Republic of Ireland Team Talk/News/Rumours 2017

The Talking Bread

Left Back on the Bench wrote: »

Whelan and Hughton were born here i thought and always wanted to play with Ireland no? Thought coyne was a Scot who wanted to play with Ireland also.

Touche! Being caught out here! Never knew Ronnie Whelan was born a Dub to be honest. I actually stupidly thought he was born in Liverpool. Apologies for that. Looking at his bio, he couldn't be more Irish, could he! Especially given his family legacy.

Hughton was, afaik, born in England. His mother was Irish and his father was from Ghana.

No Coyne was completely a Scotland fan. Travelled to see them at the 82 WC and has spoken about the fact he was aggrieved at being snubbed by Scotland, exactly like Houghton.

It is easy for the likes of McAteer, Breen, Kennedy, Carsley, Aldridge and Reid to say they were Ireland fans through and through after their international career is over but as I said I would be confident (in my own opinion of course!) if, had they been selected for England first most would have taken the chance with England.

That doesn't take away from their pride in representing Ireland. In fairness "GRANNY RULE" or not, apart from Stephen "unfortunately named" Ireland, I could pinpoint any Irish player in the past that you could question their loyalty to the jersey once they integrated into the team.

Coincidentally, there is big question marks over whether Aldridge should even have qualified at all for Ireland. Some sort of issue with his maternal family's legal citizenship. Not sure what the whole story is, just saw it being harpered on about every time Cascarino revels in his illegibility,


I caddied for Mick McCarthy once at a pro am in the K club when I was a young lad (Yep, Mick McCarthy paid my wages and bought me a hotdog one day!!) Back then, for me it was like meeting The Dalai Lama!.
It was just after the 98 World Cup and he was asked by one of the lads he was playing with would he have played for England and he was genuinely insistent he wanted to play for Ireland because of his da. But he still said he wouldn't have turned down England either. He was in his mid 20s before he even got an Irish call up. So whilst he didn't exactly go as far as saying if he was given the choice who he would choose, he was honest in saying he would have played for both, who ever came first for him.

So I don't doubt there are a few who would have chosen Ireland regardless but I would imagine for most of these guys, Ireland was a "second chance" to play international football.

Back then international football was much more respected than now by players, lets be honest, so you were never going to turn down the opportunity to play it.

johnnyryan89

Left Back on the Bench wrote: »

Whelan and Hughton were born here i thought and always wanted to play with Ireland no? Thought coyne was a Scot who wanted to play with Ireland also.

Yeah Ronnie Whelan was from Dublin but Chris Hughton was born in England but his mothers family are from Limerick.

eire4

Left Back on the Bench wrote: »

Whelan and Hughton were born here i thought and always wanted to play with Ireland no? Thought coyne was a Scot who wanted to play with Ireland also.

Ronnie Whelan was indeed born in Ireland in Dublin. Chris Hughton was born in England but his mother is Irish so was eligible for us through his mother.

weldoninhio

markc91 wrote: »

http://www.punditarena.com/football/nmenezes/martin-oneill-targeting-another-irish-qualified-striker/

Another non-scoring striker. Exactly what we need.

The Talking Bread

I'd nearly stick McCLean up front........seriously!

AgileMyth

The Talking Bread wrote: »

I'd nearly stick McCLean up front........seriously!

We did it before with Duff when we were short on options. Don't remember it working that well.

I'd like to have our best players in their best positions. McLean has put himself in that category now.

fullstop

AgileMyth wrote: »

We did it before with Duff when we were short on options. Don't remember it working that well.

I'd like to have our best players in their best positions. McLean has put himself in that category now.

McClean.

The Talking Bread

AgileMyth wrote: »

We did it before with Duff when we were short on options. Don't remember it working that well.

I'd like to have our best players in their best positions. McLean has put himself in that category now.

Ah, McClean is very different than Duff as a player in fairness! Also has that c*ntishness that we need a bit of in tight games

AgileMyth

fullstop wrote: »

McClean.

Yeah a lot of people won't have known who I meant. Thanks for that. Happy Christmas bellend

Captain Havoc

AgileMyth wrote: »

Yeah a lot of people won't have known who I meant. Thanks for that. Happy Christmas bellend

I thought you were on about John McLean, yipeekayay.

yabadabado

The Talking Bread wrote: »

I'd nearly stick McCLean up front........seriously!

We are stuck but not that badly stuck .

Ferris_Bueller

2016 was a huge year for the Irish national team. Definitely the biggest since 2002 and arguably bigger because not only did we have a decent euros, but we are sitting top of our world cup qualifying group as well. A lot of players have stepped up and become big players for us over the past 12 months, but some other guys have slipped off the radar as a result. It got me thinking of who were the winners and losers of 2016 from an Irish perspective.

Winners:

Robbie Brady - you could have him here for the goal against Italy alone, not many better moments in the history of Irish football. He also became one of few Irish players to score more than once in an international tournament and has cemented his place in the team, he will be a huge player for us for up to the next 10 years and IMO our player of the year.

Jeff Hendrick - another player who really stood up to the challenge in the Euros, arguably our best player in the tournament and unlucky not to grab himself a goal. Off the back of his performances he got himself a move to the Premier League and also looks to have cemented his place in the team.

Wes Hoolahan - the man just keeps getting better. Had a big part to play at the euros with his assist for Brady and his opener against Sweden, has shown what he adds to the team and I was delighted for him to have such a good year as realistically he does not have many left.

Seamus Coleman - He was already one of our star men but after been given the captaincy it feels as if he has upped his game again. Has had some good games in the qualifiers so far and has regained his form for Everton as one of the best full backs in England.

James McClean - he has gone from an impact sub to one of our most important players, he loves playing for his country and his performances have began to match his determination. Some massive goals in the qualifiers so far.

Darren Randolph - A solid year all around where he has come of it as the first choice goalkeeper for his club and country, a very safe pair of hands behind our defence.

Now onto the Losers:

Marc Wilson - Despite starting over half of our qualification campaign for EURO16 and being one of our regular players over the past number of years, injury ruled him out of the Euros and he fell out of favour at Stoke. Moved to Bournemouth where he has barely played and has not got a look in with the national team since.

Aiden McGeady - an important squad member during the qualifiers, his loss of form at club level was sharp and despite moving down to the Championship to Sheffield Wednesday initially and then Preston, it doesn't look as if it has helped his decline. If we weren't so short on wingers you'd have to think his days in a green jersey are done unfortunately.

David Forde - started the euro qualifiers as first choice but is now barely even making the squads, playing in League 2 with Portsmouth. Age has caught up with him but he never done much wrong for the national team, things have turned on him pretty quickly.

Jon Walters - This time last year he was arguably our most important player, having scored the two goals v Bosnia to send us to the euros. Injury almost ruled him out of the tournament itself but despite him being 'fit' he never seemed himself in the run out against Sweden or his cameo against France. Has not looked himself in a green jersey since but not too late for him to turn it around.

Shane Long - maybe a harsh one, but for me Long has not had a great year. In a year where so many big goals were scored and history was made, he was not at the forefront of any of this. His only competitive goal coming against Moldova. Has fallen down the pecking order at Southampton this season too. Still our best striker by far but I feel like it should have been a bigger year for him.

Overall a year where so many memories were made and a new generation of heroes were born, as a man in his mid twenties (missed Italia 90 etc.), it has been the most enjoyable period of following the Irish team by a good distance. We are in a great position going into 2017 and let's hope this time next year we will be looking forward to our first world cup in over 15 years!

The Talking Bread

Good post, only thing I disagree with is the Jon Walters inclusion. The guy will be 34 next year and is still almost guaranteed a place in the team for most games. Had an injury going into the Euros and it's fair to say that it still affected him.
I also don't think Ireland has ever had a most important player since Richard Dunne's peak years arguably.

Ferris_Bueller

Yeah I would agree with you, but I would say from his personal point of view it was a bit of a disappointing year. Missed a lot of the start of the year through injury, played a bit part in the euros when he should have been a key player, hasn't set the world alight for club or country this half of the year either. This is all mainly down to the fact that he got injured I guess.

johnnyryan89

Ferris_Bueller wrote: »

Aiden McGeady - an important squad member during the qualifiers, his loss of form at club level was sharp and despite moving down to the Championship to Sheffield Wednesday initially and then Preston, it doesn't look as if it has helped his decline. If we weren't so short on wingers you'd have to think his days in a green jersey are done unfortunately.

Wouldn't say we have a lack of wingers just an unwillingness to give some of them a chance. While others have out performed him at club level it's his international experience which is why he keeps getting selected.

The Talking Bread

Ferris_Bueller wrote: »

Yeah I would agree with you, but I would say from his personal point of view it was a bit of a disappointing year. Missed a lot of the start of the year through injury, played a bit part in the euros when he should have been a key player, hasn't set the world alight for club or country this half of the year either. This is all mainly down to the fact that he got injured I guess.

In fairness, club wise, he is a starter and almost always 90 minute gamer, for a mid table PL team and is keeping the likes of Bony, Shaquiri and Krcic on the bench!. Not many 33 year old strikers or midfielders doing that!

He has always been the same sort of player for Stoke and has never "set the world alight" over his career. I wouldn't be too worried about him

Ferris_Bueller

The Talking Bread wrote: »

In fairness, club wise, he is a starter and almost always 90 minute gamer, for a mid table PL team and is keeping the likes of Bony, Shaquiri and Krcic on the bench!. Not many 33 year old strikers or midfielders doing that!

He has always been the same sort of player for Stoke and has never "set the world alight" over his career. I wouldn't be too worried about him

True - I just checked there, didn't realise he has played so many games for Stoke this season, he has played some part in all bar 3 of their league games.

yabadabado

Is the Brentford v Cardiff game on TV ?Anyone watching it ?

Tom Field is starting again today at LW but is a LB(Brentford playing 3 at the back).
He is 19 and played U16 for us,he has just broken into the team and with our lack of options at LB ,a good run of games could see him get a call up fairly quick.He recently signed a new long term contract.

The Talking Bread

yabadabado wrote: »

Is the Brentford v Cardiff game on TV ?Anyone watching it ?

Tom Field is starting again today at LW but is a LB(Brentford playing 3 at the back).
He is 19 and played U16 for us,he has just broken into the team and with our lack of options at LB ,a good run of games could see him get a call up fairly quick.He recently signed a new long term contract.

We have Brady, Ward and even Christie (if he can break through) at left back. Hardly a lack of options. Wouldn't be overly concerned in that position

PTH2009

Scott Hogan is not going to join up with us apparently

Brillent year for Irish soccer and we have to Include Dundalks Europa league run in it too

I will always remember Brady's goal vs Italy at the euros, it was special and the whole country celebrated that night. In my mid twenties so that was my italia 90

I'd love if we got to the world cup and we're sitting in the perfect position ATM but there's a lot of football to go yet

There's a Euro 2016 review show titled '2 shades of green' on Rte this week

johnnyryan89

Surprised Greg Cunningham hasn't gotten a call up to the squad in the last 12 months, he's played well for Preston since he joined last season. Seems to be quite the Irish contingent at Preston these days, be nice to see them push on for a play off place.

The Talking Bread

PTH2009 wrote: »

Scott Hogan is not going to join up with us apparently

Brillent year for Irish soccer and we have to Include Dundalks Europa league run in it too

I will always remember Brady's goal vs Italy at the euros, it was special and the whole country celebrated that night. In my mid twenties so that was my italia 90

I'd love if we got to the world cup and we're sitting in the perfect position ATM but there's a lot of football to go yet

There's a Euro 2016 review show titled '2 shades of green' on Rte this week

Another "Balls.ie twist in the tale clickbait article"? I haven't seen anything in media to suggest he has or hasn't confirmed or even hinted anything related to Ireland in a good while.

Dirty Dingus McGee

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Another "Balls.ie twist in the tale clickbait article"? I haven't seen anything in media to suggest he has or hasn't confirmed or even hinted anything related to Ireland in a good while.

According to this mornings independent his representatives have urged him to take time before committing.If you need help from anybody else to decide on playing international football then you shouldn't bother with it.

yabadabado

The Talking Bread wrote: »

We have Brady, Ward and even Christie (if he can break through) at left back. Hardly a lack of options. Wouldn't be overly concerned in that position

Ward is the wrong side of 30 and the other 2 arent natural LB's .Brady is one of our best attacking options and Christie has played a handful of games at left back in his whole career and never featured there for the national team.
Not exactly great options to have.LB is a big concern imo after strikers it one of the areas we are weakest at.

johnnyryan89

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

According to this mornings independent his representatives have urged him to take time before committing.If you need help from anybody else to decide on playing international football then you shouldn't bother with it.

Independent is turning as bad as the rags these days, unless MON, the player or even someone close to him comes out with a direct qoute I wouldn't pay much attention to what the papers think might have happened.

yabadabado

johnnyryan89 wrote: »

Surprised Greg Cunningham hasn't gotten a call up to the squad in the last 12 months, he's played well for Preston since he joined last season. Seems to be quite the Irish contingent at Preston these days, be nice to see them push on for a play off place.

He has played all but 1 league game for them this season,along with Egan he is another player who probably deserves a call up based on his season so far.Both young defenders who are playing regularly at a good level.

The Talking Bread

yabadabado wrote: »

Ward is the wrong side of 30 and the other 2 arent natural LB's .Brady is one of our best attacking options and Christie has played a handful of games at left back in his whole career and never featured there for the national team.
Not exactly great options to have.LB is a big concern imo after strikers it one of the areas we are weakest at.

For the moment they are. We aren't short at the moment and I assumed that is what you were getting at. We can only fit 23 into a matchday squad

The Talking Bread

johnnyryan89 wrote: »

Independent is turning as bad as the rags these days, unless MON, the player or even someone close to him comes out with a direct qoute I wouldn't pay much attention to what the papers think might have happened.

Precisely. The media has got almost everything wrong so far regarding Hogan so unless I see direct quotes from one of the parties concerned, I would muster over it.

yabadabado

We have 1 LB in the squad and 2 makeshift options,I would call that short.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

The Talking Bread

yabadabado wrote: »

We have 1 LB in the squad and 2 makeshift options,I would call that short.

Ok, so what defenders would you omit to accomodate a player that has no international experience and has played less than a handful (literally) senior club games? Of course we need to look to the future but calling him into our squad right now would be silly.
Robbie Brady has plenty of experience from left back, at Premier League, Championship and international level. And has almost always performed well in the position, arguably some of his best games at the start for Ireland (and Norwich) were at FB. I am not sure how much more he has to do to upgrade him from makeshift to eligible left back.

johnnyryan89

The Talking Bread wrote: »

We have Brady, Ward and even Christie (if he can break through) at left back. Hardly a lack of options. Wouldn't be overly concerned in that position

I like Cyrus Christie and think he's always put in a good showing whenever he's pulled on the green jersey. Wouldn't mind seeing him play RB in some of the smaller matches like Moldova and push Coleman further forward.

The Talking Bread

johnnyryan89 wrote: »

I like Cyrus Christie and think he's always put in a good showing whenever he's pulled on the green jersey. Wouldn't mind seeing him play RB in some of the smaller matches like Moldova and push Coleman further forward.

nah, keep Coleman where he is. It is his club position and international position so changing the dynamic of our right side and defensive unit would be silly.

yabadabado

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Ok, so what defenders would you omit to accomodate a player that has no international experience and has played less than a handful (literally) senior club games? Of course we need to look to the future but calling him into our squad right now would be silly.
Robbie Brady has plenty of experience from left back, at Premier League, Championship and international level. And has almost always performed well in the position, arguably some of his best games at the start for Ireland (and Norwich) were at FB. I am not sure how much more he has to do to upgrade him from makeshift to eligible left back.

Who said he should be called in right now ?

Dirty Dingus McGee

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

According to this mornings independent his representatives have urged him to take time before committing.If you need help from anybody else to decide on playing international football then you shouldn't bother with it.

I think that might be one thing that sets apart the overseas players used by Hand, Charlton etc. Not sure of any who gave it too much thought, by and large they jumped at the chance to play for us. Maybe it's a generational thing, maybe younger people today are unable to make up their minds for themselves, maybe it's a sign of the increasing role of agents, maybe it's a sign of media reporting on every aspect, including doubts raised...but it was much easier to get enthused about players who showed nothing but enthusiasm at the chance to play for us.

yabadabado

Deleted User wrote: »

I think that might be one thing that sets apart the overseas players used by Hand, Charlton etc. Not sure of any who gave it too much thought, by and large they jumped at the chance to play for us. Maybe it's a generational thing, maybe younger people today are unable to make up their minds for themselves, maybe it's a sign of the increasing role of agents, maybe it's a sign of media reporting on every aspect, including doubts raised...but it was much easier to get enthused about players who showed nothing but enthusiasm at the chance to play for us.

I think a major factor noway is the money involved, back in the 80/90's the appearance fee was a big incentive for lads.The few hundred pounds for a call up would have been a nice boost in wages compared to nowadays.

The Talking Bread

Deleted User wrote: »

I think that might be one thing that sets apart the overseas players used by Hand, Charlton etc. Not sure of any who gave it too much thought, by and large they jumped at the chance to play for us. Maybe it's a generational thing, maybe younger people today are unable to make up their minds for themselves, maybe it's a sign of the increasing role of agents, maybe it's a sign of media reporting on every aspect, including doubts raised...but it was much easier to get enthused about players who showed nothing but enthusiasm at the chance to play for us.

We had this chat a few pages back. Most of Jacks recruits would have preferred to get the chance to play for England or Scotland. Many have been open about this. We just didn't have the media obsession and speculation back then and each acquisition seemed pretty straight forward..

I think people are really ignoring the facts behind Hogan biding his time also. Of course it is more than likely he would prefer to declare for England but we don't have any evidence of this either. All we have is the pretty reasonable reasons he is giving regarding his injury past and making up for lost time at club level and repaying Brentford for their treatment towards him.

The guy is in his mid 20s and is now only really kickstarting his career, a career that will be short, and even shorter for him than a lot of players given his injury history.
He needs to look after the professional aspect also therefore. He has no personal affiliation to our national team, but if he chooses he wants to play for us it will be win win for both him and hopefully us.

I doubt a player like Hogan would be controlled by representatives that much. He may have an unwritten obligation towards Brentford however, one which is fairly understandable given the last couple of years.

The Talking Bread

yabadabado wrote: »

Who said he should be called in right now ?

I just got the impression you were speaking about our lack of options at left back at present and the need to accomodate that?

yabadabado

The Talking Bread wrote: »

I just got the impression you were speaking about our lack of options at left back at present and the need to accomodate that?

have a look over what I posted again,I dont know why you got the impression that I wanted him called up now.He has played 3 league games in a row of course I don't want him called up based on 3 games.

yabadabado

With the transfer window opening in a few days ,will there be many Irish lads getting moves ?

Hourihane is having a great season, will he be sold in January? Its unlikely he will sign an extension to his contract which is up in the summer.

The Talking Bread

yabadabado wrote: »

have a look over what I posted again,I dont know why you got the impression that I wanted him called up now.He has played 3 league games in a row of course I don't want him called up based on 3 games.

Thats fair enough. But you implied that there is a chance he might be ("a good run of games could see him get a call up fairly quick") and that we were lacking in that position at present.

I am just saying that neither of those two opinions are on point, IN MY OPINION.

yabadabado

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Thats fair enough. But you implied that there is a chance he might be ("a good run of games could see him get a call up fairly quick") and that we were lacking in that position at present.

I am just saying that neither of those two opinions are on point, IN MY OPINION.

No need to shout :rolleyes:


Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I will stick with mine that we are weak at LB.

The Talking Bread

yabadabado wrote: »

No need to shout :rolleyes:


Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I will stick with mine that we are weak at LB.

Wardy looks tough enough for me!



(ps, wasn't "shouting", just ensuring you didn't take my posts as a lecture, as opposed to a strong opinion!)

Mantis Toboggan

Hopefully Brady will get a move in January.

yabadabado

Tyson Fury wrote: »

Hopefully Brady will get a move in January.

Norwich on a terrible run of form .6 points from last 30 but they arent out of the play off picture yet.They probably wont want to cash in on any players yet.

Mantis Toboggan

yabadabado wrote: »

Norwich on a terrible run of form .6 points from last 30 but they arent out of the play off picture yet.They probably wont want to cash in on any players yet.

Yeah but Brady and Neil fell out months ago.

Norwich might decide to cut their loses, they priced Brady out of a move during the summer.

yabadabado

Tyson Fury wrote: »

Yeah but Brady and Neil fell out months ago.

Norwich might decide to cut their loses, they priced Brady out of a move during the summer.

I would think its more likely that they will cut their losses with Neil.

Mantis Toboggan

yabadabado wrote: »

I would think its more likely that they will cut their losses with Neil.

Hopefully

The Talking Bread

I was too caught up in the delerium of it all at the time but just looking back now at the 3rd place rankings, it is good to see that the team we knocked out with that Wes/Brady moment of magic was a former foe, in Turkey!!

AFAIK Roy and Robbie are the only squad members from 1999 that were part of the Irish camp at France!

All meaningless really but nice all the same! I thought the increasing of the teams at Euro 2016 was a bad idea but it did make it a lot more exciting in the group phases with the extra place up for grabs.

Too bad we didn't repeat the same against France!

Ferris_Bueller

On the subject of having more teams in the tournament, what do people think of FIFAs plans to have more teams at the world cup?

Part of me feels like it shouldn't happen, but then again it would be great to have more teams that don't regularly appear at a world cup, and as we witnessed ourselves this year regardless of if you finish 1st or 3rd in your group to qualify, the excitement is what is remembered.

The euros was a success for countries like ourselves, Iceland, Wales, the North etc. but overall I found the standard of the matches was a bit lower than previous years or at least most of the games themselves were less entertaining from a neutrals perspective. Hard to know whether this is because there was more teams or if it just wasn't the best tournament.