Mipo Odubeko F Shelbourne b.2002

[Razors left peg]

I'm not sure if you guys are too nice or maybe I'm just an old fashioned ******.
He never went and played for anyone else. He held a grudge over not being picked for u17s a few years back. Lads are allowed time to make big decisions in life and Nationality is not the same for everyone, hes has every right to feel both Nigerian and Irish.

Add all that to him being a bit of an over confident idiot young fella with an agent in his ear talkin crap I think we can give him a bit of a break. Theres been plenty of English born lads over the years that took some time to make a decision about playing for us and we loved them as soon as they put on the shirt.

I hope he goes on to win 150 caps and break Robbies goal scoring record..... but as of right now hes not even proved hes good enough for mens football.

[Olé Olé]

He never went and played for anyone else. He held a grudge over not being picked for u17s a few years back. Lads are allowed time to make big decisions in life and Nationality is not the same for everyone, hes has every right to feel both Nigerian and Irish.

Add all that to him being a bit of an over confident idiot young fella with an agent in his ear talkin crap I think we can give him a bit of a break. Theres been plenty of English born lads over the years that took some time to make a decision about playing for us and we loved them as soon as they put on the shirt.

I hope he goes on to win 150 caps and break Robbies goal scoring record..... but as of right now hes not even proved hes good enough for mens football.

Balanced and fair. Thank you. Being an idiot or being idiotic as a teenager is not a crime. Having a ballsy agent isn't a crime either. And the inability of some to understand how some lads may feel different nationalities all at once is not help.

[elatedscum]

Happy days great to see this well done to all involved. Lovely to see oko flex and odubeko back on board in recent times, would like to see sotona involved as well once he is back playing. We can't ever had a better under 16 side with more forward options than the side that had parrott, odubeko, oko flex, sotona and ebosele . Matt everitt was in that year as well he seems to have really droped off the radar at Brighton anyone have any insights?

Re Everett - Can’t remember what it was but serious injuries

Giurgu, Kennedy and Carty were included in that squad, along with Ebosele and Everett. Parrott was injured. Okoflex and Burns unavailable. Odubeko, Sotona, Gaxha all missed out which was surprising at the time. Tom Cannon hadn’t really emerged or at least I hadn’t heard of him. It’s a pretty good attacking group. But pretty much every age group from 2000-2003 has produced a lot of good attackers. Often they don’t pan out but at u17 and u19 it looks great…

[Fixer82]

I wouldn’t go that easy on him.
Be annoyed, hold a grudge. Fine!
Then say you might declare for Nigeria. Nobody has an issue there.
But to say you’re considering England is just mercenary.
He has a lot of work to do to impress fans. It should be an honour not a right to pull on the green jersey.

[Fixer82]

I would far more understand and have no issue with Obafemi declaring for England as he grew up there.

[Olé Olé]

I wouldn’t go that easy on him.
Be annoyed, hold a grudge. Fine!
Then say you might declare for Nigeria. Nobody has an issue there.
But to say you’re considering England is just mercenary.
He has a lot of work to do to impress fans. It should be an honour not a right to pull on the green jersey.

Who said he was considering England? His agent or him? Or anyone?

[Diggs246]

He never went and played for anyone else. He held a grudge over not being picked for u17s a few years back. Lads are allowed time to make big decisions in life and Nationality is not the same for everyone, hes has every right to feel both Nigerian and Irish.

Add all that to him being a bit of an over confident idiot young fella with an agent in his ear talkin crap I think we can give him a bit of a break. Theres been plenty of English born lads over the years that took some time to make a decision about playing for us and we loved them as soon as they put on the shirt.

I hope he goes on to win 150 caps and break Robbies goal scoring record..... but as of right now hes not even proved hes good enough for mens football.

I completely agree that he is 100% entitled to play Nigeria. No one can ot has disputed that
I think refusing an U21 call up because you weren't picked for an u17 game ...stinks and it reminds me of a certain stephen Ireland. If memory serves he too had a bee in his bonnet because Kerr left him on the bench of an underage game again terrible terrible attitude. Will Mipo grow up..ive no idea

Also I wouldn't mind a quote from the player or his agent btw to confirm. I just reread that article and its a bit light on proof. Time will tell of course.

He needs to start playing and scoring first

[JR89]

Also I wouldn't mind a quote from the player or his agent btw to confirm. I just reread that article and its a bit light on proof. Time will tell of course.



It's John Fallon so I'd take anything written with a pinch of salt.

[seanfhear]

Perhaps the fella has become a wee bit humble with his latest career developments. Maybe he could do with a few games for the Irish U21’s to boost the sagging career !

[Stuttgart88]

Good to have him back. Let's see if he's good enough now.

[Razors left peg]

I wouldn’t go that easy on him.
Be annoyed, hold a grudge. Fine!
Then say you might declare for Nigeria. Nobody has an issue there.
But to say you’re considering England is just mercenary.
He has a lot of work to do to impress fans. It should be an honour not a right to pull on the green jersey.
I dont remember him ever coming out and saying anything. All we ever really got is that he wanted to focus on his club and things like that

[Demesne Lad]

Odubeko has signed for Doncaster Rovers (EFL 1) on loan for the rest of this season. He spent the first part of the season on loan at Huddersfield Town (EFL Championship) where he got a total of 107 minutes on the pitch. (Doncaster Rovers website, TransferMarkt.co.uk stat).

[zero]

worth noting that doncaster are having an awful season and are bottom of league one. you'd hope he'd get to see a decent amount of action.

that said they had an attacking midfielder on loan from newcastle for the first half of the season (a peruvian, Vilca) and he only made 6 league appearances.

[JR89]

Hopefully both himself and West Ham have done their homework on this and it's not another loan for the sake of loan as Crawford warned Okoflex about doing.

[tetsujin1979]

‘I was born and bred in Tallaght, and I grew up watching Robbie Keane’ – Mipo Odubeko stays loyal to Ireland
https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/i-was-born-and-bred-in-tallaght-and-i-grew-up-watching-robbie-keane-mipo-odubeko-stays-loyal-to-ireland-41396651.html


Now he says he has never waivered despite suggestions that he had cold feet about Ireland. “It’s very easy from the outside to make that sort of assumption, but I am me. I am the one who knows what’s going on. In my mind, there has never been any doubt or any other consideration. Ireland gave me the platform to be who I am today, the player I am today. It’s clear to me,” he says, adding that he’s in regular contact with U-21 boss Crawford.
Should be the end of any speculation

[Stav]

Wish him all the best. Great attitude and be wonderful to see him succeed.

[tommy_c12000]

Still no goal at Doncaster, they seem to be a team in disarray so tough environment for Mipo. At least it’s first team experience so hopefully he can continue to start and develop, he warrants an under 21 call up, we don’t have many other u21 strikers playing at league one standard, apart from those already within the senior set up

[samhaydenjr]

Took a little while but he's off the mark in senior football - came on in the 74th minute against Bolton, scored the equaliser in the 77th, only for Kieran Sadlier to net the winner in the 78th. Still, many congratulations Mipo - hope it's the first of many: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/61033775

[Eirambler]

Good to see him get the goal at last. He has had another difficult loan with question marks from his manager in terms of his attitude and workrate. Things were so bad at one stage that he was sent away from the club early ahead of the international break to give him time and space to clear his head.

https://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/sport/football/why-on-loan-west-ham-united-striker-mipo-odubeko-has-been-granted-leave-of-absence-from-doncaster-rovers-3618987

I actually thought he was OK for Ireland Under 21s and now he has a club goal as well, so I suppose we just have to hope he has turned a corner now. Attitude and work rate are hugely important for a developing player like him though, unless he can sort those issues out he has no chance of making it.

[Olé Olé]

Seems to be a trend amongst our young strikers. Connolly, Obafemi, Parrott all had question marks over attitude, be it from a manager or paper speculation or on pitch body language and effort. Parrott and Obafemi look to have turned that corner and hopefully won't look back. Connolly hasn't used his loan to much effect in terms of getting back into the frame at his parents.

[SkStu]

Another one for Mipo. Two in two.

[JR89]

Sounds like it was a decent finish too.

1516073506123001870

[Eirambler]

Really nice finish which was part of their comeback from 3-0 to draw, but it's not enough and they're effectively relegated due to their goal difference. His run of form came too late for them.

[JR89]

Got the assist for their third goal too.

1516109066854178817

[tommy_c12000]

Good to see him finally scoring a couple of goals, hopefully he can push on and excel for our under 21s too

[samhaydenjr]

Gone on a season's loan to Port Vale and played in their EFL Trophy game tonight: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/62691814 - after a slow start to his senior career on a couple on "test the water loans" he started to find some form at the end of the season, so hopefully he can really get going in the coming months

[CraftyToePoke]

Goal today v Cheltenham in his first game there on loan, maybe his first league start too ? Not sure.

[samhaydenjr]

Goal today v Cheltenham in his first game there on loan, maybe his first league start too ? Not sure.

Made eight starts at Doncaster - taking account the end of his loan there, and his games since for our U21s and West Ham's, along with his start at Port Vale, he's on a run of six goals in eleven games - I think it's time time for me to go and warm up the hype machine!

[CraftyToePoke]

Scored Saturday in the league in a 2-2 & again tonight v Wolves 21s in the EFLCup in a 2-0 win.

[samhaydenjr]

Looking like he's starting to settle into senior football pretty well - remember he only turns 20 later this week so he's starting to look like a promising prospect. The next few months will be interesting

[JR89]

Currently on trial with Eerste Divisie side VVV-Venlo.

[JR89]

Currently training with Portuguese second tier team CS Marítimo. They were recently relegated after spending 38 years in the top tier. One Portuguese article saying he will be announced as a new signing soon.

[tetsujin1979]

Visited their ground in Madeira last year, beautiful spot.

[nigel-harps1954]

Portugal is a strange one. Attendances seem to drop off a cliff after 8 or 10 teams in Portugal. The second tier in Portugal is about as well supported as the second tier in Ireland. Despite their relegation, Maritimo were the 6th highest supported club in Portugal with an average of 8,500.

Two clubs in Liga 2 were dissolved at the end of the season 2022/23. Average attendance across the division in 2022/23 was 1,104.

You'd just hope he doesn't fall into some rut of dropping through divisions in random European leagues from here.

[Crosby87]

He must restore Maritimo back to glory.
It's a big job.

[Razors left peg]

Portugal is a strange one. Attendances seem to drop off a cliff after 8 or 10 teams in Portugal. The second tier in Portugal is about as well supported as the second tier in Ireland. Despite their relegation, Maritimo were the 6th highest supported club in Portugal with an average of 8,500.

Two clubs in Liga 2 were dissolved at the end of the season 2022/23. Average attendance across the division in 2022/23 was 1,104.

You'd just hope he doesn't fall into some rut of dropping through divisions in random European leagues from here.

I spend a good bit of time in Portugal and the whole country is football obsessed, everyone talks about it all the time, but most people support Sporting Lisbon, Benfica or Porto. My wife and her family are all from Northern Portugal but yet the whole family are Sporting fanatics when Braga, Guimaraes or Porto would be much closer and more logical. That would kinda lead to a reason why attendances for some of the regional clubs are not as high as you would expect, but thats not to say the smaller clubs dont contribute to what I think is a very good league that I wish more of our players would play in. Its technically very good, and the bigger clubs do recruit the best players from the smaller clubs regularly.

Mipo going to Maritimo is a better opportunity than I would have expected him to get. Being from Maderia the locals will support that club more than some of the other regional clubs, and you would think they'd have a reasonably good chance of getting back up. I hope he gets his attitude right and makes the most of this. If he can start banging in goals there like he did underage for West Ham this could be great launching platform for him.

[AFunnyOldGame]

I spend a good bit of time in Portugal and the whole country is football obsessed, everyone talks about it all the time, but most people support Sporting Lisbon, Benfica or Porto. My wife and her family are all from Northern Portugal but yet the whole family are Sporting fanatics when Braga, Guimaraes or Porto would be much closer and more logical. That would kinda lead to a reason why attendances for some of the regional clubs are not as high as you would expect, but thats not to say the smaller clubs dont contribute to what I think is a very good league that I wish more of our players would play in. Its technically very good, and the bigger clubs do recruit the best players from the smaller clubs regularly.

Mipo going to Maritimo is a better opportunity than I would have expected him to get. Being from Maderia the locals will support that club more than some of the other regional clubs, and you would think they'd have a reasonably good chance of getting back up. I hope he gets his attitude right and makes the most of this. If he can start banging in goals there like he did underage for West Ham this could be great launching platform for him.


Falaste portugues amigo? Eu tenho família lá também. Marítimo might be playing in the premier division yet because there’s issues surrounding Boavista and recently promoted Estrela.

[JR89]

Falaste portugues amigo? Eu tenho família lá também. Marítimo might be playing in the premier division yet because there’s issues surrounding Boavista and recently promoted Estrela.

Any links to this, would assume it's from Portuguese media so might be trickier to find online.

[Razors left peg]

Falaste portugues amigo? Eu tenho família lá também.

I understand a little, but to the on going and constant disappointment of my wife and her family I dont speak much :)

The wife is actually there right now so Ive asked her to find out about if Maritimo might avoid the relegation

[Razors left peg]

Any links to this, would assume it's from Portuguese media so might be trickier to find online.

According to my brother in law it seems that they are not going avoid relegation, media seems to think its a fairly frivolous hope from them

[Eirambler]

Released by Maritimo after a year having only featured for their B team. Obscurity beckons at this point. He's a long way from turning down Ireland Under 21 call ups now.

[liamoo11]

Released by Maritimo after a year having only featured for their B team. Obscurity beckons at this point. He's a long way from turning down Ireland Under 21 call ups now.

Hopefully he picks up a club and gets back on track still very young

[Eirambler]

I've heard a couple of things over the years about Mipo's attitude that, if true, make his current career trajectory not that much of a surprise. Hopefully he might turn it around, but the reality is that it's more likely we'll be hearing about him signing for Mickleover or Vauxhall Motors than seeing him work his way back up the divisions at this point.

[Diggs246]

I thought Mido was very bold

He was born and raised in Ireland, to Nigerian parents. Pick one and Move on baby

now he wont be playing professional football this time next year

[Razors left peg]

Perfect candidate for a LOI rehabilitation...with Athlone maybe

[Razors left peg]

Signs for Fleetwood town in L2 on a 1 year deal

[zero]

would fleetwood sign a young journeyman who's pro career has so far not gone to plan?

fleetwood would, would fleetwood.

[Olé Olé]

Something will have to give on the Irish front for Fleetwood. I see they are up against WBA 2-1 tonight. Irishmen Ryan Graydon and Ronan Coughlan up front in a 2. Out and out strikers in Odubeko and Thomas Lonergan on the bench.

[samhaydenjr]

Well, whaddya know - scored his first goal for Fleedwood in the EFL Trophy, albeit against Aston Villa's academy - https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/live/c2l1w1gg0gkt. Has been getting minutes in this league - still young enough that he could play for the U21s but a call-up for these qualifiers is highly unlikely:

[pineapple stu]

Signs for Shels. Can't think of many players for whom joining an LoI side at this stage in their career was a good career move tbh. Jack Byrne, Keith Fahey. Afolabi had a good spell but as soon as he moved abroad again he tanked. Any others?