THE COMMON REFRAIN through Giovanni Trapattoni’s time has been that this Irish group isn’t as accomplished as the players of the past, that it isn’t as experienced. But now (injuries permitting) that the dust has settled one the selection, how does the 2012 squad actually compare to its four predecessors when you really break it down?

Here, we’ve gone through the key facts and figures…

Breakdown

1988: 2 goalkeeper, 5 defenders, 7 midfielders, 6 forwards (20 players)

1990: 2 goalkeeper, 8 defenders, 6 midfielders, 6 forwards (22 players)

1994: 2 goalkeepers, 7 defenders, 9 midfielders, 4 forwards (22 players)

2002: 3 goalkeepers, 8 defenders, 8 midfielders, 4 forwards (23 players)

2012: 3 goalkeepers, 7 defenders, 8 midfielders, 5 forwards (23 players)

Average age

1988: 27.1 years

1990: 28.4 years

1994: 28.5 years

2002: 26.9 years

2012: 28.3 years

Club level

1988: 12 English top division, 1 French top tier, 3 Scottish top division, 3 English second tier, 1 English third tier

1990: 12 English top division, 1 Spanish top division, 1 French top tier, 2 Scottish top division, 6 English second tier

1994: 16 English top tier, 2 Scottish top tier, 4 English second tier

2002: 17 English top tier, 6 English second tier

2012: 16 English top tier, 1 Russian top tier, 1 Scottish top tier, 1 American top tier, 4 English second tier

Main club representation

1988: 3 Celtic, 3 Liverpool, 3 Manchester United

1990: 3 Liverpool, 2 Celtic, 2 Aston Villa, 2 Blackburn Rovers

1994: 4 Aston Villa, 2 Manchester United, 2 Manchester City

2002: 3 Leeds United, 2 Newcastle United, 2 Sunderland, 2 Charlton Athletic, 2 Blackburn Rovers, 2 Wimbledon

2012: 3 Wolves, 2 West Brom, 2 Aston Villa, 2 Stoke City, 2 Fulham, 2 Sunderland, 1 Leicester City, Millwall, Celtic, Everton, Birmingham, Spartak Moscow, LA Galaxy, Hull City, 2 unattached

Trophies won

1988: 1 European Cup, 2 Uefa Cups, 1 Cup Winners Cup, 9 English titles, 7 Scottish leagues, 12 FA Cups, 7 English league cups , 4 Scottish cups, 1 Scottish league cup, 3 Irish titles, 2 FAI Cups (49 overall)

1990: 1 European Cup, 1 Uefa Cup, 1  Cup Winners Cup, 14 English titles, 7 Scottish titles, 17 FA Cups, 8 English league cups, 7 Scottish Cups (55 medals overall)

1994: 1 European Cup, 2 Cup Winners Cups, 13 English titles, 5 Scottish titles, 13 FA Cups, 11 English league cups, 3 Scottish cups, 1 Scottish league cup (49 medals overall)

2002: 1 Champions League, 7 English titles, 4 FA Cups, 5 English league cups (17 medals overall)

2012: 1 Champions League, 8 English titles, 5 Scottish titles, 2 FA Cups, 9 English league cups, 3 Scottish Cups, 3 Scottish league cups, 1 Western Conference, 1 MLS Cup (33 medals overall)

Mick McCarthy announces his World Cup squad in 2002. Pic: INPHO/Andrew Paton

Key points

• Every squad has one European Cup winner’s medal
• The Italia ’90 squad, not unsurprisingly, has the most league titles
• The Italia ’90 squad has the most medals overall
• The 2002 squad has by far the least medals overall

Club breakdown

9 Aston Villa

7 Celtic

7 Liverpool

7 Sunderland

6 Manchester United

5 Blackburn Rovers

5 Leeds United

4 Wolves

4 Everton

4 Millwall

3 Arsenal, Fulham, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Spurs, Sheffield Wednesday, West Brom

2 Bournemouth, Charlton Athletic, Le Havre, Leicester City, Stoke City, Wimbledon

1 Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Derby, Ipswich Town, LA Galaxy, Middlesbrough, Motherwell, Norwich City, Portsmouth, Real Sociedad, Sheffield United, Spartak Moscow, Swindon Town, Tranmere Rovers, Walsall

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