Shane Supple

**Colbert Report** · 25/08/2009, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by EalingGreen

Supple is not unique in "falling out of love with football"

My own club (Spurs) have had at least two in recent years - Espen Bardsen (a superior keeper to Supple imo) and Rory Allen (Spurs & Pompey).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espen_Baardsen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rory_Allen

(Btw, that wiki entry for Allen implies that injuries were behind his decision. Whilst I daresay they played a part, I definitely recall his saying that he always preferred cricket to football, and by retiring from the latter, it would allow him to fulfill a long-held dream to go on an Ashes Tour with the Barmy Army!)

Barry Glendenning quoted your post on yesterday's "Guardian Football Weekly" podcast.

**paul_oshea** · 25/08/2009, 1:20 PM

what did he quote?!

**youngirish** · 25/08/2009, 1:29 PM

Originally Posted by Colbert Report

Barry Glendenning quoted your post on yesterday's "Guardian Football Weekly" podcast.

Copyright infringement EG you should sue that plagarizing ba*tard.

**youngirish** · 25/08/2009, 1:35 PM

Shane Supple is not the first talented player to retire from football before fulfilling his potential.

I myself packed in the game at the fairly tender age of 13 when I discovered flagan drinking in the park on a saturday night and couldn't get out of bed for the game early sunday morning anymore.

In fairness I had fallen out of love with the game a long time beforehand when our coach had started to allocate us specific positions on the pitch at under 10 level and discarded our previous Dutch 1974 esque total football game that we used to play whereby we all interchanged positioning while chasing the ball around the pitch.

**Colbert Report** · 26/08/2009, 2:45 AM

Originally Posted by paul_oshea

what did he quote?!

Shane Supple came up in discussion and he mentioned the exact same two players that were in the post. He basically made the same comments as well.

It's available on iTunes if you're interested. I'd recommend it, it's a good podcast.

**irishfan86** · 26/08/2009, 2:56 AM

Originally Posted by Colbert Report

Shane Supple came up in discussion and he mentioned the exact same two players that were in the post. He basically made the same comments as well.

It's available on iTunes if you're interested. I'd recommend it, it's a good podcast.

Well, I'd tend to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially if he follows Spurs at all closely it would be common knowledge.

Why would he be reading an Irish soccer forum?

**Bluebeard** · 26/08/2009, 7:16 AM

Originally Posted by irishfan86

Why would he be reading an Irish soccer forum?

Dedication to his career to an extent that would regularly embarrass some Irish journos - it is on the second page of google if you dial in "shane supple ireland". Some Irish journos don't look appear to look beyond the top three results, judging by some reports I've read.

**endabob1** · 26/08/2009, 7:38 AM

Originally Posted by irishfan86

Well, I'd tend to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially if he follows Spurs at all closely it would be common knowledge.

Why would he be reading an Irish soccer forum?

eh? I would guess it's because he's Irish and a sports journalist (although he used to do stuff for Hot Press before he moved to big London) so aside from the professional research angle I would imagine he would also have a personal interest.

**Stuttgart88** · 26/08/2009, 9:09 AM

Originally Posted by youngirish

Copyright infringement EG you should sue that plagarizing ba*tard.

Maybe EG is actually BG?

**paul_oshea** · 26/08/2009, 9:44 AM

With that sort of surname its a real possibility.

But journos usually get their facts right, if ye know what I mean

**Umberside** · 26/08/2009, 9:50 AM

Originally Posted by paul_oshea

With that sort of surname its a real possibility.

I suppose so

Originally Posted by paul_oshea

But journos usually get their facts right

Not sure about that though

**EalingGreen** · 26/08/2009, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Maybe EG is actually BG?

Nope! Like the IFA, I'm "Original and Best"...

**Stuttgart88** · 26/08/2009, 11:52 AM

I think you're a bit older than BG anyway, as you said you traveled south for a game in 1977 a while back.

**EalingGreen** · 26/08/2009, 12:08 PM

Originally Posted by irishfan86

Well, I'd tend to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially if he follows Spurs at all closely it would be common knowledge.

Why would he be reading an Irish soccer forum?

I'm not bothered about it, but having listened to the Podcast, I suspect the process was as follows.
Being Irish, Glendinning guessed he might be asked about Supple, who used to play for "Roy Keane's Ipswich" (c), after all.
As part of his research, he checked to see what the fans were saying, so will have checked ITFC and ROI websites (inc. this one).
Realising from my post that Supple is hardly unique, he then went on to find details of Hall and Woodhouse etc.

I'm pretty sure that he read my post, since he mentioned both players in the context of Spurs, despite their having been with Pompey and Everton upon retirement, with Baardsen actually playing more games for Watford in between than Spurs or Everton.

Also, Glendinning seemed to repeat my comment about Allen and Injuries/Barmy Army etc a little too faithfully for them to have been his invention.

Plus I doubt very much that Glendinning is a Spurs fan, otherwise he'd have mentioned that Baardsen (who was recommended as a youngster to Spurs by their Norwegian keeper, Erik Thorsvedt, btw), was brought up in California. I am pretty certain therefore that he never really bought into the "soccer culture" in Europe, hence his disillusionment with the game.

So if you're reading, Barry, have I got that right?

**EalingGreen** · 26/08/2009, 12:15 PM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

I think you're a bit older than BG anyway, as you said you traveled south for a game in 1977 a while back.

Older and Wiser, I'd say!
Plus you wouldn't really expect me to speak with Glendinning's "Mexican" accent, do you?

(Btw, between Football and Rugby, I'd guess I travelled down to Dublin for matches up to a dozen times during the late 70's)

**endabob1** · 27/08/2009, 8:28 AM

Glendenning is from Offaly so I'm pretty sure him & EG are not one and the same

**Philly** · 30/08/2009, 2:56 PM

My brother played against him today in GAA. He plays for ST Brigets. One of the Moorefield players commented to a Diblin lad that "you'd much rather be in Croker" and the Dublin lad said out loud he'd "much rather be in Portman Road". Supple had a laugh about it. Aparently he is going to be a chef or something? Anyway, he pulled off some good saves and kept a clean-sheet if Trap is still keeping tabs (you don't have to have a club to play for Ireland after all!)

**SuperDub** · 30/08/2009, 3:42 PM

Yea i heard he was only home and he was out training with St Bridgets Seniors. Dont be to surprised if you see him playing in goal for dublin next year.