Young Irish Players in Premiership

[youngirish]

I reckon next year could be a big year for a number of the young Irish players in and around the fringes of the Premiership teams.

Stephen Kelly, Stephen Elliot, Daryl Murphy, Willo Flood, Joey O'Brien, Darren Potter, Stephen Ireland, Mark Yeates and Michael Timlin could all possibly be established first team players when WC 2006 comes around (I know Kelly practically has established himself but with the signing of Stalteri and the emergence of Phil Ifil next season he might find first team games harder to come by).

What follows is a rundown of my thoughts on these young players but what I'd like is other people to contribute their knowledge.

Stephen Kelly - I watched him a fair bit last season and thought he showed decent potential. While being a bit dodgy defensively (as many young defenders are when they first make the breakthrough) he looks strong and quick and decent going forward. I personally believe he'll have a good season next year and be in the squad for WC2006 if we qualify.

Stephen Elliot - Bags of potential but unfortunately I think he'll have a difficult season next year as I believe Sunderland will struggle and he'll find goals hard to come by. His finishing at the moment can be a bit dodgy and he usually needs two or three clear chances before bagging a goal (a la Andy Cole and Robbie Keane). I hope I'm wrong and he has a good season because we need a striker but I think he might take a bit longer to establish himself as a premiership player if indeed he ever does.

Daryl Murphy - I'd be surprised if Daryl gets much of a look in and hindsight may suggest he should have followed Kevin Doyle to the Championship before attempting to tackle the Premiership. I think it'll prove too big a step up from the LOI.

Willo Flood - I don't see him making an impact at all next year. He failed to prove that he's consistently a good enough performer at this level when he had his chances last season and I believe that both Lee Croft and BWP will now be given more chances than Willo.

Joey O’Brien - I seen him at Sheffield Wed a bit and he just got better and better with every game. If he gets the chance I can see him establishing himself in the top flight but whether he's given that chance next season remains to be seen. He'll definitely play a few games possibly in the Carling Cup.

Darren Potter - Didn't look great in the few games he played last season. Can't see him being good enough in the long run to be a regular Irish international unless he dramatically improves. I do think, however, he'll get a few more games under his belt next season.

Stephen Ireland - Haven't seen him but I've heard from numerous sources that he's highly talented and expected to make a big impact at some stage in the future. I reckon he'll get a few games next season to show what he can do. Can anyone comment on him?

Mark Yeates - Again a player that’s highly talented but he's meant to be notoriously inconsistent and his finishing is poor. He might get a run out next season but I have my doubts whether he'll fulfil his undoubted talent.

Michael Timlin - Another talented player. He's been tipped for a while to make the breakthrough at Fulham but injury has hampered his progress. I can see him being farmed out on loan next year and depending on how he performs possibly getting a few games in the first team on his return.

Can anyone else comment on any of the players above or if there are a few other young Irish players in the premiership that might make the breakthrough before the World Cup?

[SaucyJack]

Joey O'Brien should go back on loan for awhile at Wednesday.

[Stuttgart88]

Wouldn't disagree with much of that except I think it's harsh to say that Flood "failed to prove consistently that he's good enough performer at this level". When you're at his stage of development all you're really looking for are signs that he's good enough. I think he showed flashes of his talent but whether he gets that many chances this season is a doubt, as you say.

I think Elliott will have a more difficult year alright but I think he's a bettter finisher than you make him out. I'm not sure we've ever had a more natural finisher come through our ranks. I think there's so much mediocrity in the Premiership that Elliott could still get a few goals.

If Kyle's injuries don't clear I think Murphy may get some kind of a look in. Mick likes to have one tall striker. Apart from Stead, who else do they have upfront this year? Did he keep Brian Deane on?

[Peadar]

There's been a lot said about Matthew Connolly (http://www.arsenal.com/player.asp?PLID=43911&CLID=1184&title=Player+profile+-+Matthew+Connolly&nav=Player+Files) recently. As far as I know he was born in Barnet but I'm certain I read somewhere that we were trying to get him to play for us.
Although I think he's too young for the senior team and will probably have to leave Arsenal in order to progress.

[dynamo kerry]

paul ifill had his chance to progress at spurs and didn't look half as good as kelly.

[tetsujin1979]

The main reason Flood didn't make more of an impact last season was Shaun Wright-Phillips, arguably the best naturally right-sided winger in the Premiership last season (Duff and Robben are naturally left sided), he scored, and set up goals, and was not going to be dropped for Flood, no matter how well he played in the reserves. It took an injury to get Flood into the first team, and as soon as Shaun was fit, he was back.

Lee Croft was out on loan for the majority of the season at Oldham, picked up a lot of first team experience and when he came back he was given a run to see what he had learned. I wouldn't mind seeing Willo doing the same next season, somewhere like Wednesday, or maybe one of the promoted sides.

There's a lot of talk around Stephen Ireland, he travelled regularly with the first team but never made it into the match day 16, hopefully he will next season.

With any luck Karl Bermingham might be doing the same by the end of the season, Bradley Wright-Phillips won't be playing with the reserves, so he should get a decent run in the reserve side. Once he's shown what he can do, he should get a call up to the full team.

[Donal81]

I don't know anything about Michael Timlin. Anyone got any information on him?

[zinedineontour]

Wouldn't disagree with much of that except I think it's harsh to say that Flood "failed to prove consistently that he's good enough performer at this level". When you're at his stage of development all you're really looking for are signs that he's good enough. I think he showed flashes of his talent but whether he gets that many chances this season is a doubt, as you say.

I think Elliott will have a more difficult year alright but I think he's a bettter finisher than you make him out. I'm not sure we've ever had a more natural finisher come through our ranks. I think there's so much mediocrity in the Premiership that Elliott could still get a few goals.

If Kyle's injuries don't clear I think Murphy may get some kind of a look in. Mick likes to have one tall striker. Apart from Stead, who else do they have upfront this year? Did he keep Brian Deane on?


Kevin Kyle will struggle to be back anytime soon and brian deane has been let go so chris brown , stead and elliott are our strikers this season so murphy is in with a shout .. mick didnt buy him for him to sit in the reserves ... elliott is an excellent finisher and will improve over the season . If you watched Sunderland week in week out you would realise how good his finishing is ..

[youngirish]

Yeah I've only seen Elliot a handful of times for Sunderland and in the Ireland games he played (Croatia, China, Faeroe Islands). Any ideas why McCarthy preferred Stewart and Brown at the end of last season as opposed to Stewart and Elliot which was his preferred partnership for a large part of the campaign?

Is Murphy likely to get his game ahead of Brown? I'm also not sure that Sunderland are finished with strikers and I reckon they'll pick up at least one more before the transfer window ends (Morrison possibly) which will be bad news for the Irish lads.

I heard Billy Dennehy is showing potential but he's unlikely to break into the first team squad anytime soon. Has anyone seen anything of him? He's another left winger though and we're not exactly short of players in that position.

It's a pity Thornton acts the a**ehole and is transfer listed as I reckon he has the talent to do well in the premiership.

[martin_rules_ie]

what about that lad stokes at arsenal, think he's only 16 meant to have great potential. probably wud have to leave arsenal for a first team breakthrough though..

[Qwerty]

It's really tough for kids to break through into Premiership teams, it's going to be tough for all of them but Elliot and Kelly have the best chances I would think. Potter will be swamped with more Spanish imports and I don't think that Flood fits into Pearce's gameplan. I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the list didn't get more than 5 starts between them in the league.

[Stuttgart88]

If you watched Sunderland week in week out you would realise how good his finishing is ..
I think the great thing about Elliott is that he gets all types of goals and with both feet & his head. He got spectacular goals against Wolves & West Ham, tap ins like the equaliser against Ipswich and there was one home game (against Stoke?) where he altered the course of a ball by a fraction to deflect it past the keeper. A real poacher's effort on the goal-line.

For the headed equaliser against Ipswich - if you watch the replays he ran about 20 yards to get onto Deane's knock-down. He read the situation brilliantly.

Pity he didn't score against the Faroes - it's important for a striker to break his duck. Remember Aldo?

[eirebhoy]

what about that lad stokes at arsenal, think he's only 16 meant to have great potential. probably wud have to leave arsenal for a first team breakthrough though..
He'll most likely get a run out in the Carling cup. Aliadiere is out on loan to Celtic and van Persie (who started all last seasons CC games) is now a first teamer. So Lupoli and someone else will start next season, hopefully thats Stokes.

Thats why I like the league cup more than the FA cup. Its your first glimpse at a lot of the Irish in first team football for their clubs.

[tetsujin1979]

I don't know anything about Michael Timlin. Anyone got any information on him?

Yeah, he's in the reserves at Fulham, highly rated by them

from this post - http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=24967&highlight=luke+steele


Michael Timlin (Fulham) - played once for the senior team this season, League Cup away to Boston, still highly rated
Pat Nevin (Fulham reserve manager):
With his versatility, quality and work rate, I think it's only a matter of time before he forces his way into the First Team squad.

[Reality Bites]

I know its not the premiershipr but What about Aiden McGeady, he has loads of potential, but seemed to fade away towards the end of the season fatigue and the arrival of Bellamy, looks a little lightweight (he should be soending the summer doing weights for upper body strength) but next season really should tell us a lot more about the player!! also Kerry lad (striker) in youth team for Celtic, suppose to have buckets of potential his name is Diarmuid O'Carroll.. No body has mentioned Paul McShane at Utd yet...suppose to have alot of talent too..

[Donal81]

Timlin sounds good, thanks for that lads.

[Karlos]

He'll most likely get a run out in the Carling cup. Aliadiere is out on loan to Celtic and van Persie (who started all last seasons CC games) is now a first teamer. So Lupoli and someone else will start next season, hopefully thats Stokes.
.

It'll more likely be Quicy and Lupoli - the two most consistant performers in the Arsenal reserves. Van Persie played some of the CC games last season as a left winger. Although young Stokes has been doing really well, he definetly sits behind Lupoli and Quincy (possibly Nicklas Bendtner too) in the pecking order but hopefully might see some action.

Young Patrick Creagg should again feature for the reserves and in the carling cup team having done so last year and being on the bench for a Champions League game.

[youngirish]

Yeah I agree. I think Stokes has lots of potential but its too soon for him. He's not even 17 yet. He could be brilliant or he could fall by the wayside like so many others.

At Arsenal Cregg will possibly get some games this season as may Stephen O'Donnell but I reckon they'd both be better served going out on loan somewhere.

[Patch]

Murphy could do well. Except hes the lazyest ******* when its not going well for him or he doesnt have the ball but he knows where the goal is. Born Finisher

[zinedineontour]

Yeah I've only seen Elliot a handful of times for Sunderland and in the Ireland games he played (Croatia, China, Faeroe Islands). Any ideas why McCarthy preferred Stewart and Brown at the end of last season as opposed to Stewart and Elliot which was his preferred partnership for a large part of the campaign?

Is Murphy likely to get his game ahead of Brown? I'm also not sure that Sunderland are finished with strikers and I reckon they'll pick up at least one more before the transfer window ends (Morrison possibly) which will be bad news for the Irish lads.

I heard Billy Dennehy is showing potential but he's unlikely to break into the first team squad anytime soon. Has anyone seen anything of him? He's another left winger though and we're not exactly short of players in that position.

It's a pity Thornton acts the a**ehole and is transfer listed as I reckon he has the talent to do well in the premiership.

just think elliotts first season playing every game took its tole near the end of the season though when he as brought on against west ham scored a cracker to win us the league ... i think we will get one more striker ... imo murphy is a better player than brown already and would be on paper our 3rd striker though i think we will sign kenny miller .

billy dennehy has been a quality midget since he arrived .. cracking little player but not gonna be first team for a while

thonrton ... knob

[dr_peepee]

That's a glowing report of Timlin!! Always nice to read things like that. He may get a look in. Fulham haven't replaced lee Clarke yet.

I've read allot about Stokes aswell. He's supposed to be the next Alan Shearer. One report said that Wenger was a big fan and instructed that he's to be played out of position sometimes to improve his all round game.

A few midfeilders hopefully will break through next season.

[tetsujin1979]

I've read allot about Stokes aswell. He's supposed to be the next Alan Shearer. One report said that Wenger was a big fan and instructed that he's to be played out of position sometimes to improve his all round game.

Moyes did something similar with Rooney, played him out on the wing, where he wouldn't be expected to score from, to get him used to playing in big games, without the pressure of being expected to win it all by himself

[Baker]

If Kyle's injuries don't clear I think Murphy may get some kind of a look in. Mick likes to have one tall striker. Apart from Stead, who else do they have upfront this year? Did he keep Brian Deane on?

Brian Dean has been released by Sunderland.

[Patch]

Stokes played 8 games for Arsenal Reserves scoring 4 goals. Not a bad return for a 16 year old. Well Bergkamp is 36, Van Persie is up for rape, they dont have many strikers to partner Henry.

Eddie Nolan(midfielder) is a regular at Blackburn reserves at 16 as well. Everyone was after him Man u included. He picked Blackburn cos of the chance they said they'd give him and their facilities(Echoes of robbie goin to Wolves instead of Liverpool). Captain of u15 and u16 ireland at 15.He has his feet firmly on the ground.

[gally]

I thought the Nolan lad was a Centre Half....

[eirebhoy]

Stokes played 8 games for Arsenal Reserves scoring 4 goals.
Stokes played 20 games for the reserves (started 14) and scored 8. He played half the games in midfield. He also played 15 games for the U18's.

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=289530&lid=Navigation+-+Reserves+and+Youths&navlid=Navigation+-+Reserves+and+Youths

[Karlos]

Stokes played 8 games for Arsenal Reserves scoring 4 goals. Not a bad return for a 16 year old. Well Bergkamp is 36, Van Persie is up for rape, they dont have many strikers to partner Henry.


As i said in an earlier post he's not just behind Henry, Van Persie, Bergkamp and Reyes (and anyone else Wenger brings in) - he's also behind Aliadierre, Quincy, Lupoli and Bendtner at present. He's only 16 though and Wenger does rate him highly.

He has plently of time, we'll know much more about him in the next 2 years or so.

[eirebhoy]

As i said in an earlier post he's not just behind Henry, Van Persie, Bergkamp and Reyes (and anyone else Wenger brings in) - he's also behind Aliadierre, Quincy, Lupoli and Bendtner at present. He's only 16 though and Wenger does rate him highly.

He has plently of time, we'll know much more about him in the next 2 years or so.
I agree with all that but he's not behind Bendtner. Quincy is a greedy bugger and is not really a goalscorer. I'd say Stokes is in with a good chance of getting a Carling cup run. I really, really doubt Quincy will end up a striker in a few years.

[Plastic Paddy]

I agree with all that but he's not behind Bendtner. Quincy is a greedy bugger and is not really a goalscorer. I'd say Stokes is in with a good chance of getting a Carling cup run. I really, really doubt Quincy will end up a striker in a few years.

You either spend far too much time on Championship Manager or your addiction to football/numbers is disturbing. That said, keep the in-depth analyses coming. It makes me sound like I'm informed when talking to all the lads and, more importantly, to Mrs. PP. :D

:ball: PP

[tetsujin1979]

he's also behind Aliadierre, Quincy, Lupoli and Bendtner at present. He's only 16 though and Wenger does rate him highly.

Well Aliadiere is at Celtic this season, so that's one less striker, Quincy will probably end up as a winger, with his pace and Wenger's penchant for moving strikers out onto the wing - e.g. Reyes - that's another one less. I agree with eirebhoy about Stokes getting a game or 2 in the League Cup next season, after that, who knows? A few injuries or suspensions towards the end of the season and he might even get a game in the Premiership. 2 seasons ago, Fabregas broke the record for Arsenal's youngest ever scorer at senior level, last season he deputised quite admirably for Gilberto and Vieira at various parts of the season.

[youngirish]

Here's a few links on some of the young Irish players so people can make their own judgements:

Stokes profile:
http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=221123&title=Programme%20-%20Young%20Guns%20-%20Anthony%20Stokes

Cregg profile:
http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=261566&title=Programme%20-%20Young%20Guns%20-%20Patrick%20Cregg

O'Donnell profile:
http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=261059&title=Young%20Guns%20-%20Stephen%20O'Donnell

Spurs Reserve Team Coach Clive Allen on Mark Yeates:
http://www.spurs.co.uk/article.asp?hlid=287078

Stephen Ireland:
http://www.mcfc.co.uk/article.asp?id=286549&title=Ireland+could+be+fans+favourite

Michael Timlin:
http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/football_news_latest_6310.html

[eirebhoy]

You either spend far too much time on Championship Manager or your addiction to football/numbers is disturbing. That said, keep the in-depth analyses coming. It makes me sound like I'm informed when talking to all the lads and, more importantly, to Mrs. PP. :D

:ball: PP
lol. :) I've never seen Bendtner play in my life but Stokes is ahead of him in the acadamy. Stokes started 14 games for the reserves while Bendtner started just 4 and was a regular for the U-18's. Stokes is a few months younger. I seen Quincy play a few times in the World youth Championships and also seen him play for Arsenal. He's a bit of a C.Ronaldo who uses his pace more and is a lot more greedy. He set up a goal in the WYC and actually ran away to the corner on his own celebrating as if he scored. Here's a compilation of him:
http://www.soccerclips.net/request.php?fileid=735&category=2&file=no2bn0577ev4.zip (if that link doesn't work just go to soccerclips and search for Owusu-Abeyie)

Stokes scored twice as many goals as him in less games last season so I can't see him staying a striker.

[youngirish]

Yeates and Kelly both played a half each as Spurs beat Stevenage in a pre-season friendly. Kelly looked to have more of an impact than Yeates judging from this article:
http://www.spurs.co.uk/article.asp?hlid=290447

Also Potter laid on a goal as Liverpool beat Wrexham 4-3.
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N149292050709-1651.htm

Joey O'Brien was also in action for Bolton but isn't mentioned at all in the match report.

[blue til i die]

I thought the Nolan lad was a Centre Half....
Well according to the Blackburn website, he is a defender!!!

[tricky_colour]

Well according to the Blackburn website, he is a defender!!!

There seems to be a tendancy to describe centre-backs as centre-halfs
I don't know why but it is extremly common.

Here is an example of Richard Dunnne

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/player?id=8210&cc=5739

He is listed correctly as a defender but then it says

"Dunne is a big, powerful and pacy centre half. " :confused:

This must cause a great deal of confusion. I don't know why or when this
trend started but it is very persistant I regularly hear premiership managers
make this "mistake".


Here is another example
http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/threemon_printable.php?id=131

Defensively, Cunningham and O’Brien seem to have nailed down the 2 centre-half slots"

Three not so wise monkeys perhaps.
It is so common that unless they name a specific player I have no idea
who is being talked about when the term "centre half" is used.

[eirebhoy]

tricky_colour - "Centre half" has been used to describe a centre back for years. Its the only phrase I use when talking about central defenders.

[tricky_colour]

tricky_colour - "Centre half" has been used to describe a centre back for years. Its the only phrase I use when talking about central defenders.

That may well be the case but as far as I am concerned there are
three 'lines' of players, backs, centres, and forwards, referring to the
back, centre and front of the pitch respectively.

so a team would be as follow
keeper
Leftback centreback centreback rightback
lefthalf, centrehalf centrehalf rightcentre
centreforward centreforward

Hence Roy Keane in his traditional position would be a centre-half
as he plays in the centre of the pitch widthwise, and halfway up the
pitch lenghtwise.

Now take Cunningham or O'Brien as centre-halfs, we can both agree
that they play at the centre of the pitch widthwise, but then where
does the 'half' bit come in? Hence the term 'half', used to describe
players who play at the back makes no sense to me.

[Stuttgart88]

You're technically right Tricky but the fashion seems to be to call centre-backs "centre-halves" and it has been for some while. It's the term I always use. It's just the football vernacular I suppose. In rugby the term "lock" changes meaning every 10 years or so. It used to mean no.8 (now called no.8!) whereas now it's a second row forward.

I also think there's too much variability in style to pigeon hole people in the exact roles you spell out. Defensive midfielder / holding midfielder / attacking midfielder / playmaker all have subtlee differences between them. Likewise winger & left half or outside left etc. mean different things too.

[eirebhoy]

This should clear it up:


The position is sometimes referred to as centre half. In the early part of the 20th century, when most teams employed the 2-3-5 formation, the row of three players were called half backs. As formations evolved, the central player in this trio (the centre half), moved into a more defensive position on the field, taking the name of the position with him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_half#Centre_back

[Karlos]

Well Aliadiere is at ****** this season, so that's one less striker, Quincy will probably end up as a winger, with his pace and Wenger's penchant for moving strikers out onto the wing - e.g. Reyes - that's another one less. I agree with eirebhoy about Stokes getting a game or 2 in the League Cup next season, after that, who knows? A few injuries or suspensions towards the end of the season and he might even get a game in the Premiership. 2 seasons ago, Fabregas broke the record for Arsenal's youngest ever scorer at senior level, last season he deputised quite admirably for Gilberto and Vieira at various parts of the season.

Quincy played almost all of his games up front including 2 of the 3 first team games he played. It was in fact Stokes who was often moved to the right side of midfield with the reserves. The preferred pairing was Quincy & Lupoli.

With regard to Reyes, he played as a left midfielder more often than not at Seville, it was in fact Wenger who decided to play him as a front man which is more like Wengers ideal of turning wingers into frontmen where possible as was the case with Henry and now with Quincy in the reserves and first team.

Stokes may well get a game in the League Cup (and I hope he does :) ) but from what I've seen of the reserves he's a way to go to reach the levels Lupoli and Quincy have displayed to be considered for first team games last season. In return those lads have a huge struggle to push aside Reyes, Van Persie, Bergkamp, Henry and Hleb (who is rumoured to be converting to a deep lying striker) and god knows who else should Wenger sign another stiker.

The return of David Bentley also makes it more difficult for Stokes should Bentley stick around. Bentley has been primed for the Denis Bergkamp role for a while at Arsenal and is another who is considered as a striker by Wenger although Worthington did play him on the right some times at Norwich although I believe that was more down to neccessity than anything else. Bentley himself has a fight to push Robin Van Persie out of that role.

Nicklas Bendter is one Wenger fought hard to secure from Copenhagen. His displays in the last 5 or 6 games of the season have escalated up the youngster hot list. I read an article about him in a recent Arsenal programme where Brady and Wenger discussed how is 6 ft 3 frame could become very useful for Arsenal. I expect to see us try him out in a carling cup game to see how his ariel game might work for us should he continue to show the form he displayed. He's one many see as a possible breakthrough squad player based on his style of game as much as anything. He scored 17 goals between the reserve and youth team squads and was the second highest scorer at that level behind Lupoli although Stokes did get 4 more goals in the reserves than Bendter.

I think the point really is that are many talented footballers possibly closer to getting into the first team than Stokes at the moment and from what I have seen of him, he is no better than any of them although he is a smashing young player. I won't get too carried away after the even bigger hype that surrounded the last great Irish hope Graham Barrett who had an even better strike rate at youth level for Arsenal.

The great thing for Stokes is that he's a year or so younger than most of the lads but operating at the same level. His age will probably mean he gets a longer chance to breakthrough, i.e. some of the others will be moved on if they haven't delivered. I'd love to see him do well and break through this year but I don't think personally it will be another Cole, Fabregas or Senderos scenario (although I'd love to be wrong :D ). If I was a betting man I'd be looking towards Quincy, Lupoli, Eboue or Hoyte making a mark this time around or for a real outside flutter - Fabrice Muamba.

[Qwerty]

Timlin scored for Fulham against Schalke - the noises out of Fulham about this kid are all very positive, he could get some games this coming season, particularly as the Fulham squad seems to get a bit thinner each passing year.

[Stuttgart88]

Timlin scored for Fulham against Schalke - the noises out of Fulham about this kid are all very positive, he could get some games this coming season, particularly as the Fulham squad seems to get a bit thinner each passing year.

Hopefully he'll play on Saturday against a certain Scottish team whose name is banned on this forum. I'm going & will have my talent scouting cap on.

[Havelock Squire]

Get fulham match report here (http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/football_news_latest_6372.html)

Trimlin gets a couple of mentions for a crunching tackle and a tidy finish into the corner of the net when fulham were 3-0 down

[Havelock Squire]

Pearce mentions Flood while talking about the importance of the city reserves for developing players for the 1st team.

"Players like Willo Flood have got to do a job in the reserves and Steve Wigley (Reserve Coach) has to teach them the game the way we wanted it played." - Stuart Pearce

Link to full story here (http://www.mcfc.co.uk/article.asp?article=291709&Title=Big+year+for+reserves)

As a city fan I've heard that Flood is highly rated by the club and by Pearce, however the suspicion is that he needs to strengthen up a bit more. Another youngster Lee Croft has jumped ahead of him in the pecking as cover for SWP. I thought he was always a right winger (can anyone confirm this?) but I think he's been playing centrally for the reserves to build up that strength.

Can only hope for a break through towards the end of the season i reckon, barring injuries (or sales!) that is

[youngirish]

Potter played for Liverpool against TNS last night. I thought he played okay but didn't do anything to suggest that he might break into Benitez's first 11 on a regular basis. I'd prefer to see him getting a few games in the centre of midfield instead of on the right. He looks a bit too gangly for a wide player.

Match report here:

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N149346050714-1135.htm

[eirebhoy]

Aye, he's certainly not the type of player you play on the right, he's much better in a central role.

[youngirish]

Elliot and Murphy were both in action yesterday as Sunderland took on British Columbia All Stars in their first pre-season friendly. It finished 1 - 0. Elliot isn't mentioned in the report but Murphy apparently missed a glorious chance to open his account.

Report here:
http://www.safc.com/news/?page_id=7472

[Karlos]

Was at The Arsenal - Barnet game today.

Anthony Stokes came on at half time in what was a basically a reserve team for the second half. He played on the right side of midfield with Lupoli playing up front with David Bentley playing behind him. Stokes didn't do an awful lot in the game and spurned a good chance from about 5 yards out on one occasion. On the plus side he didn't give the ball away much and made some good darting runs at pace, looks like an intelligent footballer.

Nicklas Bendter, came on about 15 minutes into the second half and immediately went up front alongside Lupoli with Bently remaining in behind in a front 3. Stokes continued to play as right sided midfielder for the duration of the game. Bendter looked useful up front. Quick for a big man and good in the air

It appears that Mr. Wenger sees Stokes as a midfielder more than a striker with his choice of playing the other 3 in that position. Perhaps he may try him out up front in an other game but as I suspected there appears to be others in front of him in the forward positions.

Lupoli looked sharp up front but sometimes his touch let him down in front of goal. His movement was impressive.

Bentley's touches were sublime and looked like the more senior player in this group. He'll be there or there abouts this year I reckon.

Overall, great to see Stokes get a game and was very impressed with his touch and he's bigger and more physical than I remember. Definetly one for the future but perhaps not just yet. Definetly rated by Wenger however and as I said on a previous post, he is younger than the rest of the boys. :)

on a side note, Alexander Hleb was impressive, great touch, control and excellent pace. Scoring 2 minutes into your debut usually helps settle you in nicely too.

[youngirish]

Stephen Ireland was in action for City against both Tranmere and Macclesfield at the weekend. Flood and Bermingham played a half each in the second match.

Match Report from city's site for Tranmere game:

City arrived at Prenton Park with a buzz surrounding Shaun Wright-Phillips following Chelsea's failed bid for the winger. On the field though, his brother came closest to giving the 1,000 or so City faithful in the crowd a buzz.

City fielded Qatar trialist Yassa Hussain for their first summer outing and both he and the team made a bright start. Blues first real chance came after 10 minutes.

Ireland's ball over the top sent Bradley Wright-Phillips clear, and despite a neat finish past the on-rushing Achterberg, Ian Sharps was there to clear the ball off the line. It fell again to the young striker but this time his fierce drive struck the left hand post.

City kept the pressure on and moments later Ishmael Miller glanced a header wide after a cross from the alert Hussain. Despite the game labelled a 'friendly', the tackles flying in suggested it was anything but. Tranmere went for power up front with Eugene Dadi hoping to cause City skipper Richard Dunne a few problems.

But it was City who were asking the questions. And after a few scrappy attempts to clear by Rovers, Wright-Phillips drove a shot in on goal, only to see Achterberg parry to safety after 35 minutes. The chances kept coming and following a Hussain corner from the left Wright-Phillips flashed a header over from four yards out.

The host's first decent chance came just before half time and fell to Jason McAteer after a dangerous corner. But City came back again and the Tranmere stopper produced a great save to prevent Wright-Phillips the goal he deserved. Plenty of opportunities for City, but they just haven't managed to claim the vital opener.


teams for tonight...

Tranmere Rovers

Acherberg; Linwood, Roberts, Jackson, Sharps; McAteer (c), Aiston, Rankine, Tremarco; Zola, Dadi


Manchester City

de Vilieger; Warrander, Thatcher, Sommeil, Dunne (c); Reyna, Sinclair, Hussain, Ireland; Miller, B. Wright-Phillips

Match Report from city's site for Macclesfield game:

Macclesfield v City
Robbie Fowler, Trevor Sinclair and Joey barton were all unavailable for City's second pre-season warm up game through injury. Shaun Wright-Phillips was a late withdrawal having felt unwell when he arrived at the Moss Rose Ground.
The home side took a shock early lead within three minutes when Jon Parkin slotted the ball past De Vlieger after breaking free between Sylvain Distin and David Sommeil.

The Blues struck back within five minutes when they levelled the scores with a crisply taken finish by trialist Yasser Hussain. The midfielder stroked the ball home from close range after Stephen Ireland's shot was parried by Fetis.

City could have taken the lead as both Sylvain Distin and Willo Flood had shots saved by the Macclesfield stopper.

A neat one two crisp passing move between Willo Flood and Danny Warrender cracked open the home defence but a last ditch tackle by Kevin Sandwith denied the City defender who had signed a new one year deal last month.

Minutes later Bradley Wright-Phillips missed a great opportunity at the far post just failing to get power behind his header after Willo Flood had got the cross in from the right as City began to dominate.

Just short of the half hour mark City were again denied the lead when Claudio Reyna eight yard shot rebounded off the upright following a corner from the left.

City continued to control the first half with Claudio Reyna hammering in a well struck drive only to see Alan Fetis again deny him and the Blues went in at the break on level terms

Richard Dunne, Stephen Jordan and Danny Mills were among the replacements for the second forty five minutes with Kasper Schmeichel going between the posts in place of Geert De Vlieger.

Lee Croft, playing in an out and out striker's role casued a few problems with his trickery in the home defence and trialist Hussein continued to impress.

But City failed to create any real goal scoring chances and were rarely tested in defence by the home side.

Teams:

Macclesfield: Fettis, Bailey, Sandwith, Morley, Swailes, Bullock, Harsley, Parkin, Miles, Beresford, McIntyre

City: De Vlieger,(Schmeichel) Warrender,(Mills) Sommeil,(Dunne) Distin,(Richards) Thatcher,(Jordan) Flood,(Bradley Wright-Phillips) Ireland, Reyna,(D'Laryea) Hussain, Bradley Wright-Phillips,(Croft) Bermingham.(Miller).

[ken foree]

i thought dunne was recovering from not one but two operations.. or did he not have them?