Chiedozie Ogbene M Ipswich b.1997

[passinginterest]

He did a few nice things after coming on. I’d say he’s going to be an important player for them overall.

[osarusan]

My brother and I were chatting and think that we cannot recall any other Limerick player who went on to play PL or top flight football in England. Amazing progress really, and if I'm honest, I don't think he's technically the most talented player, so his professionalism must be top notch.

[CraftyToePoke]

My brother and I were chatting and think that we cannot recall any other Limerick player who went on to play PL or top flight football in England.

Tommy Gaynor maybe ?

[JR89]

You go through their wiki page and list of notable players and you're going back to the 40s to find most.

You've got a Tom Aherne who played with Limerick United between 37-46 and ended up at Luton Town between 49-57 playing division one football in his final two seasons for them before retiring through injury.

Johnny Gavin played with Limerick for one season in 47 before joining Norwich and is actually still their record goal scorer with a 132 goals in 338 matches. Also played with Spurs, another stint at Norwich, Watford, and Crystal Palace between 48-61. Think his one season at Spurs was in Division One.

Davy Walsh started his senior career with Limerick in 42 for one season before joining Linfield. Spent a couple of seasons their before joining West Brom where he played Division One football. Also played Division One football for Villa.

While Eamon Deacy didn't start his senior career with Limerick he played with them for a season before joining Galway Rovers for a season and then joining Aston Villa. Won the First Division with Villa

[Diggs246]

My brother and I were chatting and think that we cannot recall any other Limerick player who went on to play PL or top flight football in England. Amazing progress really, and if I'm honest, I don't think he's technically the most talented player, so his professionalism must be top notch.
Steve finnan was of course from limerick ( obviously never played for limerick though)

[pineapple stu]

Obligatory Sam Allardyce mention too, though again not an answer to the exact question posed by osarusan

[tetsujin1979]

Anthony Forde too, although again not exactly the question asked

[Olé Olé]

John McGrath got it back to front in that he got games for Villa in Premiership and subsequently played for Limerick but he is actually from Limerick.

[osarusan]

Tommy Gaynor maybe ?

Looks like the most recent one alright.

[tetsujin1979]

First start in the Premier League today
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[Olé Olé]

Not sure how he has been going but Wolves have just had a man sent off (Bellegarde in midfield, new signing) so Luton are likely to be quite chuffed they switched 3-4-3 for this game as I believe they had been playing 3-5-2...

[texidub]

He's caused some problems with his movement and pace for sure. Delivery not always great.

[texidub]

Played well again today.. Luton fans seem impressed. Great to see him taking to the PL so well.

[tetsujin1979]

Free transfer Ogbene labelled a 'great bit of business' by Hatters chief
https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/sport/football/luton-town/free-transfer-ogbene-labelled-a-great-bit-of-business-by-hatters-chief-4356999

[SkStu]

Played well again today.. Luton fans seem impressed. Great to see him taking to the PL so well.

I watched the game on Saturday and he was solid. Quietly effective might be a good way to describe it. Really strong defending from the front, a lot of tracking back, and did well a few times attacking wise, one run in particular at the start of the second half where he carried the ball from out wide just inside the Everton half right up to the box and iirc laid the ball off well for a shot off target. It was good and, more importantly, I think it set the tone for the second half where they said they weren’t going to sit back.

[texidub]

He has great attitude and athleticism obviously.. needs to be fed the ball in ways that exploit all that. He needs to take his ball control up a notch to really stand out in the PL, but he's answered the skeptics by showing he's not overawed or out of his depth.

[Olé Olé]

He has great attitude and athleticism obviously.. needs to be fed the ball in ways that exploit all that. He needs to take his ball control up a notch to really stand out in the PL, but he's answered the skeptics by showing he's not overawed or out of his depth.

In fairness to him, I think he has taken his ball control up a notch. It has more notches to go but it has improved a lot since he made his Ireland debut even. It looks like he really sensibly realised he needed to work on his weaker areas and emphasize his stronger ones (attitude and athleticism) and it is coming together really nicely and has been coming together for him every year. As we know, he got 3 goals in League One then quickly scaled up to 8 in Championship the following season. He's improving again to do well at this level and he's found a home at a side where he can find his feet a little because he can play to his strengths by attacking spaces, getting in behind, pressing and tracking back.

[Razors left peg]

Hes not my favorite player by a long way. I think hes extremely limited but gets people on his side by running around a lot, often losing ball by just putting head down and running. He drove me crazy against the Dutch in last game and I hope we have other players that will take his place in starting line up..... That being said hes an absolute must have in the squad. I wish other players worked half as hard as him and had his attitude. I do think hes a good option to bring off bench, but I'd rather not have him for 90 mins

[texidub]

There's some truth in that razor, he is way more likeable/liked than he would be based on football skill alone. But your take is a bit harsh. He has some nice touches... including at least one tonight. And he really shone against the French. They doubled up on him for the next game.. and he still played quite well. Funny enough, I do agree on the 90 minutes thing, at least for Ireland (and somewhat dependent on the context of the game). I hope he gets every game for Luton though. And I think he's going to improve.

[Razors left peg]

Yeah I might be a bit harsh on him, I've always had a bit of a blind spot with him tbh and he's proven me wrong by playing well in past.

[joey B]

Robbed of an assist by a terrible miss from Adebayo there….

[irishfan86]

Great to see him perform so well. I’ve watched the last couple of Luton matches and despite the team’s struggles he’s performing very well and creating a lot from the flanks.

[yurt]

Only watched the first half v Spurs but he was excellent. I'm delighted for him that he's been able to get up to premier league level so quickly. If he stays anywhere near this level he'll play 30 games this season and hopefully Luton will pick up enough results to give them a chance of staying up.

[Demesne Lad]

Scores away to Forest today.

[JR89]

Fair play to the lad. Six years ago was finishing up his first season with Limerick and last in the LOI. Finds himself being Luton's best attacking player and grabs his first Premier League goal.

[tetsujin1979]

He's a good egg
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[SkStu]

Beautiful assist from Ogbene to give Luton the lead.

[CSAD]

And there are some on here that claim Ogbene isnt PL class!

[JR89]

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[yurt]

Luton have a decent chance of staying up if they can keep picking up home wins like this. Praying Ogbene gets a second season in the EPL with Luton but at this stage you'd have to imagine even if they go down there'll be a few teams looking at signing him.

[John83]

And there are some on here that claim Ogbene isnt PL class!
I've always been a fan of his work rate and movement off the ball, but I think it's fair to put an asterisk over calling a Luton player a Premiership player. Luton are freshly promoted, and on 9 points after 13 games, which is on track for 26 points over the season in a league where 40 is traditionally considered the target for safety. Their next five fixtures include Arsenal, Man City, Newcastle and top half Brentford, so it's not like they've just had a rocky start. They might not get relegated, but that'll be more a case of Burnley, Everton and Sheffield United being even worse, or maybe one of the teams ahead of them falling to pieces. So they're a Premership team, but not much of one, and maybe not for long. Still, he seems a bright light for them, and you'd hope that even if they do go down he'll get another shot in that division. In any case, he's clearly an asset for Ireland.

[Eirambler]

Seems to have made a difference off the bench today, surprised he isn't a constant starter but I can see why a manager might want him for bench impact also. Fair play to Luton who are really giving it a go, but at the moment it's hard to see what team they might finish ahead of to get to 17th and avoid relegation.

[Eirambler]

More bench impact from Ogbene today, probably won't be enough to get anything from the game but hopefully impressing a few scouts.

[CSAD]

With the amount he’s benched despite his impact you’d almost wonder do Luton want to get relegated? I can’t see any other logic for him not starting.

[tetsujin1979]

Keeping him fit for the second half of the season, and the relegation run in?
Guardiola used to do the same with Aguero so he'd be available in April and May

[CSAD]

Keeping him fit for the second half of the season, and the relegation run in?
Guardiola used to do the same with Aguero so he'd be available in April and May

Just like bringing him on when you’re 2-0 down there’s no point keeping him fresh for the run in if the damage is already done.

[Olé Olé]

Seems to be right wing back starting today in a side of regular enough players for Luton today against Bolton.

[liamoo11]

Seems to be right wing back starting today in a side of regular enough players for Luton today against Bolton.

Very positive, hopefully he can nail down the wingback position and give himself a chance of staying in premier league is luton are relegated

[SkStu]

Grabs a goal, nice finish at the back post, to put Luton ahead at Bolton.

[tetsujin1979]

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[pineapple stu]

Scores in the third minute to put Luton 2-0 up against Brighton.

Or maybe I should put 2 (two)-0 in old vidiprinter style to show that's not a typo

[Eirambler]

Put the cross in for the first goal as well. Both goals scored within the first three minutes of the game and they're 3-0 up now.

[liamoo11]

Put the cross in for the first goal as well. Both goals scored within the first three minutes of the game and they're 3-0 up now.

The switch ro right wing back over the last few months has been great for him

[tetsujin1979]

goal here on 0:28, also involved in the first goal
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[ifk101]

Good for him. Has been questioned all the way about his ability to step up a level and keeps proving the doubters wrong.

[texidub]

Lovely goal and assist to add to the growing collection. What a player.

He has to be a 'must start' for Ireland at this stage, no matter what formation we play?

[Jd2793]

never understood why kenny used him as a "forward". remember v ukraine playing him as a no9. hes excellent at running towards defenders + dribbling. still think we'd have been better off with him as rwb in games against similar level opponents gives us a different dimension out there . hes always a threat.

[Eirambler]

I think he wanted to play up front didn't he? I remember him making a comment about how he felt he complemented Ferguson really well as a forward partnership. Wide in a 4-3-3 type of formation is probably where I'd have him, though I can see how he could offer a real counter attacking threat from wing back also. There definitely has to be a spot for him somewhere, we're not that flush with talent that we can afford to leave him out.

[Jd2793]

I think he wanted to play up front didn't he? I remember him making a comment about how he felt he complemented Ferguson really well as a forward partnership. Wide in a 4-3-3 type of formation is probably where I'd have him, though I can see how he could offer a real counter attacking threat from wing back also. There definitely has to be a spot for him somewhere, we're not that flush with talent that we can afford to leave him out.

yeah thats what i read from his comments too. he was perfect for a 4-3-3 rw or rwb/rm type with a 3 at the back as we saw v france. one of those decisions kenny made that ill never understand

[Olé Olé]

I heard him interviewed earlier in the season and he said he thought right wing back was his best chance of getting into the Luton team but that he was pleasantly surprised that he broke through as a forward.