Looking forward to this, should be a good game its live on Sly Sports from Turners Cross on Tuesday.I like to watch International U21 games,it can be very raw but they always give 100%.
I remember our U17's playing the Dutch in a European playoff in the Cross a few years back. One of our lads was buckled over the sideline by a Dutch lad, and was cringing against the advertising board. Brian Kerr comes legging it up the touchline and bellows to the young fella in front of us "Get up ya pussy, yer fooking grand!". You just don't find that in the senior games
Givens names U-21 side to take on England Republic of Ireland Under-21 starting XI v England: Darren Randolph (Charlton Athletic) Eddie Nolan (Blackburn Rovers) Richard Keogh (Huddersfield Town) Darren O’Dea (Celtic) Stephen O’Halloran (Aston Villa) Jim O’Brien (Celtic) Owen Garvan (Ipswich Town) Stephen Quinn (Sheffield United) Anthony Stokes (Sunderland) Adam Rooney (Chesterfield) Billy Clarke (Ipswich Town)
Imagine the team we could field if Gibson, J.O'Brien, McShane, Ireland, McGeady, Long and Keogh were available for selection...this is not a bad start for a U21 team.
If you had those players for our U21 team I think we'd be considered one of the top four sides in Europe. A quick glance at the England team worries me - Milner, Walcott, Taylor, Derbyshire, Onohua, Huddlestone and Noble - alot of Premiership playing experience. Hopefully a good atmosphere at the Cross tonight will get our lads going.
Bit of a downer of a result, pretty much ends any hopes of qualification with two successive home defeats. Was talking to a mate who was at it and he was saying that there was a very decent crowd at it, just a pity that it was pretty much over as a contest so soon into the game. Link
Not to worry most will just lose the heads when they get into the senior squad and get told they're yet another English world class player in a world class squad destined to win the World Cup. Fat Sam, who I normally take no notice of, probably had it right regarding the Michael Ricketts effect.
Not a bad core at all though S. Ireland would hardly feel "ready to play" for us especially with all these young lads with a full head of hair about