U23 players 2019/20

[Trequartista20]

It could prove a very profitable move.

Hope it goes well for the lad.

[elatedscum]

Aaron Bolger has gone on loan back to Rovers. Really a season where he should have been trying to break into the Cardiff dude. Shame it hasn’t really worked out for him. Of all of last years U19s midfielders (2018-19): Coventry, Knight, Smallbone, Connell. Hodge etc, he was the one who stood out most for that under 19 side.

Aldo Rovers have an absolutely stacked midfield, couldn’t have picked a more difficult side in Ireland to get first team football. Off the top of my head, Byrne, McEneff, O’Neill, Finn, Kavanagh. I’m sure I’m forgetting a few

[Olé Olé]

A half season loan to the LOI hardly constitutes the Cardiff move not working out for him. He'll be back in time for the second half of the Championship.

[Eirambler]

He seemed fairly heavily involved in pre season last year, interesting that they're not waiting until after pre-season to loan him out this year, they've obviously already made up their minds that he's not in their plans for now.

A bit disappointing that he hasn't made an impact there yet, maybe with a good spell at Rovers he could push himself into Ireland under 21 consideration, but the midfield areas of both Rovers and the Ireland under 21s are fairly stacked at the moment so he has plenty to prove this coming season. I certainly wouldn't be writing him off yet though and first team football, even if it's with Rovers seconds in the first division, is better for him than sitting around not playing in Cardiff.

[DCWA]

Would he not have been playing u23 football at Cardiff at all?

Most certainly better than playing second tier football in Ireland for Rovers II

[tetsujin1979]

Following the curtailment of the 2019/20 season in England, Derby have announced that Eiran Cashin, Festy Ebosele, and Harry Halwax have moved up their U23 squad: https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2020/08/under-23-under-18-squads-update-ahead-of-202021-season
Strangely, no mention of Jayden Charles

[CraftyToePoke]

Strangely, no mention of Jayden Charles

Released I think.

[tetsujin1979]

Gavin Bazunu added to Man City's Champions League squad, replacing Leroy Sane: https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0260-100ca3de00b3-88d2fd8a6ae0-1000--final-squad-changes/

[tetsujin1979]

Released I think.

Yeah, the article was updated to include his release

[Eirambler]

Gavin Bazunu added to Man City's Champions League squad, replacing Leroy Sane: https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0260-100ca3de00b3-88d2fd8a6ae0-1000--final-squad-changes/

A decent achievement, doesn't qualify for the B list because he hasn't been at City long enough. Presumably a lot of their other youth players (the likes of Hodge) would also technically be in through the B list.

[Eirambler]

Lee O'Connor named Ireland player of the year at Under 21 age level.

Some contrast between his club career and his international career to date. Euro 19s finals, Under 21 regular from age of 18, Under 21 player of the year and a senior cap versus a handful of games and poor enough reports from his time at Partick Thistle.

[elatedscum]

Molumby and Ronan fairly hard done by there...

[samhaydenjr]

Gavin Bazunu added to Man City's Champions League squad, replacing Leroy Sane: https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0260-100ca3de00b3-88d2fd8a6ae0-1000--final-squad-changes/

Great news but replacing Leroy Sane? Are we expecting Bazunu to start scoring 10 a season?

[tetsujin1979]

According to some reports, he could do a job in centre mid!

[Olé Olé]

Ryan Cassidy tweeted last night that he was "absolutely buzzing... ⚽" Word is that he is moving on loan to Accrington Stanley. They finished in the lower half of League One last season. They don't appear to have many forward options at present so he will get opportunities. Adjusting to League One level will be his challenge.

[Eirambler]

Good move for him if true. Stanley are apparently cutting their squad to the bare bones this season so there should be plenty of first team opportunities for him if he goes there.

League 1 is a decent level for him to be playing at at this stage of his development.

He has long been talked about in the same context as Idah, Connolly etc. but to be honest I have hardly if ever seen the lad play, so this would finally give us the chance to see what his potential might be.

Another player who was always mentioned in that group was Glen Mcauley, but it hasn't worked out for him at all. Is he still at Bohs?

[Olé Olé]

I thought McAuley was with Bohs but he wasn't in their squad at the weekend against Cork City.

I think both McAuley and Cassidy had issues within our underage set-up. I could be wrong but I think both were expecting more game time or I have seen that speculated.

Neither has kicked in at club level as quickly as Idah, Connolly, Obafemi or Parrott. These four lads have all graduated to under 21 and senior level quicker too. I do think that says something about appetite and work ethic and believing your own hype.

I'll qualify that in stating that there have been different little scenarios amongst the four golden boys. As it stands, as of now, they are in very, very strong positions regardless of any challenges they have had.

[tetsujin1979]

Not sure about Cassidy, but McAuley refused a call up to the UEFA U17 Championships because he was told he'd be playing on the wing instead of up front.

[dynamo kerry]

It really is a great loan in theory. If he plays and scores 5 or 6 goals in a mid table team that's a good start. If he stays after jan and gets to double figures while also developing physically he will do fine. The snag is the physical and mental development when away from parent club staff... dont know anything about Cassidy personally but this is an enormous opportunity

[Stuttgart88]

Was it Cassidy who scored a belter for Watford U23s at Anfield? Sheer pace and an emphatic finish. That's all I have seen of him apart from his 6 pack on twitter last week. Aaron Connolly has one too, and rumour has it Crafty Toe Poke has one in the making.

[tetsujin1979]

Yeah, was a great goal from him
1107632852886319105

[elatedscum]

I thought McAuley was with Bohs but he wasn't in their squad at the weekend against Cork City.

I think both McAuley and Cassidy had issues within our underage set-up. I could be wrong but I think both were expecting more game time or I have seen that speculated.

Neither has kicked in at club level as quickly as Idah, Connolly, Obafemi or Parrott. These four lads have all graduated to under 21 and senior level quicker too. I do think that says something about appetite and work ethic and believing your own hype.

I'll qualify that in stating that there have been different little scenarios amongst the four golden boys. As it stands, as of now, they are in very, very strong positions regardless of any challenges they have had.

McAuley wasn't in the Bohs squad due to concussion

RE underage set-up: McAuley seemed not to get on with one of the underage managers and Cassidy, as far as I remember was more the family making a big deal when he wasn't included in the 17s squad despite scoring 30 goals for Watford U18s or something.

[Olé Olé]

https://www.watfordfc.com/draft/article/official-new-contract-loan-for-cassidy

Loan to Accrington Stanley confirmed for Ryan Cassidy. It all sounds very positive for him. His Twitter has evidence of his physical progression since his action was halted too to support the academy manager claims in that regard.

[Olé Olé]

Danny Grant has opened the scoring here for Bohs against Dundalk. He looks a player.

[CraftyToePoke]

https://www.watfordfc.com/draft/article/official-new-contract-loan-for-cassidy

Loan to Accrington Stanley confirmed for Ryan Cassidy. It all sounds very positive for him. His Twitter has evidence of his physical progression since his action was halted too to support the academy manager claims in that regard.

Interview here with him.

https://twitter.com/ASFCofficial/status/1291760689921564674?s=20

[Eirambler]

I don't blame Mandriou for being unhappy with the (gargled) tweet that Bohs put out tonight. It was obviously a joke or a mistake but could potentially cause reputational damage to a player who I'm sure still has aspirations to play at a higher level.

Interesting to see the likes of Connolly and Molumby on twitter backing up his statement. To them it must look like amateur hour compared to the professional setup they'll be used to at Brighton.

[samhaydenjr]

https://www.watfordfc.com/draft/article/official-new-contract-loan-for-cassidy

Loan to Accrington Stanley confirmed for Ryan Cassidy. It all sounds very positive for him. His Twitter has evidence of his physical progression since his action was halted too to support the academy manager claims in that regard.

Great news - by the looks of it, this season we could well have two U21 strikers playing regularly in the Premier League (Obafemi and Connolly), two in the Championship (Idah and Parrott), two in League One (Scully and Cassidy), Kayode in League Two, Keena in Scottish League One and Afolabi in Scottish Championship/League One - so potentially nine young Irish strikers banging in goals in the UK!

[elatedscum]

I don't blame Mandriou for being unhappy with the (gargled) tweet that Bohs put out tonight. It was obviously a joke or a mistake but could potentially cause reputational damage to a player who I'm sure still has aspirations to play at a higher level.

Interesting to see the likes of Connolly and Molumby on twitter backing up his statement. To them it must look like amateur hour compared to the professional setup they'll be used to at Brighton.

Whoever posted that should be removed from going near Bohs account. It was obviously meant as a joke but one that shouldn’t have been made and contributed negatively to his reputation.

As for Connolly, he has spent the last week spraying bottles of champagne and lobbing Grey Goose around Ibiza - he is very young but it’s not a great look considering what the general population is going through

I assume and hope that Mandriou hasn’t used the time injured to visit Ibiza as has been suggested online. That would be a terrible decision.

I know he’s trying to support his girlfriend etc etc but the stuff he posted on Twitter was incredibly stupid, minimising people dying from Covid.

As Derek Pender retired, he emphasised in interviews how Mandriou really needed to work, to train properly and to focus. Equally the likes of Molumby and Connolly and others have all spoken of Mandriou as being the most talented U21 from the current squad. I remember seeing him on the bench against Luxembourg and at half time, he was pinging shots from near the halfway line. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was so effortless and they were like bullets. Genuinely jaw dropping stuff.

There’s a real danger that he wastes his enormous talent.

[Eirambler]

Yes I've seen some of the Connolly stuff. I'd probably let him off as a one off as it is the off season and he's unlikely to get another decent break until next summer with the fixture situation. He's just signed a new life changing contract as well after a huge season of progress.

Hopefully Mandriou can get a run of games and get another shot at a higher level after Brighton didn't work out for him.

[tetsujin1979]

Bazunu included in man City's travelling squad: https://www.mancity.com/news/mens/champions-league-travelling-squad-lisbon-63732679

[Eirambler]

It looks as though Armstrong Oko-Flex may have been quietly let go by Celtic. Has also removed all references to Celtic in his Instagram bio.

Plenty of rumour/information on twitter as to why that may have happened.

[Olé Olé]

https://www.givemesport.com/1591522-spurs-set-to-allow-two-youngsters-to-leave-this-summer

Jamie Bowden lining up a move to the Championship or League One it appears. No harm for him at all. International opportunities probably won't extend to under 21 level for him given the level of competition there. Although if he ripped it up on loan anything I'd possible.

[CraftyToePoke]

https://www.givemesport.com/1591522-spurs-set-to-allow-two-youngsters-to-leave-this-summer

Jamie Bowden lining up a move to the Championship or League One it appears. No harm for him at all. International opportunities probably won't extend to under 21 level for him given the level of competition there. Although if he ripped it up on loan anything I'd possible.

If he hits the Championship running, then that's what the NL is for, round them up.

[tetsujin1979]

New contract for Lewis Richards at Wolves: https://www.wolves.co.uk/news/under-23/20200814-richards-agrees-new-deal/

[ColourfulPeanut]

Any reason he hasn't been involved with the 21s? I know he's young but we're pretty weak at left back.

[tetsujin1979]

Any reason he hasn't been involved with the 21s? I know he's young but we're pretty weak at left back.

No idea, but he was with the U19s for their qualifiers last November: https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/mohan-names-under-19-squad-for-qualifiers-in-austria

[elatedscum]

He was involved at 19s recently and he has another campaign at 21s.

You’ve got Thomas O’Connor, Dara Leahy, Trev Clarke, Tyreke Wilson in the 98-99 Group and Ledwidge who has been involved from a younger group. There’s no standout really. But there’s plenty of lads at a similar enough level who are probably ahead of him right now.

My take on them is that Leahy is defensively the best. O’Connor is the most composed and best technical footballer and Clarke is the best dribbler and tackler - Kenny described him as a ‘raider’. Wilson might actually be the quickest, he was recovering from injury when he was involved in Toulon and looked a shadow of his former self. What I’ve seen of him this season, he’s more or less back to what he was. Lightweight but quick, aggressive and technically sound - but he really can’t cross a ball to save his life... Ledwidge looked good at 19s but going up to 21s struggled.

You’ve also got Furlong who looked great for the 17s last summer and Ogungbo (spelling?) who I believe like Richards can play either centre back or left back. Feel like there might be someone else I’m forgetting in that centre back / left back mould from 2001

[elatedscum]

I think that’s just they played Sobawele at fullback in November. Interestingly from what I’ve seen at academy level, all 6 defenders in that squad were playing primarily at centre back at the time.

[elatedscum]

Interesting little vid here: https://www.facebook.com/WeMakeFootballers/videos/497984527713696/?vh=e

[Eirambler]

He was involved at 19s recently and he has another campaign at 21s.

You’ve got Thomas O’Connor, Dara Leahy, Trev Clarke, Tyreke Wilson in the 98-99 Group and Ledwidge who has been involved from a younger group. There’s no standout really. But there’s plenty of lads at a similar enough level who are probably ahead of him right now.

My take on them is that Leahy is defensively the best. O’Connor is the most composed and best technical footballer and Clarke is the best dribbler and tackler - Kenny described him as a ‘raider’. Wilson might actually be the quickest, he was recovering from injury when he was involved in Toulon and looked a shadow of his former self. What I’ve seen of him this season, he’s more or less back to what he was. Lightweight but quick, aggressive and technically sound - but he really can’t cross a ball to save his life... Ledwidge looked good at 19s but going up to 21s struggled.

You’ve also got Furlong who looked great for the 17s last summer and Ogungbo (spelling?) who I believe like Richards can play either centre back or left back. Feel like there might be someone else I’m forgetting in that centre back / left back mould from 2001

Connell has played left back for Ireland at under 19 level. He's a 2001. Also Ryan Burke (November 2000) is a left back.

We're not short of options anyway.

[Olé Olé]

He was involved at 19s recently and he has another campaign at 21s.

You’ve got Thomas O’Connor, Dara Leahy, Trev Clarke, Tyreke Wilson in the 98-99 Group and Ledwidge who has been involved from a younger group. There’s no standout really. But there’s plenty of lads at a similar enough level who are probably ahead of him right now.

My take on them is that Leahy is defensively the best. O’Connor is the most composed and best technical footballer and Clarke is the best dribbler and tackler - Kenny described him as a ‘raider’. Wilson might actually be the quickest, he was recovering from injury when he was involved in Toulon and looked a shadow of his former self. What I’ve seen of him this season, he’s more or less back to what he was. Lightweight but quick, aggressive and technically sound - but he really can’t cross a ball to save his life... Ledwidge looked good at 19s but going up to 21s struggled.

You’ve also got Furlong who looked great for the 17s last summer and Ogungbo (spelling?) who I believe like Richards can play either centre back or left back. Feel like there might be someone else I’m forgetting in that centre back / left back mould from 2001

I haven't seen much of it at Gillingham but I believe O'Connor finished out the season strongly there on the left of a midfield diamond. From watching him at left back for Ireland, I think your point regarding the composure and technique is right. I reckon he would be well served getting a good loan to a progressive Championship side to play midfield this season. He is definitely in the mould of player that Southampton have developed.ovet recent years with guys who can play in multiple positions- I think Chambers is a good example and Stephens and Valery have all flitted between midfield and defence, whilst Ward-Prowse can play anywhere in midfield.

As an aside on this guy, he is prodigiously talented at both GAA codes. Before he left for Southampton he hit 2-6 against a St Brendan's side full of Hogan cup winners in the year or two that followed: https://www.the42.ie/good-counsel-st-brendans-2073369-Apr2015/

[Olé Olé]

Danny Grant has scored again for Bohs. This lad could break into the under 21 side rather quickly given the extended break somebody like Elbouzedi has had to sit through.

[Demesne Lad]

Saturday 15 August: Josh Giurgi (second-half sub), Simon Power (first half) and Andrew Omobamidele played for Norwich U-23s, beaten 0-2 by Portsmouth, for whom Ronan Curtis scored from a free kick.

[Olé Olé]

Very strange to see Simon Power being given that game, given that he has been sent to King's Lynn for the last season of his contract.

Ryan Cassidy went and scored for Accrington Stanley today against Oldham.

[SkStu]

Aaron O'Driscoll has left Southampton by mutual consent. He is 21 so probably the right move for him to get a chance elsewhere. Will be interesting to see where he ends up next.

[youngirish]

Aaron O'Driscoll has left Southampton by mutual consent. He is 21 so probably the right move for him to get a chance elsewhere. Will be interesting to see where he ends up next.

Apparently Mansfield Town according to this:

https://www.herald.ie/sport/soccer/ward-set-to-sign-one-year-ipswich-deal-39450286.html

[Eirambler]

That would be five Irish under 23 players at Mansfield, so a club to keep an eye on next season, albeit none of the five would be among our highest rated young players.

[Dunners]

Corey O’Keeffe also just signed for Mansfield after being released by Birmingham this summer. They are managed by Graham Coughlan he is building an Irish contingent

[Olé Olé]

Aaron O'Driscoll to Mansfield has been confirmed. He joins Ryan Sweeney, James Clarke, Corey O'Keeffe and Harry Charsley there.

[Eirambler]

Irish under 21 player Dan McNamara starting for St Johnsone in the live Sky game tonight. Not a player I have seen a huge amount of, he's playing right wing back.