‘Manager Is An Idiot’ – Reaction To Ireland Announcement As Jack Moylan Misses Out

May 19, 2026 Gary Lincoln City, News 0

Credit Graham Burrell

Jack Moylan made an explosive start to his international career, bagging three goals against Grenada this weekend.

He is the first Irish player to bag a treble on his debut for 39 years, since David Kelly, who marked his first appearance with a hat trick against Israel in 1987.

But for some smart goalkeeping, Moylan could have had four or five, and his eye-catching debut certainly had fans excited for the future. However, manager Heimir Hallgrímsson has opted not to call Jack up for his next squad to face Qatar and Canada at the end of the month.

Instead, he has opted for the likes of Troy Parrott, Dawson Devoy and Jaden Umeh, giving Jack time to rest up over the summer, ahead of his first Championship season.

However, the reaction has not been positive, despite Hallgrímsson calling up some League of Ireland talent. Jack’s exploits caught the hearts of many Irish fans, and they’ve been quick to question his lack of involvement in the 24-man squad set to face the two World Cup qualifiers in just under two week’s time.

Among those reacting on X was @andrewlaniganla, who wrote: “Surely that’s a piss take not calling up Moylan, and no Pats player is an absolute disgrace considering we’re the best team in the country, delighted for Melia.”

@CallumMurr13 added: “Moylan scored a hat-trick, but you still don’t keep him 🤣🤣”, while @GazTyler1 posted: “WTF a debutant scores a hat-trick yesterday and doesn’t get the chance to stay in the squad for those games. The Manager is an idiot.”

@JacKLynch321 also questioned the call, writing: “Moylan and Moran deserve to be given a chance, you don’t need 4 keepers.”

Credit Graham Burrell

Jack Moylan’s omission

Despite the upset supporters, it isn’t a huge surprise that Jack has missed out this time. He’s made his point, scored his hat-trick and announced himself to the international stage.

These two friendlies are meaningless; they serve no real purpose towards qualification for anything. Had Ireland qualified for the World Cup, they’d have had warm-up games, but they didn’t.

What Jack needs now is a rest. He’s had a long season with City, and capping off his campaign with a debut hat-trick is surely the icing on the cake. He now needs to rest his legs and make sure he’s recovered sufficiently for next season.

If he does that, then more call-ups will come, and in games that mean a lot more than Canada and Qatar.