Starts for Burnley again today away to Bournemouth. Stephen Ward and Jeff Hendrick also start. Robbie Brady on the bench.
Arter is in midfield for Bournemouth.
'Kevin Long poised to miss his brother's wedding after getting first Ireland call-up': http://www.the42.ie/kevin-long-irela...92560-May2017/
Originally Posted by The42.ie
Long's call up is a bit silly - it doesn't need to be explained why.
If I was Sheridan, or Manning, I would be getting a bit irritated by this.
The random nature of it in my opinion. Andy Boyle and John Egan just made their debuts in March and we have several other players in those positions. Manning can cover three different positions. Not to mention the fact that he has impressed over a longer period of time.
We have a severe shortage of strikers. Long is injured and God forbid Murphy, McGoldrick and Walters will be forced to drop out; they have all had injury problems this year alone.
There has been a call for Sheridan and Maguire to get a call up for 6 months now. MON must surely know there will be a backlash if someone like Kevin Long gets called up on the back of one performance.
Why would there be a backlash and by whom? Again, why would Maguire and Sheridan be irritated by a defender being called up as Tets asked?
I think it's quite obvious why there would be a backlash. There is - by International standards - a lengthy gathering. There are several matches. Even if Maguire or Sheridan weren't in the reckoning to feature against Austria, they could conceivably get match time in America. Even if they weren't to feature in any of the games, MON could invite them to train with the squad.
We are not blessed with strikers. And the ones we do have (Walters, Murphy and Doyle) could all be retired by the next campaign and (McGoldrick and Rooney) aren't favored by MON, and are aging regardless.
Long is injured. What happens if Walters or Murphy get struck down? Is he going to stick to his guns again like he did when we were playing Iceland and had Doyle and Long as the only strikers in the squad?
As for the whom, there are plenty of articles and plenty of journalists questioning their exclusions online. Several pundits and managers in the domestic game have questioned it; Mick Cooke the latest.
It's been a talking point for over 6 months now.
Why would they be irritated? Maybe because there is a dearth of strikers available to us and their continued exclusions show a distinct lack of confidence in their ability. I've mentioned it before but we have Keogh, Clark, Duffy, O'Shea, Pearce, Boyle, Egan and McShane off the top of my head before bringing Long into consideration.
And I appreciate the fact that Long is going to miss his brother's wedding, it shows dedication to the cause that others lack, but it's not him I'm having a go at.
When the Austria game concludes we have four games left and will be approaching the end of the campaign. If Maguire and Sheridan don't get call ups now, they could conceivably be waiting a minimum of 6 months to get another opportunity, and the odds will be against them breaking into the squad in the event we do qualify for Russia.
The lack of forward planning is quite annoying. If Murphy, Doyle and Walters retire (touch wood) we are essentially left with Long and two strikers (McGoldrick and Rooney) who have about 5 caps between them.
Kevin Long's post-Uruguay match interview with Tony O'Donoghue: http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10734755
The42.ie has an in-depth look at Kevin Long's career to date and the seemingly-relentless injury troubles he has overcome: http://www.the42.ie/kevin-long-25-ju...56612-Jun2017/
Opportunity for Long to cement his place in the first-team squad at Burnley? Michael Keane on his way to Everton: http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/40447200
New deal from Burnley, a three year one. he had a year remaining on the old one. No big money signing that I can see to replace Keane there so maybe he is about to get his shot.
http://www.skysports.com/football/ne...eal-at-burnley
Long doesn't get the start for the first game of the season against Chelsea. Walters is on the bench with him.
Brady, Hendrick and Ward all start though for the Clarets.
I think Long will get his chance. I thought tarkowski was poor today
Rare start for Long today, at centre-half against Spurs. He and the rest of the team had a rough 90 minutes, and he gave away a soft penalty to Dele Alli and was given the runaround by Kane.
he's started three of Burnley's last four league games, mainly due to injury and suspension, and should be involved in their next fixture away to United on St Stephen's Day.
Incidentally, today was his fifth start of the season, he only managed four in total in 2016/17
Think he started a week or two ago too I remember commenting on the 3 Irish playing at Burnley despite the absence of Brady.
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