Republic of Ireland Teamtalk/Gossip/Media Stories/ Discussion thread

JPA

Argue all you like about Andy Reid but Stephen Reid isn't match fit at all.

Cake Man

Good to see Leon Best get on the score sheet for Coventry tonight (even tho they did lose), at least it's a confidence booster ahead of next Saturday for him. Fair enough, he won't start but the more players we have going in on a high, the better our chances are. Here's hoping all Irish players in the squad play well the weekend and stay injury free!

BaZmO*

Just noticed this on the FIFA website.

I think we can safely say that the whole Stephen Ireland saga has been put to bed.

I love the bit where he says that he only does things that he's 100% certain of.

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1132383.html#ireland+no+republic+regrets

Stephen Ireland has said that he has no regrets about turning his back on the Republic of Ireland.

Instead of helping his country in their efforts to reach next year's FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa by beating France in a play-off, Ireland has been in Abu Dhabi this week. He will be one of the few senior players on show when Manchester City tackle the United Arab Emirates in what, thanks to the Blues' links with the country, is set to become an annual fixture.

Yet Ireland is experiencing no sense of loss. Nor does he feel he made the wrong decision, which came about in a slightly rash manner when he incorrectly claimed his grandmother had died two years ago, then, when it was discovered she was alive and well, promptly switched grandmothers, only for her to pop up as well.
I only do things I am 100 per cent certain of and there is no way I am going back.
Stephen Ireland

"I have no regrets, none at all," he said. "I would not have retired if I thought I would have any regrets. I only do things I am 100 per cent certain of and there is no way I am going back.

"I have not even thought twice about it. I am happy with my young family and my main priority are them and the club. I will watch the games and I want the players to win but they have done so well without me, there is not a lot of point in going back."

And, according to the 23-year-old, Republic coach Giovanni Trapattoni does not have any great desire to have him back either. The pair did have a discussion about the situation. However, as Ireland revealed, it was more to do with putting on a united front to the outside world rather than any gentle persuasion on Trapattoni's part.

"I do not think he actually wanted me to go back," said Ireland. "I think it was more for him to cover his own back with the press. The basic conversation we had was about the press and how he could talk to the press about me, rather than actually genuinely wanting me back. But I am quite happy with that because I wouldn't have wanted any adverse pressure either."

super_furry

What is his problem? Why does he have to come out with ****e like this before every single Ireland match?

thorbarry

super_furry wrote: »

What is his problem? Why does he have to come out with ****e like this before every single Ireland match?

I think its because he's a d!ckhead... plain and simple

parasite

Two more Stephen Ireland interviews
Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/nov/14/stephen-ireland-interview
The Times - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_city/article6916420.ece

bohsman

How in the world is Don Givens still in a job, Ireland u21s just lost 4-1 to bottom of the group Armenia.

LowOdour

bohsman wrote: »

How in the world is Don Givens still in a job, Ireland u21s just lost 4-1 to bottom of the group Armenia.

The team he had out was
Redmond, Oyebanjo, Morris, Dennehy, Hughton, Connelly, Carey, James O’Shea, Sheridan, Gleeson, Collins.
Bar Sheridan and Connelly, i dont know any of those players...so he must have much to work with.
In all fairness though, he has had plenty of chances so it really is time for him to go. losing 4-1 armenia (if true) is pretty shocking

bohsman

Graham Carey is a highly rated Celtic player - was on loan at Bohs for a bit, looks as if he could make it. Jay O'Shea signed for Birmingham recently, looks very promising.

Givens has been a disaster for years, probably shouldnt even have got the job.

LowOdour

bohsman wrote: »

Graham Carey is a highly rated Celtic player - was on loan at Bohs for a bit, looks as if he could make it. Jay O'Shea signed for Birmingham recently, looks very promising.

Givens has been a disaster for years, probably shouldnt even have got the job.

Oh, i thought his full name was Jay....not short for James!

Givens seems to have some pull in the FAI, so there must be a reason for keeping him in the job. Any other manager would probably be gone by now.

bohsman

Yea, thats how I see it too, however there are far greater problems with the underage setup than Don Givens. Till theres major structural reform and less reliance on England to train our youths it doesnt even matter who is in charge.

Mr.Nice Guy

Interesting interview here with Trap from Sports Illustrated. Talks about the problems of the Irish mentality before he arrived, FIFA's decision to seed the play-offs, taking a pay cut due to the current state of the economy and other stuff...

World Soccer's Kevin Palmer recently caught up with Republic of Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni, who has the Irish within one game of reaching their first World Cup since 2002. Down 1-0, Ireland visits France on Wednesday in the second leg of their playoff for a European berth at South Africa 2010.

World Soccer: What have you done to get Ireland back on track?

Trapattoni: I have helped the players to believe again. They did not believe they could win as an Irish team, but this attitude is changing. I knew that once we got the players to believe in themselves, and in us as coaches, that we would make progress. Now I can see they are getting into good habits and they are conscious of the little situations in games that are so important. Corners, free-kicks -- they can change a game, but the mentality was not right when I arrived.

World Soccer: How do you change the mentality of the team?

Trapattoni: Tell them not to fear any opponent. There is no reason why this Ireland team should not do better than it did in recent years. All the players are working in the strongest league in the world: the Premier League. They would not be there unless they had top quality, and I told them from the start not to accept the established order in international football. So, when you go to play Italy, don't believe they are better than you before a ball has been kicked.

World Soccer: What do you think of FIFA's decision to seed the draw for the World Cup qualifying playoffs?

Trapattoni: I have said that decisions like this will kill football and I stand by that. We all know it should be an open draw, to give everyone a fair chance, but they change the rules when it is clear some of the big nations cannot qualify. Some of the people making the decisions are from countries that need some help at this moment. It was a sad decision for the game, but I will say to my players not to let it upset us. France or any of the big nations in a playoff, we can beat them. We have already come through a tough group so why not upset the expectations again?

World Soccer: You have come under fire in some sections of the Irish media for not getting Stephen Ireland to come out of international retirement. How do you react to that?

Trapattoni: If the player does not want to play for his country, there is nothing I can do. I believe he will regret this decision when he is older because there is a chance he could have helped his country to make the World Cup finals. I have had conversations with him, but he says he is happy not to play. My door is always open to him and some of the best champions of the past have enjoyed successful comebacks. He can be like them if he wishes.

World Soccer: Did you have any doubts about signing a new contract with Ireland?

Trapattoni: It would have been a shame to walk away from the job we have done here as the work is not finished. My wife wants me to finish and enjoy some time relaxing, but I would miss football too much. For now, this is my life and it has been since I was 11 years old, when I started in football. I'm also interested in my family, in politics and opera, but opera is only a show. Football can give you so much more.

World Soccer: Is it true you took a pay cut to stay on?

Trapattoni: Yes, yes. I understand the current economic situation, so I said to the Irish FA we will take less money, no problem. All that mattered to me was they were satisfied with the job we were doing. We could have said "thank you" and gone home, but we wanted to continue the work we had started and I am happy with the new agreement.

World Soccer: Do you rule the Irish squad by fear?

Trapattoni: This can never work anymore. If you go back to 30 years ago, maybe people like Alex Ferguson and myself could rule by fear, but players don't care for this anymore. You are looking for respect and that brings discipline, but this does not come by making players scared of you. It is all about knowing how to pull the right strings in a player.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/world_soccer/11/17/giovanni.trapattoni/

BraziliaNZ

So we should have Dunne, Keane, Duff, O'Shea, and Kilbane for the Euro qualifiers, but after that I can't really see them being around for the next world cup, they'll be too old at that stage. Given is getting on too but keepers can play longer.
Do we have any talent coming through in their positions? They are the spine of the team and without them we are extremely limited. I don't want us to end up like Scotland. Who will the next Duff be? The next Keane? Do we have any hopes?

johnp

O'Shea will be 32, Robbie will be 33, Dunne and Duff 34, Kilbane 36, Given 37. That's based on current ages, not when the WC is played.

I think that Duff is probably the one to miss out. In defence the lads should be ok, defenders and keepers tend to go a little longer than the rest.
Even at 36 Kilbane has a great engine so should be ok.
With some youth around them the mix of experience and youth should be ok.

Just my tuppence and hope anyway

SimpleLogic

Kilbane has a great attitude but I would rather bring in new blood next campaign anyway. I would like to see Kevin Foley once he gets fit,other option is Stephen kelly or some of the younger lads like Nolan
I dont think there is much point calling finnan back at 33 although I do rate him highly.

mayordenis

mayordenis wrote: »

Aye trivial indeed by june/july 2014 (next world cup)

Duff 35
Dunne 34
Keane 33
Given 38
Kilbane 37
Finnan 38
O shea 33
Andrews 33
Hunt 32
Doyle 30
Lawrence 32

BraziliaNZ

Ok Donegal you can send your next keeper down when you're ready

mayordenis

Given
Finnan Dunne OShea Kilbane
Duff Andrews Lawrence Hunt
Doyle Keane

That's 11 player (arguably one of the stronger sides we could put out too) from the current squad (bar finnan who if fit would be in the mix) who will be over 30 for the next work cup

Even Andy and Steven Reid would be over 30 aswell.

Headshot

we really need a few more players, I hope they make use of the granny rule

BraziliaNZ

I just think it's sad, I've been following these boys for so long, they are my heroes, it's going to suck when we see Duff and Keane retiring

SimpleLogic

This thread is a bit silly. You cant have a title saying "end of a generation" when all those players probably wont retire for another two years. They could still achieve lots in the next two years.

Prowetod

After last nights display, I am really looking forward to the Euro's.

Neil3030

Never mind the players, what about Trapp! What age will he be at the next WC, 74?

Mars Bar

Neil3030 wrote: »

Never mind the players, what about Trapp! What age will he be at the next WC, 74?

I wouldn't worry too much about Trapp, the man is as fit as a fiddle! Did ye see him training with the boys last week on the news?

I'm ashamed that a 70+ year old is fitter than me...:(

IRISHSPORTSGUY

johnp wrote: »

O'Shea will be 32, Robbie will be 33, Dunne and Duff 34, Kilbane 36, Given 37. That's based on current ages, not when the WC is played.



I think that Duff is probably the one to miss out. In defence the lads should be ok, defenders and keepers tend to go a little longer than the rest.

Even at 36 Kilbane has a great engine so should be ok.

With some youth around them the mix of experience and youth should be ok.



Just my tuppence and hope anyway

Kilbane? I love the bloke but he's a liability nowadays, God knows what he'd be like in 5 years, he'll probably be playing in League 2!

Yes our current U21's are **** but don't forget our U17's qualified for the Euros last year. Conor Clifford, Conor Hourihane, Robert Brady, Aaron Doran could be the next generation (hopefully).

Robbie is going to be exceptionally hard to replace, an Irish football legend. I'd wager we won't have another talent like him for a long time.

Krusader

Conor Clifford would be the one to watch, played along side J. Cole for chelsea reserves a few weeks ago, ment to have scored a cracker aswell.
Word is that Wigan are looking to snatch him

Holsten

This is yet another reason why it is such a sickiner!

Felt so bad for the lads, heroes the entire team!

Agricola

Its funny to be talking about the retirement of these lads. Remembering back to 2002, the Saipan fiasco, they were all just kids walking around behind Niall Quinn and Stan looking sheepish! Where do the years go. Sickening to see them miss out on the world cup of their prime years.

BraziliaNZ

I really think we can do damage in the Euros though if this lot make it. We could get a seriously dodgy draw though for the qualifiers. I have a feeling we're getting England this time.

loyatemu

Gibson?

Ferguson obviously sees something in him (as does Trap) but not enough to give him a run in the team. A move to regular football in 2010 is needed for him....

IRISHSPORTSGUY

loyatemu wrote: »

Gibson?

Ferguson obviously sees something in him (as does Trap) but not enough to give him a run in the team. A move to regular football in 2010 is needed for him....

Ferguson and the United coaching staff obviously rate him and their opinions are worth 1,000 of mine, but I haven't seen anything to suggest he will be a particularly good Premier League player, let alone a Man United one. I honestly haven't seen any outstanding attributes, apart from a rocket of a shot - he needs to demand the ball a lot more, he is too shy on the pitch. Mind a lot of people used to criticise Darren Fletcher and he is an unrecognizable player from a few years back.

Headshot

loyatemu wrote: »

Gibson?

Ferguson obviously sees something in him (as does Trap) but not enough to give him a run in the team. A move to regular football in 2010 is needed for him....

fair few man utd fans dont see any fuss about Gibson, he's ****e for the reserves but still managers to get a spot on the bench

mind boggles

BraziliaNZ

What about this McCarthy guy from Hamilton, isn't he at Wigan now? has he got his game at all?

bobbyg

Just curious but are there many young Irish players playing in the premiership at the minute or even making bench for premiership teams? The only ones I can think of are Seamus Coleman for Everton and George McCarthy for Wigan.

IRISHSPORTSGUY

bobbyg wrote: »

Just curious but are there many young Irish players playing in the premiership at the minute or even making bench for premiership teams? The only ones I can think of are Seamus Coleman for Everton and George McCarthy for Wigan.

Chris McCann is a regular for Burnley, got injured a couple of months back but will be back in a few weeks. Marc Wilson has been a regular at Portsmouth too. Off the top of my head.

UnitedIrishman

Chris McCann is a quality player alright and awful unfortunate to get an injury at this stage. But again, he is one of the ten million players to have fallen out with Don Givens so probably won't get picked.

Oliver1985

Just back from Paris yesterday !! The hype over here is still mad!!

JerryHandbag

The ever-unreliable* Wikipedia site is saying Kilbane retired after the other night? Cant find any other info on this???

*Maybe the answer is in the question!

Handsome Bob

John Motson in a rant right now on BBC, sticking the boot into Ireland.

killwill

I have avoided posting about the game until now because I was so furious. We should have had the game wrapped up before the handball incident but it has been such along time since I have been that proud of our national team. Roll on the Euro qualifiers.

JerryHandbag

LZ5by5 wrote: »

John Motson in a rant right now on BBC, sticking the boot into Ireland.

What did Motty have to say for himself?

Handsome Bob

JerryHandbag wrote: »

What did Motty have to say for himself?

• That Henry is the fairest player in the game.
• That Ireland have no right to be so indignant over the result, because there was 15 minutes still to go. Basically, he said it was inevitable that France would score anyway so we should stop complaining.
• That video technology should never come into the game because it would ruin the game.

I was actually planning on rooting for England in the WC, but after listening to this guy I really hope England get ****ed over by a terrible decision, just so I can hear "Motty" indignantly rant on about the need for video technology and about the cheating opposition.

noodler

LZ5by5 wrote: »

• That Henry is the fairest player in the game.
• That Ireland have no right to be so indignant over the result, because there was 15 minutes still to go. Basically, he said it was inevitable that France would score anyway so we should stop complaining.
• That video technology should never come into the game because it would ruin the game.

I was actually planning on rooting for England in the WC, but after listening to this guy I really hope England get ****ed over by a terrible decision, just so I can hear "Motty" indignantly rant on about the need for video technology and about the cheating opposition.

Wow Motty, just wow.

Henry is generally fair but what has that got to do with what he did on Wednesday, when he DID cheat?


Did he actually say France would have scored anyway? What game was the old soothsayer watching? Hell, why bother with the play-off in the first place if France are going to score.

Old relic not wanting to come into the future with video technology shocker.

Handsome Bob

noodler wrote: »

Wow Motty, just wow.

Henry is generally fair but what has that got to do with what he did on Wednesday, when he DID cheat?


Did he actually say France would have scored anyway? What game was the old soothsayer watching? Hell, why bother with the play-off in the first place if France are going to score.

Old relic not wanting to come into the future with video technology shocker.

He stopped short of saying that it would inevitable that France would score, but he was making a big song and dance about the fact that there was 15 mins left. He was saying **** like "Who's to say Ireland would of held out for the 15 mins anyway?"

noodler

LZ5by5 wrote: »

He stopped short of saying that it would inevitable that France would score, but he was making a big song and dance about the fact that there was 15 mins left. He was saying **** like "Who's to say Ireland would of held out for the 15 mins anyway?"

You heard it off Motty folks. Its okay to cheat because the other team probably wouldn't have held out anyway.

Unbelievable stuff there, they must have gone the full hog and replaced his brain with a sheep's.

deisedude

Motty can go fcuk himself, there isnt a snowballs chance in hell he would have said the same thing if it had happened to England. Saying Henry is the fairest player in the game is downright laughable. You wouldn't have to look that hard to find plenty videos of him on youtube diving. Personally i'm going to find it nauseating to see the French players wearing fair play armbands at the World cup after what has happened.

JerryHandbag

Motty sounds like exactly the type of bitter old dinosaur in FIFA who wont ever want to bring in video evidence.

I just hope there is another "Geoff Hurst Russian Linesman 1966" episode that goes against England this time, and he might be singing a different tune next summer :rolleyes:

CHD

Motson never turns down a chance to put Ireland down. Sad old man tbh.

That_Guy

LZ5by5 wrote: »

• That Henry is the fairest player in the game.
• That Ireland have no right to be so indignant over the result, because there was 15 minutes still to go. Basically, he said it was inevitable that France would score anyway so we should stop complaining.
• That video technology should never come into the game because it would ruin the game.

I was actually planning on rooting for England in the WC, but after listening to this guy I really hope England get ****ed over by a terrible decision, just so I can hear "Motty" indignantly rant on about the need for video technology and about the cheating opposition.

It's all well and good to say sh*t like this when England have already qualified. BS of the highest degree.

Here's hoping France play England in the WC final and Henry handles the ball thus resulting in a victory for France.

It's written.

BaZmO*

Funny synopsis on Motson's comments by Mary Hannigan today.

On Saturday morning, though, John Motty Motson came over all Roy Keane-ish, suggesting that the Irish really had no one but themselves to blame. “And I agree with Keane,” he said, “Ireland let this game slip from their grasp.”

Quite what relevance this – admittedly undisputable – fact has to the issue at, um, hand, we’re at a loss to fathom. It’d be a bit like criticising a homeowner for failing to empty his dishwasher before his house was burgled. True, an unforgivable, slovenly blunder, but should it absolve the burglar, m’lud?

But Motty was passionate, steaming up inside his sheepskin as he spoke. “I think everybody’s got a little bit overexcited about this, we’ve had three-and-a-half days of it,” said the man who oft references Diego’s handball from 23 years ago.

Motty then told us that he’s against video technology because it’s “too complicated”, leaving us with a notion that he rings a 24-hour helpline to get advice on how to turn on his kettle.

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