47 Comments »

Paul said:
Looks like Trap is making some effort to change – glad to see Hendrick, Meyler, Hoolahan, Cunningham, and Pilkington in the squad. However, with Shane Long injured of late, and Robbie Keane staying in L.A., our dearth of quality strikers is worrying for the future of the team. A line-up of Cox, Keough, Sammon, and Doyle would not scare English Championship opposition, let alone an international opponent.
# 22 January 2013 at 6:09 pm

Nick said:
Much more promising but dont see why McShane,Keogh, O’Dea are still there seen as theyv had their chances and never took them also Doyle should be dropped as an incentive for him to make an actual effort to improve
woulda had
J.O’Brien for McShane
Pearce for O’Dea
White for Cunningham
Bunn for Forde
Exclude Keogh,Cox and Doyle pure liabillities and we know what they can do already.
# 22 January 2013 at 9:36 pm

Nick said:
Also realy dont see what warrants Ward to still be an international hes simply not good enough
# 22 January 2013 at 9:47 pm

John said:
Not bad. Would like to see this starting XI
Westwood
Coleman O’Shea Clark Cunningham
Brady McCarthy Whelan Pilkington
Hoolahan
Long
I am guessing that Trap will go with
Westwood
Coleman McShane O’Shea Ward
McGeady McCarthy Whelan Cox
Keogh Doyle
…just because he likes to disappoint me
# 23 January 2013 at 2:20 am

Mikeire said:
Westwood
Clark
Coleman
O’shea
Ward
McGeady
McCarthy
Mayler
Pilkington
Hoolahan
Long
But ideally
Westwood
Coleman
O’shea
Dunne
Duff
McGeady
McCarthy
Gibson
Hoolahan
Pilkington
Long
# 23 January 2013 at 12:56 pm

John said:
@Nick
I agree with a lot of those changes. O’Brien, Pearce and Bunn are deserving of call-ups on current form and better options than O’Dea, McShane and either Henderson or Forde (I am inclined to give Forde a squad place purely because he is playing first team football). Cunningham is a better option than White at the moment, especially for left back where he has greater maturity, experience and strength. White has been used on the wings for both Ireland U21 and Leeds and might not be ready for a shift to the backline. Cunningham is already a viable alternative to Ward.
Persisting with Andy Keogh is a mystery, and sadly Doyler seems to be in permanent decline. In a friendly, I would rather Trap take a punt on a long term attacking option like Aaron Doran, Joe Mason or Alan Judge, or even a long promising youngster like Mikey Drennan, Samir Carruthers or Jack Grealish. Time with the seniors could really spur their development.
Any one else think it’s weird that Tommy Hoban was named with the Under 19s? I thought he was a dead cert for the 21s and maybe even an outside bet for the seniors.
# 23 January 2013 at 5:27 pm

John Murphy said:
I agree with a lot of what Nick says.
Surely Alex Pearce as a premier league regular in a ever improving Reading defence is worthy of inclusion.Also Joey O Brien.Really hope Wes Hoolohan is given a full 90 min in a 3 man midfield.Hope Trap goes with,
Westwood,
Coleman,O Shea,Clarke,Cunninghnam,
Whelan, McCarthy,
Brady, Hoolohan, Pilkington,
Walters.
# 24 January 2013 at 12:03 am

csa said:
Just a quick note on White. He has had an up and down season for Leeds so far playing mostly on the wing and was out of the first team picture until last week when he came on for an injured Adam Drury at left back. He played well and will probably get a run in that position now with Drury injured. He has stated himself left back is his strongest position and where he wants to play. He wouldn’t be deserving of a call up to the senior international squad right now, but hopefully he will kick on now and be in contention before too long.
# 24 January 2013 at 8:46 am

John said:
Thanks for the inside track on White, CSA. Hopefully he makes the Leeds left back spot his own. He’s a pacey little bugger. Terry Phelan 2.0.
# 24 January 2013 at 2:35 pm

Nick said:
Would be great to see
Westwood
Coleman-O’Shea-Clark-Cunningham
Hendrick-McCarthy
Hoolahan
Brady-Pilkington
Long
Im not a Whelan fan by any means but must admit hes having a great season,having said that hes 40ish caps so we know what he can do so Hendrick should be given a chance.Also afriad hel persist with the likes of McShane,Whelan,Ward,Cox and Keogh as the have ‘experience’ although there more limited then those with less experience.Really hpoing he gives the new caps a run out and plays a 4-3-3 formation. Likelihood is hel stick with the same old crap
# 24 January 2013 at 3:51 pm

IrishRI said:
How about Christian Bale? We should call him up, or sorry Kenny McEvoy
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2267000/Gareth-Bale-lookalike-Kenny-McEvoy-helps-Tottenham-defeat-West-Ham.html
Seriously lads, this is all too little too late from Trap. I won’t be watching another Ireland game until we get a new manager.
I became disillusioned a long long time ago.
We’re not going to Brazil and even if we scrape in with pox luck like last time then we’ll get shown up over there again.
Roll on EURO 2016 when 24 teams qualify and we’ll have a different boss for the campaign.
# 24 January 2013 at 5:53 pm

John said:
If Christian Bale can play left back, I say do it.
# 24 January 2013 at 8:09 pm

Propagandhi said:
Hendrick and Pilkington are progressive call ups. Good to see Hoolahan and Cunningham included. Not sure about the wisdom of the R. Keogh and Sammon call ups. Any time I have seen Keogh on the Football League Show, he has conceded a penalty. Damien Delaney has been an instrumental part of Crystal Palace’s resurgence and has the experience but he is ignored. Delaney has spent the majority of his recent career playing CB yet has only played LB for Ireland. Keogh is a FB but is being looked at as an option for CB. Just one of the many peculiarities of Trap’s reign. Sammon isn’t as bad as people make him out to be. His goalscoring record is no worse than Doyle, Walters and Cox. He is more suited to the way Ireland play than Cox is and he is far better at holding the ball up than Walters is. Still, I can’t see him getting any opportunities with Keane, Walters, Cox, Doyle, Long and A. Keogh all ahead of him in the queue. It would have made more sense then, to drop Cox and/or Keogh to accommodate Sammon if Trap really rates him so much. It’s disheartening to see McShane and Ward included at the expense of Stephen Kelly and Joey O’Brien. Kelly has played his entire career in the PL, is experienced, professional and strong back up. O’Brien has been one of the best Irish players in the Premier League. As I said, good to see Hendrick and Pilkington in there and good to see that Trap is becoming less rigid in his squad selections but it is stupid decisions like the ones I have elaborated on and the depressing fact that Hoolahan, McClean and Long will continue to be ostracised in favour of less talented players that will always override the good.
# 25 January 2013 at 7:18 pm

Propagandhi said:
Westwood
Coleman/O’Brien, O’Shea, Dunne, Wilson
Brady/Coleman, Gibson, McCarthy, McClean/Pilkington/McGeady
Hoolahan
Long
Much stronger in the wider areas than we are anywhere else. I haven’t even factored in players like Kelly, Cunningham, Fahey, Hunt and Lawrence. Central defence and especially keeper are the biggest immediate concerns.
If Robbie Keane was dropped, which is unfortunately not going to happen, regardless of whether it suits the team or not, it would probably benefit players like Hoolahan, Pilkington, Gibson, Long and even Sammon. Long is an intelligent enough player to put the yards in on his own up front and link up with similarly skillful midfield players like Coleman, Brady, Hoolahan, Pilkington and McCarthy. Sammon is also adept at holding the ball up front and bringing other players into the game.
Long and Doyle proved against Oman that they can play together up front, regardless of the skill of the opposition.
I’m still puzzled as to why Trapattoni keeps persisting with players like Ward, McShane and Cox when they have proven that they are not cut out at this level and I’m still unsure as to what purpose Walters being in the team serves when we already have far better players playing in the position he maintains for Stoke.
It’s bizarre that Cox keeps his place in the squad after his performances over the last year for Ireland and his indifferent form for Forest.
Even allowing for Sammon – Daryl Murphy and Noel Hunt deserve a call up based on club form and profile, more than Cox.
# 26 January 2013 at 11:54 pm

Richie said:
Dunne’s had a further injury setback in the last couple of days, apparently.. I have a sinking feeling that we won’t see him in a green shirt again. If we’re knocked out of qualifying before he gets back playing I think he’ll decide to call it quits. Fingers crossed that at least St Ledger gets back in action soon, I’d be slightly more confident with him alongside O’Shea instead of O’Dea or Clark. Clark may turn out to be a better player in the long run but being part of the current lambs-to-the-slaughter Villa setup can hardly be building his confidence.
# 30 January 2013 at 3:08 am

Mikeire said:
No ROI Players on the move!!!! but good displays from hoolahan, Duff, Long and pilkington.
# 31 January 2013 at 12:56 pm

IrishRI said:
Forest bid 300K for Stephen Ward. Wolves rejected the bid reasoning that they didn’t have the funds to fight in court once Forest enacted the Lemon Law.
# 31 January 2013 at 3:59 pm

mikeire said:
Westwood £500,000
Coleman £3,000,000
O’shea £ 2,500,000
Dunne £ 1,000,000
Duff £2,500,000
McGeady £6,500,000
McCarthy £8,500,000
Gibson £5,000,000
Hoolahan £4,500,000
Pilkington £5,000,000
Long £8,500,000
This is what I think our best team would be and the valuation I would expect to get for them in the market. total value £47.5 Million
Any thoughts?
# 1 February 2013 at 10:44 pm

Nick said:
well first off Duffer is defiantly not coming back. In fairness i dont think valuations really matter, i think we all hype up the likes of mccarthy,long,clark and coleman going to ‘big clubs’ like wev done with Doyle(Arsenal),McGeady(Various) and most recently Pearce(Liverpool).Really at the moment the only players we have that could play for the likes of United,City,Chelsea,Arsenal are McCarthy,Hoolahan and in my opinion(and dare i say it) a fully fit Shay Given and possibly even robbie brady but by no means would any make the staring 11 of any of those teams. The fact that the closest signing of the window was Aiden McGeady(one of our most highly rated players by many UK managers)to Wigan really dosnt say alot.I dont think alot of Irish players get much of a look in like brady or even cliford who was released today and maby its better for them to devlop in the SPL or LOI because in fairness the top PL teams are underpressue from the FA to bring through english players as they are still obssesed with emulating 1966
# 2 February 2013 at 12:24 am

Propagandhi said:
I wish more Irish players played in Spain, Italy, France, Germany and other far flung places. I don’t know if it’s a case of Irish players being off the radar or not wanting to leave their comfort zone but it’s disappointing.
Liam Brady linked with the Ireland job in the Sunday Times.
# 2 February 2013 at 12:41 am

Propagandhi said:
Westwood
Randolph
Forde
O’Shea
Clark
Pearce
St Ledger
O’Brien
Kelly
Coleman
Wilson
McGeady
McClean
Brady
Pilkington
Hoolahan
Gibson
McCarthy
Whelan
Long
Keane
Doyle
Stokes
Sammon
Probably the best 23 available to us, in the foreseeable future, which sadly doesn’t include Dunne. Not including Cox because he is pants. Not including Walters because he is not an out and out striker for Stoke and we already have an abundance of wide players. Long, Sammon and Doyle are better at holding the ball up while Stokes is probably the closest thing to a poacher that we have.
# 2 February 2013 at 10:55 am

Propagandhi said:
Okay, that’s 23 so, throw in Damien Delaney and Keith Fahey for their experience and versatility, with Jeff Hendrick, Chris McCann, David Meyler, Liam Lawrence, Andy Reid and Noel Hunt unlucky not to make the cut.
Don’t know what Richard Keogh is doing in the squad. Other players who should (never) be called up to an Ireland squad again are McShane, Green, Andrews and Cox.
# 2 February 2013 at 10:59 am

Propagandhi said:
What I finally meant to say was that first post was 24 players, not 23 so I thought I would throw in Delaney and Fahey since this was a friendly squad. I am good at Maths, swear!
# 2 February 2013 at 11:00 am

Propagandhi said:
Looks like Pilko is out of the Irish squad. He went off injured midway through the first half for Norwich against QPR.
# 2 February 2013 at 1:14 pm

Propagandhi said:
Aiden McGeady is the latest player to be ruled out of Wednesday’s friendly. As of yet, no replacements have been called up.
I’d like to think it would be an opportunity for any combination of Brady, McClean, Hoolahan or Coleman to play but we all know that makes too much sense and Cox will end up playing on the wing and Walters up front. Coleman probably needs to play rb anyway because Trapattoni refuses to call up Premier League players like O’Brien or Kelly, and nobody wants to see McShane starting.
# 2 February 2013 at 4:49 pm

Propagandhi said:
Villa blow a two goal lead against Everton. Really, how can Stevens and Williams not even make the bench? Ireland and Carruthers too? How could they possibly do any worse than the dross Lambert is playing every week? Bizarre…
# 2 February 2013 at 4:52 pm

Propagandhi said:
Jonathan Walters
Offered nothing offensively and gave Monreal a very easy start to life in England. Never beat his man, rarely hit the by-line and brought no creativity down the flank. Worked reasonably hard.
2
Ian Harte
He might be getting on a bit now, but the Irishman still has an awesome left foot, with the ability to put the ball anywhere he wants. His free kicks and corners were a constant menace for the visitors.
4
Goal.com
# 2 February 2013 at 5:27 pm

Reed said:
I personally think Walters belongs over Sammon surely
# 2 February 2013 at 5:43 pm

Nick said:
Best 23 in my opinion
Westwood
Randolph
Henderson
Coleman
O’Brien
Wilson
Harte
Dunne
O’Shea
Clark
Pearce
McCarthy
Gibson
Hendrick
Hoolahan
Ireland
Brady
McGeady
Pilkington
McClean
Keane
Long
Walters
I really want to like Glenn Whelan but hes won 40 caps and really hasnt convinced in one Hendrick and Gibson are far better options but wernt given the opportunity Whelan was. Also Stephen Irreland may not be making the villa starting 11 but looks so composed on the ball compared to most of our players and has alot of creativity in his game that we lack, could be a good option off the bench. Sammon could be a good option as a lone striker looked good in the isolated role lately can close doown and can hold up and gets the odd goal.Hartes legs may be gone but his experience is invaluable and also gives an alternative option in terms of set piece abillity and experience.Liklyhood is he wouldt play but id prefare somebody like him in there ahead of McShane
# 2 February 2013 at 6:20 pm

Propagandhi said:
Sammon is more suited to the way Ireland play than Walters is, he also plays up front as opposed to the wings, he is faster, better in the air and the goalscoring record is largely the same as Doyle, Keogh and Walters.
Walters hasn’t really done it for Ireland and I believe the performances and results have backed that up.
# 2 February 2013 at 6:30 pm

Nick said:
id have to disagree with your assesment on Walters Prop. Firstly he showed against Germany he can play the lone role and can get up to the ball and also hold it up.His poor golascoring record for stoke is mainly because hes used as a second striker to bigger men or as a winger. He a beter player then Sammon but yeh Sammon does fit the bill but by no means is he ahead of Walters in terms of ability
# 2 February 2013 at 6:53 pm

Propagandhi said:
We lost the game against Germany by 6-1. That means he didn’t do a very good job of holding the ball up and relieving the midfield. A more accurate assessment of his ability would probably be the Kazakhstan game which we were going to lose, until Doyle and Long came off the bench to rescue us.
I would have Long, Keane and Doyle in that order but I don’t see much difference between Walters and Sammon. They are both workhorses. I think Sammon has a bit more to his game.
# 2 February 2013 at 7:00 pm

Nick said:
ah here Prop he did a very good job of it just didnt help hed a static midfield trio behind him and I recall he got the man of the match award and in fairness Conor Sammon woulda been eaten alive by a German back 4
# 2 February 2013 at 7:18 pm

Propagandhi said:
We must have been watching a different match, again, because midget Walters didn’t win any of his headers. He also has a habit of f***ing up counter attacks, which as he has proven time and time again against the League’s best defences, Long has the pace and skill to exploit.
Listen, we’re both entitled to our opinion and we can both respectfully disagree.
I’m just still a bit pissed off about English players playing for Ireland because they aren’t good enough to play for England. I’m pissed off about Simon Cox coming on against Croatia before Shane Long, a tactical decision that helped end our Euros before it began. I’m pissed off about Walters and Cox playing instead of Long and Doyle all the time, when Long is better (no need to elaborate on that) and as bad as Doyle is, he has still contributed more for Ireland recently (Euros, Kazakhstan, Oman) than either Walters or Cox have. I’m pissed off about the fact that players like Green and Cox (who don’t have an Irish bone in their body) played at the Euros when they had no business being there, contributing to the malaise that has seen Kelly and Gibson become unavailable and Ireland and Andy Reid remain unavailable for Ireland. It’s infuriating that Hoolahan was left out of Ireland squad for the peak years of his career and Trapattoni only starts calling up players of his ilk because of the intervention of the FAI, yet Simon Cox and Jon Walters waltz into the first team and do the media rounds ad nauseum like their seasoned members of the Ireland set up.
Excuse the rant.
# 2 February 2013 at 7:38 pm

Richie said:
Pilkington’s injury is very disappointing, his promised debut was one of the few things to really look forward to in this Poland game. Hoping that Hoolahan, Hendrick and Meyler get good runs out anyway.
Coleman picked up an injury last week and with O’Dea being held in Toronto I’d imagine we’re looking at a backline of: McShane / O’Shea / Clark / Ward
Not too inspiring – surely time to recall Stephen Kelly and Joey O’Brien?
# 2 February 2013 at 11:18 pm

Propagandhi said:
Kelly and O’Brien should both be starting this game. Even if Coleman was available, he should probably be played in midfield. It’s really quite preposterous that we are always left at such a disadvantage because of shortsighted at best, stupid at worst, tactical decisions from Trapattoni.
# 2 February 2013 at 11:24 pm

Richie said:
I don’t think Coleman should be in midfield, we have enough wingers (McGeady, Brady, McClean, now Pilkington, Fahey whenever he comes back, Walters, Long, Hoolahan and Hendrick can play there too) but our full-back options are a bit weak. Since he got a run in the Everton starting lineup at right back Coleman is our most promising option there. I reckon he’s a better attacking player too when he’s running from deep positions, thought he looked easier to counteract when he was on the wing.
# 2 February 2013 at 11:45 pm

Reed said:
Yeah I agree that Coleman should def be at rb and not midfield, he has said time and time again that he is a defender not a midfielder, albeit an attacking right back. I agree Simon Cox probably shouldn’t be on the team at all, but I still think Walters at least deserves a spot off the bench probably behind Keane and Long. Heres my team:
Westwood
Given
Randolph/Henderson
Coleman
Joey O’Brien
O’Shea
Dunne
St. Ledger
Clark
Wilson
Ward-but could be toss up with Aiden White or Cunningham
McGeady
Brady
McClean
Pilkington
Gibson
Whelan
Hoolahan
Ireland
McCarthy
Keane
Long
Walters
Doyle
Stokes
# 3 February 2013 at 12:40 am

Propagandhi said:
Long and Reid back in the starting line up for West Brom against Spurs. Wouldn’t it be nice if Long could score in a third consecutive game? AVB is allegedly a fan. It might encourage him to take his alleged interest further.
# 3 February 2013 at 12:57 pm

Richie said:
It sounded like Long fluffed his lines a bit today, although at least he’s getting into dangerous positions a lot.
I think it’s also worth saying that if Mark Bunn pursues his Irish eligibility then he should be in with a decent shout of starting for us.. Currently the only Ireland-eligible keeper starting regularly at a Premier League side, and has had a few very good performances lately.
From the players remaining in the squad, and assuming no new callups, I think the best we could do would be a lineup like this on Wednesday:
Westwood
McShane / O’Shea / Clark / Cunningham or Ward
McClean / Meyler or Whelan / McCarthy / Brady
Hoolahan
Long
Would rather see Cunningham and Meyler get the start from those options as we know well what Ward and Whelan are capable of at this stage.. Hendrick and Sammon to come on in 2nd half.
# 3 February 2013 at 5:30 pm

John said:
Of what I saw in the second half, Long was completely isolated and suffered the most from the sending off. He really did better than could be expected with the scraps he was given. A team like spurs would be a great fit for his talents and would probably give him more to work with.
# 3 February 2013 at 6:43 pm

Reed said:
Im waiting for Trap to call up O’Brien or Kelly and another winger, although Hunt is the only one that really comes to mind. There is Stephen Quinn and Liam Lawrence but I can’t see them being called up.
# 3 February 2013 at 10:07 pm

Propagandhi said:
http://www.goal.com/en/news/1718/team-of-the-week/2013/02/04/3725280/premier-league-team-of-the-week-super-sissoko-stars-again-as?source=breakingnews&ICID=HP_BN_5
Ian Harte makes the team of the week.
# 4 February 2013 at 9:26 am

Propagandhi said:
http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/players/ea-sports-ppi-team-of-the-week.html
Joey O’Brien has been named in the official PL team of the week 3 times, more than any other Irish player, yet himself and another form player Stephen Kelly are not named in the squad for the Poland game.
# 4 February 2013 at 9:33 am

IrishRI said:
Forde,
McShane, O’Shea, Clark, Cunningham,
Brady, McCarthy, Whelan, McClean,
Long, Sammon.
Interesting team but McShane at right back? Please..
Would have liked to have seen Gibson instead of Whelan but he’s AWOL.
Besides that the players are an improvement.
Again, the good old 4-4-2. Sames system, same shite football just a few different players.
Long and Sammon are very similar. Both strong and good in the air but who are they flicking those headers onto?
# 5 February 2013 at 3:58 pm

Nick said:
McShane starting when O’Briens in fine form, Forde in ahead of Bunn Westwood and the option of Given, Whelan in ahead of Hendrick to play pure shite yet again, No Wessi and the same shit system
Trapp out.
# 5 February 2013 at 4:03 pm

IrishRI said:
I think he made just enough personal changes to keep the FAI off his back just like he did against the Faroes and Greece but has fundamentally kept the system and team. I have honestly grown to despise this poisonous little man they call Trapattoni.
# 5 February 2013 at 4:30 pm

Leave your response!

Upcoming Matches

Date		Opponent	Competition
22-Mar		Sweden (A)	WCQ
26-Mar		Austria (H)	WCQ
29-May		England (A)	Friendly
2-Jun		Georgia (H)	Friendly
7-Jun		Faroe Islands (H)	WCQ

Archives

Latest Updates on Twitter

Latest Soccer News

• Shamrock Rovers 1-0 Shelbourne - Shels suffer further heartache in Dublin derby
• Andy Keogh looking forward to facing Faroes
• Bray Wanderers 3-2 Drogheda United - Jason Byrne nets hat-trick for Seagulls