Elliot or Connolly?

[Fergie's Son]

Just noticed on eleven-a-side.com that Connolly may be moving to Wigan. Out of curiosity, why isn't he even in the squad? Surely it wouldn't hurt to have him there?

[NeilMcD]

Instead of who, the only one I can think of is Garry Doherty. Basically connolly is competing with Stephen Elliot for the place in the squad and Elliot is a better bet in my view.

[OwlsFan]

The guy is a Jonah. Saw him perform wonders away to Romania in 1997 but has been something of a disaster ever since. WHo do you drop out of the squad to give him a game ? Elliott ? I think not.

[Fergie's Son]

Why not drop one of the midfielders? We really need Liam Miller?

[eirebhoy]

The guy is a Jonah. Saw him perform wonders away to Romania in 1997 but has been something of a disaster ever since. WHo do you drop out of the squad to give him a game ? Elliott ? I think not.
I don't agree. He has almost always impressed me when he plays up front without Keane. His most recent cap without Keane was the home friendly against Turkey. He destroyed Alpay and the rest, scored and won MOM. Because of that performance he was picked in Basle and as usual played poor with Keane. I think that was his last cap. Good player, should be in the squad in place of Doc.

[youngirish]

Good player, should be in the squad in place of Doc.

I think Doc while very limited is very useful to have in the squad if you want to roll him on and punt some long balls up to him if all else fails. Connolly shouldn't get on the pitch before Morrison, Keane, or Elliot so I don't see him as being needed.

[Fergie's Son]

He's done a lot more than Elliot has and will probably outscore Morrisson. There is no reason why he shouldn't at least be in the squad. Clearly there was a falling out with Kerr. He's a good Championship striker and he should be there.

[eirebhoy]

Clearly there was a falling out with Kerr.
The Swiss match was his last cap. He was on the bench for the Brazil friendly. Pulled out of the Czech and Poland friendlies. Also, injured for the Romania, Holland and Unity cup matches. Back on the bench for the Bulgaria friendly. Was called up for the Cyprus and Swiss matches:
http://www.fai.ie/article.asp?hlid=223142&Title=Connolly+out,+midfield+quartet+doubtful&lid=&sub=Connolly+out,+midfield+quartet+doubtful&navlid=&sublid=

but pulled out with injury. Hasn't been called up since. Doubt there was a fallout.

[sligoman]

Ok, seen this in another thread. Who would you prefer to see in the Ireland squad? Stephen Elliot or David Connolly? :confused:. Connolly would get my vote! ;)

[Fergie's Son]

I stand corrected. I still think it is odd that he is not in the squad.

[thejollyrodger]

David Connolly ?? :D :D :D :D

You must be joking. how many "Connolly you are crap " threads are there ? He has been given so many chances and failed everytime.

I cant see him ever playing for Ireland again.

[thejollyrodger]

Im after posting this on the other thread


David Connolly ??

You must be joking. how many "Connolly you are crap " threads are there ? He has been given so many chances and failed everytime.

I cant see him ever playing for Ireland again.

I cant belive what Im reading though. I remember all those days that Connolly never delivered for Ireland. Now everyone wants him in the squad. I think he is a good Championship player but a weak priemership and international player.

[Fergie's Son]

Yet Doherty or Elliot are good enough? Connolly has done more than either of them in both the Green and in England. I'm not suggesting that we drop either Doherty or Elliot but to bring someone like Liam Miller over and not include Connolly makes little sense to me. If nothing else, Elliot could learn from someone who can actually score a few goals.

[The Legend]

Agree Miller (or Doc) shouldnt be there, he better start doing something soon or he'll be living on the same scrap heap as McPhail etc.

[dr_peepee]

I dunno about being better or worse than Elliot, but Elliots the man in posession at the minute and that's they way Kerr operates. Doherty and Miller are entirely different animals and aren't directly competing with him for a place int the squad.

[harry crumb]

I think Conally is a good player and has always scored goals.

Hes done it at international level aswell. Didn't he get a hatrick agains Liechtenstein.

[BobbySands]

Connolly seems like a bit of an odious little ***** but I think he should maybe be in there. Robbie and Morrisson haven't been getting much club time and we saw the way Kerr reacted when Robbie had to come off against Israel. Understandably, I suppose. he was loathe to send on the inexperienced Elliot and the rest is history. Connolly would have worked there cos at that point we were a) all over them and b) they were absolutely dreadful.

[Student Mullet]

Connolly isn't competing against Doc or Morrison. He's not as good as Elliot or Keane.

[Thomo]

Agree Miller (or Doc) shouldnt be there, he better start doing something soon or he'll be living on the same scrap heap as McPhail etc.

ah yes good old stephen mcphail-urel

[geysir]

ah yes good old stephen mcphail-urel
Thomo, nothing personal, but comments like that pish me off. There is a large number of talented young Irish players who do not make it at the top grade and you add some inane comment about failure. Yes he failed to make it at the top grade, he might have, do you know how many injuries and operations he has had to go through?

[NeilMcD]

I think there is more to International football than just club form. Kerr watches them in training, deals with them on the phone, watches them in club games and also sees them at first hand in international matches. All of this contributes to whether someone makes a squad or not. I would say that Kerr has seen Connolly enough times in training and for Ireland, that he does not fit in with his plans. We see this at club level all the time where a player may be a very good player but he does not fit into the plans of the manager. This could be style of play or personality difference etc. But Kerr is not stupid and he would never turn his back on Connolly for good as he may need him in the future if Keane and Elliot were injured. I think Connolly is competing directly with Elliot for the place. Doherty provides an option in the last few mins of a game and is cover at the back too.

As for Miller well, I suppose Kerr feels that you need a certain amount of cover in every position so he would not go with the idea of dropping a midfielder for a forward.

[tetsujin1979]

David Connolly ?? :D :D :D :D

You must be joking. how many "Connolly you are crap " threads are there ? He has been given so many chances and failed everytime.

I cant see him ever playing for Ireland again.
He's currently joint top scorer in the Championship and Wigan are willing to splash out 3 million on him. I reckon he'll definately play for Ireland again before the year is out.

[pete]

Threads Merged.

Theres nothing new about Connolly playing well in the english Championship. Simple fact is he is great goal scorer at that level but useless at international level.

We all know Connolly is useless. WE don't know if Elliot is useless yet.

Wigan must be nuts to be signing him but suppose they'll be relegated so he'll come good next season ;)

[zinedineontour]

Why not drop one of the midfielders? We really need Liam Miller?

agree miller could be let out of the squad .. but whoever put this poll up needs shooting ? are you for real connolly or elliott ..ffs connolly had his chance many a time refused to play for us once so **** off ...

[eirebhoy]

I don't have a the best of memories but of Connolly's 40 caps, name 3 starts without Keane that he was useless for us...

[superfrank]

I really can't stand either of them. But I think Elliott is a better player and that's who you'd want, the better player. Ideally it'd be Kevin Doyle. :) ;)

[Stuttgart88]

I don't have a the best of memories but of Connolly's 40 caps, name 3 starts without Keane that he was useless for us...
You should keep a copy of your original post & just paste it on a weekly basis :)

Even so, I prefer Elliott.

I can also justify Miller's inclusion in the squad. For a start he's creative. So he's another option that Kerr has. Presumably he's of use even in the practice matches. I actually thought he was good in MUFC's recent CL qualifier.

Colgan's selection is the one that I find increasingly hard to justify. I think we should have 2 keepers (like in Big Jack's day) and have a third on standby.

[Donal81]

I don't have a the best of memories but of Connolly's 40 caps, name 3 starts without Keane that he was useless for us...

I see what you're saying Eirebhoy but Keane will always start if he's fit and rightfully so. If Connolly can't adapt to that, why should he be in the squad if Keane's there? Why not focus on someone who can hopefully play with Keane? Connolly has played well for us at times but has had more than enough chances. If he can't adapt to Keane's play, that's his loss and Kerr has to deal with that. He has never, ever performed consistently for us and it makes much more sense to give Elliott a chance.

[zinedineontour]

I really can't stand either of them. But I think Elliott is a better player and that's who you'd want, the better player. Ideally it'd be Kevin Doyle. :) ;)

ffs why cant you stand elliott ? what has he done to annoy you ? quality for sunderland last year and has shown how good he is in the championship ...I will reserve judgement on doyle though good to see him score the other day.. connolly chose not to play for us against greece the little ****e and has had chance after chance .. lets give elliott his chance ...

[oconghc2]

just completed the deal - 3 years.

hope he does well - th emore strikers playing higher level the better

[tetsujin1979]

Notice on Wigan's official site - http://www.wiganlatics.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10429~707314,00.html?ptvParm=
Just hope he gets regular football there.

[EnDai]

At a cost of £2,000,000 he will be playing regularly I'd imagine! :D

[jorge]

ELLIOT


Theres NO contest.

Why even make a poll? :confused:

[tetsujin1979]

ELLIOT


Theres NO contest.

Why even make a poll? :confused:

Well how about a Connolly/Doherty poll? I think Connolly is worth his place in the squad, but Doc offers something different up front. None of our strikers are blessed with height.

[Macy]

Is this a trick question? There's no way anyone could seriously be suggesting giving that mug Connolly another chance to prove he's not good enough....

[Fergie's Son]

Well, Wigan seem to rate him well enough to splash out 2-3 million on him so he must be doing something right. Elliot hasn't exactly set the world on fire in the Prem. It's early days and he's playing in a poor team but I can't see Elliot doing much this year. Maybe another year in the Championship will do him good. If Connolly starts scoring in the Premiership then I think he has to get back into the Ireland squad.

[eirebhoy]

He has never, ever performed consistently for us and it makes much more sense to give Elliott a chance.
I wouldn't say never, ever. He probably had the better start to an Irish career than any other Irish striker, ever. As soon as Robbie came along he became crap. Even so, he has still played well for us when starting without Keane. Why have him in the squad if he can't play with Keane? Because he is the best alternative we have to Keane if he's unavailable or goes off injured. He is better than Elliott atm imo but Elliott has age on his side. When you are young you will be rated probably 50% higher than you actually are. If Elliott was 28 he wouldn't be rated half as highly. I'd prefer to have Elliott in the squad because he has the potential to be first choice for us up front but I'd have Connolly in instead of Doc.

C'mon, if Elliott scored 7 in his first 15 caps and 42 in 63 in the Championship he'd be potential world class to most people. Connolly is proven. He may not be 100% proven at international level but neither is Elliott. Connolly will do well in his first season in the prem imo.

[Condex]

Just goes to show our dearth of a quality/reasonable strikers when we are talking about Connolly again, never did for Ireland and never will....

[zinedineontour]

Well, Wigan seem to rate him well enough to splash out 2-3 million on him so he must be doing something right. Elliot hasn't exactly set the world on fire in the Prem. It's early days and he's playing in a poor team but I can't see Elliot doing much this year. Maybe another year in the Championship will do him good. If Connolly starts scoring in the Premiership then I think he has to get back into the Ireland squad.

guess you havent watched or listened or read about sunderlands games this year.. elliott has been playing very well so far but is playing on the right of midfield which isnt his position ... connolly is a waste of space.. People who say wigan spent 2 million he must be good is a ****e statement ... they were also willing to spend 750,000 on Dean Windass from Bradford ... Panic Buy imo ...

[Donal81]

I wouldn't say never, ever. He probably had the better start to an Irish career than any other Irish striker, ever. As soon as Robbie came along he became crap. Even so, he has still played well for us when starting without Keane. Why have him in the squad if he can't play with Keane? Because he is the best alternative we have to Keane if he's unavailable or goes off injured. He is better than Elliott atm imo but Elliott has age on his side. When you are young you will be rated probably 50% higher than you actually are. If Elliott was 28 he wouldn't be rated half as highly. I'd prefer to have Elliott in the squad because he has the potential to be first choice for us up front but I'd have Connolly in instead of Doc.

C'mon, if Elliott scored 7 in his first 15 caps and 42 in 63 in the Championship he'd be potential world class to most people. Connolly is proven. He may not be 100% proven at international level but neither is Elliott. Connolly will do well in his first season in the prem imo.

All of the above are fair points but do you not think that Connolly has been given more than enough chances and blown too many of them? He's not as bad as some make out but I'd take Elliott over Connolly any day, given that I reckon Elliott has as much chance of scoring for Ireland as Connolly and Elliott's attitude is much better. Remember Elliott against the Faroes: fair enough, the opposition was muck but he got stuck into the game. When was the last time Connolly did that?

And as for the Doc...They're completely different players. The Doc isn't a natural striker, obviously, but does well for us under certain circumstances such as the last 20 minutes and we're up against it.

[eirebhoy]

All of the above are fair points but do you not think that Connolly has been given more than enough chances and blown too many of them?
Not really because imo he just can't play with Robbie, it really is as simple as that in my opinion. Sequence of events for Connolly:

Scored 7 goals in his first 15 caps.
Robbie Keane then got capped.
Of Connolly's 25 caps since Keane came along he either partnered Keane and/or came on as a sub in 18-20 of those (I checked this up before and got the figure 18).
The 5 matches I know he started up front without Keane since Keane came along were Sweden, Turkey, Andorra, Cyprus, Turkey. The most recent of those 2 he scored in both.

He started 5-7 matches without Keane as his partner since Keane broke the scene and played well in most of them. So the answer to your question is no.


When was the last time Connolly did that?
The last time he started a game without Keane, got MOTM.

[Donal81]

Is his inability to play with Keane an unfortunate circumstance or a lack of ability on his part? Keane is always going to start, he knows this, but yet he hasn't adapted to it. I've seen him play brilliantly for Ireland at times but either he learns to play with our all-time top goalscorer who will never be dropped or he learns how to warm the bench.

[eirebhoy]

Is his inability to play with Keane an unfortunate circumstance or a lack of ability on his part? Keane is always going to start, he knows this, but yet he hasn't adapted to it. I've seen him play brilliantly for Ireland at times but either he learns to play with our all-time top goalscorer who will never be dropped or he learns how to warm the bench.
I agree. Still though, Keane is not guaranteed to be fit for every match over the next 4 or 5 years so if Connolly does well in the prem he won't be bad backup. I'm not a fan of Trezeguet and Henry together either. There's plenty of examples in international football.

[superfrank]

ffs why cant you stand elliott ? what has he done to annoy you ? quality for sunderland last year and has shown how good he is in the championship ...I will reserve judgement on doyle though good to see him score the other day.. connolly chose not to play for us against greece the little ****e and has had chance after chance .. lets give elliott his chance ...
In the games I've seen him play (Internationals and in the Premiership) he has not done enough to make me think he's good enough to play consistently for us. In those three matches he's missed two brilliant chances and he falls over too easily.

[Dublin12]

David Connolly is making his debut tomorrow in the premiership,and as mad as it may seem I wish him all the best and I really hope he makes an impact.You never know,he might come good and we(Ireland) might need to call on his services at some stage and it is one department we certainly need to have more strength in and more competition for places.
Good luck David,I hope you can bang in the goals starting tomorrow.

[zinedineontour]

David Connolly is making his debut tomorrow in the premiership,and as mad as it may seem I wish him all the best and I really hope he makes an impact.You never know,he might come good and we(Ireland) might need to call on his services at some stage and it is one department we certainly need to have more strength in and more competition for places.
Good luck David,I hope you can bang in the goals starting tomorrow.

doubt it .. prize knob .. wouldnt play in greece when asked .. doubt he will make an impact ...

[Shelsman]

It seems to me that there is a certain section of fans who will always be against some of our fringe players, and it just happens to be David Connolly at the moment. I've seen him play plenty of games for us where he's done well. There's no disputing his excellent scoring record at any level for Ireland when compared to Elliot. Will all those who knocked Connolly still be on his back if he scores more than Elliot in the premiership this season????

As for Kevin Doyle, it's true that he was/is a City legend as has been very sucessfull for the Ireland U21s but he is COMPLETELY unproven in the Championship, never mind at a higher club level or even full international level. I sincerely hope he does well in his career across the water and would love to see an ex or current eL player in the Ireland squad but it is nuts to be talking about him for full international honours yet when there are better players ahead of him.

[Tram_14]

I wish David Connolly the best in Wigan, great opportunity for him, but its just that he doesn't combine well with Robbie. Robbie's not going anywhere, so unless Angry Ant learns to play/combine with robbie he won't get a game. Another small guy with robbie is not a good idea, maybe they are just too similar. Elliot offers robbie abit more upfront.

[tetsujin1979]

I can't believe some people on this board, we have a striker playing (hopefully) regular football in the Premiership, and all they want to do is knock him. With luck these will be the same people calling for him to be included in the squad for Germany after he gets into double figures for he season!

[ccfcgirl]

Eilot........