Irish squad shows development of league football in Ireland

Giovanni Trappatoni's latest training squad shows just how far the Irish league has progressed.

The squad of 23 (now 22 because Stephen Ward has pulled out due to a knee operation) has been named to get inexperienced players accustomed to life with the senior squad. Not all the players named will be in the squad for teh upcoming friendlies against Paraguay and Algeria because the more senior members will join the squad at a later date.

There were a few surprise selections in the squad, Paul Green the biggest surprise, but there were also long awaited call-ups for others like Ward and Keith Fahey.

First international call-ups are not the only thing that Fahey and Ward share. Both players were playing here in Ireland in recent years and since their moves across the pond have excelled. As well as Fahey and Ward, former Eircom League stars Shane Long and Ipswich keeper Brian Murphy as included in the training squad.

The inclusion of the former League of Ireland players is a sign of just how far the league has come. The standard is only getting better still with more and more players getting moves to England from the Airtricity League. Not only that, but players are now starting to stay in Ireland for longer because the realisation is that they can stay in Ireland and continue their education instead of going over to England very young and potentially battling home-sickness. The Airtricity league will continue to get better and draw in more crowds and credit must be given to the FAI for the hard work that has seen the league become relevant once again.