Joe Hodge M Huddersfield (loan from Wolves) b.2002

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

Let's hope he continues to impress, obviously doing really well in training. A starting premier league midfielder is someone who should definitely be in the Irish squad. But maybe our current manager knows better. :rolleyes:

[tommy_c12000]

Separate mistakes by Hodge and Collins gifted two one on ones but wolves survived. Hodge doing okay, looks tidy

[tommy_c12000]

Another mistake by Collins gifted everton another great chance, he really needs to sort out the regular mistakes he’s making.

Hodge, one mistake apart, did okay. Sharp passing, kept things simple, nothing extraordinary. Made a couple of nice challenges too, seems to have some bite about him too despite his diminutive frame. Playing a bit deeper than the Gillingham game which suits him better. Hopefully he will last until at least the 60th minute today.

Impressive show of faith by new manager considering the stakes of the game. He must really like Hodge. I read that Wolves will be backed in the transfer market in January to buy 5 or 6 players….may affect Hodge. Hopefully he can continue to get senior minutes come January, if not at wolves then elsewhere.

A couple of more appearances, then he will need to be involved in next irish squad ..

[tommy_c12000]

Hodge did ok, subbed around 60 or so. May start again if wolves get result. On comes Cannon now, getting interesting

[tommy_c12000]

Late goal for Wolves to give them a much needed win. Great to see. Hopefully Hodge will start next game. Collins with a couple of mistakes, did okay overall. Cannon no real opportunity, Lampard has to roll after this which will be unfortunate for Cannon

[Grafter]

For me, it's difficult as an Irish fan to get too exercised about an English born player like Hodge at this point given the current trend of players in his position jumping ship once FA come sniffing. Good luck to him whatever choice he makes but I wouldn't blame Kenny if it doesn't go our way. It's the fault of the looseness of modern eligibility rules.

[third policeman]

For me, it's difficult as an Irish fan to get too exercised about an English born player like Hodge at this point given the current trend of players in his position jumping ship once FA come sniffing. Good luck to him whatever choice he makes but I wouldn't blame Kenny if it doesn't go our way. It's the fault of the looseness of modern eligibility rules.

Well Kenny's apparent reluctance to promote him to the senior squad is the only means by which he might end up playing for England unless he declines a call-up. And he can't decline unless he's actually selected. Either way the initiative rests with Kenny. He's a young player with obvious potential currently playing at a higher level than the majority of our squad and any of our other midfield options. It seems like a bit of a no brainer, but I still suspect Kenny will stick with the players who have served him in his 3 recent unsuccessful campaigns. What did Einstein say about the definition of madness?

[Exgrad]

Got some praise in Athletic article below. Impressive he started ahead of a 45m player who was at the World Cup. Going on Kennys past comments re Rice and Grealish would be amazed if hes not involved v Latvia.

https://theathletic.com/4036031/2022/12/27/wolves-julen-lopetegui-everton/


The most notable came in midfield, where Joao Moutinho (https://theathletic.com/football/player/joao-moutinho-zZASGjd3PNsEpBW3/) was pushed further forward, almost into a No 10 role, allowing Joe Hodge — preferred from the start to former record signing Matheus Nunes (https://theathletic.com/football/player/matheus-nunes-oNlu5BifT7z6Qdij/) — to offer support to captain Ruben Neves (https://theathletic.com/football/player/ruben-neves-EPq8p3htT12DEefc/) in protecting the back four.



“I play in the defensive phase with ‘two and one’ and in the offensive phase they have the freedom to move to look for the pockets of space,” Lopetegui said.
“But it is good for us, we want to have good shape to play inside and make the pitch big and Hodgey, Joao and Ruben worked in a very good way and afterwards Matheus Nunes played at a very high level.”



And, whether or not it was planned, the decision to pick Hodge over Nunes meant the Portuguese midfielder was fresh enough in stoppage time to have the mental clarity needed to produce a crucial pass for Adama Traore (https://theathletic.com/football/player/adama-traore-wCEbVcEGqXZFemXq/). “Hodgy has worked very hard, he is a big-hearted player and gave a good performance,” added Lopetegui.

[Stuttgart88]

Fair to say he's similar to Cullen in style? Could they play together?

[third policeman]

Fair to say he's similar to Cullen in style? Could they play together?

If he can play with Neves in that formation for Wolves, then why not? I think we should play in a way that allows us to accommodate our best players.

[tommy_c12000]

He was okay, not great in his wolves senior games thus far. Too early for him to start premier league games in my opinion. Nunes far more influential when he came on, he may not be fully fit yet. It will be a real surprise if Hodge starts against United. Certainly their fan base do not want him starting any remaining premier league games. Best going on loan in January, still a long way from being a viable international option for us, but no harm getting him involved and helping him develop considering the other existing options - incorporating Hodge at least in squad isn’t going to hurt us.

[tommy_c12000]

As anticipated Nunes in for Hodge today against United. Hopefully Hodge gets loan deal for remainder of the season and does well

[tommy_c12000]

Wolves 1-0 up away to villa, 33 minutes to go, and Hodge coming on. Huge call by the manager, let’s see how he does

[tommy_c12000]

Did ok, just not prem ready. Wolves conceded bad late goal. Collins did ok today

[dynamo kerry]

I dunno lads. Rice looked **** when they started him at centre half that season
Sometimes these guys need the investment when the club is having a mid table season, that's the time to do it.

I reckon they think hodge is a 30milion sale minimum.

[tommy_c12000]

Hodge has done nothing during his appearances to justify ongoing selection in a struggling side desperate for points. Their fan base clearly don’t rate him as a starter currently, he is far away. And I agree with them based on seeing all his premier league contributions this season. If wolves were sitting “mid table” as you said, the fan base would certainly be more open to blooding in Hodge. But they’re 19th and destined for championship football unless they turn around drastically. His manager clearly sees something in him, but this isn’t seen by the fans right now at the club and given circumstances will have limited patience for developing players who are far from prem ready like Hodge

[irishfan86]

I thought Hodge did okay. Came on in a pretty high stakes situation, showed for the ball constantly, and showed some nice touches.

Do I think he’s a premier league starter? Probably not but he didn’t really look out of place. I’m particularly encouraged by his constant showing for the ball/making himself available for a pass. A simple thing sure but we’ve had a lot of hiding during the Hourihane/Hendrick era and it’s nice to see a willingness to ask for and retain possession in the middle of the park, often under pressure.

[tommy_c12000]

I certainly agree the ingredients are there and I like most of what I see, barring the lack of natural athleticism and strength, but I think he would be served far better on loan for the next 5 months. I just don’t see him continuing to get worthwhile game time while wolves are in the relegation zone, they will strengthen this window. Given his premier league exposure, I’d certainly be hopeful Kenny includes him against Latvia and help him develop further. My main point is that he is far away from being a big contributor for us, and needs a full season of senior football to see where he lands. People seem to be making Hodge out to be our midfield savior at the moment, but he will have to show far more than what he has to be that

[samhaydenjr]

Thought he did well again - moves the ball quickly and accurately with a nice variety of passing - definitely worth a run-out against Latvia, if he keeps this up

[passinginterest]

I think a big problem for Hodge in terms of the senior team is his size. We're already fairly small in midfield, Cullen and Knight are not big lads, if Obafemi is starting that's another fairly small player, you throw Hodge in there and it becomes a major issue for defending set pieces. Modern footballers tend to be over six foot, you can manage with two or three smaller lads, but anymore and it's a problem. I'd like to see him in the squad for Latvia too, but I don't think it will happen, I'd say we're more likely to see Smallbone get some more minutes seeing as he's a championship regular (and in the 21s games I watched Smallbone in I though he was most effective sitting a bit deeper rather than as a 10).

[Jd2793]

technically he seems on a different level to someone like knight. im honestly not so sure what knight brings to the set up either apart from a lot of good work off the ball, really couldnt tell you what kind of a player he is on the back of his irish performances. its worth throwing hodge in imo , desperately need a deeper lying player in midfield

[JR89]

I think a big problem for Hodge in terms of the senior team is his size. We're already fairly small in midfield, Cullen and Knight are not big lads, if Obafemi is starting that's another fairly small player, you throw Hodge in there and it becomes a major issue for defending set pieces. Modern footballers tend to be over six foot, you can manage with two or three smaller lads, but anymore and it's a problem. I'd like to see him in the squad for Latvia too, but I don't think it will happen, I'd say we're more likely to see Smallbone get some more minutes seeing as he's a championship regular (and in the 21s games I watched Smallbone in I though he was most effective sitting a bit deeper rather than as a 10).

Smallbone definitely looked better playing a bit deeper in midfield but that also comes from the fact that the midfield trio is off balance when we play both Coventry and Kilkenny together.

Kenny mentioned fringe players will get a run out against Latvia, and I wouldn't start any of our nailed on midfielders for France against Latvia. With that I'd play Smallbone in the role that Hendrick normally plays.

[Eirambler]

technically he seems on a different level to someone like knight. im honestly not so sure what knight brings to the set up either apart from a lot of good work off the ball, really couldnt tell you what kind of a player he is on the back of his irish performances. its worth throwing hodge in imo , desperately need a deeper lying player in midfield

I think, because Knight is such an unselfish player, people tend to forget what he offers. But, as well as his work off the ball, he's a good crosser and a clever player around the opposition box when he is given a role that gets him in there. I don't know that we have any other player who could provide the assists he does in the YouTube clip below, from 2:30 onwards. Hourihane is technically capable of it, but wouldn't have had the athleticism to get into those positions in the first place (I remain a big fan of Knight despite his club career not going anywhere so far).

https://youtu.be/gymUdUMD5Fo

[third policeman]

Hodge has done nothing during his appearances to justify ongoing selection in a struggling side desperate for points. Their fan base clearly don’t rate him as a starter currently, he is far away. And I agree with them based on seeing all his premier league contributions this season. If wolves were sitting “mid table” as you said, the fan base would certainly be more open to blooding in Hodge. But they’re 19th and destined for championship football unless they turn around drastically. His manager clearly sees something in him, but this isn’t seen by the fans right now at the club and given circumstances will have limited patience for developing players who are far from prem ready like Hodge


The comment about him not being rated by the fanbase is an odd one, but I guess reflects debate on fans forum. His ratings on BBC reports from fans have been consistently amongst the highest for whoever's played in that particular game. That's a bit of a paradox. I haven't seen enough to make a judgement either way, but his manager is clearly happy with what he's producing or he wouldn't be getting regular minutes and a few starts.

[dynamo kerry]

Not sure who is saying hodge is our international saviour. I would never have gone there mentally myself. I mean no player with less than 50 senior matches should really be talked about like that.
(Goes for ferguson thread too)

They are 19th and 3 points off 13th. Nothing in it.

If they stay up and he plays gets 15 to 20 appearances he will either learn on the go and be a valuable asset or they will see he hasn't got it. I reckon they are clearly investing in the former scenario based on whatever they see.

I mean, why else play him

[Razors left peg]

To me it looks like Wolves see him as the long term replacement for Moutinho.

Anytime Ive seen him he looks eager to get on ball and is technically decent. Getting this much game time at his age is obviously a positive thing and can only be good for his development. I do wish he was half a foot taller though

[Trequartista20]

Not sure what's to be lost by bringing a talented Premier League player into the fold against a godawful Latvia side.

He could hardly make Kenny's Ireland very much worse.

[irishfan86]

Regarding a comment or two above, if our smaller guys are our best players, then those are the guys we should play. Just because set pieces have been our best path to goals in recent times does not mean we should build our teams for that one aspect of the game.

[Eirambler]

I would generally agree, but we do need to make sure we're covered in terms of defending set pieces as well.

[tommy_c12000]

Starts again in fa cup against Liverpool. Great experience for him

[TonyD]

Regarding a comment or two above, if our smaller guys are our best players, then those are the guys we should play. Just because set pieces have been our best path to goals in recent times does not mean we should build our teams for that one aspect of the game.

Absolutely. It’s that sort of attitude that lead to Wes Hoolihan getting far, far less caps than his talent deserved. He wasn’t trusted because of his size primarily I always felt. Which is bonkers when you think of it. Some of the greatest players have been relatively short. Maradonna and Messi in particular , and John Giles closer to home. ( and no, I’m not comparing Hoolihan, or especially Hodge to those players. Just making the point that you don’t have to be a six footer.)

[tommy_c12000]

Doing ok. Won the ball back off Tiago to play a pivotal part in the goal. Shocking mistake by Allison, a mistake Caoimhin wouldn’t have made…

[passinginterest]

Playing a bit further forward since Wolves subs and looking quite lively. Teammates seem to trust him. Thought there was a good example of strong positional sense when Wolves committed men forward on the counter, a lot of young midfielder would have joined in but when Liverpool broke he was really well positioned just in front of his defenders.

[irishfan86]

Great to see him play the full match against a fairly strong Liverpool side. Once again regularly showed for the ball and made some good tackles to disrupt play, most notably in the buildup to Allison’s error for the first Wolves goal. He’s not a dominant player but he’s not looking out of place or uncomfortable against elite opposition, and that’s not easy in a match like this at Anfield.

[tommy_c12000]

He didn’t change his position to my mind when the subs came on. He was always playing ahead of Neves prior to that and maintained that position. Best game in a wolves shirt. Apart from some misplaced passes, he passed the ball well throughout, defended tenaciously and never stopped running. Overall, he did okay, nothing ground breaking. But improving which is the main thing. He should start FA cup replay as well which will be good. Latvia game will hopefully further his development

[passinginterest]

He didn’t change his position to my mind when the subs came on. He was always playing ahead of Neves prior to that and maintained that position. Best game in a wolves shirt. Apart from some misplaced passes, he passed the ball well throughout, defended tenaciously and never stopped running. Overall, he did okay, nothing ground breaking. But improving which is the main thing. He should start FA cup replay as well which will be good. Latvia game will hopefully further his development

Fair enough on the positioning. I hadn’t been watching the whole game, it looked to me like he was a bit further forward more often after the subs but may well have just been the shorter time I was watching. It’s just a shame he’s so small (and I’m all for playing small technical players but I just think there’s a limit to how many you can play together and we seem to have a team of hobbits coming through!!).

[Eirambler]

To be fair, we have plenty of tall keepers, man mountain centre backs and two genuinely big centre forwards in Idah and Ferguson. Maybe that's enough that we can accommodate a small midfield - something like Cullen, Hodge and Knight.

[paul_oshea]

Fair enough on the positioning. I hadn’t been watching the whole game, it looked to me like he was a bit further forward more often after the subs but may well have just been the shorter time I was watching. It’s just a shame he’s so small (and I’m all for playing small technical players but I just think there’s a limit to how many you can play together and we seem to have a team of hobbits coming through!!).

For all the talk about competition from other sports is this an actual valid example of the issue ?

[liamoo11]

First mention I've seen on the dial national forum on the England bigsoccer forum of wondering if hodge would switch back to them. Good indication of the amazing progress he has made considering he played his first game last March after a year out injured and missed another 6 months previous to that with his leg break. Delighted to see him play at that level tonight

[Eirambler]

Have they made a play for Ferguson yet? I saw a few English fans on twitter making the case that he was still eligible for them.

[elatedscum]

For all the talk about competition from other sports is this an actual valid example of the issue ?

Considering the smaller lads were raised in England (Hodge, Cullen, Obafemi) and the taller lads were raised in Ireland (Bazunu, Kelleher, Travers, Collins, Omobamidele, Idah, Ferguson) - I don’t think so

[liamoo11]

Have they made a play for Ferguson yet? I saw a few English fans on twitter making the case that he was still eligible for them.

Would be quite a turn around . He certainly is eligible

[Diggs246]

Would be quite a turn around . He certainly is eligible

Lunacy! And I'm the paranoid one
He's staying and he is Irish unlike Hodge.

Let's get hodge involved asap

[mark12345]

Absolutely. It’s that sort of attitude that lead to Wes Hoolihan getting far, far less caps than his talent deserved. He wasn’t trusted because of his size primarily I always felt. Which is bonkers when you think of it. Some of the greatest players have been relatively short. Maradonna and Messi in particular , and John Giles closer to home. ( and no, I’m not comparing Hoolihan, or especially Hodge to those players. Just making the point that you don’t have to be a six footer.)

Wes Hoolahan was one of our most creative midfielders ever. Criminal really the lack of game time he got during his career.

[mark12345]

Lunacy! And I'm the paranoid one
He's staying and he is Irish unlike Hodge.

Let's get hodge involved asap

Yeah Hodge will really want to commit to us when he reads comments like that

[mark12345]

To be fair, we have plenty of tall keepers, man mountain centre backs and two genuinely big centre forwards in Idah and Ferguson. Maybe that's enough that we can accommodate a small midfield - something like Cullen, Hodge and Knight.

Mention of Knight - just watching him play for Derby v Barnsley in the Cup. Some very nice touches and intelligent play but he made a woeful decision to remain at League One level. Irish fans will wonder why we don't have the players to compete at international level. It is decisions like Knight's that answer that question.

[JR89]

Mention of Knight - just watching him play for Derby v Barnsley in the Cup. Some very nice touches and intelligent play but he made a woeful decision to remain at League One level. Irish fans will wonder why we don't have the players to compete at international level. It is decisions like Knight's that answer that question.

He's a contracted Derby player and they don't need to sell unless a team is willing to break the bank. Could throw a strop like Obafemi to force a move but that hasn't worked out well for him plus Knight doesn't strike me as the type.

[Diggs246]

Yeah Hodge will really want to commit to us when he reads comments like that

He has one Irish grandparent
He played for us under u16 and england u 17
He is an English man who qualifies for us. I hope we get him
but he won't be offended by me saying he is English

[mark12345]

He has one Irish grandparent
He played for us under u16 and england u 17
He is an English man who qualifies for us. I hope we get him
but he won't be offended by me saying he is English

He just might be offended by "he is Irish unlike Hodge. " Would you want to play for a team where the fans are already questioning his eligibility. Why bother

[Eirambler]

Would be quite a turn around . He certainly is eligible

No chance of him switching I'm sure. Was just wondering if their supporters were pushing for the English FA to ask the question. Some of them are still sore about missing out on Haaland as he was born in Leeds. (It's all hypothetical, but if Roy Keane hadn't smashed his dad's knee, he might be an England player now.)