Irish National Team Sabotage

darkman2

So another week goes by - another week of lies and fcukwittery from the Irish Management set up. We were told Trapattoni would meet Ireland at Eastlands to talk sense into him - what does Mark Hughes say - "I did not even know he (Trapattoni) was in the stadium". Im fed up with this crap as an Irish supporter.

Andy Reid - absent for no reason - a player who actually has a team and a gifted midfielder (behind Stephen Ireland our most gifted) and no where to be seen.

We have a manager who "would not mind Italy going through" first - yeah well your the manager of the fcuking Republic of Ireland, not Italy. Can't speak to Stephen Ireland? This guy is being paid 2 million a year in this job and he can't pick up a phone? He can't even meet him after he plays a football match? Our, by far, only potential world class player and he could not be bothered?

Liam Brady knows Stephen Ireland and Andy Reid - how is he standing over this stupidity, that im telling you now, is going to cost us a World Cup place.

We find ourselves in a posistion now were we are hurdling toward another "Cyprus moment" and our two best players are absent. They have probrably not, as the papers say, spoken to either at all. Yet both players claim it would only take a phone call.


This is sabotage. Who can stand over, with a straight face, having Keith Andrews and Glen Whelan in midfield instead of Ireland and Reid. Any other National team manager would be going all out to get them back....yet from our management - nothing. Even one of them would suffice.


Seriosuly wtf is going on? This is crazy carry on - id have expected more from Steve Staunton tbh!

anonymous_joe

We're doing quite well in the table actually.

Anyway, none of us knows anything really.

Stephen Ireland could have told us to fcuk off if he was nagged too much. Maybe the softly softly approach is best.

5starpool

If Stephen Ireland wanted to play for the national team, he could pick up the damn phone himself.

darkman2

But both say they have not had any contact at all. Glenn Whelan = Totti - what is this man on? As an Irish supporter I fear another drubbing to Cyprus will be what it takes to wake them up....and I think Ireland will again be beaten by Cyprus. We have no midfield atm. We may aswell play no midfield. That is going to be found out sooner rather then later. We have already been trashed by Austrailia.

Liam O

The annoying thing is, you never see Trap at any of the games, I don't know if it's just the tv people not showing him but if he's not going to any league games for players like Keith Fahey and James McCarthy etc. and is relying on (possibly biased) tv footage then there is a big problem that needs fixing. I mean I like Darron Gibson but the fact is if he wasn't a United player he wouldn't be starting games imo. There are talented Irish players in the PL but I don't think Trap has a very wide net.

On topic, it's a very volatile situation with Ireland but it wasn't this administration thhat he had the problem with and he is the best Ireland has to offer atm so every effort has to be made to get him back

bUILDERtHEbOB

1 Italy 6 4 2 0 9 / 3 14
2 ROI 7 3 4 0 8 / 5 13
3 Bulgaria 6 1 5 0 6 / 4 8
4 Cyprus 6 1 2 3 6 / 9 5
5 Montenegro 6 0 4 2 5 / 8 4
6 Georgia 7 0 3 4 4 / 9 3

Looks fine to me, tbh.

Mr.Nice Guy

I too think Trap's selection choices have been bizarre but he's the manager so the buck stops with him. I'm personally not all that bothered about Andy Reid. Lee Carsley is the one I'd like to see brought back and he has said he'd be available if wanted. He's far better than Whelan and Andrews I reckon.

There's a few guys that could merit call-ups at this stage. Delap, McCann, Morrisson, Fahey, McCarthy, and so forth but he seems to be far more interested in players for his system rather than players that would require tweaking his system.

I don't really mind his tactics or his approach to the game but I feel he could find better players to implement his ideas.

With regards to the results he's achieved yes he has gotten results but come on, a lot of them have been pure luck and it reminds me a bit of Sven's England in that way. Remember the home game to Cyprus where we dire and were hanging on by the end of it? Richard Dunne making last ditch tackles and our central midfielders anonymous.

Simply looking at the table and nodding contentedly overlooks the problems. To me it's a bit like that guy who inspected the railway bridge last week. "Looks good to me" he said and then days later the thing collpased in on itself. There's every chance of the same thing happening to this Irish team.

ynwa_17

If i was Steven Ireland i wouldnt step anywhere near the Irish National team every again.

Anyway International Football is so Overrated.

givyjoe81

bUILDERtHEbOB wrote: »

1 Italy 6 4 2 0 9 / 3 14
2 ROI 7 3 4 0 8 / 5 13
3 Bulgaria 6 1 5 0 6 / 4 8
4 Cyprus 6 1 2 3 6 / 9 5
5 Montenegro 6 0 4 2 5 / 8 4
6 Georgia 7 0 3 4 4 / 9 3

Looks fine to me, tbh.

Yeah well will it look so fine if, and increasingly more likely when cyprus beat us? He's a step up from staunton but some truly bizarre decisions being made. Why the fook is the lonliest hobo Liam Miller in the squad?! Cos he's 'familiar' with the Irish set up'?! Honestly thats the kind of mentality ya get from bouncers down the pub only letting 'regulars' in, how do ya become a regular in the first place!

We dont look too bad in the table but with a few better decisions we could be topping it, as it is we are looking very vulnerable and defeat will blow the whole thing wide open.

cm2000

what i cant believe is that liam miller is still in the squad, couldnt cut it at qpr and cant find a club??

shane86

darkman2 wrote: »

So another week goes by - another week of lies and fcukwittery from the Irish Management set up. We were told Trapattoni would meet Ireland at Eastlands to talk sense into him - what does Mark Hughes say - "I did not even know he (Trapattoni) was in the stadium". Im fed up with this crap as an Irish supporter.

I think Hughes would prefer he stay out. At the beginning of all this Sven seemed to be making genuine efforts to get him back (IIRC him and Trap are old mates), and it indeed appeared he was on the brink of a return until Hughes arrived.

This guy is being paid 2 million a year in this job and he can't pick up a phone? He can't even meet him after he plays a football match? Our, by far, only potential world class player and he could not be bothered?

There is the risk that bugging him constantly would be counter productive. Anyway, he has Dunne and Given available to chat to him.

Yet both players claim it would only take a phone call.

What, Ireland said he would come back if contacted? Since when? Reid, Morrison, Carsley, Delap are the only ones on record as saying they would like to be called up. Not Ireland.

blue-army

Yeah, the fact Miller is in the squad when he couldn't make it at QPR is the biggest joke of all.
IMO he should pick Delap ahead of Miller. In fairness, neither are gonna play, but if we were 1-0 down to Cyprus or Italy with 10mins to go, bringing in Delap to throw a few balls into the box could make the difference between qualilfying or not.


Ireland is a massive loss. One of the best players in the premier league at the moment. Hughes said that he wanted to build the City team around him - Says alot considering the money they've spent. I think we should act fast on this. Cos he can fcuk off it he only decides to chat when we're after qualifying. If he doesn't play a couple of group games, it's unfair to bring him to SA.

I agree that Andy Reid should be in the squad, but he really aint good enough to start in fairness. He's an attacking midfielder, who doesn't score enough.

Andrews is decent. Whelan is good in patches. Gibson is promising, but if he didn't play for Man Utd he wouldn't feature as much.

Also, I'd try and encourage Stephen Carr back out of international retirement.

gucci

Andy Reid has spoken for the first time about his confrontation with Giovanni Trapattoni in the Irish team hotel last September and stated that he believes it has been a factor in his exclusion from the Irish squad since last autumn.

In an interview in today's Sunday Independent, Reid says he has no intention of retiring from international football and said he would be prepared to play in a 'B' international to prove his worth to Trapattoni.

Reid said he thinks the incident when Trapattoni clipped him around the head with a rollled-up newspaper has played its part in his omission.

"Well, I don't see how it's not a factor because there are players in there who don't even have clubs. In footballing terms, what I have done is to keep doing what I'm doing. I've never let Ireland down and I don't think I would. I feel I would warrant a place in the squad."

Trapattoni has always insisted that the incident in a Wiesbaden hotel after the World Cup Qualifier victory over Georgia had no influence over future squad selections.

Reid refused to comment on the details of the night, only adding "if he left everybody out of the squad who was singing that night, there'd probably be only two people in the squad -- and that's only because they didn't know the songs we were singing".

As expected Reid was not part of Trapattoni's squad named on Friday for the key game in Cyprus next month.

And it now seems increasingly unlikely that Stephen Ireland's self-imposed exile from the international team will end any time soon.

There had been renewed hope that Ireland could return to the fold in time for the crucial game with Italy at Croke Park in October.

Trapattoni watched the player play a full 90 minutes in Manchester City's 1-0 win over Wolves at Eastlands yesterday but there was no meeting between the pair after the game.

City manager Mark Hughes told journalists afterwards that Ireland's position on playing for his country had not changed.

Meanwhile, Trapattoni has confirmed that he would like to remain as Ireland manager beyond 2010 and has already had informal talks with the FAI about extending his contract which is due to expire at the end of this campaign.

"They have to think whether they are happy with me or not. If they ask me to stay then I am here. I want to finish this work because I think we can do better. We can choose two or three new players and freshen up the team further -- because we have the possibility to make us into a really good team."

Neither side feels any need to be rushed into a decision and the close personal relationship between FAI chief executive John Delaney and Trapattoni has ensured that there is trust on both sides.

"Nothing has yet been defined. I think they are happy with me," Trapattoni said. "You know yourself, with victory people are more enthusiastic towards you and want you. But with defeat that can change."

Trapattoni believes victory can change even more, stating that a win in Cyprus will allow Ireland to top the group. "Italy has a problem," he said

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/reid-i-do-want-to-play-for-trap-but-i-wont-beg-1867362.html

Might be of interest to the topic.

The Rooster

Liam O wrote: »

The annoying thing is, you never see Trap at any of the games, I don't know if it's just the tv people not showing him but if he's not going to any league games for players like Keith Fahey and James McCarthy etc. and is relying on (possibly biased) tv footage then there is a big problem that needs fixing.

Exactly, its these type of players that we should be complaining about not getting in, not the likes of Reid and Carsley (both unused subs for their teams at the weekend) or crybaby Ireland who doesnt want to play and has been told numerous times to let management know as soon as he changes his mind.

Drummerboy2

I think the next player to be brought into the Irish set up is McCann (Burnley). He is a great athlete, passes the ball really well and has a great shot. The only thing going against him is his bust up with Don Givens. At the moment I think he is a better player that Whelan, Andrews and Miller.

I think the effort to get Stephen Ireland to play for us has been exhausted. If this spalpeen wanted to play for us he would have made it known by now. Basically he is dicking the Irish management team and supporters about. He is a talented and gifted footballer but unfortunately his character is seriously flawed.

tomred1

Trap never said he was going to speak to Ireland.He said he wanted to speak to Hughes first to gauge whether it would be worthwhile speaking to Ireland.I don't know where you got Hughes quote " did not even know he (Trapattoni) was in the stadium". maybe from the Star/Indo?Where did you read that Ireland said he is only a phonecall away from coming back to the team?
A.Reid is not even getting his game at Sunderland.Even if we did have Ireland & Reid playing for us,they couldn't play in the middle together.
Trap is doing a very good job imo and its only for him we are now in a position to quailfy.

LuckyLloyd

Andy Reid is an irrelevance. Not good enough.

If Ireland really wanted to play I'm sure he'd make the effort to get in touch with the right people. Until he's willing to do that, he shouldn't be involved.

McCann should be in the squad instead of Miller though, and that does irritate me some.

Headshot

what Trap should do is name Ireland in the team,if he doesnt show up,at least we can say trap tried

SantryRed

bUILDERtHEbOB wrote: »

1 Italy 6 4 2 0 9 / 3 14
2 ROI 7 3 4 0 8 / 5 13
3 Bulgaria 6 1 5 0 6 / 4 8
4 Cyprus 6 1 2 3 6 / 9 5
5 Montenegro 6 0 4 2 5 / 8 4
6 Georgia 7 0 3 4 4 / 9 3

Looks fine to me, tbh.

That is just typical Irish mentality. In all fairness, Ireland should be coasting their group. The draws against Bulgaria x2 and Italy were just unacceptable, they shoould all of been wins.

whatawaster

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Andy Reid is an irrelevance. Not good enough.

Not good enough for what? The Ireland squad? That is just so wrong

SantryRed

whatawaster wrote: »

Not good enough for what? The Ireland squad? That is just so wrong

He's fat and lazy, he wouldn't fit in to Traps system.

Headshot

SantryRed wrote: »

He's fat and lazy, he wouldn't fit in to Traps system.

have you seen our Midfield options atm

whatawaster

SantryRed wrote: »

He's fat and lazy, he wouldn't fit in to Traps system.

That is just nonsense. He’s as fit as any other player in the squad. He can hold his own in midfield in the premier league. And unlike Whelan and Andrews he is an accomplished passer of a ball. He has never been given a chance in that system. And anyone who doesn’t think it’s crazy that Liam Miller and Darren Gibson are picked ahead of him are, well, crazy. Both are nothing players anyway, and neither play first team football.

Also, while I think it’s great that we have a chance of qualifying for the WC, and that Trap has done well, I think it’s completely unacceptable that we could go to a major championship without having a Plan B when things aren’t going so well.

Kirby

Headshot wrote: »

what Trap should do is name Ireland in the team,if he doesnt show up,at least we can say trap tried

Exactly! I can't understand why both Stephen Ireland and the Irish management team have been tip-toeing around this issue for the last year. He is our best outfield player. You pick him in the squad. If he doesn't show up then its his issue. If he does show up, he plays and the matter is closed. Either way, it would sort things out without all this U.N. softly softly nonsense that is going on.

Regarding Andy reid, he is our best passer of the ball, period. Whelan and Andrews aren't creative and that is what Reid supplies. Every team needs atleast one player who has vision, can spot a run and deliver the through ball. The fact that Laim Miller is in the squad ahead of him just proves how stubborn Trappatoni is.

ADTR

darkman2 wrote: »

We find ourselves in a posistion now were we are hurdling toward another "Cyprus moment" and our two best players are absent.

Andy Reid was never one of our best players.

whatawaster

ADTR wrote: »

Andy Reid was never one of our best players.

No but he's ONE of our best midfielders.
We're now in the very unfortunate position of being without Ireland, S Reid, Carsley and A Reid. IMO they would be our first choice and 2nd choice partnerships if fit/available/selected. It's a big handicap for a country like Ireland to be relying on Gibson, Whelan and Andrews in such important positions.

Whats the story with Steven Reid. Is there any sign of him returning from injury.
It drives me crazy when I think that if Ireland would play and Steven Reid was fit we would go from having no midfield to having an excellent midfield.

angel01

Surely Stephen Ireland should do some of the running and if he doesn't want to play, just can we please get over it and move on and find players that do want to play for their country. So many people would love to swap with him.

Spud83

Headshot wrote: »

what Trap should do is name Ireland in the team,if he doesnt show up,at least we can say trap tried

This would be the worst thing in the world to do if you actually want Ireland to come back.

If you know he isn't gonna show up and name him anyway this will antagonise him no end, and would end any chance of him coming back under the current management.

If he doesn't come back this campaign or world cup fair enough its ****ty, but if he wanted to come back for the next campaign I sure as hell would not want something as stupid as this (a needless / pointless PR stunt) to stop him.

eirebhoy

ynwa_17 wrote: »

If i was Steven Ireland i wouldnt step anywhere near the Irish National team every again.

Anyway International Football is so Overrated.

Overrated by the unpatriotic who are thankfully few and far between outside of western Europe.

SantryRed wrote: »

He's fat and lazy, he wouldn't fit in to Traps system.

That seems to be the reason for his dodgy season last season after 2 previous excellent seasons but he looks to have sorted himself out.



Lost a lot of weight in the summer and trained during his holidays. He was excellent for Sunderland in pre-season and got a lot of freedom to roam against Celtic. He was injured for the 1st game of the season and hadn't trained before the 2nd game so I wouldn't read too much into his lack of game time so far. Let's see how he does in the Carling cup and after.

Nalz

5starpool wrote: »

If Stephen Ireland wanted to play for the national team, he could pick up the damn phone himself.

Mick in work says "some people dont like using the phone"

~Rebel~

eirebhoy wrote: »

Overrated by the unpatriotic who are thankfully few and far between outside of western Europe.


That seems to be the reason for his dodgy season last season after 2 previous excellent seasons but he looks to have sorted himself out.



Lost a lot of weight in the summer and trained during his holidays. He was excellent for Sunderland in pre-season and got a lot of freedom to roam against Celtic. He was injured for the 1st game of the season and hadn't trained before the 2nd game so I wouldn't read too much into his lack of game time so far. Let's see how he does in the Carling cup and after.

Christ, he actually looks like a professional footballer there!

Quint

"Fan disagrees with Managers selection shocker!!"

Mrmoe

Defensive midfielders are lacking in the squad which is what Trap wants, but there is nothing he can do to change that except bring back Carsley which would be a retrograde move.

dogpile

Don't think we'll get turned over in Cyprus, probabaly get a draw...and go on to the playoffs at least but the football is disgusting to watch, worse in my living memory and that's bad if you include the Staunton era, I can't get excited at the thought of a game coming up, it's dull and negative stuff....read a piece on A.Reid in yeserdays Indo and felt sorry for the guy, he's been denied years of service to his country in whats a short enough career for no apparent reason....if there were better players getting picked ahead of him then fair enough no arguments but it's not the case, Liam Miller doesn't even have a club atm and gets in ahead of him..


I for one hope Trappatoni isn't offered a new contract and we move ahead with someone else in charge!

JackieRyan

Indeed quite a god point, Our midfield should look like this

McGeady

---

A.Reid(or a fit S.Reid?)

---

S.Ireland

---

S.Hunt

Playing Duff ahead of hunt is another mitake, hunt works harder and is just better, simple

ziggy

This post has been deleted.

ShooterSF

eirebhoy wrote: »

Pfft. Sure he's the only one standing still. :pac:

d6

If Ireland qualify for the world cup it would be criminal to take stephen ireland with us. It would be unfair on the lads thats got us there for him to waltz in when it suits.

**** him he doesnt want to play for us. Stop ther bull**** talk about it.

Andy Reid wants to play for ireland discuss that and criticise the manager if you wish for that not that eejit in manchester

LuckyLloyd

Sorry, I remain unconvinced by the Andy Reid love. He isn't holding down a starting spot for his team. Andrews and Whelan have been. Moreover, it seems to me that he is down the pecking order when it comes to the next midfielders in. I'd be more worried about the likes of McCann, Delap and Carsley not being selected before I'd start worrying about Reid.

And to Eirebhoy, fair play to him if he's finally got himself into respectable shape. But it says a lot if he's only doing it now after years of speculation over his physical fitness and conditioning, no? Additionally, people were lining up last year to tell us that he wasn't out of shape, that it was his "shape", he was fit enough, etc.

The grass is always greener on the other side.

Thanos

Seems like Andy Reid had a good enough game tonight, good showing coming back after injury.
Wonder will Trap get a video of that match.........

dyl10

I'll be far more enraged if we qualify for the World Cup and Stephen Ireland decides to make himself available for selection.

On another note, Andy Reid is being ridiculously over hyped because of this long running saga. He's not good enough to start for us. At this stage Fahey would be a better option for us in the middle.

Tyranax

He's still a massive step up on f***ing Whelan and Andrews. Jesus, I DREAM of a midfield of Carsley and Andy Reid, or Steven Reid. We'd have engine, drive and creativity then, not two wastes of space in the middle. That's what's driving me mad.

Kirby

dyl10 wrote: »

On another note, Andy Reid is being ridiculously over hyped because of this long running saga. He's not good enough to start for us. At this stage Fahey would be a better option for us in the middle.

See his contribution in tonights game? the lad is class. We could use some of that in the centre.

dyl10

Kirby wrote: »

See his contribution in tonights game?

Class? a good performance against a league 1 side hardly constitutes a level of greatness. Why people keep debating Andy Reid's ability is beyond me. He's been around for years, everyone should know by now what you get with him.

He's very hot and cold, offers little presence and looks world class against bad defenders. No doubt he'd be a good squad player for Ireland and would certainly be a good option.

He is not an essential missing link and he's hardly one for the future, at this stage.

Side note: How did Hoolihan play, in the same game tonight?

Cremated

His first goal wasn't shabby at all, but it would bring something different to the team, a bit of experience...

Tyranax

And craft. He's one of our few players who can actually pass the ball creatively. That's priceless. He's well worth a place in the squad at the very least. And I'd start him.

darkman2

Well in answer to the Stephen Ireland should pick up the phone brigade watch this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-fksq5V0M8

Now you guys tell me, thats a midfielder - look at that goal, tell me we don't need that guy.

Mr.Nice Guy

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes doesn't believe Stephen Ireland is ready to end his international exile with the Republic of Ireland.

“I think his view on international football is still the same," said Hughes. "I think he feels that he needs, at this moment in time of his career and the way he is developing, to concentrate on club football. In the future who knows?

"I think that is where he is at the moment.”

http://www.tribalfootball.com/man-city-boss-hughes-doesnt-expect-ireland-end-international-exile-272311

I reckon if we made the play-offs he'd consider making himself available. I'd be fine with that situation.

Red Crow

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I reckon if we made the play-offs he'd consider making himself available. I'd be fine with that situation.

To be fair to the other players that would be really unfair. Personally I think Ireland is a muppet. But we need him so I'd take him back. Infairness, if we had Ireland and a fully fit Steven Reid in midfield, I think we could take the Eye-talians.

Hopefully McGeady will preform for Ireland for the rest of the qualifiers. Made a good start to the SPL season. Have high hopes for him now. Concerned about Dunne about to lose his place. He should go to West Ham with Collins going to Villa.

Also I hope Hunt takes his goalscoring form into the qualifiers for us

Bandit12

5starpool wrote: »

If Stephen Ireland wanted to play for the national team, he could pick up the damn phone himself.

Bingo. Players like Stephen Ireland and his attitude are the reason International is'nt what it used to be for me.