QuoteSo knowledge of Roy Keanes hip's is a criteria for knowledge of Irish football?Originally Posted by Ireland4ever
Blue flu is the only thing that Keane ever suffered from. 60 some-odd caps from 1992 to 2006. Lout.
Edit: for disambiguation the above use of lout refers to Keane.
Last edited by danonion; 01/12/2007 at 12:25 AM.
"No regrets, none at all. My only regret is that we went out on penalties. That's my only regret. But no, no regrets." -Mick McCarthy
So knowledge of Roy Keanes hip's is a criteria for knowledge of Irish football?
Yes, absolutely. Even if you don't like him, he's unquestionably one our greatest players ever. Only McGrath and Liam Brady are worthy of being mentioned in the same breath.So knowledge of Roy Keanes hip's is a criteria for knowledge of Irish football?
yes. anyone that knows how much we leaned on Keano will appreciate that when he was not available for whatever reason, we suffered. We would not have qualified for the world cup in 2002 without him. (cypress away, holland at home, portugal at home etc, etc) so we did come to understand his issues with his hip, his hamstring, and his whatever else meant he could not line out. He was the most influential player that ireland has had over the last 15 years. I dont think anyone could disagree with that.So knowledge of Roy Keanes hip's is a criteria for knowledge of Irish football?
True, when he could be arsed showing up. He missed plenty of games for spurious reasons long before his hip problems. We also wouldn't have qualified without McAteer's 2 goals against Holland or Ian Harte's goals or Robbie Keane's etc. Royston was magnificent that campaign but the way that other players and the managers contributions have been forgotten about and practically airbrushed from history is frankly laughable.
These are Ireland's results between September 1998 and November 2001 - McCarthy's most successful time in charge. Also the time that Keane was in his prime. 'K' denotes games that Keane played. Let's see if there's any discrepancy.
v Croatia 2-0 K
v Malta 5-0 K
v Yugoslavia 0-1 K
v NI 0-1
v Macedonia 1-0
v Yugoslavia 2-1 K
v Croatia 0-1
v Malta 3-2
v Macedonia 1-1
v Turkey 1-1 K
v Turkey 0-0 K
v Czechs 3-2 K
v Greece 0-1
v Scotland 1-2
v Mexico 2-2
v USA 1-1
v S. Africa 2-1
v Holland 2-2 K
v Portugal 1-1 K
v Estonia 2-0 K
v Finland 3-0
v Cyprus 4-0 K
v Andorra 3-0 K
v Andorra 3-1
v Portugal 1-1 K
v Croatia 2-2 K
v Holland 1-0 K
v Cyprus 4-0 K
v Iran 2-0 K
v Iran 0-1
With Keane; played 15, won 9, drew 5, lost 1.
Without Keane; played 15, won 5, drew 4, lost 6.
Bit of a difference. OK, Keane missed a lot of matches, but he still has more caps (67) than John Giles (59), Mick McCarthy (57), Denis Irwin (56) and Ronnie Whelan (53). This would back up the claim of Keane's importance, and refute the detractors who deny Keane's willingness to play for his country. The players mentioned above are upheld as Irish footballing heroes, and Keane derided by some as a traitor. Yet he played more games than them.
Last edited by Supreme feet; 01/12/2007 at 2:32 PM.
Says it all really.
Number of caps is misleading though as in Giles's day they played less games.
Giles was also pulled out of alot of games by Revie because of the lack of a qualified physio on the annual away trips to Poland. Sound familiar.
Ronnie Whelan also pulled out of games for dubious reasons as Liverpool dominated Europe. He got booed at Tolka in 1984 when he paraded the European Cup in a friendly.
Keane will always be a controversial figure, but it remains a fact that in the last ten years, Keane, Irwin and Steve Finnan (whose commitment has recently been called into question) are the only Irishmen to have won the Champions League.
It boils down to a personal choice for us fans - do we want proven winners (who might drop out of the occasional friendly) or do we want honest, limited journeymen who escape from their relegation battles to sweat blood for their country? It appears that we can't survive or thrive without either.
Last edited by Supreme feet; 01/12/2007 at 2:53 PM. Reason: dodgy phraseology
And at Milltown. There were chants of "Why don't you play for Ireland?" afair.
Keane won the champions league???
so did traore biscan etc
id take McCarthy back in a heartbeat must be said
Must have missed the final that Keane played in. What year was that?
I think you'll find that that may be to do with the fact that none of the others have a 'Sapian' in their history. The amount of caps is irrelevant. Incidents such as Keane missing friendlies (whatever about competitive games, think he was missing for a lot of WC 98 qualifiers, correct me if I'm wrong, I know he'd managed to stupidly injure himself kicking Haaland prior to the play off), not turning up at airports for tours etc would not cause the division in opinion that Saipan does and that's the cause of the blot on his reputation with many fans.
Thats pretty pedantic don't you think?
Not really. Facetious yes.He missed the final. He's said himself he didn't feel like he won it.
Darren Potter also got a medal the year Liverpool won it if we want to be really pedantic.
Still, at least Keane seems to be generating a very strong sense of dedication, companionship & togetherness in his team
On the way into the stadium, an elderly San Marino Steward waved us in and said "Tonight, may the best team win"
And they nearly did.
Keane IMO was the best player we have ever had. And I believe McCarthy made a mistake in Saipan. But I would have McCarthy back over many of the names mentioned as potential candidates for the job. Is Jewell a better manager than MM? I don't think so and yet he was possibly offered the job.
17 points in that group. in 10 games. we got 17 points in the last campaign too, playing two more games. and we were only three points from the top of that group too. misinformation of the highest degree. when was the last time we finished so close to the group winners?When Roy the man came back with the great Kerr we came FOURTH the worst finish in 20 years.
I think Shay Given can now be judged as Ireland's best ever player, and his career is over with well over 100 caps, most will share this opinion.
Keane was indubitably one of our finest ever, but I think that is an indication of the low calibre of footballer we produce. Philip Cocu would have won 200 caps for us.
"No regrets, none at all. My only regret is that we went out on penalties. That's my only regret. But no, no regrets." -Mick McCarthy
forget keane for a second (any mention of him creates division) but given better than giles or brady?
who would you rather have on your team, if you had to pick one out of the three?
given is the best keeper we've ever had but thats it.
ireland played 163 games between 1990 to 2006. cocu couldnt of won 200 caps. add in him breaking his leg and being out for a year in '91
Between 1 January 1990 and 31st December 2006, I estimate Ireland played 170 games. Any other offers?
Honest! I am not a secret Tim nor a closet Sham - I really am a Seagull.
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