Troy Parrott F AZ Alkmaar b.2002

[Diggs246]

None of those players were child stars

Its a completely different phycological hurdle to go from being the next Bergkamp to league 1 failure back to being a star again

[seanfhear]

None of those players were child stars

Its a completely different phycological hurdle to go from being the next Bergkamp to league 1 failure back to being a star again
Being a Child star rarely works out in show business long term. Maybe the same can be said of football.

[tommy_c12000]

Troy starts today with Conor Coventry vs Doncaster. A couple of goals for Troy incoming against the bottom side to get him back on track! Come on lads 👍🏻 👍🏻

[tommy_c12000]

MK Dons just signed Connor Wickham. They’re now loaded with attacking options. Let’s see if Troy can rediscover some form today…he needs to if he wants to see more consistent starts at MK Dons

[Demesne Lad]

Parrrott has had 4 of his side's 12 shots in the first half -- but Doncaster are leading by a goal from their 3.

[JR89]

Live Score have him down as playing as the 10 in a 4-2-3-1 but think he's playing LW with Twine as the 10 going by comments on the MK Dons forum.

[tommy_c12000]

Not a good day for MK Dons, lost 0-1 at home to bottom side. Parrott not getting much love on forum or Twitter. Let’s see if any movement before transfer window closes or if he’ll try to tough it out. Wickham being brought in along with the Wolves forward is concerning

[Demesne Lad]

Not a good day for MK Dons, lost 0-1 at home to bottom side. Parrott not getting much love on forum or Twitter. Let’s see if any movement before transfer window closes or if he’ll try to tough it out. Wickham being brought in along with the Wolves forward is concerning

"....the lack of options in attack have left (manager) Manning eager to find more cutting edge before the transfer window is over....

'It's something we're looking at at the moment,' he admitted.....'We had 17 shots from inside their box, so it just comes down to quality. You can over-analyse how that looks, in terms of the week we've had, but it was just down to quality in the penalty box.' (MK Citizen, 22 Jan).

[JR89]

Not a good day for MK Dons, lost 0-1 at home to bottom side. Parrott not getting much love on forum or Twitter. Let’s see if any movement before transfer window closes or if he’ll try to tough it out. Wickham being brought in along with the Wolves forward is concerning

One forum he is getting sympathy from some fans alright, and was played out of position on the wing yesterday. Also feel the frustrations of MK Dons fans is probably high enough as it is without losing to the team coming last given their squad has been pulled apart again mid season by loans being recalled and have lost probably the best player in League One in O'Riley and probably won't spend any of his money to strengthen the squad.

He should definitely tough it out before finding a new team in League One next season or even a return to MK Dons depending how the season ends. Can't cut another loan short.

[tommy_c12000]

Playing well tonight apparently. Hit post and just had a volley saved. Just needs a goal!!! Eisa another forward has been poor for a while now.

[tommy_c12000]

https://twitter.com/mkdonsfc/status/1486141843448504325?s=21 Parrott’s two big chances from 1:04 to 1:30 or so.

Wickham with the assist for Twine’s goal. Eisa now being scapegoated, so hopefully Parrott should continue to start with Wickham replacing Eisa. Troy just needs a couple of goals….how many times have we said that already in his fledging career

[pineapple stu]

Got a full 90 minutes in a 2-1 win over Lincoln today (for whom Anthony Scully played the full game). Parrott was the only one of the front three to stay on the whole game, but the two goals came from defenders. Seems to have a good 15 minutes at the start of the second half, and can't have played that badly overall if he got the whole game, but it's now 17 league games without a goal I think, and it'd really be good to see that streak broken sooner rather than later.

[liamoo11]

Got a full 90 minutes in a 2-1 win over Lincoln today (for whom Anthony Scully played the full game). Parrott was the only one of the front three to stay on the whole game, but the two goals came from defenders. Seems to have a good 15 minutes at the start of the second half, and can't have played that badly overall if he got the whole game, but it's now 17 league games without a goal I think, and it'd really be good to see that streak broken sooner rather than later.

Seems to have worked hard in last few weeks after maybe a bit of a slump following his covid absence. Lads on ybig had him pegged for a loan in league 2 so good to see him back in the side again. Still a top quality footballer who may be eventually best as a 10 in a midfield 3 bit like how Scholes transitioned from striker to creative midfielder at utd

[tommy_c12000]

Troy has really turned it around since my motivational post. Another good game today, MOTM according to a prominent Sunderland journalist https://t.co/yOXQJvgD0j with an excellent assist. I’m still awaiting a link to assist. I believe he’s been out wife left a lot. It would be nice if he played centrally consistently and started scoring of course

[tommy_c12000]

Assist here: https://twitter.com/reptracker/status/1495106491052871680?s=21

[Jd2793]

great to hear, was worried a few weeks back. hes really upped it in recent weeks, few goals to top things off would be great for him.

[MancIrishWolf]

Certainly seems to be winning fans over and getting lauded more for his creativity and endeavour - potentially becoming more Son than Kane.

MK Dons up to 3rd now with a strong Irish contingent with Coventry & O’Hora playing yesterday. Liam Manning looks a good young manager - interesting if he had any Irish heritage also.

https://www.sitdownorwellstealyourclub.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7212&start=20

[Jd2793]

not a week goes by now without MK fans/media giving him the plaudits after a game. had a good chance at 2-0 apparently real pity he couldnt get on the score sheet think itd do wonders for his confidence. if twitter is any barometer of mk dons fan sentiment then he was outstanding again. heartening to hear its a lot of off the ball work and dirty stuff hes getting through in games, not any sort of billy big ******** because hes on loan from a pl team

[Jd2793]

finally got his goals tonight. hes a shoe in for the next squad , hopefully can bring this form into the next window.

[SkStu]

Foot.ie last month:


'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!

[tommy_c12000]

Great to see. Hopefully he can continue to finish the season strongly…

[paul_oshea]

finally got his goals tonight. hes a shoe in for the next squad , hopefully can bring this form into the next window.

2 goals since September?!

[nigel-harps1954]

https://www.skysports.com/football/milton-keynes-dons-vs-cheltenham-town/report/448182

Two excellent finishes too.

[John83]

Foot.ie last month:
I had a look at the actual posts last month. One guy said he should move home, which was a bit dramatic all right, but otherwise there were maybe 3 or 4 people expressing some mild disappointment that he wasn't playing well or scoring and fearing the loan move hadn't worked out. For context, the previous month, the lad's manager was talking about bringing in attacking options in the transfer window and things hadn't improved. Why are there so many people here who treat measured discussion as hysteria? I swear, I fear we'll have to get the Samaritans involved if Parrott doesn't make it as an international.

[SkStu]

I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek. Trying to bring a bit of humour to the discussion. Poking fun at the rollercoaster of opinions and emotions that is often on display here as it relates to our young prospects.

[Jd2793]

2 goals since September?!

hes been one of the best players on a promotion chasing team in L1 over last few weeks . Hes said himself hes disappointed with his goals tally but his all round game has come on massively according to manager/fans/journos. Its obvious at this point aswell that hes not a no9 as many expected a few years ago

[ifk101]

Good to see him get back to scoring, the second goal was class, and certainly noises suggest he has turned a corner the past 4 – 6 weeks. That said, Spurs recently brought in Kulusevski who plays a position/ role similar to Parrott. As Kulusevski was brought in by Conte, and likely will be favoured by Conte going forward for that reason, Parrott really needs to kick on from here if the goal is to get into the Spurs team. Ability wise I think he is better than Kulusevski but his adjustment to senior football has been slow to say the least and maybe Spurs have already moved on ….?

[pineapple stu]

I wouldn't be fixated on Spurs tbh. First team experience is more important. If he was released in the summer (and I don't know when his contract is up) but he stayed with MK Dons and they were promoted, I'd call that a pretty good result. (In as much as any outcome where MK Dons get promoted can be called "pretty good")

If he's good enough to reach PL level, someone will likely spot that. Doesn't have to be Spurs, though it would be nice of course

[paul_oshea]

I had a look at the actual posts last month. One guy said he should move home, which was a bit dramatic all right, but otherwise there were maybe 3 or 4 people expressing some mild disappointment that he wasn't playing well or scoring and fearing the loan move hadn't worked out. For context, the previous month, the lad's manager was talking about bringing in attacking options in the transfer window and things hadn't improved. Why are there so many people here who treat measured discussion as hysteria? I swear, I fear we'll have to get the Samaritans involved if Parrott doesn't make it as an international.

Great post! And thanks for doing something I'm far too lazy and incapable of doing !

We're Ireland supporters for far too long to not be measured and controlled in our assessment of young players playing at the lower levels of professional football.

[Eirambler]

I wouldn't be fixated on Spurs tbh. First team experience is more important. If he was released in the summer (and I don't know when his contract is up) but he stayed with MK Dons and they were promoted, I'd call that a pretty good result. (In as much as any outcome where MK Dons get promoted can be called "pretty good")

If he's good enough to reach PL level, someone will likely spot that. Doesn't have to be Spurs, though it would be nice of course

I think we may have reached the point where we have to like MK Dons, since they have three young Irish lads doing well there - they would have had four if Kioso hadn't been pointlessly recalled to sit on the bench at Luton.

Wigan, Rotherham, MK Dons and Oxford are all League 1 teams that it would be good to see promoted from an Irish point of view. Obviously all four can't be, but hopefully three of them are.

[pineapple stu]

MK Dons might have no Irish players in two years' time.

But they'll still be the precedent for moving your club 50 miles away against the wishes of the fans

[Jd2793]

Good to see him get back to scoring, the second goal was class, and certainly noises suggest he has turned a corner the past 4 – 6 weeks. That said, Spurs recently brought in Kulusevski who plays a position/ role similar to Parrott. As Kulusevski was brought in by Conte, and likely will be favoured by Conte going forward for that reason, Parrott really needs to kick on from here if the goal is to get into the Spurs team. Ability wise I think he is better than Kulusevski but his adjustment to senior football has been slow to say the least and maybe Spurs have already moved on ….?

no chance parrot is at kulusevskis level tbh, outlandlish claim.

[ifk101]

I think ability wise he is better than Kulusevski. Is he at Kulusevski’s current level? – no, but that outlandish claim was not made. :-)

It is not that long ago that Parrott was outshining Kulusevski in an underage international match btw …..

[pineapple stu]

I think ability wise he is better than Kulusevski. Is he at Kulusevski’s current level? – no, but that outlandish claim was not made. :-)
You seem to have an unusual definition of "ability-wise".

Do you mean you think he has more potential than Kulusevski?

[ifk101]

You seem to have an unusual definition of "ability-wise".

I do?


Do you mean you think he has more potential than Kulusevski?

Not necessarily. I mean technically, ability-wise, Parrott is better.

[Jd2793]

kulusevski has played nearly 6000 minutes at serie a level. parrott has had one good loan spell in league 1 , can you stop with the nonsense.

[pineapple stu]

On what basis do you think the 20-times capped Swedish international who already has two goals and three assists in seven games for Spurs (not to mention his 75 games for Juve) is better than the League One forward who has 7 goals in 63 games in the English third tier, and has generally looked lost at senior international level?

I mean something slightly deeper than just "ability-wise".

[ifk101]

I haven’t said Parrott is better than Kulusevski. I’ve said ability wise I think he is better – and subsequently clarified this to mean technical ability. There is no question that Kulusevski has achieved more than Parrott in his career to date, there is no comparison and I'm not saying otherwise, but this is not in conflict with having the opinion that one aspect of Parrott’s game is better than Kulusevski.

[pineapple stu]

I think even that's a fairly big claim to be honest.

What parts of Parrott's game do you think are lacking to make up for the evident ("no comparison") difference between the two players?

[ifk101]

You can read between the lines yourself but on his recent improvement in fortune he said the following:

"But I just realised I couldn’t sit around and let it go by. I needed to make every time I was on the pitch count, and give it 110% every game. Ultimately, you get one shot at it, and I want to be a footballer. I want to play at a high level, and I realised that I couldn’t just let it go by. Form comes into it a little bit, and confidence. But I’ve come to terms with it.. If I run the way I do, and if I give it 110% the rest will look after itself. Form is temporary, and giving 110% every week is something that I can choose to do. It’s my choice if I want to do that every week or not. And that’s what I want to do."

As an aside, I thought Anthony Stokes was technically very good but .....

[kennedmc]

no chance parrot is at kulusevskis level tbh, outlandlish claim.

It's a complete load of nonsense. One of them has already played 100 games at serie A and pl level scoring 17 goals! Outstanding for an attacking midfielder / winger at 21 years of age.

The other (less than a year younger) is finding his feet in league one. Hopefully Troy will make it as a PL player in a few years but he has a good bit still to go.

[pineapple stu]

You can read between the lines yourself but on his recent improvement in fortune he said the following:

"But I just realised I couldn’t sit around and let it go by. I needed to make every time I was on the pitch count, and give it 110% every game. Ultimately, you get one shot at it, and I want to be a footballer. I want to play at a high level, and I realised that I couldn’t just let it go by. Form comes into it a little bit, and confidence. But I’ve come to terms with it.. If I run the way I do, and if I give it 110% the rest will look after itself. Form is temporary, and giving 110% every week is something that I can choose to do. It’s my choice if I want to do that every week or not. And that’s what I want to do."

I don't see what that has to do with the matter to be honest.

110% is pretty much the ultimate footballing cliché. Doesn't mean he's technically better than a winger with 125 games at Serie A/Premier League level and who's hit the ground running at Spurs.

[Yard of Pace]

I don't see what that has to do with the matter to be honest.

110% is pretty much the ultimate footballing cliché. Doesn't mean he's technically better than a winger with 125 games at Serie A/Premier League level and who's hit the ground running at Spurs.

I think forget making comparisons, the important thing here is that Parrott is basically admitting he wasn't doing the necessary, living right etc. and has woken up and now is. If him and Obafemi have both copped on and committed to the professional life and the sacrifices and hard work, that's two super players we'll have at our disposal.

This is great.

[ifk101]

Surprising Juventus let him go to Spurs the way he's being talked up. :-) And more surprising taking up the technical ability of an Irish player, on an Irish football forum, would receive such a backlash. :-) But again to be clear, there is no question that Kulusevski has achieved more than Parrott in his career to date, there is no comparison and I'm not saying otherwise. I simply think Parrott has a better technical ability - and that's not a far-fetched opinion to have. Granted there is no scientific measure for this but we are all capable of forming opinions from playing the game ourselves, understanding from that what is technically easy/ difficult to do, and watching the players in question play. Anyways I'll leave it there.

[Jd2793]

Surprising Juventus let him go to Spurs the way he's being talked up. :-) And more surprising taking up the technical ability of an Irish player, on an Irish football forum, would receive such a backlash

a lot of us on here are delighted hes doing well after 2 pretty bad loan moves. i dont think anyone should start overreacting after a good 6 week stretch by saying he has the same technical level as a 21 year old who is currently starting and effecting games weekly at a top 6 PL side.

[pineapple stu]

I think forget making comparisons, the important thing here is that Parrott is basically admitting he wasn't doing the necessary, living right etc. and has woken up and now is. If him and Obafemi have both copped on and committed to the professional life and the sacrifices and hard work, that's two super players we'll have at our disposal.

This is great.
I don't think anyone's arguing against that.

But right now, Kulusevski is far the better player and to suggest he's merely "achieved more than Parrott in his career to date" is really disingenuous to be honest. There's a reason he's played 125 games at the top level and Parrott has a couple of sub appearances.

I think the continual huge over-estimation of young Irish players is a recurring theme here, which is why it often provokes a reaction.

[Razors left peg]

Parrott is 20, feels like he is learning to be a pro this season and will be better for it. He was always seen as a wonderkid and maybe didnt have to work too hard to be good in underage football. Maybe the penny has dropped with him now and he will kick on.

Its not just about his goals either. MK Dons fans on social media all seem to love him. Ive seen things like "He runs the show". He might be developing into a very decent all round footballer.

All you can ask of a lad when he goes on loan is that he gets in the team and plays well. Parrott is doing that so it'll be interesting to see what happens when he has a preseason with Spurs. Hopefully he puts in the same effort and who knows.......HES STILL ONLY 20!!!!!!!

[Kingdom]

I'm going to row in behind IFK here, because I feel I know what he's getting at, not just on one level, but two.

Troy Parrott is the most gifted footballer to come from Ireland in more than a generation, and he's different to anything we have, or have had for some time.
Is IFK saying that Parrott has demonstrated that he is a better player than Kula? No he's not. Has IFK seen Kula at underage level, when the rest of us have not? Yes he has.
He's saying that from what he's seen (at least I think), that Troy has the better technical ability - whether that's touch, close control, ability to work the ball in tight spaces, whatever you're having yourself, the things that physiology has nothing to do with. That's probably a fair call.

there's a couple of things worth pointing out. Kula has immense upper body strength - incredible for someone so young. And he's tall to add to that. He looks like a man already, and I remember when watching a little bit with Parma, the italian based fans saying on one of the forums that there was a world of difference between his two loan spells, and the second time he could really handle himself. It's worth pointing out that he is just about two years older than Troy, which is a big deal at their respective ages.

This is a public forum, so there's a limit to what one can say (and being able to justify). But the comments above attributed to Parrott are very prescient. He has a microscope on him that plenty of other kids wouldn't have due to his background, and his connections are seemingly well-known. The worst thing about wasting talent is when people predict it's going to happen - his brother seemingly was a very very good footballer too, but maybe didn't have the head to focus on goals. It seems like Troy realised he was circling the drain and is doing something to stem the flow.

The Stokes reference is a real spine-tingler as well. That guy should have had the world at his feet - that's not exaggeration, it's not speculation, it's fact. The kid was a genius, and he, we, all of us, let it slip away. Maybe for the best.

One of the things I get sick of on this forum (and perhaps football generally) is this reliance on stats. "oh you're a winger, how many assists do you have?" oh you're a cb, how many interceptions do you make? Pigeon-holing players and then evaluating them based on stats. Parrott will never be the goal machine that a lot of people here seem to think he'll be, or the goalscorer people want to see as the natural heir to Robbie. His game isn't being the free-scoring 9. His game is being the guy to run the show, the player who creates chaos around and slips in others to get the plaudits, while having the ability to bang in a goal pretty much from anywhere.

He's still a boy, with a boy physique finding his way in the world. He'll become the man we need him to become in good time hopefully. And if he does, we'll likely see that his ceiling is indeed higher than Kula's.

[Kingdom]

I don't see what that has to do with the matter to be honest.

110% is pretty much the ultimate footballing cliché. Doesn't mean he's technically better than a winger with 125 games at Serie A/Premier League level and who's hit the ground running at Spurs.

Then you've no understanding of the matter at hand, at all, because it's entirely relevant to this particular player, from that particular environment, and from that particular community.
and where are you pulling the 125 games at Serie A/PL stat from?

[Razors left peg]

Ive not watched Kulusevski so I cant give a comparison. Did he play for Sweden u21s against Ireland with Parrott in the team a few years back under Kenny? If so back then Parrott looked probably the best player on either team