All-Time Ireland XI

Craft25 · 10-02-2009 6:03pm #1

Whats your all time ireland XI/formation (in your memory of course! - otherwise i'd have Giles in).

Given

Finnan

McGrath

O'leary

Irwin

Keane

Whelan

---Houghton

Brady

Duff---

Keane

Subs: Bonner, Carr, Stan, McCarthy, Harte, Phelan, Sheedy, Moran, Hunt, Aldridge, Quinn

PS. I searched for the thread, so direct me if i missed it
(omitting stapleton was an oversight alright - he'd be first sub for whelan to go 4-4-2)

whatawaster · 10-02-2009 6:12pm

Given

Kelly

McGrath

O'Leary

Irwin

McAteer

Keane

Townsend

Duff

Keane

Quinn

stovelid · 10-02-2009 6:16pm

Given

Finnan

McGrath

Moran

Irwin

Houghton

Keane

Brady

Duff

Keane

Stapleton

premierstone · 10-02-2009 6:18pm

Bonner

Finnan

McGrath

Moran

Irwin

Sheedy

Keane

Brady

Duff

Keane

Stapelton

corban · 10-02-2009 6:23pm

given

irwin

mcgrath

moran

stan

houghton

keane

brady

duff

keane

quinn

DSB · 10-02-2009 6:31pm

Bonner

Kelly
Staunton
McGrath
Dunne

Houghton
Townsend
Keane
Whelan
Duff

Quinn

_blank_ · 10-02-2009 6:38pm

whatawaster wrote: »

Townsend

lolwut?

Giles?

Brady?

Hello?

Also, the amount of teams with no Stapo in them are beyond belief.

Better striker than Quinn and Keane.

FAHCT

Tomthepost · 10-02-2009 6:38pm

corban wrote: »

given

irwin
mcgrath
moran
stan

houghton
keane
brady
duff

keane
quinn

Spot on!

kronsington · 10-02-2009 6:44pm

peyton

phelan

butler

kernaghan

kenna

farrelly

miller

healy

mcgoldrick

slaven

doherty

bigstar · 10-02-2009 6:45pm

Des wrote: »

lolwut?

Giles?

Brady?

Hello?

Also, the amount of teams with no Stapo in them are beyond belief.

Better striker than Quinn and Keane.

FAHCT

because

Craft25 wrote: »

Whats your all time ireland XI/formation (in your memory of course! - otherwise i'd have Giles in).

Diabhal Beag · 10-02-2009 6:46pm

McAteer
McAteer
McAteer
McAteer
McAteer
McAteer
McAteer
McAteer
McAteer
McAteer
David Connolly :pac:

Bounty Hunter · 10-02-2009 7:05pm

......................Given/Bonner.....................

Irwin...........Moran........McGrath....Staunton

..................R.Keane...J.Giles.....................

R.Houghton....................................L.Brady
...............R.Keane.....Quinn/Stapelton

Subs: Given/Bonner, O'Leary, Finnan, Sheedy, Duff, Aldridge, Quinn/Stapelton

Xavi6 · 10-02-2009 7:12pm

Breen

Breen

Breen

Breen

Like a dream come true :pac:

_blank_ · 10-02-2009 7:15pm

Xavi6 wrote: »

Breen

Breen
Breen
Breen
Breen

Breen
Breen
Breen
Breen
Breen
Breen

Like a dream come true :pac:

Wrong!

Clearly it should be

Breen

10-02-2009 7:16pm

Xavi6 wrote: »

Breen

Breen
Breen
Breen
Breen

Breen
Breen
Breen
Breen
Breen
Breen

Like a dream come true :pac:

Damn you! I was reading this thread chuckling to myself at the wonderfully clever joke I'd just thought of.

"Oh, how they'll laugh", I thought to myself.

Then I see this.

DAMN YOU!!!

IvySlayer · 10-02-2009 7:16pm

I'd agree with Bounty Hunters.

dyl10 · 10-02-2009 7:17pm

Dean Kiely would be in my list ahead of Bonner

Tom65 · 10-02-2009 8:11pm

Given

Finnan---Dune---McGrath--Irwin

Keane----Townsend

Houghton

Duff

Keane---Quinn

whatawaster · 10-02-2009 10:16pm

Des wrote: »

lolwut?

Giles?

Brady?

Hello?

Also, the amount of teams with no Stapo in them are beyond belief.

Better striker than Quinn and Keane.

FAHCT

i've never seen Giles, Brady or Hello play. Same with Stapleton.

I also have serious grudges against Whelan and Houghton so they are out.

Neil3030 · 10-02-2009 10:30pm

Keane

Nalz · 11-02-2009 1:21am

............................Given...........................
Irwin.........Lawerson........McGrath....Staunton
Whelan..........Keane........Giles.............Brady
...................Kelly...........Stapleton.............

Subs: Rob Keane, Houghton, Moran, McCarthy, Givens, Bonner, G Kelly

LuckyLloyd · 11-02-2009 1:58am

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

......................Given/Bonner.....................

Irwin...........Moran........McGrath....Staunton

..................R.Keane...J.Giles.....................

R.Houghton....................................L.Brady
...............R.Keane.....Quinn/Stapelton

Subs: Given/Bonner, O'Leary, Finnan, Sheedy, Duff, Aldridge, Quinn/Stapelton

The lack of Ronnie Whelan is my only problem with this selection. I'd swap him for Sheedy on the bench.

riflehunter77 · 11-02-2009 2:13am

......................Given/Bonner.....................

Irwin...........Moran........McGrath....Staunton

..................R.Keane...Kinsella.....................

R.Houghton....................................L.Brady
...............Quinn.....Stapelton

Subs: Given/Bonner, O'Leary,J.Giles , Sheedy, Duff, Aldridge, R. Keane

Bounty Hunter · 11-02-2009 2:51am

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

The lack of Ronnie Whelan is my only problem with this selection. I'd swap him for Sheedy on the bench.

a how could i forget Ronnie, id agree on that change though obviously i likes Sheedy

eagle eye · 11-02-2009 3:03am

GK
Given
Bonner

RB
Irwin
Carr
Finnan
Kelly
Mulligan

CB
McGrath
Lawrenson
Moran
O'Leary
Cunningham
McCarthy
LB
Irwin
Beglin
Hughton
Staunton
Dunne
Phelan

RM
Duff
Houghton
McAteer
Finnan
Reid

CM
Keane
Brady
Giles
Whelan
Martin
Townsend
Grealish
Kinsella

LM
Duff
Sheedy
Galvin
Heighway

ST
Aldridge
Stapleton
Givens
Keane
Quinn
Treacy

I put them all down as I wanted to look at who I'd miss if I picked a team. Its clear that we have not had much class on the right side of midfield or up front.

Given
Irwin

McGrath

Moran

Beglin

Keane

Duff

Whelan

Brady

Sheedy

Stapleton

Bonner, Lawrenson, Carr, Giles, Townsend, Keane, Aldridge.

Its hard to pick a subs bench as well, so many that could be there. Changed my mind on the last sub, I forgot Aldo and had put in Don Givens who was great in his day also.

LuckyLloyd · 11-02-2009 3:40am

eagle eye wrote: »

ST
Aldridge
Stapleton
Givens
Keane
Quinn
Treacy

I forgot Aldo and had put in Don Givens who was great in his day also.

Figured it was only a matter of time before someone mentioned Givens. Yes, he held the Irish goalscoring record for a long period of time. And yes, he scored all three in that famous win over the Soviets in Dalymount.

But there is no way that he was a better player than the likes of Quinn or Robbie Keane. Givens was never a hugely prolific player at club level, and Keane's scoring ratio at International level is better. He was an honest workmanlike pro in keeping with English football off the top tier during that time. But nowhere near as rounded and classy a footballer as Robbie; and unable to produce the the type of impact that Quinn's natural size and smarts were capable of lending a frontline.

eagle eye · 11-02-2009 3:51am

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Figured it was only a matter of time before someone mentioned Givens. Yes, he held the Irish goalscoring record for a long period of time. And yes, he scored all three in that famous win over the Soviets in Dalymount.

But there is no way that he was a better player than the likes of Quinn or Robbie Keane. Givens was never a hugely prolific player at club level, and Keane's scoring ratio at International level is better. He was an honest workmanlike pro in keeping with English football off the top tier during that time. But nowhere near as rounded and classy a footballer as Robbie; and unable to produce the the type of impact that Quinn's natural size and smarts were capable of lending a frontline.

He still deserves to on that list though. I don't know if anyone picked him, I didn't and put Aldo there instead of him. Aldo had a worse ratio at international level btw. I don't think you can just go by goals scored, if you do Robbie is an automatic, and on ratio there is very little between Givens and Keane, however I picked Robbie on the bench, it was the second strker that gave me trouble, and all you mention were in contention.

I'd agree that Quinn was very good at what he done, but for me the strength of our midfield is just too strong to overlook. Frank Stapleton could take the ball down and hold it up, head the ball, score with his feet and overall I'd say he was the most complete striker that played for the Republic of Ireland.

Racing Flat · 11-02-2009 9:53am

Given

Hughton

McGrath

Lawro

Irwin

Whelan----Keane

Brady

Giles

Heighway

Stapleton

Subs: Bonner, Moran, Finnan, Townsend, Duff, Quinn, Aldridge

Manager: Eoin Hand (by default, Charlton the only one I'd consider, but his style wouldn't suit the team

.

If things weren't going well, put Aldridge in for Whelan and revert to 4-4-2.

ROCKMAN · 11-02-2009 11:05am

.....................Given.....................

Irwin..........Lawrenson........McGrath....Beglin

..................R.Keane...J.Giles.....................

R.Houghton...........Brady.................Heighway

.......................Aldridge........................

The Hustler · 11-02-2009 11:08am

Giles- Greatest Irish Player Ever

11-02-2009 11:39am

Given

Irwin

McGrath

Moran

Stan
Houghton

Keane

Giles

Brady

Keane---Stapleton

Bench: Bonnar, Finnan, Lawrenson, Dunne, Whelan, Duff, Quinn,

stovelid · 11-02-2009 11:40am

Were the posters here that picked Gilesy around to see him?

Giles would have been a shoo-in for my team, but I only went to my first Ireland game in '86.

LuckyLloyd · 11-02-2009 11:48am

You see Lawrenson might have been one of the most talented central defenders ever to put on a jersey for us. But in terms of performances while playing for Ireland, he is surely behind all of:

McGrath
Moran
McCarthy
O'Leary
Cunningham
Stauntan

and probably more.

I'd put Heighway in a similar bracket. We had some very good players between 72 and 86 but, while accepting that we got gipped by a couple of the draws, had a tendency to go soft in key games - particularly away from home. The manager and general setup of the time has a lot to answer for of course, but the players need to take the blame aswell. Lawro was money for his club (in Europe as well as in England) but never scaled those heights when playing for Ireland.

Relative to Lawro, a player like McCarthy couldn't kick snow off a rope. But I know who I'd start if we were judging things solely on the basis of their performances in a green jersey...

Pigman II · 11-02-2009 11:55am

	           Kiely		

Irwin	McCarthy	McGrath	Staunton

Houghton	Brady	Keane	Duff

	Stapleton	Aldridge

11-02-2009 11:56am

stovelid wrote: »

Were the posters here that picked Gilesy around to see him?

My Dad always goes on about him and I've wated a few games he's played in on ESPN classics so I've seen enough of him to know how good he was tbh.

I agree with Lloyd about performances but tbh I think when I picked Dunne as well it's justified enough.

stovelid · 11-02-2009 12:00pm

The OP said players from our own era of support, that's all. Otherwise I would have went for Giles, as would nearly everybody else, I assume.

eagle eye · 11-02-2009 12:01pm

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

You see Lawrenson might have been one of the most talented central defenders ever to put on a jersey for us. But in terms of performances while playing for Ireland, he is surely behind all of:

McGrath
Moran
McCarthy
O'Leary
Cunningham
Stauntan

and probably more.

I'd put Heighway in a similar bracket. We had some very good players between 72 and 86 but, while accepting that we got gipped by a couple of the draws, had a tendency to go soft in key games - particularly away from home. The manager and general setup of the time has a lot to answer for of course, but the players need to take the blame aswell. Lawro was money for his club (in Europe as well as in England) but never scaled those heights when playing for Ireland.

Relative to Lawro, a player like McCarthy couldn't kick snow off a rope. But I know who I'd start if we were judging things solely on the basis of their performances in a green jersey...

I completely disagree with you on Mark Lawrenson, he was immense for Ireland but he spent a lot of time in midfield for us.
I'd have him just after McGrath and Moran as Mark only played a handful of games at the back, but he played well everytime he put on the green.
While McCarthy did bust his behind for us, he was nowhere near the class of the three mentioned above.
Staunton was another one who played his heart out, but Jim Beglin was a whole other class of player, he would even run it close with Denis Irwin as the best full back that ever played for us imo. Even though he only played 15 times for us they included many great performances.

LuckyLloyd · 11-02-2009 12:27pm

eagle eye wrote: »

I completely disagree with you on Mark Lawrenson, he was immense for Ireland but he spent a lot of time in midfield for us.
I'd have him just after McGrath and Moran as Mark only played a handful of games at the back, but he played well everytime he put on the green.
While McCarthy did bust his behind for us, he was nowhere near the class of the three mentioned above.
Staunton was another one who played his heart out, but Jim Beglin was a whole other class of player, he would even run it close with Denis Irwin as the best full back that ever played for us imo. Even though he only played 15 times for us they included many great performances.

Its still only 15 games though - and games that did not produce entry to a major tournament. How you could make a case to put him anywhere near an alltime backline is beyond me as a result.

gustavo · 11-02-2009 12:44pm

Given
Finnan McGrath McCarthy Irwin

Brady Giles Keane Duff

Keane Quinn

eagle eye · 11-02-2009 12:58pm

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Its still only 15 games though - and games that did not produce entry to a major tournament. How you could make a case to put him anywhere near an alltime backline is beyond me as a result.

Well I seen Beglin playing for us a number of times and he was outstanding, he just oozed class. Staunton was a hard worker but he did make mistakes, and mistakes that imo Beglin would never have made. Chris Hughton would be my second choice ahead of Stan and he lost his place to Beglin, but got it back when Beglin's career ended. Then Stan came along, three great left backs in a row, and of course we had Denis Irwin playing on the other side.

I don't see how the success of the team comes into it really when assessing individual performers. I understand if you have a player who excelled at a World Cup like Damien Duff in '02 then you have to take that into account, but I'm quite certain that had Beglin not got injured when he did we would still have qualified for the 1990 World Cup and I'm certain that a fit Beglin would have been first choice ahead of the young Stan.

All-Time Ireland XI

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