Traps comments on LOI

[Charlie Darwin]

Affirmative action makes sense in a setting where greater access to opportunity permits, encourages and enhances further social progression, but what goal would it achieve exactly in the context of a senior international football team?

I did actually address this in my last post, Daniel. There is universal acknowledgement in world football - even among elite sides like Germany - that the senior national team needs to serve a role in integrating future internationals, not just those players who are currently the best placed to achieve an immediate result. We had Conor Clifford promoted to the senior side under Trap in a non-playing role as he was earmarked as a talent who could benefit from the talent. Any idiot could have told you that Seamus Coleman had the same potential when he was at Sligo, so why wasn't he given the same opportunity?

The only difference between the two players was that Clifford was a promising player at a big club with next to no experience of senior football, whereas Coleman was a promising player with a couple of years of experience of senior football at a lower level. In light of the fact that a good chunk of the current senior team did their apprenticeship at senior level in the League of Ireland, can you explain why one is more deserving of the place than the other? The current international team features more players who came through the League of Ireland as those who came through the big clubs in England.

I'm not categorically saying it is completely futile and will ultimately achieve nothing of substance, but I am struggling to think of how token gestures would truly benefit the league and those players from it selected to the senior team simply in order to meet a quota. I'd be more than happy to have these goals pointed out to me.

Perhaps you need to use your imagination a little more then. I'm not suggesting LOI players are as good as current internationals at Championship or Premier League clubs. I'm suggesting that in terms of their future development, there is little difference and that certain players are earmarked for international development over others when there is little evidence to suggest it is beneficial. We have a good league here that produces a substantial proportion of our playing squad and there is a serious incongruity that said league is never considered as a direct avenue for our players.

[DannyInvincible]

Fair points. To be honest, I'm not as fundamentally opposed to the concept as the position I may appear to have taken, especially in response to Sheridan, might suggest. I'd love to see League of Ireland players fit seamlessly into the senior international set-up, but I think it would devalue their presence if it were merely to satisfy some token recognition. I suppose what I have difficulty with is an urge to try quantify the potential substantive (rather than obvious cosmetic) benefits, but that's always going to be nigh impossible anyway. It all seems a bit vague, uncertain or non-concrete - all very hopeful and "potential" - but I suppose that's part of the risk, or the sacrifice, if you will. Is the feared risk or detriment to the senior international team worth the alleged benefit to the league? If there was a simultaneous and serious drive undertaken by the FAI to help raise the standard of the league, I think my arms would be more open to the prospect of placing League of Ireland players in the senior international squad for reasons other than pure merit. It would have to be part of a broader project of improvement.

[SeanDrog]

I think people are so annoyed with Trappatoni at this stage that no matter what he says he'll get crucified. The point that Sweden and especially Austria have a big advantage in having much stronger leagues than we do in terms of producing players for the national team would strike me as spot on. We rely massively on England to develop our players. We'll never get to a point where we can retain all our players at home, but a stronger league could develop more players to a higher level before they go overseas and the national side would inevitably benefit.

Sack Trap for saying this? I'd rather the FAI actually produced a strategy for the development of the league and coaching in general for the country.

Hey hey hey ... Who do you think you are ! Spoiling a good indignation thread with rational arguments and considered points?

Shame on you MrA ... Shame .

On traps comments I was disgusted tbh, I see your point MrA but the fact was he was the international manager and shouldn't be saying this (no matter how much he might believe it). The fact is we have a league that has to fight tooth and nail to exist. His comments only gave the bar stoolers more ammo to dismiss us.