One of our "key" players likely is out of Euro 2012

darkman2

Reports today that one of our main players won't be at Euro 2012.


http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0430/1224315361252.html

More worrying, though, is the prospect that the issue involved is a personal one, which would explain the extreme reluctance of Trapattoni or other association officials to reveal details, and that one of Ireland’s more established stars, perhaps Damien Duff or Aiden McGeady, is the player concerned.

Appears it's probably not Duff

Sources close to Duff suggested yesterday that it is not the Fulham player but the situation in relation to McGeady, who has been playing for Spartak Moscow recently, if not especially well, remained unclear.

So one of our key players won't be going to Euro 2012. Alot of speculation in the papers who it might be. Trapattoni initially indicated an injury was the problem for the player but some journalists are not buying that because no names were mentioned. I hope it's not McGeady. McCarthy - been struggling to get into the team which might explain a "personal" aspect? The most likely though appears to be Fahey going on reports (that's assuming it's an actually injury needing an operation). Either way it's interesting Trap intimated McClean will be going. Is that a hint of the position of the player that is "injured"? Stephen Hunt? McGeady?


Anyway looks like speculation will run and gather pace as the week goes on. Bit worried it could be McGeady. McCarthy has not been in the first team anyway so would not bother me as much (though it might come the WC Qualifiers!).

Hank Scorpio

Dunne possibly? Maybe hes had a setback

OneColdHand

nuxxx wrote: »

Dunne possibly? Maybe hes had a setback

Dunne came though a full game for villa at the weekend.

I'm not sure how many 'key' players we have, apart from Dunne, Given, Duff and Keane. The rest are just part of Trap's system, and could probably be relative easily replaced, imo.

darkman2

Can't see it being Dunne. He played at the weekend injury free and is well up for the tournament.

darkman2

OneColdHand wrote: »

Dunne came though a full game for villa at the weekend.

I'm not sure how many 'key' players we have, apart from Dunne, Given, Duff and Keane. The rest are just part of Trap's system, and could probably be relative easily replaced, imo.

McGeady is a key player IMO and can't be easily replaced given our options. McClean would be being thrown in at the deep end and Hunt is not as good as McGeady tbf.

The_Kew_Tour

Sad to hear, hope its not Duff.

gnfnrhead

We only have three key players. Given, Dunne and Keane. McGeady would probably be next but I wouldnt count him as a key player, likewise with Duff. Provided it's none of those five, it wont be too much of a problem.

The_Kew_Tour

gnfnrhead wrote: »

We only have three key players. Given, Dunne and Keane. McGeady would probably be next but I wouldnt count him as a key player, likewise with Duff. Provided it's none of those five, it wont be too much of a problem.

I know it wont be O Shea but he a guy who I would not like to see missing either.

We are light enough at back.

Kerrydude1981

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Sad to hear, hope its not Duff.

Same here,I know Duff might not be the Duff of old but he has been a great servant to the green jersey and it would be a shame if he had to miss out on probably his last big tournament

Bodhisopha

Probably won't win it now.

Redzer7

I think I speak for the majority of people here on boards when I say I hope it's Paul Green. :pac:



What a man!

SantryRed

darkman2 wrote: »

McGeady is a key player IMO and can't be easily replaced given our options. McClean would be being thrown in at the deep end and Hunt is not as good as McGeady tbf.

McGeady is not. He is a waste because Trappatoni persists on play him on the left. Making our offensive play so narrow. It would actually suit us to have someone like McClean there instead of him, because of the natural width it would give us.

darkman2

If it's Fahey could that leave room for Paul Green?

GLaDOS

Seems like a lot of speculation to me, I'd wait until proper confirmation before worrying.

kitakyushu

Bodhisopha wrote: »

Probably won't win it now.

Yep, we have to concentrate on winning the World Cup in 2014 now. :pac:

Liam O

Really hope it's not McGeady, his skill set will be a valuable asset in games where we're under the kosh with relieving pressure and forcing the full backs to play deeper

kitakyushu

SantryRed wrote: »

McGeady is not. He is a waste because Trappatoni persists on play him on the left. Making our offensive play so narrow. It would actually suit us to have someone like McClean there instead of him, because of the natural width it would give us.

Trap doesn't want width. He wants wingers who'll come inside every single time and hopefully get fouled less than 30 yards from goal.

Stevecw

Bit worrying when you see "key player" mentioned.
If it's someone like Fahey or Hunt then it'd be no major loss, but doubt they'd be referred to as key players as they are usually only the 1st 2 subs he uses.

Losing Duff or McGeady would be a massive blow.

S28382

Liam O wrote: »

Really hope it's not McGeady, his skill set will be a valuable asset in games where we're under the kosh with relieving pressure and forcing the full backs to play deeper

I must of been in outer space iv never seen mcgeady ever do anything like that:cool: he is an average player that wanted to look good so thats why he went to play in a piss poor league

kitakyushu

S28382 wrote: »

I must of been in outer space iv never seen mcgeady ever do anything like that:cool: he is an average player that wanted to look good so thats why he went to play in a piss poor league

I agree that McGeady is not an effective out for Ireland but in fairness to him the Russian league is a step up from the SPL. I think he could also survive in the Prem if that's the standard you mean.

eagle eye

Why do Irish people always have to dislike a member of their national team?

Its always the same though, Mick McCarthy was that man in the late 80s, then it was Alan Kernaghan in the early 90s, he was followed by Phil Babb then Kilbane and up until very recently it was McShane. Now its Green. Its alright not to like a guy being selected on the team but to be wishing he isn't even part of a squad is ridiculous.

Jayob10

hopefully its Hunt. Not a huge fan even when he is playing, but surely his lack of gametime (albeit due to injury) at relegated Wolves mean McClean should move above him in the pecking order.

WoollyRedHat

eagle eye wrote: »

Why do Irish people always have to dislike a member of their national team?

Its always the same though, Mick McCarthy was that man in the late 80s, then it was Alan Kernaghan in the early 90s, he was followed by Phil Babb then Kilbane and up until very recently it was McShane. Now its Green. Its alright not to like a guy being selected on the team but to be wishing he isn't even part of a squad is ridiculous.

In terms of wishing players weren't apart of the squad, I don't think it's ridicolous at all... Green as a player is not up to international standard, and if he were in any way involved in the Euro 2012 squad it would be a waste and unjustified.

Hannibal

What constitutes a key player though?

in our last 24 competitive games covering the last two group tournaments and playoff fixtures the leading players appearence wise are:
substitute appearences are in brackets and not included in totals

Glenn Whelan 23
Shay Given 23
Robbie Keane 23
Richard Dunne 22
John O'Shea 20 (1)
Kevin Doyle 19
Kevin Kilbane 18
Aiden McGeady 17 (5)
Keith Andrews 16
Sean St Ledger 15
Damien Duff 14
Stephen Hunt 9 (8)
Liam Lawrence 6
Stephen Kelly 5 (3)
Stephen Ward 5
Paul Green 4
Simon Cox 2 (4)
Keith Fahey 1 (7)
Shane Long 1 (4)

S28382

kitakyushu wrote: »

I agree that McGeady is not an effective out for Ireland but in fairness to him the Russian league is a step up from the SPL. I think he could also survive in the Prem if that's the standard you mean.

Yeah the Russian league is a step up from the SPL but they are both poor leagues there is no way Mcgeady could get into a top 6 team in England, top 15 in Spain, top 10 in Italy, he had potential when he was at Celtic but he just cant make the grade to be a top quality player.

eagle eye

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

In terms of wishing players weren't apart of the squad, I don't think it's ridicolous at all... Green as a player is not up to international standard, and if he were in any way involved in the Euro 2012 squad it would be a waste and unjustified.

You state that like its a fact.

I'll take the judgement of a manager who is one of the most successful in European football over the last 25 years over yours thanks.

kitakyushu

eagle eye wrote: »

Why do Irish people always have to dislike a member of their national team?

Its always the same though, Mick McCarthy was that man in the late 80s, then it was Alan Kernaghan in the early 90s, he was followed by Phil Babb then Kilbane and up until very recently it was McShane. Now its Green. Its alright not to like a guy being selected on the team but to be wishing he isn't even part of a squad is ridiculous.

You can add Matt Holland to that list also. I think in the unfair cases it often comes down to them having an awful debut or early performance. McShane pretty much went to pot after his heroic debut, Kilbane got subbed at h/t on his debut. Holland basically didn't cover the runner that cost us the goal to qualify for Euro 2000.

However in the fair cases it's just down to them being generally awful for Ireland. I remember Kernaghan was never really any good anyway (he got roasted v Spain in a game that ended our undefeated home record of 7 years) and was only there because a trio of genuinely good CBs (McCarthy, Moran, O'Leary) were winding down and going off the boil at the time. Same with Babb. He replaced Kergnaghan pretty soon on. It was just replacing crap with crap.

As for Green, the guy has never impressed me. It's no coincidence that two times we were completely wiped off the pitch under Trap (v Uru and Russia (h) ) Green was in there watching the ball whizzing past him like a spectator. He's a liability.

WoollyRedHat

A key player in the public's mind and a key player in terms of Trapattoni's system are two different things... as part of that system, Andrews and Whelan can be considered two key players for us.

Redzer7

eagle eye wrote: »

Why do Irish people always have to dislike a member of their national team?

Its always the same though, Mick McCarthy was that man in the late 80s, then it was Alan Kernaghan in the early 90s, he was followed by Phil Babb then Kilbane and up until very recently it was McShane. Now its Green. Its alright not to like a guy being selected on the team but to be wishing he isn't even part of a squad is ridiculous.

Paul Green is poison, there's also much better players that could be picked ahead of him, obviously it's Traps decision but if Green just retired from International football now Trap doesn't have a choice.

:pac:

WoollyRedHat

eagle eye wrote: »

You state that like its a fact.

I'll take the judgement of a manager who is one of the most successful in European football over the last 25 years over yours thanks.

No, I state as my experience in watching the player as an Irish international and how he performs within that criteria. You can do so if you like, but nobody is perfect, not even Il Trap.

1mcampo1

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

A key player in the public's mind and a key player in terms of Trapattoni's system are two different things... as part of that system, Andrews and Whelan can be considered two key players for us.

The way the team is set up, I'd consider Andrews and Whelan to be key

Jayob10

S28382 wrote: »

Yeah the Russian league is a step up from the SPL but they are both poor leagues there is no way Mcgeady could get into a top 6 team in England, top 15 in Spain, top 10 in Italy, he had potential when he was at Celtic but he just cant make the grade to be a top quality player.

nonsense, of course you make it sound like the Top 10 in Italy and top 15 in Spain is top class.

So he could make it with Sunderland but not with Parma?

With Liverpool but not with Espanyol?

Go on outta that.

McGeady is a good player, sure he is frustrating at times for Ireland, but wingers are generally frustrating by their nature of having to make things happen.

Its funny, because Duff was always seen as world class in his earlier days when he seemingly did well for us. Like McGeady he is an excellent dribbler but when it came to delivering a final ball, or scoring there was never any end product.

This is not a slight on Duff, rather its a compliment to McGeady. Not much different in boths games, different style of drifting past opponents is all, both have never had goals in their game and neither rack up a decent amount of assists. They are dribblers, which is what makes them eye catching.

eagle eye

Jayob10 wrote: »

Its funny, because Duff was always seen as world class in his earlier days when he seemingly did well for us. Like McGeady he is an excellent dribbler but when it came to delivering a final ball, or scoring there was never any end product.

What age are you? I seen Duff delivering the final ball on many, many occasions and I seen him score wonderful goals too. If you are talking strictly about at international level then thats a different matter. He still did a lot though, he was never frustrating to watch like McGeady. McGeady doesn't have the vision Duff has. Theres a big difference in quality between them or at least between Duff of 2002/08 and McGeady. What McGeady gives you is 100% commitment to the cause, he will work his socks off all night for the team.

the realpigiron

A speculative thread about a speculative article.

darkman2

When Paul Green played against Russia at the Aviva he could not get near the ball. As a result of him failing to make tackles 2 goals are directly attributable. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was stunningly bad. The thought of Paul Green playing midfield against Croatia or Spain scares me far more then Whelan or Andrews in midfield. Gibson/McCarthy should be the backup. Not Paul Green ffs. He has not even got a team now.

I'm sure personally he is a great guy and would give his best but he is not good enough at the end of the day.

darkman2

the realpigiron wrote: »

A speculative thread about a speculative article.

If there was nothing to it the FAI would have clarified it by now. Just like they clarified when McClean was being ruled out.

Jayob10

eagle eye wrote: »

What age are you? I seen Duff delivering the final ball on many, many occasions and I seen him score wonderful goals too. If you are talking strictly about at international level then thats a different matter. He still did a lot though, he was never frustrating to watch like McGeady. McGeady doesn't have the vision Duff has. Theres a big difference in quality between them or at least between Duff of 2002/08 and McGeady. What McGeady gives you is 100% commitment to the cause, he will work his socks off all night for the team.

i'm talking about Duff at international level.

Vision? I think you are joking, Duffs partypiece was always to beat 3 or 4 defenders but there would be nothing at the end of it.

If he was a boxer, he score points for flashy eye catching work, but he'd never hurt an opponent in a meaningful way. Lovely player to watch, but was never one of world class substance at international level. For an attacker, a creator, he scored 8 goals in nearly 100 internationals, and his assist rate is nothing hectic.

He has played in vastly better international sides than McGeady has also.

To me it seems that McGeady gets a rough ride, whereas good ould duffer gets praise when he has done precious little in an ireland shirt for a long time.

The_Kew_Tour

Jayob10 wrote: »

i'm talking about Duff at international level.

Vision? I think you are joking, Duffs partypiece was always to beat 3 or 4 defenders but there would be nothing at the end of it.

If he was a boxer, he score points for flashy eye catching work, but he'd never hurt an opponent in a meaningful way. Lovely player to watch, but was never one of world class substance at international level. For an attacker, a creator, he scored 8 goals in nearly 100 internationals, and his assist rate is nothing hectic.

He has played in vastly better international sides than McGeady has also.

To me it seems that McGeady gets a rough ride, whereas good ould duffer gets praise when he has done precious little in an ireland shirt for a long time.

Did you not watch WC 2002?

He set up quiet few goals in few campaigns too. France in 09 springs to mind.

Liam O

McGeady gets such a raw deal from Ireland fans imo. Alright his crossing isn't great but he does put some decent crosses in and it's not like Keane is good in the air at all really and Doyle has been poor for a while. He's very valuable for a limited creatively team for Ireland in that he can produce a run and a threatening attack out nothing.

Corholio

eagle eye wrote: »

Why do Irish people always have to dislike a member of their national team?

Its always the same though, Mick McCarthy was that man in the late 80s, then it was Alan Kernaghan in the early 90s, he was followed by Phil Babb then Kilbane and up until very recently it was McShane. Now its Green. Its alright not to like a guy being selected on the team but to be wishing he isn't even part of a squad is ridiculous.

Replace 'Irish people' with 'all national teams fans'. It's a part of football. See Heskey, David Batty etc for England. Not a distinctly Irish thing.

Raskolnikov

sugarman wrote: »

Hunt has been having serious injury issues past few weeks and was scheduled for surgery, I dont know if that went ahead?

Hunt came off the bench for the 4-4 draw with Swansea. He is about the least likely player in the world to pull out of an international team for "personal" reasons.

Raskolnikov

S28382 wrote: »

I must of been in outer space iv never seen mcgeady ever do anything like that:cool: he is an average player that wanted to look good so thats why he went to play in a piss poor league

:pac:

El Horseboxo

eagle eye wrote: »

Why do Irish people always have to dislike a member of their national team?

Its always the same though, Mick McCarthy was that man in the late 80s, then it was Alan Kernaghan in the early 90s, he was followed by Phil Babb then Kilbane and up until very recently it was McShane. Now its Green. Its alright not to like a guy being selected on the team but to be wishing he isn't even part of a squad is ridiculous.

It's not just Irish people. It's fans the world over. Happens in most countries.

Luap

It looks like its Jermaine Pennant folks. :pac:

kitakyushu

Raskolnikov wrote: »

Hunt came off the bench for the 4-4 draw with Swansea. He is about the least likely player in the world to pull out of an international team for "personal" reasons.

Rumour is he's more likely to be the cause of other players pulling out of an international team for "personal" reasons

chopser

Paddy Power has the odds up for the Irish squad who will make it on the plane.
Examples being Shay Given 1/ 200, Robbie Keane 1/ 100.

However Damien Duff has the longest odds of the "established" players at 1/8.

I guess that likely means that he is the established player that is pulling out.
Very unfortunate.

http://www.paddypower.com/football/football-specials/euro-2012-specials-betting?ev_oc_grp_ids=503682

redzerdrog

Steven Hunt is the player and it is rumoured that he has been caught playing offside and they are the personal reasons for pulling out

Orando Broom

redzerdrog wrote: »

Steven Hunt is the player and it is rumoured that he has been caught playing offside and they are the personal reasons for pulling out

I would have thought that was a reason to go!

chopser

Dunno, why the huge discrepancy in odds between McGeady at 1/100 and Duff at 1/8. I'd trust the bookies have inside information rather than what the web is saying.

Orando Broom

chopser wrote: »

Dunno, why the huge discrepancy in odds between McGeady at 1/100 and Duff at 1/8. I'd trust the bookies have inside information rather than what the web is saying.

It could be that they are fishing.

homerjay2005

Liam O wrote: »

McGeady gets such a raw deal from Ireland fans imo. Alright his crossing isn't great but he does put some decent crosses in and it's not like Keane is good in the air at all really and Doyle has been poor for a while. He's very valuable for a limited creatively team for Ireland in that he can produce a run and a threatening attack out nothing.

any criticism that Mcgeady gets is well warranted. he is the most frustrating player of any team i have ever supported.

for every game he plays well, he has 5 shockers. his passing rate is absolutely awful, he constantly makes the wrong decisions and his crossing is woeful.

i can recall him setting up a goal in Talinn and he played well overall, but for the majority of the games, he was awful.

duff and Mcclane on current form, look to be a much better bet for the places on the wings.