Ian Harte

[koneinc]

Perhaps Ian should stop concentrating on scoring 35 yeard free kicks every week and learn how to defend.

Well said!

[pete]

Ian Harte may have some valid points but doesn't do himself any favours by bitching to the press.

btw i think he'll play for Ireland again this season.

[drinkfeckarse]

Perhaps Ian should stop concentrating on scoring 35 yeard free kicks every week and learn how to defend.

While even his biggest fan would concede that he's not the greatest defender, he's by no means the worst either. You don't play Premier League football for years and Champions League football by being a BAD defender.

Both he and Maybury are average...but I'd rather have an average defender in the squad that can occasionally pull a goal out of the bag for you than an average defender that'll never get near the level required to play Premier League and Champions League football.

[John83]

who was selected who isn't making their team?

everyone in the squad has played first team ball this season so far.Absolutely. That was a particularly stupid comment from Harte. He's not so much better than Maybury that he can claim an automatic place, and it's Kerr's place to make that decision. He can feic off, and go earn his place back.

[Hither green]

While Maybury has played left back for Hearts on occasion, 95% of the time he plays right back. Having seen Maybury in the flesh a few times, I have always found him to be very limited. For a professional footballer his distrubution is poor and one sign of pressure and he hoofs it away.
That said, he looked better during the recent friendlies. For me though, Harte is the better option. While his distrubution is no better than Maybury's at least he has the ability to pull a goal out of the bag with a set piece.


Maybury may not be a new Irwin but he's better defensively than Harte and has been good for Ireland. It makes a nice change not to have the huge gaping hole at left back whilst Harte's further up the field than Duff. And on Saturday’s display, looks like Reid will be a perfect replacement in the set-piece department.

Having said that I was pleased for Harte that he’s made his mark at Levante already, here’s hoping that he uses this fresh start to knuckle down and achieve some of his potential.

[SÓC]

Really surprised that Harte wasnt called up when O'Shea pulled out. What ever people say about him he's half decent cover and playing in Spain will improve him

[jaykay]

Ian has been a liability in defence for Ireland for years now. He has scored some great goals for us but needs to work harder to improve his positioning and defensive skills IMO. Hopefully he will use some of his anger in this way and get himself back in contention.

[John83]

Ian has been a liability in defence for Ireland for years now. He has scored some great goals for us but needs to work harder to improve his positioning and defensive skills IMO. Hopefully he will use some of his anger in this way and get himself back in contention.To be blunt, I can't see how Harte could have had the career he's had without those very positioning and defensive skills. I firmly believe that fully half the problem with him is attitude.

[eoinh]

The man doesnt play in the English second division . Hes a failure! When he gets a decent move to someone like Cardiff then he should be considered for Ireland. Playing the likes of Real, Barcelona etc wont help his career.

[eirebhoy]

I think Harte has took my advise and got some hypnosis to help his confidence. ;) He is a player that thrives on confidence and not only has he talked to the press twice in one week ( :eek: ), he has also publicly stated he thinks he should be in the squad. I'm being serious when I say he must have got something done to help his confidence.

[Slash/ED]

The man doesnt play in the English second division . Hes a failure! When he gets a decent move to someone like Cardiff then he should be considered for Ireland. Playing the likes of Real, Barcelona etc wont help his career.

:D Well said.

[fergalr]

While even his biggest fan would concede that he's not the greatest defender, he's by no means the worst either.
Ehm - I think he is!

Of all those who have been capped in recent memory, Harte would win the prize for the most inept defensive performances. The only one else who comes close is Babb.

[macdermesser]

Ehm - I think he is!

Of all those who have been capped in recent memory, Harte would win the prize for the most inept defensive performances. The only one else who comes close is Babb.

I'm afraid your right. Don't know when the rot set in .. think just before O'Leary dropped him at Leeds for a few months. If you do a Dunphy holditjusttherebill on the two goals last time around in Basel ... and you will see who was not arsed tracking back for the two Swiss goals. Everyone seems to remember O'Shea's mistakes, but Harte was at fault for both goals.

In any case there is other stuff probably in play about him being dropped .. Without making wild accusations, Kerr is closer to the players than us, so he knows who is hungry and committed and who is not. .. respect, lifestyle etc etc.

Pity though .. another case of wasted talent. .. he is accomplished on the ball .. and there might be hope for him yet ..

[drinkfeckarse]

Ehm - I think he is!


Of course he's the WORST defender ever, that's why he's got a barrow load of caps and has played in the Premiership for years and the Champions League :rolleyes:

Listen I'm not his biggest fan either, but I honestly can only remember a few games when he was poor for us. That in my mind doesn't warrant him being tagged "useless", "shocking" etc. And let me remind you that the whole team let us down in Basle, not just Harte.

[Slash/ED]

Of course he's the WORST defender ever, that's why he's got a barrow load of caps and has played in the Premiership for years and the Champions League :rolleyes:

Listen I'm not his biggest fan either, but I honestly can only remember a few games when he was poor for us. That in my mind doesn't warrant him being tagged "useless", "shocking" etc. And let me remind you that the whole team let us down in Basle, not just Harte.


He's been poor nearly every time he's played for us and was shocking for Leeds in his last few years there. That warrants him being tagged useless and shocking because, well, he is absolutley useless and shocking.

[drinkfeckarse]

He's been poor nearly every time he's played for us and was shocking for Leeds in his last few years there. That warrants him being tagged useless and shocking because, well, he is absolutley useless and shocking.

Oh well he must be then.... :rolleyes: Premier League experiance, Champions League experiance, La Liga experiance, International experiance, World Cup experiance makes him the worst defender in the world....EVER!!

[John83]

Oh well he must be then.... :rolleyes: Premier League experiance, Champions League experiance, La Liga experiance, International experiance, World Cup experiance makes him the worst defender in the world....EVER!!Naturally he must have meant 'worst player ever' literally. :rolleyes:

[Slash/ED]

Oh well he must be then.... :rolleyes: Premier League experiance, Champions League experiance, La Liga experiance, International experiance, World Cup experiance makes him the worst defender in the world....EVER!!

Are you seriusly trying to suggest that experience = ability? He can have played in all the matches he wants if he's not good enough than he's not good enough and Ian Harte simply is not good enough.

[Lionel Ritchie]

Never had the brain or the legs of his uncle but he undoubtedly brought something else to the party.

A free kick anywhere within an asses roar of the goal and it's always as likely as not that he'll bury it. None of our current free kick takers inspire that kind of confidence when standing over a dead ball.

Yes there's a trade off between apptitude at one skill and ineptitude with another but I saw teams play Leeds where they'd play the ball toward Harte trying to exploit his weaknesses but provided the team planned for it he was still more likely to be the cause of you getting one than conceding one.

[drinkfeckarse]

What I'm trying to suggest is basic enough.......you don't get all that experiance by being a "shocking", "useless" player.

I don't want to get drawn into an argument with ye lads about whether he's sh1te or not, as I've said already I'm not his biggest fan either. I'm just saying that he's not a total donkey IMO. The facts would suggest this.

[Slash/ED]

What I'm trying to suggest is basic enough.......you don't get all that experiance by being a "shocking", "useless" player.


He got all that exeprience by being excellent at set peices/crosses. He is, however, both a shocking and a useless (and i'll throw in an inept) defender, and his primary job is to defend.

[drinkfeckarse]

He got all that exeprience by being excellent at set peices/crosses. He is, however, both a shocking and a useless (and i'll throw in an inept) defender, and his primary job is to defend.

Yeah that's right Slash, O'Leary, McCarthy etc played him all the time in the hope that they MIGHT get a free kick close to the goal at some stage. They weren't bothered about the fact that he might cost them plenty if he was as bad as you suggest because it was worth it in case they got a free kick!!

Come on, there's got to be more to your argument than that!

[Slash/ED]

Yeah that's right Slash, O'Leary, McCarthy etc played him all the time in the hope that they MIGHT get a free kick close to the goal at some stage. They weren't bothered about the fact that he might cost them plenty if he was as bad as you suggest because it was worth it in case they got a free kick!!

Come on, there's got to be more to your argument than that!

McCarthy picked him because he'd nobody else. O'Leary tried to find a replacement, playing Matteo and Raul Bravo there but ultimately he, and his successors, due to Leeds position had nobody else either. The only thing he adds is free kicks/crosses, he's easily the worst defender for defending Ireland have played regularly in a long, long time. I couldn't care less if he's played in 15,000 champions league finals, I've seen him play enough myself and no stats or games he's played in will change my mind, the man is an inept defender.

[Lionel Ritchie]

He got all that exeprience by being excellent at set peices/crosses. He is, however, both a shocking and a useless (and i'll throw in an inept) defender, and his primary job is to defend.

that's a pretty unsophisticated view of things slash/ED.
By that logic neither he nor any other defender should take free kicks ...coz what if it breaks down quickly? ...he'll have compromised his primary job -which is apparently to defend.

I waould say his primary and indeed only job is to do whatever the manager tells him to do -to the best of his ability while he's on the pitch

[Slash/ED]

that's a pretty unsophisticated view of things slash/ED.
By that logic neither he nor any other defender should take free kicks ...coz what if it breaks down quickly? ...he'll have compromised his primary job -which is apparently to defend.

I waould say his primary and indeed only job is to do whatever the manager tells him to do -to the best of his ability while he's on the pitch

Yes but it would help if he could actually defend. You need to be able to defend to be a defender, the free kicks and all that are a bonus but if you can't defend you're a liability which is what Harte is when he plays for us.

[Chippy]

Interesting arguement but I think Slash nailed it with his last comment. Seeing the positions that Harte took up while playing for Ireland used to have my blood pressure soaring. Useless, shocking & inept are worthy descriptions. Please god, he'll never wear a green shirt again.

[drinkfeckarse]

McCarthy picked him because he'd nobody else. O'Leary tried to find a replacement, playing Matteo and Raul Bravo there but ultimately he, and his successors, due to Leeds position had nobody else either. The only thing he adds is free kicks/crosses, he's easily the worst defender for defending Ireland have played regularly in a long, long time. I couldn't care less if he's played in 15,000 champions league finals, I've seen him play enough myself and no stats or games he's played in will change my mind, the man is an inept defender.


Ok you've got opinion, that's fine.

My argument is based on the fact that various top class managers have played him time and time again. Yours is based on the fact that you don't rate him and assuming that you're not a top level manager then it suggests that you're wrong.(unless you rate yourself a better judge of player than O'Leary, McCarthy and his fellow pro's who voted him in the PFA Select for 2 years)

[Slash/ED]

Ok you've got opinion, that's fine.

My argument is based on the fact that various top class managers have played him time and time again. Yours is based on the fact that you don't rate him and assuming that you're not a top level manager then it suggests that you're wrong.(unless you rate yourself a better judge of player than O'Leary, McCarthy and his fellow pro's who voted him in the PFA Select for 2 years)

O'Leary didn't rate him and tried to play different people in his position, as I said, but ended up with too small a squad so Harte had to play. Mccarthy had nobody else.

That btw is the most pathetic argument you can get in football, well if a manager picked him he must be right, he obviously knows more than you. If all managers were perfect judges of players and never got it wrong there would be no need to replace them with other managers would there? Afterall, they're all perfect judges and never get it wrong so they'd all be exactly the same and have the same ideas wouldn't they? It's worth pointing out that both McCarthy and O'Leary were forced out of their respective jobs by the way.

And if all managers were perfect judges of players than Brian Kerr, who afterall is an international manager (Are you?) has left him out of his squad, despite injuries, and has included an average SPL defender ahead of him who would be playing out of position anyway. I think that shows what Kerr, an international manager, thinks of Ian Harte doesn't it? Words like 'useless' and 'shocking' spring to mind.

[Lionel Ritchie]

Interesting arguement but I think Slash nailed it with his last comment. Seeing the positions that Harte took up while playing for Ireland used to have my blood pressure soaring. Useless, shocking & inept are worthy descriptions. Please god, he'll never wear a green shirt again.

Actually I believe I nailed it when I said Harte has been shown to be more likely to get you a goal than to concede you one. All these managers that continued to pick him didn't do so coz he's a nice kid with good manners. they did so coz he had something to offer.

[Slash/ED]

Actually I believe I nailed it when I said Harte has been shown to be more likely to get you a goal than to concede you one.

When did he do that then? :confused:

And those managers had nobody else. As soon as other options became available to us Harte was thrown out and hopefully will never be seen again. As soon as other options were available to Leeds Harte was out of the side but they kept loseing their players.

[drinkfeckarse]

Leeds got to the Champions League semi final with Harte as an important member of their squad. Your argument of "they'd no-one else" is laughable. Sure, I'll make myself available the next time there's an injury crisis for us and if I've a nightmare then I'll be able to say "sure, they'd no-one else but me!".
If he was that bad, managers would have played anyone but him at left back.When Harte was prominent for Leeds it was during their silly money stage. I'm sure they would have bought an able replacement if they had no faith whatsoever in him.

As I've said, you don't get to pick up all that experiance by being a bad player. That for me nails it.

[brine3]

Cast your minds back to the World Cup.

We conceded three goals. One against Cameroon, one against Germany and one against Spain. All three were Ian Harte's fault as usual. Also, I seem to remember the Saudi Arabian winger taking the **** out of him many times in that match.

Nobody is saying Harte is a bad player, they are just saying he can't defend properly.

[Lionel Ritchie]

Cast your minds back to the World Cup.

We conceded three goals. One against Cameroon, one against Germany and one against Spain. All three were Ian Harte's fault as usual. Also, I seem to remember the Saudi Arabian winger taking the **** out of him many times in that match.

Nobody is saying Harte is a bad player, they are just saying he can't defend properly.

Agreed :cool:

[tricky_colour]

Cast your minds back to the World Cup.

We conceded three goals. One against Cameroon, one against Germany and one against Spain. All three were Ian Harte's fault as usual. Also, I seem to remember the Saudi Arabian winger taking the **** out of him many times in that match.

Nobody is saying Harte is a bad player, they are just saying he can't defend properly.

I guess you would say he was at fault for the 12 goals has scored for
the Rebublic too, on the positive side.

[ken foree]

http://www.levanteud.com/


can only be a good thing

[thejollyrodger]

HAHA - what a crap pic !

WTF is the site all about anyway?

[ken foree]

HAHA - what a crap pic !

WTF is the site all about anyway?

gay men's personals?

[eirebhoy]

WTF is the site all about anyway?
Its his club's official website.

[brine3]

He seems to be turning more and more into Gary Kelly as he gets older.

It must be the genes.

[Éanna]

HAHA - what a crap pic !

HAHA - what a crap player

[davey]

good article on Harte in Telegraph

http://www.news.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2004/11/21/sfnspa21.xml&sSheet=/sport/2004/11/21/ixfooty.html

[Donal81]

Good article and fair play to him for doing well but I still don't think we miss him too much. I'm sure plenty will make a very good case for him being called up as back-up but there shouldn't be any automatic selections in a squad. Harte regularly played poorly for Ireland and I don't believe he ever really earned his place there. Other players have come in and haven't played terribly.

[gspain]

My tuppence worth

Harte was rubbish as a centre half under Mick. Moved to left back and was a decent enough player. Confidence was shot to bits in the World Cup and he was poor.

He lacks pace and has a poor positional sense. He is very good going forward, has a decent shot and excellent delivery at free kicks and corner kicks.

His commitment to the cause was never in question either.

I would have him in the squad ahead of Alan Maybury - tough call as Maybury is fully committed and has done ok for us. However Harte is playing at a higher level and has more to offer.

I would only play Harte at left back if O'Shea and Finnan were unavailable OR here is where I think he provides an option - if we are chasing a game. Decent delivery on set pieces is key (look at Bolton) and I would bring him on for that. Ours is not good enough at the moment.

[Éanna]

harte is poor postionally, hoofs it too much and has no pace. no thanks

[Irish_Praha]

I would only play Harte at left back if O'Shea and Finnan were unavailable OR here is where I think he provides an option - if we are chasing a game. Decent delivery on set pieces is key (look at Bolton) and I would bring him on for that. Ours is not good enough at the moment.

If S. Reid gets his game together this will be his duty.

[barglee]

ive said it before and ill say it again.Ian Harte is our only decent left back and his ommisions from the squad are unbelieveable. Has Kerr even gone to watch him once?

his club are doing better than any of the other Irish players clubs ( bar Duff at chelsea and maybe Kilbane at everton)

Fourth in la liga isn't bad and there are some top class wingers playing in Spain for Harte to deal with .......

O shea, finnan Maybury are not left backs! and as a result there is no proper overlap on left hand side when they play.

Just imagine Harte was an uncapped Spaniard with irish parents playing well in La Liga, who declared he'd like to play for Ireland............

[thejollyrodger]

(Ian Hearte).... it's hard for me to accept that I cannot tackle the same way as I did at home. I was brought up to go for the ball if it's there to be won...

tackle ?? going for the ball ??

[ken foree]

tackle ?? going for the ball ??

good point. ;) since world football seems to be moving in the general and regrettable direction of becoming a non-contact sport, harte would seemingly be ideal as at least a squad player

[Dublin12]

George Graham..one of the best defensive coaches around at the time,I reckon he had a valid point in not playing Hartey.

[thejollyrodger]

i was only joking ! I was meant to put a :p on the above post.

I think Hearte is just a different type of player than the typical kick it and run after it premiership player. He is very well suited to La Liga and there is more than one ways to skin a cat (i.e defend).