Ireland squad vs Holland

[brine3]

if we need cover for centreback then we should be calling up centrebacks, preferably ones for the future. after 7 years of kilbane we know what he can't do.

leicester captain paddy mccarthy or paul mcshane might be worth a call-up

[drinkfeckarse]

The thing is, I don't rate the doc as a centre forward, never have . But I do believe that, considering the dearth of centre-halves coming through at the moment Gary Doherty is the only Irish centre half around (apart from O'Brien and Dunne) playing regularly for his club AND with senior international experience.

I wouldn't have any problem with the Doc being in the squad as a centre half only. He's a lot better there than he was up front but perhaps that's the previous managers fault. He wouldn't be in my 11 but I'd have no qualms about having him on the bench in situations like this where we are a bit thim on the ground.

Staunton put his inclusion down to positive feedback from the other Irish players at the club and a report from Ireland B manager Pat Devlin, who has seen him play on a number of occasions during Newcastle's pre-season.

"The lad is not in purely on the say so of Pat, he's in on merit," said Staunton.

Does anyone find this extremly worrying ?? Firstly he says his inclusion is due to feedback from Devlin and other players but then he tries to say it's not because of Devlin and he's there on merit??

What fcukin merit?? Forcing 2 corners in a pre-season friendly!!

Proof for me that Stan is not being his own man and is picking players he hasn't even seen on the recommendation of others and that's a recipe for disaster.

Sort yourself out Stan for fcuk sake and show a bit of leadership. Do the job you are paid to do.

[NeilMcD]

Stan won'tgamble oncard-happyLeicesterskipper tosolve crisis

THE wretched disciplinary record of Leicester City skipper Paddy McCarthy is forcing Irish manager Steve Staunton to plan his Euro 2008 campaign without proper cover for centre-backs Richard Dunne and Andy O'Brien.

Staunton reckons it is less of a risk to gamble on the fitness and form of his first-choice centre backs and use John O'Shea, Ian Harte or even Kevin Kilbane as back-up rather than take a punt on a ready-made replacement.

Not even the announcement that defensive stalwart Gary Breen has, at 32, decided to retire from international football could force Staunton into an 11th hour conversion when it came to considering the claims of Dubliner McCarthy.

The 23-year-old centre-half's no-nonsense approach to defending may have made him a cult hero among the Leicester City fans but it hasn't endeared him to Staunton - yet.

From the moment he earned a straight red card on his league debut for Boston United on November 23, 2002, McCarthy has been collecting yellow and red cards with the enthusiasm of an avid stamp collector.

His spell at Boston, where he was on loan from Manchester City, saw him also earn a yellow card in his next game and a 12-game stint at Notts County later that season produced six yellow cards in just 12 appearances.

McCarthy moved to Leicester City in March 2005 and in 13 games between then and the end of the season he picked up six bookings. Last season he earned 12 yellows and two red cards in 44 games and he kicked off the start of the Championship season last Saturday with a booking against Luton Town.

His 76 first team appearances at club level have produced 22 yellow cards and three reds - an average of one card every three games.

McCarthy's international record is far from impressive either. In the qualifying campaign for the 2006 European U21 Championship McCarthy picked up three yellow cards in four games and missed the away game against Israel because of suspension.

It's a record not even a desperate Staunton is prepared to gamble on as he explained yesterday when he excluded McCarthy from the 24-man squad for next week's friendly international against Holland.

"Well that's part of it. You have to look at them sort of things. As we know from the World Cup, there are plenty of players out there that can manipulate the system," said Staunton.

"I think it might be a bit too much for him at the moment. We'll see how he goes with Leicester this year." While Staunton is not prepared to risk Ireland's Euro 2008 chances on a player he reckons would be cannon fodder for strikers well practised in the in-noble art of simulation he did indicate that he hasn't completely closed the door on McCarthy, Manchester United's Paul McShane and Blackburn Rovers' John Fitzgerald.

"When we get the B internationals going, we'll have a proper look at certain players but it is too much to ask to throw a younger member in at centre-half.

"When it's the last line of defence, it's important to have experienced players there."

While nobody will dispute that Richard Dunne and Andy O'Brien are the obvious first choice centre back combination at this moment, Staunton will hope that O'Brien doesn't find himself languishing in the reserves at Portsmouth after being pushed down the pecking order by the arrival of Sol Campbell from Arsenal.

Headache

O'Brien may find another club between now and the end of the transfer window to solve that problem but his predicament clearly outlines the massive defensive headache that is looming for Staunton especially after his options were further reduced this week following the retirement of Breen from international football.

Manchester United's versatile John O'Shea is the obvious back-up choice but Staunton, and Bobby Robson, have made no secret of their desire to pair the Waterfordman and Steven Reid in the centre of midfield.

Being forced to deploy O'Shea at centre back would break-up the midfield pairing and the danger of making too many switches was one of the harsh lessons that Brian Kerr learned during the World Cup campaign.

However, Graham Kavanagh, Liam Miller, Stephen Ireland and Kevin Kilbane do offer ready-made replacements in the centre of midfield and Kilbane is also a possible centre-back option having finished there in last May's friendly against Chile.

Kilbane can also play left-back and that could open the door for Ian Harte to be considered once again as a centre-half, eight years after he last started in that position.

Harte at centre-back, while playing at left back for Leeds United, was a feature of Mick McCarthy's first two years in charge of Ireland but his future also hangs in the balance.

He is keen to move back to Britain and believes he has an agreement with the Levante president that the club won't stand in his way if an offer comes in after helping them achieve promotion back to La Liga.

However, Levante are now keen to hold on to Harte and offer him a new deal so his reign in Spain may not been over yet.

The centre back situation is the type that would cause most managers sleepless nights but if it's affecting Staunton he is clearly not showing it.

"It was always going to be the case at centre back because we can't buy anyone," he stated. But he'll probably have his fingers crossed all the same.

Gerry McDermott

[Dr. Ogba]

good man Neil, those are some interesting comments from Staunton and if we weren't so desperate for CB backup I'd have to agree with him. We can't afford to risk a player in a major qualifying campaign who is so prone to bookings/sendings off...its just that I shudder to think of Kilbane at centre half though!

[RogerMilla]

yup dr. you're right about centre half position but at left full kilbane can deffo do the work. left footed for a start!!

[tetsujin1979]

Kilbane played at left full at the start of his career before moving into midfield.

Just on the comments about Alan O'Brien's speed, I read before that he was the fastest player at Newcastle last season, considering they had Owen and Solano, that's some achievement

[geysir]

I'm not a regualr poster on this forum but I found it interesting to read the views expressed on this thread.
Some outraged, some disappointed, some seemingly angry (?) and quite a few non-plussed by Stan's squad.
Isn't this always the case though....
Personally the most concerning thing about this squad is the central defence positions because if we have injuries there we are in serious trouble. In fact I'm working up a cold sweat just thinking about the alternatives.

Well Des don't be shy, dont leave it too long 'til you come back again, you make a lot of sense.
It's obvious now that we are vulnerable at the back. I thought this long ago that this is our weakest are in terms of reserves and now with Gary Breen snr.& Kenny retired there's is feck all quality in reserve. Stan has decided against McCarthy now. It wouldn't have done any harm to bring him along and teach him a few tricks, like how to clatter opponents and get away with it.

[Kingdom]

Stan's comments don't make any sense. And I'm sick of listening to sh!te with regards to the national team. He's made subtle references to Killer and trying to mould him into a centre half, yet he won't take McCarthy and try and mould him into a defender who picks up less cards.

And as for Alan O'Brien, give me a break. So far the reasons for his call-up are :

A) he's fast.
b) he wins corners.

Point b is void because we don't seem capable of scoring from set pieces in a long time.

It would seem to me that he has a fair idea of what he wants his first XI to be and after that nothing matters.

[eirebhoy]

lads i dont think you get it. Alan O' Brien has a very good 'adviser'! Pat Devlin his name is, just so happens Devlin sorted Stan out a bit through his career and now Devlin is 'B' Team manager.... The FAIreland is one big corrupt circle of clowns

Interesting. Staunton said Devlin went to see O'Brien in one of Newcastle's pre-season friendlies so I think you may be right. Ridiculous if true.

If hes so good why hasnt he played reserve yet?
Id have no problem with him being brought along as a non playing member of the squad

The reason Dixon didn't play for the reserves last season is because if a 15 year old takes the place of a 21 year old in a reserve team you might aswell write the 21 year old off. Lee Barnard is actually 22 and is now considered a first team player after getting top scorer for the reserves last season. No matter how good the 15 year old is, it doesn't mean he's not good enough for the reserves if he doesn't play for them.

Anyway, Dixon is now a reserve player and has scored 4 goals in his 3 games so far.

ps I'm not backing up his inclusion in the squad, just explaining why he wasn't a reserve last season as that seems to be what everyone is saying. He hasn't played a 1st team game, leave it at that.

On McCarthy - I find it strange that Stan said he would have called him up for the Chile match if he wasn't injured.

[Don Vito]

Does anyone else find it strange that Stan feels that Paddy McCarthy, a 23 year old captaining a Championship side is not considered 'ready' to be included in the squad yet Terry Dixon, a 16 year old who has only just made his reserve debut, is included?!

[CraftyToePoke]

Does anyone else find it strange that Stan feels that Paddy McCarthy, a 23 year old captaining a Championship side is not considered 'ready' to be included in the squad yet Terry Dixon, a 16 year old who has only just made his reserve debut, is included?!

the nature of the centre half position means experience is vital, you can only learn from mistakes, and at top level those can be very expensive, Staunton as a c.h. himself will have this ingrained in him also. thats my take on it anyway.

[Dodge]

Yeah but the place to learn is in friendlies. he's not going to get the experience elsewhere. If we get injuries to Dunne and Andy O'Brien, McCarthy will HAVE to be in the squad so why not pick him for a meaningless friendly

[youngirish]

Yeah but the place to learn is in friendlies. he's not going to get the experience elsewhere. If we get injuries to Dunne and Andy O'Brien, McCarthy will HAVE to be in the squad so why not pick him for a meaningless friendly

Not true he could draft young Tommy Smith into the team. The 13 year old CB from Fulham, born in Peckham but who qualifies for us because he owns an Irish wolfhound.

[CraftyToePoke]

Yeah but the place to learn is in friendlies. he's not going to get the experience elsewhere. If we get injuries to Dunne and Andy O'Brien, McCarthy will HAVE to be in the squad so why not pick him for a meaningless friendly

i just think he needs to demonstrate more improvement at club level first, particularly in relation to freekicks conceded and bookings. he has improved a lot but theres still plenty room for more, at present the mistakes he is making would be cruelly exposed at international level and that may do him more harm than good, as he does seem to beat himself up after an error, it hits his confidence visibly at tmes.

i think an injury would see Doherty come in ahead of him at this stage.

[NeilMcD]

the nature of the centre half position means experience is vital, you can only learn from mistakes, and at top level those can be very expensive, Staunton as a c.h. himself will have this ingrained in him also. thats my take on it anyway.

Yeah its as clear as that, the centre half position is not a place for taking risks whereas the striker position you can turn into a world beater like Rooney did at a young age with the right attitude and talent.

[cavan_fan]

i think an injury would see Doherty come in ahead of him at this stage.

I would sort of agree and it is a sign of our dearth of defnsive talent that I would probably do the same.

Having said that I suspect Stan thinks that his Central Defenders in order are:

Dunne
O'Brien
O'Shea
Kilbane
Harte

Is he being influenced by the fact that he was a full back who played Central Defence?

Also form a position when we had in a 10-20 year period
McGrath
O'Leary
Lawrenson
Moran
McCarthy

we have since then produced so few Central Defenders.
Cunningham - Good but not even McCarthy level
Babb - Promising but unsuccesful
Dunne - Could be reliable
Breen - Admittedly always did well for us.

And it may be we look back on the last few years as a golden period. It's clear O'Brien is going backwards, the call from Sunderland cant be far away. It's all Robbie Keane's fault, everyone wants to be a fancy dan forward!

[eirebhoy]

Blackburn Rovers' John Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald has been playing for Bury since January 2005.

[theworm2345]

Omitted for other reasons are Gary Doherty, Mark Kennedy and David Connolly.

For what reason might that be? Can anyone give me one (besides personal issues again Doherty and Connolly, Ive heard them all)? I cant think of multple reasons for each of them why they should be in the squad

Connolly
1,) Experience
2.) Hot form
3.) Playing against top EPL defenders each week
4.) Proven goal scorer at all levels, helped qualify for the 2002 World Cup
5.) Has played with Keane more than Elliott, Doyle, and Morrison (about equal with Morrison)
6.) Friends with Gary Breen, could get him back (check the EPL videos for Gary Breen).
7.) Better than Dixon and Alan Lee
8.) With Keane not scoring for Tottenham, we need someone whos good in the box, because Keane is setting stuff up (KD, CM, and SE, can do this as well)
9.) Has 2, 3 good years left
10.) MOST IMPORTANTLY can perform under high pressure situations (Except once, we dont need to get into it, but scoring on his Feyenoord, and EPL debuts)


Doherty
1.) Experience
2.) Versatility (Forward or Defender)
3.) 1st team football each week
4.) Has played with the current members so far
5.) Has proven himself for Ireland
6.) Has 5, 6 + good years left
7.) Better than Steven Kelly (I think so)
8.) Shown he can perform at the International level, helped qualify for the 2002 World Cup
9.) Could learn more from Stan
10.) MOST IMPORTANTLY can perform under high pressure situations (I believe he had a header cleared off the line against Israel)

Kennedy
1.) Consistently been a solid performer
2.) Experience
3.) Has played at all levels
4.) Leadership
5.) Has 2, 3 good years left
6.) Shown he can perform at the International level, helped qualify for the 2002 World Cup
7.) Better than Alan O'Brien
8.) 1st team football each week
9.) Plays with Morrison and Macken (he could earn another call) each week, and has played with Kevin O'Connor
10.) MOST IMPORTANTLY can perform under high pressure situations (see goal in playoff semi-final against Reading, and play in final against Sheff United)

Only explanation "other reasons" must be personal, these 3 have been over looked too long

2 reasons for Dixon
1.) Potential
2.) Cap him once and lock him up forever

Alan O'Brien is slightly better
1.) Potential
2.) Trains with top players in the world, including Carr, Given and Duff.
3.) Could soon be one of our main guys, breaking him in now could be good

[Qwerty]

Well the next couple of months are going to be very interesting - set your expectations low and they may even be fun. As Stan won't have Robson by his side does anyone know who his assistant is and who the other coaches are apart from A.Kelly?

I rated Stan highly as a player - he may be our most capped player but he isn't an Ireland 'Great', but still a leader on the field and effective player- but he speaks fluent cliche, am I alone in fearing he thinks in cliches also and has no original thoughts?

[Superhoops]

Well the next couple of months are going to be very interesting - set your expectations low and they may even be fun. As Stan won't have Robson by his side does anyone know who his assistant is and who the other coaches are apart from A.Kelly?

The other member of the coaching staff is Kevin McDonald, a Scot, who, as well as joining Stan's 'team', is reserve team coach at Aston Villa, a post he has held for several years, including during the time when Stan played at Villa. He also played with Stan at Liverpool, who he joined from Leicester, and was in the double winning squad of 1986. His Liverpool career ended when he broke his leg. He finished his playing career at Coventry. Before Coventry he had a loan spell with Rangers. McDonald was also linked with the managers job at Inver Cally Thistle a few years ago.