Quoteso basically people are saying we ahve a better team now. This is waht i said all along, but yet people were trying to make out we had better players in 2002. This is the best group of players bar our midfield we have had in a long time.
Pick a team between the Irish Squads for WC02 and the current available players in '09
GOALKEEPERS
SHAY GIVEN, DEAN KIELY, ALAN KELLY
DEFENDERS
STEVE STAUNTON, GARY BREEN, ANDY O BRIEN, IAN HARTE, GARY KELLY, RICHARD DUNNE, STEVE FINNAN, LEE CARSLEY
MIDFIELD
JASON MC ATEER, MATT HOLLAND, MARK KINSELLA, KENNY CUNNINGHAM, STEPHEN REID, KEVIN KILBANE
STRIKERS
ROBBIE KEANE, DAMIEN DUFF, NIALL QUINN, CLINTON MORRISON, DAVID CONNOLLY
MANAGER
MICK MC CARTHY
--------------------------------------------------
Id have to start by giving Trap the managers job. No offence to Mick but Trap is Trap.
My Mixed Team
GK - Given
D - O'Shea, St Ledger, Dunne(09), Harte
M - Duff, S.Reid, Whelan, McGeady
F - Keane, Quinn
Subs: Finnan, Kilbane, Doyle, Hunt, Kiely, A.Reid
Who is this guy, Trapper Tony?
so basically people are saying we ahve a better team now. This is waht i said all along, but yet people were trying to make out we had better players in 2002. This is the best group of players bar our midfield we have had in a long time.
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
I'd play Stan left back I think, although Harte did have a very good qualifying campaign, it just went downhill from there. Possibly would have Cunningham beside Dunne as well instead of Sledge (Kenny is shown as a MF above). I think a fit Stevie Finnan would have to be there as well. So my back 4 would beOriginally Posted by blobbyblob
Finnan, Dunne, JOSH, Stan/Harte.
The midfield is an interesting one, take Roy Keane out of the midfield we had in 2002 and there isnt much difference between now and then.
Whelan and McGeady in ahead of Kinsella/Holland and McAteer? Not a chance.
Kenny Cunningham was a centre half, not a midfielder, and I'd have him in ahead of St Ledger any day. Ditto Finnan ahead of O'Shea at right-back (although in fairness to O'Shea, given how much I've criticised him, he's been superb this campaign, although mainly at centre-half).
The only players I'd keep from the 2002 squad are the ones still playing - Keane, Duff, Given, Dunne, S Reid.
Jeez - Did Clint go to Japan? - I would never have remembered that
I thought you were off the drink Ronnie?
"No, I drink to help me mind my own business....can I get you one? (c) Ronnie Drew
we had better players in 02 without a doubt. keane and duff were in their prime and players like holland and kinsella played above themselves. we also had niall quinn who, in only limited game time, contributed hugely to our goals v spain and germany. we have lacked a decent big striker since his retirement
ya he played gaelic football out there and he enjoyed it, they said he and duff were two of the better ones at it too.
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
I don't know. Duff was SO much better in 2002. Kilbane was a decent player then. Kelly was a fine right-back. Cunningham was better than Sledge is now....
I'd have Kinsella or Holland ahead of Whelan any day.
Quinn v Doyle is an interesting one.
-------------Given------------
Finnan--O'Shea--Dunne---Stan
McAteer--Reid--Kinsella---Duff
--------Keane--Quinn--------
Given is a far better player now, dunne is a far better player now, better than either stan or cunnigham were(plus dunne didnt really play then), keane was good then but he def wasn't in his prime. Duff was though, thats the one change, finnan is still playing, oshea is better than harte lads no question, he got caught out loads against spain and in general in that world cup. Quinn is not a better player than doyle but he offered something different. Mcgeady is better than mcateer, overall mcateer probably contributed more though. The only change is midfield as bad and all as mr invisible and kinsella were they were still probably better than whelan and andrews. id have holland and whelan almost on a par.
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
haha, do you not remember the team playing a bit of GAA as training, and the media interviewing Clinto afterwards, he was saying,
"yeah, i'm a natural, man, i might take it up"
media guy "you do know you don't get paid, its an amateur sport"
clinto: "maybe not then".
classic. i always thought clinto should've come on against spain instead of david *worst player to ever pull on an ireland shirt* connolly.
also, matt holland would stroll ahead of both whelan and andrews.....
I think Duffer is possibly on the verge on his best run of form since 2002.
Kelly was a fine RB but was on the way down at that stage, in particular his performance V Holland was fairly poor.
Kinsella and Holland did work well together but certainly were better players when Keane was alongside. They did however raise their game in a big way in the WC. I personally think slowly but surely Whelan is developing into a decent player and with a stronger MF alongside ie S Reid he has alot to offer.
Agree re Cunningham V Sledge
I think I would have Quinn above Doyle, similar scoring ratio, but Quinn and Keane worked better together.
One separate point, this months 442 magazine lists the 100 best players in the world. Now I know alot of it is based on the past years form but no sign whatsoever of Given, yet Cech and Reina both are included.
Newcastle was in dire straights last year but the guy put in some incredible performances (V liverpool for one) and Citys defence noticeably improved when he joined.
No surprise there. Given must be in the top-10 most under-rated EPL/World players ever!
One separate point, this months 442 magazine lists the 100 best players in the world. Now I know alot of it is based on the past years form but no sign whatsoever of Given, yet Cech and Reina both are included.
Newcastle was in dire straights last year but the guy put in some incredible performances (V liverpool for one) and Citys defence noticeably improved when he joined.
I think most people who watch the Premier League regularly know how good he is.
In fairness to fans around the world who focus on other leagues, why would you bother to take note of a goalie on a mid-table team which rarely participates in continental competitions?
I'm sure there is a keeper in a similar situation in Italy or France that is highly regarded by fans in those nations but isn't well known around the world.
In order to be viewed as among the best players in the world, you need to play against them at the highest levels of competition. Apart from a little bit of Champions League football with Newcastle, and the 2002 World Cup with Ireland, Shay hasn't really played on a massive stage too often.
That's all true but I still can't believe no (regular) Champion's League-level team ever bought him.
(One other thing, in international games he's kept us in so many matches with incredible saves he'd surely be well known by opposing fans. The name Jorg Stiehl is etched into my brain, for instance!)
Im sure I will be corrected on this but I can only ever remember one goal conceded by Ireland where I felt Shay was at fault and that was versus Greece in a friendly around 2001.
Stroll is a bit strong - Whelan is on the up big time. He is in great form at the moment and has done a job for Ireland. Holland disappeared quickly after WC02.
Who is this guy, Trapper Tony?
Stan had no pace left at all in 2002, but he had a very good tournament at centre back, don't think he would have survived at left back
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