Team development/progress

I know I should probably wait until after the Euros before starting this thread as I would have much more information to form an opinion on some of the players after 6 mone competitive games :p
However I still have a good feeling after yesterday's game and would like to sum up where I feel the team is at and what to expect in the near future.

I really feel like the future is looking bright for the team and the main reason for this is that the players I am expecting to contribute to this success are mostly already playing regularly at a high level.
Normally we are talking about the potential of teenagers playing well for league 1 or struggeling championship teams. Players like Garvan, Keogh, O'Brien (when he was at Shef Wed) who for one reason or another didn't develop like expected. However now we have a crop of players either new to the squad or struggeling to get into the squad even though they have more or less proven themselves at good championship or Premiership teams. Add to that the players currently in the squad that are now starting to enter a phase of their development where we should know by the end of the next qualifying campaign if they are the real deal or not. I'm am much more confident of these players making a signifficant contribution to improving the quality of the team than a teenager that has had half a good season in the reserves for Arsenal (Stokes at the time).

I'll start with CMF which apart from LB is our weakest position but it's more important to have a functioning CFM partnership than a world class LB. Finally Gibson is starting to develop his game and after he gets a full season with Everton we will see if it was really just the lack of game time that was holding him back. We also have McCarthy who has just had a very good second half of a season for Wigan; it's such a shame that he is not on the plane to Poland instead of Green. Then we have Andrews and Whelan who can still do a job but hopefully we have better things to come.
Wilson, Clarke, McCann are also possibilities for this position and they are all important players for their clubs, still under 25 but didn't make it to Poland. It will become clear over the next season or two if they have what is required. It also looks like Connor Henderson will start getting some first team games with Arsenal this season and hopefully Meyler can overcome his injury problems and hold down a starting place with Sunderland. All these players except for Andrews will be around for a minimum of the next 5 years. I'm sure a very good CMF partnership can be developed with two of these players with decent cover.

On the wings we are well covered too and luckily we have a ready-made replacement for Duff in McClean. Not a like for like replacement but it is great that we have a decent prospect for this position because it is a problem area for a lot of international teams. Also long may McGeady's develop continue and we still have Hunt to call on if needed. Foley still has to convice me at international level. Robbie Brady is developing well too but he's probably not far enough to be mentioned in the context of this thread.

At the back hopefully O'Shea and Dunne will hang around for one more campagin. Clarke, Wilson, Duffy are all players with Premiership experience in this position and Pearce just got player of the season for Reading. Coleman has been running hot and cold but hopefully he can respond with a good 2012-2013 Kelly and Foley can cover at RB and hopfully O'Brien will perform for West ham this year. All we need to do is find a better option for LB. Cunningham is till too raw but maybe he can develop enough to displace Ward because we haven't had a natural left back since the days of Harte.

Up front we have never had somany options, probably not the best partnership ever but the most strength in depth.
We have never had 5 strikers all playing at the top level at the same time, well Keane is proven at the top level :p
Only 5 years ago if Stokes had just had the season he has had at Celtic he would probably automatically make it into the starting line up but now he can't even get into the squad.
We will really miss Keane when he eventually retires or his level of performance starts to drop off.
However at least we have some decent options to replace him. There are some other strikers coming though but I feel over the next two years we will probably stick with this core of 5 or 6 players.

Finally the 'keepers - it looks like Given will be hanging around for another campaign but Westwood seems like a more than capable replacement and we have a few others knocking around at a decent level, so no major worries there either.

My point is that we have good alternatives all over the pitch. With players no getting into the squad even though they are playing regularly at a very high level and a lot of these players are under 25 with the posibility to improve. Whereas normally there was very little quality outside the squad. As a result of this I have more confidence than ever that there are more good times just around the corner and we have a good chance of getting out of our difficult WC qualification group and the following campaign too.

In terms of LB, Aidy White has been earning rave reviews for Leeds and I saw him linked with Arsenal by a slightly dubious source today. White's known to play at LM also, but were he to be playing Premier League football at left-back next season, then I think we've a strong and immediate candidate for Ward's spot. Clark and Wilson are both Premiership performers but left-back isn't their best or natural position and will be better served at centre-half and centre-midfield in the future. Cunningham is another name mentioned in this context quite frequently and next season should be an interesting one for the 21-year old that can list two championship clubs as his past employers, so next season will be an interesting one for him also.

Gibson is indeed developing nicely in the middle of the park and I think the Gibson-McCarthy partnership is regarded generally as being a prospective partnership there. At the moment, we're served by Whelan-Andrews and with the quartet all likely (Andrews less so, but still probable) to be play in the top-tier next season, the competition will be interesting. Carruthers and Murray are two very intriguing prospects here also, with a higher propensity to create being their unique selling-points, consequently likely to shift them out to the wing at international level. Wilson and Clark are also relevant to this discussion, Wilson in particular. However, he'll really have to get continuous game-time in this position for Stoke before he'll be drawn into consideration. Jeff Hendrick and Conor Clifford are now 20 and the latter has received a call-up from Trap previously, so they are also likely to figure in his mind, depending on progress next season.

On the wings, the afore-mentioned teenagers might not push the older campaigners out of the set-up too soon. McGeady and McClean could become automatic starters (depending on whether Duff retires) on the basis of their performances on Saturday. Hunt is still kicking about, as IP has correctly stated. Trap also has shown a degree of favour towards Seamus Coleman and next season will be critical if he is to force his way back into first-team contention. However, he'll have to do a lot to break up the trio of McGeady, McClean and Duff who have a cartel on the wings, as things stand. A very pertinent aspect to this discussion is the international future of Damien Duff. The legend will turn 34 next March so he's no spring chicken. Furthermore, he only played 15 Premier League games this season, his lowest record since he debuted for Blackburn. This tournament could be his swansong and he could really shine. It'll be interesting to see whether he stays on afterwards. It should also be interesting to see where Robbie Brady plies his trade next season, surely in the Premier League, but maybe not with Manchester United. He'll be considered either way and is a big prospect given that maturity is eventual and hopefully imminent.

Up front, we have 5 strong strikers and Keane will surely stay on, at 31 (almost 32). Thankfully, all 5 strikers can make a very strong argument for their inclusion. As it stands, Keane is nailed on and Doyle is currently in favour to partner him. Doyle's position isn't quite a cemented as it was in the past and Long and Walters are breathing down his neck for the number 9 shirt. Cox isn't playing regularly at club level at the moment while the under-21 squad doesn't put forward any outstanding candidate for promotion, especially given that Joe Mason isn't on that list. Stokes, Best and Keogh can boast positive enough records at three different levels over the past year or so and are all capable of placing Cox's spot under threat.


The average age of this squad is 28. It's 31 for keepers, 28 for defenders, 28 for midfielders and 27 for strikers.