anymore" I suggest you check out Stevie Irelands thread. Oh and the retiring thing, I don't recognise Liverpool as a football club more a soap opera and a bad one at that... So for me he is retiring from football.
Served his country with distinction? he's a footballer for feck sake not in the army, lets get things in perspective. I'm all for giving players a good send off if they deserve it, but when you give people like Finnan a good send off then it cheapens it for the players that really deserve it. How does Stephen Ireland not wanting to play for Ireland prove that Finnan served his country with distinction anyway? If every player had Stephen Irelands attitude then you might have a point but thankfully we're not at that point, yet

[paul_oshea]

I'm dissapointed but I have to say in my heart of hearts I don't blame him.. The timing of this is very telling if you ask me.. Where was these sentiments after the Cyprus game. To me it sounds like he was committed then... But committment works both ways and blind commitment to anything in any walk of life is folly. What has he seen from those cowboys in the FAI since to warrant him jepardising the remainder of his club career at one of the biggest clubs in the world... It works both ways lads. I'm all for patriotism and passion and players retiring early really grinds me gears. But everyone has to be pulling in the same direction.... To me it's a side effect of the ballsology goings on in the FAI.

Nothing of the sort, he was just waiting for things to settle before he made his announcement, this was in his mind since the end of last season supposedly.

[tetsujin1979]

some of the comments on this thread make me sick

[as_i_say]

i would be very surpised if ireland didnt come back under the new manager. i really think that finnan could have stayed on a bit longer though. we really need him as well which is the most disappointing thing. our defense now has only one really outstanding player in Dunne.

[cornerflag]

aye its a shame. he could have at least hung around for a bit longer to see who was appointed and perhaps had a chat about his future, like forget about friendlies and play the important games at least. maybe if that was the case then people wouldnt see him as a disgrace now.

[Morbo]

I'd rather have 4 OK defenders than 1 outstanding defender and 3 weak links though, I'm not as convinced Ireland will return under a new manager either, not as critical a loss as Finnan but he was capable of scoring crucial goals even if he didn't contribute much else.

[Stuttgart88]

I think it's only a matter of time before Ireland returns.

[Kingdom]

Sad to see him go,he's one of the best players we currently have . All this messing around by the FAI can't exactly be helping.That said 31 is way too early for him or any fit Pro to retire .

Thats the way I see it. Not going to go castigating him over it. Just move on and be done with it.

[shelbourne1904]

If I was dropped for Steven Carr I would moan and moan a lot.If I was our best player at the Japan World Cup and then got switched or dropped for Steven Carr I would moan and never show up again!!!

[danonion]

Don't let the door hit you stevo

[eekers]

I've a good feeling that houllier will get finnan to reconsider this at some point down the line.

[dynamo kerry]

Finnan is some waste of space. I wish he'd never played for ireland with that attitude.
He should have been grateful to play at all even if it was in goals and take all the abuse offered by the press.**









**not what i really think.

[Traps Cat]

[QUOTE=Morbo;860651]I'd rather have 4 OK defenders than 1 outstanding defender and 3 weak links though, I'm not as convinced Ireland will return under a new manager either, not as critical a loss as Finnan but he was capable of scoring crucial goals even if he didn't contribute much.

I would rather have a blind , one legged 90 year old who wants to play , rather than someone who's heart is clearly not in it anymore. Thanks for your service, shame you dont want to play anymore- now lets move on and find a replacement - hopefully one with full vision and both legs.

[Curtains]

Im feckin glad hes gone. Hes been doing my head in for ages with **** displays. He looks like a nervous wreck when he plays for ireland, if he cant take the heat and the expectations of the public who are payin 70 euro a ticket then im glad hes away. I hope the rest of the dead wood leave if this is the general feeling among the so called old foggies in the team. :mad:

[Paddy Garcia]

Im feckin glad hes gone. Hes been doing my head in for ages with **** displays. He looks like a nervous wreck when he plays for ireland, if he cant take the heat and the expectations of the public who are payin 70 euro a ticket then im glad hes away. I hope the rest of the dead wood leave if this is the general feeling among the so called old foggies in the team. :mad:

Can't agree. Excellent player. Poorly utilised. Very reliable. Big loss.

[stojkovic]

Thanks Stevie and good luck.

[irishfan86]

His decision makes sense.

As a wealthy man, why would he come over to Ireland to be jeered and booed for games largely out of his control as a right back (a position which he doesn't even get to play for his country).

He's making no money and getting ripped apart.

I say I'd play until I wasn't selected if I were an international footballer, but I'm not, and I don't know what it's like to be booed off the field on numerous occasions for things largely out of my control.

He's probably thinking, my body is starting to wear down and these people don't even want me here.

I can understand his decision but I'm disappointed as he is clearly one of our better players.

Might be a blessing in disguise though if it allows Kelly to break through, he's been fantastic for Birmingham in the games I've seen.

[boovidge]

He's probably thinking, my body is starting to wear down and these people don't even want me here.

The fans do want him there,they want him and the team to play well, is that so much to ask?

All we've heard since the end of the campaign is excuses. None of the players or the manager have put up their hands and said 'yep, we didn't play well in the last campaign and we let down the fans. The results against San Marino and Cyprus were unacceptable'.

That isn't to say the tabloid treatment and personal abuse of the players/manager is in any way justified.

[redgav]

He's a big loss for us , but his decision has been forced on him in part by the Jeering ,but in reality he's got 2-3 decent years left in him and he wants a new contract at Liverpool.Hes more than likely been advised to retire from International Football to get that contract.
As for whomever said Houllier had a good relationship with him(reder maybe!!!),absoloute drivel.Houllier nearly detroyed his career

[jmurphyc]

He's a big loss for us , but his decision has been forced on him in part by the Jeering ,but in reality he's got 2-3 decent years left in him and he wants a new contract at Liverpool.Hes more than likely been advised to retire from International Football to get that contract.


He has two and a half years remaining on his contract. He got a new one in the summer.

[Stuttgart88]

his decision has been forced on him in part by the Jeering I'm not sure I buy that. What jeering was there and when?

The only booing I recall was at Germany (mild only and not widespread) when Staunton's name was announced as the answer to a quiz question and after the Cyprus game. No player can have expected much else after the Cyprus game and Finnan admitted as much.

120,000 seats were filled in those two games which is pretty impressive and shows just how well supported the team is.


Your point about his relationship with Houllier may be more accurate.

[redgav]

He has two and a half years remaining on his contract. He got a new one in the summer.

Yes ,thats correct,but he's looking for a extention .Hyypia also retired from Internationals and then got his 1 year extention

[redgav]

I'm not sure I buy that. What jeering was there and when?

The only booing I recall was at Germany (mild only and not widespread) when Staunton's name was announced as the answer to a quiz question and after the Cyprus game. No player can have expected much else after the Cyprus game and Finnan admitted as much.

120,000 seats were filled in those two games which is pretty impressive and shows just how well supported the team is.


Your point about his relationship with Houllier may be more accurate.

The next 3 words after the bit qouted were key I thought ...the "in Reality" bit ;)

120,000 seats were filled doesn't show how well they were supported,it shows how many arses were in the seats

[jmurphyc]

Yes ,thats correct,but he's looking for a extention .Hyypia also retired from Internationals and then got his 1 year extention

I very much doubt that he's looking for an extension after signing a new contract in the summer. What if he completely loses his place to Arbeloa and is in the reserves? I doubt very much he'll be offered a new contract until he has one year remaining, and given his age I'm sure he's aware of this.

[jmurphyc]

The next 3 words after the bit qouted were key I thought ...the "in Reality" bit ;)

120,000 seats were filled doesn't show how well they were supported,it shows how many arses were in the seats

Given that we were already pretty much out of the running for a qualification spot, I'd say that was an extraordinary figure, and as far as IMO the majority of fans supported the team as best they could given the circumstances. The team was supported fairly well against Germany, it was only when we were struggling against Cyprus that everyone began to get agitated.

[Stuttgart88]

The next 3 words after the bit qouted were key I thought ...the "in Reality" bit ;)

Just being picky.

[colster]

Just had a thought. Don't know if it's been mentioned before but didn't Finnan work with Tigana at Fulham.

[tetsujin1979]

Just had a thought. Don't know if it's been mentioned before but didn't Finnan work with Tigana at Fulham.
Yeah, he did. And Tigana sold him to Liverpool more than 4 years ago. One for the conspiracy theorists I reckon

[Armando]

He's a big loss for us , but his decision has been forced on him in part by the Jeering ,but in reality he's got 2-3 decent years left in him and he wants a new contract at Liverpool.Hes more than likely been advised to retire from International Football to get that contract.
As for whomever said Houllier had a good relationship with him(reder maybe!!!),absoloute drivel.Houllier nearly detroyed his career

Someone fill me in on this because I must have missed it at the time - how did Houllier nearly destroy his career:confused:

[Armando]

Yeah, he did. And Tigana sold him to Liverpool more than 4 years ago. One for the conspiracy theorists I reckon

Tigana was sacked a few months before Finnan was sold.

[tetsujin1979]

Tigana was sacked a few months before Finnan was sold.
Yeah, you're right. Tigana was sacked in April of 2003 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Tigana - Finnan moved to Liverpool that summer - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Finnan

[Ireland4ever]

James Lawton - Irish Independent

WHEN Steve Finnan turned his back on Ireland this week he pleaded old age.
No matter that he was younger than Zinedine Zidane when he was talked back into the French team that brushed against an astonishing moment of football history. Finnan was plainly untouched by a hint of remorse.
What, after all, has even a hint of regret, still less shame got to do with the career calculations of a 21st century footballer?
Even though Finnan's achievements, which include a Champions League medal, mean that he would have no reason to shrink into a corner if Zidane walked into the room, he is not a player you would naturally bracket with the fabled Zizou.
However, Finnan's decision to quit international football in his 32nd year does make one point of comparison.
Finnan's explanation of his thinking this week was unequivocal enough to discourage any hope that a new manager of the Irish team will be able to talk him back into a green shirt, but then Zidane seemed equally determined to restrict himself to club football.
He was plainly moving past his zenith with Real Madrid. International football was placed in the margins of his professional life.
But of course he changed his mind and the result was that he came within a stride or two – and one shocking headbutt – of providing the game with what arguably would have been one of its greatest stories in the World Cup final in Berlin in 2006.
Playing in a young, unformed Irish team would not offer much possibility of such potential reward but there is maybe a scrap of reflection to be found in the experience of the Frenchman. Finnan declared: "The time is right for a new manager to start bringing young players through now. I mean, I'll be 34 by the time the World Cup finals come around."
Ambition
Zidane was 34 when he had the world of football in his hands. It was negligent discipline rather than any failure of imagination – or ultimate football ambition that stretched beyond a paycheque – that let it slip.
But Finnan is saying, as so many do these days, that in terms of the international game Zidane was operating in his professional dotage.
What induces most sadness is not that career strategy is plainly the reason for Finnan's rejection of the possibility of playing in his second World Cup finals, which used to represent the apex of a pro's ambition, and is one which was denied such talents as George Best and John Giles, but the dwindling of any sense that in today's football anything is more readily understood than a pro's desire to eke out his years of megaearning power.
Today's footballer does not walk bravely into the dark night. He gets out the calculator. Finnan confirms this in the most reasonable way, and no doubt his decision will be applauded within the game as eminent good sense. Alan Shearer set the pattern long before his days with Newcastle were in doubt. He was going to concentrate on his club career, which meant of course that he was not going to push himself beyond the interests of number one.
The pragmatists didn't see an issue. Why not? Why was a footballer any different to any man who wants to stretch out his earning power?
Possibly because at the level of an internationally recognised footballer, financial survival some time ago became less a challenge than a matter of opulent degree.
Finnan of course was happy enough to appear in the shop window of international football when his club career was in a formative stage, but now that he is a key man at Anfield, a favoured son of Rafa Benitez, why would he stretch his resources on behalf of an Irish team which has in recent memory never been in such need of experienced, accomplished players?
Not, surely, because he was briefly inconvenienced by the selection policies of former Irish coach Brian Kerr?
It appears that he was soured to some degree by the criticism faced by Kerr's successor, Steve Staunton. He announced: "I think it's only fair to let the younger guys have a go." Even if this is the equivalent of sending in the lambs – or some distinctly mediocre mutton – against the qualifying challenge presented by world champions Italy.
It may be a bloodless abdication but it is no less damaging for that. Finnan is saying, however great is the Irish need, it is no longer a personal priority. It is his right, of course.
Responsibilities
Football has no legislation for the repayment of debts, of acknowledging that there may just be wider responsibilies that are not written down on some sweetheart contract which will be honoured only so long as it suits either of the parties.
For Steve Finnan the football world need not any longer stretch beyond Anfield. He has made his bed – and isn't it a luxurious four-poster? But then no one can say he hasn't been honest.
Unlike the Stephen Ireland case, no grandmothers have been fictitiously slayed, just the romantic old idea that in football there will always be a little more to play for than the next juicy contract.

[rambler14]

He'll be back. They always come back.

[RogerMilla]

He'll be back. They always come back.

you're right rambler , the new manager will coax him back.

[NeilMcD]

http://www.tribune.ie/article.tvt?_scope=Tribune/Sport/Soccer&id=82740&SUBCAT=Tribune/Sport&SUBCATNAME=Sport

[OwlsFan]

you're right rambler , the new manager will coax him back.

If it's Houllier, he might.

Other than Keane (who came back for political reasons), how many Irish players have retired and then come back?

[NeilMcD]

There is not many but a few french players did.

[eirebhoy]

Other than Keane (who came back for political reasons), how many Irish players have retired and then come back?
Carsley and Carr.

[Rocky77]

Carsely didn't retire, technically. He withdrew his availability until he sorted his Everton problems out but also said he would be available again down the line.

And oh, how we laughed...

[NeilMcD]

It was more to do with personal circumstances really

[tricky_colour]

Good riddance to em, with commitment like that is it any wonder we did not qualify? No wonder the low paid players of Cyprus beat us. I seem to recall Stephen Ireland heading a ball straight to a Cyprus player during the match, although I could be wrong on that and apoligise if I am. I am also sure I have seen him
pass the ball straight to an opposition player during a Man City match, and it did not look acidental to me on either occasion, again apologies if I am wrong.

Let's face if players think more about their club or whatever, than their country then good riddance to them, don't let the door hit your arse on the way out is all I can say. Same goes for managers who think they can write off a major competition as a rebuilding exercise.

You would get better results with a Eircom league players (that's a compliment not an insult by the way), stuff the Prima Donna's, you should pick the team based upon desire to win rather than perceived ability. I don't want any players playing for Ireland who are giving less than 100%, and I have a good idea who they are and are not.

[osarusan]

I seem to recall Stephen Ireland heading a ball straight to a Cyprus player during the match.......I am also sure I have seen him
pass the ball straight to an opposition player during a Man City match, and it did not look acidental to me on either occasion


What are you trying to say?

[elroy]

Good article by lawton and very true. Very disappointed in Finnan, really couldve done with him for another two years at least. Very much doubt he'll be back.

[drummerboy]

Watching Finnan perform lately he is a shadow of his former self. Perhaps just a blip. But he now seems to be out of the team more times than not.

[elroy]

Watching Finnan perform lately he is a shadow of his former self. Perhaps just a blip. But he now seems to be out of the team more times than not.

Think you can put that down to an injury hit season more than anything. Hes still better than Arbeloa imo, Arbeloa really got shown up in the united game by evra in particular.

[gwhite]

Have a look at this
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/sport/iestory.asp?j=45169430&p=45y7xz6x&n=45170343&t=soccer
Finnan says being played out of position all the time was a factor in his decision. Thanks Stan.

[Morbo]

I'm no defender of Stan but that is BS, Stans no longer the manager so how would he know the new manager would continue to play him out of position? besides its a players job to play where the manager tells him to play without whining about it. I don't buy this as the reason its just a convenient excuse, money was clearly the no.1 reason.

[Stuttgart88]

Have a look at this
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/sport/iestory.asp?j=45169430&p=45y7xz6x&n=45170343&t=soccer
Finnan says being played out of position all the time was a factor in his decision. Thanks Stan.Finnan played LB for Liverpool on Saturday. Club retirement beckons!

[seanfhear]

finnan announced his retirement from international football when houlier was hot favourite[maybe due to houlier sometimes playing four centre backs at liverpool]
heres hoping he has a change of heart