Given back for Ireland

godtabh

Link

Not sure if this has been posted

Shay Given has performed a backflip on his decision to retire from international football, making himself available again for the Republic of Ireland.


PA Photos
Given says his Villa disappointment is behind the decision
Given, 36, admits the disappointment of losing his position as first choice goalkeeper at Aston Villa has played a significant role in his choice to return to the Ireland squad after stepping down following the Euro 2012 disappointment.

The goalkeeper, who has won 125 caps, has held negotiations with Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni and wants to be considered for a return to the squad at the earliest possible opportunity.

"We spoke on the phone and I explained why I quit in August and why I am now willing to return," Given said. "During a lengthy chat, I told Giovanni that I retired because I wanted to concentrate on my club career.

"I chose to call time on it with a heavy heart but I knew that it was something I had to do for the sake of my club football.

"I had turned 36 in April and in the modern game there are not too many playing for club and country at that stage of life."

Given has not appeared for Villa in a Premier League game since August, after losing his place to Brad Guzan, and his lack of football has forced the change of heart.

"Obviously, since I made that call, things have not gone as well on the club front as I would have liked or expected, and I haven't started a Premier League game since our second fixture of the season," he said. "I knew I was going to miss international football and I suppose that was made worse by the fact that I wasn't playing regularly for Villa.

"So, I began to think about whether I had been too hasty in my choice and started to wonder whether I should reverse it. That's why I felt I had to speak to Giovanni, to tell him how I was feeling and discuss a possible return."

I think this is a bad move for all (even more so if he becomes no 1 again). Only coming back because he cant get a game for Villa. Bad form

MagicMarker

If he can't get a game for Villa then he shouldn't be getting a game for Ireland.

gimmick

Great. Now we have 2 number 2 keper vying for number 1 spot for Ireland.

Given was a great keeper, but he also has impeded new keepers coming though and International level by playing every single firnedly there has been. Is that his fault or the managers for choosing him though?!

newballsplease

Wonder how will Westwood feel if hes dropped now?

IvySlayer

MagicMarker wrote: »

If he can't get a game for Villa then he shouldn't be getting a game for Ireland.

Why do you think this story is floating around? Smokescreen for someone to snap him up..

godtabh

newballsplease wrote: »

Wonder how will Westwood feel if hes dropped now?

He's probably asking the question why bother

aramush

Stay gone Shay, you've served your country brilliantly

David Forde deserves to be number one for the games in March imo.

Ares

Shay can **** right off. The only reason he's doing this is because he can't get his game at Villa. I mean in fairness, Villa!

He served his country well but he was a liability over the past year or so, and he should be told in no uncertain terms that he's not wanted.

eagle eye

The guy has served his country extremely well for a long time. He wants to come back now and is not lying about the reason why.

And still you have disrespectful posters here who say he can ---- right off.

Can you guys tell me what you have done for your country which leaves you in the position to criticise Shay Given?

Imo you guys can ---- right off!

godtabh

eagle eye wrote: »

Can you guys tell me what you have done for your country?

Paid for every one elses mistakes!

I've no problem with Given. He retired. He should stay retired

wonga77

Westwood must be wondering where does this leave him. I dont understand this uturn at all

Esse85

If he's better than what we've got then by all means consider him regardless of the reasons for his u-turn. We know his attitude and effort will be 100% as always has been.

Anything to improve the team.

applehunter

Backwards step.

I dont think he should be called up but he has every right to make himself available. Plenty hummed and hawed over it in the past so its great to have someone who is willing to represent us.

Donnielighto

eagle eye wrote: »

The guy has served his country extremely well for a long time. He wants to come back now and is not lying about the reason why.

And still you have disrespectful posters here who say he can ---- right off.

Can you guys tell me what you have done for your country which leaves you in the position to criticise Shay Given?

Imo you guys can ---- right off!

Nice to know you've never criticised a player so...:rolleyes:

MyBrokenKnees

eagle eye wrote: »

Can you guys tell me what you have done for your country which leaves you in the position to criticise Shay Given?

Imo you guys can ---- right off!

I have done plenty for my Country. More than it has done for me. I took JFK's advice.


I have every right if I want to criticise Given or any other player or anyone who gets paid from money that I am charged to see that person do their job be it for their Country or their club!

Soups123

If the squad is picked on ability then he will still be in it, he is still one of our top 3 keepers.

Keepers can still do a excellent job at this level at that age, only got to look at the like of VDS.

eagle eye

Donnielighto wrote: »

Nice to know you've never criticised a player so...:rolleyes:

I've never criticised a player who gave his all to the cause for 16 years.

SirDelboy18

Should stay gone. Not better than Westwood at this stage of his career, who is very unfortunate to be behind a very talented goalkeeper in Mignolet.

Mikeyt086

MagicMarker wrote: »

If he can't get a game for Villa then he shouldn't be getting a game for Ireland.

Yeah, we should stick with the Sunderland #2.

SirDelboy18

Mikeyt086 wrote: »

Yeah, we should stick with the Sunderland #2.

Mignolet is a much better keeper than Brad Guzan.

GLaDOS

I'd keep Westwood at no.1. He hasn't done anything wrong for us and will be relying on him for the future. Given may decide to retire again next year.

bren2001

Part of me is glad to have Given back as I do not think Westwood is ready to be our no. 1. I partly blame Trap for this as Westwood should of been given some of the smaller games in the last campaign, the other fact is that he is not starting for Sunderland.

I think Given should play the more important games i.e. Sweden and away to Austria while Westwood is bled in the likes of the Faroe Islands etc. Don't think Westwood is ready to handle the pressure of the big games.

Given has served us well and only had 1 poor set of games at the Euro's.

eagle eye

SirDelboy18 wrote: »

Mignolet is a much better keeper than Brad Guzan.

And Cech is a much better keeper than De Gea, does that mean that Turnbull is better than Lindegaard?

gnfnrhead

It'll be a big slap in the face of Westwood if he is dropped to the bench despite doing very little wrong. Given wasnt exactly playing great when he retired. He hasnt played a lot since then so no reason to assume it will be any different. Hopefully Westwood keeps his place.

starviewadams

Don't think it's the right move for Ireland or Shay.

He's past his best and had been for the last year of his Ireland career.He's just opening himself and Trap up for criticism when he inevitably makes a mistake.

David Forde should be given a run seeing as he's the only keeper regularly picked in Irish squads playing first team football.

SirDelboy18

eagle eye wrote: »

And Cech is a much better keeper than De Gea, does that mean that Turnbull is better than Lindegaard?

I'd disagree actually.

noodler

Still our best keeper realistically.

Westwood is in the exact same situation he is in terms of games but without the experience.


Yet, you can't help feeling that Forde or Kenny should be given a chance given they are playing for their clubs.

The decision doesn't come down to quality for me as he is most likely the best keeper.

The decision also doesn't come down to some sort of "you can sling your hook" attitude just because he is coming back.

But being an Ireland international will only get him 5 or 6 games a year and he'd need to sort out his club situation (like Westwood needs to).

noodler

gnfnrhead wrote: »

It'll be a big slap in the face of Westwood if he is dropped to the bench despite doing very little wrong. Given wasnt exactly playing great when he retired. He hasnt played a lot since then so no reason to assume it will be any different. Hopefully Westwood keeps his place.

Westwood has done nothing to earn his place. He got it by default, has conceded 8 goals in three competitive games and can't get a look in with his club. I don't blame him but its not like he has been setting the world alight.

I guess if you are Westwood you'd be pissed off if Given took your place but he'd have little or no right to complain if a keeper who was playing regularly took it.

doomed

Great servant and owes us nothing but not sure if his reasons, honest as they are, are good for the team.

Also Shay is nowhere near where he was at his peak. His form before he left was pretty poor and he was pure awful in Poland. He went from being a real strength in the team giving confidence to his defenders to a liability that made them nervous. Really should have been dropped for the Italy game.

There is not much between himself and Westwood and I would leave Westwood as No 1. If Shay is committed to Ireland then he should be able to put up with being on the bench. Others had to even when there were times that they might have been in better form (Kiely and Kenny come to mind).

gnfnrhead

noodler wrote: »

Westwood has done nothing to earn his place. He got it by default, has conceded 8 goals in three competitive games and can't get a look in with his club. I don't blame him but its not like he has been setting the world alight.

I guess if you are Westwood you'd be pissed off if Given took your place but he'd have little or no right to complain if a keeper who was playing regularly took it.

Given conceded nine in three at the Euro's and also cant get a look in. If he was playing regularly, then sure, but he isnt. As such, I see no reason for him to automatically take Westwood's spot again. The only real difference between the two now is age and expierance but Westwood isnt a rookie by any means and will be around for longer than Given. If Westwood gets dropped, it should be for someone who is actually playing, not for Given.

Donnielighto

eagle eye wrote: »

I've never criticised a player who gave his all to the cause for 16 years.

Giggs should start for Utd so

noodler

gnfnrhead wrote: »

Given conceded nine in three at the Euro's and also cant get a look in. If he was playing regularly, then sure, but he isnt. As such, I see no reason for him to automatically take Westwood's spot again. The only real difference between the two now is age and expierance but Westwood isnt a rookie by any means and will be around for longer than Given. If Westwood gets dropped, it should be for someone who is actually playing, not for Given.

Thanks for summarising my post!

Nalz

eagle eye wrote: »

The guy has served his country extremely well for a long time. He wants to come back now and is not lying about the reason why.

You know this how?

eagle eye wrote: »

And still you have disrespectful posters here who say he can ---- right off.

People are giving their opinion, all be it over the top

eagle eye wrote: »

you guys tell me what you have done for your country which leaves you in the position to criticise Shay Given?

Sorry, so every critic has to have done something for their country now? I managed to stay alive for 29 years baby!!

eagle eye wrote: »

you guys can ---- right off!

nah

FatherTed

When is Gilesy coming back?

WoollyRedHat

O.k we have got two friendlies coming up do we not before the big one against Sweden? IMO, Westwood is not ready to be thrown into such a game without any game time into such a big match decider. You can argue Shay isn't either, with no matches except for an FA Cup game? Play Westwood for one friendly, and Given for the other leading then into the Sweden match. After that, rotate the two, and in the meantime give more time with Westwood and Shay helping each other out.

In any case, I would still pick Shay Given with Dunne than Westwood and Dunne in such a crucial match with a striker like Ibramaovich, who will be prolific, and as good as Westwood is, is he good enough to be up against Ibra, considering 0 game time and very little international experience in terms of key games. There's an awful lot of pressure generally speaking,.
My overvall stance is we need to be focusing on nurturing a replacement for Given, and if Trapattoni had been shrewd, Kieran would have a lot more international experience... but he doesn't...

noodler

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

if Trapattoni had been shrewd, Kieran would have a lot more international experience... but he doesn't...

If Trap had put Westwood in a couple of meaningless firendlies over the last 3 years it wouldn't much change our current situation.

Westwood's rustiness is from not playing competitive football for his club - not the odd relatively meaningless Wednesday night friendly against Oman.

bren2001

noodler wrote: »

If Trap had put Westwood in a couple of meaningless firendlies over the last 3 years it wouldn't much change our current situation.

Westwood's rustiness is from not playing competitive football for his club - not the odd relatively meaningless Wednesday night friendly against Oman.

The issue isn't rustiness. Given is just as rusty as Westwood, they both have got little to no game time this season. The issue being highlighted is that Westwood doesn't have the experience of playing for Ireland to deal with the pressures associated. He would be more adapted to it if he got to play a few games in the last campaign e.g. Estonia second leg, Macedonia etc.

Certainly this campaign (should of been the last one) is to phase out the older players and bleed in the new talent i.e. Clark, Coleman, Westwood etc. The aim is not to qualify for WC2014 but to have a strong team for Euro 2016 and WC2018, but obviously we should still try. Beating Sweden is an important step in that and I would have more confidence in Given than Westwood.

Renn

Like I said during the summer, I just think Given is a bit of a chancer, so this really shouldn't surprise me one bit. I think it was clear to most that he wasn't near 100% fitness during the Euros and made quite a number of mistakes - iirc continued to do so for the first two games for Villa? Anyway, definitely time for the guy to move on.

GLaDOS

bren2001 wrote: »

He would be more adapted to it if he got to play a few games in the last campaign e.g. Estonia second leg, Macedonia etc.

He did play against Macedonia Given was injured. Did pretty well too.

inforfun

No problem he changed his mind but at 36 he hasnt much time left.
He might have 1 more qualification for a tournament in him but with the Germans and Sweden in your group it doesnt look great to qualify for Brazil. better give your current no1 the experience.

Stick with your current no1 and only call Given up when your no1 is unavailable. Holland/Van der Sar did the same thing when Van Der Sar called it quits after euro2008 and Holland was without their first 2 GK against Iceland and Norway a few months later. He did those games and that was the end of it.

noodler

bren2001 wrote: »

The issue isn't rustiness. Given is just as rusty as Westwood, they both have got little to no game time this season. The issue being highlighted is that Westwood doesn't have the experience of playing for Ireland to deal with the pressures associated. He would be more adapted to it if he got to play a few games in the last campaign e.g. Estonia second leg, Macedonia etc.

Certainly this campaign (should of been the last one) is to phase out the older players and bleed in the new talent i.e. Clark, Coleman, Westwood etc. The aim is not to qualify for WC2014 but to have a strong team for Euro 2016 and WC2018, but obviously we should still try. Beating Sweden is an important step in that and I would have more confidence in Given than Westwood.

The issue is rustiness.

If Westwood was playing regularly - Given would only be coming back as backup.

As things stand, Westwood isn't in any great position to stay Number one.

As you say, they are both rusty.

But a rusty and slightly past it Shay Given is better than a rusty Westwood imo.

If I were Forde and Kenny (unless he is still out for his own reasons) I'd be the most disappointed.

WoollyRedHat

Yeah, Westwood should have gotten more qualification games considering Shay's age, and as a measure of preparing for the future. As it stands, I would accept Given back for the next friendly and Sweden game. Hopefully we will have Dunne to line back with him. After that, bring back Westwood and play him. Onwards and upwards. I trust Given's instincts that he will be ready for the task at hand when we go to Stockholm.

godtabh

Looks like Trapattoni has said thanks, but no thanks

Given not to return

noodler

godtabh wrote: »

Looks like Trapattoni has said thanks, but no thanks

Given not to return

Fair play for Trap on at least being decisive.

I feel it is the wrong decision in so far as Given is still currently our best option and giving Westwood games at international level is a bit like sticking a band-aid on a gaping wound if he can't move alonghis club situation.

Forde should be given a real chance.

If we are going to overlook Given then it needs to be for someone playing regular football.

gnfnrhead

Very surprised by that but well done Trap. Had expected him to jump all over it so it's good to see he is thinking in the medium to long term now.

G.K.

noodler wrote: »

Fair play for Trap on at least being decisive.

I feel it is the wrong decision in so far as Given is still currently our best option and giving Westwood games at international level is a bit like sticking a band-aid on a gaping wound if he can't move alonghis club situation.

Forde should be given a real chance.

If we are going to overlook Given then it needs to be for someone playing regular football.

Disagree - if Westwood's going to be the future no.1 and Given isn't going to be picked, then he future no.1 should be getting all the international experience he can. I know it's hard on Forde but ultimately Westwood's going to be no.1.

noodler

G.K. wrote: »

Disagree - if Westwood's going to be the future no.1 and Given isn't going to be picked, then he future no.1 should be getting all the international experience he can. I know it's hard on Forde but ultimately Westwood's going to be no.1.

I see no reasonably justification for playing Westwood ahead of Forde - so I definitely see no reasonable justification for just assuming Westwood will be number one.

There is a 5 year age gap there so lets talk it out. Westwood will undoubtedly be in and around the scene longer but at 33 Forde could easily do two campaigns (certainly one) and Westwood's club situation may have improved by then.

I wish Westwood was playing but its been well over a year at this stage and I think throwing him in at the deep end for periodic internationals can only do so much for his sharpness.