Hoolahan's Short Turnaround

Following Ireland's loss to Poland in the final game in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group D, the focus turned on why the players were not able to reproduce the performance from the previous game at home to Germany. Chief among the reasons given was the absence of Norwich playmaker Wes Hoolahan from the starting XI.

In a pre match interview with RTE's Tony O'Donoghue, manager Martin O'Neill stated that the player had told him that he was not fit to start the game, and had been carrying a heel injury going into the Germany game.

At 33, Hoolahan is very much in the autumn of his career, and rarely completes ninety minutes in two consecutive games in such a short turnaround. We have to go back to December 2011 to find the last time he completed two games in four days, when a then 29 year old Hoolahan faced Tottenham Hotspur on the 27th, with compatriot Anthony Pilkington coming off the bench, before lining out alongside Pilkington against Fulham on the 31st.

To find the last time he played two games in three days, we have to go back more than 22 months, to February 2010 when Hoolahan completed 90 minutes against Southampton on the 20th and Southend on the 23rd in League One. In this pair of games, Hoolahan was joined in the starting XI by Donegal's Gary Doherty.

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.

Liverpool's Irish youth

Liverpool FC will open their 2015/16 Europa League campaign against Bordeaux, and manager Brendan Rodgers has included several youth team members in his matchday squad, including Dublin born defender Daniel Cleary. Cleary made his Liverpool debut recently during preseason in a friendly against a Malaysian XI select side, and also appeared in their friendly game against Swindon. Should Cleary make his competitive debut for the reds, he will be the first Irish born academy graduate to do so since Richie Partridge.

While it's encouraging to see a young Irish player making progress, it's puzzling that he hasn't been included in an Irish underage squad for some time. U19 manager Paul Doolin last included Cleary in a squad for two friendlies against the Mexican U20 side in May 2014, but he only played the second game, a 2-0 loss in Dalymount Park.

Cleary was omitted from the following U19 squad, the elite level qualifiers against Iceland, Turkey and Serbia. Strangely, these qualifiers were the last appearance of Cleary's Liverpool teammate Alex O'Hanlon, who signed for Liverpool at 15 after being linked with a host of top clubs across Europe, including Real Madrid and Chelsea! Both Cleary and O'Hanlon have appeared regularly for Liverpool since then, including scoring in the UEFA Youth League last season, so why have they not been selected for any of the national side's underage squads?

Similarly, defender Corey Whelan has not appeared for the boys in green since being named in an Ireland squad in May 2014, for the U17 elite qualifiers against Serbia, Germany and Georgia, although it was noted on the FAI's website that he was unavailable for a recent U19 friendly against Italy in the squad announcement.

Having said that, highly rated defender Conor Masterson, who recently trained with the Liverpool first team at Melwood, captained the U17 team in the European Championship in Bulgaria last April, but the question remains why Cleary, O'Hanlon and Whelan have been excluded by the management.

The FAI will host the Scotland, Latvia and Slovenia U19 sides in the Qualifying Round group this coming November, will Whelan and Masterson be included in the Irish side?