Glenn Whelan

If we were even attempting to play positive football, if we were even attempting to win matches against bigger sides, and not being the draw specialist world champions, Whelan would have a handful of caps over the last decade. We've settled for this and it is absolutely a grim watch.

Oh and btw when the boot was on our neck at Euro 2016, and we had absolutely no choice but to try be positive against Italy, Whelan was out and we got the job done against a far better side than us. In the next game against France we were even better for the first half imo. That is the kind of stuff we should have been aiming for the past decade. Instead we settled for absolute mediocrity.

We've been here before. This campaign (going all the way back to February 2018) should have been about blooding new players. Lots of them. With some of the older lads still on board. This campaign is a complete write off. We have zero chance of making the top 2 in the group. We have little chance of going through in the playoffs imo unless we get serious good luck with the draw. In 6 months time we will look back on over 2 years of international football, about 20 fixtures, and absolutely zero progress. In fact we will have regressed most likely, but Glenn Whelan will have 5-10 more caps so I'm sure it's worthwhile.

Btw, I'm sure you were hoping for me to say someone like James McCarthy to replace him. Again we've been here before. If you want to settle for absolute mediocrity, drive on with players like Whelan. We've settled for that for years now. We have been horribly conservative in our selections and style of play - how has that gone for us over the past decade? 

You're always looking for 1 name. In what 70 plus caps is it Whelan has, take your pick of players. Any single Irish midfielder who can move. Simple as that. If you want to play anything near positive football you cannot have a statue at the base of midfield (unless he has incredible other facets to his play like Alonso or Pirlo). It is embarrassing to watch Whelan at waking pace in that position for a decade now. It's even scarier to see how many Irish people are happy to see him there every game. We are basically a beaten docket before we even kick a ball most of the time.

Indeed I am.

It is mind boggling that you want me to list all the Irish midfielders who should start instead of Whelan

How many times do you want me to say that any Irish midfielder, with a future beyond the next 12 months in the international setup, is who should be playing in all of these Euro 2020 qualifiers.

Is basic English really that difficult to understand?

Hans; I asked you, in the most basic of English, who you would start. Your response, twice, was to ignore the question and berate Whelan.