2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championships [Archive] - Page 11

Razors left peg

20/11/2019, 7:30 PM

was at the u21 game last night. the football in the 2nd half was brilliant.
however, the size of the crowd was surprisingly poor at around 2,500..... after last night all I can say is that if you can get to any of the matches live do.... a great evenings entertainment. really enjoyable

Irish people are event junkies. Most went to the Italy game because it was Italy. I know so many people that use the usual lines of "Ah sure we dont have the players" with the senior team but are first out with the Ole Oles when we qualify or its a big game.

There should have been a full house last night, but instead there will be full boatloads of people going over to watch United or Liverpool this weekend.

elatedscum

20/11/2019, 8:37 PM

Irish people are event junkies. Most went to the Italy game because it was Italy. I know so many people that use the usual lines of "Ah sure we dont have the players" with the senior team but are first out with the Ole Oles when we qualify or its a big game.

There should have been a full house last night, but instead there will be full boatloads of people going over to watch United or Liverpool this weekend.

The FAI probably gave out a lot of tickets to New Zealand and Denmark to clubs, schools, etc, etc, whereas in the previous window, were the u21s the main attraction? Think it was 2 away games for the seniors in October.

Denmark game the night before probably reduced the number of season ticket holders going, given two games in two days.

Baltic weather didn't help. Was ****ing freezing.

Loss against Iceland really dampened enthusiasm with the side, given how well they did against Italy.

Probably all contributory factors

Razors left peg

20/11/2019, 8:38 PM

The FAI probably gave out a lot of tickets to New Zealand and Denmark to clubs, schools, etc, etc, whereas in the previous window, were the u21s the main attraction? Think it was 2 away games for the seniors in October.

Denmark game the night before probably reduced the number of season ticket holders going, given two games in two days.

Baltic weather didn't help. Was ****ing freezing.

Loss against Iceland really dampened enthusiasm with the side, given how well they did against Italy.

Probably all contributory factors

Maybe... but I would also bet that half the people who were at the Italy game wouldnt even have known that they lost to Iceland.

geysir

21/11/2019, 12:20 AM

elatedscum

21/11/2019, 12:54 PM

Why Tallaght again? Are Dalymount and Tolka out of the the question?

If I was part of the management setup or the team, I'd like the idea that we have a home stadium for the campaign. You get used to the pitch, the dressing rooms, everything and you start to feel comfortable after a few games, especially when things are going well at home, the sense of invincibility starts to build... I know it's only small but fine margins etc. etc.

Stuttgart88

21/11/2019, 1:21 PM

Insidetherock

21/11/2019, 1:56 PM

yep, definitely agree.. you have to create a fortress feeling somewhere

Charlie Darwin

21/11/2019, 2:44 PM

Sweden u21s are no mugs and have yet to play Italy. It augurs well for Ireland in this group.
Think we may need Sweden to get something against Italy to go into the final game with a realistic chance of topping the group.

geysir

21/11/2019, 3:19 PM

Tallaght is miles better too! I love Dalyer but it's in poor nick, with half the ground derelict or empty. I never liked Tolka.

If anything Turners Cross or a good non-Dublin venue would be good but I also think it's a good idea to have a home stadium.

Fair enough if Dalymount is in poor nick but I thought it might be more central and accessable, more so than travelling out to Tallaght. And wouldn't rent money go into Bohs coffers not the council?

jbyrne

21/11/2019, 3:32 PM

Fair enough if Dalymount is in poor nick but I thought it might be more central and accessable, more so than travelling out to Tallaght.

for who though? not everyone is attending from Dublin. Tallaght is obviously just off the main country motorway network.

tetsujin1979

21/11/2019, 4:50 PM

More parking too

Insidetherock

21/11/2019, 4:54 PM

for who though? not everyone is attending from Dublin. Tallaght is obviously just off the main country motorway network.

Yeah, Dubs are gas.. Tallaght is a bit further out than Dalymount

Don't make much difference if you're driving up from Tipp to watch it LOL

geysir

21/11/2019, 6:49 PM

for who though? not everyone is attending from Dublin. Tallaght is obviously just off the main country motorway network.
The point was made earlier about the dramatic fall in attendance for the Sweden game, is it all right for somebody to explore reasons no matter how dumb. I'm not presenting any argument, the only explanation offered so far was that the Irish sports fan is an event junkie. What do you think is the reason?
I didn't think about the culchies, that they would attend an u21 game and in such numbers that it would be a major factor in favour of a Tallaght venue.
Fado fado when I lived in civilised parts of south Dublin, Dalymount was a doddle to get to using public transport and after the game have a few pints in a decent hostelry before (having a kip on) the last bus home. I wouldn't have ventured out to Tallaght. Football fans (real ones) didn't own cars, at best a racing bike with a large padlock. But if Dalymount is a kip these days then it's not even an alternative, is it? Then it's a priority that Dalymount be brought up to standard. Shamrock Rovers are getting all the love.

,

Razors left peg

21/11/2019, 7:06 PM

To be fair the U21 games used to be spread around the country a bit and they were not well attended. I know it was different expectations for them etc but there really is very little interest outside of hardcore Ireland football fans.

I remember hearing the arguement that the national team should have the home stadium in somewhere like Athlone where it would be more easily accessible from everywhere in the country but you would hardly get 10000 at game if that happens. Like it or not the main base of supporters is in Dublin and while there is massive interest around the country when we do well its not enough. I say that as a Galway man and knowing how hard it is to even get people to go to Terryland on a regular basis.

tetsujin1979

21/11/2019, 8:19 PM

Also, there was a sizeable crowd at the Denmark game the night before. It's a lot to expect people to travel for games two nights in a row

elatedscum

21/11/2019, 8:25 PM

got a few random u21 attendance figures. tried to take the most recent available game for each home team that i could see published. Gives a little context on what a 7,200 attendance is and a 2,700 when you look at other countries...

England v Austria 11,772
Germany v Belgium 16,504
Bosnia v Germany 900
Wales v Germany 841
Finland v Denmark 1,527
Russia v Serbia 28,220
Serbia v Latvia 723
Latvia v Poland 350
Poland v Estonia 6,358
Romania v Finland 2,500

Fair play to the Russians anyway.

Olé Olé

21/11/2019, 10:19 PM

Population of 144m may help somewhat.

elatedscum

22/11/2019, 2:43 PM

Population of 144m may help somewhat.

But if you think the drive from Galway to Dublin is bad. The drive from St Petersburg to Saransk where it was played is a solid 16 hours...

Interestingly, where that game was played, Saransk, the capital of Mordovia has a population of only 300,000 and a stadium that holds 44,000

nigel-harps1954

22/11/2019, 3:00 PM

I wouldn't read too much into the attendance figures for that game.
Why Tallaght again? Are Dalymount and Tolka out of the the question?
I thought that 2nd half performance was one of the best by an Irish international team at any level (that I have seen).
Sweden u21s are no mugs and have yet to play Italy. It augurs well for Ireland in this group.

The facilities in Tallaght are top class. Massive dressing rooms and comfort for the players. That's not the case in Tolka and Dalymount, two grounds that are falling apart. As well as this, spectator facilities are far above both other grounds. Clean, well looked after toilets, ample food vendors, comfortable seating with a good view all around, and a good PA system where your ears aren't taken off you. It's the best ground in the LOI by some distance. 19 more of them and we'd be laughing.

Tallaght stadium is easily accessible, served by the Luas line, ten minutes off the motorway, and has plenty of parking available around it. There's next to no parking around Tolka or Dalymount and they're both in large built up areas.

I'd love to be able to get to under-21 games, but in Donegal, that's just not possible. I only get to a few of the senior games, let alone underage matches. But, despite that, I wouldn't be in favour of them moving games around the country. It devalues the product on the pitch and disrupts the players preparations by shoving them around every corner of the country to play games.

elatedscum

27/11/2019, 4:03 PM

Liam Scales has signed for Shamrock Rovers. Decent move for the lad.

I think he'd hope to have a season as a first choice there before moving across to an upper League 1 / lower championship side, similar to what Trev Clarke has done. Looked very good against Sweden.

Meanwhile, one-time prospect Kevin Toner has signed for a LSL side. Hard to fathom. Think he was first choice for most of the season for Pat's. I saw him play one game at home against Bohs during the summer and himself and Ciaran Kelly were excellent together.

DeLorean

28/11/2019, 8:29 AM

Meanwhile, one-time prospect Kevin Toner has signed for a LSL side. Hard to fathom. Think he was first choice for most of the season for Pat's. I saw him play one game at home against Bohs during the summer and himself and Ciaran Kelly were excellent together.

Was pretty shocked at that one too. Is there more to it than meets the eye, I wonder?

Stuttgart88

28/11/2019, 12:27 PM

jbyrne

28/11/2019, 12:37 PM

Given the choice - Seniors qualify for Euros or U21s qualify for theirs, which would people here pick?

Despite flying home for the Danish game my gut (yes, him again) told me on the Tuesday that I had more invested in the U21s for some reason.

why not both?
think of this scenario over the next 12 months...

1. seniors qualify
2. u21s qualify and..
3. the FAI board is completely overhauled with good people.

we might have turned a serious corner, on the international front anyway, then...

Stuttgart88

28/11/2019, 12:39 PM

It's no fun to add "both" as an option. The fun is in an "either / or" option!

SkStu

28/11/2019, 12:58 PM

Given the choice - Seniors qualify for Euros or U21s qualify for theirs, which would people here pick?

Despite flying home for the Danish game my gut (yes, him again) told me on the Tuesday that I had more invested in the U21s for some reason.

The u21's are, in every way, the future. Its not a surprise that your gut was rumbling again. :) Great question.

Despite our disagreement on whether the senior squad should be calling up more promising U21's as injury replacements instead of the never-will-be's that we usually call up (my thinking at the time being that senior success was far more important than underage), I think I would lean towards the u21's and more big tournament exposure for them. But i am sure i will be in the minority (dont @ me). ;)

tetsujin1979

28/11/2019, 1:27 PM

I think the U21s qualifying would lift the football fans, but the seniors qualifying would lift the entire country.

DeLorean

28/11/2019, 1:38 PM

Given the choice - Seniors qualify for Euros or U21s qualify for theirs, which would people here pick?

I'd say a lot of us are more invested in the U21's but their progress won't stall too much as a result of not qualifying. We'll probably never have a major tournament in our own country again so the seniors is a no brainer for me. And even if we didn't have some games in Dublin I would still say the seniors.

I see the U21 Euros will be in Hungary & Slovenia though, never been to either so could be a good opportunity!

pineapple stu

28/11/2019, 2:11 PM

Given the choice - Seniors qualify for Euros or U21s qualify for theirs, which would people here pick?

Despite flying home for the Danish game my gut (yes, him again) told me on the Tuesday that I had more invested in the U21s for some reason.
Seniors, no question.

Choosing the 21s to succeed over the seniors reminds me of the England team maybe 10/15 years ago, where they were always looking to a future which never really arrived, and pillorying their senior players into an early retirement.

elatedscum

28/11/2019, 3:58 PM

I'd take the seniors qualifying. I think you'd have to. As good as a successful tournament at underage level is, and as much as i like the management and players, memories are made at major tournaments and kids become life-long fans...

You could argue it's really important for the group of players and that in the long run it might be better for Ireland but I think that would be overstating it slightly.

It obviously depends how it goes, if the choice was winning the U21 championships, I would probably flip my vote.

Equally if it was a horror show akin to Euro 2012, I think I'd take the U21s.

Eirambler

29/11/2019, 2:58 PM

Seniors for me, the problem with the 21s is that the finals aren't until June 2021. By then a lot of our under 21 players (and of course the manager) will be in the middle of a World Cup qualifying campaign with the seniors and probably would end up not travelling to the Under 21 finals anyway.

We'll end up with Tom Mohan coaching a team missing a dozen of its best players, similar to the Under 19 championships a few months ago. Which is a shame, but that's the way of it, underage championships are always stacked in favour of the bigger nations.

tommy_c12000

30/11/2019, 2:15 PM

Interestingly, Kilkenny on the bench today for Bournemouth. Outside chance of him making his premier league debut. Molumby starts for millwall, Knight returns to Derby bench. No Collins or Masterson in match day squad. Ronan not starting for FC DAC who are about to win 1-0

Kingdom

03/02/2020, 10:12 AM

For anyone who is interested, I am very reliably informed, that the 21s are playing in Beggen for the qualifier in Luxembourg next month. It's about 15 mins by car from Luxembourg Gare Central.

https://www.wichtelweb.net/club/stadion/

Stuttgart88

07/02/2020, 1:35 PM

Small ground. We'll be beggen for tickets. Ooops...

elatedscum

09/03/2020, 3:10 PM

Kelleher has a knee ligament injury, unfortunate timing with Alisson's injury...

This would be my squad assuming there are no call ups:

Travers (McGinty)
Bazunu

L O’Connor
McNamara

Masterson
O’Shea (Conor McCarthy)
Scales
Collins

T O’Connor
T Clarke

Coventry
Mandriou

Molumby (Taylor)
Knight

Ronan
Smallbone

Connolly (Farrugia)
Elbouzedi

Obafemi (Farrugia)
Afolabi

Parrott
Idah

Kingdom

11/03/2020, 1:36 AM

I would say that Jacko will be a definite in the squad given the form he's been in for Peterborough.

elatedscum

11/03/2020, 2:43 PM

I would say that Jacko will be a definite in the squad given the form he's been in for Peterborough.

to be honest, i would imagine Taylor will be picked ahead of Mandriou by Kenny. They've both impressed me, I've seen a little more of Mandriou which is maybe why I rate him a little higher. They're also different types of midfielder with different strengths... I think both have the potential to play at a much higher level than they currently play.

Coventry, Molumby and Ronan have been ever-presents when fit and been really good. Knight and Smallbone are both performing at a level for their club, where they need to be included. Which just leaves the the last slot between those two lads and probably Gavin Kilkenny (assuming Smallbone accepts a call-up)...

I'd also say Kenny will have Darragh Leahy in the squad over Trevor Clarke, which is also an entirely justifiable decision...

tetsujin1979

27/03/2020, 10:51 AM

The game against Sweden has been added to YouTube
_hVpPCpQXfs

tetsujin1979

05/04/2020, 1:26 PM

New management team of Jim Crawford and John O'Shea confirmed: https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/fai-confirm-senior-mens-and-under-21-management-teams

Jim Crawford has been promoted to manager of the Ireland Under-21 side and will be assisted by John O’Shea.

tetsujin1979

25/06/2020, 10:28 AM

Dates for final qualifiers, and a friendly, confirmed: https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/dates-confirmed-for-ireland-u-21-qualifiers

Ireland U-21 Fixtures - 2020
07/09 - Slovenia v Ireland - International Friendly
13/10 - Italy v Ireland - U-21 European Championships Qualifier
12/11 - Ireland v Iceland - U-21 European Championships Qualifier
17/11 - Luxembourg v Ireland - U-21 European Championships Qualifier

Table: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_UEFA_European_Under-21_Championship_qualification#Group_1
currently top the group on 16 points, ahead of Italy on 13 who have a game in hand, and better goal difference

elatedscum

25/07/2020, 6:29 PM

CraftyToePoke

25/07/2020, 6:40 PM

Saw Mandriou has been linked with a Dutch side, FC Twente. Maybe Jack Byrne could advise him of the merits of the move. Definitely a step up from LOI and if he does well there, are probably a platform to move to a better club

Now this is interesting, love to see our lads begin to look beyond the UK game and the chance to do so opening up.

Olé Olé

25/07/2020, 8:50 PM

And Kevin Zefi reported to be headed for Inter:
https://twitter.com/noriordan/status/1286940298522894336?s=19

elatedscum

26/07/2020, 2:26 PM

i think it'll happen a lot more frequently now. especially kids around Zefi's age. At some point during Brexit, not really sure when, perhaps now, the EU exemption regarding the movement of players under 18 will no longer apply to England and Scotland, meaning their academies can't bring in U18s from outside the country (except when the family moves to the UK for entirely non-footballing reasons). That's the reason Evan Ferguson's move to Brighton was cancelled.

So with England and Scotland off the table, there'll be plenty of European clubs looking to Ireland and plenty of Irish kids looking to Europe.

Hard to tell if it's a good thing yet, it's certainly the great unknown. For better or worse, England has been the primary route for the past 30 years. Obviously it's closer to home and easier to arrange flights to and from Dublin and there's no language barrier. But the structures in place in English clubs regarding reserve football often make the transition harder and generally English clubs are financially sound enough that they rarely need to rely on academy players.

I'd say you'll have some kids sticking around till 18, that was briefly en vogue with the likes of Aaron Bolger, Trev Clarke and Brandon Kavanagh sticking around at Rovers, it looked like that might become more prevalent. But with those lads struggling and with the departure of Bazunu to England, someone else left Rovers who i can't remember now, then the likes of Sinclair and Zefi look destined for Europe now, it looks like they haven't been really able to keep the brightest talents. Whether Italy or Inter is ideal is another question, my only recent knowledge of them is the handling of Ryan Nolan which hasn't really worked out too well. Maybe in a decade France or Germany or Spain could become the prime location

Bohs have kept Andy Lyons and there's a few other good lads like Tierney, Grant, Ferguson and Devoy who have only played in Ireland so far. But they primarily seem to be doing a good job of signing lads who return home from the UK and integrating them into first team football (Leahy, Talbot, Mandriou, Finnerty, Levingstone, Thompson, McAuley etc etc).

It'll certainly be an interesting few years...

Olé Olé

26/07/2020, 2:48 PM

Great post and very true on all fronts in terms of the variety of routes and uncertainty (like everything else at present).

I think James Furlong is the lad you are referring to that left Rovers.

Eirambler

26/07/2020, 3:00 PM

As things stand December 31st is the Brexit cut off. Players need to be 16 before then to go to England.

Hard to know for sure if players are better staying or going at that age. Take for example Bazunu. If he stayed he'd have played another year or more of first team football in Ireland. But then he might learn a lot about goalkeeping in the Man City academy too, especially the distribution side of the position working alongside someone like Ederson.

Maybe signing players and loaning them back, with "holiday" stints in the UK academies alongside first team football in Ireland might be an option, if that can be done legally.

Eirambler

27/07/2020, 11:23 AM

It's a while away yet but we're going to be looking at a slightly depleted looking Under 21 team for the rest of the qualifiers. Strong probability that Connolly, Molumby and O'Shea will no longer be available. Potentially Obafemi, Smallbone, Knight, maybe even Idah might be senior callups as well and Travers will presumably stay with the Seniors also.

Even then though, we still have the potential to put together a decent enough squad.

GK:Kelleher/Bazunu
RB: L O'Connor/McNamara
LB: T O'Connor/Burke/Clarke
CB: Collins/Scales
CB: Masterson/O'Hora
CM: Coventry/Connell
CM: Knight/Hodge/Taylor
CM: Smallbone/Ronan
LW: Ferry/Scully
RW: Obafemi/Kilkenny/Elbouzedi
CF: Idah/Parrott/Afolabi

Getting a bit tight on cover in central defence if O'Shea moves up, but otherwise still looking pretty strong.

ColourfulPeanut

27/07/2020, 11:39 AM

I think you can forget about Connolly, Obafemi, Molumby, Smallbone and O'Shea all things going well. They're more than worth a senior call up at this point.

Without them it's still shockingly strong when you compare it to some of the squads we had before where, like when we had a clubless Grego-Cox leading the line.

tetsujin1979

25/08/2020, 3:42 PM

Training camp squad set to be announced, and will cause the postponement of Shamrock Rovers v Bohemians: https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/league-of-ireland/shamrock-rovers-v-bohemians-clash-to-be-postponed-over-ireland-u21-training-camp-39476695.html

Rovers have requested for the game to be postponed because Neil Farrugia and Liam Scales are in Jim Crawford's plans for a gathering in Northern Ireland in preparation for the remainder of their qualifying campaign.

Bohemians duo Danny Grant and Danny Mandroiu will also be with the U-21 team so their boss Keith Long has no issue with the Rovers request which will have to be granted.