End of year assessment of trap's ireland

Ok it's a couple of weeks before Christmas and there's not an international in sight. Time perhaps to take a look towards 2013 and beyond to search for a way forward for this Irish team, if indeed there is one.

2012 was a year when the record books will show that we were 'found out' and who among us could argue with that assessment. Euro 2012 was a disaster and showed Trap's team up as one with a distinct lack of talent. The home game against Germany was even bigger proof of the same point and the overriding ailment in Irish teams over time -a lack of technical ability bordering on criminality - emerged once again as the biggest stick to beat ourselves with.

There appears to be a changing of the guard at present - Given, Duff and possibly Dunne are gone while Robbie is in the waning days of his international career. What Robbie has to offer any longer is negligible, and as always occurrs when a group of senior players retire, we have to wait until the next star man comes along. When that will be, who knows? And who that will be, who knows also?

Robbie Brady just may be the heir apparent to his namesake, but it is clear that we are lacking severely in many areas of the team.

Where is the hope for the future, and indeed for the remainder of the World Cup campaign? I would like to see the most talented players we have put on the pitch at the same time by Trap. That would be a team including Shane Long, Wes Hoolahan, Stephen Ireland, James McCarthy, Darron Gibson and James McClean or Aiden McGeady. I also see hope in the fruits of a battle between Seamus Coleman and Joey O'Brien for the right back spot.

But then there's the down side - like a defence which can do nothing else but hoof the ball long and a culture which lends itself to safety first football. We simply don't place an emphasis on ball retention and because of this are destined to spend most of the time, against the better international teams, chasing shadows.

There are good prospects out there to be sure, like Joe Mason, Anthony Pilkington if he comes on board, David Meyler, Owen Garvan, the Villa youngsters and of course Andy Reid, but in reality we just have too small a pool of players to pick from.

I believe the answer lies in looking away from English football to the little clubs of Europe who have managed to find a home in the Europa League. The likes of Viktoria Plzen, Young Boys, Rosenborg, Copenhagen, and the Israelis clubs are models the League of Ireland clubs should aspire to emulate. We nearly had it a couple of seasons ago when Shamrock Rovers had that great run in Europe, but this year they were bounced out before the competition proper got going.

How good would it be though if we could depend on an Irish domestic club or two to have a decent run in Europe each year? League of Ireland, I never thought I would say it, is the future for the internatioal team. The better the game at home - the larger the pool of players we are going to have to call on.

And proof of this I suppose is the performances of Long, Doyle and Hoolahan since they went to England. There is good talent at home and we need to give it a platform to develop into something worthwhile.

It's been a bit of an 'annus horribilis'. Few positives to take away, though the standard of opponent was, in Germany, Spain, Croatia and Italy, of a greater calibre than any that we've faced in one year, as far back as I can remember. In the past, we've been able to take points off bigger sides when - like Holland in 2001 and France/Italy in 2009 - the opposition has proven over-rated or badly coached. This didn't happen with our more illustrious opponents this year.

I'm not a utopianist when it comes to the Irish side - we have never consistently won games or strolled to qualification by playing free-flowing football; even in that outstanding campaign for 2002 under McCarthy, we had to rely on graft, grunt, good defence and good fortune at various times. So, with that in mind, I was a Trap supporter between 2008 and 2011. I felt that the style of play, based on solid defence and a hard-working, stifling midfield, was appropriate for the player pool in terms of grinding out results against weaker sides and picking up points against the higher seeds. The 2012 qualifying campaign was a success - too many times, we've thrown away qualification for want of results against lower-seeded teams - think Liechtenstein and NI in 1995, Macedonia in '97 and 99, Lithuania and Iceland in the '98 qualifiers, Israel home and away in 2005; Trap eliminated those silly results, which have enabled us to be competitive at the 'business end' of the table. Even now, we have 6 points from 9. Trap deserves some credit for that, given that our player pool has been quite weak over the last few years.

However, the damning fact about Trap's tenure - all the way along - has been his bizarre selections on the fringes of the squad, and his refusal to make unforced changes to the starting XI. The team that started against Croatia was identical bar Kilbane/Ward from the first-choice in 2009. Players have not been able to play their way into the side on club form, which is simply wrong. This policy has come home to roost this year with the various injures and retirements, particularly against Germany, when we started with five Championship players - while regular EPL players like Long, Hoolahan, O'Brien, Gibson, McClean, Clark and Wilson languished either on the bench or at home. These players should have been blooded 18 months ago. Now we're faced with the prospect of a Sweden/Austria double header in March, where we know that our best team will not be picked. Even if by some miracle, Trap picks the right team, our most talented players will be going into the game without much international experience, having been waiting in line behind journeymen for the last two years. It doesn't fill me with hope.

Add to this the fact that our defence - so reliable in 2011 - seems to have fallen apart, and we look like conceding in every game. Also, Trap has developed this irritating new habit of playing strikers on the wing, which is almost Staunton-esque in its absurdity. I think we'll be playing for nothing more than future seedings after March, unfortunately. Trap is not getting the best out of the current pool of players, and the trends of the last year are worrying, since Sweden and Austria present a much tougher proposition than Bulgaria/Cyprus or Slovakia/Armenia.

Still, on the plus side, there seems to be a decent conveyor belt of talent - no world-class individuals, but plenty of players who could have a good international future. Coleman, Wilson, Clark and McCarthy have been belatedly introduced to the team, and others should follow. Gibson will be a big asset if/when he re-commits. Here's hoping that McClean can step up again, and that Pilkington gets his passport sorted. Meyler and Stevens could emerge as credible options too. We'll surely have a bolter like Garvan, Quinn or Mason getting promoted and getting more exposure to the top level, which may give us another option or two. The U-21s had a fine victory over Italy in the autumn, and hopefully the better players from that level - Egan, Duffy, Cunningham, Hendrick - continue to develop. We'll surely see one of the other Villa kids step up too, and hopefully the LOI will continue to produce talent of the Stevens/Maguire/Forrester mould. In terms of the player pool, things should improve.

However, the positive influence that Trap brought to the side in 2008 - organisation, discipline, solid defence, ability to grind out results - seems to have been lost over the last year, and the beatings handed to us this year will not be forgotten. The side needs an injection of new blood and confident, in-form players, and we have the resources to do so - but I'm far from convinced that Trap is the man to preside over such a transition.

In a nutshell, we're hopeful, but at the same time not hopeful.

I think it is very hard to be anything other than negative about the 12 months just gone by, and about the 24-36 months gone by if you ask me too. I'm not duped by 2nd in a weak group and drawing Estonia.

I don't think Trap is the man to take us forward. He doesn't seem to have any interest in Ireland post 2013 or in developing us. The communication is ludicrous - Greece's manager is from Portugal and spoke his own language at the press conference in Dublin,
which the Greek and world press can then get in their own language. Trap on the other hand speaks and hides behind his impenetrable English.

The present setup doesn't seem to know the players or their strengths. How is Paul Green picked and played ahead of Gibson or Hoolahan after the seasons they had last year? Why is Cox always on the wing when form wingers are on the bench and Cox is always so ineffective? Why was Fahey used as a man-marker v Germany and then hauled off when he was one of the few players picking out a pass and retaining the ball for a few seconds? Manmarking is not Fahey's game and taking him off opened the floodgates - a real masterstroke that. Why are McClean and McCarthy used in the no. 10 role when it is not their position? So that Trap can say the no. 10 doesn't work? And what does Long have to do to get into the team? Why is Walters preferred when he only attracts our predictable and completely ineffective hoofball? Why is Keane preferred when he doesn't have the energy to press top-class teams? The list is endless.

The experimentation that Trap has grudgingly carried out also seems half-assed. If you're going to try out Hoolahan, why not put him on from the start with our other form players and ball players around him, like Long and Brady. Instead he gets a typical 2nd half of a friendly when we're already behind and himself has to deal with a load of substitutions. What's the point of trying him out with the likes of Cox and then Keogh on the wing? And what's the point of starting Brady then always hauling him off at half-time? Is Brady promising or not? Is he worth playing in competitive games or not? I don't think Traps knows. Why is Coleman dropped in at the deep end against Germany? I don't think Trap is serious about renewing the team.

The present regime is looking very unprofessional und unprepared. It doesn't seem to "get" the Irish mentality, no matter how much Trap uses this word. We back to boxing below our weight at the moment and in need of a change.

Hard to argue against most of that.

I think 2012 was an unusual year because, by definition, we were up against the toughest opposition we'd faced and more regularly. We were shown to be badly wanting which meant that the cracks that had been papered over in previous years were now exposed. Stuff that was just about tolerable en route to qualification (communication, odd selections...) became intolerable.

I still think there are good parts to the broader picture but I think Trap's tenure will be over next year and I'm looking forward to a change.

That's fair enough. If his tenure is over next year, then this campaign will have been a failure and a waste - and that's a pity!

We did face particularly tough opposition this year, but the fare against the Czechs, Bosnia, Hungary and Kazakhstan was hardly great either. And when we did face tough opposition, Trap seemed resigned to losing to them, even saying as much by blaming the players in public. That's not the Ireland we support.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Hard to argue against most of that.

I think 2012 was an unusual year because, by definition, we were up against the toughest opposition we'd faced and more regularly. We were shown to be badly wanting which meant that the cracks that had been papered over in previous years were now exposed. Stuff that was just about tolerable en route to qualification (communication, odd selections...) became intolerable.

I still think there are good parts to the broader picture but I think Trap's tenure will be over next year and I'm looking forward to a change.

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All true, but does anyone have an opinion on whether the betterment of the LOI is the way forward for the international team?

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Hard to argue against most of that.

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That's why I'm going to try...

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Originally Posted by p2011

IThe present setup doesn't seem to know the players or their strengths. How is Paul Green picked and played ahead of Gibson or Hoolahan after the seasons they had last year? Why is Cox always on the wing when form wingers are on the bench and Cox is always so ineffective? Why was Fahey used as a man-marker v Germany and then hauled off when he was one of the few players picking out a pass and retaining the ball for a few seconds? Manmarking is not Fahey's game and taking him off opened the floodgates - a real masterstroke that. Why are McClean and McCarthy used in the no. 10 role when it is not their position? So that Trap can say the no. 10 doesn't work? And what does Long have to do to get into the team? Why is Walters preferred when he only attracts our predictable and completely ineffective hoofball? Why is Keane preferred when he doesn't have the energy to press top-class teams? The list is endless.

The experimentation that Trap has grudgingly carried out also seems half-assed. If you're going to try out Hoolahan, why not put him on from the start with our other form players and ball players around him, like Long and Brady. Instead he gets a typical 2nd half of a friendly when we're already behind and himself has to deal with a load of substitutions. What's the point of trying him out with the likes of Cox and then Keogh on the wing? And what's the point of starting Brady then always hauling him off at half-time? Is Brady promising or not? Is he worth playing in competitive games or not? I don't think Traps knows. Why is Coleman dropped in at the deep end against Germany? I don't think Trap is serious about renewing the team.

The present regime is looking very unprofessional und unprepared. It doesn't seem to "get" the Irish mentality, no matter how much Trap uses this word. We back to boxing below our weight at the moment and in need of a change.

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1. Green's inclusion always gets scorn, but aside from Russia at home (where Whelan was even more anonymous in the middle) when has he put in an Irish performance that merits the outrage? Green is usually reliable in midfield. Trap knows what he can do. In the last 2 years, Green has played 10 competitive minutes for Ireland. Gibson has played 77. Go figure.

2. Cox on the wing isn't the best idea, but he's a very hard worker and does give 110% each game. However, he has never been picked ahead of a "form winger". McClean has been out of sorts this season, while Brady was with Man Utd reserves during the last few qualifiers. After Euro 2012, I thought Dunne retiring would be the worst possibility, but in fact Duff's loss is a hundred times greater. There's no-one that comes close. At least St Ledger and O'Shea are both experienced centre backs (for club and country).

3. Fahey as a man-marker was a bad idea, especially given that he never is asked to do that for his club (not even when he was in LOI either). However, I wouldn't say his attacking play was better than anyone else's. Statistically, he attempted 10 passes in 51 minutes, completing just six of them. McCarthy made 78% of 27 and Andrews 87% of 31. Taking Fahey off didn't open the floodgates. The penalty did.

4. Both bad ideas by Trap, but he hasn't persisted with either, so he's learned from those mistakes.

5. Leaving out Long is indefensible.

6. We're playing that style anyway, regardless of who is up front. Walters actually is suited to it. More than Keane anyway. That said, Long should start up front in every game.

7. Blind loyalty, but also because Keane proved during Euro 2012 qualification that he was still our best goalscoring threat. He also won the crucial penalty against Kazakhstan, so still has something to offer.

8. Hoolahan should get another chance against Poland, but if he's more than just a naughty boy, then he should be able to prosper with Cox and Keogh as well as with Brady and Long.

9. Trap isn't rushing Brady, but afaik he was injured in the Faroes game, so Trap took him off for that reason. He probably would've gotten longer otherwise. And as that was a competitive game, he obviously has faith in him.

10. The Coleman deep-end/renewing the team points are kind of paradoxical. If he didn't want to progress, then Paul McShane would've started RB in that game.

I had suppressed most of those memories.
'The Madness of Trap' ranks with King Lear.

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Originally Posted by mark12345

All true, but does anyone have an opinion on whether the betterment of the LOI is the way forward for the international team?

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It is the only way. I have been saying it since Stauntons reign. But it's more of a culture shift in our thinking than just saying the league needs to get better. It is change that is required from the FAI's player development policy, to the administration of the grassroots & league, to marketing, to elimination of small p politics to something as simple as a clearly defined mission statement. That requires leadership. Strong leadership. it will also require sacrifice arising from a unity of purpose.

The league, despite all the challenges the teams face, has proved that it produces or can produce international class talent. Imagine what it could do with a bit of support from the public and strength in its leadership? And given what I've listed above, that's the "easy" part.

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Originally Posted by AlaskaFox

1. Green's inclusion always gets scorn, but aside from Russia at home (where Whelan was even more anonymous in the middle) when has he put in an Irish performance that merits the outrage? Green is usually reliable in midfield. Trap knows what he can do. In the last 2 years, Green has played 10 competitive minutes for Ireland. Gibson has played 77. Go figure.

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Choosing 2 years is handy for your argument as Green was injured for a lot of internationals in those 2 years. Previous to that Green was a starter v Russia (h) and Slovakia (a). The 77 mins for Gibson are one measly game, v Macedonia. However, Green was picked for the squad for Poland and then brought on ahead of Gibson late against Spain.
Every minute I've seen Green in green has been an outrage: he tries to harry the opposition, doesn't get there and gives the ball away. A journeyman, imo.

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Originally Posted by AlaskaFox

2. Cox on the wing isn't the best idea, but he's a very hard worker and does give 110% each game. However, he has never been picked ahead of a "form winger".

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I am not convinced by McClean at all, but he had form and momentum going into the Euros so he was a form winger then. And even if Cox did give 110% (he has been ineffective to poor in recent internationals IMO), giving 110% alone is not enough for international football.

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Originally Posted by AlaskaFox

3. Fahey as a man-marker was a bad idea, especially given that he never is asked to do that for his club (not even when he was in LOI either). However, I wouldn't say his attacking play was better than anyone else's. Statistically, he attempted 10 passes in 51 minutes, completing just six of them. McCarthy made 78% of 27 and Andrews 87% of 31. Taking Fahey off didn't open the floodgates. The penalty did.

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And what lead to the penalty? Going with one man less in midfield, I'd say.
Statistics are great, but how many of all the midfield passes were backwards or to someone under pressure. I can remember Fahey spreading play once or twice off hand, without looking at the game again.

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Originally Posted by AlaskaFox

6. We're playing that style anyway, regardless of who is up front.

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Not necessarily. With Hoolahan, Gibson, McCarthy, Long, Coleman in the team we wouldn't be hoofing it. With Walters up front and Wheland and Andrews not showing for passes we will be hoofing it.

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Originally Posted by AlaskaFox

7. Blind loyalty, but also because Keane proved during Euro 2012 qualification that he was still our best goalscoring threat. He also won the crucial penalty against Kazakhstan,

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I'd put that one 90% down to Doyle's aggressive running, which is exactly what Keane doesn't give us at this stage. I like the guy, but he should be an impact sub now.

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Originally Posted by AlaskaFox

10. The Coleman deep-end/renewing the team points are kind of paradoxical.

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Disagree. Renewing the team means systematically introducing and bedding players in before they face the world #2. Trap's approach is scattershot here.

I would give Trap a very generous 3 out of 10. Before the tournament we were playing terrible and getting some results but the signs were ominous. The only game we have performed and tried to play football is the loss against Greece. He has made some terrible decisions calling up players such as Green and McShane who are clearly not good enough while leaving out Coleman, Wilson and others who were playing well for a long time. Long still isn't a guaranteed first choice striker. He hasn't given enough players experience to help smooth the transition of Dunne, Duff, Given and Keane who he must have known might retire after the tournament. He has fallen out with too many players. Can't all be players fault. He has been too critical of our players. He has only started watching our players play for their clubs after four years of being our manager. It is clear that the style of play he adopts is results based which means he should be gone on results alone never mind the performances.

He now knows that he has to change. He is very very lucky to be in the job still only for the FAI are too spineless and broke to get rid of him. He has started to give young players a chance in friendlies. He has started going to games. He has started learning English. I can't find anymore positives. He should really have started doing these things the day he got the job not 4 years later when he was very lucky not to be sacked.

The way forward for any country is having a strong domestic league. This means that the many youngsters who are late bloomers can still have a platform to play at a good level. The domestic clubs form the identity and style of football/footballers who play the game. Now we are completely dependent on the English system which produces technically inferior players and have a different mentality than the rest of Europe. We are putting our future in a country whose own players struggle to get into their top teams and whose clubs favour buying rather than promoting their own. We need to set up a centre of excellence similar to an Ajax or Barcelona in Ireland where players can stay until they are 16, 17 or 18 rather than having to move hundreds of miles away to a different country where they are under huge pressure to succeed and away from their families. Hoolihan, Coleman and Long are three who came from LOI clubs and look more complete than the lads who have been in England since they were kids.

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Originally Posted by Supreme feet

Add to this the fact that our defence - so reliable in 2011 - seems to have fallen apart, and we look like conceding in every game. Also, Trap has developed this irritating new habit of playing strikers on the wing, which is almost Staunton-esque in its absurdity. I think we'll be playing for nothing more than future seedings after March, unfortunately. Trap is not getting the best out of the current pool of players, and the trends of the last year are worrying, since Sweden and Austria present a much tougher proposition than Bulgaria/Cyprus or Slovakia/Armenia.

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All sounds spot on to me, sad to say. I know we have 6 from 9 points, but so much is wrong at the moment. Shame if it the campaign does go astray like this. Think people don't realize what a propostion Austria in particular, and Sweden, will be.

Noa Baba, is our only hope.

End of the Year Assessment for Trapattoni? Two words - Sack him!

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Originally Posted by Crosby87

Noa Baba, is our only hope.

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we need someone to record this on an R2 unit, stat!

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Originally Posted by p2011

Choosing 2 years is handy for your argument as Green was injured for a lot of internationals in those 2 years. Previous to that Green was a starter v Russia (h) and Slovakia (a). The 77 mins for Gibson are one measly game, v Macedonia. However, Green was picked for the squad for Poland and then brought on ahead of Gibson late against Spain.
Every minute I've seen Green in green has been an outrage: he tries to harry the opposition, doesn't get there and gives the ball away. A journeyman, imo.

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Going back further than 2 years doesn't make sense, as you could say Lawrence was being selected ahead of McGeady or numerous other examples. The 10 mins for Green is 1/9th of one measly game.
Every minute has been an outrage? Well that's just ridiculous hyperbole.

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Originally Posted by p2011

I am not convinced by McClean at all, but he had form and momentum going into the Euros so he was a form winger then. And even if Cox did give 110% (he has been ineffective to poor in recent internationals IMO), giving 110% alone is not enough for international football.

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Yes, but Cox was not played on the wing ahead of McClean at the Euros. He's been ineffective because he's being played out of position.

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Originally Posted by p2011

And what lead to the penalty? Going with one man less in midfield, I'd say.
Statistics are great, but how many of all the midfield passes were backwards or to someone under pressure. I can remember Fahey spreading play once or twice off hand, without looking at the game again.

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An absolutely ridiculous challenge was the cause of the penalty. Nothing more.
A backwards pass is always, always, always better than giving the ball away.

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Originally Posted by p2011

Not necessarily. With Hoolahan, Gibson, McCarthy, Long, Coleman in the team we wouldn't be hoofing it. With Walters up front and Wheland and Andrews not showing for passes we will be hoofing it.

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That has nothing to do with Walters though. That's to do with midfield. You can't blame Walters for the fact Whelan and Andrews don't look for the ball.

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Originally Posted by p2011

I'd put that one 90% down to Doyle's aggressive running, which is exactly what Keane doesn't give us at this stage. I like the guy, but he should be an impact sub now.

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Keane would be a great impact sub, but there's no-one else that can give that 10% that made the difference there. Stephen Hunt is a great man for aggressive running too.

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Originally Posted by p2011

Disagree. Renewing the team means systematically introducing and bedding players in before they face the world #2. Trap's approach is scattershot here.

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Isn't that what Trap does though? Systematically introduces players in friendlies? Take the team who played the Faroes. Westwood, Coleman, Wilson, Brady, Andrews, McCarthy, and Walters are all Trap debutants. Can't say that's not progression post-Stan.

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Originally Posted by squareball

The way forward for any country is having a strong domestic league. Now we are completely dependent on the English system which produces technically inferior players and have a different mentality than the rest of Europe. We are putting our future in a country whose own players struggle to get into their top teams and whose clubs favour buying rather than promoting their own. We need to set up a centre of excellence similar to an Ajax or Barcelona in Ireland where players can stay until they are 16, 17 or 18 rather than having to move hundreds of miles away to a different country where they are under huge pressure to succeed and away from their families. Hoolihan, Coleman and Long are three who came from LOI clubs and look more complete than the lads who have been in England since they were kids.

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So, so true and I would add the names of Doyle and Fahey to that. If, as I stated earlier, Viktoria Plzen, Rosenborg, Copenhagen and the Isreali clubs can do it on scant resources, then why can't we. School of excellence is the right way to go, but how is the coaching standard in Ireland. Are the coaches teaching the Irish kds to play hoof ball style in the typical English way or are there some coaches out there who can teach a kid the technical nuances. If not then we need to import them.

With what?
Magic beans?

With respect, the standard of the domestic league isn't good enough to utilise Ireland players, even ones as useless as McShane or Ward.
More importantly it doesn't generate sufficient income or turnover, sadly.

You can be very cruel, AB :)