BREAKING: A player is injured for Sunday’s qualifier.
Maybe.
REVEALED: Jigsaw pieces still missing from Malahide.
SportsJOE sources: An Irish man wants to start for his country.
This media game isn’t as easy as it looks and, when you spend the week chasing your tail watching the Republic train and build-up to the weekend’s fixture – at an arm’s length – you could create and rubbish around 53 different stories over the course of six days. Approximately 53.
Here’s our exclusive inside view of what has been going on in Martin O’Neill’s camp this week. From a non-exclusive outside view.
SATURDAY
All the players want to play
Robbie Keane has thrown a spanner in the works. He has broken the news that he doesn’t want to not play against Poland. However… he has also let slip that every player wants to play. All of them.
“Like any player, you want to play in any game,” he says. “Myself and the rest of the players, we’re desperate to play.”
MARTIN O’NEILL WILL DROP 17 PLAYERS ON SUNDAY NIGHT IN SENSATIONAL PLAYER CULL
Goalkeeper-gate has taken a nasty turn
Ever since Shay Given dared to admit on Monday that he would like to play against Poland, this story and the very real tension bubbling beneath it has always threatened to boil over.
Well, today, it may well have finally gotten out of hand after shocking photos appear to show David Forde laughing at Shay Given as the Donegal stopper falls flat on his face. Warning: images may be disturbing.
Martin O’Neill, meanwhile, has fuelled the fire by staying well clear of the topic.
The manager was asked this today: How much will the club form of Shay Given and David Forde influence your decision to pick a goalkeeper? Is that one really up for question? David hasn’t put much of a foot wrong in the qualifiers so far.
“You make a very valid point and I’m going to refrain from answering it.”
O’NEILL TURNS BLIND EYE TO OUT-OF-CONTROL FORDE
People are entitled to their opinion
Liam Brady has had a bit of a pop at James McCarthy in the papers today and, naturally, O’Neill was pushed into a rampant defence of his midfielder and a wild attack on Brady. Well, at least that’s what the intention was.
“People are entitled to say what they want,” O’Neill said. “I wasn’t aware of it, I didn’t know that Liam had made these comments. He’s entitled to make his own comments, that’s entirely his own prerogative. I’m not overly concerned about what people say before a game. They’re absolutely entitled to an opinion.”
That’s not the kind of thing that we’re looking for.
3-5-2
The Republic tried out a 3-5-2 formation up at Malahide this morning and it looked pretty good. The second, third, fourth, fifth, 10th, 11th question directed at O’Neill in the post training press conference were to do with his formation.
People leave a little disappointed that they had to resort to talking about football instead of Roy Keane’s insoles. There was still time for a question or four about the musical I, Keano though. Thankfully.
FRIDAY
A player wants to play
There have been clamours for Robbie Brady to be included in the line-up all week and now the man himself has come out and said that he wants to play. Not only that, he will play wherever the manager needs him to and he will give it his all if he does play.
“Over the last couple of years, I’ve been accompanied to the role. I’ve played there quite a bit so, if he calls upon me on Sunday and needs me to play left back, I’ll give 110 per cent.”
The game will be tough
Neither Keane, O’Neill or any of the squad have let slip that they think Sunday will be anything other than tough. Asked by a Polish TV station today, Robbie Brady hit that point home.
“They’ve started well, they’re a good side and it will be a big game.”
Cyrus Christie could be starting
When everyone else had left the training ground, with the reporters thrusting phones, dictaphones and microphones in two poor souls’ faces, Cyrus Christie stayed behind with two of the coaches and worked on his crossing from the right wing.
With Coleman fit, it would suggest Christie be played in a more advanced role and maybe Walters up top.
Everton players are there
Barring Darron Gibson, everyone was training. Everyone.
THURSDAY
A player wants to play
Stephen Quinn joins Shay Given, David Forde, Harry After, James McClean and 23 others of the Ireland squad by signalling he doesn’t want to not play on Sunday.
“I’m ready,” he says. “I’m ready and waiting. I’m here, I’m training hard and I’m available for selection.”
The manager will pick the team
“I don’t pick the team.” (Shay Given)
“It’s the manager’s decision.” (David Forde)
“You’ll have to ask the manager [if Robbie Keane will play].” (Roy Keane)
“You’ll have to ask the manager [if I’ll start if I’m fit].” (James McClean)
“It’s completely up to the manager.” (Stephen Quinn)
No new injury updates
With no media activity on Thursday, no-one will steal a back page for walking gingerly for a step or two during training. Stephen Quinn versus Harry Arter could perhaps replace goalkeeper-gate but it’s a long wait until Friday.
Roberto Martinez is being frantically tracked down to give his take on Darron Gibson’s injury his relationship with Martin O’Neill.
WEDNESDAY
A player wants to play
A player is brought before the media. He wants to play and he wants to win. But he knows the manager picks the team and he knows the game won’t be easy.
We can’t tell you who it is though. That’s a secret.
No-one can reveal his identity until midnight tonight. We’re all ready to break the story at 12 but someone might jump the gun and break the embargo by four minutes. This is dog eat dog.
You won’t find out who he is until tomorrow. Sorry.
Everton players are there… just about
And then there were three.
We’ve been going out of our minds with this perfect camp they had going. Nothing to talk about. Even though most of the Everton players weren’t training, they were there. But they weren’t training. But they were there. No-one has been able to add Roberto Martinez’s name into a question just yet and it feels surreal.
Seamus Coleman did the full session at the Aviva on Wednesday but James McCarthy sat it out, as did Darron Gibson. That’s all we’re told though. We’ve long since disappeared before news that the Derry man has left the squad, to undergo treatment on a groin injury, has broken. He has gone back to be with his club and we can’t even ask Martin O’Neill about it. We can’t even ask about his relationship with Martinez.
There’s nothing on for the media tomorrow either, the shits. Wait ’til Friday. Oh, wait ’til Friday.
An Ireland player is on all fours
We can’t tell who it is though. It’s not that we can’t tell you, it’s that we actually can’t tell who it is.
The team went through a practice game on the pitch so naturally the media were kept at bay. But, from where the interviews are being staged, we can see the tunnel and, through the tunnel, we can see a speckle of the pitch. All we know is that John O’Shea is wearing a yellow bib and someone is on all fours.
Not during the game. In the warm down. Stretching. They were probably all doing it but we can see just one and it is absolute carnage. Imagine we knew who it was. Imagine.
REVEALED: Find out who the Ireland player was on all fours during training today.
GALLERY: 34 cracking shots of THAT stretch.
BREAKING: Roy Keane admits he doesn’t mind players stretching in a dog position.
73 possible reasons a player could’ve been on all fours.
If every stretch were a Big Brother character, which would they be?
THE TRUTH: Dog-stretch player breaks the silence.
We feel like we’ve missed an opportunity.
Another player is injured
We’re ecstatic. Think of the crisis. Think of the columns. Think of the clicks.
Wes Hoolahan emerges in the Aviva tunnel with just one boot on. He must be crocked. His season must be over. Ireland must be pulling out of the game.
“Players are going to get knocked in training. It’s not chess we’re playing,” Roy Keane ruins everything.
Roy Keane
His presence commands respect.
Henry Shefflin has just retired. Everyone knows that, if they get a line out of Keane on the Kilkenny hurler, they could put their feet up for the week. Everyone knows it would fill another 19 pages.
Someone braver makes the first move and tries to bring Keane’s attention away from the Ireland camp. He tries to ask him about the FA’s new proposed home-grown rule.
“We’ve been busy preparing our own players,” Keane says, dismissing the question.
He tries his again. Keane shakes his head. The conversation changes.
No-one asks him about Henry.
TUESDAY
A player wants to play
David Forde is facing the firing squad. This is ideal. Surely he’ll have seen the front pages. Surely he’ll be appalled by Shay Given’s antics.
“[Our relationship] is fantastic. We all get on great.”
Okay, let’s try again. ‘Shay wants the number one jersey though, David.’
“Well, obviously. Jeez, he’s entitled to do that. And what he’s done for the country, I have a lot of admiration for the man. He’s been one of the best players for the country.”
We’re not writing that down. ‘Surely though, David, you’d feel hard done by if you lost your place?’
“Yeah, you would do,” hallelujah. “I’ve been steady in the last couple of games and I’ve been happy with what I have been doing club-wise but, like I say, it’s the manager’s decision.”
FORDE: GIVEN CAN F**K OFF IF HE THINKS HE’S TAKING MY SPOT
Everton players are there
But they aren’t training. But they’re there.
Aiden McGeady is the only one to tog out.
A player is injured
James McClean limps off the training field. There’s a race between the media back to their laptops. O’Neill says, “we’ll see how he is”. No headline will include those words.
Darron Gibson is suffering with a groin strain.
Stephen Ward’s ankle is a concern.
O’Neill is asked if he would have a problem playing Robbie Brady left back (the same player he played left back in the last Ireland game). He wouldn’t have a problem with it. He wouldn’t have a problem playing the last player he played at left back at left back.
The manager wedges into goalkeeper-gate
“The goalkeepers are in fine fettle, all four of them,” O’Neill says. “Good camaraderie, good spirit between them, the four of them, and it’s nice to see.”
The manager says a player could make his match-day squad
Martin O’Neill is a huge fan of Harry Arter’s, in fairness.
He’s been over to see Bournemouth that regularly that he has even watched the Championship leaders when Arter was suspended.
We’re told Arter’s freshness has reinvigorated the camp, that he has fitted in well and we’re given an exclusive, too. Asked if the Bournemouth player will make the match-day squad, O’Neill confirmed, “we’ll see.”
A player is going to do his best
We’re excited about Harry Arter’s inclusion in the Ireland squad. We’re very excited.
And there are no airs or graces about his intentions for Sunday if he’s granted a debut in the Republic of Ireland jersey.
“I feel proud to be given the opportunity,” Arter bellied. “I’ll try and do my best.”
MONDAY
A player wants to play
Shay Given has got us off to a flier at the start of the week. The Ireland legend has ‘admitted’ that he would like to start the game and the media go nuts.
Imagine. The audacity. A man with 127 caps for his country. Looking to play. We lap it up. This is huge. This is gold dust.
“I’d love to play,” he says. “You want to play in the game because it is such a huge game. The manager makes the decision. Whoever he picks, we’ll support him.”
SHAY GIVEN LOOKING TO KNOCK DAVID FORDE “OFF HIS F**KING PERCH”
Somebody’s missing. Somebody is f**king missing
It’s chaos on the sidelines behind the rope that keeps the media off the pitch.
The complete compliment of the final 29-man squad is not out there on Malahide’s 3G. This is outrageous. Furious counts are going on from the side. Some people have 23, others make it 25/26. Recounts are made but one thing is for sure, 29 men are not out there training.
Martin O’Neill might as well be made to go through the whole list like a report card as he explains who’s missing and why.
Everton players are there
What on earth is going on? This is getting out of hand. Is someone winding us up?
James McCarthy, Seamus Coleman and Darron Gibson are in north Dublin but they aren’t training. But they’re there. But they aren’t training. But they’re there.
They’re messing with our minds.
Some of them are going through a very light session – they were only in action with their club on Sunday after all.
With the more fragile Everton players present (Aiden McGeady is there too), the discussion points for the rest of the week have been halved.
Roy Keane hasn’t tied his shoelaces yet so we can’t talk about that either. So Martin O’Neill faces questions about Everton players instead.
“I think they’ve played about four games in the last 10 days,” the manager explains. “James is starting to feel fatigued towards the end of matches which is not surprising. He thinks he’s going to be ready and available [for Sunday]. I don’t think Seamus is wanting for fitness anyway. Darron Gibson, he’s complaining about his groin.”
