Is there any eircom League player good enough

**gloryglorygufc** · 11/10/2006, 8:51 PM

Originally Posted by galwayhoop

well is there. there has to be.
candidites to consider for exclusion from the squad in favour of eL players:
1. colgan
2. mcshane (never saw him play so i don't know)
3. st ledger (never saw him play so i don't know)

OOPS!

**gloryglorygufc** · 11/10/2006, 8:58 PM

Not withstanding the result/performance tonight, there are still lots of fundamentals to be sorted.
On this thread's point:
I think J Byrne deserves a slot ahead of morrison
Agree with most of the rest of the suggestions what about Kevin Deery (derry) and Stephen Ward (Bohs)? - based on u21 match in terryland, outshone played their "illustrious" teammates playing in the "big" leagues

**Soper** · 11/10/2006, 9:01 PM

And a backup for Carsley in Gamble.

**rambler14** · 11/10/2006, 9:50 PM

LADS YOU GOT TO LOOK AT IT THIS WAY: THE MAJORITY OF THE PLAYERS IN THE EIRCOM LEAGUE HAVE FAILED IN ENGLAND AND RETURNED TO IRELAND. DON'T GET ME WRONG THERE IS SOME EXCELLENT TALENT OUT THERE LIKE JOE GAMBLE BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS JOE GAMBLE FAILED TO HACK IT IN ENGLAND AND COULDN'T GET HIS GAME WITH BARNET. I THINK HE IS A BRILLIANT PLAYER, I THINK HES ONE OF THE BEST IN THE EIRCOM LEAGUE BUT LETS FACE IT MOST OF THE PLAYERS HE PLAYS AGAINST ARE CRAP AND JUST MAKES PLAYERS LIKE HIM STAND OUT.
I THINK PLAYERS LIKE:
GAMBLE,HEARY,Darren Kelly,BYRNE,BENNETT ALL DESERVE A CHANCE BUT NOT AT A COMPETITIVE LEVEL JUST YET, GIVE THEM A COUPLE OF FRIENDLY'S AND SEE HOW THEY GET ON THEN MAKE A DECISION BECAUSE LETS FACE IT ITS A BIG STEP FROM THE EIRCOM LEAGUE TO INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL. LIKE TO GO FROM PLAYING AGAINST PLAYERS WHO KNOCK BACK THE PINTS EVERY WEEK TO PLAYERS WHO TRAIN EVERYDAY MORNING, NOON AND NIGHT, IT MIGHT BE TOO MUCH FOR THESE LADS.

**Soper** · 11/10/2006, 9:56 PM

All those players you mentioned train everyday professionally.

**rambler14** · 11/10/2006, 10:12 PM

Not as much as the highly paid players we come up aginst though

**Marked Man** · 12/10/2006, 1:28 AM

Originally Posted by czarner

So that's why you put the word 'Irishman' in bold when comparing Bennett to O'Brien. Livehead1 was spot on in identifying the little islander mindset typified by your posts in this thread as being the major turn-off of this forum. Why do you and others like you have so much difficulty in understanding the concept of having an attachment to more than one country? Just because you only have roots in one nation doesn't mean that those who don't have to conform to your all-or-nothing mentality. Not to mention the fact that footballers have to choose the country they play for at a relatively young age; I think if someone in a situation like this has difficulty choosing which side of their cultural and genetic inheritence to plump for it's more an indication of thoughtfulness than a mercenary nature.

Bang on. POTM.

**galwayhoop** · 12/10/2006, 1:13 PM

Originally Posted by gloryglorygufc

OOPS!

i actually thought about this thread as i walked away from landsdowne last night! just as well that i said i had never seen him play so i didn't know!!!

personally i thought he had a stormer last night

**adamcarr** · 12/10/2006, 3:58 PM

Originally Posted by rambler14

COULDN'T GET HIS GAME WITH BARNET.

Why do people keep saying this, Gamble made 44 appearances for Barnet that season. He should be in the Ireland team without a doubt and could easily cope at Championship level at the very least in England.

**endabob1** · 12/10/2006, 4:18 PM

The simple argument for at least looking at more EL players is Kevin Doyle, from Cork City to the Premiership & International team in just over 12 months. If that's not a good enough reason to at least invest some resources in going to games to look at players. I haven't been to an EL game in years (I'm no longer resident in the fair isle) so I would have next to no idea on the quality of players. The argument that players 'couldn't cut it' in a better league holds no ice with me, I remember Billy Woods playing for the U21's when he was an EL player and having a stormer against England and for an EL XI against Liverpool when they opened the floodlights at Lansdowne, he never settled in England but having seen him in action 2 or 3 times I am of no doubt he had the ability to play at the top level in England.
As for O'Brien he was crap against Cyprus (as were mos of the XI) but him & Dunne were apart from Given the best Irish players in Stutgart and he has rarely put a foot wrong in a green shirt. I won't go into his "Irishness" because it is a fruitless argument but suffice to say that having lived in 3 countries as well as my own there is more to being Irish than simply living in Ireland.

**ainsie** · 12/10/2006, 4:26 PM

Could somebody please explain this continual debate. The best players get to play in the better leagues. They get payed more money because their better. They are watched by much better minds in soccer than on this board to see if they are good enough. They are given trials to see if they are good enough. If they are good enough they will be given a chance because soccer is a business and anything that can make a good thing better is jumped at. There are lots of scouts in Ireland and feck all EL players are asked to play at a higher level and when they do , most fail and come back here to play for little money.
In America, players who cant make the NBA play in little european leagues, In baseball they go to Japan.In soccer in the US its all retired players and wannabees.

Its always the same. We have some players in the Irish team that SHOULD be playing in the EL but none in the EL that should be playing in the national team. I think the question here should be are some of the Irish players only good enough for EL not the other way round

Loyalty makes people blind to reality.

I really thought Mayo could win this years all ireland....that about sums it up.

**adamcarr** · 12/10/2006, 4:26 PM

Originally Posted by endabob1

I remember Billy Woods playing for the U21's when he was an EL player and having a stormer against England and for an EL XI against Liverpool when they opened the floodlights at Lansdowne, he never settled in England but having seen him in action 2 or 3 times I am of no doubt he had the ability to play at the top level in England.

Advice for you. Dont ever go to see Billy play again, you'll be scarred fo life.

**endabob1** · 12/10/2006, 4:29 PM

Originally Posted by adamcarr

Advice for you. Dont ever go to see Billy play again, you'll be scarred fo life.

I assumed he had retired by now, that must be the best part of 15 years ago!

**EalingGreen** · 12/10/2006, 4:54 PM

Originally Posted by DonegalDub

Darren Kelly. He IS eligible as Norhtern born players can play for the Republic. Remember Alan Kerneghan?

It is more accurate to say that merely being born in NI does not automatically disqualify someone from representing the ROI: there are still other criteria which need to be met (although anyone born in NI would usually meet them).

As for Kernaghan, he was unlucky to fall between two stools. Although brought up in NI, he was actually born in England, as were his parents. He did not qualify for NI EITHER because he only had a grandparent from NI, which the IFA used not to recognise at the time as sufficient, OR he had a grandparent from the ROI. (I can't remember which)
Anyhow, the FAI didn't mind either way, so gave him the chance to play international football, which is fair enough, imo.
As it happens, though, he was a product of NI youth football and played for NI schools. This, however, is because it is a FIFA rule that boys must play for the country in whose jurisdiction they are receiving their education, not where they come from. Therefore, he would not have been allowed to play for England schools, or the ROI schoolboy team.
Similarly, Ryan Giggs, who went to school in Manchester, wasn't allowed to play for Wales schoolboy side, so played for England schools instead. However, he "reverted" to Wales as soon as he left school.
I think there was a young lad from the ROI very recently who actually played for NI schools, since he went to school across the border (as a boarder, maybe?).
Anyhow, the two Schoolboy Associations agreed this one amicably.

As for Darren Kelly, apparently he does want to play for NI, but I can't see him getting in ahead of Hughes, Craigan, Duff, Baird, Evans or even Murdock (Rotherham) or McAuley (Leicester), all of whom are centre backs, or have played there a lot.

**higgins** · 12/10/2006, 6:05 PM

Owen Heary is good enough...

Theres no leaders on the Irish team.

**adamcarr** · 12/10/2006, 6:53 PM

Originally Posted by endabob1

I assumed he had retired by now, that must be the best part of 15 years ago!

No, still playing with Cork City. He got a cracker in the Champions league this season actually. Have a look: http://www.corktrophycentre.com/high...llon120706.zip

**Soper** · 12/10/2006, 6:55 PM

Originally Posted by ainsie

Could somebody please explain this continual debate. The best players get to play in the better leagues. They get payed more money because their better. They are watched by much better minds in soccer than on this board to see if they are good enough. They are given trials to see if they are good enough. If they are good enough they will be given a chance because soccer is a business and anything that can make a good thing better is jumped at. There are lots of scouts in Ireland and feck all EL players are asked to play at a higher level and when they do , most fail and come back here to play for little money.
In America, players who cant make the NBA play in little european leagues, In baseball they go to Japan.In soccer in the US its all retired players and wannabees.

Its always the same. We have some players in the Irish team that SHOULD be playing in the EL but none in the EL that should be playing in the national team. I think the question here should be are some of the Irish players only good enough for EL not the other way round

Loyalty makes people blind to reality.

I really thought Mayo could win this years all ireland....that about sums it up.

Wrong Wrong Wrong.Read this thread over again.And read the one in the Eircom League section titled 'De Gaffor and de fai's insult to players'.

**Frankfurt Hoop** · 12/10/2006, 11:16 PM

Originally Posted by ainsie

Could somebody please explain this continual debate. The best players get to play in the better leagues. They get payed more money because their better. They are watched by much better minds in soccer than on this board to see if they are good enough. They are given trials to see if they are good enough. If they are good enough they will be given a chance because soccer is a business and anything that can make a good thing better is jumped at. There are lots of scouts in Ireland and feck all EL players are asked to play at a higher level and when they do , most fail and come back here to play for little money.
In America, players who cant make the NBA play in little european leagues, In baseball they go to Japan.In soccer in the US its all retired players and wannabees.

Its always the same. We have some players in the Irish team that SHOULD be playing in the EL but none in the EL that should be playing in the national team. I think the question here should be are some of the Irish players only good enough for EL not the other way round

Loyalty makes people blind to reality.

I really thought Mayo could win this years all ireland....that about sums it up.

There are loads of reasons why certain players don't prosper when playing in foreign countries. The Eircom League, this season, is ranked three places higher than the national team by UEFA, and that's before this week's performances have been factored in.

**DmanDmythDledge** · 12/10/2006, 11:22 PM

Barry Ryan, Owen Heary, Jason Gavin, Joe Gamble, Ciaran Martyn and Roy O'Donovan are the only players I think should be in the squad.

**Qwerty** · 12/10/2006, 11:29 PM

Well one thing the eL players mentioned would play with heart and run themselves into the ground and wouldn't sleepwalk through games like O'Shea, Harte, Keane, Duff, et al.

Given is really great, it's as if every game was his last. It sems that for most of the others the more caps they win, the worse they play. I say shake it up and bring in some hungry players.