this is all becoming off topic. If you want to discuss the professional status of League of Ireland players, please use the relevant forum
I'm ok with the ongoing discussion on Mandroiu because it's relevant to the squad and the two upcoming games
Originally Posted by ontheotherhand
Just on this, there was a thread on a Huddersfield Town forum, back probably in January or so, asking for other people's opinions on the best player(s) in the Championship (who don't play for Huddersfield), in order to answer a question put to them by a magazine or website.
Several people, none Irish, picked out Conor Hourihane.
When Hourihane scored with a free-kick against Town (a game Town somehow managed to win 4-1) I remember plenty of posters berating Town for not being alive to the threat that Hourihane poses.
He's a very highly regarded player, from what I can see, certainly in that part of Yorkshire. And it ain't just based on the season just gone.
Thierry Henry has a lot to answer for.
Worldwide or for Ireland? Don't think so either way though. I do remember hearing Vincent Thill being the first player born in the 2000s to score an international goal, but that's as close as I recall to anything similar.
I think my phrasing was off - I agree. My point was that he found his level again. Not that he had only just started to find form in the Championship for the first time. He had to drop down to start playing well again.
I'm all in favour of that as well. Would much rather see lads in the squad who are playing every week and doing well in the English Championship or similar than lads who can't get a game in the league above.
To me the difference is mandriou is an actual 10 with proper creative abilities and we have very few if any of those. Towell and horgan and Duffy were the types of players we had lots of when they were dominating the loi. We have such a lack of creative ability we need to try to find a 10 type player . I'd have liked to see crowley included for that reason as well.
I dont disagree that we are crying out for creativity and there is no harm in any player being called up for a training camp to get some experience. In Mandrious case its a look to see how he is alongside better players than hes used to playing with. Hopefully it gives him the motivation to get his attitude right and get a move to a more competitive league.
Crowley needs to figure out his next club move after being released by Birmingham. Its make or break time for him I would say.
I wonder would it have helped his career if he had been? Would he be further along? I don't know enough about him to say how far he could go, but he was very highly rated from an early age. Maybe we should have learned something from Hoolahan. I have long thought we would be better getting high performing young players from the LOI involved, rather than the lower league journeymen we seem to hang our hat on (who make **** all impact for us). Especially now some of the young players can be measured in European competition. Maybe McGrath would be a step further ahead in his development.
Graham Burke is back where he was when he was capped. Probably the only recent direct comparison? I think Jack Byrne was very much on the radar before being capped.
I don't think giving LoI caps really adds a huge amount. There's plenty of club scouting and a sub international cap won't give much extra info
With the new Brexit rules calling up young players from the LOI might become a bit more commonplace to be fair. As Ive said I genuinely love the LOI, I was raised on Galway United from when I was a kid and with the Watch LOI service Im loving that I can see plenty of games in the States now... I dont believe Mandriou is on the same level as Wes ever was but sometimes players surprise us. I hope Im wrong on this one when I say I dont believe he will ever be more than a very good LOI player. The training camp wont hurt, especially when its not like hes taking the place of someone else that really should be there instead.
I think there's a discussion at cross-purposes here. The people saying things like "Mandroiu is the worst player ever selected for an Ireland squad" are not criticising Mandroiu. I think we'd all be happy to see him do well. (Perhaps mainly after leaving Shams!) The point is not to crap on him, it's that the national team has never been so threadbare. It's not like people are pointing to brilliant young players in his position even playing in the Championship who were left out for him.
Someone mentioned Joe Lapira as another candidate for worst ever NT call-up. I remember another widely derided Staunton pick: Alan O'Brien. These days, a young winger at Newcastle getting a call-up wouldn't merit a comment.
You can't spell failure without FAI
I dunno John, if said player was starting a qualifier against Germany I reckon it'd draw some attention.
I actually remember Alan from primary school. He was very fast and powerful but compared to some of the lads in school I don't recall him being that skillful. Sometimes makes me wonder what could have been of some of the players I encountered over the years.
There's a way to get the above sentiment across without needing to call anybody the worst player ever selected or mention their clubmate for no good reason. I think everyone bar the original poster certainly came from the place you suggest above. The original comment....not so much. But who cares ultimately? Maybe he is the worst we've called up. I doubt it but there's an argument to make there - if you really wanted to make it. I'm not sure what that argument achieves for you if the whole point is to discuss how threadbare the national team is though. Why focus on one player as your data point, particularly when it's obvious how far down the pecking order he would be if our better options were available? And why, if you think the team is threadbare, wouldn't you be looking for any and all potential options to develop? Again, the more interesting question for me is - who else should we be looking at in the 10 role?
Re: Alan O'Brien - it wouldn't be a shock these days if he got called up as is.....
I remember him having lightning pace.
He got through on goal with acres of space V Holland in a friendly under Stan and fluffed his lines. We lost 4-0. If he’d scored we might’ve spoken about him a bit more
I have a lot of respect for Daniel Mandroiu, arguably the worst - but zero respect for R.M. Keane - arguably the best.
Doesn’t mean they’re not wrong.
If I said that right now at least, Mandriou is a better footballer than Troy Parrott and Lee O’Connor, I certainly think it’s not a crazy take. And if he’s not the worst player in the current squad, then he’s definitely not the worst player of all time.
There's an argument for that alright. I'm not sure I'd agree, but certainly it's a reasonable view to have.
I don't see why some are so pointed about the topic being discussed. As John says, it's a criticism of our squad, not Mandriou
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