International Appearances - Dave Savage

Last updated : 08 February 2008 By Neil Andrews
Dave Savage
Dave Savage
Republic of Ireland

Caps: 5 (of 5)
Goals: 0

Looking back, it's hard to believe that Dave Savage was once an international player, let alone the fact that he won five caps. But for one whole year in 1996, "Lily" was a fixture in a Republic of Ireland squad that played an awful lot of friendlies.

You could argue that his old club manager Mick McCarthy was still finding his feet at international level and experimenting to see if good club players could make the step up in class. But when you consider the fact that Dave Savage was in-and-out of the Millwall side at the time, it was a pretty odd experiment.

That's not to say he wasn't any good. On his day, Savage could turn games on their head and for a while, his performances had a number of Premiership clubs sniffing around Millwall, looking for another bargain. The problem with the Irish winger was that he was about as consistent as a bus timetable. What's more, he didn't really look like a footballer and half the time you wondered if he knew what he was doing as run headlong towards the corner flag.

Savage was as frustrating as they come. One week he'd terrorise opposition defenders, the next, he'd be an anonymous bystander for much of the game before being substituted. Injuries were partly to blame and he was forever picking up knocks, but he was the archetypal "confidence player" who would lose form the moment his head dropped. Excuses were made and the flashes of brilliance would re-appear every now and again, but the fact he was labelled "promising" for so long says an awful lot.

In the end he outstayed his welcome at The Den and left after four-and-a-half years for Northampton Town in a deal worth £100,000. His continued drift down the League Ladder seems to support the theory that his lasting legacy will be one of unfilled promise. But as those that saw him turn "future England international" Craig Short inside out at Goodison Park during a League Cup fixture will testify, when he was on fire, there was no stopping him.