Irish squad for Sweden/Austria

As the perils of social media have come under increased scrutiny at home, a footballer has added one more contribution to the litany of Irish online faux-pas. Andy Keogh may not be guilty of fellating multiple men in public, or being spit-roasted by rugby players, but he may still come to regret his petulant outburst on Twitter, bemoaning his absence from the Irish squad to play Sweden and Austria.

Keogh's grievance will surely bring the issue of 'communication' back to the fore among the mainstream sports media, even when it is acknowledged that standard practice is for players to be alerted of selection by the FAI through the clubs. Since Keogh was initially left out of the squad to play Wales, he could not have been too surprised about his omission for the bigger games ahead, especially with McGeady and Keane fit again. Furthermore, Trapattoni has been staunchly loyal to the Millwall striker since his appointment - thirty caps is a mighty haul when compared to Irish players of similar club status, such as Daryl Murphy, Keith Treacy, Leon Best and Anthony Stokes. It seems puerile to throw 'loyalty' back in the manager's face - especially when the Dubliner's performances for club and country have been generally below-par. This is not Keogh's first offence on Twitter - he let one go last June about his dissatisfaction with being deployed for Ireland on the wing. However, his goalscoring record for Millwall last season - seven goals in forty-nine appearances - will not convince anyone of his striking abilities either.

On the other hand, these incidents have continued to plague Trapattoni for most of his reign, from the initial discussions with Stephen Ireland, through the Andy and Steven Reid sagas, and various spats with James McCarthy, Marc Wilson, Darron Gibson, Stephen Kelly and Shane Long. Trapattoni certainly does not mollycoddle his players, which is somewhat refreshing in a footballing era littered with inflated egos - however, an international manager must know when to be compassionate as well as tough. Alienating your players is foolhardy when they cannot be readily replaced. If a regular squad member is being dropped, a brief explanation on the phone wouldn't be too much to ask.

To more important matters, and Joey O'Brien is back in the Irish squad after a long absence to provide cover across the back four. The West Ham defender made his début in Ireland's last home win over Sweden in 2006, and is one of only four Irish 'survivors' from that game, along with Dunne, O'Shea and Keane. That fact is a great testimony to his persistence, after a succession of knee injuries threatened to cut short his promising career, when he was told he may never play again. Despite playing regular EPL football, O'Brien has been overlooked by Trapattoni since his last appearance against Oman last September, and it is good to see him back.

Richard Dunne and Robbie Keane also return, along with Sean St. Ledger, who was not expected to make it after sustaining a knee injury two weeks ago. David Forde is also back, but faces a race against time to be match-fit. Trapattoni has an interesting call to make on the centre-back position, with an in-form O'Shea being the only genuinely assured option. Dunne has only started three games at club level after a year's absence, while St. Ledger will not be anywhere near full fitness. Clark is also an option, and may well get the nod if Dunne is not risked, but his gaffe against Austria - and recent demotion at Aston Villa - are not reassuring.

The Pilkster.

The uncapped Anthony Pilkington also gets a chance to prove his fitness and commitment, and could actually get some game-time, given Ireland's paucity of wing options after McGeady. Trapattoni has questioned Brady's suitability for the defensive aspect of his gameplan, and McClean continued to look one-dimensional against Wales. A few minutes on the pitch would be enough to tie the Norwich man to Ireland in perpetuity, putting any lingering rumours about his allegiance to bed. His recent Twitter pictures should go some way to alleviating our fears about what could happen if Roy Hodgson gave him a call.

Ireland squad to play Sweden and Austria:

Goalkeepers: Forde, Westwood, Randolph.
Defenders: O’Shea, O’Brien, St Ledger, Wilson, Coleman, Kelly, O’Dea, Clark, Dunne, McShane.
Midfielders: Whelan, McCarthy, Green, Hendrick, McGeady, Pilkington, McClean, Brady, Meyler, Hoolahan.
Strikers: Long, Keane, Sammon, Walters, Madden, Cox.

Irish Abroad, 17th/18th of August

It was an encouraging weekend for the Irish contingent in England, with plenty of full internationals and fringe players seeing significant game-time, despite even the more modest EPL clubs making substantial outlays on new recruits this summer. The most pleasant surprise was Kieren Westwood starting in goal for Sunderland, beating competition from new signing Vito Mannone. Given David Forde's injury, Ireland were at risk of going into the Sweden and Austria games with an undercooked or inexperienced goalkeeper, so it is encouraging to see Westwood finally getting some competitive action. John O'Shea also retained his place at centre-back. Seamus Coleman capped a good performance with a goal in Everton's 2-2 draw with Norwich - Wes Hoolahan started for the Canaries, in his usual playmaker role. Ciaran Clark came on as an early substitute during Villa's shock win at Arsenal, while Glenn Whelan and Marc Wilson both started in midfield for Stoke in their defeat at Liverpool. Jon Walters missed a late penalty for the Potters. Shane Long started alongside new signing Nicolas Anelka for WBA, Robbie Brady and David Meyler started for Hull at Chelsea, while Damien Delaney and Owen Garvan started Crystal Palace's defeat at home to Spurs. Darron Gibson, Stephen Quinn and Anthony Pilkington remain injured.

In the East, Aiden McGeady missed Spartak Moscow's game against Rubin Kazan with an injury, while Darren O'Dea was left out by Metalurg Donetsk for their defeat to Illichivets. He has missed their last two games, and doesn't appear to be injured, as he turned out for Ireland in midweek, so t it would appear that the centre-back finds himself worryingly out of favour. Across the pond, Robbie Keane scored a hat-trick as LA Galaxy beat Real Salt Lake. Cillian Sheridan started APOEL's win over Apollon Limassol in Cyprus; Liam Lawrence continues to find himself out of the PAOK squad, despite making 35 appearances last season for the Greek outfit.

In the Championship, a remarkably svelte Andy Reid scored for Forest against Bolton in their 3-0 win, while Keith Treacy scored for Burnley against. promoted Yeovil. Richard Dunne started his first league game for over a year, as QPR beat Mick McCarthy's Ipswich. Stephen Ward completed his loan move to Brighton, where he will play alongside fellow Irish loanee Keith Andrews.

Maith an buachaillí: Westwood possibly turning a corner in his career, Coleman scoring, Garvan finally getting a chance to play in the big leagues. Starting places for twelve Irishmen in the EPL.


Go h-uafásach: Walters' missed penalty at Anfield. His penalty style has never wavered since assuming the spot-kick duties for Stoke - he has invariably gone bottom-left, even for Ireland against Austria. However, it seems that goalkeepers have cottoned on to this, and he will have to start varying his routine.

The August Snooze - Wales vs. Ireland Review

Ireland continued their dismal August record with an uninspiring 0-0 draw in Cardiff on Wednesday night. Since the inception of the maligned pre-season international window in 2001, Ireland have won just three out of twelve games (Finland 2002, Australia 2003, Denmark 2007) in the late summer; with players visibly focused on the start of their club seasons, there tends to be very little to learn from these fixtures. Trapattoni deployed the exciting combination of Hoolahan and Long in the attacking third, in a 4-4-1-1 formation which may indicate that Trapattoni is willing to abandon the policy from the Austria game of playing two out-and-out target men, in favour of a more progressive approach.

The extra man in midfield was evident throughout the first twenty minutes, as Ireland controlled possession. Brady, McCarthy and Hoolahan were predictably to the fore, but the Welsh defenders, led admirably by Ashley Williams, were able to snuff out Ireland's attacks. Brady went close on a couple of occasions, but Long had the best chance of the first half; after a McCarthy pull-back and a clever Hoolahan dummy presented the Tipperary man with a clear chance from nine yards, he inexplicably ballooned high and wide. Ireland conceded a lot of first-half possession to the Welsh, but even with Liverpool's Joe Allen pulling the strings, they could find no way through a well-drilled and notably disciplined Irish side. For all Trap's perceived eccentricities, it must be pointed out that the team is generally very astute and diligent off the ball, which often gets taken for granted.

Clear chances were not forthcoming for either side, until mid-way through the second half, when Long was denied from close-range by Myhill. Hoolahan had some nice touches, but was muscled off the ball too easily on a couple of occasions, and was not as influential as he could have been. Walters put in his usual hard-working shift out wide, but his limitations were obvious, and it would be more interesting to see an Irish team with two out-and-out wide midfielders instead of a shoe-horned striker. The Irish defence was rarely troubled, but Wilson stood out for his use of possession in linking up with Brady and substitute McClean, and O'Shea commanded his area well despite some hoofed and wayward passes early on.

Although Ireland lined up with ten EPL players, the substitutions revealed an unsettling lack of quality in the current Irish squad. O'Dea, Green, Keogh and Sammon added to their caps, with Yeovil striker Paddy Madden coming on for his first cap. The ex-Bohs man was lively, forcing two saves from the Welsh custodian, but the others made little impact. O'Dea, Kelly, McShane, Green, Cox, Keogh and Sammon have now won 165 caps between them without adding a great deal to the squad, nor showing any substantial ceiling for improvement. With these players continuing to keep the likes of Joey O'Brien, Meyler, Quinn and Pilkington down the pecking order, Ireland will be two or three injuries away from serious trouble in the upcoming games.

The game petered out to little consequence, and the talking point among Irish fans was the poor finishing on display, most worryingly from Long. With Keane absent, Ireland definitely lack a cutting edge, even against weaker sides, and the strikers must shoulder the blame. Madden looked lively, but he was notorious for being wasteful in front of goal in the League of Ireland, and though his League 1 form was excellent, it remains to be seen whether he can finish consistently at Championship level. If Madden gets into double figures, he would certainly present a better striking option than many of the misfit forwards in the current Irish squad; Andy Keogh got seven goals, Cox five, and Sammon eight in the English second-tier last season. Leon Best is also an option, but he will have to desist from calling Trapattoni 'pathetic' in public. Anthony Stokes is scoring goals for Celtic, but questions remain about his attitude and suitability for an Irish side devoid of big egos.

With Keane to return for the Sweden game in three weeks, Ireland should pose more of a goal threat, but the sight of Ibrahimovic at the other end will be most disconcerting, considering that he scored a hat trick against Norway on Wednesday. To add to the anxiety, Ireland will be without Sean St. Ledger and, most likely, Richard Dunne, who has not yet started a league game for QPR. However, O'Shea and Clark did little wrong on Wednesday, and they handled the Swedes well in March. Trapattoni's use of a more fluid formation, the improved possession, and the chances Ireland created against Wales offer some encouragement, as the clumsy, direct tactics from the Austria game will not work in games that Ireland really need to win.

Highlights from Wednesday's game can be found here.

English transfer window highlights big challenges for Irish players

The summer transfer window has yielded little for Irish fans to get excited about. The only Irish newcomers to the 'promised land' of the EPL  have come from the promoted clubs, where David Meyler, Paul McShane, Robbie Brady, Owen Garvan, Damien Delaney, Paddy McCarthy and Joe Mason may struggle to make an impression - if they even manage to get a run in their starting XIs. Meanwhile, expected transfers for James McCarthy and Kevin Doyle have not yet materialised - and if both are to remain in situ by September 1, it would represent a frustrating stall in their careers. For Doyle, remaining at Wolves would seriously curtail his already flagging international prospects.

From an Irish point of view, some of the more significant transfers may not even involve Irish players. Stoke's signing of Dutch international Marc Pieters and Barcelona prospect Marc Muniesa will stymie any chance of Marc Wilson playing at left-back this season - a position where he is badly needed for Ireland. Wilson may be moved into his more natural midfield position, but that could have a knock-on effect on Glenn Whelan's game-time. Similarly, Norwich's signing of Leroy Fer and Ricky van Wolfswinkel may impact on Wes Hoolahan's game-time, while Sunderland's signing of the impressive Italian international Emanuele Giaccherini will surely relegate James McClean to the bench. It serves to show the increasing difficulty for Irish players to achieve regular first-team football, in what is increasingly a billionaire's playground.

Added to the malaise, three of Ireland's more talented and high-profile youth players from recent years - Conor Henderson, Derrick Williams and Conor Clifford - have been let go by Arsenal, Chelsea and Aston Villa, respectively. Williams and Clifford have been picked up by Southend and Bristol City, while Henderson remains without a club after a trial period with Ipswich. Additionally, centre-back Sean McGinty was released by Manchester United, with disciplinary problems reportedly being an issue. His signing for Tranmere would appear to be a 'last-chance saloon' for the U-19 defender. This downward trajectory of talent is a disappointing trend, which looks set to continue for young Irish players across the water.

In slightly more positive news, winger Alan Judge moved back to Blackburn after an impressive couple of years at Notts County, while Chris McCann earned a move to Wigan from Burnley. Noel Hunt moved to Leeds from Reading, while forgotten man Daryl Murphy made his loan move permanent at Ipswich. Striker James Collins moved from Swindon to Hibs, where he should be looking to immediately score goals. Darren O'Dea was shipped out of Toronto FC, as they could not afford his wages - but the Dubliner somehow ended up at Metalurg Donetsk, presumably on the back of his performance for Ireland in Moscow a couple of seasons ago. One would imagine that the lifestyle may not be a step up for the centre-back, in the industrial hub of eastern Ukraine - but the league is ranked seventh-best in Europe, so the standard of football will be a bigger challenge than the MLS, and his club will also compete in the Europa league. Other Irish players could do well by following O'Dea's example, and expanding their horizons beyond the comfort of Championship and SPL football, as the EPL is offering fewer and fewer opportunities for Irish players to develop and play regularly.