Stephen Carr

[junkie]

I can have respect for players of the likes of Roy Keane and Kenny Cunningham who have played for years, earned a huge amount of caps, wore their heart on the sleeve for their country and who don't have age on their side BUT for a player who is only 29, earned only 39 caps for his country and who has hardly lived up to his perfomances for his club to retire from international football is an absolute outrage.

Stephen Carr you are a disgrace.

Go ahead abandon ship..... we're better off without players like you.

[RedX]

Wish him all the best , was very unlucky with injuries. Would rate Finnan over him myself

dont hold it against any player that decides to retire from international football early - its their lives after all

Dont agree there Cosmo..of course its his own life but at 29 to retire from playing for your country is a bloody disgrace..he should be lucky to represent us..the guy walks around like the weight of the world is on his shoulders and a face that would sour milk..if he only looked at it from our side rather than his millionaire dont give a dam side..

[Colbert Report]

he's fat and unable to get himself into better shape. i'm glad he's gone, finnan is miles ahead of him

[Armando]

As far as I know Carr has never played in a tournament finals with Ireland. This really smacks of throwing in the towel. Where is his hunger? So he's happy just winding down his career at rudderless Newcastle? He hasn't earned the right to announce his retirement from international football - it seems very arrogant. It really makes you appreciate the likes of McGrath, Irwin and Aldridge all the more.

[thejollyrodger]

Where is his hunger

Down in KFC along with Andy Reids

The amount of mistakes Carr made this campaign was criminal. He was lucky to stay on the pitch against the French in Stade de France. The press laid off him because they knew he wanted to throw the towel in.

I wont shed a tear for Taz since we are strong enough in that position. Its one less ego to massage and lets face it, he hasnt been doing it in years.

BYE BYE TAZ. You were crap since the operation anyway.

[4tothefloor]

Stephen Carr was a big pile of sh!te anyway and shouldn't have been getting his game since the Euro 2004 qualifiers. Can anyone actually remember a game in recent years where he played well or stood out, or gave his all? I can't. If you ask me he is probably the most over-rated Irish player currently plying his trade. Carr is no loss cos Finnan is twice the player he is anyway, and more versatile to boot.

Good riddance to him, and the very fact that he is throwing in the towel when a player of his experience is needed the most shows perfectly his attitude....

[brine3]

He was quite a player before he got that injury (remember his performance in Amsterdam), but it has been downhill ever since. Finnan has been better than him for at least four years now.

In fairness, even though he can come across as a bit of an arse he did give it his all when playing for Ireland. Just a shame he sometimes tried to dribble out of defence for no reason and ended up getting caught for pace. (Perhaps the doctors didn't tell him about the extent of his injury.)

So yeah, thanks Stephen and all, but 29 years old?? Look at Cafu, won the World Cup as a right back aged 34.

[Tram_14]

Lazy, disinterested, No vision, complacent & retiring at 29 sums up Carr's attitude. I was outside Slatterys when the team bus went by & carr had such a face on him & he looked embarrased by the fans singing. His last game was terrible, fat, slow & unprofessional.

He's caught in possession too often, can't get by his man & often gets in an argument with his opposite number to disguise a mistake he has just made.

He's been poor for a long time now. No loss.

[Cosmo]

Dont agree there Cosmo..of course its his own life but at 29 to retire from playing for your country is a bloody disgrace..he should be lucky to represent us..the guy walks around like the weight of the world is on his shoulders and a face that would sour milk..if he only looked at it from our side rather than his millionaire dont give a dam side..

In fairness, he's not in the army. If he or any other player is not happy playing with ireland (just like scholes seemed unhappy playing with england for the couple of years before his international retirement), well I wouldnt want them on the pitch for us or for them. Lifes too short

Obviously in the ideal world, playing for your country should be the greatest honour in life, biggest thrill, etc etc (i know it would be for me, still waiting on my first call up )but hey it mightnt be for everyone

[The Bit O'Red]

It's bad form if you ask me, surely at 29 he's still got one campaign left in him.

[Slash/ED]

Stephen Kelly will now have your place and he'll go on to in 70+ caps because he has something you never had - ABILITY.

In fairness, that's nonsense. First of all, lets not be building Kelly up just yet. Second of all, whatever about his attitude, before his injury at least Carr had ability and bags of it. A very good player, and he's still a competent premiership class full back.

[livehead1]

i remember before his injury at spurs. barcelona were interested in signing him, he was outstanding in attack and defence. i dont like him but i think he maybe realises hes gettin picked because of past reputation...jst another angle

[Qwerty]

To all you naysayers and losers I say sod off. Carr and everyone else on the Ireland team has done more than any of youze losers ever will, get off your bar stool and go home to the ould wan.

[Marked Man]

Dont agree there Cosmo..of course its his own life but at 29 to retire from playing for your country is a bloody disgrace..he should be lucky to represent us..the guy walks around like the weight of the world is on his shoulders and a face that would sour milk..if he only looked at it from our side rather than his millionaire dont give a dam side..

And you honestly don't see any irony in your talking this way about a player who retired early from playing for Ireland?

[Slash/ED]

He went on loan to the first division. He looks like he could be a good player, hopefully he can be a great one, but lets not start hyping him up already before he's proven himself. Carr atm is a competent, decent premiership level full back, at his best he was far better than that. It is wrong to say both that he didn't ever have any ability and that Kelly was better than he ever was. It's just not true no matter how much you want it to be, though fingers crossed the Kelly one will be true one day.

[gustavo]

To all you naysayers and losers I say sod off. Carr and everyone else on the Ireland team has done more than any of youze losers ever will, get off your bar stool and go home to the ould wan.

hehe are you serious!
of course he has done more for the team than i ever will thats cos i am useless at playing football if i was as good as him though i would regard it as an honour to play for my country and would not quit untill i retired altogether

[Irish Pride]

What a disgrace. I use to like Carr but since he came back from injury he hasnt been the same, but with the likes of Cunningham/Keane and maybe Breen retiring the Irish team is going to need leaders and i thought Carr might of stepped up but he has just show us what a disgrace he is.

Retiring at 29 with 39 caps and played a no international touraments. And does he not know that there is a European Tourament in 2008???

Good Riddens....Finnan and Kelly will do the job now. I've lost all respect for Carr.

[Qwerty]

hehe are you serious!
of course he has done more for the team than i ever will thats cos i am useless at playing football if i was as good as him though i would regard it as an honour to play for my country and would not quit untill i retired altogether

Yes I am, this thread is infantile. Carr has been playing for Ireland probably since he was 14 or 15 - realistically we are not going to qualify for Euro2008 so he is making way so that younger plaers can get a chance. If there was any player in the 1st 11 who wanted to get a to a World Cup it was Carr. You should be thanking him for his years of service

[Zidane]

I cant belive that a player would give up International football at 29. He might have used the excuse that that he cant mix club commitment and international fixtures. Newcastle are not playing in the Champions League or look as if they are going to be playing it in the next few years.

There is the European Championship in 2008 and he would have been one of the elder statesmen in the team and could have offered experience. I feel that he could have stuck around and helped Ireland and up and coming players who are going to be brought into the squad.

I have had this feeling recently that the Irish games are too much of a commitment to some players and he was one that I felt didnt want to be there.

Somebody else said on another forum that they would give their right b*ollox to play for Ireland, well I would give my left one and I just question some players commitment and do they give a b*ollox.

I really felt he was going to be a qualty player before his injury and I was sorry to see him miss out on the world cup with his injuries.

Sad to see any player retire, but if you dont want to be around then see you later.

[Hither green]

What a disgrace. I use to like Carr but since he came back from injury he hasnt been the same, but with the likes of Cunningham/Keane and maybe Breen retiring the Irish team is going to need leaders and i thought Carr might of stepped up but he has just show us what a disgrace he is.

Retiring at 29 with 39 caps and played a no international touraments. And does he not know that there is a European Tourament in 2008???

Good Riddens....Finnan and Kelly will do the job now. I've lost all respect for Carr.

I agree, a great player before his operation but has never really refound his form. And it says something for his attitude that he's retiring at 29. I bet if he refinds his form and we refind our form he'll reconsider and frankly he can fcuk off.

I think it's probably good for us anyway. Finnan's about the same age isn't he. It saves us doing the usual trick of having 2 players of the same age fighting over the one position, not blooding back up and then being left high and dry when they both retire at the same time. Hopefully giving Kelly a few games may help him with his club place too.