I do agree though to an extend as Stokes has only been playing for half a seasons worth of senior football
I would rank our strikers thusly
1. Keane
2. Doyle
3. Morrison
4. Elliott
5. Stokes
I think Keane should be vying for a place against reid for the position behind the front man.(number 10 I think neilmcd called it) Nobody should be undroppable. I dont think he is a bad player by any stretch of the imagination but we cant rely on him to get us goals.
In theory this is a good idea but it either means playing 4-3-1-2 (and then where do you play Duff and who are your 3 Central Midfielders) or 4-4-1-1 which is not that different than what happens in reality, i.e. Keane drifts into Midfield all the time anyway. Works best if you have an out and out goalscorer whcih is why England had success with Beardsley-Lineker and Sheringham-Shearer. Maybe Doyle is the goalscorer, but I'd argue we havent had that sort of player in modern times, though Aldridge should have been.Originally Posted by Billsthoughts
Im thinking Ireland v czech republic....
Don't forget Elliot banged in 16 goals in his first season for Sunderland even though he didn't start many games. This shows more ability IMO than banging in admittedly an impressive number of goals against some pretty poor opposition (on the whole). Elliot has also showed flashes of class in the Premiership and at International level though injury has curtailed his progress.
I wouldn't put Stokes ahead of Elliot or even possibly Morrison until he starts banging in goals regularly for Sunderland in the Championship. This is just my personal opinion. Saying that we've nothing to lose (and possibly also nothing to gain) by giving him some pitch time against San Marino.
Fair enough. He is a player to get excited about though which is all I'm saying.I just think you really underestimate the SPL. Elliott scored 16 goals in 31 starts in his first season. A decent rate and I was excited about him. He also started against Croatia in November of his first season. Stokes has scored 16 goals in 18 games in his first season. That's not a decent rate, that's an incredible rate for any player. Never mind an 18 year old.
The quality of Stokes will prevail, as eirebhoy said earlier, he has an amazing positional sense, and has a real touch of class about him. Morrison should never play for Ireland again he is a disgrace, his attitude stinks, Elliot has struggled this season also....Your forgetting also that there is not a huge gulf in class between the SPL and the championship!!
I hope Stokes will prevail. However to suggest that Morrison's attitude stinks is ridiculous. A player who gives 100% for Ireland every single time he turns out. This is an inane comment.
100%!!! Are you having a laugh, the state of him against france and switzerland last year falling over everytime instead of trying to hold the ball up...this is a man that initially had to be coaxed into playing for ireland, as he thought hed get the call for England...if thats his 100%, he should be wooried.
You are mixing up ability with attitude. Not the same at all.
I disagree with that totally, if anything he can be anonymous and fade into the back ground..
i think the general impression of the SPL here is mistaken.
granted it's not close to EPL but to say the championship is much higher standard is nonsence. fair enough you have brimingham, wolves, sunderland and the likes but you also have hull, barnsley, luton & southend - hardly world beaters. in the SPL you have celtic, hearts, rangers, hibs and aberdeen are doing ok recently.
the SPL is not equal to the premiership granted but overall i would put it above the championship. in fairness how many championship teams would progress to any stage in the champions league. bot celtic and rangers have reached the last 16 in the last 2 seasons.
if people are saying he hasn't scored goals in a high enough league to be considered for ireland but will accept he is quality if he scores regularly in the championship i think that is ridiculous!
are we saying that the burnley back 4 is of much more quality than those in the SPL? i don't think so lads.
What game were you watching? In Paris, Morrisson was having a brilliant game until he was injured. Do you actually watch football?
There is no such thing as a miracle cure, a free lunch or a humble opinion.
For me, the big deal isn't the level Stokes has played at, but more how long he's done it. If he continues his good form, or finds it again next season, then I'll be happier. Football is littered with players who were awesome for six months before disappearing entirely.
You can't spell failure without FAI
If you think Hibs, Falkirk, Inverness, Motherwell, Aberdeen and the rest would survive in the Championship then I think you're mistaken. Only Celtic and Rangers would beat the majority of the teams in the Championship though Rangers would even struggle to do that this season. Hearts might survive but wouldn't set it alight. Look at the attendances and funding for clubs such as Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, West Brom, Palace, Leeds, Southampton, Birmingham and even Hull. Look at the players that play in the Championship. Many up and coming Premiership talents on loan, foreign Internationals (for useful International teams not Latvian and Scottish players) and ex Premiership players. To state thet the SPL is a higher calibre of league than the Championship on the whole is nonsense and surely anyone who's watched both leagues and had a quick check on the players that play in both could only agree.
All SPL players with the possible exception of the Rangers and Celtic players would consider a move to a Championship club as a big step forward for them in their career.
Last edited by youngirish; 19/01/2007 at 4:19 PM.
Survive? I think you're going a bit far with that statement. To put it into perspective, Celtic are trying to get Scott Brown and Kevin Thomson off Hibs and have been for months. Charlton had a bid of £3m for the 2 of them turned down, I think they want about £5m. Now consider that Hibs do not look any worse at all without either of those players and you'll see they have plenty of quality. Hibs have a midfield as good as most in the Championship. I don't think their defence is that great though.
I'm not going to claim the SPL is a better standard than the Championship because it's not. It's certainly not easier to score in the SPL though imo and that's what really matters when it comes to Stokes.
Last edited by eirebhoy; 19/01/2007 at 5:38 PM.
At the end of the day, despite whatever league someone is playing in, its easy to see those that have the potential to perfom at the highest level and those that can't. I think we all agree Stokes has the potential.
"A silent mouth is sweet to hear"
Say what you want about Morrisons abillity but he's most definately commited. Watch how he celebrated the goal against the czechs with Kilbane from the bench despite having been dropped... Plus he was one of the few Ireland players to turn up and watch their 'B' counterparts play. Actions that fly in the face of some of the dispersions cast against him
Regardless of how he declared or qualifies for us Clinton Morrison is as much an Ireland fan as he is a player. That's good enough for me.
I agree, Morrison is always hustling. I get ****ed when people say they dont care. Connolly is one of them. Morrison could of played for Jamaica or Trinidad too, he chose Ireland. Connolly chose Ireland when he was 16 or something. Morrison could have kept trying to improve and go with England, but he chose Ireland.
My Guarantee
Am looking for old Irish matches on VHS, PM me if you have some and I'll upload them here
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