Your player ratings for our tournament?

[Murfinator]

No sense shying away from it I suppose.

Given: 3
Had his three worst games in an Irish shirt in quick succession, uncharacteristic to the extreme for one of our greatest ever players. Questions must be raised about his fitness and confidence after this.

John O'Shea: 2
Failed to pick up his man frequently in a misfiring back line and most notably distributed woefully throughout the tournament. Playing on the same flank as Duff and not giving him a single pass to feet during the Croatian game is a telling statistic. Offered nothing in attack. With Kelly and Coleman around his time may be up after this tournament.

Richard Dunne: 7
Nevershort of effort and frequently did the job of two men in the defensive unit, made several crucial blocks and regularly lacked the support from his comrades. His significance was exemplified by being both our focal point in defence and attack being double marked at every set piece. We cannot rely this heavily on one player.

Sean St Ledger: 4
Croatian goal masks what was a very poor performance and a tournament where he was badly exposed at this level. Far too slow to cover and frequently beaten in the air, not short of effort but found his level.

Stephen Ward: 2
This was a man who found his level long ago during the qualifiers and why we came to a major tournament with him and only him as our LB options is poor preparation from the manager. He would usually be targeted but such was the poor display from JOS and Sledge that there were so many routes to goal his frailties weren't singled out. Added to an embarassing defensive display with poor positioning and dreadful distribution. Presented himself in attack more than O'Shea though frequently gave away possession in those areas.

Glenn Whelan: 1
Terrible passing statistics, was beaten by freaking McGeady on tackling and never even so much as presented himself to take the pressure off the fullbacks. Showed no heart, no effort and offered absolutely nothing in any capacity. What his job is in this team must come under severe questioning and should be the first one to be shown the door approaching the next campaign.

Keith Andrews: 7
Showed the kind of passion and heart that we'd expected from Irish teams that was bizarrely absent from this tournament. Our most dangerous attacking playing against Croatia and a physical presence in the centre. Still lacking majorly in passing stats and being an outlet but did enough elsewhere to justify his presence. Has been our go-to big game player for some time now, needs to be paired in midfield with someone who compliments his abilities.

Damien Duff: 7
Such a shame we don't have more with his natural talent, as ever he protected possession well which provided invaluable relief for a team almost entirely under pressure. Struggles for pace to beat his man these days but almost always wins a set piece or sucks in an extra defender before releasing a pass. Would like to see him explored as a central option, his ball retention is something we simply won't find anywhere else.

Aidean McGeady: 7
Given very little quality possession to make any attacking breaks with severely limiting his potential in such a role. He's improved hugely on his tracking back game and in attack frequently got a cross in despite being double marked. Never replicated his form as against Bosnia but still opposition recognised him as the primary threat. Some of our brighter moments against Spain involved him stealing possession centrally, I'd like to see him cutting inside a lot more. Was oddly criticised by Trap after the Croatian game.

Kevin Doyle: 7
Doyle's job in the Trap system is a simple one as a defensive forward. He's asked to be the targetman, win knockdowns and earn us possession high up the field. He did a decent job of winning knockdowns, the tactic didn't work due to lack of support from other players. Mainly Andrews and Whelan. Bizarrely scapegoated through early substitutions and being omitted against Spain as our campaign began to unravel. Should we move away from the long ball game his place will no longer be justified although within this system he did his job here.

Robbie Keane: 4
Very difficult to judge Robbie when he was given next to no service for the entire tournament. He is and always has been a goalscorer and has the stats to prove it. It's never been his game to drop into midfield, create chances or retain position. He's a finisher and nothing else, when there is nothing to finish there is nothing for him to do. I can't recall us creating a single chance from open play in 3 games which is depressing.

Simon Cox: 1
Asked to do a very specific job of sitting on Xabi Alonso. Did it awfully, can feel aggrieved since such a role isn't in his skillset. Generally looked lost at this level.

Jon Walters: 6
Notably came on against Spain and did Cox's job infinitely better than him contributing to his finally getting some field position. Never really hugely involved in attack due to lack of creation elsewhere.

[backstothewall]

Shay Given: 3 - I can only assume Shay's twin brother was in goal, and the real Shay is tied up in a shed in Donegal somewhere. If this is the performance level we can expect from Shay in the future, we need a new goalkeeper, and so do Aston Villa.

John O'Shea: 3 - Amongst our worst players. His primary defensive weapon seems to be pulling at peoples shirts these days. Distribution was equally awful. Never finished giving the ball away.

Richard Dunne: 5 - Not our worst player but failed to perform anywhere near even his normal levels, never mind Moscow.

Sean St Ledger: 6 - One of our best players. Defended well, passed the ball well for a centre back. Not personally for any opposition goals as far as I can remember, and even chipped in with one at the other end.

Stephen Ward: 2 - To blame for concession of several goals. Found out badly, and our worst player in my opinion.

Glenn Whelan: 4 - Whelan is a journeyman professional, not overly blessed with talent, but usually capable of passing the ball. But not so in the last 3 games. Right to complain about being outnumbered in midfield, but all the things that Andrews gets credit for were absent from his performance

Keith Andrews: 6 - Probably our best player. Battles manfully against all the odds, and comes away with a lot of credit for his efforts, even if he was attempting the impossible

Damien Duff: 6 - Even if the legs aren't what they were, he has the intelligence to add something to the mix. Remains to be seen if he will carry on but would be a big loss.

Aidean McGeady: 5 - Contemptible performance against Spain. Better last night, and probably unlucky to be subbed.

Kevin Doyle: 5 - Always puts in a honest shift, but Walters does the same job better.

Robbie Keane: 5 - Very difficult to rate. No service at all and asked to do a job he can't do v Spain.

Simon Cox: 5 - Taking a lot of heat, unfairly in my opinion. Doesn't decide what job the manager asks him to do. Not a great tournament, but far from the worst performer

Jon Walters: 6 - Added something every time he came one.

James McClean: 5 - Only a very brief cameo, but failed to live up to the hype

[Carrigaline]

Shay Given - 4

I am gutted for Shay. This was supposed to be his swansong, but it turned out to be more of a nightmare. Whether it was fitness or injury, I don't know, but he really struggled badly and he just seemed so much slower and lethargic that he used to be. It seemed that shots he would have stopped for fun a few years ago were going in and saves he should have held were being palmed badly into opposition strikers feet. Even his kicking which is usually solid for us was poor. Our goalkeeping situation is so bad though, that it's not like we can dismiss his future completely.

John O'Shea - 4

I like John, but it seems pretty clear that he just doesn't have the legs or the game to play full back anymore. He was particularly bad last night for the Italian game where he could easily have been sent off for repeatedly fouling as he struggled badly with his man. Like Given, I wouldn't write him off completely, but I really think his future is going to be in central defence and I don't think he should even be a guaranteed starter there either.

Sean St. Ledger - 5

Scored our only goal of the tournament and wasn't our worst player by any means. I don't think him and Dunne can be blamed for being completely overrun for just about every one of our games. If I was starting a team tomorrow, I think I would still have St. Ledger in it, but I would definitely be looking at alternatives as I no longer think the Dunne/St Ledger partnership is beyond reproach. He is a warrior, but his lack of ability on the ball is a bit of a worry. I don't think he is as bad as Whelan or Ward, but it would be nice to see more composure.

Richard Dunne - 5

Did as well as St. Ledger in my eyes but was a bit short of his characteristic best. Like St. Ledger, he had his best game against Italy, and other than one howler he he had for the final Croatian goal, he did alright. Made a few crucial blocks and tackles at other times, so I still think he has the legs to give us at least one more campaign as our first choice central defender. It's not like we have a few lads queuing up either to take his place. Considering his excellent service, we would be foolish to get rid of him.

Stephen Ward - 3

A lot of folks before this tournament said that Ward would be the downfall of this team and unfortunately, he proved them right (even though there were others). There is no questioning Ward's mentality or his effort. The problem is that his ability at left back just falls so far short of where we need to be as a team. Seems to tuck in too close to the central defenders which meant McGeady was practically playing as a full back. Not comfortable on the ball at all and when closed down, he will just give the ball away cheaply. I do not think he has a future at all at left back.

Damien Duff - 5

Duff worked his socks off for us as usual, but he struggled badly in our system that has wingers pegged back and playing almost as full backs. I think our system suited him even less than McGeady who still has the legs to make a run over near the full length of the pitch. I think if we are going to utilize Duff, then the system has to change and our wingers need to play a much more advanced position so that he can use his natural trickery on the ball to beat a player and whip a cross in. Unfortunately though, it looks like we won't be seeing Duff in and Ireland shirt again.

Glen Whelan - 3

Along with Ward, these two players were our joint-worst of the tournament. I think it's simply disgraceful that Whelan achieved a pass completion rate of just 36% against the Italians, considering they weren't closing him down anywhere near as much as Croatia or Spain did. For all his vaunted defensive abilities, we didn't see much of that on display either. I know he tried hard, he put himself about, closed down space, but he has so many mistakes in him and his passing is so poor that we simply can't carry him. I think he needs dropping entirely from the squad.

Keith Andrews - 6

Vilified for a long time, but he was unquestionably our best player and a warrior for us in all our games. He was probably our biggest direct goal threat as he tried quite a few shots, unfortunately a lot of which were off target. At 31, he is not getting any younger, but I would still be inclined to keep around as he will be a good option to have and a good influence on some of the younger players. It really is such a shame that he wasn't that little bit more composed on the ball, and just a little better at passing

Aiden McGeady - 6

I see a lot of folks slated McGeady yet again in this tournament and some numpties are even calling for him to be removed from the squad. If people can look past their prejudices though, they will see that in footballing terms, McGeady was easily our best footballer. His passing completion ratio is the highest out of all our lads, the number of successful tackles and interceptions he made was greater than that of the likes of Glen Whelan, who is supposed to be good at that sort of thing. Yes, he is inconsistent, but any of the chances he did get, he created them usually out of nothing himself. Unquestionably a first team player for us.

Robbie Keane - 4

Yes, he tried, but unfortunately, he just looked way out of his depth and was played in a dreadful position. The few times he got the ball over the top to run onto, he didn't have the beating of the defenders. His hold-up skills from the air are practically non-existent and we didn't help his cause by just lumping the ball up to him. I really don't understand why Trap didn't tell him to drop further back into midfield so he could try pick up the ball off the midfielder, or else have Doyle/Walters knock it down into "the hole". Keane has said he will stay on and while I don't want to write him off, I think we need to look at other players who have the legs to play as our leading centre forward. If we are going to play him, we need to play to his strengths!

Kevin Doyle - 5

Given a hard task to perform in trying to outmatch the giant Croatian centre backs, he did have a bit more joy against the Italians. While still not looking the Doyle of old, his last match did show a few flashes of his old form that made him a first name on the team sheet. The problem with Doyle for me is that Jon Walters plays the exact same role as him, so I really struggle to see why we would have both players in a squad. If anything, Walters edges it slightly for me.

Simon Cox - 5

Brought on as winger for the Croatian game where he tried, but was largely ineffective. For the Spanish game, I thought he was much better in the central link up role, but like just about everyone that night, we were badly played off the park. I think he still has a role to play in the Irish squad, but unfortunately for him, he hasn't quite played his way into being a central part of the team. He certainly shouldn't be vilified.

Jonathan Walters - 5

Brought on as the battering ram in a few games and did alright. I don't recall him being given a single decent chance, but you do have to admire his work rate and his skill in the air.

Paul Green - Came on and had an even poorer game then Glen Whelan, no future in this team. I feel for poor Darron Gibson.

James McClean - Ineffective in his cameo and looked a bit of a headless chicken.

Shane Long - Shunted out to the wing where he was ineffective.

[brine3]

Shay Given: 5 - Palming balls away instead of catching it, totally misjudging Cassano's shot yesterday and throwing it out for a corner (lucky for him it didn't bounce into the net). He's been nothing short of a superhero for the last 15 years but time is starting to take its toll. Should go now, as much as it pains me to say it. I give him a 5 anyway because he pulled off the save of the tournament so far against Spain. Greatest Irish keeper ever by far.

John O'Shea: 4 - John O'Shea is a mystery. When he was playing for Man Utd he always looked decent for them. But for us he has consistently been a long ball merchant. Full-back isn't his thing. Has a future as a centre-back in the squad.

Richard Dunne: 6 - When everything around you is falling down there's not much you can do. The first Spanish goal summed up the tournament. Great tackle from Dunne, but nobody there to clean up. Torres scores.

Sean St Ledger: 4 - Aside from the goal he got shown up badly at this level. Useless in posession, and posession is 9/10ths of the game.

Stephen Ward: 2 - Gives the ball away and can't defend.

Glenn Whelan: 2 - Gives the ball away more than he gets it back. May as well be playing for the other team.

Keith Andrews: 5 - Tried a lot and played to his potential. But not good enough.

Damien Duff: 7 - Our best player, wasted out on the wing and covering for the full-back. One of the few Irish players I felt comfortable watching when he was on the ball. Smart and economical in posession.

Aidean McGeady: 6 - Decent, showed he can play some football but stuck in a team with a load of cavemen.

Kevin Doyle: 5 - Copied from above: "Always puts in a honest shift, but Walters does the same job better. "

Robbie Keane: 4 - Finished. Not captain material either.

Simon Cox: 5 - Fourth choice striker at West Brom asked to play midfield against the greatest midfield in world football. Did his best. Unsurprisingly it wasn't good enough.

Jon Walters: 6 - Decent striker, holds on to the ball.

James McClean: n/a Wasn't on long enough to be judged.

Paul Green: Why was he anywhere near the squad?

[mark12345]

Player Ratings

Given 4, O'Shea 0, Ward 1, Dunne 3, St Ledger 4, Whelan 0, Andrews 2, Duff 4, McGeady 4, Keane 2, Doyle 4, Walters 4, Cox 3

No player deserves to get a 5 grade for Ireland. They were all so woeful, and those performances coming from so called Premier League stars.

Keane deserves some blame as captain in that he wasn't more forceful with Trap about the system, and the substitutions.

Dunne deserves a large slice of blame for not organizing the defence

[Stuttgart88]

Miguel Delaney's hits and misses of the tournament

As the dust settles on Ireland’s European championship flop Miguel Delaney looks at the successes and failures in Poland and where Giovanni Trapattoni can go from here.

Irish Hits

Keith Andrews: The single moment of frustration and anger at the end of the tournament shouldn’t overshadow the many more moments of fine play and effort. Andrews was Ireland’s best performer over the three games by some distance. Really, he was the only player who applied the spirit of Paris, regularly performing at optimum level. That, in effect, ensured that he was able to almost play two positions at once and, as such, wasn’t as overrun as his midfield partner Glenn Whelan. A classic example came in the first half of the Croatia game. In one minute, Andrews was trying to push things on by driving play forward. In the next, he was successfully hounding Luka Modric.

Shane Long:
Increasingly becoming the most complete forward in the team. With Robbie Keane fading, he offers the industry of Jon Walters but better finishing than Kevin Doyle. Just look at his immediate impact on coming on against Italy: he instantly exchanged a defence-opening one-two with Doyle to force Daniele De Rossi into a necessary tactical foul when the score was at 1-0. It beggars belief that Trapattoni didn’t play him as the lone front man against Spain, a position in which he has excelled for West Brom.

Jon Walters: The easy option here would be to include James McClean given that he provided the campaign’s biggest cheer beyond Sean St Ledger’s goal by coming on against Spain. What’s more, he once again became a better player by not really appearing. Walters, however, did appear a lot and did always cause problems and occupy defenders’ minds when he was brought on. With the two substitute forwards, there is of course an element of having a better opportunity to impress because the game is more open by then but, like Long, Walters did his best with that opportunity.

Irish Misses
Stephen Ward: You’ll rarely find a more honest and down-to-earth player as Ward. But the honest assessment is that, as many feared beforehand, he’s simply not good enough for the level.

Indeed, that harsh truth set the tone for Ireland’s tournament. It was down his flank that Darijo Srna drove to send in the cross for Mario Mandzukic to score that first goal and immediately send the squad’s campaign into a tailspin. Of course, that only came about because Slaven Bilic specifically targeted the Wolves full-back. Sadly, Ward was repeatedly exposed.

Glenn Whelan: For so long, Whelan has been unfairly maligned because of the specific role Trapattoni has demanded of him. In this tournament though, that reached tipping point. First, the manner in which he was repeatedly outmanoeuvred became a symbol of how out of date Trapattoni’s system is in the modern international game. Second, he made errors that the system couldn’t really account for beyond exhaustion: a pointed example was the manner in which he turned his back for the Italian corner that led to Antonio Cassano’s game-changing goal.

Robbie Keane: There can be no denying that Keane is Ireland’s greatest ever striker. But, equally, there can be no denying that the currency of his goalscoring record is starting to fall. In many ways, Keane has become Ireland’s version of Raul for Spain in 2006. His previous feats mean it’s very difficult to drop him but, the more he plays and the less mobile he becomes, the more he compromises the system. Worse, it seems he will next become the squad’s David Beckham: not knowing when to call it a day. We’re not quite at that stage yet but the evidence of this tournament suggests we’re getting there.

Formation
Giovanni Trapattoni is rarely for turning. Indeed, we’ve now become used to him suggesting far-reaching changes in the immediate aftermath of troubling games only to then revert to form the following morning. Take his talk about three in the middle after the Hungary match. Euro 2012 though, might well have provided a reality check a little too stark.

If Ireland are to make any serious inroads in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, it seems he will have to at least switch to three in the centre of midfield. And, if there are a few expected retirements and steps back from certain players, there is at least the possibility of intrigue.

Here, we’ve set the team out in a 4-2-3-1. The most obvious change is James McCarthy’s superior positional sense and intelligent range of passing replacing Glenn Whelan.

The most potentially interesting change, however, comes in front of McCarthy. Here, there are actually more options than are immediately apparent. Directly ahead of the more defensive midfield two, for example, you can have the range of shooting and passing that Darron Gibson provides or the potentially riotous movement of Aiden McGeady. The Spartak Moscow attacker, after all, is a player whose energy is sapped by defensive responsibility... so why not absolve him of it completely? That generally marks a transformation in his game. Unless that proves a little too radical and McGeady remains on the wing, Damien Duff’s expected absence could finally provide an opportunity for a hopefully revitalised Seamus Coleman.

Ahead of all that, either Shane Long or Jon Walters would appear the most appropriate choices for the role of foraging lone front man, with Ciaran Clark maybe taking Stephen Ward’s place at left-back.

[Murfinator]

Surprised O'Shea escaped from Delaney's piece.
It would seem from reading on here and journalist pieces that Ward, O'Shea and Whelan have been the primary culprits for our poor performance with some divided opinion about Keane both up front and as captain.

[Stuttgart88]

Yep, surprised O'Shea didn't get a mention.

O'Shea has never convinced me at full back and a player of his experience just should have done much better. Ward tried his hardest but just isn't good enough. Bear in mind he's a late convert to left back. Thanks Mick

I think there are mitigating circumstances to Whelan's showing but I think we have better options than him now anyway.

[CraftyToePoke]

Shane Long:
Increasingly becoming the most complete forward in the team. With Robbie Keane fading, he offers the industry of Jon Walters but better finishing than Kevin Doyle. Just look at his immediate impact on coming on against Italy: he instantly exchanged a defence-opening one-two with Doyle to force Daniele De Rossi into a necessary tactical foul when the score was at 1-0. It beggars belief that Trapattoni didn’t play him as the lone front man against Spain, a position in which he has excelled for West Brom.

I thought from the moment he stepped onto the field we were immeasurably better also. We played a bit of football, and attacked while doing it. It is my biggest regret of a fairly low point laden tournament that we didn't see this happen till 30 mins or less remaining in a game there was nothing on anyway. Still, Longs determination to announce himself to the world was great to see, and his confidence to do so. Could only have been bettered by Gibson being there to pick his runs out as well. Long would have won our player of the tournament at a canter I reckon.

[mark12345]

Yep, surprised O'Shea didn't get a mention.

O'Shea has never convinced me at full back and a player of his experience just should have done much better.

And he's not much of a center back either to be honest. The two goals we conceded to Italy at Croke Park were down to him. I can remember (about 13 / 14 years ago) O'Shea effecting a tackle on Gianfranco Zola at Stamford Bridge, sliding in and coming away with the ball. It was something no one ever did on the Italian. I thought to myself that this kid was going to be the next Paul McGrath. What a bitter disappointment he has been.

[tetsujin1979]

wasn't he full back in that game too?

[Stuttgart88]

Wasn't JOS' first meaningful action in green giving away a needless handball at home to Croatia, giving them a late penalty? I defended him against some knee jerk rubbish over the years but I struggle to think when he has ever really done anything that good for us. Slovakia away maybe?

[Acornvilla]

Given's not given any blame in that article, a bit laughable really. I love Shay but he was shocking all tournament, injury or no injury.