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Steve Staunton's 23-man squad for Ireland's two clashes with South American opposition in the States has provided us with yet more evidence of his inability at management.
 
The 23-man group of players heading to the States was always going to be a development squad but it gave Staunton the chance to give youth a chance and try and deal with some of his sides glaring problems. In short it is a wasted opportunity.
 
Players such as Daryl Murphy, Colin Doyle, Alex Bruce, Derek Geary, Darren Potter and Andy Keogh all deserve the chance to experience senior international football and represent a fairly exciting bunch of talented players but I will reserve judgment about Sean St Ledger, Josephs O'Cearuill and Caleb Folan. Of the rest of the squad the selection of the goalkeepers is where Stan made his first mistake.
 
Surely Ipswich's Shane Supple represents a much better long-term option between the sticks than Nicky Colgan or Wayne Henderson. The 19-year-old has broken into Ipswich's squad at the back of season earning rave reviews for his performances. While Colgan and Henderson are decent keepers they are never going to reach the standard set by Shay Given.
 
Other players who can certainly feel aggrieved about their omission are Owen Garvan of Ipswich, Cardiff's Stephen McPhail, Leicester's Paddy McCarthy and most remarkably Glenn Whelan of Sheffield Wednesday.
 
But the one area of the squad that raises the most questions for me is the centre of midfield. Of the 23 players selected only one player, Stephen Ireland, has been operating as a dedicated central player and even then the Corkman has been used at times as a winger for both Ireland and Manchester City.
 
Kevin Kilbane, Darren Potter, Stephen Hunt, Alan O'Brien and Liam Miller have all played on the wings for their respective clubs. It can be argued that Potter and Millar would consider themselves as middle men but the simple fact is that their club managers don't tend to agree which makes the omission of Doyle, McPhail and Garvan simply foolish.
 
The fact that Damien Duff and Robbie Keane have been so out of sorts on the international scene since the Korean World Cup can be attributed in no small way to the lack of a creative midfielder in the Irish side. Andy Reid showed us glimpses of what he can do during Brian Kerr's tenure but there has been nobody else.
 
Ireland are seriously lacking in this particular area at the moment. With Steven Reid and Andy Reid both long-term injury concerns Staunton has been forced to play Kilbane and John O'Shea in the midfield berth with only littered success. Stephen Ireland certainly gives us an option in the above sense but he is still some way off the finished article and has yet to cement his place in the City midfield.
 
McPhail has fallen from grace since the heady days of Leeds' Champions League Semi Final but he has done remarkably well to recover from his Elland Road exit with Barnsley and Cardiff City respectively. The former Home Farm schoolboy has been one of the most consistent performers in Cardiff's topsy turvy season and he possesses one of the most cultured left feet in football. As a creative player there are few in the Irish set up to compare with the London born footballer and he has worked very hard to improve on the combatitive side of his game which for many was his achillies heal.
 
Even more remarkable is the omission of Whelan. The former Manchester City midfielder has been named Wednesday's player of the year by Owl's fans. The Dubliner, whose Wednesday's career looked over when he was placed on the transfer list by former manager Paul Sturrock, has scored eight goals this season and publicly voiced his ambition to make the summer tour. Current Owl's boss Brian Laws said of the 23-year-old: 'I can't believe for a minute he was on the transfer list; he's been inspirational in midfield, scored goals and shown energy. He's young so he can only get better.' Whelan has played 14 times for the Irish U21's, captaining them on a number of occasions and represents one of Ireland's outstanding players in the championship this season.
 
Another youngster who will be disappointed is Garvan who many believe is destined to have a say in the future of Ireland's midfield. After breaking into the Tractor Boys' first team squad last season many tipped the 19-year-old for a bright future. However injury played havoc with Garvan's progress and he struggled to re-establish himself when he returned. But re-establish himself he did and played 24 times this term earning rave reviews in the process.
 
Can someone please explain why Alan O'Brien is a better option than any of the three of these players? While O'Brien's talent is not in question he has only played one game this season and is playing in a position that we are hardly struggling for players. As I said earlier the main area of worry is in the middle of the park and any semi-detailed inspection would reveal we have players who could potentially fill that gap. The problem is that Stan obviously either doesn't agree or is simply blind to the fact.
 
Finally, John O'Shea as captain. Such an appointment says it all about Stan. O'Shea is a poster boy of mediocrity and handing the captaincy to the Waterford man sends out all the wrong signals to the development squad. Surely Paul McShane or Kevin Kilbane would have been logical choices. Certainly Kilbane has the experience and the heart to lead by example but giving McShane the nod would have set the theme for the trip.