WOLVES STRIKER KEVIN DOYLE has been dropped from the Ireland squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Sweden and Austria.
Manager Giovanni Trapattoni this evening cut his panel to 23 players ahead of the game in Stockholm next Friday and the Dublin fixture against Austria four days later.
Doyle — who scored his first league goal in over three months as Wolves beat Bristol City 2-1 today — is one of six players named on the standby list along with club mate Stephen Ward.
Aiden McGeady and Paul McShane have been ruled out due to knee and ankle injuries respectively while Stephen Henderson, Joey O’Brien, Alex Pearce and David Meyler are the other players on standby.
“As a manager, I am sometimes faced with some very tough decisions,” Trapattoni said, “but I feel that the squad I have chosen will get us the results we need from these two qualifiers.
“I have not made these choices lightly, and will continue to monitor each player’s progress ahead of our next challenges in May and June.”
The Ireland squad assembles in Malahide for its first training session tomorrow.
Ireland squad to face Sweden and Austria
David Forde, Keiren Westwood, Darren Randolph, John O’Shea, Sean St Ledger, Ciaran Clark, Marc Wilson, Seamus Coleman, Stephen Kelly, Darren O’Dea, Glenn Whelan, James McCarthy, Paul Green, Wes Hoolahan, Jeff Hendrick, James McClean, Andy Keogh, Robbie Brady, Robbie Keane, Shane Long, Conor Sammon, Jon Walters, Simon Cox.
Standby: Kevin Doyle, Stephen Ward, Joey O’Brien, Alex Pearce, Stephen Henderson, David Meyler.
For the first time in a lifetime following Ireland I find myself totally disinterested in the squad simply because of the manager. Overpaid, boring, clueless, arrogant, underwhelming….. among many similar adjectives to describe Trapattoni.
O’Dea, Green, Sammon? Yet another clueless selection by this man.
If you cut those three, who would you put in?
doyle and pearce for odea and sammon,
Doyle has been so awful at club level for so many years now (first goal in three months, and likely to drop another division come May) that I actually think its time we tried someone else. So I cant agree with you there.
I’d be more inclined to agree with you in Pearce vs O’Dea. O’Dea has been absolute crap when he’s played for Ireland. But again I wonder, a bit like Ciaran Clark, what difference it’s going to make. Both play week in week out in the Premier League, yes. But both are playing for relegation fodder. I was delighted to finally see Stephen Ward eliminated from the panel. But I think the difference between O’Dea, Pearce and Clark is minimal.
Doyle is no world beater but it’s a slap in the face to leave out such a loyal servant. I mean surely he has more to offer than connor salmon his presence in an around the squad would
At least be useful.
On basis of experience and the magnitude of the games we’re playing, perhaps Doyle should be around the sqaud. At the same time though, neither should get anywhere near the starting line up.
We’re worth our poor fifa rankings with players like this. I’m sure they will do us proud – but certainly Irish soccer standards have dropped hugely. Questions should be asked about what is going on at grass roots level in soccer that we aren’t producing top stars.
Sadly I agree. I think people are deluded when they think we are somehow on Germany’s or even Sweden’s level. The players aren’t there anymore.
Totally agree with you there about grass roots. In my opinion our previous success has been driven by players who honed their skills as kids playing informally for hours on end on streets or greens in Cities and big towns. Kids don’t do this anymore to anywhere near the same level as before.
The sporty ones are sent where facilities are better. Soccer has become a secondary sport- parents are much more likely to push kids into GAA or rugby now. whats more our formal coaching structure for soccer is so poor that I’m afraid we’ll never hit the heights we did in the 90s and 00s again. I’d have the same concerns for England, Scotland, Wales.
#jumpers for goalposts
Think he should thin it out further to 14 or 15, less likely to have a row that way. Great to see the Mercurial Paul Green on the Plane. Ibra, Ibrahamo, ibrram, the tall guy with the big nose!
will be shaking in his boots
The man who saves his job against the mighty Kazakztan!!
he gave us all a false sense of security with the additional team.Pearce=Premiership O’Dea=MLS and hasnt played in months,also a serious liabillity so duno what the thinking in that is.Joey O’Briens been one of our better players but dosnt make the cut so whats the thinking in that?watched sammon last night hes a headless chicken and has awfull ball control but hes really the only ‘big’ option we have unless we call up Jon Daly. Obviously after 5 years he still dosnt know andy keogh(another headless chickedn ) is not a winger but drafts him in as one ahead of Liam Lawrence who would have been a decent backup option.STephen Quinn or Meyler are a better option than Paul Green but then again anything is
Can’t wait for Friday going Stockholm at least there be class off the pitch if not on!!!
Like the rugby lads , our golden generation is gone and transition time it is. Once the lads put in a performance ill be happy, and a win is a massive bonus. Probably for first time ever as a fan want us to Los to get rid of trap and his big pay check and puzzling tactics!!!
Golden generation?
From the McCarthy/Kerr era… Charltons teams were good but the opposition wasn’t at the time.