Finnan, O Brien and Kiely coming out of Retirement?

[tetsujin1979]

Is O'Dea even getting in the match day squad for Celtic??

Wasn't in the squad at the weekend, but he's only been out of the matchday XVI six times this season
His last game was the first game against Aberdeen in the Cup, on the 9th March

[jmurphyc]

O'Shea - rarely playing for Man Utd, extremly rare that he plays at centre hal
McShane - cant get back into the Sunderland team, their form imporved when he was dropped, awful at beginning of season. Error prone.
O'Dea- Cant even break into the worst defence Celtic have had for years
St. Ledger- Preston are just out of relegation trouble. Not the answer at the moment.

Simply put O'Brien is the best of what we have. he is almost a certainty for player of the year at Bolton this season. yes they are going to be relegated but he has had a good term. Plus if we have him and Dunne in our team we will be a major threat from set pieces, and set pieces are vital in football. Anyone dismissing O'Brien for Ireland hasnt a clue and has seen little of him in the past. Yes he is limited but he is the best of what we have to partner Dunne.

I like O'Brien quite a bit. His partnership with Cunningham was excellent IMO. I'd be interested to see how himself and Dunne could get on together for a prolonged period of time. However, I don't see the problem in trying a few other pairings. I wouldn't be too keen on O'Dea unless he starts playing regular football and though I haven't seen St Ledger I've heard good things about him. It's unfair to judge him on the fact that his team are doing badly; it's not a great indication as to how good he is. You could use that point to argue that Given is a useless goalkeeper due to him conceding so many goals in the last 10 years.

I can't remember how many games they've played, but one good thing to come out of the Staunton regime IMO was that a defence of Finnan-McShane-Dunne-O'Shea conceded no goals (it was only about 3 games though) and never really looked like conceding and Dunne-McShane looked a potentially good future partnership in the games they played. McShane is still young and in his first season in the top flight so I wouldn't write him off just yet.

[kamikaze]

If sluggish and error prone Andy O'Brien turns out to be vital to our qualification I'll eat my own legs. He's average in his best form and poor when not. If we want to qualify we need McShane, O'Dea or Ledger to come through and establish themselves as reliable defenders at least within the initial stages of the campaign.

i agree totally, its a sad start to the new era of irish football if we are talking about andy o brien being the rock to build upon.Bring some of the younger lads through and give them games they can only get better by being beside the likes of richard dunne,personally i like o dea and would like to see him getting some more time on the field.

[jmurphyc]

i agree totally, its a sad start to the new era of irish football if we are talking about andy o brien being the rock to build upon.Bring some of the younger lads through and give them games they can only get better by being beside the likes of richard dunne,personally i like o dea and would like to see him getting some more time on the field.

We could then have the same problem as we did in Cyprus with a central defender having a lack of match practice and we all know what happened there.

[carloz]

i agree totally, its a sad start to the new era of irish football if we are talking about andy o brien being the rock to build upon.Bring some of the younger lads through and give them games they can only get better by being beside the likes of richard dunne,personally i like o dea and would like to see him getting some more time on the field

I cant understand this, you are dismissing a player playing well in the Premiership for Darren O'Dea!! Average players like Caldwell, McManus and Pressely are keeping him out of the centre of defence. He cant even get a run now at full back, and the fact Lee Naylor can get a run at full back says it all. I have said it already, but Celtics defence is near woeful this season, and yet O'Dea still cant manage to get in the team......and then you think he would be a better option that a man playing Premiership football every week. I you had said McCarthy, Bruce of St. Ledger then fair enough, but there is no argument whatsoever for O'Dea

[kamikaze]

I cant understand this, you are dismissing a player playing well in the Premiership for Darren O'Dea!! Average players like Caldwell, McManus and Pressely are keeping him out of the centre of defence. He cant even get a run now at full back, and the fact Lee Naylor can get a run at full back says it all. I have said it already, but Celtics defence is near woeful this season, and yet O'Dea still cant manage to get in the team......and then you think he would be a better option that a man playing Premiership football every week. I you had said McCarthy, Bruce of St. Ledger then fair enough, but there is no argument whatsoever for O'Dea

if o brien is playing so well why are bolton in such a bad position?st ledger is playing ok in mid table of the championship,O dea to me seems to have potential all im saying is give him a go in friendlies let him learn,and he might impress, he cant be much worse than the rest

[danonion]

Couldn't disagree more, it's this attitude that killed us last time and if Trap does the same it'll kill us again. We're playing for the NOW.This is world cup, to hell with the future we need the best squad of players we have now and none of this "building for the future" crap, that's a joke.
I think the management have the right idea when they signalled their intent to call back Kiely, and called up Clint and Connolly. They're picking the best now and ignoring players who "might" be good someday like Stan was doing.

You must be winding us up because thats actually a good post

[Diarmo]

If sluggish and error prone Andy O'Brien turns out to be vital to our qualification I'll eat my own legs. He's average in his best form and poor when not. If we want to qualify we need McShane, O'Dea or Ledger to come through and establish themselves as reliable defenders at least within the initial stages of the campaign.

Biggest pile of crap I've read on here in a while. I'd like to point out when O'Brien was playing for Newcastle (and his first year at Portsmouth - when he got football!) he was in great form for Ireland - with Cunningham beside him. I think Dunne is at the stage where he's good enough and confident enough to boss our defense - and this is the type of partnership O'Brien can flourish in. He made mistakes against Holland and Cyprus but he has had some good performances throughout the years. And youngirish, who do you want in there instead, McShane, O'Shea? Get a grip.

[dr_peepee]

O'Shea - rarely playing for Man Utd, extremly rare that he plays at centre hal
McShane - cant get back into the Sunderland team, their form imporved when he was dropped, awful at beginning of season. Error prone.
O'Dea- Cant even break into the worst defence Celtic have had for years
St. Ledger- Preston are just out of relegation trouble. Not the answer at the moment.

McShane had an very good start to the season start to the season...
A young centre half with two poor fullbacks (Halford and the much improved collins) and varried partners in Nosworthy & Higginbotham. Sure there was a dip in form, but keane hadn't got the players to take him out of the firing line (drop him) for his own good.. PLUS he played out of position at right full before he was dropped.... Sunderlands form improved when Bardsley and Evans were signed. It's not as simple as to say McShane was droped so Sunderland got better.

And yes Barsley is a better right full, Evans is a better centre half... doesn't make mcshane a bad centre half. He's 21, and a good player with potentiontial.

He'll get his chance again.

[Kingdom]

if o brien is playing so well why are bolton in such a bad position?st ledger is playing ok in mid table of the championship,O dea to me seems to have potential all im saying is give him a go in friendlies let him learn,and he might impress, he cant be much worse than the rest

Oh dear God, you are a closet WUM aren't you? Aren't you?

[jmurphyc]

i agree totally, its a sad start to the new era of irish football if we are talking about andy o brien being the rock to build upon.Bring some of the younger lads through and give them games they can only get better by being beside the likes of richard dunne,personally i like o dea and would like to see him getting some more time on the field.

if o brien is playing so well why are bolton in such a bad position?st ledger is playing ok in mid table of the championship,O dea to me seems to have potential all im saying is give him a go in friendlies let him learn,and he might impress, he cant be much worse than the rest

Steve, is that you?

[livehead1]

if o brien is playing so well why are bolton in such a bad position?st ledger is playing ok in mid table of the championship,O dea to me seems to have potential all im saying is give him a go in friendlies let him learn,and he might impress, he cant be much worse than the rest

But he can be much worse than the rest, and he is. O'Brien is spot on what we need at the moment: very experienced, playing well, and knows what the Ireland set up is all about. With the changes that have gone on in the background, the likes of O'Brien are needed to guide the younger players, certainly over the short term.

As for your remark about 'if o brien is playing so well why are bolton in such a bad position?' thats the kind of thing people said at school when they were about 14...

[Ash]

Bring back The Ginger Pele

[youngirish]

Biggest pile of crap I've read on here in a while. I'd like to point out when O'Brien was playing for Newcastle (and his first year at Portsmouth - when he got football!) he was in great form for Ireland - with Cunningham beside him. I think Dunne is at the stage where he's good enough and confident enough to boss our defense - and this is the type of partnership O'Brien can flourish in. He made mistakes against Holland and Cyprus but he has had some good performances throughout the years. And youngirish, who do you want in there instead, McShane, O'Shea? Get a grip.

Pure uninformed garbage. You were probaly one of the heads on here shouting for him to be dropped after those two games but change your tune when the past becomes more of a distant rose tinted memory. He was never in great form for Ireland. Great compared to who? Gary Breen? He has been average at best for us and dreadful at worst. We couldn't hold onto a lead to save our life under Kerr with A O'Brien the mainstay of our defence.

Read my post again we won't qualify if relying on the likes of Andy O'Brien. We need someone else to step up. I would rather try out St Ledger or O'Dea in a few friendlies if they are getting regular football early next season to see if they are up to scratch than go with O'Brien who'll be playing in the same league as St Ledger next year anyway.

[lionelhutz]

Pure uninformed garbage. You were probaly one of the heads on here shouting for him to be dropped after those two games but change your tune when the past becomes more of a distant rose tintied memory. He was never in great form for Ireland. Great compared to who? Gary Breen? He has been average at best for us and dreadful at worst. We couldn't hold onto a lead to save our life under Kerr with A O'Brien the mainstay of our defence.

Read my post again we won't qualify if relying on the likes of Andy O'Brien. We need someone else to step up. I would rather try out St Ledger or O'Dea in a few friendlies if they are getting regular football early next season to see if they are up to scratch than go with O'Brien who'll be playing in the same league as St Ledger next year anyway.

I never said that we would be relying on O'Brien if we want to qualify, i made the point that himself and Finnan would be important additions to a currently weak backline. O'Brien is by no means a great defender but he is much better than our other alternatives. I think he would be solid with Dunne alongside him.

If O'Dea starts playing well regularly for Celtic or McShane gets back into the Sunderland team by all means start them ahead of O'Brien but for now he is by far the best option we have to partner Dunne. Can you honestly disagree with that?

[cartman]

I never said that we would be relying on O'Brien if we want to qualify, i made the point that himself and Finnan would be important additions to a currently weak backline. O'Brien is by no means a great defender but he is much better than our other alternatives. I think he would be solid with Dunne alongside him.

If O'Dea starts playing well regularly for Celtic or McShane gets back into the Sunderland team by all means start them ahead of O'Brien but for now he is by far the best option we have to partner Dunne. Can you honestly disagree with that?

totally agree.. is that you Trap??

[Diarmo]

Pu He was never in great form for Ireland. Great compared to who? Gary Breen? He has been average at best for us and dreadful at worst.

Stop presenting your opinion as fact. Look at the stats from that campaign. 5 goals conceded with the O'Brien - Cunningham partnership. Dunne is put beside Cunningham for the home France match - we lose 1-0. O'Brien was there in Paris (and put in a decent performance that match) and we drew 0-0. So stop pretending that your opinion is fact. Grow up.

And don't tell me again what I'm going to say or think. I never called for O'Brien's head, I've expressed reservations - as I probably have about most Irish players in the last campaign. Is that all you can reply with? Come on, do better.

Look at it:

O'Dea - 21 - can't break into the Celtic team. Look what happened the last time an out of practise centre half was played?

St. Ledger - 23 - I have a lot of hope for this guy - could be a big player in the future. However, I don't think he's ready to become a permanent part of our defense, he hasn't any Prem or international experience.

McShane - Compared to O'Brien on current form - there's no comparison. McShane's playing reserve football, O'Brien's doing well at Bolton. Would you pick McShane ahead of O'Brien now? I think that would just be a repeat of the Cyprus debacle... with the roles reversed.

Patrick McCarthy - 24 - Like St. Ledger, decent prospect. Not as good or as experienced as O'Brien though.

Gary Doherty - Although he does ok at Championship lever, I don't think hes quite up to being an international CB.

John O'Shea - gets very limited game time as a CB. On top of that, his performances leave a lot to be desired. I trust him less as a defender than O'Brien.

Prove to me that any of these (or any other Irish defender) is a better option than O'Brien. Then, I might consider your ridiculous opinions.

[carloz]

Very good points Diarmo and its good to see someone completly agrees with me

[NeilMcD]

Stop presenting your opinion as fact. Look at the stats from that campaign. 5 goals conceded with the O'Brien - Cunningham partnership. Dunne is put beside Cunningham for the home France match - we lose 1-0. O'Brien was there in Paris (and put in a decent performance that match) and we drew 0-0. So stop pretending that your opinion is fact. Grow up.

And don't tell me again what I'm going to say or think. I never called for O'Brien's head, I've expressed reservations - as I probably have about most Irish players in the last campaign. Is that all you can reply with? Come on, do better.

Look at it:

O'Dea - 21 - can't break into the Celtic team. Look what happened the last time an out of practise centre half was played?

St. Ledger - 23 - I have a lot of hope for this guy - could be a big player in the future. However, I don't think he's ready to become a permanent part of our defense, he hasn't any Prem or international experience.

McShane - Compared to O'Brien on current form - there's no comparison. McShane's playing reserve football, O'Brien's doing well at Bolton. Would you pick McShane ahead of O'Brien now? I think that would just be a repeat of the Cyprus debacle... with the roles reversed.

Patrick McCarthy - 24 - Like St. Ledger, decent prospect. Not as good or as experienced as O'Brien though.

Gary Doherty - Although he does ok at Championship lever, I don't think hes quite up to being an international CB.

John O'Shea - gets very limited game time as a CB. On top of that, his performances leave a lot to be desired. I trust him less as a defender than O'Brien.

Prove to me that any of these (or any other Irish defender) is a better option than O'Brien. Then, I might consider your ridiculous opinions.

Dont worry Diarmo that is typical youngirish, if he cant debate with what you actually say, he starts inventing what you might have said or miight say. Andy O Brien had a good partnership with Cunningham. To be honest other than Dunne we have lots of central defenders who are all pretty average and we need to find a partner for Dunne quickly. I like what I see with O Dea any time I see him play but he could be too similar to Dunne possibly. O Brien is worth having in the squad though.

[irishfan86]

I like O'Dea as a centre-half, on the rare time he actually gets his game there.

At this stage he should be looking for a move, even a loan move, to a Championship side.

He needs to start getting matches under his belt in his natural position week in and week out.

He's got the talent, he just needs the games and the experience now.

People who are saying he can't break through at Celtic don't have it exactly right- in my view he's good enough, he's just not better than what they've got. He's right around their level, and when that's the case with defenders, it seems Strachan goes with the older, more experienced player.

Not every manager is willing to give a young centre-half a chance, and I think Strachan is guilty of this.

If he's not a first choice centre-half, or at least a rotation player by next season, O'Dea should be looking for a move.