Aiden McGeady

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 deise316 wrote:

 horsebox wrote:

What you are pointing out to me above is that McGeady has exceeded all those players? yet 4 of them are strikers and McGeady is playing from the bench too.

I wouldn't dispute your previous point about McGeady not playing well in the previous campaign although I thought he played well in his cameo appearance against Wales and Austria.

He may even play less in the following campaign too. If he does however play O'Neill should be looking to try and replicate the form he has showed at Preston or at the start of the season for Sunderland.

Not really HB, no. If we're being pedantic about it, he hasn't exceeded Hourihane (added another goal since I posted that) or McGoldrick. Agree he was decent for 20 minutes V Austria, where his job was mainly to provide an outlet & help run down the clock, he did that very well. Didn't notice him doing a thing V Wales at home, we didn't have a shot on goal and any (there wasn't much of it) bit of attacking we did produce came from Christie. 

Agree with you on the Preston/Sunderland form, but sure that is why he is in the squad in recent years, we are all waiting to see it for Ireland, and it hasn't happened. The context of the post got lost/ignored too in favour of club statistics, without looking, his Ireland statistics over the last 4 years would make for grim enough reading, and for a fella with 90 something caps, I think that is what should be focused on. 

He isn't some young lad with a bit of promise who might improve given 10/15 more caps (like say, O'Dowda) and with the likely retirement of JOS, he becomes our most experienced player. I don't think he will retire, but I honestly think it is bordering on delusion or groundless optimism to think he is capable of adding anything much in the next campaign. I'd be delighted to be wrong, but he has got numerous chances, mainly because of his undoubted skill, and those are chances that aren't/weren't granted to less talented other players, some of whom are mentioned above, but we have got fcuk all meaningful return out of him since Georgia away when he got 2 goals. 

Lets look at Ireland and then look at the wider context.

McGeady played 5 times in the last campaign and played well in 2 Austria and Wales and played poorly against Denmark and can't remember anything of note in the other games - I missed the Moldova home game.

Out of the squad who did play well in the group? What games did Brady or Hendricks play well in?

McClean and Duffy are probably the only 2 that I can say had a good campaign.

Hoolahan is retiring so McGeady may have an opportunity to play in that role where he excelled at Preston. That's entirely up to O'Neill, who may opt for somebody else anyway.