Updated at 19.38
EX-IRELAND INTERNATIONAL Kenny Cunningham has backed Aston Villa’s Ciaran Clark to shine this season, while the he also believes that the Premier League’s big four “missed the boat” on James McCarthy.
The pundit was an accomplished defender during his time as a player, earning 72 caps for Ireland in the process.
And Cunningham feels Aston Villa player Clark has yet to fulfil his potential at international level.
“I’d be disappointed and I am disappointed that he isn’t already [a key Ireland player] at 25 years of age.
“I saw him a number of years ago [for the first time] and have been a big fan of his.
“He’s not the most physically imposing, but he’s tenacious, and you can see he enjoys his defending. He’s left-footed and comfortable with the ball at his feet.”
And while acknowledging the player’s talent, Cunningham feels there is still much room for improvement in Clark’s game.
“As a young defender, there are certain aspects you can only learn through experience — in particular, decision-making. When you have the kind of tenacious streak he has, it can be difficult taking a step back away from the ball rather than towards the ball.
“He has been found out a little bit — as defenders all are at that stage — in terms of being too close to a striker and maybe getting done by a bit of clever movement.
“It’s been a learning process for him, but this is a big season for him at club and international level. And I’ll be disappointed if he’s not pushing strongly for the starting XI come the end of this season.”
The Setanta analyst also feels the presence of Clark in the Irish team would give manager Martin O’Neill greater scope to experiment.
“If he was to come into the team at centre-half, it frees up a couple of options. Marc Wilson, in particular, is a player we can utilise in a number of areas. Some people talk about maybe having a problem at left-back — that’s resolved if Marc plays there. As a holding midfielder, he’s very comfortable. That’s somewhere else where we can use him. Wilson has forged a decent partnership with John O’Shea, but he’s a player whose versatility we could utilise.
“And we can only do that if Martin has the confidence to put in another centre-half. Ciaran has all the attributes — he just has to put it together now and get a good run of games. I like him as a player and I think without a doubt, he’s good enough.”
(Kenny Cunningham, pictured with his fellow Setanta pundits)
Cunningham also played down the significance of the number of Irish players currently plying their trade in the Championship.
“Ideally, you want your players playing at the highest possible level. I wouldn’t overstate it, though, so long as you’re playing regularly at a competitive level… I played as a Championship player in the Ireland team and others did as well, so I don’t think that’s huge. I don’t think it’s the case that if we have a load of Premier League players, suddenly we have a chance. It’s too crude an equation to use.”
Another Irish player that will attract particular interest this year is Robbie Brady, after his big-money move to Norwich in the summer.
And Cunningham feels the player is best suited as far forward as possible, rather than the left-back slot he has occupied for Ireland of late.
“Robbie Brady is one for the future. It’s about getting the best out of him. And how do you get the best out of him? Is it as an orthodox left-back? Is it in a wing-back position that we’ve seen him play for Hull?
“Does that mean we have to change the shape of the team to accommodate him and maybe Seamus Coleman? They play so strongly in those positions that there’s an argument for it going forward.
“Robbie is an interesting player — I like to see him as high up the pitch as possible… In that left-back position, you have to make up 30 or 40 yards up the pitch, before you put a top-quality ball in. He’s so versatile that you could probably use him centrally as well. There’s quite a bit of excitement around him and rightly so.”
And as for James McCarthy, whose new contract with Everton has just been announced?
“I think James is good enough to play for one of the top four clubs and I think they missed the boat when Everton snapped him up a couple of years ago.
“But I don’t think it’s a problem for him playing at Everton with a manager like Martinez. He’s playing in a good environment at a good level.
“He’s learning the game. You need a coach to sit you down, sit you in front of the TV and say this is what you have to do better, this is what you’ve got to improve. You need those type of people around you.”
Presenter Conor Morris and pundits Kenny Cunningham, John Hartson and Matt Holland were at the Setanta Sports studios in Dublin today to mark the return of Premier League Central for the 2015/2016 Premier League season. Premier League Central, the first place to see Premier League highlights, is back on the air this Saturday, August 8th at 8.30pm.
Andy Reid has always been a quality player, unfortunately his career coincided with the premier league craze for big athletic centre midfielders and out and out wide players. 442 was his downfall that is why he’s been excellent the last 18 months, he has no position with Forest just picks it up anywhere on the pitch and makes things happen. Donkeys like Chris and Pat just form an opinion without reason, they’ll be wavin their plastic hammers all over the pub when he’s helping Ireland to the next Euros
Fair point but dies that still not mean that physically Reid was/is not good enough for the premier league? He’s had 2 or 3 opportunities to prove himself as a premiership player and has failed every time. It takes a lot more than the ability to “pick out a pass” when it comes to making it at the highest level. I believe Reid wasted his best years because he did not give total and unrelenting commitment to ensuring that he was at his absolute maximum level of physical fitness, which would have allowed him to be a consistent performer at premier league level. Hence he would often string a few decent performances together at Sunderland in particular, then disappear for a few months and suddenly appear again “looking fitter than he has ever looked” (WTF?) for another spell of good form before disappearing again. That kind of attitude would have been acceptable in the 70s or 80s but not in the modern game.
As for Reid’s future with Ireland, well, the guy is thirty something so he is hardly the future is he? Could be a decent option off the bench if we were struggling to break down Georgia away for example, but it would be embarrassing to see him up against Ozil, Kroos, Gotze and co.
The journal has an obsession with Andy Reid though, so expect plenty more articles on him while he is still in the mix for Ireland selection.
I disagree with your point about him not being good enough for the PL, what I was saying was the type of football being played at those clubs (Sunderland, Spurs) at the time was where centre mids were box to box and wide players who could run at people. Now with various formations being used by PL clubs there is more of a demand for players who play between the lines, he could easily play 3/4 of the teams in the premiership now, good players need good players around them. What are all the “” regarding?
I just think he’s vastly overrated by the Irish media that’s all. Who are the 3-4 sides that play these formations nowadays that would accommodate Reid? Teams like west ham/crystal palace/stoke/Sunderland play the same shite football today that they were playing ten years ago.
He’s nowhere near good enough to play for a top 6 side. He lacks pace to play behind the strikers for a top level side. His work rate was also exposed when he came up against top players of a similar style. The difference between the likes of Reid and the world class creative players is their willingness to work off the ball. Based on his career to date I think he has been lazy in the past and that’s what I meant by the quotes about him being in the shape of his career/lost a few pounds etc.. Shouldn’t he always have maintained that level of conditioning? Is that not what he is paid to do?
Professional footballers getting praised for losing a few pounds of fat?? It’s a joke. Like Roy Keane said “it’s like praising the postman for delivering mail”
That’s my opinion anyway
Those comments should be reported on the basis of nothing but stupidity
Ah booo
Feel bad for him I know he has it in him but hasn’t gotten a big enough chance to prove it!
He has had multiple chances at premier league level and with Ireland throughout his career and has never taken any of them or nailed down a proper starting place for a sustained period of time under any manager? Were all his previous managers wrong then?
“Nottingham Forest star”
I must remember that next time I need an example for the meaning of oxymoron.
^^^^^^^
You’re an idiot. You know nothing about football. Better not to speak when you’ve nothing but stupid things to say.
Hes fat anyway!
Big loss for Ireland, he can do things that others can’t.
But Forest, already crippled with injuries, are absolutely fooked without Reid.
Still makes me angry at least 4 years of international duties were robbed off him. Wouldn’t mind if Whelan and Green were worthy their places in the squad