At the risk of starting a riot, Jack Grealish should have been called up for US tour when he was on loan at bottom of L2 with Notts County. Was ripping it up there and I fully believe he'd still be an Irish player if he was called up to that tour by O'NeillQuote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Hahaha riot in progress. And I'm not sure this thread is the one for that particular warQuote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
Lets add Keane v McCarthy to the flames too and see the place burn down!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Diggs246
Just noticed the keeper Rochdale had on loan last season has just been called up to the Spain squad (he's the Brighton number one now). Some good pedigree lines there for Bazunu!
There once was a treaty in 1921....Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
I'd be wary of this line of thought myself. If you're good enough, you're old enough, whether you're 36 or 16. Randolph and Westwood are good enough; there's a question mark over McGeady these days, but he's probably good enough based on how poor we are. I probably would have him in the squad on balance; he's the kind of player who could unlock a stubborn Luxembourg defence with a nice pass.Quote:
Originally Posted by passinginterest
It's all well and good playing for the future, but not if it means, say, drawing at home to Luxembourg and then players' morale is going through the floor, and a feeling grows that Kenny isn't up to the task. We need to be pragmatic here.
In the event, of course, Randolph and Westwood aren't available, and there's a logical reason why McGeady wasn't selected. (McGeady may feel a bit aggrieved at being told League One wasn't good enough yet we have three League One keepers and a League One forward in the squad, but we're really stuck there and I take that comment as a sure sign that Kelleher will start)
I didn't hear anything on whether Robert Lynch Sanchez qualified for us. That puts that to rest now.Quote:
Originally Posted by passinginterest
It's a fair point, I'm another one who thought McGeady was incredibly frustrating but there's no doubt he created goals and can still create (I went looking for some stats and I think in his last couple of qualifying campaigns he had something like 4 assists and 2 goals). It's definitely more of a risk to stick with the younger and unproven players, but it's also got much more potential for medium term reward (with more risk of Kenny not being there to see it too).Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Yeah, I just don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater is all.
Kenny's doing well blooding in new players already, and he's the manager to do it having worked with some of the guys at 21s level. But there is a place for experience in the squad too.
Definitely, I'm really disappointed with the exclusion to be honest. The standard of L1 is just an excuse I think and it must be more to do with his age or perhaps he doesn't think he'd suit the style he's trying to implement. It's obvious that McGeady's level is higher than L1, he's repeatedly been called the best player in that division. In a couple of months he could well be swapping divisions with Daryl Horgan for example, but I can't imagine that would change SK's thinking.
Hes trying to implement a keep ball, keep possession style. Of course that rules McGeady out.
Stephen Kenny on the goalkeeping position -
Other news is McClean is still a doubt though in the squad, while Richard Keogh may make a comeback in the autumn qualifiers and Parrott is unlikely to start given his recent form.Quote:
Caoimhín has obviously played ten Under-21 internationals under me and he was brilliant, did very well. I think he's played five games for Liverpool this year too in the Champions League, so he's used to big games and it won’t be an issue for him.
Mark Travers is definitely the next one in
At the time, I argued for both Grealish and Carruthers to be called up. Saw grealish play an FA Cup game against decent opposition and he was incredible. Meanwhile, Carruthers was excellent against Liverpool for Villa. Obviously they don’t all work out, but you take your chances with really exciting youngsters...Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
O'Neill was just being stubborn at the time, we had a load of players pulling out of that US Tour. It was when I first started to really dislike himQuote:
Originally Posted by elatedscum
You can't really argue too much with the squad Kenny's picked. McGeady's form maybe merited his inclusion, but given he's 35 next month and playing in the third tier, this would arguably be a regressive move. No-one can reasonably complain too much. It's good to see Bazanu in there though.
Kenny's in an invidious position really, and I do feel for him. The quality just isn't there.
I only hope Cullen is given a chance to prove himself.
I would probably have thrown a few of more of the younger players in there like Odubdko and Coventry, and perhaps Flynn and Ferry, We have little to lose. But this is more of a personal feeling than a criticism.
Id agree with you, especially with Cullen. To me he seems the ideal player too take the ball of the defenders and look to pass it forward.Quote:
Originally Posted by Trequartista20
Ive just noticed that there is no James McCarthy included despite guarantees from our South America correspondent.
Trying to keep the Serbia coach guessing till the last minuteQuote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
Not even a Jimbo McCarthy, disappointing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
I'm fairly sure Kieran O'Hara was down in League 2 with Macclesfield when he was first called up.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
The funny thing is kelleher was sh*t for the u21s !Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Has done brilliant at liverpool to be fair
Good shout; you're spot on. Though was with Burton in League One for his two caps.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
Kelleher has been very good for the 21s and has always been good for us underageQuote:
Originally Posted by Diggs246
I think he's married already, old man.Quote:
Originally Posted by seanfhear
Callum O'Dowda had only played League Two football when he made his debut and was being considered for the Euro 2016 squadQuote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
How dare you! What a ridiculous statement! He was never on loan at the bottom of L2 with Notts County! (they were L1 at the time)Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
More seriously on the squad - it pretty much picked itself, although I'd probably still have had Hogan over Parrott this time out (or maybe even Shodipo, given his current goalscoring form)
Really? I was certain I remembered them as L2 at the timeQuote:
Originally Posted by samhaydenjr
Football managers have to be willing to go that extra step.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
The Serbia manager gives his view on the upcoming games (might be a cue for a match-specific thread actually?)
He notes there's question marks over a couple of players due to covid restriction requirements at club level, with three players at French clubs - goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic [Stade de Reims], defender Stefan Mitrovic [Strasbourg] and midfielder Mihailo Ristic [Montpellier] - possibly not going to be released as the game is outside the EU.Quote:
We are aiming for nothing less than a maximum nine points and the shambolic performance against Scotland must never happen again while I am in charge.
I'd have put good money on it being L2 also, but nope. Strange.Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
It was announced today that the 6 EPL based German and 2 Icelandic footballers can travel to Germany for the WC qual game.
Icelanders are happy because they reckon that their 2 top players are worth more to their team than the gain Germany will get from their 6.
Kelleher, Bazunu, Travers, O'Hara
Coleman, Doherty, Duffy, Stevens, Long, Clark, O'Shea, Manning, Christie
Hourihane, Browne, Hendrick, Molumby, Knight, Cullen
Brady, McClean, Horgan, Curtis, O'Dowda, Robinson, Connolly, Long, Collins, Parrott
The squad is what it is. It's weak, but young and weak is better than old and weak.
I'd have had Jake Mulraney instead of Daryl Horgan, and Scott Hogan instead or Ronan Curtis. But apart from that it's what we have.
Mulraney hasn't played a game in three months, and only one in almost five months, so not sure this would be the ideal time to call him up for the first time.
Our two big losses are Egan and McCarthy. Clark is no step down from Egan - and McCarthy seems fragile at the best of times. We should be well capable of a draw. But we have zero chance if Kenny showcases go-nowhere tip-tap again - and that's not a call to park the bus and hoof to high heaven. The least he should provide is evidence that a gaggle of woeful performances have not been in vain.Quote:
Originally Posted by backstothewall
Has he improved hugely since he moved stateside? No offence to the lad but didn’t look good enough for the 21s when he was at that levelQuote:
Originally Posted by backstothewall
Hogan hasn't really impressed for us either, I'm not sure he's worth his place due to the occasional mini goal burst at Championship level, though some of those selections are of the splitting hairs variety.
Horgan has looked better for us than his struggles to establish himself at club level would suggest. I'm not sure Curtis and Collins really merit inclusion though, Collins looked woefully out of his depth in Georgia and Switzerland, and Curtis is game but not sure he offers anything that we don't already have in abundance.
Plus L1 football has seemingly ruled an infinitely more talented player in McGeady out, if you were to take SK's explanation at face value...?
Disagree with this. He was really poor in Toulon for a start, displaying a array of different types of mistakes. He was better (or at least less tested) in the qualifiers, but still had some really ropey moments, most of which he got away with so easier to forget/ignore. But that was then I guess, he did look a more competent performer for Liverpool this season, so hopefully he's come of age.Quote:
Originally Posted by liamoo11
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
I'd say you would be hard pushed to find 2 or 3 mistakes he has made at under 21 level for us . He is a quality keeper and always has been since under 17 level for us. His footballing ability is always going to mean he is suited to a higher level where he can actually knock a 20 yard pass to a centre half who can control and pass it. He also makes his back line play higher because he takes up much more advanced positions himself unlike Randolph who plays so deep that it encourages Duffy to drift back and sit on the edge of our area.
He was shaky in the first game of Toulon, particularly his distribution but as far as I remember, that game was less than a day after Liverpool won the champions league and did the parade and he hadn’t really slept at all. Flew, landed, played... something like that
You're right, I would be hard pushed to find them, as I wouldn't even know where to look. It was mostly handling errors, poor decision making, that kind of thing and not so much leaving in terrible goals, though the second one here is highly questionable. These are some comments throughout the tournament from various posters on here.Quote:
Originally Posted by liamoo11
Your view that he's better (or will be better) with senior pros is stacking up on the little bit of evidence we have so far, so hopefully you're right, and he has probably just improved anyway. I lived around the corner from his club in Cork for a couple of years actually, it would be great to see him succeed, I just haven't been overly convinced as of yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Toulon Thread
As far as I remember, Idah in particular and O’Shea received criticism in Toulon. Not that the criticism is definitely wrong, but it’s easy to find criticism of almost everyone’s performanceQuote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean