Fair point Kevin. Even with those "Tier one" players they didnt qualify for EC either. What I am saying is we don't neccessarily need star players we need a committed team.Originally Posted by Kevin77
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I prefer a team like Croatia with no star players, but with nice technique and good passing football. You could make a case for Modric, but then we could make a case for McGeady.
I actually do think in the next 5 years Ireland will get at least one truly world class player though.
Like it or not- Not in most your cases, Stephen Ireland is without doubt the hottest prospect we have.
COBH RAMBLERS FIRST DIV CHAMPS 2007
http://irish-abroad.appspot.com/GameDayDetails fantastic website by tetsujin1979
We don't have him anymore though, time to move on. Mcgeady is the future!!!
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Agreed. I don't think the two need be mutually exclusive though?
You could hardly argue that having Keane made us a more divided...oh oh!!! Not that argument again!
Disagree with that and not just because I don't like the guy but I think McGeady for one has more potential.
Ireland is good but he is limited, he is no great athlete and never will be, he is too easily pushed off the ball and most importantly he just doesn't have the right mental attributes to make it to the top, lacks motivation and doesn't even seem to enjoy playing football, I think like JOSH he will be another one of our players who never fulfilled their potential
No arguement here, however Keane, while undoubtedly a magnificent player, was not your typical tier one candidate such as Zidane, Henry, Ronaldinho etc.. he was one of the first of a new breed of midfielder and only Steven Gerrard has come close to him. A box to box player who would sooner die than lose a game and who gave his all for the benefit of his team (aside obviously from the obvious incident which will blight our memories of him forever.). He made the most of the talent God gave him, much the same as Kevin Moran did and made himself a tier one player. This is why those people suggesting Stephen Ireland as our next great hope are wrong. He has bucket loads of talent but doesnt seem to have the desire to exploit it fully therefore is destined to be no more than average. Which IMO is a massive massive shame.
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Paul McShane...No seriously Ireland is our next big hope
truely excellent post and really enjoyable reading this thread.
I guess the first question I would say is what constitutes world class. I notice one of the posters (think it was noely's guitar) say we've only had 4 world class players in the last 40 years. If Noely's definition of world class is a guy who could get into a world x1 or a world 22, then I would say that's fair enough. However, I would consider world class to be a guy who could grace any team club or international. By this definition, I would throw Whelan, Irwin, Lawrenson and possibly Heighway into the mix. From the modern era, Given is imo world class and duff from 2001-2004 was world class. Robbie is the level just below world class.
It's so difficult to see who will be our next world class player. I do believe we will produce one or two in the next 5-10 years, but it depends on so much. Garvan has the look of an excellent player but his next move is crucial. I would prefer him to stay with Ipswich for another year and then go to a club like Villa rather than go to a club like middlesboro where he could go backwards and disappear from sight. mccarthy is in the same category, as he is clearly a very special player. even though I am a liverpool fan, i think going there would be a bad move for him. I think he would be better served going to a club like fulham, pompey or villa where he would flourish and have a chance of first team football in the next year or so at a club where good football is played. scannell looks exceptional as well.
from the younger lads, clifford and brady look special, as does dolan of blackburn. hourihane seems a real class act too http://www.uefa.com/competitions/und...id=697438.html but i think at that age it's too young to predict. i know joxer kelly at liverpool was considered the best player of his age group but then got home sick so I don't think you can predict anything before they're coming upto 18.
I think that is fair Bungle. Also Houghton was instrumental in almost everything good Ireland did for many years, and was the heartbeat of a world class Liverpool team. So I would add him to that category.
We were very lucky with the talent we had in that era. McGrath, Irwin, Keane, Houghton etc. I doubt we will ever see such talent available all at once again.
Paddy Garcia I honestly think we will see that again.
I never actually seen Houghton play but I can't imagine McGeady not being better than him.
right at this point in time, it would be foolhardy to compare McGeady to Houghton. As Paddy Garcia elludes, Houghton was one of the best players in a great Liverpool team. By my definition, he was a world class player.
McGeady I also believe could become world class and probably has more natural talent than Houghton had. he is a very young player who has done well the few times he has played against quality opposition. However, saying that McGeady is better than Houghton at this stage in his career is like saying that Fabregas is a better player than Platini ever was. it's like putting the horse before the cart.
Great debate and, as Supreme Feet says, much of the argument is based upon when the young players develop. If you look at the fact that Houghton was plying his trade in division 2 with Fulham at the same stage of his career that McGeady is cleaning up the plaudits in Scotland, there is justification for saying that McGeady will be better than Houghton. However, Houghton was a late developer and bar the fact that he scored 2 of the most important goals in our history may not be held in such light.
Garvan and McCarthy look like potential candidates, however this may be due to their size at this stage in their career - that said, from what I have seen of both players their technique is good however this could be overshadowing other players who are not as developed at this stage. Apart from that have heard that Clifford and Brady are quality.
One player that I would like to throw into the mix is Stephen Gleeson at Wolves - it may be slight bias - however he is massively regarded at Wolves and was another one who was being scouted by Barcelona and AC Milan having been tipped as player of the tournament in an U17 youth team competition a few years back. Was due to breakthrough this season, however his season has been hampered by injury, although he has been made reserve team captain when he came back from injury and should come through well as his strength develops. Particularly love his ability to keep possession, interconnect play in the centre of midfield and find space - also has the ability to create something out of nothing with great goals (Stockport Semi Final & Germany U21).
Finally, Jon Dunleavy is meant to be a quality centrehalf at the Wolves - 17 and captaining the U19 youth team (which is one of the best in the league) - also meant to be the defensive fulcrum of the Ireland U17 side before injury.
Slight bias maybe, but having seen Robbie in his 2nd game down the Wolves you can live and hope.
Well he would be if you watched his distribution, positioning, defence splitting passes (ask Rush) and are able to appreciate a great football brain. We would probably not have qualified for Italy without Houghton. A fantastic balance of work rate & skill, that frankly we have not seen the like of since (Keane apart).
It's not just his goal against England that I remember that game for, he had Barnes in his pocket & was a constant threat to the English defence.
Really? I for one would be delighted if McGeady turned out to be as good a player for Ireland as Houghton was, he possibly has the potential to be better but he also has the potential to be another player who promised much but never really developed the way people hoped, its still just potential and he has a long way to go to be as good as Houghton
Last edited by Morbo; 03/06/2008 at 11:52 AM.
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