john oshea ...

Had Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink in his pocket on his debut for United at Stamford Bridge, never quite went on from there, it is probably still the best performance of his career. I don't think he ever truly found his metier on the football pitch despite earning a great living. In the words of Barney Curley 'AN UNDERACHIEVER'

Stupid Thread

Id say he gives a fcuck what you think workrider given he has every medal there is to win in club footbal and a nice bank balance to boot. To compare him to Paul Mcshane is shocking judgement imo

I just want to add that I think he is a good player, just not as good as I thought he would be.

Alex Ferguson aint no fool.

On an unrelated note, Kerry playing from memory here, sad to see

a fair assessment neild, workriders view is a ridiculous one

when Real played Utd he gave an exhibition of marking against Figo. On his day he was world class. sadly those days were few and far apart

I don't think it is through lack of natural ability either, just probably too nice a fella. He didn't get the games at centre back which would have been his best position. Maybe if he had been a bit more high maintenance, John Terry was nearly sold to Huddersfield, they wanted rid but he wouldn't go, sometimes it pays for a guy to know his own worth and I'm not sure O'Shea really did.

watched him week in week out this season, very good central defender, very poor rb.

Fair play to the chap......making a living out of something he loves........we are quick to knock our own.........McShane wouldn't lace his boots.......It's like comparing Mourinho to the top loi manager Roddy Collins.

John O'Shea was excellent at CB for Sunderland this season.

He was excellent for the first half of the season, a good organiser and leader on the pitch, but imo lost motivation when Wes Brown got injured and his form tailed off. Don't think he got on with the replacement who to be fair is pretty crap. I'm sure he'll be up for this tournament.

morpteh mackem
10 Jun 12 15:30 Joined: 05 Jan 04 | Topic/replies: 13,948 | Blogger: morpteh mackem's blog
watched him week in week out this season, very good central defender, very poor rb.

Morpeth knows his onions.

money , gant , its my opinion of the guy nothing else ,i noticed no one gave him a rave report when playing for us ...

Part of O'Shea's problem at United was he was seen as a player who could do a decent job in about 3-4 different positions and invariably started on the bench as cover for whatever happened on the pitch.

i hate knocking our own , we have enough doing that as it is ....i just dont think he's the great player the man utd fans etc etc make him out to be ...obviously i'm hoping he has a great tourament for us ....i just feel he  doesn't  deserve the plaudits he's been getting over the years....

To be honest there are very few man utd fans etc etc out there that would say he is a great player. The man did a job very well at a big club and played at a lot higher level than most of the current squad.
Beggars can't be choosers in my opinion and right backs with Irish grandparents are scarce at the moment.

no one is saying hes a superstar but to compare him to mcshane was a step to far

i see he's proving me right....

in what way

As has been said he's playing out of position. The coach has his hands tied on that one as Dunne and St, Leger would be no good at right back.

money how has he contribited in any positive way ..he just bangs the ball up field....one of the worst players EVER TO PLAY FOR US....

SURELY duff should have been taken off ...

brill again from oshea ...

good man john smashing ball..

well done john...does anyone think someone might tell him we're in green...

i must say the comm on itv was very pro ireland ...fair play to the man..
sadly for me mr o proves again how poor a player he is ....

The whole team wasn't up to much. Not sure why you have a hate campaign against one of them although I do with Michael Turner at Sunderland to be fair. Some players just get on your nerves. Why didn't McClean get on?

Trapatoni's luck ran out tonight simple as that. A lot of poor players on show.
If Spain play as they can on thursday, we could easily concede 4 or 5.

poor choice from trap , i thought duff improved big time second half tbf ...we were badly exposed at the back ....players to far apart making passing difficult ...dreading the other games....

Given & Dunne weren't even fit imo, I suppose you can't blame them for wanting to play given it's their last hurrah.

O'Shea was hopeless, the second goal was the killer and it was unlucky on Ward who was clearly fouled. Robbie Keane's legs are gone, and he was hopeless. Bringing Cox on wide wasn't the right move but in fairness to the chap he tried.

Glen Whelan is pathetic and always has been. Andrews is at least some sort of threat in the opposition box.

We should have got beaten 5-0 vs Hungary the other night, and we were found out tonight.

o'shea has nearly always been rubbish for us

With a back 4 of O'Shea, Dunne, St Leger and Ward you are really hoping for alot of luck.......grand against the Andora's and Estonia's of this world.
As for the 2 leaders/backbone of the team......fine men but Dunne and Keane's best days are behind them.

gutless display,ffs cant put 3passes together,very poor

I knew we were bad but didn't think we were that bad. Worst team in the tournament it seems

When we were doing well in these big tournaments all our players were solid Premier League (Old First Division) calibre but most of the guys we have playing now would be lucky to command a regular place on a Championship team. We just dont have the talent..............................................

Leaving McClean on the bench was incompetent at best.

McClean, Long and Walters should all come in replacing Duff, Doyle and Keane. I'd bring in Gibson for Whealen as well. The first three have the legs to get after the hopeful punting of the ball and Gibson has a bit of quality.

surely  colemans a better right back than o shea ....
coleman  , gibson ,  hoolihan ,mcclean , a clean sweep and let these lads have a go...obviously its not on as i dont think traps mentality would allow a little flair ... he never brought a few of these anyway ....if we are to progress in the future these four have to come into the plan...

That will happen in Septemeber I'd imagine, or some version of it, Whealan, Duff and Keane's days must be numbered.

McCarthy will add a lot as well, to think how much better things would be playing Houlihan, mcCarthy and maybe Andrews as a holding midfielder, we'd actually retain the ball a bit.

sadly for us neill trad has shown himself to be very limited ...a fantastic defenive coach ..but he lacks that belief in going forward which transmits itself to our players....bilic even told him he knew exactly how we were going to play...no hit of ever changing ...hopefully he can take the blinkers off and let players with a little flair into a badly bruised team ,thats lacking in self belief...

a case of your greatest strength being your greatest weakness in a sense.

very true ...

I agree with workrider and neill d. 30 year old Wes Hoolahan is the future and desperately mediocre right winger Seamus Coleman is the solution at right back. 53 goal 31 year old Robbie Keane is finished and we will have no problem replacing all those goals he scored in qualifying.

The reason why Keane is in LA is that no PL club would touch him, his legs are gone. Houlihan is a fine footballer and would excel in a 3 man midfield, that's all I have to say on it really. David Healy scored a lot of goals in qualifiers as well, doesn't mean he is a player. Keane was a fine player, not now though.

That must have been a different Robbie Keane I saw excel for Aston Villa earlier this year so.

I'm not going to tell you you're wrong, it's your oppinion, but there is a good reason why he is where he is. I'm sure if someone wanted him this summer, he could be brought back for the right money. I don't think the style we play particularly suits him in his present guise, he was a fine player, but I'd feel the likes of Long and Walters would be more adept at chasing the long hopeful punts from the back that we usually come up with. Walters does it week in and week out at club level and Long is probably the best natural athlete in the team. I don't think Keane and Doyle works because neither of them have any pace. With keane and Long there might be hope because Robbie could play off him, but when a team is as technichally limited as Ireland and resorts to the long ball, a front man is in effect only as good as how quickly his legs will carry him and I don't think that suits Robbie Keane.

people like Houlihan and McCarthy would actually be a great help to Keane.

Yes, he could be bought back for the right money, but he wasn't offered the right money in England, so he took it in LA and that is your good reason. Can't fault him for taking the money. He came back on loan and was superb for Villa, and he has continued to score for Ireland, so to suggest he can no longer cut it is quite plainly ridiculous. He's the best striker we have ever had by an absolute mile and it will be a dark day when he retires, because it will be a long time before we have another like him.

I don't think anyone offered him anything myself and the only reason Villa took him was because Darren Bent was injured and there was nobody else available to them as Lerner is cutting back. I could name you 50 strikers off the top of my head that have had a month of good form but are otherwise on the downslope. He had a sojourn in Scotland the other year as well, they weren't exactly beating down the door then.

Bent got injured after Keane signed, so stop your bluffing please. LA paid £3.5m to Spurs for Keane and matched his wages. Big outlay for a man his age that no premiership team was willing to match, so he took it. Celtic could afford him because Desmond paid his wages. West Ham could afford him because they have the porno men. A 6 month loan is less of a commitment than a long term contract on the same big dough he got at Spurs when he came back from Liverpool. Your '50 strikers' assertion is total nonsense, so I won't challenge you on it, but is the point you are trying to make that Robbie Keane is entering the twilight of his career? No one had denied his age (unlike the apparently youthful Wes Hoolahan).

3.5 million quid isn't much of an outlay in Premier League terms, they're talking the bones of double that for Grant Holt now who is over 30, if teams still thought he was capable of substantially contributing over a season they'd pay the 3.5 million and match his wages. The likes of Crouch & Zamora have no resale value and have moved for big money in recent times, money that would cover the 3.5 million and Keane's wages. That speaks to the esteem in which his present abilities are held.

I'm not totally discounting him either, just not in this system with these players around him. It has nothing to do with age, it is about the contribution I feel he is capable of making under the present conditions. as I said, if they pair him with long, there is a possibility that could work. Houlihan is a fine player, very good technichally with a great passing range, he didn't get the breaks in his career, it happens. He is still capable of making a big contribution at 30 odd the same way that Paul Scholes is still the best english central midfielder around along with Wilshire.

I'll accept I was wrong on the point re Bent btw

I'd say he was helped in his time at Villa by the fact that he was allowed to play his best position floating between the striker and the midfield. central midfielders like Petrov and Ireland are good enough to pass him in the ball to feet, something that Whealan and Andrews can't do. Then there is the raw pace of the likes of Bent and Agbonlahor that can stretch teams when they run in behind giving Keane more space between the lines. So I'd say the set up at Aston Villa, not a great side by any means but it suited Keane well. This Irish team has no out and out pace and noone in central midfield who can pass the ball into his feet. So in conclusion, he comes short with Ireland, noone gives him the ball, he chases the long hopeful punts, his legs can't carry him quick enough. My theory anyway. Might explain why things didn't go so well at West Ham, their most penetrative passer was Parker and the only guy in the team with a change of gear was Ba.

Who is this Noone lad? Sounds like a player.

Did it twice as well, I'm not the best typist but I hope it comes accross that I'm not a begrudger who has some kind of blind dislike of Keane,(not that he should give a damn what I think anyway) the man has done extremely well for himself and at his peak was one of the top strikers in Europe, but the way we are set up doesn't suit him. I think some of the personnel might change a bit in the autumn and maybe playing with the likes of McCarthy, McClean, Long and yes even Houlihan from the start might be a better fit for him. He'll probably score the winner on Thursday night now that I've said all this but I don't see it.

morpteh mackem
10 Jun 12 15:30 Joined: 05 Jan 04 | Topic/replies: 13,970 | Blogger: morpteh mackem's blog
watched him week in week out this season, very good central defender, very poor rb.

Bang on the button there,he's a CB not a RB!
Himself and Dunne should be our first choice CB'S.

Hamann and Cunningham just advocated exactly what I am saying.

Its never going to happen though. Take of playing the flair players now, well that would be another disaster. You need to be playing a system of play that has been used to, not going into a game against the current European and World champions and then the impressive Italians with a new system of play.


Croatia were clearly the superior team but he goals they scored were arguably fortunate. Ireland would play the same tactics every time, and possibly get a lucky result more times than not. Their luck run out the other night. Remember another beautiful technical side, the unheralded Armenia playing us of the park? but we got the rub of the green.   
Trap has made his bed and he is going to have to lay in it.

^^   *talk

Yeah that is fair enough, as you say all of those goals the other night were preventable and I don't think Croatia are any great shakes. Andrews and Whealan are going to need a lot of help though, Duff and McGeady will have to tuck in and Keane will have to get back and help out more as well if he is going with the same system, otherwise this could be a f u c k i n g embarassment is you excuse my language.

Is there anything more annoying than Kenny fking Cunningham's shrill nasal annoying voice.

We are not going to beat Spain and Italy playing football. They are bringing players from Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus where as we are bringing the best Stoke, WBA and Wolves have to offer. Spain are a great footballing side , but most of them could get a part in a remake of Snow White and none of them play Snow White.I would play 4-3-3, with McClean, Andrews ( our best player the other night) and Whelan with Keane, Long and Doyle up front keeper and back 4 as they were. Keane would play between the midfield and Doyle looking for any knock backs from Doyle and Long looking for any knock ons to get in in behind the defence. When Spain have the ball Keane would drop back and McClean tuck in so as to help Andrews and Whelan, i would not be afraid to allow Spain out wide but keep it tight inside.I think set peices could be our way to a result and if Doyle can go down as easily as he did the other night so much the better. A lot of times i notice that we never seem to have an outlet to relieve the pressure , we clear the ball and it comes straight back. This seems to happen a lot towards the end of games especially when we are defending a one goal lead.On all of Spains set pieces ( free kicks and corners) i would leave Long and McClean ( both have pace ) up front near the half way line, very few teams will go 2 on 2 more likely 3 on 2 already we have a spare man in the defence. Also of the 3 likely to be both full backs and 1 central defender, so the central defender will not be a threat in the air in our box. The key is to frustrate Spain, then as they go looking for the win bring on an attacker instead of this playing with Fabregas up front. Dunne will struggle with Fabregas but if they take him off and bring on Llorente, a big striker just what he likes or better Torres Stevie Wonder hits the target more than Fernando.It might sound daft but Spain need to go for a win. If we go home having lost every game , we were beaten by the last 2 World Cup Winners and the team ranked 9th in the World. Spain ranked 1 in the World need to beat us, the pressure is on them. Now Trapp as 30 years on me , if i can see it he must see it.But then my parents are Irish his are Italian.

^ hard to disagree with any of that really ... but I'll do my best

I would play Walters and Hunt instead of Doyle and Keane

Walters is strong, good in the air and fast on the break, exactly the type of player we need against Spain. Hunt is an annoying fcuker but more importantly is a great worker and won't give the Spanish a minute in midfield

john o shea looks like he belongs in the leinster senior  league..its amazing that he got as far as he did on such mediocre talent... no craft at all, just a big donkey.. about as bad as his twin brother kevin Kilbane

well said bardo ...amazing indeed....