Irish Squad for Russia

REP OF IRELAND: Given (Newcastle), Kiely (Charlton), Colgan (Hibernian); Harte (Leeds), Breen (West Ham), Kelly (Leeds), Cunningham (Birmingham), Finnan (Fulham), O’Shea (Manchester United), Babb (Sunderland); McAteer (Sunderland), Holland (Ipswich), Kilbane (Sunderland), Healy (Celtic), Kinsella (Aston Villa), Carsley (Everton), Delap (Southampton), McPhail (Leeds); Robbie Keane (Leeds), Morrison (Birmingham), Duff (Blackburn), Doherty (Tottenham).

Is iot just me or does anyone else think the 2nd IX from that list is very poor. I suppose there are a few injuries but also shows the lack in depth but thats nothing new either.

Miraculous return by Babb now he playing at the centre of the universe again.

I don't think Colgan, Carsley, Delap, & McPhail in particular are up to international games yet either.

Quote:

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Originally posted by pete
Carsley, Delapated, to international games yet either.

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Will they ever be??

Thank god Babb managed to resurrect his career and get a dream move to Sunderland - he was just wasting away over there at one of Portugals best teams. Expecting Mick to travel all the way to Lisbon once every few months was just asking way too much, I mean is there even an airport in Lisbon? Who wants to go to lisbon anyway when you can go to Sunderland. Usually I try to avoid being overly sarcastic, but I can't help myself in this case - McCarthys Anglocentricism (if thats a word) is beginning to wear very thin on me.

Here's the U-21 squad:

Squad: Murphy (WBA), Stack (Arsenal), McGuinness (Bohemians), Goodwin (Stockport), Thompson (Nottingham Forest), Byrne (Sunderland), Butler (Sunderland), Tierney (Manchester United), Miller (Celtic), Doyle (Celtic), Mattis (Huddersfield), Byrne (West Ham), Burgess (Stockport), Daly (Stockport), Keane (Preston North End), Reid (Nottingham Forest), Barrett (Arsenal), Houlihan (Shelbourne).
Stand-by: Gamble (Reading), Shelley (Carlisle), Cash (Nottingham Forest), Doyle (UCD), Dempsey (Dunfermline), Roche (Nottingham Forest).

Nice to see that reserve team players get into the squad ahead of players like O'Flynn. Then he calls up a few eL players, but oddly enough they all ply their trade in Dublin.

Givens really needs to kop on and call up JO'F if he is to be taken seriously. This would not happen in any other country in the world even Northern Ireland, in fact JO'F would by now be given a chance in most senior national squads. Givens has failed every time to carry on Kerr's good work, never getting any results against the bigger European sides.

GIVENS OUT

Firstly, if he did get called up we would be without him for the cup game in Donegal.
Also i think that squad has only 3 forwards in it - Barrett, Daly & Burgess (Stockport bought for record £450k from Blackburn in the summer). Daly has been fairly consistent in scoring at underage level so do you think O'Flynn would get ahead of those three?

You'd hopefully think he be ahead of Dempsey & Doyle as standbys for the next squad if he continues his form...