ive said it before but i always had a lot of sympathy for Delap and never felt he got a fair go of it at international level from all our post JC managers. He got lambasted for not marking from a corner in one friendly i think it was (maybe against USA?) and never really featured since. Really unfortunate.
Always a decent footballer but his performances since Stoke got promoted alone have been worthy of some form of inclusion.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
Stu I am surprised...he seems so laughably one dimensional.
He can throw the ball but that is it. I can't think of a worse example of a "prospect" in recent times. Even with the abnormal ability to throw the ball a country mile, I can't imagine who he would replace in the current Irish lineup...
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
Delap didn't get the best shake of the stick but, at the same time, he didn't take what opportunities he had. I think it was the home play-off against Turkey, he started and was really poor - and a role on the right side was up for grabs. He's matured well, in fairness, and could've made an impact but his time's passed unfortunately.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
ah no, i dont think he's a prospect - i just think he has done enough for Stoke since promotion for a training camp, friendly or "B" call-up. He's always been a real athlete with a good engine and an overall decent, premiership/championship player. I wont lose any sleep over it but ive always felt he was completely overlooked over the years.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
I've seen him play a defensive centre midfield role for Stoke. I don't think he's miles ahead of Keith Andrews...that said I don't really care whether he's part of the team or not. I wouldn't be opposed to having him on the bench to throw on late in a game if we were behind as part of a package deal with Folan.
What cost him his place in McCarthys squad was a goal conceded from a corner against the USA in Lansdowne Road. The ball was played into the box from a corner and Delap's man outmuscled him to score a header. Don't think he was ever named in a squad after that. Though at times I think we could have done with his versatility
Always look on the bright side of life
If you've only started watching football in the last couple of years then it could seem that DeLap is quite one-dimensional as it's all the English media seem to focus on when covering Stoke games. However, if you go back to his Derby, Southampton and brief Sunderland days the throw-in was never as much of a focus and he has continued to hold his own in top-division football over a 10 year period (with the odd season in the Championship.
He was a hard-working and hard-running midfielder and was very close to making the World Cup squad in 2002. He did also feature briefly in Brian Kerr's thoughts as well (his 11 caps were spread over 6 years). I can't think of any Irish players with 295 Premier League appearances who have won as few caps as that. He seems to be a thoroughly decent and down-to-earth person and has a very similar passion for the country as Kevin Kilbane. (There is a seemingly apocryphal story that he and his father travelled to Japan for the world cup as supporters when Rory didn't make the squad for the finals - I would love it if that is true).
Last edited by EastTerracer; 10/06/2010 at 12:27 PM.
"There's man all over for you, blaming on his boots the fault of his feet" - Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot
delap needs to be recalled for the rest of the campaign, if only for his throws as an option coming off the bench. with the team struggling to make chances they could make a big difference.
arguably he should be startin in centre mid, i defo rate him more than whelan, andrews, green, gibson. hopefully the likes of wilson, mccarthy , meyler will step up sooner rather than later but i want to see delap in the squad at least.
i wouldnt agree thats he's got the short end of the stick before as like someone said above he's had chances and not delivered, but that doesnt mean he doesn't deserve another shot at it, even at 34.
He was never given a chance at central midfield though. Right midfield and even as a forward in Turkey I think.
Rocket-propelled throw-in or not, I wouldn't have him in at RB ahead of Kelly, Foley or Coleman.
Last edited by SwanVsDalton; 19/10/2010 at 4:43 PM. Reason: for clarity
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
I've always thought he deserved a chance in the squad simply as he is playing week in and week out in the Premier League which very few of our other players are. Most of the times I've seen him play for Stoke he's been on the wing, which, unfortunately for him, is one of the few positions we actually seem to be OK at in terms of depth right now. Should be in the squad for Norway but as we all know Trap is far too set in his ways to call him up.
My Guarantee
Am looking for old Irish matches on VHS, PM me if you have some and I'll upload them here
I was responding to Fixer82's post on moving O'Shea to LB and playing Delap at RB. Don't see much sense in it since we're coming down with Premiership quality out-and-out RB's with time on their side.
Open to correction but I'm fairly sure Delap hasn't played at RB for Stoke all season. And, even if he has, I'm fairly sure Pulis wouldn't if he had our RB resources.
Last edited by SwanVsDalton; 19/10/2010 at 5:55 PM.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
Delap (handful of caps, never been impressive in an Ireland shirt) in at left-back, a position he's never played, over Kilbane (over 100 caps)? I know we're short at LB but seriously...
If Delap is to come in, it has to be in his best position - midfield. We're too well stocked at RB and it's too risky a gamble to play him anywhere else (particularly left full).
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
Delap deserved to be in the squad back in McCarthys days as manager. Its not going to happen now unfortunately. Too late for it to be worthwhile. Always felt he got overly harsh criticism for his displays for us.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
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