QuoteI'd say its more that Hunt is called in for Robbie and Trap is mulling over who to replace McGeady with. Going by the sounds of silence, it wont be Andy Reid.Originally Posted by co. down green
Possibly won't call anybody up to replace McGeady.
I can't see him playing Folan and Doyle together, it's one or the other. So that leaves either Stokes or an all Reading front 2.
I'd say its more that Hunt is called in for Robbie and Trap is mulling over who to replace McGeady with. Going by the sounds of silence, it wont be Andy Reid.
Possibly won't call anybody up to replace McGeady.
I'd like to see a central midfield pairing of Gibson and Andrews this Wednesday. The former received a lot of OTT post match criticism from a certain pundit. I hope the Trap sticks with him.
Noel must surely start with Doyle? A partnership that is flourishing at club level needs testing out at international level and was something I've wanted before the squad annoucement.
I'm guessing Hunt and Duff will be on the wings - we don't have anybody else unless Reidy earns a late reprieve.
"If God had meant football to be played in the air, he'd have put grass in the sky." Brian Clough.
You'll NEVER beat the Irish.......you'll just draw with us instead!!!
Good shout that - with very few established options up front testing a quick fix with those two as a partnership is a good idea in case Keano gets injured during the campaign, especially as familiarity at club level helped strengthen the 1990 team.
Would also be interested to see Sheridan get a call up - appreciate that it's premature - however his height is a dimension that we have been lacking since Quinny and looks a different type of striker to Keane and Doyle, so might be an idea to throw him in sooner rather than later to give us a wider array of styles.
Last edited by Manc Irish Wolf; 16/11/2008 at 10:52 PM.
As usual, only The Examiner is on the ball wit regard to reporting the full content of the press conferences and addressing the questions being asked by the more interested / more curious amongst us. According to today's article in The Examiner, Trap addresses all the main absentees either directly or indirectly ("a printed list of players scouted").
http://www.examiner.ie/irishexaminer...628-qqqx=1.asp
Passionate Trapattoni lays out selection decisions
By Liam Mackey
NOT SO much a press conference as a one-man show.
Giovanni Trapattoni launched an impassioned defence of his selection policy yesterday, dealing with the Andy Reid, Joey O’Brien and Rory Delap issues. There was no shortage of straight news — Robbie Keane misses Wednesday’s game against Poland, returning to Anfield with a shoulder injury, and Celtic’s Aiden McGeady is also out, with a calf injury.
That opens the door for Reading’s Noel Hunt — brother of Stephen — who has received his first call-up to the senior Irish squad. However, Trapattoni arrived for the press conference with a printed list of Irish players who have already been picked or scouted or who will be watched over the coming weeks and months (including, he said, Celtic’s Cillian Sheridan and Hamilton’s James McCarthy, though he added that he feels he already has enough young players in the squad for Wednesday).
After a brief opening address, he prompted: “Now surely, someone will ask to me: why missing Andy Reid? Why no Carsley? No Joey O’ Brien?”
Answering his own question, he went on: “We are building a team, a structure, a solid core of young and senior players. Four or five months ago we didn’t know Gibson, Andrews, Folan — now they are in the squad and I want to see more of them.”
Then, asked directly if Andy Reid’s career was over, Trapattoni replied: “No. I spoke to Andy Reid before the last game. You all know, in Germany I discussed with him a little situation in the night. It’s okay, it’s no problem. The players going in the pub at night is for me no problem.
“But I said to him to continue (with Ireland) because in the future it’s possible (he plays). But I don’t wish to change immediately the system. So I don’t forget Andy Reid, like I don’t forget Carsley. It’s early, we need one year to develop the squad. The qualification campaign is long and there can be injuries and red cards. I have 35 years in international football. I want to see all the players. But I have a system, and until now it has worked.”
Trapattoni went on to suggest that, since he intended to look at other players on Wednesday, he would be doing Reid no favours by bringing him in.
“Andy Reid has a particular character. He values himself a lot. And when he doesn’t play, he’s sad. I know. To win, we need enthusiasm and a smile. There are other players who still smile when they don’t play. Over a number of games you see the character of the players. I wish to help him. He plays the position at Sunderland like Stephen Ireland does at Manchester City. But at the moment our system doesn’t include this position. I wish to see other players. Only when these young players play, will they become stronger.”
Asked about Bolton’s Joey O’ Brien, Trapattoni said: “It’s like (Stephen) Ireland saying he doesn’t want to come back. If your wife goes, you find with another lady — that’s life.
“The Ireland players when they come here are happy because they are playing for their country. I was happy when I played with Italy. And they must be happy to be with the national team — whether they are on the bench or not.
“I want players to express their opinions. But it’s more important what they show me on the pitch. It’s important the players earn congratulations, not Trapattoni. That is my philosophy. I don’t talk bad about my players in the paper. If I treated the players badly then they have all the right to say bad things about me but I don’t treat them badly. They are professionals. I have known over 1,000 players from many countries — from South America to Germany to Israel — and I have always had a good professional relationship with those players. What is crucial are the results. Maybe I make mistakes but I don’t prejudge people personally. It’s nothing personal.”
Trapattoni was at Old Trafford on Saturday for Manchester United’s 5-0 trouncing of Stoke.
“Before the game, I spoke with Alex (Ferguson). He asked: ‘What are doing here Giovanni?’ ‘I wish to see the Ireland players.’ ‘Oh yes, sure’ With 30 minutes to go he plays Gibson. Maybe if I don’t speak with him, maybe he wouldn’t have or maybe he would.”
Regarding Stoke’s Rory Delap... “It would be humiliating for a player to go into the national team just because of his long throw. Please. He’s 32. Okay, it’s not old but in that position at the moment we have a new energy. Sure, yesterday, I saw his first throw and it was dangerous for the goalkeeper but football is about 90 minutes.”
Repeatedly, Trapattoni returned to the theme of the spirit and character he wants from his players: “It’s possible to win with class, or with the Irish way, the Roy Keane way.”
And he concluded with a defiant summing up of his managerial philosophy on the supremacy of the group over the individual.
“I live the game, I want to win,” he said. “In my international experience, the team with the right mentality wins.
“Sometimes (Roberto) Baggio didn’t play in the national team in Italy, because international football is a different game.”
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 17/11/2008 at 9:35 AM.
If smiles gets you kudos then KK will be around for while longer.
Its pretty much as I thought, except that Joey has done a runner, it would appear.
Good news conference, the one i liked was “Before the game, I spoke with Alex"
does anyone think that he went to the game because alex was going to play him or alex played him because trap was at the game?!
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
It was probably a case of Ferguson thinking to himself that he may as well play Gibson if the game was over with anyway, just to please Trap.
I'm sure if the game was on the line that Ferguson wouldn't cater to Trapatonni, but after an hour the match was done and he probably thought, may as well throw him on.
It's an ideal situation to throw a youngster on for his premier league debut anyway, so it's not as if he hurt United.
Good of Trap to put a good word in for him though with Ferguson, but I don't know how much Gibson will appreciate the comment "Maybe if I don’t speak with him, maybe he wouldn’t have [played]."
With the injury crisis at United in the centre, maybe Gibson can force himself into contention, but I sadly admit that I think that would only be a temporary situation.
eh, i think Ferguson would be the one unhappy with the comment!
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
There are some of his decisions that I dont particularly agree with,such as Andy Reid, but when he speaks you cant help but respect him. At least he has the belief in himself to do what he thinks is right and when he explains his reasoning behind his decisions I find myself agreeing with him....That must come across in the dressing room too, which leads to the players having confidence in what he is trying to get them to do. It really is such a long way from the Staunton era.
Its really not that complicated!!!
Trap has made an argument for himself to attend the EPL games.
Next he can visit "Tony who?" at Stoke.
Great article.
I agree with his views on whingey players who sulk when not selected or bitch and moan to the press. You should feel honoured to be in the squad and if you're not in the squad, you make a public announcement that you are desperate to get back in and work your socks off.
Joey O'Brien is a clown to come out and say what he did. He needs to take a look at his club career and figure out why he has only played 25 minutes of football in Bolton's last 8 games. He deserved to be dropped!!!
This situation is plain ridiculous. I wonder if Trap could explain why, if he is so concerned with having people who are 100% committed to the 'team' more than themselves, did he spend so much time visiting and trying to convince S. Ireland to come back.
Andy Reid gets annoyed because he WANTS to play and ends up in the international wilderness because of it. Sounds like the worst case of double standards I have ever heard.
“I’d always play Pirlo but Trapatoni says his first concern is to avoid losing goals. The truth is that we didn’t know what we were doing out there" Gennaro Gattuso, June 2004.
Nothing to explain, he paid a visit to Maine Rd to have a chat and a few glasses with his good friend Sven and had a tete la tete with Stephen Ireland. That is all the contact he had.
With Andy Reid, Trap has evidently had plenty of contact with him.
What you wrote sounds like ********. When did Trapp spend "so much time" trying to convince Stephen Ireland? Are you his secretary logging his calls? You actually believe that Trapp does not want players who are committed to the team? Besides, He said that Andy Reid's days are not over. He explains his system fairly well actually, if you read it.
This one is the real beauty though:
"Sounds like the worst case of double standards I have ever heard."
Yeah.. Defo... Mee too. He has great diplomacy skills. And there's a level of accounting for decisions through the media that I've been dying for from an Ireland manager for a long time.
However
Exaclty. Which is one of my gripes with him. I'm not stupid enough to claim that someone like Trapps opinion is less than mine when it comes to players and formations. If Trapp feels Alex Bruce is the next best centre half then so be it. But up to this I was arguing about his efforts to come to that conclusion.
Maybe I didn't read the whole article but I don't think he said anything too bad... Has he actually pulled out of the reckoning now himself, like Ireland???
I think you're right Geysir, though I can't help think that there's some degree of better man management that could keep Reid in the fold. I also think Trap is wrong to think of Reid as a creative midfielder only because I think he could play a wide role, though not the same role currently occupied by Duff & McGeady.
However, I rembember a talk I was at by Clive Woodward where he said the WC03 squad was selected not just on ability but by character and each player's contribution to the group dynamic. He said certain players were left out because the whole structure could have been brought down by one or two what he called "termites" whose negativity would eventually undermine a ruthless winning mentality (I recall Jack's comments on Frank the Plank & how he regretted taking such a whinger to Italy when he could have taken Gary waddock instead). I'd say Trap's years in management means he knows exactly what sort of dynamic can be built with a bunch like ours.
Even still, I find it hard to think that Reid would be a negative to our squad, being a popular player central to the atmosphere.
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 17/11/2008 at 2:43 PM.
Stutts, I know exactly what you mean, and its very true, even in amateur football clubs, junior stuff, you always need different characters to add to the group dynamic. Every man for every type of situation etc.
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
He had a broad face and a little round belly, That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly!!!
Brady is reported as saying that it has nothing to do with Andy Reid's attitude, as could be interpreted from Trap's call to 'Smile for Ireland'.
Brady would be the good cop in the equation.
I suspect that Andy will be brought into the next squad looking something like this
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