Carr Withdraws, Doyle a doubt

**drinkfeckarse** · 04/10/2006, 8:46 AM

Yet more absolutely bizarre decisions from Stan. So he calls up players for friendlies (Murphy etc) but then decides to forget all that and go with uncapped players like Tabb and Foley for important qualifiers.

Is it any wonder a lot of the supporters are convinced you're totally out of your depth already

You really don't help yourself Stan.

**Stuttgart88** · 04/10/2006, 8:55 AM

You can all be as cynical as you like but Tabb is a very talented player & will definitely be in the team in the future. Personally I'd have called up Murphy but then Lee is in the squad as the "tall option". Murphy has been injured recently and despite playing 74 mins on Saturday maybe this has been a consideration.

Realistically there are only about 15 players in contention to start on Saturday and whoever he called up wouldn't have been one of these so if Tabb benefits from the experience so be it.

At least Stan has now clarified exactly where he stands on Carsley.

**drinkfeckarse** · 04/10/2006, 9:18 AM

That's not my point anyway, Tabb has received plenty of plaudits this season and I've read his manager praising him a couple of times. The point is that it is more inconsistency. Why is he calling up players that he didn't call up for any friendlies and leaving out the players he did!!!!!?????

In his short time as manager he regularly leaves me scratching my head and that hasn't happened with any previous boss.

**Stuttgart88** · 04/10/2006, 9:19 AM

Originally Posted by drinkfeckarse

but then decides to forget all that and go with uncapped players like Tabb and Foley for important qualifiers.

Is it any wonder a lot of the supporters are convinced you're totally out of your depth already

I've commented on Tabb above. Maybe Shane Long could have been an option.

Who would you have called up as full-back cover with Carr now absent? Personally I rate Kevin Foley higher than I do Stephen Kelly, who has been injured until last week anyway.

Maybe it's the majority of supporters who are out of their depth as I'd bet many don't know who these guys are. But those of us who look beneath the surface are very aware of these guys' capabilities & potential. They've been U21 fixtures for ages.

Despite the baffling double-negative he came out with to The Examiner, I think this reconfigured squad, Carsley excepted, is perfectly consistent with (a) maximising the points haul from next week and (b) building for the future. This is what he's said all along.

I've been critical of Staunton's communication, buy maybe if the Irish media actually asked him the right questions at the right time, maybe his views on the squad wiould be better understood. The guy has been desperately unlucky with the uinjury situation. When was the last time Doyle missed a game? What about Shay Given? Give him a break until the games are actually over.

**Stuttgart88** · 04/10/2006, 9:20 AM

Sorry, again I was typing before you responded!

**drinkfeckarse** · 04/10/2006, 9:20 AM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

At least Stan has now clarified exactly where he stands on Carsley.

At last

And not before he made himself look a mug. As has been mentioned, his communication skills seem to leave a lot to be desired.

**drinkfeckarse** · 04/10/2006, 9:21 AM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Sorry, again I was typing before you responded!

Me too

**drinkfeckarse** · 04/10/2006, 9:24 AM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Who would you have called up as full-back cover with Carr now absent? Personally I rate Kevin Foley higher than I do Stephen Kelly, who has been injured until last week anyway.

.

As I mentioned above, my point was more about the inconsistency of it. I won't lie and say I've seen Foley but I've read plenty enough on here and elsewhere to know that he is a good prospect.

**blobbyblob** · 04/10/2006, 9:24 AM

Originally Posted by drinkfeckarse

Me too

Ahhhhhhhhh - cute

**Stuttgart88** · 04/10/2006, 9:26 AM

Originally Posted by drinkfeckarse

As I mentioned above, my point was more about the inconsistency of it. I won't lie and say I've seen Foley but I've read plenty enough on here and elsewhere to know that he is a good prospect.

Kelly has just returned from injury. Maybe that explains it?

Foley has also been on consistently better form than Kelly. Maybe that explains it too?

CTP did say that Kelly had a good game against Leicester last w/e I accept.

**drinkfeckarse** · 04/10/2006, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Foley has also been on consistently better form than Kelly. Maybe that explains it too?

Then why didn't Stan call Foley up to the last squad when Kelly was injured. For the record, what I've seen so far of Kelly hasn't impressed me.

You surely not denying that Staunton's decisions are baffling at times Stutts? That's my whole point, not whether any player is or isn't good enough.

**Stuttgart88** · 04/10/2006, 10:08 AM

Some decisions are odd, certainly.

But what leads to "bafflement" is the lack of communication about certain selections. Given the spate of withdrawals I'm not sure I'd have done much differently & what he has done I'm not overly opinionated on either way. Tabb & Foley get a recall? Not too fussed. It's interesting at least.

Carsley not in? At least it's been explained. He has an opinion & he's entitled to it.

McPhail not in? Maybe with Andy Reid coming back on stream next week maybe he thought it'd be pointless calling him up just for Cyprus only to send him home again.

When was the last friendly anyway? Holland. That was preseason so Foley's better subsequent form is ample justification for him being favoured over Kelly for this trip.

**elroy** · 04/10/2006, 10:12 AM

I think we are probably going to end up fielding our worst CM partnership in the next two games in an awful long time.
My confidence in Stan isnt that good but I'm willing to give the guy a chance, I really he at very worst gets four points from the next two games.

I have no doubt Jay Tabb is a good option for the future etc but I really think it shouldve been McPhail or Carsley called up for these games.

**NeilMcD** · 04/10/2006, 10:22 AM

Why are you being so stubborn, Stan?
Wednesday October 4th 2006
ADVERTISEMENT

Ireland goalkeeper Wayne Henderson in action during yesterday's training session in Malahide ,6 PAT MURPHY

Carsley recall would be 'kick in the teeth' to young pretenders, insists Ireland boss

WHEN Steve Staunton was assessing his catastrophic injury problems towards the end of yesterday's press briefing at Malahide, he rued the fact that he couldn't buy players to fill in the gaps.

He was responding to a question about the dearth of options he has available to him in the centre of midfield ahead of the upcoming European Championship qualifiers with Cyprus and the Czech Republic.

Yet the reality is that even if Staunton could wield the chequebook, a sharp accounting mind might point out that it may not be wise to flash the cash when the obvious solution is available on a free transfer. An experienced Premiership central midfielder who has indicated he would be willing to join the party.

That's right, it's the old Lee Carsley chestnut again. It just won't go away, especially given the latest update about Staunton's bruised and battered squad. If this isn't an emergency, then what is?

When he was included in the international fold, Carsley never provoked that much discussion. In fact, when he did it's fair to say that it was not exactly complimentary. The 32-year-old was not exactly the darling of the crowd or, as the Everton man recently pointed out, the press.

And it's also clear that a lot of humble pie has been consumed in the clamour to demand his recalling to the set-up.

Whether he ever will return would have to be a matter of serious doubt despite the player's contention on Monday that everything's fine and dandy between himself and Staunton.

"I'm not saying he's not in my plans," said the Louth man yesterday, resigned to answering another question on the issue. "As I said I'm going along with the lads I have and I'm going to give them a chance.

"They deserve a chance. They've been in the squad since I've took over the job and I'm looking forward to the future. It would be a kick in the teeth to the lads that are in there.

"They're going to have to grow up and take the bull by the horns. If they get their chance on Saturday and Wednesday, they'll have to get on with it and do it," he added.

Why has Carsley become such an issue again? Well, it's the fate of Stephen Carr which has unusually led to this situation.

With Carr out of the picture for Saturday, Steve Finnan looks sure to return to his normal role of right back, leaving the left back position he filled in Stuttgart vacant.

As Ian Harte is injured, the only players training yesterday that could fill in there are Kevin Kilbane and John O'Shea.

Springs

It is going to be one or the other unless Staunton springs a surprise and promotes either the uncapped Sean St Ledger or Kevin Foley into the starting fold at right back, leaving Finnan on the left side.

With O'Shea and Kilbane the most plausible midfield partnership, the absence of one will leave a vacancy in midfield to be battled out between Liam Miller, Jonathan Douglas and Stephen Ireland.

No doubt, it's the former pair that Staunton is referring to when he points out that there are players who would see it as a kick in the teeth if Carsley is restored. Miller and Douglas, often referred to in the plural and not as individual units, have been peripheral figures for some time now. "The only way they will get experience is by playing," said the gaffer.

"It's a rebuilding job as I've said all along, and they're only going to learn by playing.

"It's a pressure situation and they've got to deal with it, they're doing that every week at their club so this is another step, another level for them. Whoever takes their chance has to take it, then it's up to them," he continued.

Finally

Are they really doing it every week for their clubs? Ireland finally started for Manchester City at Everton last week but has spent most of the campaign to date on the bench.

Miller, since he joined Sunderland, has not exactly been deployed in a central role and has been pushed out more towards the right side of midfield. Douglas, to be fair, has been playing there at Leeds amid their turbulent start to the campaign. But he's likely to have to wait behind at least one of the other two anyway.

So in the case of Miller and Ireland, the likely favourites to stand in, it's not a situation where they can carry what they've been doing for their clubs to the international set-up. They would have to fulfil a role that they haven't really been given the opportunity to do for their employers.

Carsley has though, and that's the crux of the matter. To leave him out for Alan Quinn was a surprise, but the tragic death of the latter's mother Alice has removed that option to Staunton.

Square One

So it was back to square one, an opportunity to bring another player in. Once again though, Carsley wasn't going to get the call. There would be no climbdown from Stan.

Instead, he called for Jay Tabb, a promising talent with Coventry who is better known for his performances as a striker or on the right side of midfield.

While Carsley may not be Staunton's choice with the future in mind then even Stephen McPhail, riding high with promotion favourites Cardiff, would have been a more understandable selection to provide depth in the midfield area that struggled so badly in Stuttgart. Certainly, the rookie manager deserves sympathy for the terrible run of bad luck that has befallen his troops since he named his squad 10 days ago.

With two crucial games on the horizon, the last thing that he needed was a litany of experienced internationals to fall by the wayside. Only eight of the players available for selection on Saturday have started a competitive international before.

But if it goes wrong, Staunton cannot come out and say that the injuries left him with no other option. In the form of Carsley, there was a prospective get out of jail card available which he chose to ignore. He'll be hoping that it's a decision that doesn't come back to haunt him.

**drinkfeckarse** · 04/10/2006, 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Some decisions are odd, certainly. Understatement

But what leads to "bafflement" is the lack of communication about certain selections. Given the spate of withdrawals I'm not sure I'd have done much differently & what he has done I'm not overly opinionated on either way. Tabb & Foley get a recall? Not too fussed. It's interesting at least.

I personally expect a manager in this day and age to explain his decisions although I take the point that the journo's should be asking him the tough questions. His stance on Paddy McCarthy not being "ready" but then calling up uncapped and untried players like St Ledger and Foley for qualifiers is baffling to say the least

Carsley not in? At least it's been explained. Belatedly

Maybe with Andy Reid coming back on stream next week maybe he thought it'd be pointless calling him up just for Cyprus only to send him home again.

The same Andy Reid he left out of previous squads without EXPLAINING

When was the last friendly anyway? Holland. That was preseason so Foley's better subsequent form is ample justification for him being favoured over Kelly for this trip. I'll give you that one

We'll just have to agree to disagree. I can see exactly where you are coming from it's just that I see it differently!

**Stuttgart88** · 04/10/2006, 10:29 AM

Fully accept the Andy Reid thing alright.

**Soper** · 04/10/2006, 11:26 AM

I saw Tabb when he played against Cardiff, came on as sub in maybe the 112th or 16th minute, didn't impress.

**Emmet** · 04/10/2006, 11:38 AM

Well ... it's the results that will judge him. By Saturday evening we'll all have a better idea of how useful these players are ...

**eirebhoy** · 04/10/2006, 12:14 PM

Tabb is still eligible for our U21s isn't he? For such a young player he's certainly well respected.

http://www.griffinpark.org/forums/sh...ad.php?t=44357

**Stuttgart88** · 04/10/2006, 2:08 PM

From breakingnews.ie:

Republic of Ireland striker Kevin Doyle has been forced to endure the chill of the Irish Sea in a bid to be fit for Saturday�s Euro 2008 qualifier against Cyprus.

The Reading forward sustained an ankle strain in Sunday�s 1-0 win at West Ham, making him a serious doubt to face the Cypriots at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia.

To hasten his recovery, Doyle yesterday, and again today, took a dip in the icy water off the coast at Malahide.

Doyle, who has enjoyed a superb start to the Barclays Premiership campaign in the wake of the Royals� promotion with three goals to his name, later joined the rest of the Irish squad on the flight across to Cyprus.

Manager Steve Staunton said: �Hopefully a dip in the sea might help with the healing process.

�I�m not going to put a percentage figure on his chances of playing on Saturday. Let�s just say he is in with a chance.�

A leaf out of Kerr's book. I remember him saying he was a firm believer in the healing powers of the sea. An onwatcher had thought Damien Duff was trying to drown himself. Instead he was giving his hamstring the sea-treatment!