Best Ireland XI based outside of England/Scotland

**Charlie Darwin** · 14/10/2012, 6:49 PM

Inspired by this thread on reddit asking people to pick their best national XI from players based outside their country, how about an Irish team made exclusively of players not based on the mainland?

Thinking about it, most countries outside the top 4 would be mostly made up of foreign-based players, but we're one of the few whose home-based players have not a hope of international involvement. Scotland could possibly be included, though seeing as it's the #2 destination for Irish players it makes sense to leave it out.

The rules are that the player has to be Irish-eligible and to have expressed some interest in lining out for us. Feel free to pitch in your own suggestions.

Possible XI:

Ryan Meara (NY Red Bulls)

Seamus Conneely (Sligo Rovers) Darren O'Dea (Toronto FC) Andy O'Brien (Vancouver Whitecaps) Patrick Kohlmann (Union Berlin)

Barry Maguire (VV Venlo) Liam Miller (Perth Glory) Ronan Finn (Shamrock Rovers)

Liam Lawrence (PAOK) Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy) Aiden McGeady (Spartak Moscow)

Goalkeeper: The hardest area to pick from. Randolph would be the natural option if I'd included Scotland, but otherwise it's between Meara and Sean McDermott, with the former getting the nod for some first-team experience. Nobody in the Airtricity League is good enough.

Defence: Right-back goes to an Airtricity League player by default as apparently there are none based anywhere other than England. O'Dea and O'Brien are obvious, and Kohlmann is more to do with a lack of outstanding options in Ireland.

Midfield: McGeady and Lawrence pick themselves, as does Miller. Maguire could be argued either way and Finn is the best player in Ireland. Maguire could be left out for a second striker.

Attack: There should be no debate over Keane, although some people will try to argue that Billy Mehmet is better. Other options include Rhys Murphy in Holland and Eamon Zayed in Iran, although I'm not sure if his Libya caps in the Pan-Arab Games count as competitive fixtures.

**AlaskaFox** · 14/10/2012, 8:35 PM

Chris Forrester and Christy Fagan have to be contenders.

**nigel-harps1954** · 14/10/2012, 8:51 PM

Can we just play a League of Ireland select friendly match against some nation for the craic during the off season?

**Charlie Darwin** · 14/10/2012, 8:55 PM

The FAI would never sanction a team that would show up their own side.

**backstothewall** · 14/10/2012, 9:45 PM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Inspired by this thread on reddit asking people to pick their best national XI from players based outside their country, how about an Irish team made exclusively of players not based on the mainland?

On the what?

**tetsujin1979** · 14/10/2012, 11:37 PM

Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

Can we just play a League of Ireland select friendly match against some nation for the craic during the off season?

isn't the u23 side chosen exclusively from the League of Ireland?
the teams that played against Manchester United and in the Dublin Super Cup at the Aviva stadium were league of Ireland selections, minus players involved in European competitions

**Closed Account 2** · 15/10/2012, 9:58 AM

There is Robert Cullen (mum is Japanese, dad is from Antrim) who plays at VVV Venlo, but used to play in the J-League and did well at Jubilo Iwata, he's been sounded out by the North but we could get under the Good Friday rules too.

**peadar1987** · 15/10/2012, 10:05 AM

If you want to bend the rules, you can have Stephen McPhail (Cardiff City) in there.

**ifk101** · 15/10/2012, 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo

There is Robert Cullen (mum is Japanese, dad is from Antrim) who plays at VVV Venlo, but used to play in the J-League and did well at Jubilo Iwata, he's been sounded out by the North but we could get under the Good Friday rules too.

Oh no ....

**DannyInvincible** · 15/10/2012, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by backtowalsall

On the what?

After Friday, maybe he's suggesting the Craggy Island or Rugged Island all-priests five-a-side over-75s indoor teams would be worth a look? Unfortunately, I don't think Sensini would be eligible though.

**Murfinator** · 15/10/2012, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by backtowalsall

On the what?

Saw that and figured it was ironic, if not then charlie must be living in the 1800's.

**BonnieShels** · 15/10/2012, 1:40 PM

Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo

There is Robert Cullen (mum is Japanese, dad is from Antrim) who plays at VVV Venlo, but used to play in the J-League and did well at Jubilo Iwata, he's been sounded out by the North but we could get under the Good Friday rules too.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...

**Metrostars** · 15/10/2012, 2:46 PM

No love for Joe Lapira then?

**Olé Olé** · 15/10/2012, 3:11 PM

The Killoran twins, Niall and Colin, at one loan in Japanese League 2 from Tokyo Verdy. Wiki has Irish flags beside their names but Colin has represented Japan at under-19 level. Their international futures are undecided, as far as I know.

Ones for the future perhaps.

**nigel-harps1954** · 15/10/2012, 5:57 PM

Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

isn't the u23 side chosen exclusively from the League of Ireland?
the teams that played against Manchester United and in the Dublin Super Cup at the Aviva stadium were league of Ireland selections, minus players involved in European competitions

Can't remember the last time the u23 team played. Must only have been one or two games in total.

The Super cup teams we're without European involved players as you said. Obviously hindering the quality of the team.

**osarusan** · 16/10/2012, 1:04 AM

Originally Posted by Olé Olé

The Killoran twins, Niall and Colin, at one loan in Japanese League 2 from Tokyo Verdy. Wiki has Irish flags beside their names but Colin has represented Japan at under-19 level. Their international futures are undecided, as far as I know.

Ones for the future perhaps.

Both are on loan at Giravanz Kitakyushu from Tokyo Verdy, another J-2 team. They are young, but in general J2 is not the place to find future stars. Tokyo Verdy are challenging for the playoff places (just behind my beloved Yokohama FC), but the Killorans are on loan to a club lower down the table. I was at a Tokyo Verdy game last year (they beat my beloved Yokohama FC 7-2) and there were a couple of tricolours with the Killoran's names on them.

Robert Cullen was on a downward trajectory, having left Jubilo for Roasso Kumamoto - he went to a team that were and are in the lower half of J2. I'm not sure what VVV Venlo saw in him, but he has a scoring rate of 1 goal every 8 games for them. I remember reading on here that he had previously been uninterested in representing NI, and had underage caps for Japan. He's 27 now.