5 Ireland Euro 2012 Fringe Players

By (Contributor) on May 6, 2012

872 reads

8Icon_comment

Previous
1 of 7
Next
140228617_crop_650x440
Giovanni Trapattoni
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

The likes of Richard Dunne, Robbie Keane and Shay Given are viewed as indispensable players to Trapattoni because of their talent and experience, but there are several talented players on the fringes of the squad who may miss out because of their lack of experience. With Giovanni Trapattoni set to name his squad for Euro 2012 tomorrow, here are five players whose place on the plane to Poland is anything but certain.

James McClean

140226548_display_image
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Despite Trapattoni's musing that James McClean was 90-99 percent certain to make the squad for Euro 2012, the Italian's occasionally garbled messages have long been a source of confusion, and Ireland fans will not be satisfied until they see the Derry-born Sunderland star boarding the plane.

James McCarthy

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 02:  Michel Bastos of Brasil battles with James McCarthy of Ireland during the International Friendly match between Republic of Ireland and Brazil played at Emirates Stadium on March 2, 2010 in London, England.  (Photo by Jamie McD
Jamie McDonald/Getty Images

Twenty-one-year-old James McCarthy has been in terrific form for relegation battlers Wigan Athletic this season, but he has yet to establish himself in the Republic of Ireland team under Giovanni Trapattoni. When late call-up Paul Green was introduced as a sub in the Czech Republic game, it sent out a message to Ireland fans that McCarthy had fallen down the pecking order.

Ciaran Clark

108917277_display_image
Scott Heavey/Getty Images

Twenty-two-year-old Aston Villa utility player Ciaran Clark declared for Ireland in 2011 but, despite being a regular in the Premier League, has rarely featured under Trapattoni and has earned just two caps. He has played alongside Richard Dunne at Villa but, unfortunately, the best that the Harrow-born defender-cum-midfielder can hope for is a place on the standby list.

Seamus Coleman

114588385_display_image
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Like James McClean, former Sligo Rovers right back Seamus Coleman had an excellent breakthrough season for Everton in the English Premier League. However, this season he has been plagued with injury and his form has suffered as a result. A terrible cameo performance in the FA Cup Semi-Final will not have helped the 23-year-old's case for inclusion.

Shane Duffy

137805842_display_image
Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Shane Duffy was called up to the Ireland squad in February 2012 as a replacement for Richard Dunne, but despite Trapattoni's promise to the media that he would play, the Everton youngster was an unused substitute. A key member of the Ireland under-21s, Duffy has featured alongside Johnny Heitinga for the Toffees this season, but Trapattoni sees Duffy as one for "the next future".

Begin Slideshow
Keep Reading
Flag
Props (0)
This article is

What is the duplicate article?

Why is this article offensive?

Where is this article plagiarized from?

Why is this article poorly edited?

Flag This Article
Default-user-icon-comment
or to post a comment

8 Comments

There are no comments yet. Get the conversation started by leaving the first comment
Big
Loading comments...
just now posted just now
  • Loading...
  • Nobody has liked this comment yet
Cancel

This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete

Fans of

Icon_subscribe
Icon_youtube
Icon_google
World Football

Subscribe Now

We will never share your email address

Thanks for signing up.

We're Scouting Top Writers

Greatest Moments from 2012-13 EPL Season Hint: you can use arrow keys to navigate through this channel.