Lee Trundle

eirebhoy

Should he be called up to the next Ireland squad? He's the most succesful Irish player in the UK so far this season. He's the top scorer in Britain with 17 goals in 16 games in League 1 and looks certain to get 20 before Christmas. I was watching Soccer Am this morning and he made the showboating 4 times. Only Ronaldinho can do that. He's also the only player outside the premiership with image rights. He feels he's good enough to be doing it in the premiership:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/swansea_city/4452208.stm

Swansea striker Lee Trundle says he is good enough to play in the Premiership.

Trundle, 29, took his tally to 17 goals in 16 games with a brace against Yeovil on Friday night, and told BBC Sport: "I think I can do it in the Premiership.

"I'm a goalscorer and believe in my own ability. That's the way you've got to go out and play football.

"It's no good settling for something when you think you can do better. I believe I'm a player who can play at the highest level."

Swansea rejected a bid of £750,000 for Trundle from Championship side Sheffield Wednesday last month.

The former Rhyl and Wrexham striker says he wants to stay with Swansea as they push towards League One promotion, but he knows the club may be tempted to sell if the price is right.

"It's out of my hands if a big club comes in and puts a bid in," said Trundle, who says he has lost a stone in weight from last season.

"It's just up to me to do my thing on the pitch and that's what I'm doing."

I've seen him play 2 or 3 times and I've no doubt he's good enough for the premiership. I doubt he'll be getting much more than 20 for Swansea in the entire season as I'll be suprised if he's not snapped up by a premiership club in January.

Bungalow Bill

He is 29 though, why would he not have been snapped up by now if he was so good?

eirebhoy

Bungalow Bill wrote:

He is 29 though, why would he not have been snapped up by now if he was so good?

He only started professional football at 24 or 25 because he said he had no ambitions and didn't give a crap really. By the time he proved himself at a professional level he was playing he would have been about 26. He was very overweight when he first started so a lot of scouts would have overlooked him. Most premiership clubs would be asking the same question you're asking now. John Aldridge's career is a mirror image of Trundle's. He began professional football in his mid twenties and Liverpool bought him at 29. Didn't score for Ireland until he was in his 30's and went on to score a load more. ATM though Trundle's definitely attracting interest from premiership clubs, Charlton and Everton have been linked.

Ruskie4Rent

He is a quality player. Should at least get a friendly to see what he can offer us. I saw all his showboat clips. There is a whole montage of his showboating from the one match.

wheres me jumpa

christ ive known about this guy for a while but didnt know he qualified for ireland.

Ruskie4Rent

I found out on FM2006. It was a big surprise to me.

Guy:Incognito

All depends on whether Kea...... i mean the new manager fancies giving him a go.

MrJoeSoap

Some great skills on him alright. Couldn't believe how many times he was on showboating this morning!!!

http://www.socceram.vowmedia.com/clips/191105/showboat191105.wmv

ctrl-alt-delete

just saw his goal from the weekend there - ball cleared by opposition keeper under pressure from another player, comes out to him bout 25yards out,he takes it on his chest, and smakes a dipping volley back over the keeper into the top corner....

i see him all the time on soccer am and his tricks are amazing - he is the ronaldinho of the english leagues in my opinion for tricks!

no harm to give him a chance if he wants it he's already proved he can score and change matches by himself

20 Times 20 Times

Seen the goal on goals on sunday , this guy deserves a chance to play at top level , even chris says he is miles better then anyone in that division

eirebhoy

Seen the goal earlier too. Superb goal.

Here's a few clips of him:
http://www.swanseacityafc.co.uk/sitepage.asp?a=207

wheres me jumpa wrote:

christ ive known about this guy for a while but didnt know he qualified for ireland.

He doesn't just qualify, he's as Irish as Kilbane and Breen. Always wore the Irish jersey as a kid and is over to Inchicore regularly and has been at a few Pats matches. Turned down N.Ireland last year as he wants to play for us. I'd say he'd turn down England too.

mchurl

if kamy says it it must be true!!:D
Defo give him a go in our next friendly game

Lemlin

eirebhoy wrote:

Seen the goal earlier too. Superb goal.

Here's a few clips of him:
http://www.swanseacityafc.co.uk/sitepage.asp?a=207


He doesn't just qualify, he's as Irish as Kilbane and Breen. Always wore the Irish jersey as a kid and is over to Inchicore regularly and has been at a few Pats matches. Turned down N.Ireland last year as he wants to play for us. I'd say he'd turn down England too.

I seriously doubt England are after a 29 year old second division striker. Whatever about Ireland or Northern Ireland, England have Owen, Defoe, Rooney, Bent etc.

No doubt he's a good player who deserves a call-up but the only reservation I'd have is his age. Ireland have three younger strikers in Morrisson, Keane and Elliott, surely it'd be better to nurture their talent than worry about a striker who'll be 31 or so at the next European Championship and 33 at the next World Cup.

Dub13

Lets start the Lee Trundle for Ireland campaign.Never know he could play for us.

kensutz

He's being watched by Norwich too with Worthington declaring an interest in him. Bit of a showpony but he does the job.

whiskeyman

kensutz wrote:

He's being watched by Norwich too with Worthington declaring an interest in him. Bit of a showpony but he does the job.

He already turned down an offer from the Owls.
I cant see him going to the Championship, when his probably sees that as a given if he stays with his beloved Swansea next season anyway.
Only a decent Premiership bid will do, but who will take the chance on him to succeed at that level?
It seems Charlton might

eirebhoy

Lemlin wrote:

I seriously doubt England are after a 29 year old second division striker. Whatever about Ireland or Northern Ireland, England have Owen, Defoe, Rooney, Bent etc.

I wasn't saying he's good enough for England.

There's a few stories in today's papers about Trundle attracting interest from premiership clubs. Charlton are mentioned in all.

Pigman II

I don't think he should be called up.

With regard to his age the comparison to Alridge is somewhat valid I suppose but Aldo at least had some top flight experience with Oxford by the time we got round to nabbing him - plus he was only 27 at the time. I'd like Trundle to at least have a season in the Prem or Div1 to see what he can actually do before giving him a shot with Ireland. Imho Div2 of the English league isn't much ahead of the top 2-3 clubs in the EL so just because a guy is blazing there doesn't impress me much.

Besides all that (and unusually for us) attack isn't where we're weakest at the moment so if we're going to go back to the bad old days of 'f. a. i.' then at least we should be trying to dig up a few decent midfielders first.

YeatsCounty

I think we should give him a call up for next Spring's friendly matches. It would be an absolute waste not to try him out soon, especially since he's no spring chicken. I have reservations seeing as he's playing at league 1 level, but he deserves a try with Ireland.

He scored both goals for Swansea in their recent win over yeovil and he had another diallowed. His second goal is an absolute peach.

Link.

Serbian

YeatsCounty wrote:

He scored both goals for Swansea in their recent win over yeovil and he had another diallowed. His second goal is an absolute peach.

His second goal is good alright, but it was mainly down to really crap goalkeeping.

YeatsCounty

Serbian wrote:

His second goal is good alright, but it was mainly down to really crap goalkeeping.

true, but a good striker finishes off those chances. He got lucky, but a lot of players would have missed that chance.

Big Ears

Trundle is a quality player and ive no doubt the extra weight is what put clubs in higher divisions off from trying to sign him .

I'd be very suprised if we haven't capped him in 12 months time (unless he gets a serious injury) as by then he will either have been snapped up by a Premiership club or playing in the Championship for Swansea .

ctrl-alt-delete

Pigman II wrote:

Besides all that (and unusually for us) attack isn't where we're weakest at the moment so if we're going to go back to the bad old days of 'f. a. i.' then at least we should be trying to dig up a few decent midfielders first.

attack isnt where we are weakest? we are weak all over the pitch, hence sometimes having to throw duff up front, robbie keane needs a kick up the arse and if we call up trundle we can finally give doherty the boot - if only for the last reason there we should call him up.

Pigman II

ctrl-alt-delete wrote:

attack isnt where we are weakest?

Thats right.

ctrl-alt-delete

Pigman II wrote:

Thats right.

correct me if im wrong but we scored the least amount of goals out of the 4 "big" teams in the group - plus our forwards didnt score all of these,

anyway to get back on topic, theres no harm in giving trundle a shot so we can see what he can do

Spider_Baby!

Will he be as good in the green, though...

ctrl-alt-delete

Spider_Baby! wrote:

Will he be as good in the green, though...

well if we give him a chance thats what we will find out - its not as if we call him up and play him once we have to do it forever

Pigman II

ctrl-alt-delete wrote:

correct me if im wrong but we scored the least amount of goals out of the 4 "big" teams in the group

What does that prove? We could have had Owen and Rooney up front and I still doubt we would have been top scorers in the group because we were playing in a shambolic system let down for the most part by a dazzling array of donkey-esque midfielders.

If you've got strikers who are getting no service and are left stranded 30-40 yards away from the midfield for most of the game then of course they're not going to get much of a return.

ctrl-alt-delete wrote:

plus our forwards didnt score all of these,

Again, what does that prove? England scored 17 in the qualifiers. Of that total only four were scored by strikers. Does that suddenly make Owen, Rooney, Defoe etc bad players?

Kingp35

I have been saying for ages now that Trundle should be called up. I said it while he was in League 2 but I was told that he wasnt good enough and he is unproven. He has now moved up a division and is actually scoring more goals than he did in League 2. He has undoubted talent and some fantastic skill. HE deserves a call up and deserved it a few years ago.

I hope it happens sooner rather than later and whoever our new manager is realises the ability that Trundle has

The Muppet

I think we should call him up if he wants to play for us. He would giv us other options and we need all the options we can get.

Ruskie4Rent

Who cares what age he is. I'd rather watch him play for Ireland than watch them whacking it up to docherty in the last 10min of every match thats not going their way. It really annoys me that they would choose some old players but, for some reason avoid him. He never even got a chance under Kerr. And its not as if he's only become good all of a sudden.

ButcherOfNog

Pigman II wrote:

because we were playing in a shambolic system let down for the most part by a dazzling array of donkey-esque midfielders.

couldn't have put it better myself.

Big Nelly

I think he should be picked....Alan Quinn was bring picked when playing in League 1 for Shef Wed so doesnt seem to be a problem about the division...alan only got knocked out of the squad when he moved into the Championship:rolleyes: thats when I lost faith with Kerr

I see the problem why he wasnt picked is because of the Eircom league.....can you imagine someone from League 2 been picked....there would be up roar from all the Eircom league fans....I bet most of them on here would have plenty to say....why doesnt he picked "such and such from my team" instead of a league 2 player??? do they think that the Eircom league is worse than League 2??? blah blah blah...I can see it now!!!

Watched the highlights of Soccer AM last night and was impressive but have seen him alot of times on showboat so nothing new!!!

Never seen him in a full game yet....does he playing as a front man....like on the last man or does he drop deeper and pick up the ball and attack from there??? pity he hadnt the balls to move up to Shef Wed when they bid for him....we really need someone like him!!

Guy:Incognito

I am by no means a fan of the EL but why the big furoar about him getting a call up when there are plenty of strikers in the EL who would have been equally entitled to call ups for the last god knows how many years, where are their threads?


**EDIT***, just noticed Big Nelly's post***EDIT***

Big Nelly

Stekelly wrote:

I am by no means a fan of the EL but why the big furoar about him getting a call up when there are plenty of strikers in the EL who would have been equally entitled to call ups for the last god knows how many years, where are their threads?


**EDIT***, just noticed Big Nelly's post***EDIT***

lmao!!! knew it wouldnt take long for the Eircom league posters!!

MrJoeSoap

As great a player as Trundle is, I'd rather see an Irish player (be it eL or otherwise) called up. By Irish, I mean born in Ireland / an Irish citizen.

Correct me if I'm wrong about Trundle not being an Irish citizen.

Benedict XVI

MrJoeSoap wrote:

As great a player as Trundle is, I'd rather see an Irish player (be it eL or otherwise) called up. By Irish, I mean born in Ireland / an Irish citizen.

Correct me if I'm wrong about Trundle not being an Irish citizen.

I'd assume that to play for a country you have to hold a passport of that country
And seeing as holding a passport siginifies citizenship therefore if Trundell holds an Irish Passport then he is an Irish citizen.

Guy:Incognito

Big Nelly wrote:

lmao!!! knew it wouldnt take long for the Eircom league posters!!

Excuse me, I dont support the EL at all. It's a valid cmparison though. While the EL isnt a patch on the PL you can't deny similarities with the lower leagues.

Guy:Incognito

Benedict XVI wrote:

I'd assume that to play for a country you have to hold a passport of that country and seeing as holding a pssport signifies that you are a citizen of a country therefor if Trundell holds an Irish Passport then he is an Irish citizen.

Exactly, sure isnt Jimmy Bullard tryign to get a call up for the German squad, he's never even been there.

MrJoeSoap

How does one go about becoming an Irish citizen? How, for example, does Clinton Morrison hold an Irish passport?

(I'm not writing this cynically or anything, I'm genuinely interested!)

Benedict XVI

MrJoeSoap wrote:

How does one go about becoming an Irish citizen? How, for example, does Clinton Morrison hold an Irish passport?

(I'm not writing this cynically or anything, I'm genuinely interested!)

If at least 1 grand parent was born here you can be a citizen.
If a grandparent was born in NI prior to 1922 you can be a citizen , ala McAteer.

eirebhoy

MrJoeSoap wrote:

As great a player as Trundle is, I'd rather see an Irish player (be it eL or otherwise) called up. By Irish, I mean born in Ireland / an Irish citizen.

Correct me if I'm wrong about Trundle not being an Irish citizen.

"Even when I was a kid I grew up supporting Ireland even though I lived in England, and all my mates had England kits on I always had an Ireland kit on so it’s not something that’s just cropped up, it’s always been in my family, all the time."

On the N.Ireland interest:
"It's very flattering to have an international side interested in you, but I'm not looking for any door into international football

My grandad's from Inchicore in Dublin and ever since I was a young lad I've had my heart set on playing for the Republic of Ireland."

bohsman

Trundle came out and attacked the EL when Ginger Judas got a call up saying the 3rd division in England was far superior.

Do we really need a showboater? looking at some of the clips the tricks come to nothing, he chips the ball into the keepers arms a few times, Id have gotten eaten by the manager if Id tried anything like that when I was playing

~Rebel~

eirebhoy pretty much summed up the solution to the only real problem anyone should have about taking trundle on, at least as a trial. As regards the problems of eircom league players that play at about the same level, im quite sure if trundle displayed the stuff he did in the eircom league he would also be called up. he's not just good, he does stuff any defender in the world would have his hands full with, he's pretty much a player blatently playing below his class in league 1, and is the absolute star of the league. 90% of merchandise sold by swansea has his name attached, and he's the only player in england outside the prem with image rights. Id absolutely love to see him given a bash, fair enough if he cant cut it, grand, but if he can..well theres no bad side to calling him up really. As for his age, well the reason most players start losing it in their early 30s is because they're after about 15 years of intensive play and training, which will wear anyone down. He on the other hand has only been a pro for 4 years, so should have no problem being at his best till about 35. I know plenty of people of that age that could run solidly for a game of 90 minutes and still have their pace.

MrJoeSoap

I think Trundle is a great player, love watching him play. He's a lot more than a showboater, 17 goals in 16 games proves that.

He's obviously fairly into his Irish roots, which is a lot more than can be said for the majority of the plastic paddies these days (except maybe Kilbane, I've read an article about him very similar to what was said by Trundle).

But if the situation arose of a place in the squad being available and Trundle was picked ahead of a decent Irish-born player (on good form, scoring goals etc...), I wouldn't be best pleased.

eirebhoy

bohsman wrote:

Trundle came out and attacked the EL when Ginger Judas got a call up saying the 3rd division in England was far superior.

Do we really need a showboater? looking at some of the clips the tricks come to nothing, he chips the ball into the keepers arms a few times, Id have gotten eaten by the manager if Id tried anything like that when I was playing

His agent said:

"The likes of Glen Crowe have played and Lee is capable of doing a job."

Don't think Trundle ever attacked the Eircom league.

applehunter

Well as someone who preaches looking at the player, not the league, the guy looks brilliant.

MrJoeSoap

applehunter wrote:

Well as someone who preaches looking at the player, not the league, the guy looks brilliant.

Thats pretty much it alright.

Chucky the tree

MrJoeSoap wrote:

But if the situation arose of a place in the squad being available and Trundle was picked ahead of a decent Irish-born player (on good form, scoring goals etc...), I wouldn't be best pleased.

like who? There arent many lads elgible for Ireland that can bang in the goal at the rate trundle has been. Now i know people would suggest an EL player, but they havent shown they can cut it against decent quality oppisition.

The majority of El teams are league 2 standards.

MrJoeSoap

Chucky the tree wrote:

like who? There arent many lads elgible for Ireland that can bang in the goal at the rate trundle has been.

... in league one. Kevin Doyle deserves a chance ahead of Trundle. As, in my opinion, do Jason Byrne, George O'Callaghan and a few others.

Chucky the tree wrote:

Now i know people would suggest an EL player, but they havent shown they can cut it against decent quality oppisition.

And how has Trundle shown this?

Chucky the tree wrote:

The majority of El teams are league 2 standards.

This has been debated to death. TBH I'm not even gonna bother debating it again.

Chucky the tree

MrJoeSoap wrote:

... in league one. Kevin Doyle deserves a chance ahead of Trundle. As, in my opinion, do Jason Byrne, George O'Callaghan and a few others.



And how has Trundle shown this?

17 goals already this season, 23 last season isnt it? Only one who can match that is jason byrne isnt it.

You mightnt want to debate it, But its a very important factor when deciding who should and shouldnt be called up.