2023 UEFA Under-21 Championship

[CSAD]

Teams out and it’s the usual issue I have with Crawford’s teams, after a good result despite the performance on Friday he goes and makes 5/6 changes to the team and the question I have is why are players like Kerrigan and Kayode for example coming in when they didn’t even come off the bench Friday?

[tetsujin1979]

It's a quick turnaround from Friday, maybe the players haven't recovered enough to start?

[JR89]

Think the midfield is possibly better balanced than playing two 6's in Coventry and Kilkenny together. Would have started O'Neill over Kerrigan and kept Mipo in the team unless he's out because of fitness issues. Bagan not being in the squad would point to him being injured.

[JR89]

Thank god Kenny Cunningham isn't doing commentary. Listening to Fallon talk before the game and she puts the usual talking heads to shame. Though not surprising when you consider she's worked as an opposition analyst.

[Trequartista20]

I'm slightly surprised how how far down the order of strikers Ferguson seems to be.

[CSAD]

My issue is why did none of these changes come off the bench versus Bosnia? We are needlessly making this difficult on ourselves and if we fail to win Crawford won’t have a leg to stand on.

[CSAD]

Scrappy first 7 which I guess is what you get when name pretty much a complete random team…makes Crawford selection even more baffling

[passinginterest]

After a poor start they’ve dominated the 15 mins leading up to the goal. In terms of the changes. Wright is the only “forward” starting in the same role and he been very quiet so maybe justifies the fatigue reasoning for rotating them.

I like Smallbone deeper too. Could see him taking that spot from Hendrick in the senior team fairly soon. Kerrigan and Noss have had some good touches. Adaramola has looked pretty good and I still don’t see anything in Kayode to suggest he’s up to this level.

[JR89]

Great time to score just before half time and what a hit from Smallbone too. Have been impressed with Smallbone and has looked better tonight played centrally in a deeper role.

[pineapple stu]

Lovely hit - though I think the keeper will be annoyed as it seemed to go through his hands? But the seniors could take note! They seem to be too reluctant to have a go at times

Enjoying watching Kerrigan as well; his usual swagger is transferring well to this level

[tetsujin1979]

Few thoughts at half time
Adaramola is fast. Seriously fast. He's outpaced the opposition winger at least three times.
O'Connor was the best player in the opening twenty minutes, not as important as we got to grips with the opposition
McGuinness is an absolute unit
Smallbone is a step ahead of everyone on the pitch
Noss has had some nice touches. He might have the ability, but I don't know if he had the physicality for senior football

[pineapple stu]

Enjoying watching Kerrigan as well; his usual swagger is transferring well to this level

Oh sweet - this aged well! :)

[Insidetherock]

two up

[JR89]

Hopefully Italy beat Sweden later this week rendering our game against them a dead rubber, and maybe get Smallbone in with the seniors. Has looked real good tonight.

[passinginterest]

Super third goal. First big involvement at this level for Ferguson, good strength, pace and composure to driver the final ball.

[Insidetherock]

how did he miss the late header though.. 😳

[tommy_c12000]

I wasn’t able to watch the game unfortunately. Some questions:

How was Cashin on the ball? I know he’s solid defensively, but I haven’t seen him on the ball enough to know.

Adaramola had a good game it seems? The thoughts of him and Ebosele as wing backs being covered by O’Shea and Collins behind, with Omobamidele centrally is incredibly appealing! I see Coventry may be interested in loaning him for next season, championship would seem like a great move if he can guarantee himself first team football.

Anybody/thing else impress you?

[MylesNotMiley]

Hopefully Italy beat Sweden later this week rendering our game against them a dead rubber, and maybe get Smallbone in with the seniors. Has looked real good tonight.

I'd rather see that game end in a draw. We'll have a chance of automatic qualification with the knowledge of a playoff place already secured.

Smallbone's chance in the seniors will come.

[passinginterest]

Cashin was fine, lost the number 9 at one stage and it ended with half a chance. Solid enough on the ball but maybe lacks a bit of physical presence. Would probably be better in a back three.

Adaramola looks like a natural wing back. Lightning quick and I think that allowed him to recover a few times when maybe his positioning wasn’t 100%.

Ferguson will be very disappointed to have missed the headed rebound, think it just came up a little high on him, I was right behind the goal and really couldn’t believe it hadn’t gone in. Got a nice snap on the phone of the seconds before the second goal, where you can see all the defenders have followed the ball to the back post and Kerrigan is alone waiting for it to come back across.

Smallbone was outstanding. I was surprised didn’t take him off after the 3rd because he put in a huge shift. I think I saw a stat that he covered 12k the last day, he must have covered 15 tonight.

They’ll be disappointed to give away a sloppy goal, although on balance Montenegro had a few chances so the score line was probably fair.

[Olé Olé]

I wasn’t able to watch the game unfortunately. Some questions:

How was Cashin on the ball? I know he’s solid defensively, but I haven’t seen him on the ball enough to know.

Adaramola had a good game it seems? The thoughts of him and Ebosele as wing backs being covered by O’Shea and Collins behind, with Omobamidele centrally is incredibly appealing! I see Coventry may be interested in loaning him for next season, championship would seem like a great move if he can guarantee himself first team football.

Anybody/thing else impress you?
Thought Cashin was very tidy on the ball. Even mugged off a Montenegrin attacker on the edge of the 6 yard box before slipping a pass through the lines to midfield.

I really like the look of Adaramola. He's a tenacious defender. Gave the Montenegro forwards enough of it in one on one situations. And has pace going forward and backward. He looks a very good prospect at that age.

[tetsujin1979]

Cashin was fine, lost the number 9 at one stage and it ended with half a chance. Solid enough on the ball but maybe lacks a bit of physical presence. Would probably be better in a back three.

Adaramola looks like a natural wing back. Lightning quick and I think that allowed him to recover a few times when maybe his positioning wasn’t 100%.

Ferguson will be very disappointed to have missed the headed rebound, think it just came up a little high on him, I was right behind the goal and really couldn’t believe it hadn’t gone in. Got a nice snap on the phone of the seconds before the second goal, where you can see all the defenders have followed the ball to the back post and Kerrigan is alone waiting for it to come back across.

Smallbone was outstanding. I was surprised didn’t take him off after the 3rd because he put in a huge shift. I think I saw a stat that he covered 12k the last day, he must have covered 15 tonight.

They’ll be disappointed to give away a sloppy goal, although on balance Montenegro had a few chances so the score line was probably fair.
Me too. Guy beside me was a Southampton fan so was chatting a bit about Smallbone, and Obafemi
1533839507434487809

[passinginterest]

https://i.ibb.co/R4M1CKV/668-F3-E3-E-5-CF5-4523-8-E8-A-C4355-B168-A57.jpg (https://ibb.co/cXpPN97)

[jbyrne]

Scrappy first 7 which I guess is what you get when name pretty much a complete random team…makes Crawford selection even more baffling

please share your post match thoughts with us.

just back from the match. much better performance than last friday. some super build up play and 3rd goal was class

[CSAD]

please share your post match thoughts with us.

just back from the match. much better performance than last friday. some super build up play and 3rd goal was class

We grew into the game well but I do feel my point is somewhat vindicated because when the likes of Kilkenny, Ferguson etc came on we looked a lot more fluid. I was particularly impressed with the 2nd half performance but I did find the first half far too scrappy.

[tetsujin1979]

Italy beat Luxembourg 3-0 this evening - https://www.uefa.com/under21/match/2031834--luxembourg-vs-italy/ - and are now top of the table - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_UEFA_European_Under-21_Championship_qualification_Group_F#Standings
A Swedish win on Thursday really is the worst result for us.

[elatedscum]

25/05

Well the U21s play two games the Fri and Mon of the June weekend. Good chance their campaign could be over before they even get to play Italy

25/05

that's a really pessimistic view. it's also a pretty hard to imagine. unless sweden beat italy, we'd only need 1 point (if italy win) or 2 points if italy and sweden draw to still be in contention from those first 2 games at home. i think we're more likely to be qualified for the playoffs already and unable to catch italy than knocked out altogether (2 wins for us and italy winning against sweden and luxembourg).


25/05

lets see what happens with the 21s , if theyve played themselves out of qualification after 2 games i wouldnt be surprised if 1/2 are drafted in.

26/05

They won’t

01/06

There's also the possiblity that second place is beyond us after this weekend rendering the Italy game a dead rubber. If so could see one or two maybe stay with the seniors.

I think we can safely say that they’re not out of contention for 2nd place

[Razors left peg]

I avoided the internet all day to watch this game after work tonight and was delighted that I did. So enjoyable.

I feared the worst when I see the changes but apart from 1st 10 mins of both halfs we were great.

Smallbone the obvious one to pick out. Love the look of him but I'd like him to put a bit of muscle on that frame before he starts playing senior internationals in midfield. Noss similarly.

Our 2 full backs were excellent. O'Connor has a feel of a guy who will climb through the divisions to become a Premiership player some day. Adaramola looks very raw but looks like a gem of a player. He will be a senior international in the next year I'm willing to bet.

I liked Cashin. I heard a term used by a pundit over here in the States recently that came to mind with him. "He just seemed to pop out on the screen all the time". There's something about him that almost looks very old fashioned, kinda like Kevin Moran I think. Looking forward to seeing more of him.

I still don't understand the Kayode pick, he worked hard but I don't think he'll ever be a senior international. Ferguson looked sensational when he came and I don't know how he didn't score. He's so much quicker than I thought and we really could have a star on our hands with him.

Really looking forward to the Italian game now, let's hope we are still in with a shout to top the table

[Trequartista20]

What struck me about this one, aside from some outstanding individual performances - Smallbone and Noss looked particularly good - was how well-coached we look at that level.

Our play was slick and imaginative with moves and set-pieces that had obviously been worked at on the training ground in a way that can't have been said of the senior team under any recent manager.

[passinginterest]

I'd agree on the set pieces in particular. There was some really good variety and delivery, we were the smaller team so there seemed to be an acknowledgement that just straight crosses every time would be more in hope than expectation. On the overall coaching, not entirely convinced yet. This was probably their best overall performance, but against pretty weak opposition, I've seen them a lot in this campaign and they've been a bit predictable for a lot of the games and haven't always looked like a well blended team. There were spells early in both halves where we got some breaks defensively or got in some good blocks (credit mainly to Lee O'Connor to be fair), had they gone against them it would have put a very different sheen on the game (they started terribly in the reverse fixture and got punished for it).

[jbyrne]

was very disappointed with the attendance yesterday. would've thought a 5pm ko on a bank holiday monday was an ideal time to go to a match.
read that some fans were complaining that they couldn't get tickets online but where there's a will there's a way... especially when tickets were on sale at the stadium.

i've only started going regularly in the last few years and haven't been disappointed with what i've seen at all.
would encourage anyone to attend. well worth going

[passinginterest]

was very disappointed with the attendance yesterday. would've thought a 5pm ko on a bank holiday monday was an ideal time to go to a match.
read that some fans were complaining that they couldn't get tickets online but where there's a will there's a way... especially when tickets were on sale at the stadium.

i've only started going regularly in the last few years and haven't been disappointed with what i've seen at all.
would encourage anyone to attend. well worth going

They don't help themselves with the promotion and the manner of the sales. There was a social media post that called out "no match day parking at the ground", without mentioning the massive carpark across the road at the Square (there were comments about not everyone being able to get public transport etc). I don't think there was any promotion of the fact that the red line Luas and any bus that goes to the Square will drop you less than 5 min walk from the ground. It's not a big deal, but I did come to realise there's no bicycle parking at the ground when I cycled up the other day (there's lockers at the Square but there was none available to book either match day) a friendly steward left me lock the bike beside him for the Friday game and I walked yesterday. With all the focus on reducing carbon footprints I'd imagine supervised cycle parking might be a useful addition on match nights (for Rovers and other events at the stadium). I've also now invested in a better lock so I might trust the public space at the Square!

The issue with how the tickets appear on Ticketmaster has been mentioned a few times. It's grand for someone like me, local and going on my own either way, but it would definitely be off putting it you were travelling with a family or a group and the advice was to buy online rather than at the ground. I'd agree the games are well worth attending, it's a lovely ground and when the 4th stand is completed it will be the prefect home for these games into the future. I can see the appeal to moving games around, but I think it does help the team to have an established home, I know the women's team were not keen on the idea of moving to the Aviva because they're comfortable there too.

[jbyrne]

i am sure all of what you say is true to an extent. however, 7,000 + were at the Italy game a few years ago in the same venue.
a bit of basic research would solve most / all of the issues you have listed.

bit of a cliche at this stage but if mo salah was playing the issues you mention would be well overcome by many who stayed at home yesterday

[geysir]

It’s probably a good thing that this tight group will be wrapped up after a week, Ireland are in good form and waiting until next September to finish the group would do them no good. It would be a nice set up if Sweden managed to draw with Italy.

[elatedscum]

I avoided the internet all day to watch this game after work tonight and was delighted that I did. So enjoyable.

I feared the worst when I see the changes but apart from 1st 10 mins of both halfs we were great.

Smallbone the obvious one to pick out. Love the look of him but I'd like him to put a bit of muscle on that frame before he starts playing senior internationals in midfield. Noss similarly.

Our 2 full backs were excellent. O'Connor has a feel of a guy who will climb through the divisions to become a Premiership player some day. Adaramola looks very raw but looks like a gem of a player. He will be a senior international in the next year I'm willing to bet.

I liked Cashin. I heard a term used by a pundit over here in the States recently that came to mind with him. "He just seemed to pop out on the screen all the time". There's something about him that almost looks very old fashioned, kinda like Kevin Moran I think. Looking forward to seeing more of him.

I still don't understand the Kayode pick, he worked hard but I don't think he'll ever be a senior international. Ferguson looked sensational when he came and I don't know how he didn't score. He's so much quicker than I thought and we really could have a star on our hands with him.

Really looking forward to the Italian game now, let's hope we are still in with a shout to top the table

Maher is a really good keeper, I know the height will probably stop him being signed by a UK side, but he just regularly makes quality saves at important moments.

Full backs were excellent - Lee O'Connor is looking as good as he ever has, two excellent games in a row. Huge improvement on how he was playing early in the campaign. Thought Tayo was excellent. Really quick and good defensively. Really difficult to choose between him and Bagan. Thought, after an early mistake, that Cashin had a great game. Wins everything he can in the air, despite not being the tallest. Doesn't mind a tackle and this distribution is good. Thought McGuinness maybe shouldn't have dived in for their goal, once he didn't make it to the ball first, he was done. Overall he's very strong. You wouldn't be surprised to see Cashin and McGuinness make the step up to the seniors over the next few years.

Was impressed with how Smallbone handled playing deeper, thought he was the best player on the pitch, although he tired in the last 20 and probably should have been hooked. If I were SK, I'd probably move him up to the seniors now. He'd give you something that Molumby and Hourihane don't. Coventry is very assured. I think he's above the level - like if it were club 18s, you'd move him to 23s, if it were international u17s, you'd move him to 19s. He cruises through games. Don't think him or Kilkenny are ready for the seniors just yet but maybe in a few months, that'll change. He's the consummate pro at this level. I love watching Noss play. It's aesthetically lovely the way he carries the ball. There were times he should have driven on a bit, other times where he should have shot and the odd pass was behind a man - pretty sure there's an excellent player in their if it comes together. Lovely option to have, shame him, Tierney and Smallbone all thrive in the same position. Both Wright and Kerrigan were good. No complaints. Would have brought O'Neill on with 20 mins left, thought Kerrigan tired. Kerrigan has played well in his two starts. Kinda weird that he wasn't used at all during the 5 games between them.

Up top, I'd probably have Mipo ahead of Ferguson, followed by Kayode, but they all give a little something different. Kayode works harder than anyone, he wins flick ons he has no business winning. The chest for the Smallbone goal was really good. Unlikely to break through to the seniors unless he becomes more prolific but he's a good squad option.

Amazing how good the squad is, considering we've got 9 players who have basically graduated from the 21s...

If you were actually picking a best team, what would it look like?

Bazunu

O'Connor
Omobamidele
Collins
Bagan

Knight
Smallbone

Ebosele
Parrott
Connolly

Obafemi/Idah

That's a side I'd back to beat Italy ;)

[Razors left peg]

That brings up another conversation that Ive had with others.... if we were to qualify for the Euros and there were no senior internationals clashing, do you pick all those lads you just mentioned?

For me I absolutely would. Its professional football and Id have no room for sentiment, Id pick the strongest possible squad.



Bazunu

O'Connor Collins Omobamidele Adaramola

Smallbone Coventry Knight

Parrott

Idah Obafemi

[Eirambler]

No. Once you've left under 21s you've left under 21s. You shouldn't be going back unless your career is going backwards. Someone like Festy could maybe come back if he's not established with the seniors, but the likes of Bazunu, Collins, Knight and the forwards will be nowhere near this.

In any case the games will be during the June window next summer so we'll presumably have senior qualifiers at that point. If we do qualify I'd say we'll have lost a couple more to the seniors by then, if anything.

[pineapple stu]

Two qualifiers next June alright

[Razors left peg]

If theres a clash with the seniors its a no brainer, but otherwise Id have no issue bringing them back down

[tommy_c12000]

I fully agree, too often we prioritize sentiment and “loyalty” to the detriment of tournament performances across many sports. We pick our best eligible team if we qualify, that is if the senior player is open to dropping down a level and doesn’t impact any senior outings or trainings

[CSAD]

Whag people must not forget is these u21 games are qualifiers for the Olympics in 2024, if we picked our best squad available I think there would be a chance at the very least we could get there, we’ve had Romania,Denmark,Sweden even Belarus qualify for the Olympics in recent years so I don’t think it would be an outrageous dream to have.

[CSAD]

I fully agree, too often we prioritize sentiment and “loyalty” to the detriment of tournament performances across many sports. We pick our best eligible team if we qualify, that is if the senior player is open to dropping down a level and doesn’t impact any senior outings or trainings

At the end of the day loyalty is nice but loyalty doesn’t win you trophies or gets you far in tournaments. If success is what we want we need to be ruthless but if loyalty is what we want then just be loyal but we shouldn’t expect much success as a result.

[CSAD]

For Italy I would go


GK Maher

CB Cashin
CB McGuinness
CB O’Brien (presume McEntee is out)

RWB O’Connor
CM Kilkenny
AM Smallbone
CM Coventry
LWB Bagan/Adaramola (fitness permitting I’d go Bagan but wouldn’t mind Adaramola as a wildcard selection but Bagan hasn’t set a foot wrong and done well so see no reason to drop him)

FW Odubeko
FW Ferguson


I feel the front 2 would compliment each other perfectly, Ferguson up top as the big physical CF and Odubeko to play off him, I think he is better technically than Kayode which is why he gets the nod for me. Odubeko is a lethal finisher and I feel Ferguson alongside him could help draw an extra defender giving him more space.


I feel this selection keeps us solid defensively but also gives us a shot and breaking down Italy.

[tommy_c12000]

I really like that team and system. Has Crawford given any inkling that he will revert to this system?

[Eirambler]

He'll stick with the 4-3-3 I'd say. The interesting calls will be which one of Coventry, Kilkenny, Smallbone and Noss doesn't start in the midfield three and who he goes for up front.

[CSAD]

I really like that team and system. Has Crawford given any inkling that he will revert to this system?

He hasn’t but he did go 3 at the back versus Sweden so don’t think it’s unthinkable.

[CSAD]

He'll stick with the 4-3-3 I'd say. The interesting calls will be which one of Coventry, Kilkenny, Smallbone and Noss doesn't start in the midfield three and who he goes for up front.

Possibly but the last game versus Sweden he went 3 at the back, Crawford does have a tendency of picking his teams specifically for the opposition so if he has a specific plan to hurting Italy than this could be a game he might try a formation like this.

[JR89]

I think we can safely say that they’re not out of contention for 2nd place

Fair play to the lads. Monday's game was possibly the best we've ever looked playing under Crawford. Thought Montenegro would be the sticky one which dented our chances of qualification.

He got some stick for the changes that were made dropping Mipo who scored and assisted Friday night along with Tierney and Kilkenny, but he got it absolutely spot on with the midfield three.

Has been a tough task being a CF in this team but he got the balance of midfield spot on with playing Coventry, Smallbone, and Noß as the advanced MF rather than two 6s with Tierney as the advanced MF as he normally does. Smallbone was wasted out on the RW and hopefully he gets a move in the summer to play regularly as he looks the most likely of all our young players to be the one who can play next to Cullen like Hendrick does.

[JR89]

Possibly but the last game versus Sweden he went 3 at the back, Crawford does have a tendency of picking his teams specifically for the opposition so if he has a specific plan to hurting Italy than this could be a game he might try a formation like this.

Yeah have a small feeling he could revert to what he did against Sweden away which was a must win game for us. If Italy win on Thursday could still change it up as it then also allows you to try out something for the playoffs as we possibly won't have any friendlies before it.

Only change I'd make would be starting Noß rather than a second CF to make it 3-4-2-1 to have the numbers advantage in midfield.

[CSAD]

Yeah have a small feeling he could revert to what he did against Sweden away which was a must win game for us. If Italy win on Thursday could still change it up as it then also allows you to try out something for the playoffs as we possibly won't have any friendlies before it.

Only change I'd make would be starting Noß rather than a second CF to make it 3-4-2-1 to have the numbers advantage in midfield.

I can see that argument, I do think we have enough with Smallbone Coventry and Kilkenny though!

[CSAD]

Huge result tonight

Moldova held Switzerland to a 1-1 draw, which means the will almost certainly finish 2nd and with that draw all of a sudden the best runner up spot is now wide open!