Irish Abroad player statistics for 2015/16 season

With the Champions League final behind us, and less than a week until the Republic of Ireland open their Euro 2016 campaign against Sweden, we've compiled the appearance statistics for Irish players in England, Scotland, the MLS* and the Eredivisie across the 2015/16 season: http://irish-abroad.appspot.com/MonthlyStats?month=14

Wins
Aberdeen's loan goalkeeper Danny Rogers won 24 games on loan at Falkirk, just ahead of Richard Keogh who started 22 wins for Derby

Draws
In the Championship, Preston North End's Player of the Season Greg Cunningham started 16 games that finished all square, just ahead of fellow Championship players Keogh and goalkeeper Kieren Westwood

Losses
Norwich City's Robbie Brady started 20 losses for the Canaries in their relegation season, his second year in a row dropping out of the top flight after being relegated with Hull City last season

Starts/Completed Games
Keogh again started more games than any other player across the season (having also done so in 2014/15) - the Derby captain started 49 games and completed 90 minutes in 48 of them.

Substitutions/Introductions
Midfielders Wes Hoolahan and Anthony Pilkington were both substituted on 20 separate occasions across the season, Pilkington was withdrawn as many times as at home as way - ten each, while Hoolahan was taken off more often at home than away - 12 times as opposed to 8 when Norwich were on the road. Striker David McGoldrick came off the bench more than any other player, Mick McCarthy called upon the striker 15 times in 2015/16

Stayed On Bench
As always, a goalkeeper was left on the bench more than any outfield player, Brentford's Jack Bonham will hope to improve on his record of only making one appearance and being left on the bench 47 times next season. Of the outfield players, defender Alex Pearce failed to play a minute in 28 games where he was named in the matchday squad, behind only Bonham and Darren Randolph

Goals
Robbie Keane scored more goals than any other Irish player since 1st July 2015, the LA Galaxy striker found the back of the net 23 times. Aberdeen striker Adam Rooney was the only Irishman to score more penalties than Keane, the Dons player found the back of the net seven times from 12 yards. Midfielder Alan Judge scored almost as many (14) as the next two top scoring midfielders combined - Pilkington(9) and Harriman(8) in less appearances than either player. The top scoring defender Shane Duffy scored more goals in 2015/16 (four) than in his career up until the beginning of the season!

Discipline
Mk Dons midfielder Samir Carruthers was shown 14 yellow cards this season, one of only three player to get into double figures along with Shane Duffy(10) and Darragh Lenihan (11). All of Lenihan's bookings came in 2016!

*The MLS stats are calculated from July 2015 to May 2016, not as their season runs from March to November, to accurately compare players

May 2016 Appearance Stats

Irish Abroad players appearance statistics for May 2016

Wins
Shane Long and Anthony Stokes both finished 2016/16 with three wins in the last month of the season

Draws
Robbie Keane and James McClean's started two draws in May

Losses
Aberdeen teammates Willo Flood and Jonathan Hayes started three losses as the Don's title challenge petered out

Starts/Completed Games
Stokes started and completed all six of Hibernian's games in May, two more than any other player

Substitutions/Introductions
Flood was also substituted in two of hid games, as many as fellow midfielder Josh Cullen and striker Connor Smith, while striker Richie Foran was introduced three times for Inverness

Stayed On Bench
Due to a reduced number of games in May, defender Aidan White has the rare distinction of being an outfield player left on the bench more than a goalkeeper - three times in total

Goals
Strikers Keane, Stokes, Graham Cummins and defender Daniel Devine all scored twice in May while Foran and David McGoldrick were the only players to score a penalty. For each of the top scorers, their respective teams went on to win when they scored, except for Cummins who won one and drew one of the games where he scored

Discipline
Stokes was also the only player to be shown more than one yellow card, the on loan striker was booked twice in May

Irish Player Appearances in the Premier League 2015/16

Following the final whistle at the postponed game between Manchester United and Bournemouth at Old Trafford, and with it the completion of the Premier League 2015/16 season, we've started to compile the end of season appearance statistics for Irish players for the season, starting with the number of appearances for Irish players in the top division in England.

Player	Starts	Intro	Total
Glenn Whelan	37	0	37
Robbie Brady	34	2	36
James McClean	27	7	34
Damien Delaney	32	0	32
Wes Hoolahan	25	5	30
James McCarthy	29	0	29
John O'Shea	23	5	28
Shane Long	23	5	28
Seamus Coleman	27	1	28
Jonathan Walters	18	9	27
Robert Elliot	21	0	21
Harry Arter	21	0	21
Ciaran Clark	16	2	18
Eunan O'Kane	6	10	16
Stephen Ireland	0	13	13
Darron Gibson	2	5	7
Darren Randolph	6	0	6
Marc Wilson	1	3	4
Kevin Toner	3	1	4
Shay Given	3	0	3
Josh Cullen	0	1	1
Total	354	69	423

Unfortunately, it's bad news for fans of the boys in green, with five less players appearing in Premier League games, and the total appearances down almost 15% from 497 in the 2014/15 season to 423.

Between relegation, transfers, retirements, and Jack Grealish, 12 Irish players from the previous season did not appear in 2015/16, and were replaced by 7 players who didn't appear in the Premier League last season - James McClean, Wes Hoolahan, Harry Arter, Eunan O'Kane, Darren Randolph, Kevin Toner, and Josh Cullen.

Of the players that remained in the Premier League, five had more appearances than in 2014/15 - Robert Elliot, Glenn Whelan, Robbie Brady, Damien Delaney, and James McCarthy - with Newcastle's Player of the Season Robert Elliot taking advantage of the injury crisis at St James' Park  to play 18 more games, before unfortunately getting injured himself on international duty. Eight players played less games - Darron Gibson, Shane Long, Stephen Ireland, Jonathan Walters, Seamus Coleman, Ciaran Clark, John O'Shea, and Marc Wilson - with Wilson's injury hit season meaning he played 23 times less than in 2014/15

Following the relegation of Aston Villa, Newcastle and Norwich, their Irish players Ciaran Clark, Kevin Toner, Robert Elliot, Wes Hoolahan, and Robbie Brady (relegated for the second season in a row!) will all be plying their trade outside the top division next season, with Burnley's Stephen Ward and Kevin Long replacing them. Fellow promoted side Middlesbrough have no Irish players in their squad, while Play Off Finalists Hull City have David Meyler and Brian Lenihan facing off against Sheffield Wednesday's Keiren Westwood and loanee Aiden McGeady, who will be returning to parent club Everton following the end of the season.

One crumb of comfort is that the players who did appear in the Premier League this season played, on average, one game more than those in 2014/15

2015 a look back and forward to 2016

As 2015 dawned, things were not looking great for the Republic of Ireland side, the team were still in the mix for qualification for Euro 2016, but the away loss to Scotland had us on the back foot, attendances were still down, the new management team still seemed to be putting their own stamp on the side after more than a year in charge and, Germany away apart, there hadn't been a lot for the fans of the boys in green to cheer. Subsequent draws at home to Poland and Scotland seemed to have put paid to any chance of qualification, moreso the latter considering the result in Glasgow had meant surrendering four points to what was seen as our main rivals for third place in the group. Talking with some friends after the result in June, we had dwelt more on qualification for the World Cup in 2018 than the remaining qualifiers for Euro 2016.

It's rare for me to miss watching an Ireland game live, but that was the case in September as weekend camping tickets purchased for the 2015 Electric Picnic meant I spent the night of September 4th standing in a field in Laois with RTE's live commentary from Faro in one ear, and the Coronas playing on the main stage in the other. The 4-0 win was eclipsed by the much more meaningful result that night in Georgia, where a first half goal from Valeri Qazaishvili gave the Republic a fighting chance to get out of Group D. 

One unforgettable night in October later, where I was privileged to witness the lowest ranked side ever to beat the reigning world champions, meant that the final result in Warsaw would not knock us out, no matter how many goals Scotland mustered against Gibraltar. Two world class performances in a row were beyond the team, and in truth the loss to Poland was deserved, even if we were a more powerful header from Richard Keogh away from getting the 2-2 draw that would have meant automatic qualification, and instead faced the lottery of the play offs.

November was a nervy month, and I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy as some of the qualified sides proudly modelled their new strips to be worn at the Championships in France, while we waited to see what team from the top seeds we would be drawn against. I didn't want Ukraine, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Sweden were much of a muchness, with Hungary very much the preferred side. Ultimately we were drawn to face Bosnia & Herzegovina, a team very much in our own mould - hard working with a selection of top class talent. Some bizarre early results in qualifying, including losing to Cyprus at home, had cost them automatic qualification but they were in the top seeds for a reason, and were expected to qualify.
On an extremely foggy night in Zenica, so bad in fact that the opening goal didn't register with the fans, the commentary team and the entirety of the bar where I watched it for about 15 seconds, Ireland emerged with a creditable draw, meaning it was still very much all to play for in the return leg in Aviva stadium. While the Germany qualifier had seen a return of the famed Lansdowne Roar following Shane Long's goal and the final whistle in that game, the reaction of the crowd to this fixture was on another level. With a capacity crowd behind the team for the first time in a long time, qualification for the second consecutive European Championships was assured courtesy of a Jonathan Walters brace.
I've never enjoyed a new year after a failed qualification campaign, knowing that the next meaningful international won't be played until the following September, but facing into a tournament in June adds extra meaning to the upcoming friendlies against Switzerland, Slovenia and the Netherlands. Will any uncapped player put his hand up for selection in the final squad, as James McClean, Steven Reid, Jason McAteer and Phil Babb have done in the past, will the team be able to achieve their first win at a European Championship since 1988, will the terror attacks in Paris cast a shadow over the tournament, will I get tickets for all the games?? I look forward to it all!

Highlights:

• Shane Long's goal against Germany
• Qualification for Euro 2016
• James McClean's summer transfer
• The form of Alan Judge for Brentford
• The transfer of Richie Towell to Brighton and Hove Albion
• Jack Byrne and Ian Lawlor getting first team experience at SC Cambuur and Barnet, respectively
• The emergence of Josh Cullen at West Ham

Lowlights

• The further down the slide career form of Conor Henderson, Conor Clifford and Anthony Stokes
• Reece Grego Cox and Sean Kavanagh going from squad regulars in 2014/15 to three appearances between them in 2015/16
• The loss of Jack Grealish and Marcus Agyei-Tabi to England
• Aiden McGeady yet to make a league appearance for Everton this season, he's made more appearances for Ireland than the Toffees in 2015/16
• Tommy Hoban, Connor Smith and Sean Murray unable to get Premier League experience in a completely reformed Watford squad

Hopes for 2016

• Some first team experience for the Irish players in the setup at Liverpool - Conor Masterson, Daniel Cleary, Alex O'Hanlon and Corey Whelan
• The emergence of another goalscorer for the senior team
• More competition at left full back
• Qualification for the following underage sides:
• The U17s in the Elite Phase of the U17 European Championships in Poland in March
• The U21s in the second half of their qualifiers
• The ladies' U19s in the Elite phase of the U19 Championships here in Ireland in March

Happy New Year all!

Irish Abroad Round Up - 26th December 2015

26 December 2015 
Premier League
Southampton 4-0 Arsenal
Shane Long scored his second brace of the season, and his first in the league since May 2014. The former Cork City player also picked up his first booking of the season

Championship
Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 Birmingham City
This was the first league game Kieren Westwood missed for the Owls since September (he is rested for their cup games) and the first league game this season that Stephen Gleeson did not appear for Birmingham.

League 1
Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Scunthorpe
Stephen Dawson returned to the Scunthorpe starting XI for his first appearance since August 19th, and marked his return with his first booking of the season. Likewise, Niall Canavan picked up his first yellow card of 2015/16

Millwall 0-1 Walsall
Liam Kinsella came off the bench for Walsall to make his first appearance since October 10th

Shrewsbury 1-1 Fleetwood
Liam McAlinden's first start since October 6th was also his twenty-fifth career start

Swindon Town 1-3 Gillingham
John Egan's start away to the Robins was his one hundredth career appearance

League  2
Dagenham & Redbridge 0-3 Cambridge United
Barry Corr's goal this afternoon was the 90th of his career! Congratulations Barry, the ton is in sight!

Further Reading
Rob Elliot is not just for Christmas, he's for life at Newcastle
Andy Reid set for groin operation in America
Picture Perfect - Jon Walters is the Times' Player of the Year (subscription required)

Report Card - 8th December 2015

Tuesday, 8th December 2015
Fleetwood Town 2-0 Morecambe
Winger Jimmy Ryan scored his first goal in almost three months, his last strike came on Saturday, September 12 against Bradford City

Oxford United 3-2 Yeovil Town
Fellow winger Callum O'Dowda scored his first goal since finding the back of the net against Ryan's former club Accrington Stanley on October 3rd

Further Reading
What exactly went wrong when Steve Finnan went to Espanyol?
Profile of an icon: Paul McGrath
Damien Delaney and Robbie Brady in the WhoScored list of most improved players
Euro 2016 - The Group E-ffect 

November 2015 Stats

Irish Abroad players appearance statistics for November 2015: http://irish-abroad.appspot.com/MonthlyStats?month=11

Wins

Derby County's Irish defensive duo Richard Keogh and Cyrus Christie, along with Ipswich Town's Daryl Murphy all started three wins in November 2015

Draws

Shane Duffy started three games for Blackburn Rovers that ended all square after 90 minutes

Losses

Dundee United's defender Sean Dillon lost all four matches he started in November

Starts/Completed Games

Alan McCormack, Darren Potter, Stephen Gleeson, Richard Keogh, Sean Dillon, Ciaran Clark, Shane Duffy, Seamus Coleman, Keiren Westwood, and Stephen Henderson started all four games in November and completed 90 minutes in each one

Substitutions/Introductions

Harry Arter and Eoin Doyle started all four games in November, and both were substituted in each game. Darron Gibson came off the bench twice for Everton, the same as Southend's on loan defender Glen Rea, no other player came off the bench more than once

Stayed on bench

Alex Pearce and Jack Bonham both remained on the bench in all four games in November for their respective clubs

Goals

Daryl Murphy scored six goals in November, more than the rest of the Irish strikers who played in November combined. Ipswich won two and drew one of the three game when he scored. Aberdeen won both games where Jonathan Hayes and Adam Rooney scored

Discipline

Adam White and Cyrus Christie were both booked twice, no other player was booked more than once. No striker was booked in November

Report Card - Weekend of 28th November 2015

Premier League
Manchester City 3-1 Southampton
Shane Long scored his fifth goal of the season, his first since 23rd September, on what was his 25th start for Southampton!

Championship
Charlton Athletic 0-3 Ipswich Town
Daryl Murphy scored his fifth and sixth goals of the season, and his third in his last two games. The second of his brace was his eightieth in club football in England and Scotland!

Rotherham United 3-0 Bristol City
Lee Frecklington scored his first goal of the season. Before this, he hadn't scored since 28th April

League One
Barnsley 1-1 Sheffield United
Conor Hourihane scored his twentieth goal for Barnsley, having earlier missed a penalty

Millwall 1-0 Bury
Shaun Williams's winner was his first goal since 26th September

Rochdale 2-1 Port Vale
On loan Blackburn winger John O'Sullivan made his first appearance for Rochdale, which was his first start anywhere since the 11th August. He also picked up a booking, his first yellow card in almost a year, the last one coming on 20th December 2014 while playing for Accrington against Wycombe

League Two
Cambridge United 3-1 Notts County
Barry Corr scored his tenth goal of the season

Exeter City 1-1 Bristol Rovers
Rory Gaffney made his first appearance on loan at Bristol Rovers

Wycombe Wanderers 2-2 Portsmouth
Michael Harriman's scored his first goal since September 29th

York City 1-5 Accrington Stanley
Kenneth McEvoy made his first start of the season, on loan at York City. This is the Spurs winger's first appearance since playing on loan at Stevenage in September, and his first start in over a year

Scottish Premier League
Aberdeen 3-1 Ross County
Adam Rooney scored his tenth goal of the season

Dundee United 1-2 Hamilton Academical
Gavin Gunning's booking against the Accies was his first since 17th May 2014!

Kilmarnock 2-5 Partick Thistle
Mark Connolly scored his first goal of the season. It was his first goal in over a year, his last coming on 3rd October 2014

Report Card - 24th November 2015

Peterborough United 3-2 Barnsley
After not scoring for nearly two months, Conor Hourihane now has two in two games with his fifth goal of the season. His last two goals also came in consecutive games
Following his return to action last weekend, Kevin Long was sent off for the third time in his career. His last red card came in August 2012, while playing with Portsmouth, against Carlisle

Sheffield United 2-4 Shrewsbury Town
Conor Sammon scored his fifth goal on loan at Sheffield United

Crawley Town 1-2 Northampton Town
John-Joe O'Toole scored his fifth goal for Northampton, his first since September 29th

Notts County 4-2 Barnet
Graham Burke made his twenty-fifth appearance for Notts County, after joining them in January 2015
Alan Sheehan scored the twentieth goal of his career, not bad for a defender!

Oxford United 1-1 Newport County AFC
Patrick Hoban scored his fifth goal this season for Oxford

Crawley Town 1-2 Northampton Town
Brendan Moloney was sent off for the first time in his career

October 2015 Stats

Irish Abroad players appearance statistics for October 2015: http://irish-abroad.appspot.com/MonthlyStats?month=10

Wins

The recent resurgence of Championship sides Derby County and Brenford, and St Johnstone from the Scottish Premier League means that a trio of duos from each side have all started four wins in September. Derby defensive pair Richard Keogh and Cyrus Christie, Brentford midfield compatriots Alan McCormack and Alan Judge and St Johnstone's Joe Shaughnessy and Graham Cummins all lining out for four win for their respective sides.

Draws

Cardiff City striker Joe Mason started four draws, just one ahead of fellow Championship player Greg Cunningham. 

Losses

Norwich City's Robbie Brady has the unwanted honour of losing all the games he started in October, losing all four games

Starts/Completed Games

No less than 14 players started all five games available to them in October - Keiren Westwood, Aaron McCarey, Paul McShane, Richard Keogh, Shane Duffy, Cyrus Christie, Daniel Devine, Greg Cunningham, Joe Shaughnessy, Glenn Whelan, Stephen Gleeson, Alan Judge, Joe Mason, Graham Cummins, with ten of these (Westwood, McCarey, McShane, Keogh, Duffy, Shaughnessy, Cunningham, Devine, Whelan and Gleeson) going on to complete 90 minutes in all five games.

Substitutions/Introductions 

Cummins was substituted in all five games he started, while Championship players Matt Doherty, Glen Rea (on loan at Southend) and Samir Carruthers were the most introduced substitute, all three players came off the bench three times.

Stayed on bench

Goalkeeper Jack Bonham and defender Stephen Ward were both left on the bench for all five games in October.

Goals

Robbie Keane scored four goals in October - two at home and two away, but strangely none of these led to a single win for LA Galaxy. However Alan Judge's three goals, and David Meyler's two goals, both led to two wins for the midfielders' respective club sides.

Discipline

Sean Dillon, James McClean and Alan McCormack all received two booking during October.

September 2015 Stats

Irish Abroad players appearance statistics for September 2015: http://irish-abroad.appspot.com/MonthlyStats?month=9

Wins

Everton's James McCarthy was the only midfielder to win three games in September, but defenders Joe Shaughnessy, Daniel Devine, Paul McShane, Cyrus Christie and Richard Keogh all finished on the winning side three times. No striker managed the feat.

Draws

In the same month defender Greg Cunningham returned to the Ireland squad, he started three games that finished all square. In addition, all three games were at home.

Losses

Three was also the magic number for losses, with John O'Shea, Alan McCormack, Stephen Gleeson, Alan Judge and Samir Carruthers all starting three losses in September.

 

Starts/Completed Games

Stephen Gleeson started the most games in September, the Birmingham midfielder was named in the starting XI for his side six times, and went on to completed 90 minutes in each one.

 

Substitutions/Introductions

Cardiff City striker Joe Mason was substituted three times in September, twice at home and once away, while Derby County midfielder Jeff Hendrick was introduced from the bench three times.

 

Stayed on bench

Goalkeeper Jack Bonham was named on the substitutes bench five times in September, without being introduced, while outfield players Stephen Ward and Sean Kavanagh started and finished four games on the bench.

 

Goals

Jonathan Walters, Shane Long, Joe Mason and Adam Rooney only needed two strikes to top the scoring charts in September. Rooney and Mason's goals led to wins for their sides, and both of Rooney's strikes came from the penalty spot.

 

Discipline

Alan McCormack was booked three times in his five games in September, all of which came at home.

Talking Points

With the return of English Premier League football, how many of the 32 Irish players registered with English clubs will play in the EPL this season?
Noe Baba has signed for Championship side Birmingham City after his release by Fulham, can he progress to their first team?
It's less than a month to the Euro 2016 qualifiers, will there be any new call ups for those games?
After missing Aston Villa's opener against Bournemouth through injury, will Jack Grealish get a chance to impress the management side before the squad is announced?
Josh Cullen has already appeared three times this season for West Ham in the Europa League, should he be called into the squad to avoid a future tug of war with England for his services?
Similarly, Cillian Sheridan has found the back of the net three times already for new club Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League, is this enough to give the Cavan-born striker his first call up by the manager?
After impressing for Orlando City, Sean St Ledger has signed for Colorado Rapids. Despite playing in the MLS, should he be brought back into the senior setup?
Promising youth midfielder Jack Byrne is on loan in Holland with SC Cambuur, with the U21 campaign yet to complete, should he be promoted to the senior side?
Of the sides promoted to the Championship, who is a prospect for a senior cap? Greg Cunningham is the obvious choice, as a natural left full, but has he spent enough time at a high enough standard to be ready to return to international football?
Several players have been released by sides in England, and Scotland, over the summer. What can be done to entice them to return to play in the League of Ireland, alongside Damien Duff, Keith Fahey, Paddy Madden and Ian Morris?

Irish Scorers weekend of 8th August 2015

8 August 2015 Barclays Premier League Norwich City 1-3 Crystal Palace Damien Delaney(48) Sky Bet League 1 Chesterfield 3-1 Barnsley Jay O'Shea(48) Conor Wilkinson(3) Gillingham 4-0 Sheffield United John Egan(81) Shreswsbury Town 1-2 Millwall Jim Collins(55) Sky Bet League 2 AFC Wimbledon 0-2 Plymouth Argyle Graham Carey(48) Bristol Rovers 0-1 Northampton Town John-Joe O'Toole(48) Cambridge United 3-0 Newport County AFC Barry Corr(23) Barry Corr(64) Scottish Premiership St Johnstone 1-1 Inverness CT Graham Cummins(89)

9 August 2015 Barclays Premier League Newcastle United 2-2 Southampton Shane Long(78) American MLS League Los Angeles Galaxy 3-1 Seattle Sounders FC Robbie Keane(46) Scottish Premiership Aberdeen 2-0 Kilmarnock Adam Rooney(55, penalty)