Tom Cannon F Sheffield Utd b.2002

[Demesne Lad]

Preson NE foiled in their pursuit of Cameron Archer, so turning their attention again to Tom Cannon, according to Deepdale Digest today. Kevin Thelwell, ex-PNE and now Everton Director of Football, quoted as describing Cannon as 'very talented' and having 'an excellent work ethic'. The PNE Chief Scout is ex-Everton midfielder James Wallace, so the right connections are in place. However, Everton are a bit light in the scoring forwards department. Where Cannon spends the rest of the season may depend on where Frank Lampard spends it.

[liamoo11]

Preson NE foiled in their pursuit of Cameron Archer, so turning their attention again to Tom Cannon, according to Deepdale Digest today. Kevin Thelwell, ex-PNE and now Everton Director of Football, quoted as describing Cannon as 'very talented' and having 'an excellent work ethic'. The PNE Chief Scout is ex-Everton midfielder James Wallace, so the right connections are in place. However, Everton are a bit light in the scoring forwards department. Where Cannon spends the rest of the season may depend on where Frank Lampard spends it.

James Wallace played for us underage but turned out then to be ineligible i think

[tetsujin1979]

I was wondering if it was him

[liamoo11]

I was wondering if it was him

He played with another lad from Everton at the time gerard kinsella I think who also turned out to be ineligible

[JR89]

Joins Preston on loan. Surprised Everton have sent him to Preston for his first proper stint of playing first team football.

1612777652338978819

[Demesne Lad]

Let's hope he does well at Preston. But will this mean an Irish player (? Maguire, ?Parrott) moves out?

[pineapple stu]

Maguire has been suggested, hasn't he?

[JR89]

Maguire is rumoured to have been told he can leave but Riis was sent to see a knee specialist so could stick around a bit if Riis is out long term. Will likely be Cannon and Parrott fighting to partner Ched Evans.

[Eirambler]

Hopefully only on the football pitch...

[Razors left peg]

Maguire has been suggested, hasn't he?

Maguire would probably be better off dropping down a division or 2 at this stage, hes just making up the numbers in that Preston squad.

Hopefully Parrott and Browne can cement Cannons interest in playing for us, but Im also not gonna stress over if he will or wont. I think the frenzie over Mipo has burned me on caring about lads who are dual until we see if they are even good enough. Even looking at Liam Delap now I not sure Id care about whether we get him or not, where as a year ago it seemed like a big deal.

[Eirambler]

Delap was massively overhyped because he came through at Man City. Some talk that his loan at Stoke might be cancelled - partly because they've let his dad go from the coaching staff but also partly because he hasn't been good enough for the Championship.

It will be interesting to see if he gets anywhere near the England Under 21s, I suspect he might not.

[Trequartista20]

Maybe unfair, but my heart always sinks, slightly, when I hear when of our players might be moving to PNE.

I hope it works out, but let's see.

(I'd like to have worked a munitions-based pun into that comment but I'm worried that the site admin might have a short fuse.)

[tetsujin1979]

Straight into the starting XI with Alan Browne also starting
Parrott, Brady, and Cunningham named as substitutes
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[Demesne Lad]

Not going well for Preston - 3 down inside 30 minutes. Time to get the veterans Brady and Cunningham off the bench? No, Delap and Fernandez. Hope that doesn't set a pattern for the rest of the season.

[tommy_c12000]

I suspect they’ve caught a Norwich team on the way up with a new shrewd manager….

[Eirambler]

I suspect they’ve caught a Norwich team on the way up with a new shrewd manager….

Playoffs in the Championship are going to be very interesting this year. Assuming Burnley and Sheffield United are out of sight in terms of the automatic places (Burnley are anyway), Norwich, Boro, West Brom and Watford as all resurgent after manager changes. If it's those four that end up in the playoffs it will be one of the stronger playoffs in recent years. Plenty of Irish interest also, other than Watford.

[Demesne Lad]

Cannon played 81 mins away to Birmingham. Parrott replaced him.

[joey B]

Booked for a really embarrassing dive against Spurs there,hopefully it’s not a feature of his game!

[passinginterest]

Booked for a really embarrassing dive against Spurs there,hopefully it’s not a feature of his game!

Apart from the dive he worked extremely hard and had some nice moments. Not too many opportunities around the Spurs box in fairness.

[SkStu]

Goal for Cannon, his first senior goal I think. Assisted by Browne


Cannon is played through on goal by Browne and burst in to the box before finding the bottom left corner!

[pineapple stu]

Starting alongside Parrott too, which may well be a first?

Greg Cunningham with an own goal at the other end.

[Razors left peg]

Starting alongside Parrott too, which may well be a first?

Greg Cunningham with an own goal at the other end.
They started together last week too. Watched a bit of it

[tommy_c12000]

Great stuff, Parrott tried to get the ball to take their peno but wasn’t allowed take it. Pity.

[elatedscum]

It’s an interesting one. Was thinking last week when Cannon was starting ahead of Parrott - that’s it’s weird that we don’t consider them on the same level at all at international level. Parrott is basically a shoo-in for the squad and has 17 full caps, whereas Cannon has never won an u21 cap despite being born in the same year as Parrott and being ahead or equal to him at club level

[SkStu]

1629633780833976320

Good touch, good pace, a bit of strength and a lovely finish.

[Eirambler]

It’s an interesting one. Was thinking last week when Cannon was starting ahead of Parrott - that’s it’s weird that we don’t consider them on the same level at all at international level. Parrott is basically a shoo-in for the squad and has 17 full caps, whereas Cannon has never won an u21 cap despite being born in the same year as Parrott and being ahead or equal to him at club level

It does seem a bit strange alright, but then their pathways have been so different. Parrott came through the youth setup in Ireland up to 16 and would have been very visible to the FAI scouts from a young age. Since going to England he has played over 100 senior games, including a very successful loan spell at MK Dons, as well as some less successful loans. He also had the advantage of coming through Kenny's Under 21 team, which gave him a head start at senior level and he came into the senior squad at a time when we were probably at our weakest in at least 25 years and there were plenty of squad places up for grabs.

Cannon is almost a year younger than Parrott and has played less than 20 senior games. He had no senior profile at all really before this season. He's also English born and developed also, which makes him less visible to us. But he seems to have taken to senior football really well and looks to be outperforming Delap at Preston, which is something given the hype around Delap. He must be in pole position now to be the starting centre forward for the next Under 21 campaign, and you couldn't rule out a senior call up if he delivers for Preston consistently, though it's a much higher bar to get in now than Parrott had to clear a couple of years ago.

Sometimes the most hyped up players don't make the grade and ones that go under the radar end up having the best careers. No idea if that will apply to Cannon or not, but he has made a very strong start in senior football.

[MancIrishWolf]

Interesting take on their recent performances and overall potential in the links below. Certainly a lot more favourable to Cannon. Have been impressed with what I’ve seen of him - looks direct and strong would cap him sooner rather than later. Concerning about Parrot’s lack of goals - wonder if playing him deeper in an attacking midfield role might suit him.

Parrot: https://www.pne-online.net/forum/index.php?threads/new-signing-troy-parrott-season-long-loan.3436453/page-16

Cannon: https://www.pne-online.net/forum/index.php?threads/new-signing-tom-cannon-loan-for-the-season.3437500/page-8

[elatedscum]

It does seem a bit strange alright, but then their pathways have been so different. Parrott came through the youth setup in Ireland up to 16 and would have been very visible to the FAI scouts from a young age. Since going to England he has played over 100 senior games, including a very successful loan spell at MK Dons, as well as some less successful loans. He also had the advantage of coming through Kenny's Under 21 team, which gave him a head start at senior level and he came into the senior squad at a time when we were probably at our weakest in at least 25 years and there were plenty of squad places up for grabs.

Cannon is almost a year younger than Parrott and has played less than 20 senior games. He had no senior profile at all really before this season. He's also English born and developed also, which makes him less visible to us. But he seems to have taken to senior football really well and looks to be outperforming Delap at Preston, which is something given the hype around Delap. He must be in pole position now to be the starting centre forward for the next Under 21 campaign, and you couldn't rule out a senior call up if he delivers for Preston consistently, though it's a much higher bar to get in now than Parrott had to clear a couple of years ago.

Sometimes the most hyped up players don't make the grade and ones that go under the radar end up having the best careers. No idea if that will apply to Cannon or not, but he has made a very strong start in senior football.

I think what you’ve said is right but Cannon was impressive for Ireland u20s under Crawford against the amateurs. He was feeding off scraps but his quickness of foot and thought were really evident (wrote about it here at the time).

As much as I like JJ Kayode, and I do respect his work rate and attitude, the caps he got, and to a lesser extent Collie Whelan’s caps, might have been better going to Tom Cannon and Sinclair Armstrong, if you’re looking at blooding the really high potential guys - and at the very least that should have been apparent when working with him at u20s

[CraftyToePoke]

What is his link ?
His Wiki only recently mentioned Ireland in any capacity I noticed.

[Razors left peg]

He did turn up for an U20s game about a year ago when others like OkoFlex declined. Not sure how strong his links are but I assume we'll find out if he's with us in the coming weeks when senior and U21 squads announced

[Eirambler]

Granny ruler I think. Hasn't played a competitive underage game for us. Was that Under 20s game his only appearance for Ireland?

[tetsujin1979]

Granny ruler I think. Hasn't played a competitive underage game for us. Was that Under 20s game his only appearance for Ireland?
Played two qualifiers for the U19s in 2019
Late sub V Switzerland: https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/ireland-u19-mohans-side-fall-to-defeat-against-switzerland
V Gibraltar, where he scored https://www.fai.ie/ireland/match/24/2019/999946198?tab=report
Was an unused sub against Austria in the final group game

[CraftyToePoke]

How is his Gram looking for the bit of Eire love lads ? :D

[Razors left peg]

There's no love for Engerland on there either Crafty. He's a little tease

[elatedscum]

The fact he turned up for that 20s game when a tonne of people pulled out is a pretty good sign.

[Eirambler]

Planned two qualifiers for the U19s in 2019
Late sub V Switzerland: https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/ireland-u19-mohans-side-fall-to-defeat-against-switzerland
V Gibraltar, where he scored https://www.fai.ie/ireland/match/24/2019/999946198?tab=report
Was an unused sub against Austria in the final group game

Thanks, hadn't realised he had been part of that squad. He seems the obvious candidate to lead the line for the Under 21s in the next campaign so hopefully he will want to do that. Looks to be well ahead of Odubeko who got a few games in the last campaign but is struggling down in League 1. Sinclair Armstrong the other main option but Cannon looks more ready for it at this point.

[pineapple stu]

Outshines strike partner Troy Parrott again today, scoring the opener after Parrott had already been subbed off. Greg Cunningham given the assist.

Should Cannon be in the senior squad over Parrott this month I wonder? They've the same number of league goals this season, but Cannon has played half as many games.

[John83]

Parrott's best attributes for us seem to be around the build-up rather than as an out-and-out goalscorer. This month may be a little soon for Cannon (unless there are some injuries; Robinson is out already, I think), but if he keeps it up he'll have to be looked at seriously. Do we have games lined up this summer?

[pineapple stu]

Greece away and Gibraltar at home in Euro qualifying.

[Jd2793]

would be shocked if cannon is near parrott in the national team pecking order

[Eirambler]

I don't think they're really competing with each other to be honest. Cannon is a centre forward, his competition would be the likes of Ferguson and Idah. Parrott is a second forward, he'd be competing with the likes of Ogbene, Robinson and Connolly. Obafemi is an interesting option in that he looks suited to both positions.

Certainly no shortage of options up front, even if there's nobody who is prolific at this point in time. The age profile of those eight as a group is excellent.

[JR89]

I don't think they're really competing with each other to be honest. Cannon is a centre forward, his competition would be the likes of Ferguson and Idah. Parrott is a second forward, he'd be competing with the likes of Ogbene, Robinson and Connolly. Obafemi is an interesting option in that he looks suited to both positions.

Certainly no shortage of options up front, even if there's nobody who is prolific at this point in time. The age profile of those eight as a group is excellent.

As does Ferguson which is why I think they'll make the best front two for us. Similar Idah has played both roles for Norwich. When Smith had him and Pukki starting together in a 4-4-2 they'd take turns on who'd play as the 9 and who'd drop back into a deeper role.

[tommy_c12000]

Goal apart, Cannon did ok. Nothing overly impressive, but took goal very well. Parrott created a nice chance for himself with some tidy footwork in the first half but had a game effort with his left, beyond this he was pretty ineffective. I would have both Parrott and Cannon in the squad

[OMTY]

Another goal for Cannon away to Rotherham. Assist from Brady.

[Eirambler]

If it came to it I'd probably rather see him called up than Will Keane, Scott Hogan or James Collins. Presumably none of them will be called up though as it will be Ferguson/Obafemi/Idah/Ogbene and Parrott. But if there's a further drop out (Robinson and Connolly already gone) he should maybe be considered for Latvia?

[Razors left peg]

If it came to it I'd probably rather see him called up than Will Keane, Scott Hogan or James Collins. Presumably none of them will be called up though as it will be Ferguson/Obafemi/Idah/Ogbene and Parrott. But if there's a further drop out (Robinson and Connolly already gone) he should maybe be considered for Latvia?

Might be worth calling him up for Latvia game to see his reaction to it. There seems to be an undercurrent that hes not commited to us for whatever reason, so based on form its not an outrageous thing to call him up and test the water.

[paul_oshea]

I'd agree with that and be happy to give him a shot ahead of parrot. Parrot has stagnated or possibly on a slight downward trajectory we know what he offers. Test his (cannons)resolve.What's there to lose including cannon ahead of him and giving him time against Latvia? But Kenny's been hinting that the squad is settled and picked for this qualification in mind

[third policeman]

Is there a recall clause in the loan from Everton? They could do with a reliable goal scorer,

[SkStu]

Just stuck this game on and he’s hit the bar. Did very well, showed great strength to hold off the Rotherham defender and from a very tight angle hit the crossbar

[samhaydenjr]

Might be worth calling him up for Latvia game to see his reaction to it. There seems to be an undercurrent that hes not commited to us for whatever reason, so based on form its not an outrageous thing to call him up and test the water.

Don't believe in calling up dual-eligible players to "test their loyalty". Manager should just reach out privately to the player, say player's form merits consideration for a call-up, and ask if the player is ready to make that final commitment. If the player wants time to be sure, give him space to make the decision.