I'm sure it won't escape Trap's antenna.
It's not as if the CL is peppered with Irish players.
As it stands now we have McGeady playing in the CL.
Finnan's retirement cut our involvement by 50%.
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I'm sure it won't escape Trap's antenna.
It's not as if the CL is peppered with Irish players.
As it stands now we have McGeady playing in the CL.
Finnan's retirement cut our involvement by 50%.
Dont forget JOSH :DQuote:
Originally Posted by geysir
and O'Dea :p
Playing?
If he played for one of the smaller clubs in England nobody would want him back.
I really hope he does not come back his heart is not with Ireland and it's not as if he ever really played well for Ireland anyway never looked happy with Ireland as he does with Liverpool.
Stay where you are Steve.
thats a load of ****e. he was one of our best players in the world cup. and produced a consistency of performance under mccarthy and kerr that very very few could match.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hibernian
Maybe his apparent unhappiness was with the fact that 3 successive Irish managers chose to play the best fullback we've had since denis irwin out of his natural position. years at left full and right mid have left our stevie cheesed off. trap won't engage in such nonsense so any serious approach to finnan i reckon would have a good chance of success
He played against milan if i remember rightlyQuote:
Originally Posted by geysir
You've never played soccer have you...If you had you would realise you don't need to 'look happy' to enjoy playing football.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hibernian
Sorry. I appreciate everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that's just wrong.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hibernian
How could one wish that one of our better players "never came back" ?
How could one who appreciated strong performances in the green shirt assert that " it's not as if he ever really played well for Ireland anyway"?
And since when is smiling like a fúcking loon a prerequisite for selection?
Who gives a damn whether he looked happy or not? I dont recall Figo p!ssing himself laughing during any matches I saw him in. Nor Oliver Kahn , Packie Bonner , Kevin Moran , Henry, nor frankly, anyone else I took seriously in international matches for that matter.
It's not a 5th birthday party, it's international football. Play now, reflect later. Happy clappy not a requirement.
It basically comes down to if Ireland were playing a qualifier in the morning and Steve Finnan was available for selection, would he start?? Damn right he would, therefore if he makes himself available again, all the better.
So its nonsense to play a player out of their preferred position? I disagree, sometimes its necessary, like when you have 2 good right backs but no left back, better to have 2 decent fullbacks than 1 good one and 1 **** poor one, while I agree that this wasn't the case with Stan(he should have just played O'Shea there) there are times when its necessary and a good professional should realize this and not bitch about itQuote:
Originally Posted by ofjames
I disagree. When you have one of Europes finest right backs, you dont put him left back to accomidate someone. Id rather have a world class right back and an average left back than a slightly above averge right back and slightly above left back. If Finnan were played out of position the odd game you could maybe understand it, but tha last 5 years of his international career he has been played out of position. You pick your best players in their best positions first, then you worry about your weaker positionsQuote:
Originally Posted by Morbo
Finnan, world class? That’s a bit of an exaggeration anyway I don’t agree that its as simple as play your best players in their best positions first then worry about the weaker positions, you could also argue that your defence is only as good as its weakest link, every situation is different and if your best right back is also your best left back and especially if he is the only player with any experience of playing that position then I think playing him in that position is the right decision.Quote:
Originally Posted by carloz
Not that I agree with Stan since O’Shea is just as good(if not better) at LB than he is at RB but the point is that a good professional should play the position he is told to without complaining after all he is often asked to play LB for Liverpool so why doesn’t he retire from them? The answer is pretty obvious
That statement is completely wrong. Finnan has barely played 90 minutes at left back for Liverpool this season. Back on point, I think that if he comes back he should play right back for us. He still seems just as good defensively on the left, but his attacking abilities are severely limited on the left, and we could do with full backs who can overlap when needed to in the next campaign.Quote:
Originally Posted by Morbo
Not completely wrong, I probably should have said 'sometimes' instead of 'often' but I'm willing to wager he has spent a fair bit more time at LB during his Liverpool career than his Ireland career, anyway that wasn't even the point, lots of people go on about what a model professional Finnan is but bitching about being played out of positions in not the act of a model professional.Quote:
Originally Posted by jmurphyc
no, you should have said 'hardly ever' instead of 'often'. If he's played 4 or 5 games for liverpool at left back in his 4 years there then i'd be very surprised.Quote:
Originally Posted by Morbo
contrast that to his ireland career where about 75% of his career has been spent playing either at left back or right mid. He's a first team regular at a champions league club. He's one of our top 5 players and has at least 2 more years left at the top level. put simply, we need him badly. lets hope trap will get him back and use him far better than his predecessors.
your point about finnan being a model pro is crap, when has he ever complained about playing out of position? he's performed to the best of his ability wherever he's been asked to play over the years. and has been quality whenever he's been picked where he belongs at RB. he has been an excellent pro as far as ireland's concerned.
He complained about it in a very recent interview actually, link is probably a page or two back.Quote:
Originally Posted by ofjames
BTW telling people their point is crap is not the best way to sway peoples opinions
so he kept his counsel until after he retired, then made the legitimate point that he had been played out of position for the majority of his ireland career.Quote:
Originally Posted by Morbo
at no time DURING his ireland career did he say bitch or moan, despite the fact he would have been obviously ****ed off with the situation. that's the hallmark of an honest pro in my books. i said you're point was crap because i think you're talking jive. i'm not too bothered if i sway anyone's opinions to be honest
Lads there is nothing world class about Steve Finnan. Solid right back yes. World class, not even close. If you had to choose between Gianluca Zambrotta, Willy Sagnol, Maicon, or even Lahm switched to the right, or Steve Finnan, would anyone pick Steve Finnan? To be honest I've seen Cafu play a few times this season and I could even pick him over Finnan. I respect Finnan's consistancy, maintaining his place in that Liverpool side, but realistically he will not make any sort of difference in our next qualification campaign - there is only so much a right full can do.Quote:
Originally Posted by carloz
I might get killed for this, but I'd also take a fit Gary Neville over him :cool:
But he hasn't retired, he is still playing for Pool, he just can't be arsed to play internationals anymore and anyone who thinks that being played out of position is the real reason he quit is very naive, Staunton was sacked so theres no reason to conclude that the new manager was going to continue to play him out of position, seems obvious to me anyway that its just a convenient excuse to quit the chore of internationals but save face with the fansQuote:
Originally Posted by ofjames