Alan Giles (right) is the major surprise inclusion in Paul Revington’s Irish squad for the EuroHockey Nations Trophy in Wrexham, which gets underway in nine day’s time.
He comes in for exam-tied Andy McConnell while Peter Caruth is another set to make a ranking-tournament debut, taking the place of the injured Mikey Watt.
Giles, 28, is selected following strong performances in the Celtic Cup where he made his debut.
That inclusion significantly bucked the trend of the past few years of only introducing players under 24 to international hockey, showing Revington’s willingness to select players based on current form.
Speaking about Giles’ selection, Revington said of the Pembroke quadruple winning captain: “Andy McConnell has withdrawn himself from selection contention due to university exams and this has made way for Alan Giles. Alan has been selected on the back of his strong performances at the Celtic Cup and will bring a strong drive to the team as a result of the multiple successes he has enjoyed over the past club season and more recently at the Celtic Cup."
The other change may prove the more significant. As Ireland’s only player to score from play in the recent Champion’s Challenge II, Watt’s failure to recover from a thumb injury is a massive loss. Caruth showed his scoring touch in the French series in the spring but will need to adapt quickly to tournament pace.
The rest of the squad remains in tact from the Champion’s Challenge II. Ireland go into the tournament as clear favourites, ranked five places above Scotland - their nearest rivals.
They get the tournament off and running on August 1 against the competition’s lowest rated side, Belarus at 10am. Barring injury before the tournament, Stephen Butler should equal the national caps record of 151 in that game, currently held by Paddy Brown.
The latter group
matches could also see a series of other personal milestones with Tim Lewis and Geoff McCabe likely to reach their 50th cap and John Jermyn make his century.
Speaking about the tournament, Revington was upbeat despite the loss of Watt. “Michael Watt (pictured, left) has unfortunately been ruled out but the team are excited for this event and will look to put all their hard work from this summer into producing positive results in Wales.”
Irish squad (club/caps):
David Harte (GK, Pembroke Wanderers/38), Iain Walker (GK, YMCA/21), Ronan Gormley (Capt, Pembroke Wanderers/82), Tim Lewis (Pembroke Wanderers/48), Joe Brennan (Glenanne/25), Conor Harte (Pembroke Wanderers/26), John Jackson (Loughborough/27), Graham Shaw (V/C, Glenanne/136), Stephen Butler (Glenanne/150), David Hobbs (Cork C of I/135), Geoff McCabe (Banbridge/47), John Jermyn (Cork C of I/97), Alan Sothern (Pembroke Wanderers/23), Eugene Magee (Banbridge/88), Timmy Cockram (Lisnagarvey/81), Mitch Darling (Three Rock Rovers/26), Alan Giles (Pembroke Wanderers/3), Peter Caruth (Annadale/9)
Non Travelling Reserves: Mark Ruddle (GK); Gareth Lennox; Karl Burns; Keith Black; Phelie Maguire; David Ames; Andrew Herbert; Gareth Watkins; Chris Cargo.
Match Schedule:
Saturday, August 1 (10am): Ireland v Belarus
Sunday, August 2 (3.30pm): Ireland v Italy
Tuesday, August 4 (1.30pm): Ireland v Russia
Thursday, August 6 / Saturday, August 8: Classification / Finals Day
Giles, 28, is selected following strong performances in the Celtic Cup where he made his debut.
That inclusion significantly bucked the trend of the past few years of only introducing players under 24 to international hockey, showing Revington’s willingness to select players based on current form.
Speaking about Giles’ selection, Revington said of the Pembroke quadruple winning captain: “Andy McConnell has withdrawn himself from selection contention due to university exams and this has made way for Alan Giles. Alan has been selected on the back of his strong performances at the Celtic Cup and will bring a strong drive to the team as a result of the multiple successes he has enjoyed over the past club season and more recently at the Celtic Cup."
The other change may prove the more significant. As Ireland’s only player to score from play in the recent Champion’s Challenge II, Watt’s failure to recover from a thumb injury is a massive loss. Caruth showed his scoring touch in the French series in the spring but will need to adapt quickly to tournament pace.
The rest of the squad remains in tact from the Champion’s Challenge II. Ireland go into the tournament as clear favourites, ranked five places above Scotland - their nearest rivals.
They get the tournament off and running on August 1 against the competition’s lowest rated side, Belarus at 10am. Barring injury before the tournament, Stephen Butler should equal the national caps record of 151 in that game, currently held by Paddy Brown.
The latter group
matches could also see a series of other personal milestones with Tim Lewis and Geoff McCabe likely to reach their 50th cap and John Jermyn make his century.Speaking about the tournament, Revington was upbeat despite the loss of Watt. “Michael Watt (pictured, left) has unfortunately been ruled out but the team are excited for this event and will look to put all their hard work from this summer into producing positive results in Wales.”
Irish squad (club/caps):
David Harte (GK, Pembroke Wanderers/38), Iain Walker (GK, YMCA/21), Ronan Gormley (Capt, Pembroke Wanderers/82), Tim Lewis (Pembroke Wanderers/48), Joe Brennan (Glenanne/25), Conor Harte (Pembroke Wanderers/26), John Jackson (Loughborough/27), Graham Shaw (V/C, Glenanne/136), Stephen Butler (Glenanne/150), David Hobbs (Cork C of I/135), Geoff McCabe (Banbridge/47), John Jermyn (Cork C of I/97), Alan Sothern (Pembroke Wanderers/23), Eugene Magee (Banbridge/88), Timmy Cockram (Lisnagarvey/81), Mitch Darling (Three Rock Rovers/26), Alan Giles (Pembroke Wanderers/3), Peter Caruth (Annadale/9)
Non Travelling Reserves: Mark Ruddle (GK); Gareth Lennox; Karl Burns; Keith Black; Phelie Maguire; David Ames; Andrew Herbert; Gareth Watkins; Chris Cargo.
Match Schedule:
Saturday, August 1 (10am): Ireland v Belarus
Sunday, August 2 (3.30pm): Ireland v Italy
Tuesday, August 4 (1.30pm): Ireland v Russia
Thursday, August 6 / Saturday, August 8: Classification / Finals Day
45 comments:
Go on the Gilo!!! Your mum will be making you sandwiches forever now!!
FACT!!!
Congratulations Alan, well deserved after your recent international performances and consistently high standards with Pembroke throughout the years.
Congrats Gilsey. Thoroughly deserved for all your hard work and great play over the past few seasons!
congrats gilesy,well deserved for your effort over the years.
what happened to phelie? surely he's a better player and more experienced than caruth....??
Don't understand how alan giles can be called up ahead of karl burns, gareth watkins or keith black who have been training all year with the seniors. what motivation is there for them to train if others are picked ahead of them??
Well done alan, a fully deserved selection, Jon
Nice one Gilise...... but why don't you hold out and play for england instead !!!... ;)
Shadow
Congrats Al, well deserved! Played at a consistently high level for a long time now and in the last season has got even better. Along with sharpie, the 2 most attacking and direct midfielders in the country.
Well done Alan! Lovely guy and a great achievement! However it really does feel like you have a selection advantage if you play for Pembroke...or am I just paranoid?
Congratulations Alan, well deserved a top quality player who always gives 100%.
C of I fan, is it worth them being picked for training with the squad even they aren't in as good form or as good a player?
July 24, 2009 9:38 AM
Yes,you probably do have a better chance of being selected for the Irish team if you play for Pembroke, they have after all got the best players,facilities,coaching setup in the country.Alan has obviously benefitted from training at a consistently high standard and pace since Craig Fulton arrived and this coupled with a very strong club season and Celtic Cup have meant hat has been the one to step into Andy McConnells shoes.I don't think anyone could have an issue with any of the Pembroke players other than Alan Giles in the squad,all of them have, in my opinion, well established themselves now, and it doesn't come as that much of a surprise to me that Alan has been included also.Best of luck to all selected,Time to get Ireland back to the top where we belong.
wow, some pretty gracious stuff there at 3.55 - how many homegrown?
'more players to come' - hmmm, do your youth players enjoy not getting any chance of playing firsts as someone else will be brought in to fill the gaps?
Sharpie, attacking & direct? Do me a favour!!! As long as you mean "directly" backwards or sideways...both Butler and Shaw are still in the team because we have failed to produce any international class midfielders - if we had they would be long gone!!!
I have deleted the comment at 3.55pm - not because it is offensive in its own right - but due to the leading nature of part of the comment, likely to lead to a discussion I have repeatedly stated is not allowed on this site.
I look forward to the day when people realise that you don't become a good player by playing every game or many games at that for the first eleven,its the quality of training and the players you train with that improve players and help them to become good first team players.So many people with so little knowledge leaving the same comments on this site whenever this kind of discussion crops up.
Giles is the class act of Pembroke who just didn't get regnised in his early 20s - in 2001 he won the Club Championship for Pembroke finally got really serious 2 yrs ago and none are beter from 25 yds out than Giles - if you've tried to mark him then you understand - Giles delighted for you one of the most understated guys of irish hockey - Monkstown (just retired)
Well done to Alan, I wish him every success.
The C of I fan has however raised a mute point. Why bother training all through the summer and winter with the squad, attending all group sessions and then someone who has not been doing this gets called up.
Players I feel will think very hard before training for Ireland in the future. This may be the long term result of this decision.
This is not a dig at Alan he is playing well.
To 11.00 am, to compare players who play in different positions is a tad silly plus each person will have an individual view on the quality of every player, as I have.
Karl is a class act and one of the most talented defenders I have ever seen. To say he is not as good as Alan is sad and I think if you asked Alan he would not want that comparison.
On another point.I have been to watch Pem train and yes they do have good facilities, coach etc. The advantage they and Leinster teams have is a very competative league.
I have been to Cork and to Belfast to watch and learn and both the Cork teams train very hard, with intensity and I would feel is at the same level as Pem as do the Ulster teams.
Its the quality of the league that makes the difference in my opinion.
Gareth Watkins very unfortuntate not to get call up ahead of Carruth, he's a better player!
We can always depend on this site to out the chinless wonders ,nastiness and ignorance their stock in trade.One does not have to guess which team Get Real supports.
Butler and Shaw are the best mid-field combination in Irish club hockey-EVER.Look at their record,not just in Ireland but in Europe club hockey.
Last season Butlers performance in IHL was truly awesome.He has played at that level since 1999 when he was first capped for Ireland.One could go on but idiots like Get Real are so blinded by their prejudice that no argument could enlighten them.
A Glens,Leinster and Ireland supporter.
Well done Alan - long overdue and thoroughly deserved. We were wondering where the next KH old boy international after Hendo was going to come from - enjoy the experience!!
the solution to who plays for ireland is simple. the irish management should set standars for coaching and training for all first division clubs. if clubs comply any player on form should be eligible to be picked. if clubs dont then their players suffer. it would do away with the elitism and confusion that exists . would up the level of club hockey and stop "elite" players becoming complacent. it happens all the time in other sports why not hockey
beyond belief that maguire and watkins are not selected. proven goalscorer for numerous years and probably one of ireland's best players in recent years being left out is a bold move by revington and if it doesn't pay off then he will be on the back foot after only several months in the job. can also see many other players in the setup that would be frustrated at his choices, could even lead to players pulling themselves out for future international matches.
Shaw and Butler have been Irelands best players for a number of years. Who ever wrote that comment hasnt got a clue about playing at the highest level. I have had the pleasure of playing with both of them at international level and trust me, they are both still excellent players and it will be a long time before Ireland produce two players like them again.. Disgrace writing a comment about players who have given so much to this country in hockey terms.
2.22 It's hardly beyond belief Phelie and Gareth were not selected. in Phelie's case, the guy is just back from Palestine after a lengthy stint away from the hockey pitch.
I'm sure he's worked pretty hard since he's been back but to get up to full fitness and into a tactical structure takes time - in that sense, Giles has been more part of the squad in recent times and so is worthy of the shout.
as for Caruth and Watkins, both have been doing fairly well and think that shout could have gone either way, not much between them.
to say this threatens Revington's credibility is quite a stretch
yeh i would also agree phelie adds something different to the squad and can also turn games around, not too sure if the fringe players selected could do the same. and from what i hear phelie is naturaly fit. all the same i wouldnt question the coaches credibility as its early days and coaches live and die by results not selection.
All ye Leinster people need to get a life well done to Alan fair play but where i am standing it looks like there is several players players outside leinster who are far better then Alan but just aren t being picked it baffles me!!
anyone know when women's squad is being announced?
My comment was about international level (not club level where I agree they both have very strong records!)
At international level, in the really big games, they simply have not delivered EVER...name me one big recent international tournament? China? Manchester? New Zealand? Where they did?
Butler isn't and hasn't been first choice flicker for 4 or 5 years now and Shaw plays a style at international level that has been recognised as a weakness of the Irish Team i.e. too defensive / safe
The original point was a simple and valid one...if we as a country could produce international class midfield players then they would have been long gone!!! It's not their fault we haven't produced but let's not kid ourselves about their performances when it mattered...
Ha. When have you seen them play for Ireland in new Zealand, manchester and China. Cause you have seen them play in some of those places you are either a player, family member or talking s**t. Have you seen them play in any of these competitions. Revington sees Shaw as one of the most attacking players in Ireland, hence he starts right midfield. Thats a fact. So where is this information based on.
Have you played against Shaw. The last thing i would call him is a negative player. I have played against him for over ten years now and i dont think i have got the better of him once. He is probably the most direct player in Leinster over the years with Justin Sherrif and is a nightmare to mark. Agree its a disgrace you would make comments about him and Butler. Good luck to lads in Euros. Put you name with your negative comments. Sure Both of them would let you know how good they are next time you play them.
10:11PM
I saw them play at all 3 tournaments and many more besides. Interesting that you don't argue about my performance assessment! Unless you are Paul Revington I'm not sure you can comment on what he thinks!! FACT!!!
10:24PM
I've played against Shaw many times at club level. My point was not about club games but the most important international games.
Let's not get hysterical! Whilst I appreciate the years of hard work etc etc my point was simply that they have failed to deliver when it really mattered for Ireland despite their inflated reputations.
I have nothing against the lads. This is simply a cold hard assessment of the situation which gets missed when I read the comments on this site.
Other country's would have got rid of them long ago but we don't have the talent coming through to replace them...
New Zealand? When i'm fairly sure Ireland didn't concede a goal when Shaw was on the pitch. As previously said if you're going to have a go at 2 of the best players Ireland have EVER produced, put your name at the end.
Throw away comment about not conceding a goal when Shaw was on the pitch, do you really believe as a midfielder he single handedly stopped Ireland conceding a goal. Useless piece of analysis that hides the real issue that someone younger needs to step up and oust him from the international set up completely and Revington needs to be strong enough to drop him for the good and progression of the Irish hockey team
10.42 I think that comment be-littles the irish back 4 and keeper. 1 man does not stop a team scoring and while Shaw might have helped I think his contribution towards not conceding was no where near the defence.Most of the time his direct opponent did not even get over our 22m line and was not interested in doing so.
I was at manchester and Shaw was probably Irelands best player with David Harte. He was a match for the Spanish, English and Dutch centre midfielders. Unless you have played along side these two players i dont think you will understand how good they are. And hobbs, jerman have been playing midfiled in all those tournaments too. Are they weak links in the Irish team too. If so, we are in trouble as they make up our whole midfield. If you saw them in New Zealand and China im guessing you are a relation of one of the players, as best to my knowledge we didnt have massive support at these tournaments due to distance. And Shaw was nominated for the player of the year that year. And Butler the following year. Talking to all players on the irish team, they will tell you that Ireland needs these two players to keep playing. The are top players. Im guessing you a jealous player or parent from the north. Sad really.
I'm beginning to bore myself now but it seems people are missing the whole point of my first post!!!
Why can't we have cold, unemotional, objective analysis of the situation rather than making out that the author is jealous, bitter, biased or stupid?
The original point was that under Passmore Ireland have been too defensive. They missed out on qualification to major tournaments because they couldn't score enough goals. The first thing that Revington did was try to change the emphasis from defence to attack.
You mention Manchester - Shaw had a good tournament overall but Ireland scored one goal (after 50 secs against Spain) in the 3qualification games. In the all important French game both Shaw and Butler where anonymous!
My point wasn't that they aren't good players by Irish standards. My point was that on the international stage they haven't been good enough and neither have Ireland.
Nobody has come on and been able to pick a really big international game where they bossed things like they do for their club - that articulates my point better than I can!!
Ireland needs to look beyond these guys for success because they have had their chance(s) and not taken them. By sticking with them at their age we are only going to be let down again...
As for the player of the year awards!! Don't get me started...
I have to agree with GET REAL. I to was in manchester and watched shaw and butler play. No doubt both are decent players, but show is too slow and too defensive! Lads like david ames, andy herbert, keith black should be given a chance, instead of labouring with aging players how are preventing the young talent from coming through!!
GET REAL, I'd like to hear your views on the player of the year awards purely because I agree with your earlier points and I think you seem to speak without bias and coherently.
Lets give the two guys the respect they deserve. Who do we replace them with at the moment in Irish hockey. I am very curious to hear who you think could step into their shoes. I really cant think of anyone.
yawn yawn yawn Shaw and Butler the 2 most capped, most influential players on the team. Not up to it! Eh GET REAL.......
If they are not up to it, how come they still control every club game. Surely if Ames, Black and Herbert are so good they should be dominating IHl games. Glenanne are in EHL and i would say that is down to both of them. If the other lads were as good as you say they would have a least pushed their clubs into contention. All the players you have named didnt make semis and showed nothing in Irish senior Cup final. Get real, you havent got a clue.
Shaw and Butler are excellent club players but mediocre internationals but unfortunately nobody has pushed them out of their comfort zones and forced them to become better or just pushed them out of the way and taken their international places.
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