Aaron Connolly F Millwall b.2000

[Eirambler]

Hogan and Keane are surplus in all honesty. It would probably be possible to squeeze all the others in if needed. Some are centre forwards, some are second forwards, Ogbene covers right wing back, Idah will probably be injured etc.

[paul_oshea]

He looks sharp again

HMk_XHhJr6E

great first touch for his first chance of the game which he put wide, gave a crucial pass for second goal, not sure how his second goal isn’t offside, that right back must have stepped up really quickly (but still too late…) - great touch and finish all the same

The thing that really stood out for me in those two mins. Any guesses?

[seanfhear]

The thing that really stood out for me in those two mins. Any guesses?All right foot.

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

If everyone was fit and playing well I'd have Ferguson, Obafemi, Parrott, Idah, Connolly in squad

Ogbene and Robinson have probably been our best attacking players in the past 2 years. Definitely far more strength in depth anyway.

[paul_oshea]

All right foot.

All flat foot maybe

[tetsujin1979]

The thing that really stood out for me in those two mins. Any guesses?

That it contains none of the other 88 minutes of the game you watched?

[Razors left peg]

Ogbene and Robinson have probably been our best attacking players in the past 2 years. Definitely far more strength in depth anyway.
Down to lack of options

[Razors left peg]

The thing that really stood out for me in those two mins. Any guesses?

Something about nothing that you manufactured to complain about that no one else would, so that you try to make yourself out to be the contrarian smart guy.... either that or something about his accent?

[Diggs246]

The thing that really stood out for me in those two mins. Any guesses?
He doesn't moan to the ref or his team mates or dive. He was a professional for once

[Eirambler]

The thing that really stood out for me in those two mins. Any guesses?

The number 44 for Hull? Looks a player that lad, whoever he is, was central to everything good Hull did in attack. Wonder if he has any Irish connection? Probably not, going by his accent...

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

Down to lack of options

What do you mean? Ogbene has scored 3 goals and Robinson has scored 7 under a very poor period for Ireland.

[Razors left peg]

What do you mean? Ogbene has scored 3 goals and Robinson has scored 7 under a very poor period for Ireland.

Robinson is a poor player who has the odd good game.

Ogbene is a half decent winger with a great attitude, tries hard but is limited.

Neither are really strikers and we are awful when the 2 of them play together up front

[paul_oshea]

All responses true but it was the very poor defending that stood out. Nothing unobvious really. Perhaps he's found his level

[Razors left peg]

All responses true but it was the very poor defending that stood out. Nothing unobvious really. Perhaps he's found his level

If his level is getting 2 goals every week in the Championship that would be a disaster alright

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

Robinson is a poor player who has the odd good game.

Ogbene is a half decent winger with a great attitude, tries hard but is limited.

Neither are really strikers and we are awful when the 2 of them play together up front

Maybe but they've done a lot more than Parrott, Idah and Connolly when playing for Ireland! It is great to see a tough decision has to be made though. More evidence that our squad is not as bad as made out.

[Razors left peg]

Maybe but they've done a lot more than Parrott, Idah and Connolly when playing for Ireland! It is great to see a tough decision has to be made though. More evidence that our squad is not as bad as made out.

The comparison of the front 2 of Ogbene and Robinson against Ukraine at home vs Parrott and Obafemi against Scotland a couple of days later couldn't be clearer.

Too often due to injuries Kenny has been missing an out and out striker and it makes a massive difference. Hopefully in future that won't happen again.

And btw Parrott has 4 goals for the seniors at age of 20 compared to Robinsons 8 at age of 27, so I don't think its correct to say Robinson has done a lot more than Parrott when playing for Ireland.

I should also add that Ogbene has 1 less goal than Parrott... so again, has not done a lot more

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

The comparison of the front 2 of Ogbene and Robinson against Ukraine at home vs Parrott and Obafemi against Scotland a couple of days later couldn't be clearer.

Too often due to injuries Kenny has been missing an out and out striker and it makes a massive difference. Hopefully in future that won't happen again.

And btw Parrott has 4 goals for the seniors at age of 20 compared to Robinsons 8 at age of 27, so I don't think its correct to say Robinson has done a lot more than Parrott when playing for Ireland.

I should also add that Ogbene has 1 less goal than Parrott... so again, has not done a lot more

I'm not giving my opinion on this, I'm just showing you it's a difficult choice. I notice you left out Idah and Connolly in the comparison and only focused on Parrott. And Parrott has only scored 1 competitive goal. Sorry, I'm not meaning to put you back in your box. I'm just pointing out the decision is not as clear cut as you think. Robinson has done a lot more for Ireland than Connolly, Idah and Parrott. Ogbene has done a bit more.

[Razors left peg]

Putting me back in my box? Idah and Connolly have had a lot of injuries and other issues. At their best are far better options and are also far far younger.

I just don't rate Robinson at all, his club career goal record is also dismal

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

Putting me back in my box? Idah and Connolly have had a lot of injuries and other issues. At their best are far better options and are also far far younger.

I just don't rate Robinson at all, his club career goal record is also dismal

Yeah, don't take me correcting you the wrong way. I'm going to have to do it again. If you're including club career goal records as part of your decision then Parrott, Idah and Connolly don't really have great records.

Age shouldn't come into it. You pick your best players, full stop. And who your best players are is a subjective decision, a difficult one in this case as I've said.

[Razors left peg]

Sunshine, you aren't correcting me. You are offering an opinion that I disagree with. Correcting me would imply that I'm factually wrong...

You just want to put forward the opinion that Robinson is good to back up your opinion that Kenny has had a strong squad. I'm surprised you aren't saying he would be in the 2002 WC squad

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

Sunshine, you aren't correcting me. You are offering an opinion that I disagree with. Correcting me would imply that I'm factually wrong...

You just want to put forward the opinion that Robinson is good to back up your opinion that Kenny has had a strong squad. I'm surprised you aren't saying he would be in the 2002 WC squad

I'm not giving an opinion. Just stating fact. I had to correct you on the Parrott thing and using players club records.

I haven't given any opinion on Robinson being good or bad. This is me correcting you again but as I said, don't take this the wrong way. I'm not having a go at you.

It will be interesting to see who does get selected. Hopefully Connolly keeps banging them in to make it even more difficult a decision.

[Razors left peg]

On Parrott, I just gave the fact that his goal record for Ireland is better than Ogbene and only 4 less than Robinson despite being 7 years younger when you said they were much better for Ireland. So enough with the nonsense that you had to correct me

I just mentioned Robinsons club career to back up my opinion that he's crap.

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

On Parrott, I just gave the fact that his goal record for Ireland is better than Ogbene and only 4 less than Robinson despite being 7 years younger when you said they were much better for Ireland. So enough with the nonsense that you had to correct me

I just mentioned Robinsons club career to back up my opinion that he's crap.

Ok, relax. You take things too personally. Parrott has scored 1 competitive goal for Ireland as I already informed you and using club statistics to rule out Robinson in favour of others with similar or worse records doesn't really add up but it's all ok. It's the internet, it doesn't matter if someone corrects you or not. This is a good day for us with Connolly making his comeback and things are looking up for us with attacking options in mind. Smile. :)

[SkStu]

Something about nothing that you manufactured to complain about that no one else would, so that you try to make yourself out to be the contrarian smart guy.... either that or something about his accent?

I think somewhere between Castlerea and Cricklewood, even the man himself will be laughing at that one!! :D

[elatedscum]

The issue with Ogbene I think is that he’s at his best out wide. And in the 5-3-2, we don’t really play that attacking player. There was a period where it was a 5-2-3 with Ogbene on the right, Idah in the centre and one of Robinson, Knight, Connolly or McGrath on the left - when both players had their successful spell.

Both Robinson and Ogbene probably functioned better in that system, Ogbene just running at people and Robinson cutting in from the left wing. Whereas Parrott and Obafemi are better with 2 up top.

I’d like to see him play at some point as a right wing back. There’s so much emphasis on the wing backs in that system - where 8 of your 10 players are central and you need so much from them. If Doherty is injured, we’ve played either Coleman or Browne there and you’d like a more attacking option available to you.

It’s tough though, there’s so few international games, and virtually no friendlies. It’s almost impossible to experiment in the ways you could previously

[yurt]

Connolly is such a decisive figure.

44 pages on this thread. Without checking I'd guess his last goal was at least 15 pages ago.

Id thought along with most that once the Boro and Venice loans failed that he wasn't going to be the player we'd hoped. Funny how fast things can change.

Hopefully he can continue this form by scoring another chunk of goals for Hull. Would be good to see him play 50 games in the next year and consolidate himself at this level.

Would have thought the thread would have been a lot more positive given what he did today but at least there's some balance and he'll need to do the same a bunch more times until he's going change the discourse around him among Irish supporters.

[John83]

Connolly is such a decisive figure.

44 pages on this thread. Without checking I'd guess his last goal was at least 15 pages ago...
He scored yesterday, on the previous page. Way to tell everyone your opinion is worthless.

[elatedscum]

How many goals do we think he’d need to score for Brighton to have him as part of their squad next season. Just as a thought experiment. QPR have 17 games left.

I reckon if he scored another 16 goals that would get him there. (18 in total)

I think a realistic target for him would be another 8 (10 in total) - basically a goal every 2 games

[tetsujin1979]

A goal every other game would do it IMO

[JR89]

How many goals do we think he’d need to score for Brighton to have him as part of their squad next season. Just as a thought experiment. QPR have 17 games left.

I reckon if he scored another 16 goals that would get him there. (18 in total)

I think a realistic target for him would be another 8 (10 in total) - basically a goal every 2 games

With one year left on his contract they'll be shopping him around to make a few quid if he has a decent end to the season scoring wise.

[tommy_c12000]

Brighton would sell for sure if opportunity arises, I anticipate the issue will be Connolly’s wages, appear to be on 23k weekly through summer 2024. They would likely need to sub any championship team buying Connolly, can’t see Connolly taking too much of a pay cut. Another year out on loan next season then leave on a free may be the outcome. Unless he impresses consistently so Brighton would want to keep him vs another team coming into buy him and pay him those wages.

Not sure where those wages are in the current championship climate? I’d imagine the top earners are those who signed contracts while in premier league so blurs it slightly

[CraftyToePoke]

How many goals do we think he’d need to score for Brighton to have him as part of their squad next season. Just as a thought experiment. QPR have 17 games left.

I reckon if he scored another 16 goals that would get him there. (18 in total)

I think a realistic target for him would be another 8 (10 in total) - basically a goal every 2 games

I think talk like this is premature about Connolly, he got two goals yesterday but they were his first since March last year, he also got two goals for V Spurs one time. Of course we'd love to see him turn it all around and go on to have the career his talent gives him the opportunity to have but at this stage, he needs to simply train well all week with the right attitude, make sure he plays next week again & contribute again. Step by step here, he's gone a long way down a bad road.

[Fixer82]

I think talk like this is premature about Connolly, he got two goals yesterday but they were his first since March last year, he also got two goals for V Spurs one time. Of course we'd love to see him turn it all around and go on to have the career his talent gives him the opportunity to have but at this stage, he needs to simply train well all week with the right attitude, make sure he plays next week again & contribute again. Step by step here, he's gone a long way down a bad road.

100% agree. He showed the talent he has.

I hope he’s not a Stan Collymore who has brilliant debuts cos he’s excited and wants to impress, and then once he’s done that rests on his laurels.

[pineapple stu]

Out for a month with a broken toe. Has made his own bed too often, but this is just bad luck.

Hasn't added to that brace, and probably unlikely to be in contention for the games next month.

[Demesne Lad]

Hull City are away to Sunderland on Good Friday. Hull manager Liam Rosenior comments “Aaron is on track.....he broke his toe when the ball hit him on the foot. He is now in a really good place where he is running outside, but he will be due back into full training on Sunday. With the amount of time he has been out, he needs a clear week before we can even consider putting him in the team. What I want Aaron fit for is the opportunity to play the final five games rather than risk him for one and then him being out for the rest of the season, so I am going to be cautious.” (Sunderland Echo, 6 April).

[Razors left peg]

Would it be fair to say that Connolly has already done enough to rehabilitate his image to the point he should be at least playing in Championship next season? I think hes out of contract this summer?

[pineapple stu]

Based on two goals in five games?

Think "rehabilitate" is too strong a word tbh. His next move will be interesting

[Eirambler]

Quite likely he'll be back at Hull again next season I'd say.

[JR89]

Would it be fair to say that Connolly has already done enough to rehabilitate his image to the point he should be at least playing in Championship next season? I think hes out of contract this summer?

His Brighton contract is till 2024

[pineapple stu]

Quite likely he'll be back at Hull again next season I'd say.
Could see it happening alright. I think it's about the best he could do. But football is strange.

[Razors left peg]

Based on two goals in five games?

Think "rehabilitate" is too strong a word tbh. His next move will be interesting

I was surprised he even got a move the Championship after his Italy adventures. 2 goals in 5 games there is more that I even expected from him and he was playing well before his injury. I think he has done enough to get another Championship move and it will probably be Hull

[pineapple stu]

I was surprised he even got a move the Championship after his Italy adventures. 2 goals in 5 games there is more that I even expected from him and he was playing well before his injury.
Yeah, that's all fair, but he's another year older now, there's another batch of academy guys looking for a first chance in senior ball, and there's maybe another question mark over him in terms of injury proneness (plus attitude from the Italy loan).

I'm not sure he's rehabilitated; more in last chance saloon.

[Demesne Lad]

Hull manager Rosenior's update on Connolly (Yorkshire Post, 21 April): "Aaron is still ill. He's been ill and off for a couple of days and he is still not back and fit. So he's not going to be available and hopefully (Swansea), we just need to gauge it. He was just a week away, then he had an illness which has curtailed it. It's one of those frustrating seasons and if it's not one thing, it's another. Hopefully he can be back and play a part between now and the rest of the season.

[Demesne Lad]

Not in the Hull City squad for the final game of the season.

[Demesne Lad]

Opinions differ on whether Hull City will seek to sign Connolly on a permanent basis during the summer. Kieran King (The Mirror) says yes, but "Aaron's had a setback with his injury, and I haven't made a decision on Aaron. For next season, our injury record isn't good enough and that's not the medical staff's fault," (Liam Rosenior, after Hull's final game of the season). Hull Live Sport (today) suggest that because of the injury toll on his three strikers towards the end of the season, "Rosenior is desperate to sign players that he can rely on next term, and at this stage, it's looking increasingly like Connolly will not be one of those summer incomings. 'We need to recruit players that are robust enough for the Championship, and that's top of my list at the moment'."

[Trequartista20]

Moving to Hull:

https://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/23689826.hull-city-ready-sign-brighton-striker-aaron-connolly/

Another chance for Aaron, but can he grasp it?

[seanfhear]

Moving to Hull:

https://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/23689826.hull-city-ready-sign-brighton-striker-aaron-connolly/

Another chance for Aaron, but can he grasp it?
With or without Straws ! ! !

[JR89]

Hopefully stays injury free to get himself a good run in the team. Manager speaks highly of him. Hasn't played a game in six months though so likely to take him time to get back into the swing of things.

[Stuttgart88]

Moving to Hull:

https://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/23689826.hull-city-ready-sign-brighton-striker-aaron-connolly/

Another chance for Aaron, but can he grasp it?

Just a way of getting him to play for Shels without blowing Shels' FFP limits!

[JR89]

Joins Hull on a one year deal. Sounds like they may have worked something out with Brighton to take on the remaining year left on his contract.