Is someone else injured then? I don't believe Trappatoni has actually seen the light... Good chance for Wes to shine though
Wes has been set up a bit though, centre mid in a 4-4-2, is not quite his best role, probably so Trappatoni can say I told you so............
From Thursday's EDP: Trappatoni on Hoolahan: "...... the experienced Irish manager is adamant Hoolahan has nothing to prove. “I have no doubts about this player,” he said. “I have seen him many times. The day before I said that in this game [v England] it will be very, very important to have strong players with physical strength. I know Wes is a fantastic offensive player but I do not want to force him to stay in midfield and try to win the ball. “I talked with him and said we will play with one striker and four or five midfielders, but it was not the time to try this. I look at three or four of our younger players and they have grown in the course of this England match. Only against the great teams can you get this experience and against the great players. I was happy for (James) McCarthy, (Seamus) Coleman and Shane Long who for me were three of the best on the pitch because you could sense before the game the players in the dressing room were a bit tense.” Trapattoni hinted the likes of Hoolahan may feature in Sunday’s latest friendly against Georgia in Dublin as the Irish fine-tune their preparations for a World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands, with first-choice midfielder Glenn Whelan is likely to be rested this weekend." Why are people so cynical about Trappatoni? He's hugely experienced and his job is try to ensure RoI qualify for the World Cup. He isn't the only manager to recognise that Hoolahan, however talented, is far from being a complete player.
Robbie, that article in the EDP sums up exactly why people get frustrated with him not picking Wes "I know Wes is a fantastic offensive player but I do not want to force him to stay in midfield and try to win the ball." He says this and yet the line-up he's picked for the game against Georgia is a flat 4-4-2 in which Wes will be sitting in the middle of midfield trying to win the ball. "I look at three or four of our younger players and they have grown in the course of this England match. Only against the great teams can you get this experience and against the great players." Of the 15 players used against England, 11 of them play in the Premier League so they're used to playing against the best in the world. He is a good manager but, he's too stubborn. He's decided 4-4-2 is the way to go and he's not changing it for anybody. With England sticking so rigidly to their two banks of four on Wednesday night, if he'd thrown Wes on and let him play just behind Long and Keane, he would've had a field day as the English defence would've left the midfield to pick him up and the midfield would've left it to the defence.
“I talked with him and said we will play with one striker and four or five midfielders." That doesn't sound to me like someone who has set his mind on 4-4-2 and nothing else. International managers nowadays have so little freedom: they are always in the midst of one or other qualification campaign, and the cost for them of getting it wrong is high (I don't mean in financial terms, I mean in terms of qualifying or failing to qualify). I actually believe him when he says he knows all he needs to know about Wes (the good and the less good). If, as I hope, the RoI do qualify for the World Cup, I think Wes will then play a much more significant role.
As I just said in reply to Dazz, I don't think it is a question of Wes "waiting for his chance". It is a question of Trappatoni waiting for the right opportunity to play him. Against England, with the luxury of it being a friendly, he obviously wanted to look at other players. As he says in that interview, he knows all about Wes.
I'm picturing Wes having the role he prefers - with RvW or Hooper (perhaps) in a yelllow shirt in front of him next August. That'll do for me
Only just starting watching the game, but Hoolahan has so much more about him than the rest of the Ireland midfield, his vision is really playing a big part for them at the moment. However, I do feel sorry for him having to track back, picking up runners, etc, you can see it's just not his game.
Wes had an excellent game, especially 2nd half where he pretty much ran the show. Some excellent passes, one which led to the 2nd goal. He went off with hopefully only cramp. Fingers crossed that its nothing more serious. Should definitely be in the team against the Faroes if Trapper Tonys got any sense.
Didn't watch the game and granted it was fairly weak opposition (who were down to 10 men for a fair chunk of the game to boot), but watching this it seems he had a pretty good game. Lots of neat little touches: Stolen off NewsNow http://www.extratime.ie/newsdesk/articles/10421/in-focus---wes-hoolahans-georgia-display/?
The plot thickens Trapattoni! http://www.herald.ie/sport/soccer/trap-admits-he-ignored-hoolahan-29319943.html
Martin, Whittaker and Snodgrass have all started for Scotland tonight as well :edit: in fact Snoddy has just scored
