Matt Holland

[seanfhear]

Still bossing the midfield for charlton in the championship, hes younger than lee carsley and is EXACTLY the type of player trap wants, always gave his all for ireland and was excellent in the world cup 2002, does anyone else think that attempts should be made to get him to play for ireland at least untill reidy gets back?

Certainly a good suggestion if he was up for it and a good challenge to the younger guys to prove that the are better than him.

I have always thought that older Irish players should not outright retire but be willing to serve in emergency or short term situations if needed.
Countries with small player pools need as many options as possible.

[third policeman]

Wonder whether Roy Keane is keeping himself fit. Defo Trap type player.

[third policeman]

Wonder whether Roy Keane is keeping himself fit? Defo a Trap type player.

[Irish_Praha]

I would have laughed that suggestion off a few months ago but now that we have seen what Trap is trying to do Holland would probably fit well into his system. He had his obvious weak points but was defensively sound and popped up with a few long-range goals. As has been mentioned on here before he and Whelan are not too dissimilar but at his peak I would rate Holland higher. If he continues to get his game and is fit enough to do a job for 90 mins i would also rather have him plaing instead of someone younger player who is only getting reserve team football.

Saying that I would much prefer if some of the young players who are actually getting games would be given a chance. Garvan, O'Brien and McCann for example. All the same age or older than Gibson and regularly playing in CMF.

It's a real shame that Reid is badly injured again but at least our next competitive game is not for another 5 months. Maybe in January a team like Everton will come in for Garvan or McCann in January and they will have a few months to impress Trap. If he picked Gibson on the B game alone then they should have every chance. Especially Garvan if he keeps playing like he is for the U-21s.
Knowing so far in advance that we don't have Reid for March also gives Trap the chance to try some new things in the friendly next month and who knows maybe he will be able to arrange some kind of B game or get-together between this and then.
So here's hoping that one of the young lads really comes into his own in the next five months be that in League Football, friendlies, U-21s or B games.

A few questions remain for me; would O'Tool be too attack-minded for Trap or is he just a defensive midfielder that happens to score a lot? Is McCarthy still too young to be considered for the senior team?

[eirebhoy]

A few questions remain for me; would O'Tool be too attack-minded for Trap or is he just a defensive midfielder that happens to score a lot?

I think he's a combative player given more freedom in midfield because he's young with tons of energy. I wouldn't describe him as an attacking player from what I've seen anyway. Similar to Scott Brown at Hibs and he's now winning man of the match awards playing holding midfield for Scotland.

I don't think McCarthy's too young but I'd rather a player in midfield that'll grab the game by the scruff of the neck as they say.

[danonion]

Matt's still a really good player, not a legend but I wish people would realize age is just a number, with our playing pool we need everything we can get. Realistically if asked, I reckon he would play. He made his services available to Staunton but he declined.

[richieos]

maybe we should start a 'bring back holland' petition and send it to the fai

[gaiscíoch]

Seen matty Holland play vs QPR in April and he was fairly poor his legs were gone. Having seen both Whelan and Holland and be able to compare then its Whelan all day for me. Gavin Mahon literally walked all over him along with Rowlands. Now Rolands is a fairly handy player and exactly the type of player Trap wants to play. Covers the FBs very well and is good passer of the ball and great ability to cover the space in front of the back four.

[Irish_Praha]

Seen matty Holland play vs QPR in April and he was fairly poor his legs were gone. Having seen both Whelan and Holland and be able to compare then its Whelan all day for me. Gavin Mahon literally walked all over him along with Rowlands. Now Rolands is a fairly handy player and exactly the type of player Trap wants to play. Covers the FBs very well and is good passer of the ball and great ability to cover the space in front of the back four.

Yeah Rowlands is a good call. I forgot about him, worth a try while we wait for the younger lads to develop. It's a real shame that there's only the Poland game between now and the next qualifier.

[Carrigaline]

Some of you are actually serious about getting Holland back into the fold?

Be realistic here lads.

[richieos]

Some of you are actually serious about getting Holland back into the fold?

Be realistic here lads.

whats so unrealistic? hes a good short term option and has always been a better player than carsley

[gally]

being a season ticket holder at Charlton, i have seen Matty close up, still always gives his all, but realistically we need new blood, although he would never let the boys down, not quite good enough...

[livehead1]

whats so unrealistic? hes a good short term option and has always been a better player than carsley

Yeh, that would explain why Holland wasn't good enough for Charlton when they were last in the premiership whilst Carsley was outstanding for Everton for the last 3 seasons, so much so that he is seen as the main reason they have struggled this season.

[maxwellsmart]

holland....

Still bossing the midfield for charlton in the championship, hes younger than lee carsley and is EXACTLY the type of player trap wants, always gave his all for ireland and was excellent in the world cup 2002, does anyone else think that attempts should be made to get him to play for ireland at least untill reidy gets back?

Excellant in the World Cup in 2002? Are you joking? He scored against Camaroon and that was it. He was rubbish in all the other games and only seemed to play well when Roy Keane partnered him. Jesus, if we have to resort to bringing Holland back we're in trouble

[mark12345]

Midfield Problem

It's obvious for me. Move Robbie to midfield. He played there most of the time for Spurs (making his runs and passes from deep to complement Berbatov) and is better suited there. One other plus of having him there is his ability to hold the ball up and pick out a pass, something that was sadly lacking against Cyprus. Now we have to find a partner for Doyle.