You can't just clear out an international squad the same way you can clear out a club side. The only reason someone should be left out of a squad is if there's someone better to come in.
Cunningham has already retired; apparently a couple more may follow (Breen, Holland and Kilbane being mentioned on Aertel). I assume Roy Keane has retired for good now as well.
Who's going to make the step up from the U-21s? Not many, from what I've seen. Maybe they just look mediocre because they're got a poor manager. Glenn Whelan, Joey O'Brien, Stephen Ireland, Willo Flood, Darren Potter, Wayne Henderson and Stephen Kelly are getting first-team football at varying degrees now; O'Brien in the UEFA Cup with Bolton, Potter in the CL with Liverpool. Unforunately, we need a left-back, a creative midfielder and a forward more than anything. I don't think any of those players fits the bill. So most of the current squad will be around for the 2008 European Championships.
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