Trap’s eyes: The Irish abroad

Trap's too lazy to do it, so leave it to JOE to look back on the performances of the established and potential members of the Ireland squad over the weekend.

By William Nestor

The FAI are broke and running out of scouts and Giovanni Trapattoni would seemingly prefer to stock up on fine food, wine and weather in Italy rather than check out how Ireland’s finest are getting on across the pond and beyond.

Certainly, when compared to Fabio Capello, who is a ubiquitous presence at Premier League games on a weekly basis, Il Trap’s attendance at games involving the boys in green is extremely poor. How else do you explain his decision to stick with Kevin Kilbane, the man who is so far over the hill that he came down a mountain?

Leave it to JOE then, to report on how both the established and potential members of the Ireland squad on a weekly basis. Here are the pick of the bunch (albeit slim pickings) from this weekend which saw a host of games in the nPower Championship postponed and a blanket cancellation of fixtures in Scotland due to the adverse weather conditions.

Premier League

Seamus Coleman (Everton): Not yet a Trapattoni favourite, Seamus Coleman was given a chance to shine by Everton boss David Moyes at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The Toffees stole a valuable point from Chelsea as the Donegal man was a part of an inspired performance. Coleman was involved at the business end on two close occasions. Firstly, Everton nearly took the lead after his delivery across the penalty area was fluffed by Tim Cahill and later on his effort was saved by Petr Cech. Overall, it was a solid 90 minutes from the utility man which should have caught Trap’s attention.

Keith Fahey (Birmingham): Fahey (pictured above) has been banging Trap’s door down for a regular starting position and the 27-year-old did himself a favour on Saturday with a solid performance at St Andrew’s. The former St Pat’s player is a model of consistency in the Birmingham engine room and, although he definitely needs to step it up a notch when donning the green, he is a major contender to nail down a permanent slot in midfield. A valuable point for Birmingham in the 1-1 draw on Saturday and Fahey will be pleased with his input.

nPower Championship

Andy Keogh (Cardiff): The on-loan Wolves man hasn’t exactly set the nPower Championship on fire this season, however, his injury time equaliser on Saturday saved Cardiff’s blushes against a Preston side rooted to the bottom of the table. Keogh has struggled to persuade Il Trap with his club performances to warrant a changing of the guard up front for Ireland with Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle firmly remaining first choice. Keogh’s only other goal this season for Cardiff came late on against Millwall. An impact sub for the nPower Championship contenders and a similar role internationally remains the short-term status for Keogh at the very least.

Kieren Westwood (Coventry): Shay Given must be thinking; ‘the sooner I get out of Eastlands the better’, as his international understudy continues to perform optimally for his club. We featured Westwood last week after he had an outstanding game between the sticks against Scunthorpe, keeping a clean sheet in the process. Ireland’s number two exceeded himself on Saturday against Middlesborough by saving a Leroy Lita penalty in spectacular fashion at the Ricoh Arena. High-flying Coventry went on to win one nil with fellow Irish men Lee Carsley, Ricard Keogh and Michael Doyle all turning in solid performances.