Sean Maguire F Carlisle United b.1994

[Olé Olé]

Yes, he'll get all of the above with Cork. And I think you're right he will shine and I would back them to make it to the Europa League proper given the level of football they are playing right now.
But the man himself has said he is over the moon about his move to Preston and he can't wait to get started and there is talk of him being a goal-getter for Preston. But he is spreading himself too thin.
He's in his mid season now with City and he'll surely hit the ground running for Preston's pre-season, but he's going to hit a wall before Christmas because he'll have had no break.

That's assuming he gets in the team immediately. Hugill, Barkhuizen and Robinson all played up front last season and don't think any of them will leave. Then you have Horgan and McGeady (with Robinson dropping back) if they go with 4-2-3-1.

Maguire might have to bide his time.

[Olé Olé]

That said, had a quick look at the numbers. None of the 3 are particularly prolific. I think Hugill is the only proper out and out striker of the 3 and he's not banging them in but I know he's highly rated after they rejected a bid from Ipswich for him in January.

I think Maguire is clinical. Once he gets up to speed at pre-Season he should be able to apply that to the Championship. Another consideration is that he's a confidence player. If he makes a good transition and scores early then that's a big win for him.

[DeLorean]

Brian Kerr thinks O'Neill is right in his approach towards Maguire. - https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2017/0605/880452-kerr-maguire-wont-get-ireland-call-until-he-does-it-a/


Martin has said he's a young player, he'd be putting an awful lot of pressure on him.

I think in the expanded squad Martin O'Neill might have used him... but he's not going to be in the Irish team until he goes to Preston and scores goals.

We saw what happened with Daryl Horgan off Dundalk last year and Andy Boyle. The manager of the international team needs to be convinced the player can do it at a better level than the League of Ireland. We've got Cork and Dundalk, two very good sides, competing against each other and he scored three goals.

But what convinced Martin O'Neill to put Horgan and Boyle into the squad ;last year was their performances in Europe.

Both of those players looked like they could rise up to the next level and play at the next level.

I think it's very difficult for the international manger to think a player is good enough playing against the current League of Ireland teams.

The game has improved to a degree but it's not at the level where a manager could say, 'this player is good enough, I could trust him to play against Austria or Serbia in our group'.

The manager needs to be convinced of the player's performances at a higher level.

[DannyInvincible]

I think in the expanded squad Martin O'Neill might have used him... but he's not going to be in the Irish team until he goes to Preston and scores goals.

That's all anyone was asking for over the past month or whatever; to have a look at Maguire in the expanded squad/training camp in Cork and possibly a friendly off the back of that. Somehow the debate has now been contorted disingenuously (not by Kerr, but by O'Neill himself) into whether or not Maguire is ready to step to playing the likes of Austria.

[DeLorean]

Even Kerr says "might" though, so obviously not something he fells strongly about, otherwise he would have said "should".

O'Neill obviously feels LOI form alone doesn't justify a call up, or that he's content with the few forward options he has for now.

It is what it is I suppose, if Maguire doesn't make an impression at Preston O'Neill can probably feel vindicated, if he does well he'll probably be straight into the Irish squad.

At least O'Neill has shown him enough respect to go see him play, after that we have to accept his judgement.

[CraftyToePoke]

Would MON if manager of Preston or similar, have taken a punt on Maguire though. If you see what I am getting at ?
As at the moment Grayson feels he can step up and MON does not. Or MON is at the very least hiding from publicly making a judgment on this player by his inaction, Grayson is not.

There are and always have been players based here who could step up, but our national manager(s) continually duck out of that one.

[DeLorean]

I'm not sure it's comparing like with like. For starters, international football is a bigger step up than playing in the Championship. O'Neill isn't saying he can't make the step up, he just wants more evidence that he can before selecting him.

Grayson seems to be operating on a bit of a shoestring budget at Preston and has probably been encouraged by the performances of Horgan and Boyle in relation to the value you can get by shopping in Ireland. It's a fairly low risk signing and worth a punt from his point of view, not a huge leap of faith.

O'Neill is safe in the knowledge that Maguire isn't going anywhere and will still be available to him if he does well in England. If anything, I think Cillian Sheridan would have been more ready-made to perform in an emergency situation, such as Murphy getting injured in training this week and Walters limping off after ten minutes of the Austria game. Hopefully both players will be involved in due course though.

[Diggs246]

Two strikers in the whole squad is not enough, Sheridan should be drafted in, it wont do any harm

[Olé Olé]

Two strikers in the whole squad is not enough, Sheridan should be drafted in, it wont do any harm
Isn't their league over? It strikes me as stubbornness at this point.

[DeLorean]

In the interview that Tets linked, O'Neill spoke about how Ireland's managers are always questioned more about the players who aren't there, making an example of a fictional player in the Siberian league who couldn't make it at Shamrock Rovers. He was obviously exaggerating and even joking a little, but I couldn't help thinking that the point of reference was probably Sheridan.

[Stuttgart88]

Of course it was!

[DeLorean]

Of course it was!

Ha, well yeah fair enough, but what does it mean? Perhaps that he still sees Sheridan as a St. Johnstone/Kilmarnock flop and not a high flying striker in a semi-decent European league. And maybe he was only being polite when he said that he's on the radar.

[Stuttgart88]

I think people analyse MON's words too carefully. He's a smart arse and enjoys playing with the press.

[OwlsFan]

I think people analyse MON's words too carefully. He's a smart arse and enjoys playing with the press.

Not as carefully as we analyse your words.

Pre-match words: that's all they are: words. The media hover around the camp looking for quotes like O'Kane saying we're going for a win. He's hardly going to say we're playing for a draw. Interviews, player quotes (unless someone says something like MON can stick his goal-keeping position up his jacksie) are all meaningless. The only thing that matters are the injury updates and even then they may not be honest.

[DannyInvincible]

Two more goals for Maguire so far this evening against Limerick in Turners Cross.

Here's a video of the first goal, which was a header from a cross: https://twitter.com/eirSport/status/875798952469299200

And here's video of the second, which came just 16 seconds into the second half after some careless Limerick defending: https://twitter.com/eirSport/status/875809126957416449

Those two goals take Maguire's league tally this season to 18 goals.

[OwlsFan]

Guess who is first up on August 5? Preston v Owls. Never been to Deepdale and with the large Irish interest there, I just might go, especially since a friend of mine who emigrated from Ireland went to College there.

[DeLorean]

That's ideal alright. Would you be in with the home supporters?

[OwlsFan]

Yes, whenever I go to away games I sit on my hands among the away supporters (not that there is usually much cause to get off them). Now to persuade the missus that she's always wanted to go to Preston.

[CraftyToePoke]

Yes, whenever I go to away games I sit on my hands among the away supporters

I was away once with Leicester at Derby, East Mids derby etc etc, but I was in the Derby end, and when Leicester took the lead I was good as gold, sat there stoic but what I hadn't prepared so well for was the Derby leveler, CTP sat there stoic while happiness erupted all round him. A fox can walk among a flock of sheep they say, but I could not.

[DannyInvincible]

A second-half hat-trick from Maguire tonight helps Cork to a 4-2 home win over Levadia Tallinn. Cork progress 6-2 on aggregate and will very likely play AEK Larnaca in the next qualifying round (unless Lincoln Red Imps can overturn a 5-0 deficit in a half and a bit of their match which is still in progress).

[DannyInvincible]

Video of his third goal last night: https://twitter.com/brianrohancork/status/883061464608763908

[sparky12345678]

when will he actually leave for preston? i mean he is still available for the AEK tie? and if they get throgh any chance of convincing Preston that he'd be beter off doing "pre-seasson" in the Europa League?

[tetsujin1979]

He's definitely available for the first leg this week, not sure about the second

[paul_oshea]

Yed hope if they do get through but it might not be just about pre season fitness etc. There are contractual implications also. What happens if he got injured? Are there 1 month loans that aren't emergencies? It might not be just as striaghtforward as ah sur go on keep him another couple a weeks.

[mark12345]

Yed hope if they do get through but it might not be just about pre season fitness etc. There are contractual implications also. What happens if he got injured? Are there 1 month loans that aren't emergencies? It might not be just as striaghtforward as ah sur go on keep him another couple a weeks.

Hoping upon hope that he doesn't get injured. He needs a good start and a good season at Preston (would love for him at the same time to stay at Cork and see how far he could take them in Europe). But his season at Preston has already been jeopardized by his not taking a month long break (a la an end of season break before getting started on a long 10 month slog in the Championship). He will hit a wall some time around January / February and will be susceptible to injuries if he doesn't get some sort of rest. We badly need him in the national team though.

[DannyInvincible]

Maguire and Kevin O'Connor will both move from Cork to Preston on the 24th of July: https://www.eirsport.ie/o-connor-signs-for-preston

That means both will be available for the second leg of Cork's game against AEK.

There's a good article by Paul Dollery of The42.ie here on Maguire and the ups and downs of his career to date: http://www.the42.ie/sean-maguire-interview-9-july-2017-3480472-Jul2017/

He also scored another goal (a penalty) today as Cork beat St. Pat's 1-0 in Turners Cross.

[DannyInvincible]

Pat Dolan tells Cork's 96FM that he's appalled by the fact Maguire has yet to receive an international cap: http://www.the42.ie/pat-dolan-sean-maguire-cork-city-league-of-ireland-europa-league-turners-cross-3489307-Jul2017/


Forwards are so important. We had John O’Flynn and George O’Callaghan who were just sensational. Roy O’Donovan and Denis Behan, guys like that. But also guys like Kevin Doyle and Shane Long who went on to become internationals – they were all sensational players. But what I like about Seanie is that he has got that Waterford blood in his veins and that he has had so many disappointments.

Dundalk released him and you’re thinking where does he go from there? He had been to England and was released. Comes back home, he goes to Dundalk and can’t get in that side and is left out. But what does he do? He comes back into the Cup final [in 2016] and scores the winning goal! Of course he's a great goalscorer, of course he should be capped by our country. For him to have had this season so far and for us to be so many points clear at the top of the table and not to have gotten an international cap under Martin O’Neill – well, for me that’s just appalling.

[pineapple stu]

And he does this while likening him to four players who were never capped...

[DeLorean]

I thought he was a Kilkenny man? Are his parents from Waterford or something?

[Diggs246]

He is from kilkenny and until he does the business in a fully Pro league he should remain uncapped

[nigel-harps1954]

I'm pretty sure he's a Kilkenny man alright. Played his underage football with Evergreen I believe. They're around five or ten miles south of Kilkenny City.

[nigel-harps1954]

He is from kilkenny and until he does the business in a fully Pro league he should remain uncapped

Scoring 19 goals this season, and a hat-trick in Europe, shouldn't count then because he's playing in the League of Ireland?

[livehead1]

Scoring 19 goals this season, and a hat-trick in Europe, shouldn't count then because he's playing in the League of Ireland?

hat-trick against some team in Estonia nobody has ever heard of doesn't warrant a call-up. Cillian Sheridan deserves a call up, not Sean Maguire.

[nigel-harps1954]

hat-trick against some team in Estonia nobody has ever heard of doesn't warrant a call-up. Cillian Sheridan deserves a call up, not Sean Maguire.

Playing for some team in Poland that nobody has ever heard of? I don't see how Sheridan is playing at that much a higher level than Maguire currently. Similar footballing standards as far as I'm concerned.

[tetsujin1979]

to be fair, a Polish team did knock Dundalk out of the Champions League last season

[DannyInvincible]

Playing for some team in Poland that nobody has ever heard of? I don't see how Sheridan is playing at that much a higher level than Maguire currently. Similar footballing standards as far as I'm concerned.

To be fair to Sheridan and Jagiellonia, the Polish league is a decent level and the club finished second last year after having led for most of the season. The Polish league is definitely of a higher standard than Scotland, for example, and the stats support this contention (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_coefficient#Current_ranking). As of this season, it's ranked the 18th-best league in Europe. For comparison, Scotland is presently ranked 27th and we're in 36th. I watched quite a few of Sheridan's games last season; the football was quick and technically good. Jagiellonia regularly filled their 22,000-seater stadium to capacity and Poland is a country of nearly 40 million people, so it's hardly as if nobody has ever heard of them either.

Anyway, my point is that I don't think it's necessary to denigrate Jagiellonia or the level at which Sheridan is playing in order to make a case for Maguire's inclusion in the international set-up. I think both players have done enough to justify call-ups.

[DeLorean]

to be fair, a Polish team did knock Dundalk out of the Champions League last season

...before beating Sporting Lisbon and drawing with Real Madrid!

[Charlie Darwin]

Scoring 19 goals this season, and a hat-trick in Europe, shouldn't count then because he's playing in the League of Ireland?
No, because he's not from Waterford.

[Diggs246]

Btw I hope Seanie does it in England and then gets called up and does it for Ireland. But lets wait and see. Mon and Roy saw the lad score a hatrick when we needed a back up striker V Austria and didn't call him up. The league of ireland has been brilliant, because its an excellent stepping stone for our international squad. But those players have had to do it first in the premiership or the likes

[samhaydenjr]

When talking about a potential call-up for Maguire, we should bear in mind that our forward options for the rest of the campaign are surely Long, Walters and Murphy plus McGoldrick or Doyle based on the level they play at and their international experience. Some spots will probably open up in a year's time and Maguire should be assessed at that point - the coming season will give us the opportunity for a clearer comparison with our other Championship strikers: McGoldrick, Will Keane, Aiden O'Brien, Joe Mason and possibly Reece Grego-Cox. Unless he really tears things up in the first couple of months, which would be great.

[nigel-harps1954]

To be fair to Sheridan and Jagiellonia, the Polish league is a decent level and the club finished second last year after having led for most of the season. The Polish league is definitely of a higher standard than Scotland, for example, and the stats support this contention (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_coefficient#Current_ranking). As of this season, it's ranked the 18th-best league in Europe. For comparison, Scotland is presently ranked 27th and we're in 36th. I watched quite a few of Sheridan's games last season; the football was quick and technically good. Jagiellonia regularly filled their 22,000-seater stadium to capacity and Poland is a country of nearly 40 million people, so it's hardly as if nobody has ever heard of them either.

Anyway, my point is that I don't think it's necessary to denigrate Jagiellonia or the level at which Sheridan is playing in order to make a case for Maguire's inclusion in the international set-up. I think both players have done enough to justify call-ups.

Let's be fair about it further though..

Polish league is a good league yes. My comment was a little tongue in cheek. Go around Dublin, London, Paris, Madrid or any other major European city and ask a random 100 local people do they know who Jagiellonia are and what league they play in, and I'd wager you won't get too many correct answers. They're hardly a household name, much the same a Levadia Tallinn. That was the point I was making. The Polish league is well supported in Poland, it's hardly full of household names though?

Also, Jagiellonias average attendance last year was just north of 13,000. Only one team in the league averaged over 20,000, and that was Legia Warsaw. Lech Poznan were next on 19,000. They hardly 'regularly filled their 22,000 seater' at that?

I'm not trying to denigrate anyones level, far be it from me as a League of Ireland supporter to attempt to denigrate any level of football, as you say, stats don't lie and Ireland is sitting in a heady 36th place in terms of league ranking. The point is, Maguire is an in-form striker, and just scored a European hat-trick on top of his 19 league goals, and yet he still has to make a step up in leagues to be regarded worthy of a call up. I don't understand this. If he played five good games and scored five goals in that space at Preston, you can sure he'll get called up, and everyone will be (rightly) saying it's well deserved.

If he's in good form now, why not call him up now?


When talking about a potential call-up for Maguire, we should bear in mind that our forward options for the rest of the campaign are surely Long, Walters and Murphy plus McGoldrick or Doyle based on the level they play at and their international experience. Some spots will probably open up in a year's time and Maguire should be assessed at that point - the coming season will give us the opportunity for a clearer comparison with our other Championship strikers: McGoldrick, Will Keane, Aiden O'Brien, Joe Mason and possibly Reece Grego-Cox. Unless he really tears things up in the first couple of months, which would be great.

Every striker you mentioned above as current options are over the age of 30, or in the case of McGoldrick, turning 30 this year. Will Keane has given no indication that he'll declare for Ireland and has arguably yet to prove himself at senior level. O'Brien is playing League One. Are you saying that's above where Maguire is playing? Joe Mason is an average to poor Championship striker who's best league season to date saw a return of only 9 goals, 7 seasons ago. Grego-Cox reportedly has potential, I have yet to see him play, but he's got a grand total of 6 senior appearances and no goals. Turning 21 this year, that's hardly ideal?

For me, Maguire should be in the squad already. It's total bullsh!t from O'Neill to pander him off saying he's not ready yet.

[tetsujin1979]

O'Brien is playing Championship football this season after getting promoted with Millwall

[nigel-harps1954]

O'Brien is playing Championship football this season after getting promoted with Millwall

My apologies, I hadn't realised Millwall were promoted.

[tetsujin1979]

No problem, it will mean any comparison between the two strikers will be interesting

[livehead1]

Playing for some team in Poland that nobody has ever heard of? I don't see how Sheridan is playing at that much a higher level than Maguire currently. Similar footballing standards as far as I'm concerned.

I look forward to watching him progress, hopefully.

I think others have already made the point that the standard is not comparable.

[DannyInvincible]

Also, Jagiellonias average attendance last year was just north of 13,000. Only one team in the league averaged over 20,000, and that was Legia Warsaw. Lech Poznan were next on 19,000. They hardly 'regularly filled their 22,000 seater' at that?

Apologies. That was carelessness on my part. :o

I hadn't looked at specific or average attendance figures. I was just going off match coverage and highlights videos with the stadium looking fairly full from what I saw, although all the games I watched were towards the end of the season when they had a serious chance of winning the league up until the final day. They might have been drawing larger crowds then than attendances they'd have been bringing in at the start of the season as a result.

Still, 13,000 isn't an insignificant figure and the league itself tends to be around the 12th-best supported league in Europe (http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn.htm) with an overall average attendance of over 9,500 last season (http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/avepol.htm) when you take all clubs into account.

It's not necessarily a strict indicator of the playing ability on show, of course, but it's undoubtedly a fair bit ahead of ourselves in terms of average attendances and the financial clout of their clubs. More money generally means they have the ability to source, attract and pay a higher standard of player.


The point is, Maguire is an in-form striker, and just scored a European hat-trick on top of his 19 league goals, and yet he still has to make a step up in leagues to be regarded worthy of a call up. I don't understand this. If he played five good games and scored five goals in that space at Preston, you can sure he'll get called up, and everyone will be (rightly) saying it's well deserved.

If he's in good form now, why not call him up now?

I fully agree with you on that. At the very least, he should have been brought into the recent training squad at Fota Island.

[musicinmouth]

I understand the argument that he needs to play at a higher level to be in consideration. And he will be next season. However, if you saw him play regularly in the last year, I don't think you'd have any doubt that he would improve our striker options. He should have been brought to the US at least. He'll easily make the World Cup squad if we qualify.

[samhaydenjr]

Every striker you mentioned above as current options are over the age of 30, or in the case of McGoldrick, turning 30 this year. Will Keane has given no indication that he'll declare for Ireland and has arguably yet to prove himself at senior level. O'Brien is playing League One. Are you saying that's above where Maguire is playing? Joe Mason is an average to poor Championship striker who's best league season to date saw a return of only 9 goals, 7 seasons ago. Grego-Cox reportedly has potential, I have yet to see him play, but he's got a grand total of 6 senior appearances and no goals. Turning 21 this year, that's hardly ideal?

For me, Maguire should be in the squad already. It's total bullsh!t from O'Neill to pander him off saying he's not ready yet.

While the strikers I mentioned are over 30, they will be our main strikers for the rest of the qualifying campaign - there's only three months and four games left (plus possible play-offs). Places will likely open for the Euro 2020 qualifiers. My point is that it is difficult to compare Maguire's achievements in the LOI against strikers in The Championship and it is entirely possible that they might still be better options and it will be only after a year at the same level that we'll be able to judge if he will fill one of those places versus the players I mentioned:
- McGoldrick likely has at least one campaign left in him (assuming he stays fit) and is an experienced Championship campaigner
- As noted, O'Brien will be playing Championship next year after a reasonable season in League One, where he notched up 13 goals - if he can build on that, he could have a break-out season
- Will Keane actually has expressed an interest (https://www.thesun.ie/archives/football/224221/will-keane-would-consider-declaring-for-ireland-if-martin-oneill-comes-calling/) and while his form to date hasn't exactly set the world on fire, Hull seemed to see something in him when they made him a Premier League striker before injury cut his season short. If he can start to deliver on that promise next season, he might be worth looking at
- Admittedly Joe Mason hasn't been a particularly prolific goalscorer (although he has got a record of about 1 goal in 4 games over eight seasons, mostly in the Championship) - but then, neither was Daryl Murphy until he turned thirty.
- OK, Reece Grego-Cox might still be a bit of a long-shot, but after scoring five goals in two appearances for QPR's U-23s recently, hey, you never know
- And there's no guarantee that Maguire will be able to carry his LOI form straight into The Championship as the experience of Richie Towell and others has shown. That said, if he bangs in 15-20 goals next season, which I certainly hope he does, then he should definitely be called up for the Euro 2020 qualifiers and possibly for the World Cup Finals, should we make it

[paul_oshea]

He didnt do much the last day against a very average but physical cypriot side

[bennocelt]

TBF he had two men on him the whole time