Totally agree with your logic. I would include Ireland in there too. Let’s move on from past mistakes and pick the best players we have available.

If we were taking our strongest team to the Euros, Ireland would be there.

Not if jeapordises or in any way tampers with team spirit, which is probably the strongest fuel behind our team. And it’s not something you should casually play around with.

Im not a fan of Trap i dont like the way he is too slow to call up players who are clearly in form for their clubs, as far as i can tell he rarely attends games to watch his players,his handling of players is poor, but he has got us to poland/ukraine playing a tight defensive game , i believe we wont get hammered in each game but i think 2 points from 2 draws and a defeat is on the cards.
There are a lot of good irish players playing in the premier league, the championship, and the scottish premier
i would love to see B internationals friendlies return to give fringe players a chance or full international friendlies against weaker countries it could put a stop to a lot of negitive headlines in the press about who should be in the squad and who should be left out.

We need all the talent we can muster. To discount Ireland out of hand is short sighted IMO.

Stephen Irelands attitude is what has discounted him.

Loyalty to the players who secured qualification is fine to an extent but it does seem crazy not to pick somebody for a friendly match, if only to see how he might fit into, or improve, the system of play. At the very least he should be picked or to see what he has to offer the team. How else are you going to really judge what he has to offer Ireland?

Are we supposed to accept that if some of Ireland’s current squad end up playing really badly over the next few months we still have to play them in the Euros? At some point loyalty has to give way to pragmatism and reality.

@James Walsh
I totally agree with ya but it’s not gonna happen. If McLeans form continues to be good then maybe he’ll be included but as for wholesale changes, forget about it. This manager is too rigid, and the general publics view if him is a misguided one. A heroic performance by Dunne in Moscow and a lucky pairing in the play offs has everyone lauding an outdated ignorant approach.

Stokes scored 2 in one game in europe i watched this season too. He and keane are not only our only strikers scoring, theyre our only strikers playing.

In fairness, my local team could probably put it up to half of those teams in the SPL. And I still don’t get why McGeedy is still there to be honest (watch out for all the red thumbs now!).

Please don’t start the Stephen Ireland debate…

Stephen Ireland burnt his bridges long ago, I’m all for giving players a second chance but his attitude and some of the things he’s said have been absolutely terrible, and not the kind of thing you want in the dressing room. I wonder is it just a coincidence that the headlines about him wanting a return appear just as we are gearing up for a major tournament, I didn’t hear any hints of a return from his camp at the start of the campaign. If he’s brought back into the squad it should be for a few friendlies after the Euros, maybe then he can cement a place in the squad for the next campaign.

Ok three thumbs down I know I was a bit harsh but this manager drives me crazy……

McClean’s had a couple of good games for Sunderland and suddenly everyone is shouting to have him included in the team. This hysteria surrounding every young prospect is created by the media for the rest of us to feed off, for a time, before it eventually dies down. James McCarthy anyone? Or how about Andy Reid?
Point is the players who got us there, irrespective of whether they were the supporters first choice or not, deserve to be the ones who play in the Euros. There are plenty of prospects ahead of McClean in the pecking order who are due a run out in the upcoming friendlies.

@David O’Leary. So no matter how badly out of form some of these squad players get(and its happening already) they are going to the Euros regardless due to stubbornness and misplaced loyalty, and more skillful, creative players in better form are left kicking their heels over the summer. There’s more to management than loyalty. In some respects its the easy option.

Teams should be picked on current performance not past glories McClean has been in fine form but who do you drop all players seem to be doing ok for their clubs cox is the only one im worried about

Except that they haven’t. Trap is taking us to the Euros. He has a squad that have been together for a while, understand each other and the way Trap wants the game played. Why on earth would you change things at this stage. The right time to rebuild the squad is in the autumn, to prepare for the next world cup campaign.

We need to give players a chance, as has been said the team has been pretty settled and know each other well, so giving players like houlahan and mclean a chance will hardly disrupt team harmony (plus it can only be a good thing for the established players to feel they need to fight for their place). Also, looking at the current team, to qualify they had to finish ahead of Armenia and Slovakia, and then beat Estonia (something Brian Kerrs team had already managed)…when we compare those 3 with the 3 we face in the Euros and it becomes obvious why we need to give these in form players a chance…even if they’re not starting, they’ll be great assets to have on the bench (but only if they get some game time before the championships)

@ David. Whats to say that players like mcclean couldnt have got us there also? The point is that he is playing regularly and well in a team that is flying in the top tier of english football , why would you not say , this is a friendly youe earned a shot through your form , he didnt become popular for anything other than his performances. He has gone out of his way to declare for this country on the back of what i am sure is a lot of criticism in some quaters.This is top level sport , his form eaned him a chance!

I can never understand this attitidue, literally the kick of a ball stopped us from making the last world cup, and we’re now preparing for our first Euro Championships since 1988 with what is, being honest, a fairly mediocre squad. Who else would not only be willing to take the job, but get us to the major championships. We could potentially, play more expansive football and win, but then again, we could potentially play more expansive football had get the hiding of our lives, personally, I’m of the opinion that a bird in the hand, is better than two in the bush.

And we’ve always had talent coming through but unfortunately it almost always ends up by the wayside. Anthony Stokes, Owen Garven, Terry Dixon among others, I had long ago heard about as being the future of the national team, none of which have fulfilled their promise, or should I say other peoples promise.

sorry Paul but not to play someone in better form cos you may upset the poor diddums thats playing shit cos he managed to take us past the giants of world football like Armenia Slovakia and Estonia is taking loyalty to the extreme. And it wasnt squad harmony that took us to the Euros it was pure fucking luck. We got there despite this manager not because of him.

Yes the kid has good form, it doesnt mean he should be part of a squad preparing for a senior international championship. Playing well in the Premier League for a few games doesn’t make you a world beater. He needs time in the Under-21s gaining experience playing against other countries with different styles of play.

Oh yes lady luck, every teams best player. It doesnt matter that people are organised or determined once you have her on your side.

In fairness Trapp knows alot more about football and managing teams then anyone posting on here. I thought it was only English football fans and media that create hype and think they no better then experienced successful managers.