Irish Abroad: Keith Andrews

It's from a friendly against Denmark in May 1978 that ended 3-3, with the goals coming from Frank Stapleton, Tony Grealish, and Gerry Daly. This was the only time these eleven players would start together. This is not uncommon for the national side, in the 587 games played by the Republic, there have been 453 unique selections for the the starting XI.

But what of the repeated selections? What collection of starting players has been selected more than any other for the Boys in Green?

On Friday, 2nd September 2011, Giovanni Trapattoni selected Shay Given, John O'Shea, Stephen Ward, Sean St Ledger, Richard Dunne, Glen Whelan, Keith Andrews, Aidan McGeady, Damien Duff, Kevin Doyle, and captain Robbie Keane to face Slovakia at home in a qualifier for Euro 2012 that finished 0-0.

Ireland Team: Given, O'Shea, Dunne, St. Ledger, Ward, Duff, Andrews, Whelan, McGeady, Keane, Doyle #IreSlo
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) September 2, 2011

The same starting XI would go on to be selected against Hungary the following June in a pre-tournament friendly, then faced Croatia in Euro 2012 six days later, before being named for the fourth, and final, time to face Italy in the final game of the group - the most the same starting XI has played together for Ireland.

The most recent repeat selection came in June 2019, when Mick McCarthy named Darren Randolph, Seamus Coleman, Enda Stevens, Shane Duffy, Conor Hourihane, Richard Keogh, Robert Brady, Jeff Hendrick, Glen Whelan, David McGoldrick, and James McClean in the starting XI to face Denmark, the same team named by the manager to face Georgia the previous March.

Friday, 11 October 2019

Players to score in all four divisions in england

After breaking his Premier League duck against Norwich last weekend, Conor Hourihane reached a rare career milestone - scoring in each of the four divisions in England.

We only have comprehensive appearance data going back to the 2005-06 season, but we still managed to compile this list of players who managed the feat since then

1. David Connolly
Beginning his career at Watford, Connolly had scored for the Hornets in what was then known as Division 1 and Division 2, now the Championship and League One, before securing a move to Feyenoord. Following his return from the Netherlands, he scored for Wimbledon, West Ham, and Leicester in the Championship before a move to Wigan was quickly followed by his first Premier League goal in 2005-06 season. Connolly would go on to complete the quadruple by scoring four goals in League Two in his final season as a professional footballer for Portsmouth

2. Clinton Morrison
After scoring in his first appearance for Crystal Palace in the Premier League during the 1997-98 season, Morrison went on to score in the then-First Division for the Eagles. Morrison would also score for Birmingham in the Premier League, before returning to the South London side after four seasons. Following a move to Sheffield Wednesday in 2010, Morrison would collect strikes in League One, before finishing his career in 2015-16 with Exeter in League Two, with a single strike in the division

3. Gary Doherty
After scoring 12 times in three seasons in the Second Division with Luton, Doherty was brought to the Premier League by Tottenham Hotspur, where he scored four times across six seasons before moving to Norwich, for whom he scored three goals in the Championship. Following two seasons with Charlton in League One, the Donegal born player retired after two seasons in League Two with Wycombe, scoring twice in the 2012-13 season

4. Noel Hunt
After two seasons in the League of Ireland, and six in Scotland, Hunt scored his first goal in English football in the Championship with Reading in the 2008-09 season. The Waterford-born striker would also score twice in the Premier League for the Royals. Following moves to Leeds, Ipswich and Southend, where he scored four times in League One, he completed the achievement with a single strike for Portsmouth in League Two in the 2016-17 season

5. Stephen Elliott
After only two appearances for Manchester City in the Premier League, Elliott went on to score 22 league goals (20 in the Championship, 2 in the Premier League) for Sunderland in 81 league appearances on Wearside. Two goals in a loan spell at Norwich in League One in 2009-10 were followed in 2014-15 with a single strike in League Two for Carlisle

6. Liam Lawrence
Lawrence began his career with Mansfield Town, where he scored in both the old Third and Second Division. A move to Sunderland in the 2004-05 season was followed with goals in the Championship and Premier League for the Black Cats

7. Sean Thornton
Thornton performances in the Second Division with Tranmere Rovers during the 2001-02 season, where he scored once, earned him a move the Premier League with Sunderland. He scored his only goal in the top division against Chelsea in April 2003 before scoring four times in the First Division the following season, following Sunderland's relegation. After three seasons in League One with Doncaster and Leyton Orient, Thornton scored for Shrewsbury in League Two during a loan spell at New Meadow

8. Kevin Kilbane
Beginning his career with local side Preston North End, Kilbane scored in both the third and second divisions for the Lilywhites before moving to West Brom, where his 15 goals in the First Division helped him secure a move to Premier League side Sunderland. Kilbane went on to score eight times for the Black Cats in the PL, before a moves to Everton, Wigan, and Hull, for whom he would score four, two, and one goals in the division, respectively

9. Steve Finnan

Finnan started his career in the youth setup at Wimbledon, and signed for non-league Welling on his release. Birmingham City offered him a professional contract, and he went on to score for the Blues in the First Division. After scoring for Notts County in the Second Division while on loan, he made a permanent move to Meadow Lane where he also scored in the Third Division. A move to Fulham meant more goals in the Second and First Divisions, but he didn't score his only goal in the Premier League until a year after his move to Liverpool in the 2003-04 season

10. Keith Andrews

Andrews had already made his Wolves debut before he scored his first senior goal on loan at Oxford in the Second Division. His second league goal was also on loan, this time with Walsall in the First Division. Andrews notched his first goal in League Two with MK Dons after his move in the 2006-07 season. Three years later, his manager with the Dons, Paul Ince, took him to the Premier League where he would go on to five league goals for the Lancashire side, followed by two more for West Brom

Notes
Each player also scored in both the League Cup and FA Cup, apart from Thornton and Andrews, both of whom never scored in the FA Cup, and Finnan who never scored in the League Cup
All players, except for Thornton and Hunt, have also scored at international level, however Hunt also scored in the Scottish Premier League, and in both Scottish Cups

Tuesday, 4 November 2014

Talking points

After Christy Fagan's two goals in the FAI Cup Final, should he be looked at by the management team as a striker?
Only two Irish players scored in England and Scotland on Saturday, with Cillian Sheridan adding a brace in Cyprus, is this a cause for concern or merely a blip?
Keith Andrews provided an assist for top of the Championship table Watford at the weekend, but has yet to feature under the current management. Taking into account the missing players in midfield, should be looked at for the upcoming games, ?
Similarly, Keith Fahey asked to not be considered by the management after his return to St Patricks' Athletic, but is it time to ask the creative midfielder to return?
Anthony Stokes was recently abused on twitter, Rio Ferdinand is serving a suspension for comments he posted on the microblogging site. Should a code of conduct, be introduced by clubs for players who use social media?
After Enda Stevens' loan came to an end at Northampton Town, with four losses in four games, and three yellow cards, can the former Shamrock Rovers player bounce back with an ailing Aston Villa side?
Sean Scannell has solidified his position at Huddersfield, and won player of the month for October, but is that enough to force his way into the senior side, given McGeady, McClean, Brady and Pilkington are ahead of him?
Darren Randolph bounced back from conceding eight and being sent off in recent weeks to keep a clean sheet, and was voted man of the match, at the weekend against Wolves. Is this enough to keep him in the international side, or can the likes of Stephen Henderson oust him?
With the amount of Scottish fans not going to the qualifier in Glasgow, as a protest against SFA for recent increases in the ticket prices, and the Irish fans snapping up those made available online, how many Ireland fans will be in Celtic Park in two weeks?

Thursday, 24 October 2013

Trapattoni's debutant goalscorers

While compiling the information on Trapattoni's reign, I noticed that there was a high number of players who had scored on their debut for the Italian. No less than five footballers all registered their first strike on their first appearance for the Boys in Green. This is as many players as managed the feat under the previous four managers combined! Under Jack Charlton, David Kelly (10th November 1987 VS Israel), Bernie Slaven (28th March 1990 VS Wales), and Tommy Coyne (25th March 1992 VS Switzerland) all scored on their first appearances, with David Kelly notching a hat trick. During Mick McCarthy's reign both Clinton Morrison(15th August 2001 VS Croatia) and Graham Barrett(21st August 2002 VS Finland) scored on their debuts. No players managed the feat under the next two managers Brian Kerr and Steve Staunton.
After Keith Andrews impressed in a B international against Nottingham Forest in November 2008, he was promoted to the senior squad for the friendly against Poland on the 19th and scored Ireland's second goal in a 3-2 defeat to their future European Championships hosts at Croke Park.
In the penultimate game of the Carling Nations Cup, the Republic of Ireland faced Northern Ireland in front of a sparse crowd at Aviva stadium on the 24th May 2011. Stephen Ward and Simon Cox were both handed their first appearances by the Italian, and they scored the first and final goals, respectively, in a 5-0 victory against our neighbours from the North.
After an underwhelming last minute victory over Kazakhstan, the team returned to Craven Cottage for their third friendly at the ground, following games against Colombia in May 2008 and Nigeria May 2009. Winger Robbie Brady marked his first cap, and his first start, with his first goal with a fine strike from outside the area. Second half substitute Alex Pearce converted a header from an Aiden McGeady corner to complete the goalscoring for the Irish side in a 4-1 win.
A double strike from debutants is extremely rare, in fact previous to Trapttoni's reign, an Ireland game had not been marked with this since 1976 when Joe Waters and Frank Stapleton both scored against Turkey in Ankara on their first appearances for the country in a 3-3 draw.

Tuesday, 22 October 2013

Goalscorers under Trapattoni

Unsurprisingly, Robbie Keane scored the most goals during Trapattoni's reign. The Tallaght striker notched an incredible 28 goals in five years under the Italian. No other player managed to get into double figures, with Kevin Doyle and Shane Long coming closest with seven and six goals, respectively. In midfield, Keiths Andrews and Fahey both scored three goals for the venerable manager, however Aiden McGeady managed two strikes in competitive games, one more than his fellow midfielders' total in competitive matches.
In defence, mainstays Sean St Ledger and Richard Dunne both scored three times, with all six goals from the duo coming in competitive games, to top the goalscoring charts for defenders. St Ledger possibly has a slight edge, due to his close range header against Croatia in the European Championship finals.

P.S. If you mouseover a player other than Robbie Keane in the goals section in the infographic - http://irish-abroad.appspot.com/Blog - several other players are highlighted - why is that?