With all the withdraws and "injuries" is this a clear sign that Stan is not getting the full respect of the senior and even some junior players.
Look back to the us cup 2000 u had robbie keane , quinn, kinsella, and other senior players on that trip.
The o'shea thing is a joke...He was made captain for pete'e sake
I think so. I just made my comments on it in the other thread.Originally Posted by bwagner
If I was to be ultra charitable you could say that maybe Stephen Elliott needs a break & then do a proper pre-season, just to get his body right. Liam Miller? He'd better have a damned good excuse.
The Quinns? Not sure.
O'Shea? This decision should have been made weeks ago. Disgraceful communication.
Who else withdrew for non-injury related reasons?
Stephen Ireland, "family commitments".
Well who agreed to an end of season meaningless friendly tour in the first place? All this was a wee bit predictable as soon as the tour was announced. It is what it is and players are right not to travel if there is nothing at stake for them or the team. Will be interesting to see how many FAI people go on the tour? A stronger manager would have turned it down. As it is its a good oppurtunity for some of these "beyond the fringe" players to be involved in the senior team.
trust me, they do. Can't say for the others
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The Quinns: fair enough, that's pretty much what I guessed. They've had a rough year & probably have had very little time to spend at home.
Can i just say its a disgrace by certain senior players...lets face this boys are young and really need a few senior players 2 advise them in all matters and even just to make them feel at home.
Turning down the chance to captain your nation...the manager regarding you a leader and a guide for the youth and what does oshea do..hes throws it in Stans face over one word from Fergie.....
I quantee you if the fa cup was on this Wednesday he be fit as a kate bosworth ass..
I have lost all respect.
I dont care its a end of season tour...he could have asked stan to b used in only one game or whatever.
Some pointsPossibly a glass half full kind of a viewpoint, but in the midst of all this negativity, lets at least admit there are some positives.
- While derided at the time, playing San Marino in February has meant that there is no competitive game after the domestic season ended, by comparison the Welsh players have a 3 week break until the Czech game. It will be interesting to see their fitness levels.
- If we didn't play these 2 games, we would only have played 1 game (Denmark away) between Slovakia at the end of March and the Czech/Slovakia double header in September. Now that would be ludicrous.
- Lansdowne Road is unavailable so an away friendly was always going to be the only option. As it is we have 2 games to experiment in.
- While squad pull-outs are always inevitable (the level in this case could be described as "disgraceful") it does allow experimentation and to see what the younger talent can do, especially up front, where we are traditionally weak
- Eddie O'Sullivan is taking what could at best be called an "experimental" squad to Argentina to prepare for the World Cup (not just qualifiers, the real deal) and has faced a fraction of the criticism that Stan has come in for his squad selection (granted not really relevant, but I felt it needed to be pointed out)
Not the same thing at all. The rugby team have played a lot of rugby (a good bit more physical) and are sorely in need of a rest. With a world cup coming up, the fringe players (pretty much everyone bar the first XV) are playing for places in the world cup squad. Very few of Staunton's squad in America will be in any real squads in the near future.
We're not arrogant, we're just better.
Was just thinking about the US cup team in 1992.While our performances there were average we had more or less a full strength team to choose from. That squad may have seen this cup as an end of season jolly up, but they still went and played for their country.
I believe that we would have been better served playing a friendly against a decent Eastern European side in June, rather than this meaningless tour to the US.We've got some very talented lads in that squad, but I would be worried that they could suffer a major loss in morale, if we suffer heavy defeats. Given that Ecuador are one of the best teams in Latin America and are preparing for the Copa America, this is very possible.
O'Shea is the biggest disgrace of all, but I don't think he would have behaved like that to Charlton or Mick McCarthy. I don't think he would have done this to Brian Kerr either. It all suggests a lack of regard for Stan.
On the plus side, lads like Hunt, Kevin Doyle and Shane Long have shown a willingness to play for their country that impresses me...especially Doyle who was out injured for a few months and could probably do with a few months off.
it's nothing short of a disgrace , if we had a qualifier then everyone would report wouldnt they ? in fairness i think stan had the right idea not having any qualifying games in june, its just a pity that players have now chosen to pull out of this tour.
Was he crazy!! Yeah , in a very special way , an Irishman.
I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty;
I woke, and found that life was Duty.
Long, Murphy, Keogh, Stokes, Kelly, Colin Doyle, Bruce, St. Ledger (before his injury), Potter, O'Brien (whether deserved or not), Gamble, Henderson are among those who'd hope you're wrong, not to mention the no-brainers like Kevin Doyle & Kevin Kilbane.
The fringe players above all very much have something to play for.
As for the likes of O'Cearruill and others still underage eligible, it's an opportunity for Stan to see them up close and encourage them. That's where the attitude of some of the senior players stinks in my opinion as it's their responsibility to help in this process.
I am in agreement with Tets on this, we need to pick the positives out of this farce. If we get 2/3 "new" players who show they have what it takes then it will be a fantastic result for us. O Shea is a joke in my eyes. However, yet again Kevin Kilbane comes out as a true pro in the green shirt, and like many on here I find him extremely frustrating to watch at times. I will ensure I remember this the next time he runs into a cul de sac and I am roaring either at the TV or the odd time I am lucky to get a ticket directly at him.
Good spot beautifulrock. I honestly can't see how anyone could have a problem with Kilbane. Never ever gives less than 100% and never ever cries off. its not his fault he's chosen at cetre half or in central midfield. He's not really up to it, but you can tell he'd die for his country. He absolutely deserves to captain the team this week
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The tour has been a joke from the outset and I doubt very little positives will be gleamed from it and the resulting almost certainly poor results will probably do the few 'real' participating squad member's confidence no good whatsoever. Success leads to success and failure leads to failure.
If there's one thing Stan needs it's as much time and as many games as possible with his senior players from now until the Slovakia game as let's be honest it's not as if they've amazed us so far with their grasping of his tactical shrewdness (if indeed he has any tactics). If there's one positive thing that can be said though it's that it generally looks like we are starting to improve with each game and this tour has just become a silly, annoying distraction. Surely a friendly against a team closer to home would have been far, far more beneficial.
Again the FAI show themselves up for what they are, a bumbling, poorly setup, amateurish organisation though that doesn't excuse the attitude of most of the senior players who are also a disgrace. On that note it looks like we are going back to the dark days pre-Charlton when the senior players woulde decide what games they'd show up for or not. Charlton in fairness put a stop to all this but it's slowly been creeping back in since he left.
Last edited by youngirish; 21/05/2007 at 11:49 AM.
This could be an opportunity to look at KK at left back.
In Duffs absence a team of:
Given
Finnan-Dunne-McShane-Kilbane
--Ireland - Carsley - Hunt
------Keane------
---Doyle---Keogh
could make sense, or something broadly similar
The unfortunate thing is that the players who would have benefiited the most are injured - Both Reid's could have re-established themselves for the Autumn as I've a premonition that some misplaced loyalty to Carsley and Ireland could see the Reid's on the bench.
O'Dea and McGeady could also have made an impact - not "injured" but the Scottish cup commitment accounts for the absence.
Fair play to the Reading lads as it had been reported a couple of weeks ago that Reading had requested that they don't travel.
Last edited by Wolfie; 21/05/2007 at 12:17 PM.
Quoting years at random since 1975
absolutely delighted o sh!te is not involved. good riddance. and kilbane definitely deserves the captaincy-has always given 100% for us
I
I agree with the comments on Kilbane. He would have had a hard season but is the only senior pro to turn up for the squad. He does not pick the team but always give 100%.
Its clear Staunton has created some of the withdrawals by allowing some players free passes. I agree with not bringing senior players but he should have also made public that the fringe players would improve their case by travelling & playing well. IMO some of the players with dubious excuses have insulted the National jersey.
well he has a young family and a big new contract... i assume that means he has two things to do with his 6-8 weeks off:
1) Spend about a month looking at big cheshire houses
2) Spend two weeks on holiday with the wife and we'ans.
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