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Oh Rowlands is in the squad alright. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
On Delaney leaving Hull, I seem to recall him saying in interview a few weeks ago that he had absolutely no regrets leaving Hull; QPR was the best long-term move. Of course, that's his external veneer, though I'm sure winning the team-bonding karting race last week will have eased any regrets.
Sorry, did not intend to be so dismissive of Rowlands (mind you I did watch him win those caps at the Valley:eek:).Quote:
Originally Posted by kingdom hoop
Agree Delaney should be given a shout.
Probably mentioned a few times here already, but Jon Walters should be there. Best attacking header of a ball we have and good feet too.
I agree with everything you say here. I have been to a few QPR matches and I have to say that I was very impressed with both. I was very surprised when Delaney was left out particularly when left back is an area we are struggling with .Contrary to some peoples somewhat negative attitude towards Championship players he is a good footballer and consistently plays well in this position. I really hope he is given a chance. Rowlands inclusion speaks for itself.Quote:
Originally Posted by kingdom hoop
Speaking of CCC midfielders, Devaney is pretty good too, if Delaney were to be in, he should be too (though obviously Hull is better than Barnsley)
Typical, a player leaves Cork City and next thing you know he's Ireland material :D :p
Oh really! He left Cork a good few years back yeah.Anyway its got nothing to do with where or who he has played with in the past, its his ability that counts.Quote:
Originally Posted by GavinZac
Why Hull ?Quote:
Originally Posted by theworm2345
People were speaking of Delaney, I forgot he went to QPR
Anyone read Kerr in The Indo, saying that some players are unhappy with the length of the portugal training camp and the two friendlies? Jaysus H, if true, these players need to get a grip. I feel that Kerr's bitterness is coming through again though.
Irish Times says Dean Kiely has made himself available. Good news. Brady is to talk to the other retirees soon.
Ooops sorry. Not being at work means my focus has dropped a bit recently. It's amazing, I've discovered a life outside football forums and i quite like it.Quote:
Originally Posted by kingdom hoop
That was mentioned in the press conference as wellQuote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
First of many, we hope.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Irish Times also mentioned that one of Traps first tasks will be to talk to "a prominent member" of the team who has gone and booked a stag weekend in Las Vegas during the time the squad is in Portugal. Any idea who this prominent member is?
Stokes????Quote:
Originally Posted by Jicked
I think Hunt said he was getting married at the end of the season.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jicked
Hah, Anto's 21, I dont think he's getting married anytime soon, and he isn't a prominent member of the squad.Quote:
Originally Posted by zenokelly
Hunt would make sense though.
Is it not Robbie Keane.
That's who I thought it was. And isn't he getting married in yer man Gordon Ramsay's place in Wicklow?Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilMcD
The Mirror
April 8, 2008 Tuesday
Eire Edition
[SIZE=5]ROBBIE'S LAS NIGHT OF FREEDOM .. AND CLAUDINE'S OFF TO SPAIN;
SOCCER ACE'S [/SIZE][SIZE=5][COLOR=#cc0033]VEGAS[/COLOR] STAG EXCLUSIVE[/SIZE]
BYLINE: BY PAUL MARTIN
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 7
LENGTH: 335 words
[COLOR=#cc0033]ROBBIE Keane[/COLOR] and his fiancee Claudine Palmer are splashing out EUR100,000 to make their hen and stag nights out of this world.
The showbiz couple have already planned the big party weekends - and we can reveal Ireland soccer star Robbie will jet off to [COLOR=#cc0033]Vegas[/COLOR] while model Claudine will live it up in a Marbella spa.
The pair have booked the trips for the end of May and are splashing the cash to make them unforgettable.
Last week the Irish Daily Mirror exclusively revealed how they will tie the knot in the quaint village of Killiney, Co Dublin.
Now we can tell you that Robbie, 27, and his pals will fly first class to Las [COLOR=#cc0033]Vegas[/COLOR] and check into the plush Bellagio hotel for a weekend of gambling, drinking and partying.
He will treat 10 mates to the spectacular trip and has booked out five luxury suites. They will enjoy massages, golf and a night in the hotel's famous casino during the wild weekend.
Keane has invited some of his Tottenham team-mates on the trip along with his best man, his brother Graham, and his two groomsmen, soccer star Stephen McPhail and his brother Alan.
Claudine will fly with her girlfriends for a pampering weekend in the Costa del Sol.
They are believed to have booked into the five-star Gran Hotel Guadalpin Marbella Spa which is popular with celebrities and millionaires.
The girls will have a personal team of beauty therapists to look after them during their entire visit.
They will be treated to massages, facials and rejuvenation treatments before hitting the town at night for a big party.
Claudine's mum Joan is top of the guest list.
A friend told the Irish Daily Mirror: "Money is clearly no obstacle and they will be treating their guests like royalty."
The couple have hired Westlife and Mary Black to perform at their reception at the Ritz Powerscourt.
They will head off to Mauritius on honeymoon after the big day.
EUR6BILLION
spent each year on gambling in [COLOR=#cc0033]Vegas[/COLOR] which attracts 36.7million visitors annually. There are 1,701 licenced gambling premises and 197,144 slot machines.
An amusing piece by Vincent Hogan in todays Indo
Open letter to Trap
Good beginning is half the battle, but don’t shoot the messenger please
By Vincent Hogan
Dear Giovanni, First up, a thousand welcomes. You are now among friends as you, no doubt, deduced from Thursday's coronation. There are no media guttersnipes here. We are the chuckle brothers of our trade, jovial people genetically programmed for compassion.
Goodwill blows through this estate, like a tornado howling through Oklahoma. You know how it works, 'Trap', I'm sure. Yep. 'Se non e vero, e ben trovato.' Even if it's not true, it makes a good story.
Anyway, what's the worst case scenario if this all goes belly-up? A fawning, one-hour, Saturday morning interview on national radio with Shirley Temple at the console?
Look, you made a wonderful impression in the RDS. And, as you people say in Italy, 'chi bien comincia e a meja dellopela'. A good beginning is half the battle.
For now, you are a blast of sunshine in our grey, mediocre world. Your wisdom is legendary, your records unassailable. Just listening to you speak about football is strangely comforting. If Robbie and the boys don't feel that, we should check their pulses.
Your specific plans for the team are unlikely to be highbrow and complex. This is a good thing. We don't want to harp on about your immediate predecessors, but their experiences were instructive.
Brian Kerr found the players to have some kind of attention deficit disorder. Steve Staunton considered this balderdash, discovering them to be merely scatter-brained. Either way Giovanni, you know what they say. 'Uomo avvisato, mezzo salvato.' Forewarned is forearmed.
Two things you need to know about Irish football.
One, we don't hide our disappointment under a rock. We are open people. Our history is unblemished by modesty. Poor results aren't simply discussed in the nation's sports pages. They tend to get filleted on talk-shows, phone-ins, prime-time TV news.
Two, we have the best supporters in the world. At times, you may have difficulty reconciling one with the other. Don't worry. We all do.
Your first mission, of course, is one of repatriation. I understand that your good friend, Sven, has suggested talking personally to Stephen Ireland about this vexed business of playing for his country. A word to the wise here, Giovanni.
Room arrangements might be key. If the poor kid thinks there's any chance of him being asked to room with Stephen Hunt, he's likely to feel a bit sorry for himself like Piggy in 'Lord of the Flies'. Don't go there.
Just tell him that all that business about suspicious hair changes and resilient grannies is, well, 'acqua passata non macina piu!' water under the bridge.
By the way, we don't envisage anything quite as perilous in your dialogue with Steve Finnan and Andy O'Brien. These two are pretty straight human beings. Talk to them and they'll listen. Make them feel loved.
You may as well know that your decision to retain Robbie as captain has generated some debate here. You see Robbie divides people, Giovanni. Some glimpse in him these beautiful, butterfly gifts of flight and balance. Others see fecklessness and waste.
Worse, a popular view would be that in Shay Given and Richard Dunne, you have overlooked two compellingly natural leadership candidates. Still, you are entitled to our trust here. And Robbie does seem to thrive in a guiding role at Tottenham.
We can but take it that your view of him is, by extension, a view of media discernment (or lack of). In other words, 'In un mondo di ciechi, un orbo e re'. In a world of blind people, the one-eyed man is king.
Look, none of this will really matter anyway if the team -- as a collective -- buys into your message.
The view here is that, with the Trapattoni stamp of strategic guile and unwavering concentration, a team reading -- Given, Finnan, Dunne, O'Shea, Kilbane, McGeadie, Carsley, Andy Reid, Duff, Keane, Doyle with subs, Kiely, Kelly or Joey O'Brien, Stephen Reid, Ireland, Lawrence, Long -- should be capable of at least summoning the illusion of a competitive threat in the upcoming qualifiers.
We know you may be mildly troubled right now that some of them seem to have their priorities so ludicrously distorted, they are baulking at the end-of-season training camp in Portugal. Fear not, Giovanni. Just look them in the eye and utter three simple words. David. O'Leary, Iceland.
There and then, all resistance should crack like a piece of fine porcelain. If it doesn't, just simplify it for the innocents. 'Lontano dagli occhi, lontano dal cuore'. Yep, out of sight, out of mind baby! Look, Giovanni, we are privileged to have you in our midst.
In fact, your presence here changes everything. The players have no comfort zone now, you see. Your arrival will bring truth, then, to Irish football.
So, we welcome you and wish you continued success and happiness. And we trust you can forgive our loose, clumsy Italian this morning. Just one last thing.
Whatever happens in the coming months, remember we are a people blissfully ignorant of our place in the greater scheme of things. 'So, ambasciator non porta pena, Giovanni'.
Don't shoot the messenger.
Yours in Sport,