The Trapattoni Index - Irish players in the running for a place in the Euro 2012 squad

Trap has decided to expand his friendly squad to 26 players, but which 23 are the most likely to make the final Euro 2012 squad?

22 Feb 2012 13:56:00

More On :  Republic of Ireland
Giovanni Trapattoni - Ireland (Getty Images)
ANALYSIS
By Ronan Murphy

An interesting week on and off the pitch moved some players closer to Euro 2012, and indicated to others that they were far from Giovanni Trapattoni’s Euro 2012 plans. Next week, Ireland face Czech Republic in an international friendly in Dublin; but who are the 23 players likely to be on the plane to Poland?

1  Robbie KEANE
Club: Aston Villa (on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy)
Position: Striker
 
Villa had the weekend off due to the FA Cup, but Robbie remains Trap’s number one, especially after proving he can still cut it against Premier League quality defenders.
GROUP A
2  Shay GIVEN

Club: Aston Villa
Position: Goalkeeper

Probably won’t play the full 90 minutes against the Czechs, but is undoubtedly still Trap’s first choice between the sticks.
GROUP A
3  Richard DUNNE
Club: Aston Villa
Position: Defender

Recovering well after shoulder surgery, Dunne will be hopefully back in action around the end of March or the start of April.
GROUP A
4  Damien DUFF
Club: Fulham
Position: Winger

The weekend off will have helped Duff’s fitness, and ensured he didn’t pick up an injury ahead of Wednesday’s game.

5  John O'SHEA

Club: Sunderland
Position: Defender

Helped keep Arsenal scoreless to knock them out of the cup, and got himself in the match highlights with a perfectly timed sliding tackle on Robin Van Persie.
GROUP A
6 Aiden McGEADY
Club: Spartak Moscow
Position: Winger

Back in action for Spartak Moscow last night, playing 60 minutes against Molde in a friendly. The RPL starts back on March 4, so a run-out against the Czechs would further help his fitness.
GROU AGROUP
7  Keith ANDREWS
Club: West Bromwich Albion
Position: Midfielder

Another player with the weekend off, Andrews shouldn’t feel threatened by Paul Green’s late call-up, as he’s a much higher quality midfielder.
GROUP A
8  Glenn WHELAN

Club: Stoke City
Position: Midfielder

Rory Delap’s sending off against Crawley meant Whelan had to work harder in midfield against the minnows, but he did alright, and Stoke came away with a 2-0 win.
GROUP
9 Sean ST LEDGER
Club: Leicester City
Position: Defender

Grabbed an early headed goal for Leicester to help them knock out Norwich, showing again that he’s a danger going forward for set-pieces.

10  Stephen WARD
Club: Wolves
Position: Defender

With Wolves still trying to install a new manager, it’s unclear whether Ward will be the automatic first choice left back at the club.
GROUP A
11  Kevin DOYLE

Club: Wolves
Position: Striker

Will be hoping for another start this weekend as Wolves visit Newcastle, otherwise Shane Long could easily partner Robbie Keane in attack on Wednesday.

12  Stephen KELLY
Club: Fulham
Position: Defender

With Richard Dunne out of the friendly, Trap could spring a surprise by starting John O’Shea in the middle and Kelly on the right.

13  Jon WALTERS
Club: Stoke City
Position: Striker

Scored from the spot for Stoke, which should help his confidence, and maybe put him in contention for a starting spot against the Czechs.

14 Shane LONG

Club: West Bromwich Albion
Position: Striker

The weekend off should help his recovery, and perhaps we could see Long start against Sunderland on Saturday.

15 Keith FAHEY
Club: Birmingham City
Position: Midfielder

Held his own against the Chelsea midfield in the Cup, and went one better last night, scoring against Barnsley in the league.

16 Darren O'DEA
Club: Leeds United (on loan from Celtic)
Position: Defender

Despite Leeds conceding two, O’Dea had a solid game against Doncaster to move them closer to a play-off place.
GROUP A
17  Stephen HUNT
Club: Wolves
Position: Winger

Ireland’s favourite 'impact sub' may have a lot to offer his new manager, but could feel under threat by James McClean’s addition to the Irish squad.
GROUP A
18  Keiren WESTWOOD

Club: Sunderland
Position: Goalkeeper

Martin O’Neill stuck with Mignolet for the FA Cup, and was rewarded with a clean sheet against the Gunners. Could Trap decide to go with David Forde as Given’s backup if Westwood is not playing regularly?
GROUP A
19 Darron GIBSON
Club: Everton
Position: Midfielder

Helped Everton to a 2-0 cup win over Blackpool, and has definitely cemented his place in the Toffees line-up with another strong display.

20 David FORDE
Club: Millwall
Position: Goalkeeper

Rested for Millwall’s cup game with Bolton, but shouldn’t be worried about his starting position after Steve Mildenhall conceded two goals from just four shots on target.
GROUP
21 Simon COX
Club: West Bromwich Albion
Position: Striker

Wednesday’s game should be interesting from a forward’s perspective, especially with five players fighting over two positions.
GROUP
22 James McCARTHY
Club: Wigan
Position: Midfielder

It’s easy to forget that James McCarthy is just 21, so the weekend’s rest would have done him good.
GROUP
23 Seamus COLEMAN
Club: Everton
Position: Defender/ Winger

Came on for half an hour as he continues his recovery from injury. Might not feature for Ireland on Wednesday if Trap decides to give McClean a run-out instead.

Kevin Foley - Wolves - Defender - Foley’s versatility should help him find a place in the Wolves first eighteen under the new manager, but whether he’ll start is a very different question.

James McClean - Sunderland - Winger - Trap decided to expand his squad with the addition of the in-form winger, and this has been met with delight from fans.

Shane Duffy - Everton - Defender - Duffy has spoken of his delight to be called-up, but the fact he didn’t make the bench for Everton at the weekend means his chances of making the finals are probably quite slim.

Paul Green - Derby - Midfielder - The other late addition to the Irish camp, it would be surprising to see Green take to the pitch against the Czechs, but Trap often springs tactical surprises, so don’t rule it out.

Ciaran Clark - Aston Villa - Defender/ Midfielder - Still sidelined with injury, and missing out on this friendly could really scupper his plans for the summer.

Damien Delaney - Ipswich - Defender - Back in the starting eleven for Ipswich, and kept a clean sheet. Should put him back in contention for a starting spot at the club.

Darren Randolph - Motherwell - Goalkeeper - Kept another clean sheet at the weekend. This time against Kilmarnock. He’s doing everything he can to make the squad, but seems to be Trap’s fourth choice.

Liam Lawrence - Portsmouth - Midfielder - Spoke of his disappointment at being left out, and is now only a very outside bet at making the Euro 2012 squad.

Paul McShane - Crystal Palace - Defender - Left on the bench at Crystal Palace once again, McShane’s chances look to be getting slimmer and slimmer.

GreenScene is devoted to covering Irish footballers both internationally and nationally, with a particular focus on Irishmen currently playing in the top four tiers of the English football system.

The website is run and maintained by Michael Maher and Ronan Murphy, and can be contacted at greenscenedotme@gmail.com


 
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