Jack Byrne (M Shamrock Rovers b.1996)

[seanfhear]

Signed a two and a half year deal with APOEL: http://www.apoelfc.com.cy/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=23327&tt=graphic&lang=l1
Good luck to the Young Man. I hope it all works out for him.

[Fixer82]

He’s achieved everything he’s going to achieve in Ireland.
If there was no decent offer coming from England then he’s right to go to Cyprus and hopefully get some Champion's League game time

[Eirambler]

Supposedly there was genuine interest from both Edinburgh clubs but neither was going to be able to match the money on offer in Cyprus. Hope it works out for him over there and is a stepping stone to another move to a higher level.

[boynemunich]

Supposedly there was genuine interest from both Edinburgh clubs but neither was going to be able to match the money on offer in Cyprus. Hope it works out for him over there and is a stepping stone to another move to a higher level.

He got a better move than either Edinburgh club IMO. Do well there and he'll get Championship\Celtic\Rangers offers. Do well in Cyprus and he'll get Serie A\ Bundesliga\ Eredivisie offers chalk and cheese especially considering the type of player he is.

[Stuttgart88]

250k a year for playing football in a mediterranean capital. Where did it all go wrong Jack?

[sadloserkid]

He got a better move than either Edinburgh club IMO. Do well there and he'll get Championship\Celtic\Rangers offers. Do well in Cyprus and he'll get Serie A\ Bundesliga\ Eredivisie offers chalk and cheese especially considering the type of player he is.

Signing for Hearts in the Scottish second tier would have been particularly odd. I know they're top but only 5 points ahead of Dunfermline and Dundee, could very easily end up spending at least a season and a half in the Scottish Championship and that's absolutely not a step forward by any definition.

[kennedmc]

250k a year for playing football in a mediterranean capital. Where did it all go wrong Jack?

Yeah decent move for him overall - Cypriot league is ranked higher than SPL in UEFA league co-efficient.
Hopefully he will be able to establish himself in the first team there.

[nigel-harps1954]

Yeah decent move for him overall - Cypriot league is ranked higher than SPL in UEFA league co-efficient.
Hopefully he will be able to establish himself in the first team there.

Scotland is 11th...for some reason.

Cyprus is 15th.

Regardless, it's still ranked above the likes of Greece, Switzerland, Croatia, Sweden, Poland and other league's that'd, arguably, be better known on these isles. Just one place below Denmark, and if he moved somewhere like Midtjylland or Copenhagen, most people would hail it as a great move for him.

I'm unconvinced by it, to a point, mostly because of APOEL going through a terrible season, no European football next season being a real possibility, and job stabilty isn't exactly fantastic there, especially in terms of the manager, as APOEL have had 10 managers since 2017. But you'd hope Jack can really kick on from here, have a big season, and potentially attract interest from one of the top 10 European leagues.

[tetsujin1979]

Byrne named as a substitute for this evening's game against Doxa
1346500440704364544

[nigel-harps1954]

McCarthy surely under pressure there already. Four defeats in a row. Byrne got his debut tonight, coming on for the last five minutes.

[Eirambler]

And, quite predictably, Mick's been sacked.

Wouldn't be shocked if Byrne doesn't last the year there.

[seanfhear]

And, quite predictably, Mick's been sacked.

Wouldn't be shocked if Byrne doesn't last the year there.
I hope Mick had a rock solid contract ~ ~ Pretty sure he would have done ~ Sacked after 4 games = = crazy.

[ColourfulPeanut]

I hope Mick had a rock solid contract ~ ~ Pretty sure he would have done ~ Sacked after 4 games = = crazy.
He's sacked after 4 consecutive defeats, he had 8 league games and won only 2 with them near the relegation zone.

This could be terrible for Byrne but we'll have to wait and see.

[Stuttgart88]

The club's board must have known Mick's position was at risk last week when they sanctioned the move for Byrne. I suppose there was no transfer fee but even still...

We can speculate all we want now but we'll just have to see how it pans out.

[Olé Olé]

This is hardly a disaster for Byrne. Surely everyone knew Mick was under substantial pressure to keep his job, including Byrne, Mick and, as Stutts says, those upstairs at APOEL. He had enough interest elsewhere which he could have availed of is he wasn't sure it was the correct move for him.

[tetsujin1979]

Interviewed in the program for APOEL's game today with AEK Larnaca: https://online.fliphtml5.com/bevdm/vyou/
Unfortunately, it's in Greek

Byrne missed out on the game because he's on a separate training plan to get back to fitness
1349072839773745154

[Olé Olé]

Interviewed in the program for APOEL's game today with AEK Larnaca: https://online.fliphtml5.com/bevdm/vyou/
Unfortunately, it's in Greek

Byrne missed out on the game because he's on a separate training plan to get back to fitness
1349072839773745154


That's not why he missed out on the game. Everyone knows he missed out on the game because he's Mick's man and he's stuffed up his career joining APOEL.

[tetsujin1979]

well then everyone will be right if he doesn't rejoin the squad later this week

[Bielsa´s irish]

well as the old men said in the Holy, this kid had been salted by lady luck then

[ontheotherhand]

well then everyone will be right if he doesn't rejoin the squad later this week

TBF I think Ole Ole was joking. He linked to the obvious explanation for Byrne's absence. Still, it's bizarre to me how much Irish football fans seem to want him to fail. I get why a Bohs or Dundalk supporter might but the run of the mill barstooler Irish fan....why knock a prospect? Parrot doesn't get the same levels of disdain for example and he was hyped as much. Suppose it's a way to knock the LOI for them. Odd altogether.

[joey B]

Jack Byrne is ineligible for this game because its postponed from last year and you can't play players that werent in the squad when the game was meant to be played,bizzare to me but thats the rules they follow.....

[Trequartista20]

Give the lad a chance...

[tetsujin1979]

Second half substitute today
1350827849985495040

[Exgrad]

They seem to be winning matches since McCarthy was shown the door.

[pineapple stu]

Mick just laid the groundwork sure!

[Olé Olé]

20 minutes on the field? Fair play to the new manager there- get Mick's man, Jack, in the shop window. Maybe they can extract a fee from an LOI side or whichever League One side that Mick takes over.

[Exgrad]

Mick just laid the groundwork sure!

Just like he did for Stephen Kenny. I wonder if he got paid €300k a game in Cyprus though? Maybe not.

[John83]

Just like he did for Stephen Kenny. I wonder if he got paid €300k a game in Cyprus though? Maybe not.
Maybe they had an even better negotiator than John Delaney, as unlikely as that sounds.

[Trequartista20]

20 minutes on the field? Fair play to the new manager there- get Mick's man, Jack, in the shop window. Maybe they can extract a fee from an LOI side or whichever League One side that Mick takes over.

He's only after joining the club and only just made his debut.

Are we completely writing him off already?

[Olé Olé]

He's only after joining the club and only just made his debut.

Are we completely writing him off already?

I'm just kidding. I'm going to quit my impressions of the anti-Byrne crew that spent a day screaming when Mick was sacked.

[Trequartista20]

Sorry, just applying Poe's Law. I guess my sarcasm detector must be a little off beam.

[John83]

I'm just kidding. I'm going to quit my impressions of the anti-Byrne crew that spent a day screaming when Mick was sacked.
Where? I just read over the posts in this thread since McCarthy was sacked. Yours aside, the only really negative one reckond Byrne wouldn't last the year. That was it, really.

[Olé Olé]

Where? I just read over the posts in this thread since McCarthy was sacked. Yours aside, the only really negative one reckond Byrne wouldn't last the year. That was it, really.

I actually wasn't directly referring to this forum. It's rampant on YBIG and the 42 and Off The Ball were presenting it as a disaster for Jack when Mick was sacked.

[John83]

Fair enough.

[passinginterest]

Starting today, looks like he’s going to be given a chance under the new manager. Got about a half hour off the bench in the last two games. Hopefully has a good game.

Playing Apollon who are top too, so it’s a real vote of confidence. 0-0 half time.

[zero]

hooked at half time.

[sbgawa]

Jack Byrne out for 3 months with a back issue, will obviously be out of Kennys squad , if he would have made it anyway i guess.

[ontheotherhand]

Jack Byrne out for 3 months with a back issue, will obviously be out of Kennys squad , if he would have made it anyway i guess.

Wonder is it the same issue he had late in the season after the international break. Certainly wasn't the same player towards the end for Rovers, culminating in a poor performance in the cup final by his standards. Id put in down to his bad dose of covid but maybe it was more the back problem.

[sbgawa]

I dont know for sure but i noticed him holding his back regularly in the last game of the season against Shels before the cup final plus he missed all of the second pre season so its possible

[ontheotherhand]

I dont know for sure but i noticed him holding his back regularly in the last game of the season against Shels before the cup final plus he missed all of the second pre season so its possible

I'm fairly certain he had a back injury for the latter stages of the league campaign. Picked it up playing golf during the break was the rumour I heard at the time. Bradley mentioned it in an interview but I can't find it now. Possibly got worse as he was hit hard at one point, I think in that Shels game. Remember being in a rage about it at the time as I knew he was carrying a knock and it looked like he'd been targeted.

Hope he gets sorted and kicks on now.

[geysir]

It can't have been too obvious as he'd have had to pass a physical in Cyprus.

[ontheotherhand]

It can't have been too obvious as he'd have had to pass a physical in Cyprus.

Obvious enough if you were watching him for Rovers but yeah, he was still able to get out and play with it.

[Charlie Darwin]

He's had a back injury since the start of the 2020 season. I don't know if this is the same one but it did hamper his playing and keep him out of the March squad last year.

[Olé Olé]

Interviewed on OTB today. Really good interview. Sounds like he is already invested into the set up at APOEL. Was given the opportunity to do his surgery and recovery in Ireland but refused it. Speaks about the different nationalities in the dressing room and how he is enjoying the integration. Speaks very well of Mick McCarthy and Stephen Kenny and others.

[Colbert Report]

Yeah, I heard the interview as well and I can understand the love for him on this forum a lot better now, as he seems like a really warm person.

[irishfan86]

Making the great sacrifice of insisting to rest and recover on the harsh beaches of Cyprus. Fair play!

[Olé Olé]

Yeah, I heard the interview as well and I can understand the love for him on this forum a lot better now, as he seems like a really warm person.

He had a little joke about the weather too- "you've made a good decision in terms of weather, Jack. It's about 20 degrees over there now at this time of year." "No, it's colder today, Eoin. It's only 19."

It was great to hear that Mick McCarthy and Terry Connor, as well as Stephen Kenny, all reached out to him before his surgery to wish him the best. As he said each time, "he didn't have to do that."

[tetsujin1979]

Back training in Cyprus, should be fit for the new season
1398006361754161155

[tetsujin1979]

Looks like he'll have a short term loan to the UK until January, then move to new MLS club Charlotte FC in 2022: https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/jack-byrne-set-for-apoel-exit-after-just-nine-months-40779363.html
Think Chris McCann had a similar arrangement before he went to Atlanta

[third policeman]

He could go back to Rovers?