Just scored an OG against Manchester United. Stuck the leg out to block a cross, it flew past the keeper.
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Just scored an OG against Manchester United. Stuck the leg out to block a cross, it flew past the keeper.
Back at Wembley for an FA Cup final.
Congrats Damo!
A man of the match performance would be just the sort of ammunition Dunphy would relish pre-Euros!
Would not surprise me if Place won the cup, there odds are about 7/2 but I think they
have a better chance than that, they beat Spur on the way.
http://www.98fm.com/If-You-Need-Me-P...Damien-DelaneyQuote:
Delaney told reporters at Wembley on Saturday that if he gets the call he would come back, but he’s not holding his breath.
He also dispelled what he described as the myth that he had sought assurances about game time. The 34-year-old says he never demanded to start at any stage during his career
The veteran defender told the Irish Sun he has no regrets and he’d be just as happy to cheer on the Boys in Green from the pub:
"I definitely didn't need to be traipsing all over Europe". That clears it up for me anyway.
as well as
"he’d be just as happy to cheer on the Boys in Green from the pub"
He'll be supporting the team whether he's selected or not. Fair play to him.
He's just as happy to be at the pub as at the Euros. Fair play to him.
That whimsical attitude would not at all impress Roy or Martin.
I can't imagine him telling his club fanzine that he's just as happy to cheer his team, either from the pub or as part of the team.
Well it's a better attitude to have than someone like Bernie Slaven.
Yeah, good point. Fair play to him having a better attitude than someone like Bernie Slaven, whatever that means.
yeah, presumably Slaven would have been less happy to watch the championships in the pub. Or something.
Well with Marc Wilson out if he is wiling so help us out in our hour of need rather than watch it in the pub then fair play to him.
I haven't read the article, but I took from the quote about watching it in the pub that what he meant and what he said were two different things. I think he was trying to say, he would get behind the players and team regardless of whether he was selected as a proud Irishman.
I know I did a stutts there, so I'll read the whole interview and see.
If Richard Keogh or Robbie said that, you'd be absolutely slating them for lack of commitment.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
I have all the time in the world for Damien and I respect what he has accomplished in the last four years.
He came back from the verge of having to have his leg amputated to carve out a successful Premier League career and lead his team out at Wembley twice.
Fair play to him.
I don't understand how people could possibly misconstrue what he said about supporting the team in the pub like Daryl Murphy did in Waterford in 2012.
Better than moaning about not getting picked for squads, which he could easily do as our best performing CB over the last two qualifying campaigns.
He's an Irish footballer and up for the Irish football team when they play, but isn't that bothered to actually play for them. Fair play Damo.
Best performing CB over the last two campaigns? Wholly subjective. He's a blood and guts centre back who was blessed not to have been sent off on Saturday. A Euros ref would almost certainly have sent him off.
On merit he'd be in the squad. He knows that and O'Neill knows that. He's not in the squad because he has an equivocal attitude to playing international football. You've slaughtered others for that.
Listening to the interview it sounds like fair comments, I didn't get the impression he wouldn't be bothered. It might be fair to say our options are not as good as 2014. O'Shea and Clark are no longer first team regulars and have been involved in some disasterous team performances in the last year, Duffy dropped down a division and Keogh never made it to the premiership with Derby. Hopefully they will all be part of a memorable Ireland tournament but if not there will be criticism for not selecting Delaney.
I wonder how Jedinak felt about Delaney leading the team out twice...Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
The last thing Delaney needs is to be traipsing around Europe.Quote:
Originally Posted by RiffRaff
I don't think his comments are that fair really, not all of them anyway. If you take him literally he's admitting other players are more deserving than him and he'd only be clogging up a space for someone like Duffy coming through. I think he said "maybe" to answering a hypothetical call up. Fair enough if he never actually demanded a start which I'd accept but reading between all the lines O'Neill, who may be old school but is certainly no idiot, saw good reason to look beyond Delaney. Given that O'Neill made his club reputation on honest grafters of centre backs just like Damo you'd have to think it's pretty clear he has reason not to pick him. Delaney gave a good politician's answer.
I respect what he has done in his club career too. I can also see if his age and his injury history mean he prioritises his lucrative club career. No judgment from me whatsoever. I just don't think it's right to make some sort of cause celebre out of his situation. We have decent CBs. CB has not been a particular weakness under O'Neill.
WBA interested in Clark according to BBC anyway!
Exactly Stutts. Don't forget we had, easily, the best defensive record in the qualifying group.
Riffraff, I really don't think MON will get any stick for not selecting Delaney (especially given the circumstances), at least not from someone to whom we should be paying attention i.e. Dunphy et al.
The "traipsing around Europe" quote came from Martin O'Neill, not Delaney.
I have no problem with O'Shea, Clark & Keogh playing because they contributed to our qualifying, but equally if Delaney is willing to come back and be a part of the squad then egos should be put aside.
The fact of the matter is Delaney is the most consistent performer out of those 3 and if things go tits up in June there will be questions raised - rightly or wrongly.
Arter seems to be a shoo-in and there are positive noises about McGoldrick's inclusion, so by that token there shouldn't be a problem with including Delaney on his form - especially as he maintains he isn't looking for guarantees over playing time.
I think you need to listen to the bit of audio you posted. It's one of the first things he says.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
True Martin was quoted as saying it in February. Equally we've just heard Delaney saying it in the 98fm interview. Must have been something to that effect said when they last spoke.(sounds like a Cork colloquialism to me though boy)Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
It's a little late in the day for this discussion. Fair play to Delaney for coming back to where he is. I'd have him in my squad, seems a sound skin. But he's not, let's move on?
Delaney's situation is a bit different to other players his age in the squad.
He was never going to get included in the squad anyways so I agree it's futile to even debate it.
Look, let's not build this up into something it isn't. Jack Charlton freezing David O'Leary out of the squad for 2 years and DOL - one of the best defenders in England at the time - missing out on the euros - now that was a real issue worth questioning the manager about.
Delaney is a guy who is more or less as good or as bad as the defenders we have in the squad all things considered (incl age). He's a good defender, not a great (David O"Leary type) defender. His inclusion won't materially change our performance. He also tried to hold the manager to ransom as a condition of playing for his country and it bit him in the arse. He's still fairly ambiguous about playing for us in the finals. He's been in decent form for 2-3 years now and now that there's a tournament coming up its becoming a big issue despite him contributing zero to our campaign and it being of his own volition. This is not the case some of you are making it out to be.
Now if Westwood stays at home behind one/any of Randolph, Given or Forde - I would have a problem with that.
Well it depends on who you want to believe. Delaney and O'Neill have conflicting stories about his absence from the squad. There has also been acrimony between Delaney and Keane in the past - though Delaney insists this hasn't been an issue.
Keogh & Clark have performed admirably when called upon and Duffy looked impressive in March so it's not something I am losing sleep over.
But I definitely think Delaney warrants a squad inclusion as one of the top 5 most consistent Irish players at PL level.
And I do think this will be used as a stick to beat O'Neill with if things to tits up - by Dunphy, Sadlier or Cunningham, not me.
Just gonna quote this as insurance :pQuote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
Isn't the reality that O'Neill said to Delaney at some point in the past that he wouldn't be in his first-choice defensive pairing, so Delaney responded that if that was the case then he didn't need to be "traipsing around Europe" (or something to that effect)? It's not quite the same thing as explicitly "demanding a starting place", so Delaney would technically be correct to say he never made demands, whilst I could also see how O'Neill might have interpreted it as such. You could argue Delaney was essentially saying, "If I'm going to accept a call-up, it's conditional upon me doing more than simply traipsing around Europe (or sitting on the bench, in other words)".Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
O'Neill clarified the situation here: http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...-31492439.html
Just looking back through the thread, but did O'Neill himself ever actually explicitly claim that Delaney had made demands or was that just the twist the media put on it? I think Martin just said they had different ideas of what was wanted, no? Wasn't this what O'Neill originally said?: http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...-31062894.htmlQuote:
Originally Posted by Daniel McDonnell
Is there another comment I've missed? Where's the supposed conflict in stories?Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin O'Neill
And please stop implying it's about egos, as if Martin's being thick or pig-headed about the matter. They haven't had a falling out and it's not a case of bad man-management on Martin's part, like you seem keen to imply. Delaney isn't too bothered to fight for a starting place (that's fine; he's nearing the end of his career and wants to prolong that, especially in light of his previous issues, so good luck to him) and Martin wants to select players who are/have been fully committed, willing to fight and bide their time as back-up if necessary. It's all perfectly reasonable and understandable.
By the way, Guardian write-up on Delaney by Dominic Fifield from before the FA Cup final: https://www.theguardian.com/football...d-fa-cup-final
Don't think it's been posted already.
Personally I think Delaney could be a walking red card at a European finals. Very vulnerable to pace.
There is another way of reading that, I find it very hard to read your posts DI, too much overload sorry :)
Martin didn't have to give assurances, correct. But Martin shouldn't be telling a player he isn't going to be his starting CB. Everyone should be treated equally, and everyone has the same chance, if that was said to me at work, then I'd be fcuked off. Words of encouragement should be everyone will get a chance, you will get a chance and its up to you to take that chance, not, you are not going to be my CB or words to that effect.
There is nothing to suggest O'Neill actually said that to him though, is there? Not even Delaney himself claims that.
Thats always a possibility when your Flat out is "Traipsing"Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
"Traipsing" and "Trappsing" are similar conditions which affect a player - both result in the player making himself unavailable due to perceived slights.Quote:
Originally Posted by seanfhear
Quote:
Originally Posted by seanfhear
I think that I may be getting so cryptic that I don't know what I am trying to say myself ! ! !Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
Perhaps from now on we can say that when a player is not in his Totality, Totally Committed that he is a Shy Traipser !
In all fairness you could level the exact same accusations at O'Shea, Duffy, Clark and Keogh.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
O'Shea in particular has a habit of holding on to players at set-pieces that could be construed as an accident waiting to happen; he gave away a free kick in a dangerous position against Chelsea as soon as he came on for climbing all over Diego Costa - a player Delaney bossed in a personal battle. Clark has a tendency to be rash. Keogh goes to ground too easily and doesn't read the game as well as the others.
Delaney only has 3 yellow cards in 40 games for the season. I don't think his discipline is an issue. O'Shea likewise only has 3 yellow cards + 1 red card, though his form in general has drastically nosedived since the Germany game.
Fair points, and O'Shea was dreadful in Warsaw alright. I could counter by holding Delaney to fault for a goal against Turkey but we could go on for hours.
The issue here is not that nobody rates Delaney. On merit he should be in or close to the team. CB isn't a problem area. Delaney's answer above was a skilful politician's answer. It's clear that his ability is not the reason he's not in the squad. I trust O'Neill's judgment. Not a big deal. As Stu says, omitting Westwood would be far worse.