Post-1992 Ireland XI

[John83]

The obsession with 1992 will annoy Pineapple Stu, but here's a bit of filler from a football site desperate for content:

https://www.football365.com/news/premier-league-ireland-keane-mcgrath

Would anyone argue the point? Townsend and Coleman seem reasonable choices, but there's competition. Kilbane, yay or nay?

[Eminence Grise]

Always good filler, but we have such little genuine competition for places that once you pick the nailed-ons (Given, Keanes x 2, Duff) or stretch it to include players who spent most of their careers before '92 (McGrath - all hail) there isn't an embarassment of riches in most places.

So, purely to be argumentative, here's an 'XI Better than their Caps Total Suggests' - injury-shortened careers, unlucky to have a better/preferred player ahead of them, just not in favour with the management, or the gods didn't smile on them somehow...

		Dean Kiely
Kevin Foley	Andy O’Brien		Damien Delaney	Curtis Fleming
	Steven Reid	Graham Kavanagh	Keith Fahey
Eddie McGoldrick				Keith O’Neill
		Stephen Elliot

[Kingdom]

Always good filler, but we have such little genuine competition for places that once you pick the nailed-ons (Given, Keanes x 2, Duff) or stretch it to include players who spent most of their careers before '92 (McGrath - all hail) there isn't an embarassment of riches in most places.

So, purely to be argumentative, here's an 'XI Better than their Caps Total Suggests' - injury-shortened careers, unlucky to have a better/preferred player ahead of them, just not in favour with the management, or the gods didn't smile on them somehow...

[TABLE]
Dean Kiely
Kevin Foley
Andy O’Brien
Damien Delaney
Curtis Fleming
Steven Reid
Graham Kavanagh
Keith Fahey
Eddie McGoldrick
Keith O’Neil
Stephen Elliot

That's a great shout actually EG.

Are we talking about Irish players in general since the dawn of the PL, or Irish players who played in the PL?

[geysir]

Seeing that Keith O'Neill wouldn't last 5 minutes

Keith O'Neill Andy Reid

and this
Curtis Fleming Jim Beglin

[Eminence Grise]

I just took '92 as the start date from John83's opening post, and decided that my team would be players who played all or at least most of their career after this, and not necessarily PL players, though it ended up that most played there for some period. Go back pre-'92 to, say, the start of the Charlton era (I'd have very shaky knowledge pre-'86) and some interesting names jump out. Gerry Peyton, 33 caps - but over 15 years - kept a clean sheet against Liverpool as a teenager on his debut. He was probably better than a lot of our first choices before and after him. Mark Kelly - 4 caps by 20, who knows what he might have become but for injury. Liam O'Brien...

[Eminence Grise]

Seeing that Keith O'Neill wouldn't last 5 minutes

Keith O'Neill Andy Reid

and this
Curtis Fleming Jim Beglin

Fnarf fnarf! So, by my reckoning that takes you up to 20 minutes in both positions!

[geysir]

Fnarf fnarf! So, by my reckoning that takes you up to 20 minutes in both positions!

No contest really.
Keith O'Neill would trip over his shoelace and break his leg on his first game after a 12 month recovery from previously running into a blade of grass.
Whereas Jim Beglin's promising career at the top level was destroyed by a late horror tackle.
Andy's intl career was cut short by ill favour.

[Eminence Grise]

I thought Reid's problem was a tight g-string when it would have been better to b flat....

[John83]

I thought Reid's problem was a tight g-string when it would have been better to b flat....

Maybe he was thinking of Stephen Reid, who seemed liable to be injured by physiotherapy, much less football.

[geysir]

I thought Reid's problem was a tight g-string when it would have been better to b flat....

I did not extrapolate on which factor brought Andy into ill favour with Trap. But according to your criteria "just not in favour with the management", Andy wins hands down over Keef whether it be musical or football favour. Andy was never a factor after Monenegro, when he was last seen disconsolate on the touchline after Trap decided not to bring him on to win a game, when a draw satisfied Trap's ambition.
Whereas Keith was eventually brought back to the team, all was forgiven for Keith and as a consequence of that decision we were left inconsolably brokenhearted on the fields of Macedonia.

[Eminence Grise]

Maybe Andy R should have learned to play Bella Ciao. It could have made all the difference - for him and for us... I was looking at my team and wondering if Paddy Kenny or Rory Delap merit inclusion. Stephen McPhail. I'm sure there are others too. Actually, I'm sure there's a flip team out there too - an XI who I can't believe won as many caps as they did!

[John83]

Actually, I'm sure there's a flip team out there too - an XI who I can't believe won as many caps as they did!

GK: David Forde (23)

RB:
CD: Paul McShane (31)
CD: Darren O'Dea (20)
LB: Stephen Ward (50)

RW: Aiden McGeady (92)
CM: Paul Green (20)
CM: Glen Whelan (84)
LW: Kevin Kilbane (110)

ST: Andy Keogh (30)
ST: Shane Long (80)

Subs:
Conor Sammon (9) (all in the same year!)
Alan O'Brien (5)

Obviously, all inclusions relative to their number of caps. I can't think of a decent right back, because we've been fairly blessed there with the likes of Finnan, Carr, Kelly, and Coleman in the time I've been watching Ireland.

[Fixer82]

I'd have Shane Duffy ahead of Dicky Dunne.
I'd have McAteer on the right instead of Duff and Duff on the left instead of Kilbane

[geysir]

Maybe Andy R should have learned to play Bella Ciao. It could have made all the difference - for him and for us... I was looking at my team and wondering if Paddy Kenny or Rory Delap merit inclusion. Stephen McPhail. I'm sure there are others too. Actually, I'm sure there's a flip team out there too - an XI who I can't believe won as many caps as they did!

I get the flip team idea but there is no argument with Jim Beglin - a class act v your Curtis Fleming - a good durable plodder. And Keith O'Neill after his appearance at Montenegro 1999 and previous form, would inspire the gravest apprehension in the bravest of souls. If in your opinion Andy Reid could not rate higher than the hapless Keith in the forgotten/neglected but talented players, then that will surely subtract from your football soul.

[ColourfulPeanut]

GK: David Forde (23)

RB:
CD: Paul McShane (31)
CD: Darren O'Dea (20)
LB: Stephen Ward (50)

RW: Aiden McGeady (92)
CM: Paul Green (20)
CM: Glen Whelan (84)
LW: Kevin Kilbane (110)

ST: Andy Keogh (30)
ST: Shane Long (80)

Subs:
Conor Sammon (9) (all in the same year!)
Alan O'Brien (5)

Obviously, all inclusions relative to their number of caps. I can't think of a decent right back, because we've been fairly blessed there with the likes of Finnan, Carr, Kelly, and Coleman in the time I've been watching Ireland.

You have to have Sammon in there over Long. Sammon was a dreadful footballer, no idea how he got 9 caps.

Long is 33 and has been deservedly playing for us for 13 years, with his goal ratio similar to Quinn's! Not to mention the Germany goal!