SOCCER:It was hard to believe we are already into May in the wind, cold and rain yesterday out by Dublin airport as Steve Staunton unveiled his travelling party for this month's trip to the United States.
But those among the assembled press corps who needed to be convinced that summer is actually upon us had only to glance at some of the names included in the 23-man squad to get a distinctly end of season feel.
Just five of the team that started against Slovakia have been called upon to make the journey and there's still, let's not forget, ample time for cry-offs. While the likes of Lee Carsley, Shay Given and Richard Dunne stay at home and Clinton Morrison, David Connolly and Alan Lee have all been overlooked, there is no shortage of up and coming takers for the trip.
Nine uncapped players including two, Joseph O'Cearuill and Derek Geary, who have never previously been included in a senior international panel, have been handed the opportunity to impress over the week and a half long jaunt to New Jersey and Boston. John O'Shea will captain the side in games against Ecuador and Bolivia (to be televised by RTÉ and Sky Sports respectively) while Kevin Kilbane has also indicated he will travel. That pair aside, however, Staunton has pretty much assembled a joyous blend of youth and inexperience.
Not that the manager was especially burdened with selection dilemmas. Damien Duff, Steven and Andy Reid, Jonathan Douglas, Graham Kavanagh and Kevin Foley have all been ruled out by serious injuries while Robbie Keane is limping through to the end of the campaign before receiving treatment for a back problem.
Given and a couple of other senior figures like Carsley and Steve Carr are said to be in need of a rest while Dunne is getting married and the Quinns, Alan and Stephen, have family commitments while Steve Finnan will be involved in the Champions League final.
Still there is no place for Morrison, Connolly or Lee who may well feel that their international opportunities will be, to say the least, limited as long as Staunton remains at the helm even if the Louthman insists he has not entirely written them off.
"I'd never say that about any players," he said yesterday. "Caleb Folan's come onto the scene but unfortunately got injured before the last game while Kevin Doyle's only really come into things this year and could still do with the experience. Daryl Murphy's finished the season strongly and there's Anthony Stokes too, they're all players that I want to have a look at, that's all there is to it really."
The precise make-up of the group that gathers in Dublin at the end of next week will be influenced by the outcome of the Championship play-off semi-finals with either West Brom's Paul McShane or Darren Potter and Andy Keogh, both of Wolves, certain to drop out depending on which team progresses to the final.
Stokes may also yet be left to under-19 manager Sean McCaffrey in the event that his side still retains some hope of progressing to the summer's European Championship finals after the first two of the three qualifiers they are due to play next week in Dublin and Drogheda.
Asked about the two newcomers Staunton said that 20-year-old O'Cearuill (apparently, for the benefit of trivia fans, the only player in the English league to have all five vowels feature in his surname) had done well while on loan at Brighton, impressed with the Irish under-21s and pleased his coaches back at Arsenal with the progress he has made.
The centre back has never played in a competitive game for the London club in stark contrast to Geary who has been a Premiership regular with Sheffield United this season. Having previously complained about being overlooked by Staunton, the 26-year-old is now set to get his chance to show what he can do although the manager didn't sound entirely convinced that this would be the start of a close working relationship yesterday.
"It's been a difficult season for Sheffield United," he said. "He (Geary) has done okay. We're going to take him and have a look at him. He's probably better as a man marker than anything and I know he has played a lot in midfield which is understandable. He's played at right back too but it's a case of looking at him and seeing if we ever need that tactic."
Staunton insisted that he hopes all or nearly all of the travelling party will see some action over the course of the two games, the first of which is against Ecuador in Giants Stadium, New Jersey on Wednesday, May 23rd with Bolivia providing the opposition in Boston three days later.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND SQUAD:Colgan (Barnsley), Henderson (Preston NE), Doyle (Birmingham City); Kelly (Birmingham City), McShane (West Brom), St Ledger (Preston NE), Bruce (Ipswich Town), Geary (Sheffield Utd), O'Cearuill (Arsenal), O'Shea (Manchester Utd), Kilbane (Wigan Ath), Potter (Wolves), Ireland (Manchester City), Hunt (Reading), O'Brien (Newcastle Utd), Doyle (Reading), Long (Reading), Folan (Wigan Ath), Murphy (Sunderland), Elliott (Sunderland), Miller (Sunderland), Stokes (Sunderland), Keogh (Wolves).
