Conor Clifford

[Charlie Darwin]

... Crawley aren't non-league.

[tetsujin1979]

playing in a trial game at Sheffield United today, according to twitter: https://twitter.com/search/conor+clifford+sufc

<EDIT>

Sheffield United lost 2-0: http://www.sufc.co.uk/news/article/20130128-crewe-report-624989.aspx

[Crosby87]

The clock is ticking Magic Man.

[Charlie Darwin]

I hope he can get his career back on track and play at a decent level. After losing James McClean and Shane Duffy already in the past few months, it would be an awful shame if Clifford was finished too.

[Sullivinho]

Not to mention Frankie Sutherland, who we recently lost to some kind of indeterminate stress disorder. Dark days.

[liamoo11]

Interestin piece in star pointing out 5 of the biggest schoolboy moves to england. Cliffords move they say was a 1million package, bradley is 400k, stokes 1.1 million, rob brady 750k, masterson 1.25million

[tetsujin1979]

Interestin piece in star pointing out 5 of the biggest schoolboy moves to england. Cliffords move they say was a 1million package, bradley is 400k, stokes 1.1 million, rob brady 750k, masterson 1.25million
Have to admit I didn't know who Masterson was, one quick google turns up this article about his move to Liverpool: http://www.herald.ie/sport/other-sports/dublin-schoolboy-conor-13-signs-to-liverpool-for-1m-3186509.html
Another player mentioned in the same article. Brandon Payne, has just signed for Celtic: http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=3614

[BonnieShels]

Masterson was in my brothers' school I think. From what he says (if it is him) he's a cracking player.

There was an even younger lad from Lucan last year I heard being scouted... anyone remember or know?

[Olé Olé]

I remember chatting to a scout at the Kennedy Cup the year Clifford was playing and he was the name on everybody's lips. I remember talking to a Newcastle scout who said Clifford was good, but the hottest Kennedy Cup prospect he'd ever seen had to be Christy Fagan...

[liamoo11]

Interestin piece in star pointing out 5 of the biggest schoolboy moves to england. Cliffords move they say was a 1million package, bradley is 400k, stokes 1.1 million, rob brady 750k, masterson 1.25million

I wonder if many of these clubs felt it was money well spent? Arsenal made about a million i think on stokes, utd made a million on brady, chelsea woont make any money on clifford, bradley unfortunately didnt become the player he seemed he might be so cost arsenal and fagan if he was that highly thought of must have cost utd a good bit and they got nothing for him

[tetsujin1979]

happens all the time, clubs gamble on young players developing into stars that will increase their revenue, either by selling them on, or by helping them win trophies

[Charlie Darwin]

The profit on Ronaldo alone would pay for 100 Christy Fagans.

[Dodge]

Fagan's still good enough to be playing at a good level in England too IMO.

Tets has it spot on though

[tetsujin1979]

been released by Chelsea, along with four other players: http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/3061854/title/five-under-21s-released

[liamoo11]

been released by Chelsea, along with four other players: http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/3061854/title/five-under-21s-released

God that was a pretty depressing read. The coach didnt paint a pretty picture

[tricky_colour]

Conor Clifford

'Conor came over from Ireland at Under-15. We've always given him support and help that comes with bringing someone from abroad without their immediate friends and family with them. I hope to keep in contact with him. He had a fantastic time in the Youth Cup for us, and his challenge is to adjust from youth to men's football. He's gaining some fantastic experience with the Irish national team and he's a gusty, determined, hard-tackling player, who has scored a lot of goals. I hope a club goes with him.'

That's isn't an unpretty picture, remember Roy Keane was turned down by Brighton And Hove Albion and Alan Shearer by Newcastle yet he still ended up on Match of the Day.

[liamoo11]

That's isn't an unpretty picture, remember Roy Keane was turned down by Brighton And Hove Albion and Alan Shearer by Newcastle yet he still ended up on Match of the Day.

Fair enough. I suppose the general tone of his views on all the lads just seemed sad especially the boys who were there from such a young age

[tricky_colour]

Fair enough. I suppose the general tone of his views on all the lads just seemed sad especially the boys who were there from such a young age

Some seemed worse than others, I guess you have to read between the lines a bit perhaps.
"his challenge is to adjust from youth to men's football." can be read as he has failed to make the step up, however he is still young
at 21, a lot of our players have been late developers.
Others sound like they are plagued with injuries.

[tetsujin1979]

reading his career history, it's a lot like Richie Partridge - snapped up by a top club at a young age, brought through the youth ranks, out on loan a few times and sat on the bench for the senior international side
Hope it doesn't end the same way

[Jofspring]

In fairness though how many youth players at Chelsea have stepped up to the senior team over the last ten years? You could probably count it on one hand. Once you reach a certain level/age at clubs that just buy in whenever they need a player it's time to move on. So many excellent players left top clubs to progress their careers and in the long run benefitted. It would be worse for Clifford to have spent another couple of years at Chelsea hopping to make the step up, only for the club to continually buy in players in his position and release him at 24/25.

[liamoo11]

reading his career history, it's a lot like Richie Partridge - snapped up by a top club at a young age, brought through the youth ranks, out on loan a few times and sat on the bench for the senior international side
Hope it doesn't end the same way

God I loved richie partridge. Some great nights watching him play for the irish youth teams. used to get big crowds out to those youth games. Partridge and mcphail were unreal. Ritchie had a great loan at coventry scored few crackers bit like brady at hull now

[Crosby87]

If you had to bet right now, would you say that CC ever plays in the senior Irish team from this point on? I don't mean picked, I mean actually sees match time in a competitive fixture. I would say its 10-1 against.

[Carrigaline]

He was on trial with Sheffield United but it appears he was unable to secure a contract.

http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/sheffield-united-danny-wilson-says-go-for-broke-1-5401047

[Paddy Garcia]

He was on trial with Sheffield United but it appears he was unable to secure a contract.

http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/sheffield-united-danny-wilson-says-go-for-broke-1-5401047

Feck it

[nigel-harps1954]

He'd be as well signing over here for a season at this rate.

[gastric]

He seemed to do well when on loan at Notts County. Hopefully this might at least secure him a short term deal.

[Charlie Darwin]

He'd be as well signing over here for a season at this rate.
In my Football Manager he signs for my Rovers team before moving to a continental outfit for 5 million+.

[Colbert Report]

What a complete and total bust. What was the problem with the guy? I follow him on twitter and he seems like a decent enough kid. Did he just stop developing or are there other problems?

[SkStu]

RIP Conor. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

[Kingdom]

Time to come home Conor. Pats or Rovers. Prove yourself, get back across the water and then push on. Fahey's done it. Don't waste your time plumbing it around League 1 or 2.

[Olé Olé]

It's been a while since an Irish player has come through and made it at a top club (John O'Shea the last?). In retrospect, given the copious number of youth's piled onto Chelsea's books, it might not have been the best move for him. He would have got more attention like Robbie and Duffer did at Wolves and Blackburn, and like Noe Baba has sought to do at Fulham.

[wonder88]

What sort of money would someone like him be looking for, 3k a week ?

[Dodge]

Time to come home Conor. Pats or Rovers. Prove yourself, get back across the water and then push on. Fahey's done it. Don't waste your time plumbing it around League 1 or 2.

He's a pretty big Pats fan too. Regular match goer before heading to Chelsea

http://www.stpatsfc.com/media.php?id=2849

[Carrigaline]

What sort of money would someone like him be looking for, 3k a week ?
The average League 1 player earns £1,500 a week, considering that it isn't like Clifford is being inundated with contract offers, and the fact that he is having to go on trial to secure a club, I would be shocked if he got offered more than £1,000 a week.

[Charlie Darwin]

The average League 1 player earns £1,500 a week, considering that it isn't like Clifford is being inundated with contract offers, and the fact that he is having to go on trial to secure a club, I would be shocked if he got offered more than £1,000 a week.
The thing is that he needs a club to offer him that, and most clubs have spent their entire budgets by now.

[Adrock]

Scottish premier league would be a good bet. If you've got any ability whatsoever you're going to get game time and its easy enough to make a name for yourself up there and then move on to something better. That something better seems to be english league 1 though these days.
Sure LOI is a possibility too but very rarely do you see players like Fahey who get bombed out by an english club at a young age then make it back in to the big time.

[Charlie Darwin]

Fahey left England on his own terms to be fair.

[Crosby87]

Why does Ad have a red card?
Did you show your spikes?

[Adrock]

I think it was for possessing heretical views on the grannyrule.

So weren't Arsenal and Aston Villa good enough for Fahey or was he just missing the taste of fresh brewed Guinness?

[kennedmc]

It's been a while since an Irish player has come through and made it at a top club (John O'Shea the last?). In retrospect, given the copious number of youth's piled onto Chelsea's books, it might not have been the best move for him. He would have got more attention like Robbie and Duffer did at Wolves and Blackburn, and like Noe Baba has sought to do at Fulham.

Nothing to do with the move to Chelsea. The problem is Clifford is not good enough. In my opinion a successful youth team and reserve team career doesn't count as an indicator for future success; there are many players who have had that and haven't made it

If Clifford was a decent prospect he would be snapped up by another pl or championship team.

[Kingdom]

Nothing to do with the move to Chelsea. The problem is Clifford is not good enough. In my opinion a successful youth team and reserve team career doesn't count as an indicator for future success; there are many players who have had that and haven't made it

If Clifford was a decent prospect he would be snapped up by another pl or championship team.

To be fair to Clifford he did show a bit when he was with Reid at Plymouth. When it came time to renew the loan agreement he couldn't because Plymouth were put under a transfer embargo - that was nearly 3 years ago. Had he got the second half of the season there who knows where he might be now.

As for Fahey leaving Arsenal, I know for a fact Brady was gutted when he left, and did all he could to get him back, but the fella just wasn't able to live there.

[paul_oshea]

A few of us have been having this discussion offline. The question we are trying to answer fits with the paddy madden thread also. WHy would a player who won the Youth Cup with Chelsea, be sent to the lower ends of the lowest tier in professional English football, rather than a top championship side. Maybe he never got a fair chance at a side who actually played football. For a midfielder with flair in the lower end of english football, its difficult to show that quality, what they really want at that level is someone who will get stuck in.

The correlation to the paddy madden discussion was around the fact that if you are a level above what you are playing with, particularly as a striker, the runs you make or positions you get into, would not be spotted by someone not on the same level. In cliffords case, this could be spotting a ball or whatever but the (proposed)receiving player wouldn't anticipate where he should be(best placed) positionally.

[Charlie Darwin]

It hasn't been explicitly said but I think there are issues with his attitude. He left Notts County reportedly after having a tantrum because he wasn't getting enough games. He is physically tailor-made for League One so it's not because he wasn't able for it. I suspect he was used to being a Chelsea player and wasn't prepared to accept the same life his teammates had. No comparison with Fahey can be made - at this point in his career, they are opposites.

[kennedmc]

A few of us have been having this discussion offline. The question we are trying to answer fits with the paddy madden thread also. WHy would a player who won the Youth Cup with Chelsea, be sent to the lower ends of the lowest tier in professional English football, rather than a top championship side. Maybe he never got a fair chance at a side who actually played football. For a midfielder with flair in the lower end of english football, its difficult to show that quality, what they really want at that level is someone who will get stuck in.

The correlation to the paddy madden discussion was around the fact that if you are a level above what you are playing with, particularly as a striker, the runs you make or positions you get into, would not be spotted by someone not on the same level. In cliffords case, this could be spotting a ball or whatever but the (proposed)receiving player wouldn't anticipate where he should be(best placed) positionally.


I don't think there is any mystery here. Go through previous youth cup teams in pl clubs and the vast majority of players don't make it to a high level.

The reason this is being discussed is Clifford is Irish, he was a youth team player at a high profile club and he was hyped up by us. However lots can change particularly between the ages of 15 and 19.

[tetsujin1979]

on trial at Leicester, scored the winner today for their u21's in a 2-1 win over Birmingham: http://www.lcfc.com/news/article/180212-u21s-city-2-birmingham-1-664272.aspx?pageView=full#anchored

[squareball]

He does have a knack for scoring crackers. He scored some beauties for Chelsea reserves and underage sides while he was there. Attitude seems to be his biggest problem as he has all the skill and technique needed to make it. I think he will need to find a club with a good manager who can get through to him.

I don't know why any young player would be let sign for a top ten EPL side as no manager has the balls to promote young players from their own youth set ups. there was a time when a few players got injured that 17 or 18 year olds got a chance now 21 or 22 year olds are barely trusted in the EPL with managers owing to inexperience. Squads in the EPL are too big with 2 or even 3 teams of second rate players at most clubs. If a player gets injured the experienced journeyman will fill in and if he gets injured they will play someone out of position.

[tetsujin1979]

He does have a knack for scoring crackers. He scored some beauties for Chelsea reserves and underage sides while he was there. Attitude seems to be his biggest problem as he has all the skill and technique needed to make it. I think he will need to find a club with a good manager who can get through to him.

I don't know why any young player would be let sign for a top ten EPL side as no manager has the balls to promote young players from their own youth set ups. there was a time when a few players got injured that 17 or 18 year olds got a chance now 21 or 22 year olds are barely trusted in the EPL with managers owing to inexperience. Squads in the EPL are too big with 2 or even 3 teams of second rate players at most clubs. If a player gets injured the experienced journeyman will fill in and if he gets injured they will play someone out of position.
Was looking around on some Leicester forums to see if there was anything on how he got on, came across something interesting. The head scout at Leicester, Steve Walsh, was with Pearson at Hull, and he insisted on bringing him in as part of his backroom staff when he was offered the job at Walker Stadium. Before that Walsh was the head scout there at Chelsea under Mourinho. Wonder if that's how he got the trial?

[Colbert Report]

Squads in the EPL are too big with 2 or even 3 teams of second rate players at most clubs.

Very, very true. This is why I think it should go back to only one sub from the current three. Have teams be able to name only a squad of only sixteen senior players, the rest of them u-21s. It would only work if all the different associations signed on, to lessen the advantage in European competition of one country allowing an unlimited roster size.

It will never happen, of course. Money is going to kill our great sport.

[elroy]

Is there really any solid basis for questioning the lads attitude? Only report seems to be of an apparent hissyfit thrown at Notts County. Seems a bit harsh.

[Crosby87]

Who's the Brunette? Hubba Hubba.
https://twitter.com/conorclifford91