Conor Hourihane

[johnnyc]

Another assist today.

[DeLorean]

Scored the first of four Barnsley goals in the last twenty minutes at Molineux tonight.

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/cpsprodpb/D5F0/production/_91186745_barnsley.jpg

[Olé Olé]

Duck to water. Hope he gets a move in January if Barnsley don't look like getting promoted at that point.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Rangers, Celtic and Aston Villa all linked.

http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/aston-villa-and-old-firm-chase-conor-hourihane-with-plymouth-argyle-due-windfall/story-29714667-detail/story.html

That's about the ceiling for an on form Irish player these days.

[tricky_colour]

Why would be move to Villa?

They are the other end of the table and close to league one where he came from.

I'm surprised a bigger club is not interested, no disrespect to Celtic but the 7-0 defeat to Barca does not flatter them too much.

[Charlie Darwin]

Rangers, Celtic and Aston Villa all linked.

http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/aston-villa-and-old-firm-chase-conor-hourihane-with-plymouth-argyle-due-windfall/story-29714667-detail/story.html

That's about the ceiling for an on form Irish player these days.
The season's only three weeks old. If he keeps performing to the level he is there'll be more interest by the time anyone can do anything about it.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Barnsley captain Conor Hourihane believes Roy Keane’s perception of him is holding him back for the Republic of Ireland.

http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/barnsley-fc/barnsley-roy-keane-hasn-t-seen-the-best-of-me-says-conor-hourihane-1-8252367
(http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/barnsley-fc/barnsley-roy-keane-hasn-t-seen-the-best-of-me-says-conor-hourihane-1-8252367)


“He remembers me as a 16 to 19-year-old boy when I wasn’t ready to play football,” admitted Hourihane, who has netted three times for the Reds this season.

“Hecky has said this to me and he makes a good point.

“He’s watched me in one game over the last however many years and you can’t perform at your peak in every single game.

“It’s just one of those things and I’m sure he’ll come to one of the games where I play to my potential and play well.

“If you ask Hecky which two games we haven’t performed well in this season he’d probably say Reading and Brighton and they’re the two [Keane and Martin O’Neill] were at. From that point of view I’m probably unlucky.”

[OwlsFan]

Who is Hecky when he is at home and do all sports players' names in England have a y added to them by their team mates.

[Stuttgart88]

You put the apostrophe in the right place and neglected the question mark. Aaagggh!

The only thing I can deduce from this us that RK thinks that CH is close but not close enough to a call up and CH thinks he deserves a call up. Quelled surprise. It's good that he is enthusiastic. The rest is marginal.

i like him personally but while I harbour dreams of a left footed midfield maestro conducting affairs against all and sundry, I also think that if Liam Brady couldn't carry us much beyond mediocrity maybe we shouldn't bemoan the exclusion of a Championship player at a time when our midfield options are, for a rare change, not the most worrying part of or team.

[tetsujin1979]

Who is Hecky when he is at home and do all sports players' names in England have a y added to them by their team mates.
Gordon D'Arcy has the y at the end of his name dropped for his nickname. But I digress.

[johnnyc]

Three assists today! Some player.

[OwlsFan]

In the EFL team of the week !

[DeLorean]

Has given Barnsley a 2-0 lead against Norwich. Sounds good:


Goal! Barnsley 2, Norwich City 0. Conor Hourihane (Barnsley) left footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner.

Hoolahan only on the bench for Norwich also.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

4 goals and 8 assists in 18 league games for Hourihane.

http://www.the42.ie/conor-hourihane-barnsley-ireland-3132095-Dec2016/

Looks like it took a deflection.

[rebelmusic]

Very interesting article....considering how much McCarthy's been struggling seems odd he hasn't had a run out
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11713/10668628/is-barnsleys-conor-hourihane-the-championships-star-player

[samhaydenjr]

Very interesting article....considering how much McCarthy's been struggling seems odd he hasn't had a run out
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11713/10668628/is-barnsleys-conor-hourihane-the-championships-star-player

Not really, considering we've only played 4 games since he made the step-up to Championship level and three of those were before he had a dozen games under his belt. With that said, he would probably be near the top of the list of players who could be given a run-out against Iceland in the Spring. And happily that list is starting to become quite long. And who knows? If he maintains this form he may merit a place on the bench against Wales, at least.

[seanfhear]

Its very hard to pick a squad when we have so many players to choose from ;)

Except in the Forwards...................

[tricky_colour]

4 goals 9 assists and 5 motms in 20 leagues appearances, apparently LA Galaxy are interested in him however I am not sure
that would be a good move, it is more a club for fading stars not rising ones.

[samhaydenjr]

4 goals 9 assists and 5 motms in 20 leagues appearances, apparently LA Galaxy are interested in him however I am not sure
that would be a good move, it is more a club for fading stars not rising ones.


I think MLS is actively seeking out, and becoming more attractive for, quality players still at their peak, as you can see at Toronto FC with the success of Sebastian Giovinco, Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore, along with players like Giovani Dos Santos at the Galaxy, Diego Valeri at Portland and Nicolas Lodeiro at Seattle, so I could see it as a possibility for Hourihane, particularly if he was offered a Designated Player spot. But for now, I would probably agree that he should probably continue with his current upward career trajectory as he seems to be on a path to international recognition in the near future with the possibility that he could be picked up by a Premier League club within a year or two. But if he doesn't quite make that leap soon, MLS could be a good option rather than bouncing around The Championship or sitting on the bench of a yo-yo club.

Actually, Chris McCann might be a good template for Hourihane and it'll be interesting to see if he can find success in Atlanta.

[DeLorean]

You another assist as Barnsley lead Birmingham 2-1.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

More assists than any other player in the top 4 divisions during the calendar year.

Bizarre how he hasn't been linked with a PL team yet.

[samhaydenjr]

More assists than any other player in the top 4 divisions during the calendar year.

Bizarre how he hasn't been linked with a PL team yet.

In fairness, this is the first full transfer window since he made his Championship debut at the age of 25 and it's only a day old, so he may yet get an offer. More realistically though, it might be better for him to continue at Barnsley for the rest of the season and then look to move up during the summer, perhaps with a promoted club or to a recently promoted club.

[DeLorean]

Wonder goal for Hourihane to give Barnsley the lead late on at the City Ground.

[Olé Olé]

Some goal. Pulling one like that out of the bag to get your team 3 points when a draw seems inevitable oozes qualities of a player destined for next level above.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

He's either assisted or scored 16 of Barnsley's 41 goals this season.

They probably wouldn't be in with a Playoff shout without him.

http://www.punditarena.com/football/bbarry/conor-hourihane-30-yard-barnsley/

Goal here.

[Olé Olé]

https://vid.me/lP7T

[samhaydenjr]

More assists than any other player in the top 4 divisions during the calendar year.

Bizarre how he hasn't been linked with a PL team yet.


In fairness, this is the first full transfer window since he made his Championship debut at the age of 25 and it's only a day old, so he may yet get an offer. More realistically though, it might be better for him to continue at Barnsley for the rest of the season and then look to move up during the summer, perhaps with a promoted club or to a recently promoted club.


He's either assisted or scored 16 of Barnsley's 41 goals this season.

They probably wouldn't be in with a Playoff shout without him.

http://www.punditarena.com/football/bbarry/conor-hourihane-30-yard-barnsley/

Goal here.

That should do his ambitions no harm at all.

[tricky_colour]

This a compilation of his 2016 goals, so the Forest one won't be included, but it is impressive stuff, you could almost say he is on a new level.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyX0GJQDt2Y

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Hourihane's heat-map against Villa makes for impressive reading.

https://www.sportsjoe.ie/football/obscene-conor-hourihane-stats-shows-many-clubs-fighting/108174

[tetsujin1979]

here's the direct link to the tweet sports joe decided to write an article about: http://twitter.com/JackGrimse/status/815982441638875136

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Sunderland and Middlesbrough (https://www.theguardian.com/football/middlesbrough) desperately need to create more chances. Boro are bottom of the league for key passes per game (6.4), with Sunderland almost as bad (6.8). It may pay to look down in order to look up in this instance, and with Barnsley captain Conor Hourihane’s contract up in the summer, he’ll be on the radar of clubs with tighter budgets this month.

The Irishman has registered at least four more assists than any other player in the Championship (11) and his stunning winner against Nottingham Forest on Monday was his fifth goal of the season. His delivery from both set pieces and open play is exceptional and his vision to pick out the intelligent movement of strikers would benefit Jermain Defoe. Given that he also ranks second in the Championship for tackles (72), it’s clear he doesn’t shirk a battle – and there will be plenty of those for both Sunderland (https://www.theguardian.com/football/sunderland) and Middlesbrough between now and the end of the season.


https://www.theguardian.com/football/who-scored-blog/2017/jan/03/transfer-window-five-players-who-should-interest-premier-league-clubs

[Diggs246]

Five months left on his contract. I would venture he will be playing in the premier league within a month

[DeLorean]

Five months left on his contract. I would venture he will be playing in the premier league within a month

The Scottish Premier League? (http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/rangers-target-conor-hourihane-refuses-9556280) :)

[tetsujin1979]

Barnsley fans start a change.org petition to make it illegal for the club to sell Hourihane: https://www.change.org/p/barnsley-f-c-make-it-illegal-for-barnsley-f-c-to-sell-conor-hourihane

[DeLorean]

Don't blame them. What's a couple of million if they miss out on a rare opportunity to challenge for Premier League football.

[Closed Account]

The Sun reporting bids from Villa and Wednesday.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/2609589/aston-villa-transfer-news-steve-bruce-offers-a-whopping-28000-a-week-to-barnsley-captain-conor-hourihane-who-is-out-of-contract-in-the-summer/

[OwlsFan]

Celtic and Rangers also interested apparently. I would say that the odds are on Villa if money is the main driving force, as it usually is, as Villa can outbid all three I suspect.

[OwlsFan]

Wednesday's bid of €1.25 million turned down. Villa offering him annual wages of close on €1.5 million. http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2017/01/17/report-barnsley-reject-sheffield-wednesday-offer-for-conor-houri/

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I haven't seen anything concrete about Celtic or Rangers interest.

Hopefully he goes to Sheffield Wednesday.

They have a decent chance of getting into the playoffs and he knows Winnall.

[tricky_colour]

Does not seem a lot but I gues he is near end of contract they can't ask for too much?

[samhaydenjr]

Does not seem a lot but I gues he is near end of contract they can't ask for too much?

If I was in charge of Barnsley, I'd definitely try to hang on to him - after all a run to Wembley for a Play-Off Final, even if unsuccessful, would probably be worth more than what Wednesday offered. I'd even be tempted to renegotiate the last few months of Hourihane's contract to keep him happy.

[OwlsFan]

I am sure Barnsley would like to hang on to him but Villa are apparently offering him a salary of 4 times more than what he is currently on and they can't afford that. He will leave, probably to Villa for the money.

[Stuttgart88]

Good money too. I wouldn't blame him.

[tetsujin1979]

but if he was going to China, there would be calls for him to be hung at dawn.

[SkStu]

Jesus, can you imagine the confusion if Hourihane and Hoolahan were to play to China at the same time.

[Charlie Darwin]

"Hourihang" is what I'd shout.

What they'd shout. Sorry, I meant they.

[OwlsFan]

Good money too. I wouldn't blame him.

I don't think anyone would attach blame unless they were a die hard Tykes' supporter. A transfer to Villa or even Wednesday would be an upward move in his career, even ignoring the money aspect.

[Stuttgart88]

I didn't realise SWFC and Barnsley are both actually above Villa in the league, but yes I agree. I thought you were maybe hinting that SWFC would be a better move (likelihood of promotion) but money is steering him towards Villa. I think Villa is probably the bigger club though. Anyway, good on him. Like a lot of Irish players at the moment he is putting in the hard work in a tough business and earning his upward mobility.

[tricky_colour]

Jesus, can you imagine the confusion if Hourihane and Hoolahan were to play to China at the same time.


Especially is there was a hurricane warning in China at the time.

Hourihane and Hoolahan lost in hurricane!!

[Charlie Darwin]

what.