Legend Breen released by Sunderland

**neutral** · 20/05/2006, 3:57 PM

muck is the only word i can describe gary breen's football ability, fair enough he turned up for ireland and gave his best blah blah blah.....so what....most average footballers would turn up for "their country" if called upon and give it their all....the fact is he was and is a poor footballer. if you want to put him in the "LEGEND" category for turning up for ireland then fair enough, but if anyones being honest he is no where near a footballing legend........

**Plastic Paddy** · 20/05/2006, 4:27 PM

Originally Posted by neutral

so what....most average footballers would turn up for "their country" if called upon and give it their all...

And what is it exactly you wish us to infer from your use of speech marks? I wonder...

PP

**neutral** · 20/05/2006, 4:54 PM

maybe that was a bit harsh......gary breen has been a great servant to this footballing country down the years through his dedication and hard work, but i really cant put him in the "Legend" category for his footballing ability.......be it for ireland, subderland etc.....

**gustavo** · 20/05/2006, 6:01 PM

Surely Legends shouldnt become Legends solely based on his footballing ability and for that i think he is a Legend!

**neutral** · 21/05/2006, 8:00 AM

Originally Posted by gustavo

Surely Legends shouldnt become Legends solely based on his footballing ability and for that i think he is a Legend!

gustavo please spare the inconsolable tokens of sympathy in putting gary breen in the "legend" catergory....coments such as yours turn my stomach....his footballing ability is similar to dan murray of cork city...and thats being kind....

**zinedineontour** · 21/05/2006, 8:46 PM

Originally Posted by tricky_colour

I can only remember the game vaguely but as I recall Sunderland had
pushed everyone forward (including Breen) in an attempt to get a goal,
however they lost possession and were seriously exposed at the back
and likely to go 3:1 down on the break, that would have been the end for
Sunderland, hence Breen handled to allow the defense time to get back.
Of course that meant he got sent off, but they would still have a chance
with 10 men at 2:1 down. At 3:1 down, they would be out of the game,
even with 11 men. So as far as I am concerned it was not a blunder,
it was a stroke of genius and a calculated risk which unfortunately didn't
pay off as Sunderland can't score a goal to save their lives, never mind 2 goals. Their top scorer has 3 goals, that's just two ahead of Breen's 1.
One goal a season ain't bad for a centreback at the foot of the table.
3 goals for a striker is absymal.
Top class player in a cr*p side.

yeah getting your captain sent off with a stupid handball is great for your side.. we had men back so it was a stupid thing to do .. then his arrogance and lack of care after it was the final straw. Some of his comments this season have been disgraceful. He treated the fans with a lack of respect and the delight shown by sunderland fans at his release shows what we think of our " captain " .. our strikers were ****e yeah but would rather any of them than our gutless captain

**jjppc** · 21/05/2006, 9:16 PM

Wasn't to clever at West Ham either , lasted one relagation season. That said he somehow played well for Ireland, especially the 20002 WC, but legend nah

**tricky_colour** · 21/05/2006, 9:55 PM

Originally Posted by zinedineontour

yeah getting your captain sent off with a stupid handball is great for your side.. we had men back so it was a stupid thing to do .. then his arrogance and lack of care after it was the final straw. Some of his comments this season have been disgraceful. He treated the fans with a lack of respect and the delight shown by sunderland fans at his release shows what we think of our " captain " .. our strikers were ****e yeah but would rather any of them than our gutless captain

Well as I said from my point of view he got himself sent to ensure they had a chance of getting something from the game, he had done nothing wrong so had not to go grovelling about. The Sunderland fans should have clapped him off the pitch. He sacrificed himself for the good of the team and then gets slagged off by the fans!!! Brilliant, no wonder they went down.

Also if they thought he was that bad they should have been glad to have seen him sent of!!
They can't have it both ways can they?

**Qwerty** · 21/05/2006, 10:52 PM

I don't know about Breen being a legend but the attacks on him as with others players are despicable. The cheap insults say more about those that make them, you're just barstool big-mouths. Breen, Carsley, Carr etc have and will do more for Irish football than anybody on this board ever will.

**tricky_colour** · 21/05/2006, 10:52 PM

"But any hopes they had of salvaging a draw were ended when Breen was dismissed after picking up a second yellow card for his handball when blocking David James' throw."

So that clarifies it a bit for me, James was throwing the ball out for a City
attack and Breen, and no doubt most of the Sunderland defense were
well out of position, if City scored on that break the game was over.
A brave and sensible decision which went unrecognised by the knowledgeable
Sunderland fans, who expect the team to clap them, whilst offering little support,
but plenty of abuse for their own team, apparently.

**neutral** · 22/05/2006, 3:24 AM

Originally Posted by Qwerty

I don't know about Breen being a legend but the attacks on him as with others players are despicable. The cheap insults say more about those that make them, you're just barstool big-mouths. Breen, Carsley, Carr etc have and will do more for Irish football than anybody on this board ever will.

thats it yeah barstool bigmouths, what are you so the barman with all the answers......i dont think anybody here has attacked gary breen on a personal level....he played for ireland as a pro footballer over a period of time and yes he gave his all but he's not in the "legend" catergory. we would all give our all and do our all for the football in this country if given the opportunity but it doesnt mean we are good enough.......respect peoples opinions, gary breen in my opinion is a shocking defender even if he performed well on occasions for ireland......was that another cheap insult??should i go back to my barstool now?????

**CraftyToePoke** · 22/05/2006, 7:25 AM

Originally Posted by zinedineontour

yeah getting your captain sent off with a stupid handball is great for your side.. we had men back so it was a stupid thing to do .. then his arrogance and lack of care after it was the final straw. Some of his comments this season have been disgraceful. He treated the fans with a lack of respect and the delight shown by sunderland fans at his release shows what we think of our " captain " .. our strikers were ****e yeah but would rather any of them than our gutless captain

i fear your views on the great gary have been tainted by the trivialities of the affairs of sunderland football club, whereas the context of this debate was surely intended to be geared more towards his adventures in green.

**CraftyToePoke** · 22/05/2006, 7:38 AM

Originally Posted by neutral

muck is the only word i can describe gary breen's football ability, fair enough he turned up for ireland and gave his best blah blah blah.....so what....most average footballers would turn up for "their country" if called upon and give it their all....the fact is he was and is a poor footballer. if you want to put him in the "LEGEND" category for turning up for ireland then fair enough, but if anyones being honest he is no where near a footballing legend........

to describe someone who has risen to the top levels of the football profession and maintained their position there for as long as G.B. has, as muck, only demonstrates to me how precious little you know

Originally Posted by neutral

thats it yeah barstool bigmouths, what are you so the barman with all the answers......i dont think anybody here has attacked gary breen on a personal level....he played for ireland as a pro footballer over a period of time and yes he gave his all but he's not in the "legend" catergory. we would all give our all and do our all for the football in this country if given the opportunity but it doesnt mean we are good enough.......respect peoples opinions, gary breen in my opinion is a shocking defender even if he performed well on occasions for ireland......was that another cheap insult??should i go back to my barstool now?????

a touch flighty arent you? for a man proclaiming neutrality,i mean.

mods, MODS...any chance of a poll on it, to settle it democratically etc? please.

**as_i_say** · 22/05/2006, 8:25 AM

Originally Posted by CraftyToePoke

i fear your views on the great gary have been tainted by the trivialities of the affairs of sunderland football club, whereas the context of this debate was surely intended to be geared more towards his adventures in green.

EXACTLY. this is the irish forum not poxy prem chat, although i didnt know about his deliberate handball so that was interesting to hear. strange decision that from the lad. His exploits in the green shirt deserve a place amongst the honor roll of Irish defenders.

Was vice captain to Keane in qualification for world cup 2002 and THE ever present center back in that team who qualified from one of the most difficult of all our qualification groups and had a great world cup.

Not sure about him playing for us again but the Breen of 2001/2002 would surely get a place in this Irish team now. We're not that good at the back. Lets see what club he gets.

**geysir** · 22/05/2006, 10:36 AM

He played like a legend at WC 02, though he should have taken one those penalties. Playing reserve team football for West ham didn't diminish his class so I suppose it's fair to assume he won't have suffered too much after playing for a cr�ppish team like Sunderland. Interesting to see which team will give him a contract. I'd assumed that because Kerr didn't rate him that his international career was over but it's obvious that he shouldn't be written out of the intl.squad.
Splittin hairs, I would have thought that one of the criteria for an international legend tag would be 'of sufficient class to be good enough to play in any international team in Europe'.

**zinedineontour** · 22/05/2006, 6:44 PM

Originally Posted by CraftyToePoke

i fear your views on the great gary have been tainted by the trivialities of the affairs of sunderland football club, whereas the context of this debate was surely intended to be geared more towards his adventures in green.

average in green .. below average in red and white ...

**zinedineontour** · 22/05/2006, 6:48 PM

Originally Posted by tricky_colour

Well as I said from my point of view he got himself sent to ensure they had a chance of getting something from the game, he had done nothing wrong so had not to go grovelling about. The Sunderland fans should have clapped him off the pitch. He sacrificed himself for the good of the team and then gets slagged off by the fans!!! Brilliant, no wonder they went down.

Also if they thought he was that bad they should have been glad to have seen him sent of!!
They can't have it both ways can they?

good to see youve a sense of humour anyway !!!