Keiren Westwood G Crewe Alexandra b.1984

[ifk101]

oh come on, what are the realistic chances of Westwood getting an England call up in the next few years? There are good English keepers coming through the ranks and James' place in the side is pretty comfortable after another good season.

So he's no good then?


Westwood is unlikely to feature in September he was just called up at short notice so they could explore other goalkeeping possibilities.

How convenient. ;)

[livehead1]

Well, Kieron Westwood has succeeded in making a career in League One. Brian Murphy did not.

Drumcondra 69er says it better than me really........I don't want to cause offence but I really think you guys overestimate how good your league is. It's nowhere near Championship standard, as some think.

Due to criticism i recieved for not bothering about the EL i've watched a load of games recently and must say i've been surprised. It is around championship level, probably the bottom half of the championship would be suitable to accomodate the best 3 or 4 sides in the el. the rest would be league one although possible one or two would struggle at that level. the championship in england however, is a shocking league; demonstrated by the massive struggle any side getting out of it has in avoiding immediate demotion.

[Block G Raptor]

Not bizarre at all, it's just a tounge in check comment ffs. A lot of 2g and 3g Irish get sent to Catholic schools in England, I've often heard that phrase used in the UK from people educated in Catholic schools or from 2g fans on away trips. Think you're reading waaay to much onto it.

It's not tounge in cheek at all. ffs the majority of ordinary people in Britain think that the troubles was solely a sectarian war between catholic's and protestants
they just seem to equate catholic with Irish as though the 2 are mutually exclusive

[FarBeag]

Westwood isn't Irish, Murphy is.

The Championship is a better standard than the Premier Division in the LOI - I think the majority of LOI supporters would acknowlege this. But that's irrelevant as Carlisle United isn't a Championship club or a Championship standard club.

Westwood got the "call-up" because he can potentially play international football for another country.


So if Westwood is not Irish he is probably English then or do you mean he is Irish but wasn't born in Ireland like Murphy making him less Irish of course? Just a bit confused as to why an English man was called up to play for us thats all.:confused:

[blobbyblob]

Non Irish Irish Italians Non League of Ireland playing Irish have been playing for us for years. Whats the problem?

John Aldridge is as Liverpool as they come and Houghton is Scotish through and through. 9 out of 10 ex Irish internationals live in England. They speak english and probably read english papers.

How many of the WC90 Squad could claim to have been born in Ireland, played LOI football ?

Always thought Vinny Jones was hard done by to be honest with some of the lads we took in.

I suppose in all honesty, If were depending on Westwood or Murphy to qualify for any major tournament were in trouble. Were not blessed with talent on tap and if we uncover a gem, welcome aboard. Thats the crux of the matter.

[ifk101]

So if Westwood is not Irish he is probably English then or do you mean he is Irish but wasn't born in Ireland like Murphy making him less Irish of course? Just a bit confused as to why an English man was called up to play for us thats all.:confused:

It's quite simple to understand. He said the following words "I'm not Irish" in that combination. Does that confuse you?

[Drumcondra 69er]

It's not tounge in cheek at all. ffs the majority of ordinary people in Britain think that the troubles was solely a sectarian war between catholic's and protestants
they just seem to equate catholic with Irish as though the 2 are mutually exclusive

One of the most ill informed posts I've ever read. Like it or not for a lot of people of Irish descent living in England then being sent to Catholic / Irish schools over in England defined what was different about them to other kids over there. Most of the lads I travel to away trips with are born in Birmingham or London, the phrase 'a good catholic boy' is totally tounge in cheek and is one I've regulalry heard used by second generation Irish in a jokey manner. It's exactly the sort of thing the likes of Dermot O'Leary (who's big on his Irish heritage) would say for example.

And the last line of your post actually makes no sense at all, I assume you meant the opposite as 'mutually exclusive' means 'unable to be true at the same time' which clearly being Irish and Cathloic isn't. Did you mean as though the 2 are one and the same?

[Drumcondra 69er]

It's quite simple to understand. He said the following words "I'm not Irish" in that combination. Does that confuse you?

The fact that you left the 'as such' out of you're I'm not Irish (as such)' quote completly changes the context. Cr@p argument. My opinion is that he meant he wasn't born over here.

He's hardly the first and won't be the last player to be like this, can't believe why people are up in arms about this, if we cap him and he turns out to be a top keeper then happy days, if he doesn't he doesn't make the squads. What's the big deal?

[ifk101]

The fact that you left the 'as such' out of you're I'm not Irish (as such)' quote completly changes the context. Cr@p argument. My opinion is that he meant he wasn't born over here.

He's hardly the first and won't be the last player to be like this, can't believe why people are up in arms about this, if we cap him and he turns out to be a top keeper then happy days, if he doesn't he doesn't make the squads. What's the big deal?

A basic requirement for anyone playing for us is that they consider themselves Irish. I don't care if they are second, third or whatever generation Irish as long as they identify themselves as Irish. He said he's not Irish so your cr@p argument that he might turn out to be a top goalkeeper doesn't cut it.

[SkStu]

any reasonable reading of what he said would see that he meant he was not born in Ireland.

please, IFK, pick something else to get all worked up over.

[ifk101]

any reasonable reading of what he said would see that he meant he was not born in Ireland.

please, IFK, pick something else to get all worked up over.

Anyone proficient in the English language read what he meant, i.e. he doesn't consider himself Irish.

So please, SkStu, be respectful of others having an opinion that differs from yours.

[SkStu]

Anyone proficient in the English language read what he meant, i.e. he doesn't consider himself Irish.

So please, SkStu, be respectful of others having an opinion that differs from yours.

i dont think i was being disrespectful :confused:

i just think your reading of his comments are wrong. You even misquoted him in your posts so far. His full statement in context makes far more sense and sounds far better than your selective quoting.

[ifk101]

“I’m not Irish as such, but I’m a Catholic boy and it’s in my blood through my dad’s mum".

I going to have to go back to school as my reading of that is; he doesn't identify himself as Irish, but he's Catholic and his Dad's mum is/was Irish so he can play for us.


If I wanted to say I wasn't born in Ireland I'd use the phrase "I wasn't born in Ireland (as such) ;)" but that's just me.

Anyways I've said my piece now and let my feelings known. So this is my last post on the subject.

[FarBeag]

It's quite simple to understand. He said the following words "I'm not Irish" in that combination. Does that confuse you?



You are reading way too much into this. Do you think many of the English born players who have represented us down through the years have stood up and said they were actually Irish apart from the obvious, Kilbane, Breen, McCarthy. I bet the likes of Morrison, Lawrensen, Holland, etc though themselves as English men playing for Ireland. Most of them would have played for England if given the chance. I bet this did not stop you from cheering them on when they were sweating their arses off for the cause. At least this chap declared at a young age and did not have to be asked to do so. That’s good enough for me and I will support him 100%.

[geysir]

One of the most ill informed posts I've ever read. Like it or not for a lot of people of Irish descent living in England then being sent to Catholic / Irish schools over in England defined what was different about them to other kids over there. Most of the lads I travel to away trips with are born in Birmingham or London, the phrase 'a good catholic boy' is totally tounge in cheek and is one I've regulalry heard used by second generation Irish in a jokey manner. It's exactly the sort of thing the likes of Dermot O'Leary (who's big on his Irish heritage) would say for example.
I'd agree wholehearted with your posts on this thread.
The 'most ill informed post' accusation is not one to be thrown around lightly. This type of "Irishness" thread always throws up a few candidates, sometimes justifying the absence of rationality in a creative interpretation with a 'Im just expressing my feelings' excuse.







.

[Flawless]

To be honest, if he wants to play and is good enough then i dont see the problem, however if its a stop gap and hes just taking the mick, then he can fcuk off. A problem i have is Irish people who ill wish on England and the English National team, yet when the weekend comes they wear their Liverpool, United and Arsenal tops and refer to these Teams as "We" and "Us". Thats a pain in the arse, these are also the people who wont go to Eircom league games, and will sneer about their local EL clubs. (In case i hurt anyones feelings, i knoe not all people who follow English football turn their noses up at the EL, but there is quite a lot who do..)

[ifk101]

This type of "Irishness" thread always throws up a few candidates, sometimes justifying the absence of rationality in a creative interpretation with a 'Im just expressing my feelings' excuse.

Talk about a sly silly little dig.

The issue isn't about second or third generation Irish playing for Ireland. I've already said I wholeheartily welcome them. It's about whether these players are "committed to the cause". Kieron Westwood said he'd "consider" playing for the Republic. That's all well and good but I personally wouldn't need to consider about playing for Ireland.

Nobody here had mentioned the name of Kieron Westwood before he appeared on your TV screens last week. He makes a few saves for Carlisle United and all of sudden we get the usual lyrics posted about a lower league player in England that should get a "call-up".

Brian Murphy hit the nail on the head with his comments. What Westwood's call-up says is if you want to play for Ireland, go across the water and make a few saves in front of the Sky Sports cameras. If somebody posted a thread in the Ireland section of foot.ie about an LOI player deserving of a "call-up" that thread would be threated with disdain by the vast majority of posters. However if somebody else comes along and states there's a player making strides at Torquay United it's a whole different story. Like Flawless said in his post there're hoardes of so called "Irish football fans" puked up across the country telling everyone in earshot how they are "Man U til I die" or I'm "Liverpool til I die". These are the same people that go out of there way to sheer at the English national side and at players who play at the same clubs at which their "hearts" lie. There're all "football fans" that pay countless sums of money buying trips to the UK but wouldn't dream of watching the football that's played on their doorsteps.

Sometimes you have to take the long-sighted prespective rather than the shortsighted and the case of Kieron Westwood is a perfect example. It sends (another) signal that LOI players will constantly be overlooked in favour of players that highlight their availibilty after they realise they'll never get to play for their nation of choice. It's another kick in the teeth for the development of domestic soccer and like it our lump it we need a strong domestic league if we consistently want to qualify for major tournaments and we wouldn't need these continuous whinging threads about journeymen not getting their games with their respective British clubs as we'd be in a position to pick players playing regularly in the LOI.

It was stated in the LOI section of this forum that Norway has picked an international squad containing 16/18 players from Norwegian clubs. What's wrong in encouraging the development of our own league so that we can be in a position to do this as well. Yes it might "just be a training camp" for the most of you but it's still a training camp for the national team and a strong source of recognition for any previously uncapped player. A lot people take a great source of pride in their inclusion in such training camps. And rightly so. That's the "type of Irishness" I want.

[Block G Raptor]

Did you mean as though the 2 are one and the same?

Yep :o
had a feeling I was using the wrong term. Still think their are plenty of British that would fit into my description though, jesus knows I've met enough of them down the years

[monutdfc]

The fact that you left the 'as such' out of you're I'm not Irish (as such)' quote completly changes the context. Cr@p argument. My opinion is that he meant he wasn't born over here.
Oh yeah, the "as such" makes all the difference!
"As such" in that sentence means as much as "obviously", "in fairness", "to be fair" or any of the other meaningless sentence fillers that footballers use.

[Disgrace]

Talk about a sly silly little dig.

The issue isn't about second or third generation Irish playing for Ireland. I've already said I wholeheartily welcome them. It's about whether these players are "committed to the cause". Kieron Westwood said he'd "consider" playing for the Republic. That's all well and good but I personally wouldn't need to consider about playing for Ireland.

Nobody here had mentioned the name of Kieron Westwood before he appeared on your TV screens last week. He makes a few saves for Carlisle United and all of sudden we get the usual lyrics posted about a lower league player in England that should get a "call-up".

Brian Murphy hit the nail on the head with his comments. What Westwood's call-up says is if you want to play for Ireland, go across the water and make a few saves in front of the Sky Sports cameras. If somebody posted a thread in the Ireland section of foot.ie about an LOI player deserving of a "call-up" that thread would be threated with disdain by the vast majority of posters. However if somebody else comes along and states there's a player making strides at Torquay United it's a whole different story. Like Flawless said in his post there're hoardes of so called "Irish football fans" puked up across the country telling everyone in earshot how they are "Man U til I die" or I'm "Liverpool til I die". These are the same people that go out of there way to sheer at the English national side and at players who play at the same clubs at which their "hearts" lie. There're all "football fans" that pay countless sums of money buying trips to the UK but wouldn't dream of watching the football that's played on their doorsteps.

Sometimes you have to take the long-sighted prespective rather than the shortsighted and the case of Kieron Westwood is a perfect example. It sends (another) signal that LOI players will constantly be overlooked in favour of players that highlight their availibilty after they realise they'll never get to play for their nation of choice. It's another kick in the teeth for the development of domestic soccer and like it our lump it we need a strong domestic league if we consistently want to qualify for major tournaments and we wouldn't need these continuous whinging threads about journeymen not getting their games with their respective British clubs as we'd be in a position to pick players playing regularly in the LOI.

It was stated in the LOI section of this forum that Norway has picked an international squad containing 16/18 players from Norwegian clubs. What's wrong in encouraging the development of our own league so that we can be in a position to do this as well. Yes it might "just be a training camp" for the most of you but it's still a training camp for the national team and a strong source of recognition for any previously uncapped player. A lot people take a great source of pride in their inclusion in such training camps. And rightly so. That's the "type of Irishness" I want.

Expertly put. The most concise reading of the situation so far

[geysir]

Talk about a sly silly little dig.
The issue isn't about second or third generation Irish playing for Ireland. I've already said I wholeheartily welcome them. It's about whether these players are "committed to the cause". Kieron Westwood said he'd "consider" playing for the Republic. That's all well and good but I personally wouldn't need to consider about playing for Ireland.

I shouldn't have used the word creative, it's more a subjective drivel based on unimaginative cynical interpretation over a few words from a player, which in the opinion of others, have more obvious meanings.

[Ceirtlis]

The whole Catholic boy thing was a tongue in cheek comment in fairness to him.
I don't know what to make of this. I think myself that when a player has a choice of playing for two countries they will almost always play for the best team that they will be able to get selected for, like alot of the African players who have played for France in the past. On the one hand I would nearly say fair play for admitting it that he is not Irish(or fully Irish.......) and on the other hand I would prefer to have people who would always see Ireland as their one and only national team playing for us. He is as qualified as many of the guys who have played for us down the years, he has just put his foot in it with that comment.

[Greenforever]

Yes it might "just be a training camp" for the most of you but it's still a training camp for the national team and a strong source of recognition for any previously uncapped player. A lot people take a great source of pride in their inclusion in such training camps. And rightly so. That's the "type of Irishness" I want.


While my previous posts on this indiacte that it is no more than a holiday camp, I do accept your comments and others, that it should be a great source of pride for anyone to be called up, and maybe a number of EL players should have been called up, like a number of U21s were.

Maybe I'm wrong in assuming that EL managers would not be happy to lose 1 or 2 of their best players for 2 weeks and possibly 3 matches for this.

With our away game scheduled for next June against Bulgaria, maybe Trap will organise another week away and if arranged earlier enough a break in the EL season could be planned now to facilitate the calling up of say 4 players for the training camp.

[SkStu]

Talk about a sly silly little dig.

The issue isn't about second or third generation Irish playing for Ireland. I've already said I wholeheartily welcome them. It's about whether these players are "committed to the cause". Kieron Westwood said he'd "consider" playing for the Republic. That's all well and good but I personally wouldn't need to consider about playing for Ireland.

Nobody here had mentioned the name of Kieron Westwood before he appeared on your TV screens last week. He makes a few saves for Carlisle United and all of sudden we get the usual lyrics posted about a lower league player in England that should get a "call-up".

Brian Murphy hit the nail on the head with his comments. What Westwood's call-up says is if you want to play for Ireland, go across the water and make a few saves in front of the Sky Sports cameras. If somebody posted a thread in the Ireland section of foot.ie about an LOI player deserving of a "call-up" that thread would be threated with disdain by the vast majority of posters. However if somebody else comes along and states there's a player making strides at Torquay United it's a whole different story. Like Flawless said in his post there're hoardes of so called "Irish football fans" puked up across the country telling everyone in earshot how they are "Man U til I die" or I'm "Liverpool til I die". These are the same people that go out of there way to sheer at the English national side and at players who play at the same clubs at which their "hearts" lie. There're all "football fans" that pay countless sums of money buying trips to the UK but wouldn't dream of watching the football that's played on their doorsteps.

Sometimes you have to take the long-sighted prespective rather than the shortsighted and the case of Kieron Westwood is a perfect example. It sends (another) signal that LOI players will constantly be overlooked in favour of players that highlight their availibilty after they realise they'll never get to play for their nation of choice. It's another kick in the teeth for the development of domestic soccer and like it our lump it we need a strong domestic league if we consistently want to qualify for major tournaments and we wouldn't need these continuous whinging threads about journeymen not getting their games with their respective British clubs as we'd be in a position to pick players playing regularly in the LOI.
It was stated in the LOI section of this forum that Norway has picked an international squad containing 16/18 players from Norwegian clubs. What's wrong in encouraging the development of our own league so that we can be in a position to do this as well. Yes it might "just be a training camp" for the most of you but it's still a training camp for the national team and a strong source of recognition for any previously uncapped player. A lot people take a great source of pride in their inclusion in such training camps. And rightly so. That's the "type of Irishness" I want.

great post ifk. I have to agree - my original disagreement was on your attacking of what he said, which i think is innoccuos enough in the greater context. Compare to Clinton "come and get me Sven" Morrison and you can see where im coming from.

On ability, however, i totally agree that there are far superior candidates out there and i fully agree with the overall jist of your post.

Ive been posting a lot of what you said on here (the bolded bits) for a while concerning the success of the domestic league and its relevance to the success of the national team.

Maith an fear.

[geysir]

Now we have judgements made, about a 2 or 3 generation player based on an innocuous quote, to determine his level of commitment to the cause.
Save us from this insanity.

How does the commitment scoring system work?
I guess Dean Kiely is okay, he is safe. Even if he is a shadow of his former greatness. When or how did he pass the goalkeeper Irish commitment test? Was it before or after he played for England?
Or is it now that we just assume he is Irish because he is Irish.

[Flawless]

Talk about a sly silly little dig.

The issue isn't about second or third generation Irish playing for Ireland. I've already said I wholeheartily welcome them. It's about whether these players are "committed to the cause". Kieron Westwood said he'd "consider" playing for the Republic. That's all well and good but I personally wouldn't need to consider about playing for Ireland.

Nobody here had mentioned the name of Kieron Westwood before he appeared on your TV screens last week. He makes a few saves for Carlisle United and all of sudden we get the usual lyrics posted about a lower league player in England that should get a "call-up".

Brian Murphy hit the nail on the head with his comments. What Westwood's call-up says is if you want to play for Ireland, go across the water and make a few saves in front of the Sky Sports cameras. If somebody posted a thread in the Ireland section of foot.ie about an LOI player deserving of a "call-up" that thread would be threated with disdain by the vast majority of posters. However if somebody else comes along and states there's a player making strides at Torquay United it's a whole different story. Like Flawless said in his post there're hoardes of so called "Irish football fans" puked up across the country telling everyone in earshot how they are "Man U til I die" or I'm "Liverpool til I die". These are the same people that go out of there way to sheer at the English national side and at players who play at the same clubs at which their "hearts" lie. There're all "football fans" that pay countless sums of money buying trips to the UK but wouldn't dream of watching the football that's played on their doorsteps.

Sometimes you have to take the long-sighted prespective rather than the shortsighted and the case of Kieron Westwood is a perfect example. It sends (another) signal that LOI players will constantly be overlooked in favour of players that highlight their availibilty after they realise they'll never get to play for their nation of choice. It's another kick in the teeth for the development of domestic soccer and like it our lump it we need a strong domestic league if we consistently want to qualify for major tournaments and we wouldn't need these continuous whinging threads about journeymen not getting their games with their respective British clubs as we'd be in a position to pick players playing regularly in the LOI.

It was stated in the LOI section of this forum that Norway has picked an international squad containing 16/18 players from Norwegian clubs. What's wrong in encouraging the development of our own league so that we can be in a position to do this as well. Yes it might "just be a training camp" for the most of you but it's still a training camp for the national team and a strong source of recognition for any previously uncapped player. A lot people take a great source of pride in their inclusion in such training camps. And rightly so. That's the "type of Irishness" I want.

Agree 100%, best response in this thread..

[Lionel Ritchie]

There are some very valid and noble points in ifk101s post though some of them are some way beyond the subject here. Also none of them lessen by a jot Westwoods eligibility to represent us ...not if he considers himself Irish, not if he doesn't, not if hates the Irish, thinks they're redheaded freckly inbred tinker tarmaccers who deserve all the mick-slapping that can be heaped on them.

With that as the bottom line -it simply becomes a question of those in charge managing and exploiting the pool of players available to Ireland to our greatest advantage. If that's the situation then there's a case to be made that a goalkeeper who it is highly likely will be playing at a higher level next season* should be encouraged and welcomed into the fold. The Irish born and Irish based keepers will be no less eligible thereafter. They are disadvantaged for sure but that's the situation they find themselves in.

*If Leeds United are promoted on Sunday I wouldn't be surprised if Westwood was top of McAllisters shopping list. He's the only player I've seen in that division that I would think could displace Casper Ankergren. Even if they don't come in for him I think it's been said on here that the Carlisle supporters broadly reckon he'll be off soon.

[Cymro]

Due to criticism i recieved for not bothering about the EL i've watched a load of games recently and must say i've been surprised. It is around championship level, probably the bottom half of the championship would be suitable to accomodate the best 3 or 4 sides in the el. the rest would be league one although possible one or two would struggle at that level. the championship in england however, is a shocking league; demonstrated by the massive struggle any side getting out of it has in avoiding immediate demotion.

I'd be inclined to disagree with your last comment. Your claim that teams getting promoted find it very hard to stay up for one year is debateable to say the least. In every season since 2000 at least one promoted club has stayed up, and possibly this trend stretches further into the past; I didn't bother to look at every season, feeling those facts alone are enough to disprove your claim. In any case, the league those clubs are being promoted into is the wealthiest and very arguably best in the world, so to go down from it is no disgrace, and very few promoted clubs do as badly as Derby did this season.

The Championship is not a shocking league. For as long as I can remember, it has been amongst the top 10 European leagues for average attendance, and the highest of any European second tier; it is a competitive league from top to bottom and practically every side in it has multiple full senior internationals.

I don't personally think any Irish side could survive at Championship level for longer than a season or two; even Colchester have higher gates than the top side in Ireland, and they are widely regarded as being one of the most 'punch above your weight' clubs at Championship level for a long time. Furthermore, although a handful of Irish league players have made it in the Championship, many who have tried have not succeeded. These are top players in Ireland. I think that if the leagues were genuinely comparable you would not have this sort of failure rate.

Disagree with me if you want to on that, but it's my honest opinion.

[SkStu]

I'd be inclined to disagree with your last comment. Your claim that teams getting promoted find it very hard to stay up for one year is debateable to say the least. In every season since 2000 at least one promoted club has stayed up, and possibly this trend stretches further into the past; I didn't bother to look at every season, feeling those facts alone are enough to disprove your claim. In any case, the league those clubs are being promoted into is the wealthiest and very arguably best in the world, so to go down from it is no disgrace, and very few promoted clubs do as badly as Derby did this season.

The Championship is not a shocking league. For as long as I can remember, it has been amongst the top 10 European leagues for average attendance, and the highest of any European second tier; it is a competitive league from top to bottom and practically every side in it has multiple full senior internationals.

I don't personally think any Irish side could survive at Championship level for longer than a season or two; even Colchester have higher gates than the top side in Ireland, and they are widely regarded as being one of the most 'punch above your weight' clubs at Championship level for a long time. Furthermore, although a handful of Irish league players have made it in the Championship, many who have tried have not succeeded. These are top players in Ireland. I think that if the leagues were genuinely comparable you would not have this sort of failure rate.

Disagree with me if you want to on that, but it's my honest opinion.

how can you comment on a league that (i presume) you have never seen? Not necessarily saying i agree with the original poster but i just wonder how you intend to validate your opinion?

Attendances is not a valid argument against the quality of some of the footie on show in Ireland. Similarly, the championship being in the top ten leagues in Europe for attendance does not make it one of the ten best leagues in Europe. By a long long shot.

For the record - in my opinion, there are some exceptionally good players and a handful of good teams in the leagues here that would yo-yo between Championship and first. Naturally, there are others that would be in the Conference or lower.

[Cymro]

I have seen quite a few games involving Irish sides, actually, particularly recently as I have started to take an interest in it (as well as reading/posting on here). It's not particularly difficult to get access to live matches and highlights clips if you are genuinely interested. Matches are broadcast on Setanta and occasionally on the internet, neither of which require me to do much more than minimal work to access.

Now obviously I wouldn't claim to be an authority on the league. However, having watched hundreds of Football League games I most certainly know about the English league and it was that comment about the Championship being shocking I was taking issue with. My views on Irish football were simply an opinion and I was clear on that, unlike livehead, who stated his opinion as though it were fact.

As for my argument, attendances and ticket prices (basically, matchday income) are linked to football quality. Certainly, it's not the be-all and end-all, but generally, the more money you draw in on a Saturday afternoon, the better your team is likely to be, especially in the modern era where it's not particularly difficult to sign players from foreign countries, even for clubs lower down the Football League ladder. From what I understand, the Irish leagues (north and south) are roughly comparable with the English League Two/Conference in this area. I'm not necessarily suggesting this automatically disqualifies any Irish side from having a Championship-standard team ever, but it would probably take considerable investment to reach that standard, as at present, all the best players over in Ireland are getting cherry-picked by Championship and SPL clubs.

[Razors left peg]

I have seen quite a few games involving Irish sides, actually, particularly recently as I have started to take an interest in it (as well as reading/posting on here). It's not particularly difficult to get access to live matches and highlights clips if you are genuinely interested. Matches are broadcast on Setanta and occasionally on the internet, neither of which require me to do much more than minimal work to access.

Now obviously I wouldn't claim to be an authority on the league. However, having watched hundreds of Football League games I most certainly know about the English league and it was that comment about the Championship being shocking I was taking issue with. My views on Irish football were simply an opinion and I was clear on that, unlike livehead, who stated his opinion as though it were fact.

As for my argument, attendances and ticket prices (basically, matchday income) are linked to football quality. Certainly, it's not the be-all and end-all, but generally, the more money you draw in on a Saturday afternoon, the better your team is likely to be, especially in the modern era where it's not particularly difficult to sign players from foreign countries, even for clubs lower down the Football League ladder. From what I understand, the Irish leagues (north and south) are roughly comparable with the English League Two/Conference in this area. I'm not necessarily suggesting this automatically disqualifies any Irish side from having a Championship-standard team ever, but it would probably take considerable investment to reach that standard, as at present, all the best players over in Ireland are getting cherry-picked by Championship and SPL clubs.

Well Ive been supporting the League of Ireland for years and am a season ticket holder with Galway United and I have to say that I pretty much agree with your opinion of the Standard! There definately are some players in the league that are of a good enough standard for the Championship but not as many as we would sometimes like to believe,and in my opinion there are none good enough for the National team. Ive seen posts on this forum suggesting that Liam Miller wouldnt make the Cork City team at the moment and that there are better defenders in the League than John O Shea, absolute garbage! As far as Im concerned if a player is good enough to play regularly for the national team unfortunatly at the moment he has to prove himself in England or even Scotland to a certain extent. Of course in the future I would love to see the coaching standards and the league in general improve to the point where that wouldnt be nessesary but I dont really see it happenening at a fast enough pace to suggest that it will be a reality any time soon

[CraftyToePoke]

came by this info the other day

Westwood has sized up the England set up and although not impossible he would recieve a call up to it, as the Peterborough United keeper just has, he has tactically selected Ireland, citing Kielys less than settled club career of late as an oppertunity for him to take the nr2 spot. he already deems himself higher up than our third choice keepers in the pecking order.

he isnt, and doesnt see himself as Irish in any way, its a career driven decision, and it seems he has been told he will play a part in Thursdays game, so we are about to be represented by this guy.

he is being regularly scouted over the last ten weeks by both west brom and watford and carlisle are preparing for the possibility of losing him.

should they do so (and heres the sickner) one of his potential replacements is Conrad Logan, an Irish keeper on loan to stockport from leicester, a real live Irishman!! another one overlooked.

how accurate all this will prove to be, time will tell.

[livehead1]

came by this info the other day

Westwood has sized up the England set up and although not impossible he would recieve a call up to it, as the Peterborough United keeper just has, he has tactically selected Ireland, citing Kielys less than settled club career of late as an oppertunity for him to take the nr2 spot. he already deems himself higher up than our third choice keepers in the pecking order.

he isnt, and doesnt see himself as Irish in any way, its a career driven decision, and it seems he has been told he will play a part in Thursdays game, so we are about to be represented by this guy.

he is being regularly scouted over the last ten weeks by both west brom and watford and carlisle are preparing for the possibility of losing him.

should they do so (and heres the sickner) one of his potential replacements is Conrad Logan, an Irish keeper on loan to stockport from leicester, a real live Irishman!! another one overlooked.

how accurate all this will prove to be, time will tell.


Where's this from? and Logan aint good enough, nowhere near.

[boovidge]

Just came across this, not sure if its been seen on here:

COVENTRY City new-boy Keiren Westwood wants to set the record straight over the controversy that clouded his Republic of Ireland call-up.

http://www.sundaymercury.net/midlands-sport/midlands-football/coventry-city-fc/2008/06/21/coventry-city-new-boy-keiren-westwood-aims-to-set-record-straight-66331-21135286/

[Paddy Garcia]

Just came across this, not sure if its been seen on here:

COVENTRY City new-boy Keiren Westwood wants to set the record straight over the controversy that clouded his Republic of Ireland call-up.

http://www.sundaymercury.net/midlands-sport/midlands-football/coventry-city-fc/2008/06/21/coventry-city-new-boy-keiren-westwood-aims-to-set-record-straight-66331-21135286/



Good - have to change your legend now ;)

[tetsujin1979]

Trapattoni confirms that Westwood will play against Nigeria: http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4316

[elroy]

Went off injured today, hopefully nothing too serious.

[tetsujin1979]

injury update on Coventry's website: http://www.ccfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10269~1836123,00.html

Coventry manager Chris Coleman said: "Keiren said before the game he wanted to start but he's obviously felt a niggle in his lower back where he's been having a bit of pain so as a precautionary measure we thought it better to take him off rather than aggravate the problem."

[DannyInvincible]

Westwood being linked with a move to Celtic now: http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2010/0812/westwoodk.html

It appears Celtic made a bid that was turned down three weeks ago, but have yet to make any improved bid. Whether one will come remains to be seen.


Coventry manager Aidy Boothroyd has revealed Celtic have not made an improved offer for Keiren Westwood since the npower Championship club flatly rejected what he called a 'derisory' bid three weeks ago.

Rumours are rife in Scotland that Neil Lennon had, or is preparing to, double an initial bid believed to be in the region of £500,000 for the Republic of Ireland international goalkeeper, who is out of contract next summer.

But Boothroyd, discussing Celtic's advances for the first time, insists the Clydesdale Bank Premier League outfit have not been in touch since their first approach was rejected, and implied they would be wasting their time with an offer around the £1million mark.

[boovidge]

Looks like Lennon's doing a Keane and going for anyone who's Irish.

[Sullivinho]

Westwood being linked with a move to Celtic now

No better place for a self-confessed 'good Catholic boy' ;)

Coventry will surely be after a couple of million for him though.

[dr_peepee]

Good Championship keepers generally have an inflated value but Westwood holds alot of aces given he's only a year left on his contract. Coventry won't want to loose him for nothing next year and only a bidding war will drive up the price this summer so I doubt they'll get what they're looking for.

[Noelys Guitar]

Unbeliebable one handed save against Derby to keep Coventry in a 2-1 lead. Watch it later on Skysports. Lots of Irish players playing today in this game.

[irishfan86]

That was a world-class save alright, but he nearly gave a way a goal by teeing up Paul Green with a shanked clearance. He was bailed out by his defender who tracked back to head away.

[SkStu]

a good catholic attitude from Westwood in forgiving and fogetting his problems with CCFC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/coventry_city/8985561.stm


Coventry City keeper Keiren Westwood will play on for the club after clear-the-air talks with boss Aidy Boothroyd.

The 25-year-old Republic of Ireland player, who is out of contract in the summer, was dropped after a public spat over whether he would sign a new deal.....

[tetsujin1979]

Westwood was linked with Wigan in some recent reports, and their goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has just been taken off with his neck in a brace.
Might force them to make the move for Westwood?

[Charlie Darwin]

Kirkland's been second choice all season - Al Habsi's the main man now but he's still contracted to Bolton.

[AlaskaFox]

Today's Sunday People links him with a move to Aston Villa:
http://www.people.co.uk/sport/football/football-hotline/2011/03/06/aston-villa-to-swoop-for-magpies-target-keiren-westwood-102039-22968960/

[Noelys Guitar]

From todays Herald.
Westwood was not fit enough to play against Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday night and Trapattoni can only hope that Westwood can line out against Hull on Saturday.

“Keiren was close to playing against Doncaster but it was one of those situations where he could have done more damage and ended up missing six or seven games,” said Coventry boss Aidy Boothroyd.

“As much as we wanted him to play, I decided that the best thing would be to give him more time to make sure he is fully fit when he does return.”

With Joe Murphy (Scunthorpe United) also sidelined due to injury at the moment, Trapattoni will have to offer a recall to QPR man Paddy Kenny or else call up David Forde (Millwall) or Colin Doyle (Birmingham).

[sean r]

i think the standard is better then league 2 look at europe results. shams vs juve 0-2 0-2 they had a hard time with rovers. Or sporting fungs against that pourtuguese side the euro results were very good or decent at least. how good would a league 2 or blue square side do in europe? lincoln city vs juve no contest there. the league has improved over the years. also the players who went to england like kevin doyle who left the loi and had no trouble fitting in or adjusting to the prem. a lot of the former loi players do well in england and even do well in the top flight with little or no trouble that shows that the loi is a decent standard. no longer are we a "pub league" or even pub teams( well maybe mons lol) our european results shows that we are a decent level. i think the loi is better than people think it is