Republic of Ireland V Argentina - Wednesday, 11th August 2010 - Friendly

I don't think it's all doom and gloom:

-- Westwood has the potential to be a very very good goalkeeper. He's not at Shay's level, but he will still be a very able replacement when the time comes.
-- Seamus Coleman could probably start for us right now, but it's understandable that Trap is cautious given the fact he's hardly had a run at senior club level (this isn't ignoring his LoI experience, not trying to offend anybody). So I think at right back we actually have a chance to improve when he eventually slots in.
-- I think Shane Duffy is gonna be the real deal at the back.
-- Stephen Ward is probably better than Kilbane at fullback, certainly not a significant downgrade. Greg Cunningham seems to be rated by both Trap and Mancini, so he could be a possible as well.
-- McCarthy has the potential to be one of Ireland's best ever players -- even if he doesn't reach those heights, he will most likely still be our best midfielder since Roy.
-- With Meyler, Wilson, Garvan and Gibson all floating around, I'd imagine at least one of them will give us a very good option.
-- Henderson at Arsenal and Clifford at Chelsea could be very good players for us if they continue to grow and improve.
-- Up front, Stokes has only just turned 22. I really think he will come good for us eventually. Leon Best is only 23, and is already a physical powerhouse. Even if he doesn't become an elite player, he could still be an effective player for us by battering defenses and opening up room for our other attackers.

Add in X factors like the possible return of wonderpants and someone like McGeady elevating his game and I think we're in a better state than a lot of people would think.

There are always late bloomers who come out of the woodwork as well: Kinsella for example was a very effective player for Ireland and only made his debut at 26 I believe, and Whelan and Lawrence are good examples of players making an impact for us in their mid twenties.

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Originally Posted by EastTerracer

He doesn't have to worry about that now - his contract has not been renewed as the Argentinian FA would not agree to his terms. U-20 manager Sergio Batista has been appointed caretaker manager. It's a pity as watching Diego kicking the ball around in the warm-up before games in South Africa was entertaining in itself.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8854703.stm

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lol yes I heard that on the news not long after I made that post, I almost feel like I am responsible for him
not turning up! Maybe the Argentinian FA read my comment and got worried.
I was looking forward to seeing him at the game too, it would have been nice to have heard his comments
about the Irish player after the game, maybe he might have said someone reminded him of himself when
he was playing (not that likely though).
Will Messi be playing? I hope so, he will probably tear our defense to shreds though!

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Originally Posted by Crosby87

I love so many of the above posts, great points were made...Just trying to tie it all in, Trap does not care about nurturing James McCarthy, he wants to make Euro and that is it. I am not saying this is good or bad, just saying. He is the manager of the senior team, but not for ten years. For now. Right now.

He DEFINITELY IS NOT thinking "Well, Ima gotta picka this kid. He isa notta gonna hellpa me now, but maybe in fiva years."
Some people on here seem to not have a great grasp of that.

A manager with the big picture in mind might have named James but we have one who is well paid and not thinking about that at this point. His big picture is going to Poland/Ukraine.

One thing though, the day is coming where Keane Duff Given and Dunne are all retired.....Lordy. So I am not too quick to complain right now. Some of you seem to forget, things can and will and could be worse.

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Hopefully other players will come through and develop. But you are right though they will all be retiring at about the same time, they have one more World Cup at best.

If we keep Kilbane and McShane away from the starting 11 and find a decent midfielder to replace Andrews then we'll have a decent chance of finishing 2nd.

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Originally Posted by irishultra

ye got to agree, we have been relatively competitive for a long time now but in the near future the lack of quality coming through is gonna show and stans days mightnt seem so bad after all.

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new players could easily develop over the next year or two. wont list them all here but we are all familiar with some of the young lads with promise that are on the verge of their club teams.
international football isnt about constantly developing a team, its about here and now and how best we can put together a team that will qualify for a finals now

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Originally Posted by shakermaker1982

If we keep Kilbane and McShane away from the starting 11 and find a decent midfielder to replace Andrews then we'll have a decent chance of finishing 2nd.

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Spot on to be honest. The only thing that really ****ed me off about the squad selection is there's noone really to test at left full. I love Kilbane, but he needs to be replaces asap.

Edit - Woops, never noticed Cunningham. Also worth noting that Wigan have preseason matches on the 7th, 8th and 10th so might have something to do with McCarthy's exclusion.

Very excited now about the game after seeing the Argies squad. I'd love to see Messi in the flesh again.

Quote from Trap, seems the role we all hoped Kilbane would have is the fact

"Kilbane is a great man, and a great player. He knows our opinions and our approach and I know he's happy to be still with us. Cunningham has played well also for Man City. Kevin is important and he can be a support maybe for Cunningham. When we have these great senior players they can help the young."

No Anthony Stokes? Is he injured?

Was disappointed he hasnt featured in the three friendlies of late. Has shown better form than most of the peripheral strikers in the squad in my opinion.

No one is saying we have a great team but our best XI in particular is not bad. We have some quality players in Given, Dunne, St Ledger, Duff, Lawrence, Keane, Doyle. I didnt say outstanding players, just good solid honest players.

But as we saw at the WC, there are not many really top teams at international level, if you can put together and organised team with a clear sense of purpose you can do well. And I think under Trap (although many may not like the style), we have that. We punched above our weight in a top group last time out and there is no reason to believe we cant do the same again. We need to get off to a good start again like the last campaign, get good points on the board and confidence etc will follow.

Was going to post something similiar to elroy in the post above.

I think if we raise our game just 5% or 10% from the last campaign, eradicate just a few of the mistakes and maybe take one or two more of the chances we create and we have a great chance of finishing top in this group.

We have organisation, confidence, a sense of injustice from the last campaign and....oh yes we are actually not that short on ability.

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Originally Posted by Junior

I think if we raise our game just 5% or 10% from the last campaign, eradicate just a few of the mistakes and maybe take one or two more of the chances we create and we have a great chance of finishing top in this group.

We have organisation, confidence, a sense of injustice from the last campaign and....oh yes we are actually not that short on ability.

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Hear hear. The flipside is that if we continue to see chances going abegging and keep making dumb-assed defensive errors then it could be an awful campaign.

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Originally Posted by rebelmusic

Quote from Trap, seems the role we all hoped Kilbane would have is the fact

"Kilbane is a great man, and a great player. He knows our opinions and our approach and I know he's happy to be still with us. Cunningham has played well also for Man City. Kevin is important and he can be a support maybe for Cunningham. When we have these great senior players they can help the young."

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Is this saying he's Cunningham's back-up now, or is he saying that he's Cunningham's mentor?

Is Ward recovered from his summer op yet?

ShakerMaker mentioned the Argentina squad above but here is the full list according to the Irish Times website. It looks like we will definitely need an experienced team to face this lot (especially the forwards)...

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar), Mariano Andujar (Catania).
Defenders: Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Walter Samuel (Inter Milan), Nicolas Burdisso (Inter Milan), Gabriel Heinze (Olympique Marseille), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle), Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Emiliano Insua (Fiorentina).
Midfielders: Maximiliano Rodriguez (Liverpool), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid), Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina), Javier Pastore (Palermo), Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Jesus Datolo (Espanyol), Ever Banega (Valencia).
Forwards: Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Diego Milito (Inter Milan), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli).

Bit disappointed we wont get to the see the legend that is Martin Palermo......

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Originally Posted by jbyrne

moan moan moan moan moan!

in case some of you didnt notice we were a complete shambles just over two years ago. since then trap has brought in some decent players and rebuilt the team. just because they are not big names doesnt mean they are not doing a good job for us.

our performances in qualifying deserved qualification and we were cheated out of it in the end. two teams we faced were the two wc 2006 finalists for gods sake. yes they had poor world cups but so what..... they werent always poor teams and we dominated both at times in the qualification. lads like green and cunningham actually impressed in the friendlies and have earned their place in this squad. all this talk that the FAI are insisting he plays a senior team etc because its the opening game of the aviva...... give us a break please..... what complete nonsense.

and as for the poster having a pop at the inclusion of given!!!!!!!!!

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Well said. Lets approach the campaign with a positive frame of mind. We've the nucleous of a decent, organised team and the last couple of low key friendlies have hopefully helped rid the team of the trauma's of missing the WC.

We've got to at least believe we've a shot of getting out of the group.

Have Russia still got that plastic pitch????????

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Is this saying he's Cunningham's back-up now, or is he saying that he's Cunningham's mentor?

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Could be either, there is a fair bit of a natural politician in Trap.
But it reads more like the latter, "I know he's happy to be still with us" to me that reads that KK is happy just be around the squad recognising that he is just a back up utility.
KK's happiness factor is high.

so is cunningham our first choice lb now? bold move by trap but i like it

I still think O Shea will start the campaign at left back with Kelly on the right. Dont think Cunningham is ready just yet but would be interesting to see how he copes with the Argies before any final decision is made

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Originally Posted by irishultra

so is cunningham our first choice lb now? bold move by trap but i like it

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I'd have no trouble with him being pitched in despite his age. He'll make mistakes but probably no more than KK and will surely be better able to get up and down the line.

I think Kelly on the right and O'Shea on the left would be the best first-choice selection, though.

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Originally Posted by Junior

Bit disappointed we wont get to the see the legend that is Martin Palermo......

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He certainty knows how to head a ball!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbyD9...layer_embedded

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Originally Posted by Junior

No Anthony Stokes? Is he injured?

Was disappointed he hasnt featured in the three friendlies of late. Has shown better form than most of the peripheral strikers in the squad in my opinion.

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Just seen he's been named in the U21 squad which looks a very strong squad. Wonder what Cillian has done to be allowed to stay behind class and play with the big boys?

It seems Noel King asked for Cunningham and Sheridan and was only given Sheridan, which implies Cunningham will probably start the game.

We need a LB playing at LB so I'd be delighted if Cunningham gets more exposure. Kilbane struggled there so it's a key position for the Trap to fix before our Euro campaign gets underway.

Next on the list would then be a partner for Whelan.

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Originally Posted by shakermaker1982

We need a LB playing at LB so I'd be delighted if Cunningham gets more exposure. Kilbane struggled there so it's a key position for the Trap to fix before our Euro campaign gets underway.

Next on the list would then be a partner for Whelan.

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Its not beyond the realms of possibility that Green could play his way in.

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Originally Posted by shakermaker1982

We need a LB playing at LB so I'd be delighted if Cunningham gets more exposure. Kilbane struggled there so it's a key position for the Trap to fix before our Euro campaign gets underway.

Next on the list would then be a partner for Whelan.

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If Andrews produces performances like the one in Paris he will be impossible to replace

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Originally Posted by Razors left peg

If Andrews produces performances like the one in Paris he will be impossible to replace

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I hope he can produce those kind of performances but I have my doubts. I do like the look of Green and think he has a bit more bite than Andrews.

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Originally Posted by shakermaker1982

I hope he can produce those kind of performances but I have my doubts. I do like the look of Green and think he has a bit more bite than Andrews.

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Impossible to tell from couple of end of season friendlies. Personally I didnt think alot of Green but Im gonna reserve judgement until I see more of him. Andrews on the other hand produced the best midfield performance in a green shirt since Roy Keane against the Dutch in that game in Paris so for me he is nailed on to keep his place at the moment

I used to think there wasn't much wrong with our team that a decent central mid pairing wouldn't sort out. After the last campaign where Whelan & Andrews both grew into their roles I'm a lot less bothered about CM. I think they both finished the campaign strongly - and especially in Paris. Gibson is a very decent player and will hopefully only get better. Now I think that there's not much wrong with the team that a couple of proper full backs wouldn't sort out.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

I used to think there wasn't much wrong with our team that a decent central mid pairing wouldn't sort out. After the last campaign where Whelan & Andrews both grew into their roles I'm a lot less bothered about CM. I think they both finished the campaign strongly - and especially in Paris. Gibson is a very decent player and will hopefully only get better. Now I think that there's not much wrong with the team that a couple of proper full backs wouldn't sort out.

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hopefully during this campaign Cunningham and Coleman will solve that

Realistically it'll be spring 2011 before they challenge for a place I reckon. Let's see...

If Coleman gets game time at Everton from the start and impresses then who knows....without putting too much pressure on the lad he does look the business.

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Originally Posted by Razors left peg

Impossible to tell from couple of end of season friendlies. Personally I didnt think alot of Green but Im gonna reserve judgement until I see more of him. Andrews on the other hand produced the best midfield performance in a green shirt since Roy Keane against the Dutch in that game in Paris so for me he is nailed on to keep his place at the moment

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he played well that night but I will never EVER watch that game again. The whole team were fantastic to be fair (from memory). If we'd have won I reckon I'd have watched that game 20 times by now haha.

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Originally Posted by shakermaker1982

he played well that night but I will never EVER watch that game again. The whole team were fantastic to be fair (from memory). If we'd have won I reckon I'd have watched that game 20 times by now haha.

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haha FACT :)

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Originally Posted by shakermaker1982

he played well that night but I will never EVER watch that game again. The whole team were fantastic to be fair (from memory). If we'd have won I reckon I'd have watched that game 20 times by now haha.

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i have watched it again and how we didnt beat them by a couple of goals in normal time i will never ever understand. some brilliant play at times

Sounds like Doyle may be a doubt. He's having a scan on a calf (?) injury having missed Wolves' friendly today, according to SKY Sports News.

Aidan has been excused from the squad so he can sort out his future (presumably Moscow but still hoping for Villa). The FAI will be seriously upset if he goes to Moscow as they will have to pay his fares for International matches - they usually stick the players on the 6.50am Ryanair to Prestwick, Stansted and East Midlands.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...276418006.html

from Ken Earyl's twitter feed: http://twitter.com/kenearlys/statuses/20781120800

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Giovanni Trapattoni in hospital. Felt unwell on Sunday, vomiting, blamed shellfish, but didn't improve, now gone to hospital as precaution

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also, starting XI announced: http://twitter.com/kenearlys/statuses/20781240060

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IRL v Argentina: Given, McShane, Dunne, O'Shea, Kilbane, Andrews, Green, Lawrence, Duff, Keane, Doyle / Sheridan

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McShane and Kilbane? FFS