It's not a case of Westwood being better than the old Given, but the older Given not being as good as the current Westwood.Originally Posted by the bear
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
No point in that until we have learned to mark, if you are not close enough to a player to trip him up, hold hisTC, why don't you get your teeth into a new thread,
Ireland v Italy perhaps?
shirt or elbow him in the face you are not making him properly, clearly our players were not close enough to any of those,
the why were so far away they would have needed a barge pole to tackle them.
The problem is ball watching, the ball cannot score a goal unless someone kicks it (or heads it).
Great points, lads but...the 2 year rule certainly has to apply. I mean we are going into Brazil '14 with Shay? Come on.
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
Van der Sar was very lucky with injuries. Given hasn't been so lucky. He's injured quite often (even when he was in his 20s) and I'd say even when he's "fully fit" that he's carrying all sorts of permanent knocks that he has to deal with.
Greatest Irish keeper ever by far and definitely still the best we have. The question is, as some have pointed out, if it's realistic to think that he's going to be going to Brazil in 2014. He's been absolutely brilliant for 18 years now and the last thing I want to see is him doing a Seaman/Shilton/Bonner as a too old keeper in Brazil in 2014.
Probably best just to see how he gets on at Villa under the new management and take it from there.
Last edited by brine3; 17/06/2012 at 11:58 AM.
I don't think VDS was that great a 'keeper tbh (controversial?) but he had a great presence which is important at big teams.
Funny you should say that, in any conversation about given that is usually the no. 2 bone of contention.
No. 1 being his lack of distribution.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
Well I know that Dion Dublin only has good things to say about Given's distribution.
All joking aside though, I'd say his distribution would have improved if he'd allowed his contract at Newcastle to expire around 2002 or 2003 and fecked off to Arsenal on a free transfer. He spent much too long at Newcastle to be honest. But he always was a very loyal player...
Last edited by brine3; 17/06/2012 at 3:04 PM.
Did Arsenal actually want him though?
Looking like the end of the road for Shay. Trap (in another very messy interview) said he sent a text to Given two weeks ago telling him he was not needed for the Serbia game. Trapatonni did not receive a reply. Trap then added that Given could help mentor Westwood for the Serbia and Kazakhstan games. That should go down well. The interview got even more bizarre as Trap started showing journos a text he received back from Stephen Hunt saying 'No Problem" to being left out of the Serbia game. http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...e-3175346.html
Given should be fully prepared to mentor a new keeper. He knows or shouild know that it's not about him. Given has had the honour of being the custodian of that role for 15 years andhe should be prepared to do his bit to ensure the nerxt custodian is best equiiped to do the job. In another sense though, Westwood might prefer Shay fully off the scene as he could be a distraction and is probably experienced enough not to need the help.
The whole communication thing is an ongoing farce though. Can't Tardelli or even Alan Kelly in this instance communicate what's in Trap's thinking? Shay might be a legend but there's no excuse for not texting back. I respond to virtually every text I receive except spam. It's basic manners, though I don't see why a phone call can't be made. Frickin' amateurs.
For one thing Shay is on his holidays and may not be interested in taking work related calls/texts. For another Trap didn't ask him a question, he informed him of his decision with regards a friendly which he presumably did with the other senior players who weren't called up, what sort of response is he supposed to give exactly? "OK"? He said he'd decide his future over his holidays so he presumably is still thinking about it and will announce a decision when he's ready. He has a new manager as well to consider the wishes of.
The whole mentor thing mentioned by Trap seems a bit silly, Buffon has been Italys keeper for 15 years as well and I don't see anyone suggesting to him that he should hang back a bit and mentor Sirigu. Given is in the prime years for a goalkeeper and has 4 years on his contract at Aston Villa, I doubt he'd accept an invitation to wind down for a few years. Poor communication again by Trap.
Given is over in the States with Villa, played last night against Chicago Fire: http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetai...856677,00.html
He is now, the text was sent 2 weeks ago.
Announced his retirement:BREAKING NEWS: Shay Given has just announced his international retirement. Speaking today Shay said, 'This has been an extremely difficult decision for me to make. I have dedicated 16 years of my life to my country, and I have a great affinity with Giovanni Trapattoni’s squad. I’d like to thank the manager for his support during my time with the team. I will continue to be Ireland’s biggest fan, and wish the lads well as they embark upon their new campaign.’
was just about to post this.
All the best to him.
Can't say I'm overly shocked. He's been fast going downhill in the past year or two due to injuries and the like. All the best to him in the future.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
Sad to see it happen, but if anybody has earned their retirement, then Shay has. Good luck to him and thanks for everything.
To think he has been keeping goal for Ireland since I was 14 years old. It's incredible. He's been Ireland goalkeeper for more than half of my life.
Terrible news, I think Trap and everyone else wished it wouldn't come to this. I'd have my doubts over westwood at the highest and while I hope he does well part of me hopes Shay reconsiders later in the campaign. Saying he was in decline is ridiculous as aside from a poor Euro's he had a wonderful campaign achieving a record of clean sheets along the way. I dare say what little chance we had of finishing top 2 in our qualifying group has vanished, not to mention the precedent it sets for Richard Dunne who is also on the fence.
Of course Shay has the right to make a decision in his best interests, he's earned that and will be remembered as one of our finest ever players. But this is dreadful news for us in the immediate term.
Just heard the news, can't say I am too surprised, he has given (no pun intended) a great service to Ireland over the year and all good things must come to an end.
Also we have a first class replacement in Kieran Westwood, so it's probably a good time to call it a day.
I am sure Westwood will go a great job for us, I won't feel like we are a weakened team with Westwood between the posts.
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