They say the talent isn't there any more, that there are no budding Bradys, Gileses or McGraths, that the Republic of Ireland's long-term football prospects are bleak, that they're doomed to also-ran international status by the time Keane Snr retires, that young Irish fellas are too busy with their PlayStations these days to hone their footballing skills in the back yard, that English clubs are too interested in foreign players to give the young Irish fellas a chance, that . . . hold on.
No-one's arguing that Raybans will be required to look into the future of Irish football but a quick scan of the end-of-season "Mick McCarthy's Men In Britain" statistics suggests that maybe things aren't quite as grim as we're led to believe.
In fact enough Republic of Ireland under-18 and under-21 players made the breakthrough to English first-team football this season to suggest that the pool of talent available to McCarthy and his successor (well, Alex Ferguson will be looking for a job in 12 months' time) might have a bit more depth to it than the harbingers of doom forecast.
In the Premiership alone Damien Delaney (Leicester), John McGrath (Aston Villa), Richie Partridge (Liverpool), Thomas Butler (Sunderland) and Brendan McGill (Sunderland) all made debuts this season while Barry Quinn (Coventry) and Jason Gavin (Middlesbrough) rung up over 40 appearances between them, acquitting themselves well in struggling sides.
After his surreally short fling with life in Serie A, Robbie Keane returned to English football with Leeds and even if he never quite lived up to the lofty expectations set for him he still managed to score nine goals in 14 Premiership starts. His team-mate Stephen McPhail had most of his season destroyed by injury but, still only 22, he remains our best hope for some midfield craft and guile at senior international level.
Michael Reddy got some useful first team experience under his belt on loan to Swindon but, having returned to Sunderland, will hope to see more Premiership action next season - McCarthy will hope so too, seeing as he needs all the attacking options he can get.
Illness and injury put paid to another young Irish striker's hopes of a first-team breakthrough - next season can only be better for Arsenal's Graham Barrett, even if he concludes a move is his best chance of first team football.
Spurs' Stephen Carr and Gary Doherty, though, will look back on the campaign with considerable satisfaction. Carr was voted the Premiership's top right-back (in the Professional Footballers' Association's `team of the year') while Doherty established himself at the centre of Spurs' defence - he will hope that Glenn Hoddle shares his predecessor George Graham's confidence in his abilities.
Blackburn's promotion to the Premiership is also good news for McCarthy but how many of the six-strong Irish contingent in their first team squad will still be at the club come August remains to be seen. Jason McAteer is still being linked with a move to Celtic, Damien Duff (Blackburn's player of the year) is coveted, we're told, by several Premiership clubs, including Liverpool and Newcastle, Alan Kelly is almost definitely on his way out (last linked with Cardiff) and Alan Mahon (on loan from Sporting Lisbon) is also a Celtic target.
Fulham's promotion could also see Steve Finnan's international prospects flourish but former Aston Villa and Everton midfielder Gareth Farrelly will probably need Bolton to see off Preston in next weekend's Premiership promotion play-off if he is to become a more regular fixture in senior Irish squads. Should Preston prevail don't write off Brian Barry-Murphy's international prospects. Yes, he's Jimmy's lad.
Encouraging Irish developments at Nottingham Forest this season with two of the stars of the Republic's 1998 UEFA under-16 Championship success, Keith Foy and Andy Reid, making a name for themselves. The highlight of Foy's season came back in November when he scored a sublime goal, controlling a headed clearance on his thigh and then lobbing the goalkeeper from five yards outside the box with a left-foot volley. The goalkeeper? Tranmere's Joe Murphy, Foy's team-mate from that heady night in McDiarmid Park, Perth.
Other worthy mentions - Keith Andrews (the 21-year-old who has established himself as a first team regular with Wolves), the Millwall trio of Stephen Reid, Richard Sadlier and Robbie Ryan (notable contributors to the club's promotion to division one), Rotherham's Alan Lee (15 goals in their promotion-winning campaign), Stoke's James O'Connor and Clive Clarke (O'Connor is being tipped for a move to a Premiership club this summer, with Everton the current favourites) and Celtic's Colin Healy (21 appearances in a treble-elect winning side).
Goalkeepers with first-team experience this season? No worries - McCarthy has Dean Kiely, Keith Branagan, Shay Given, Alan Kelly, Barry Roche, Kelham O'Hanlon, Joe Murphy, Gary Kelly, Daniel Connor, Dean Delaney and Nick Colgan to choose from. So, cheer up, maybe the future's not so bleak after all.
