Unloved: Liam Miller was released by QPR back in May

Come meet the unattached, the 600 or so singletons in English football's dating game that have been left standing on their own now that the dance has started. And of course, like every other person feeling alone out there, they have a website to highlight their existence. Givemefootball.com, run by the PFA in London, contains the details of all of the out-of-contract footballers in England who are looking to link up with a club having been released at the end of last season.


Of the 600 or so unloved footballers on the PFA's list, 15 are Irish, ranging from former internationals like Matt Holland and David Connolly, to young lads like 19-year-old former Crystal Palace defender Ryan Carolan and former Sunderland player Niall McArdle, who were both released a few months back.


The most high-profile Irish player still without a club, though, is Liam Miller. It was odd to thumb through the programme for the Ireland and Australia game during the week and see the word "unattached" beside the 28-year-old's name. Miller was released by QPR at the beginning of May having failed to impress in his 13 appearances over five months at the club, and has been keeping himself in some sort of decent physical condition by training occasionally with Cork City. The worry for the former Celtic, Manchester United and Sunderland player (how far away must those first two clubs seem to the player now?) is that he surely can't retain his place in Giovanni Trapattoni's squad for the game against Cyprus if he is still without a club by the time the Italian chooses the names in his party.


But for others, there are deeper, greater fears. Youngsters like Callum O'Shea, once of Charlton, and Gary Frewen, who was released by Reading, have hardly had a chance to sample a career in professional football. Likewise Joe Collins and Craig Mahon, released by Portsmouth and Wigan respectively. Diarmuid O'Carroll, a 22-year-old former Celtic trainee from Killarney, enjoyed just a nibble of a footballer's life before being let go by Morecombe manager Sammy McIlroy after just one season. Five goals in 29 appearances in League Two, the Kerryman's numbers last season, isn't an outrageously bad return for a striker but as the PFA have been explaining this week, most players aren't being retained because of money matters, not because they haven't been deemed good enough.


"This list has existed since the 1970s and this is the highest we've ever seen it," says a PFA spokesman. "The recession is an issue, every club below the Premier League is working on tighter financial budgets. But that's not really the biggest issue. The money is still there for players, it's just that cheaper foreign imports are taking the contracts that British and Irish players once got." One English based agent confirmed the extremity of this summer's numbers. Last season he had 15 out-of-contract players on his books; this season that figure is 30.


But there is hope. That list of 15 Irish players would have been greater a few weeks back. Ian Daly, a 19-year-old from Dublin, was released by Manchester City only to be snapped up by Greek first division side Aris Salonica. Fred Murray, a native of Clonmel, has penned a deal with Luton Town while both James O'Brien and Stephen O'Leary have been signed by Stuart McCall at Bradford having been released by Birmingham City and Luton Town respectively.


A few others have managed to wrangle themselves trials. Colin Larkin, the former Wolves, Mansfield Town, Chesterfield and Northampton forward, is currently trying to impress the management at Hartlepool United, while David Connolly has been trying his damndest of late to make QPR the tenth club of his professional career.


But for some, it could just be the end of the road, particularly at the top end of the age bracket. Willie Boland, 34, was released by Hartlepool this summer and has yet to resurface. Thirty-five-year-old Matt Holland spent a few weeks on trial at Colchester United recently but was not offered a deal by manager Paul Lambert. At least the 49-times capped international appears to have a promising media career ahead of him, having acted as a summariser for BBC Radio during the last World Cup, and for ITV in the UEFA Cup over the past few seasons.


As for Miller, and all other players without a club, at least any comeback isn't influenced by the closing of the transfer window on 31 August. Free agents are allowed to sign for a club at any point in the football season, which may make them particularly attractive for clubs suffering a mid-season injury crisis. Still, the sooner the Irish unattached get themselves paired up and join the dance, the better.


In Limbo


* The Oldies
Willie Boland
David Connolly
Matt Holland


* The Inbetweeners
Liam Miller
Diarmuid O'Carroll
Barry Quinn


* The Kids
Ryan Carolan
Joe Collins
David Cooper
Gary Frewen
Jeff Imudia
Craig Mahon
Niall McArdle
Kevin O'Brien
Callum O'Shea