2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

[tetsujin1979]

the 2027 Championship was awarded to Serbia and Albania yesterday
Draw for the qualifiers was made earlier, with Ireland in the second seeds

Pot 1: Spain, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, France, Ukraine, Italy, Denmark
Pot 2: Romania, Switzerland, Croatia, Czechia, Poland, Norway, Belgium, Georgia, Republic of Ireland
Pot 3: Slovenia, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Slovakia, Greece, Iceland, Hungary, Bulgaria
Pot 4: Scotland, Wales, Israel, North Macedonia, T�rkiye, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Faroe Islands, Moldova
Pot 5: Belarus, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg
Pot 6: Estonia, Malta, Armenia, Andorra, Gibraltar, San Marino

Fixtures to be announced later today, with the first round at the end of March
With England in the group, we're looking at the play offs to qualify for the tournament

2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship(uefa.com) (https://www.uefa.com/under21/)
2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship(wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2027_UEFA_European_Under-21_Championship)
2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualification (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2027_UEFA_European_Under-21_Championship_qualification)
2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualification Group D (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2027_UEFA_European_Under-21_Championship_qualification_Group_D)

[Eirambler]

Are there not still automatic places for the best second placed teams? Outside of England that seems a decent group, the kind we could have done with in previous campaigns when we had stronger squads and might have got a best second place auto Q.

Between us looking at a potentially weaker squad this time around (and Ferguson and Vata at a minimum unlikely to be involved) and Jim Crawford being Jim Crawford, I have limited expectations for this campaign.

[tetsujin1979]

Are there not still automatic places for the best second placed teams? Outside of England that seems a decent group, the kind we could have done with in previous campaigns when we had stronger squads and might have got a best second place auto Q.

Between us looking at a potentially weaker squad this time around (and Ferguson and Vata at a minimum unlikely to be involved) and Jim Crawford being Jim Crawford, I have limited expectations for this campaign.
Sorry, there are. from uefa.com

The nine group winners and the runner-up with the best record (not counting results against sixth-placed teams) qualify directly for the final tournament to join co-hosts Albania and Serbia. The eight other runners-up contest play-offs to determine the four remaining finalists.

Looking at the other groups in the draw - https://www.uefa.com/under21/news/0295-1cea24a2c5e9-d386c3b3ddee-1000--2025-27-under-21-euro-qualifying-group-stage-draw/ - I'd say the best runner up will probably come from Group C - France, Switzerland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Estonia - or maybe Group I - Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Belarus

[Kingdom]

It's as good a group as we could have hoped for apart from England.



Looking at the other groups in the draw - https://www.uefa.com/under21/news/0295-1cea24a2c5e9-d386c3b3ddee-1000--2025-27-under-21-euro-qualifying-group-stage-draw/ - I'd say the best runner up will probably come from Group C - France, Switzerland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Estonia - or maybe Group I - Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Belarus

I would expect Group A or our group to have best runner-up.

[tetsujin1979]

not group A, you can see Finland, Kosovo, and Romania taking points off each other. Spain will blow the rest of the group away
you want a second seed who might cause the top seed problems, and will win all their other games
we might drop points against Slovakia.

[Eirambler]

Squad announced for the September qualifiers against Moldova (a) and Andorra (h), for which the target will have to be two wins:

Goalkeepers: Noah Jauny (Stade Brestois), Aaron Maguire (Tottenham Hotspur), Andrew Wogan (Chester FC, on loan from Stockport County).
Defenders: James Abankwah (Watford), Jacob Devaney (Manchester United), Sean Grehan (Doncaster Rovers), Alex Murphy (Newcastle United), David Okagbue (Peterborough United), Jacob Slater (Brighton & Hove Albion), Freddie Turley (Derby County).
Midfielders: Romeo Akachukwu (Southampton), Jad Hakiki (Sligo Rovers), Darius Lipsiuc (Solihull Moors, on loan from Stoke City), Cathal McCarthy (Hull City), Jamie Mullins (Wycombe Wanderers), Adam Murphy (Bristol City), Harry Vaughan (Hull City).
Forwards: Cian Dillon (Queens Park Rangers), Trent Kone-Doherty (Liverpool), Mason Melia (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Michael Noonan (Shamrock Rovers), Mark O’Mahony (Reading, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion), Rocco Vata (Watford).

On first viewing Franco Umeh, Jack Moorhouse and Sam Curtis appear to be notable absentees, though there may be others also. The squad looks strong up front and at centre back (as usual), but less so in other positions.

[tetsujin1979]

Umeh's injured, hasn't been involved with palace so far this season, or in preseason
Been linked with a loan move to Exeter

[Rayzor]

Umeh's injured, hasn't been involved with palace so far this season, or in preseason
Been linked with a loan move to Exeter

Now been linked with a loan move to Portsmouth
https://x.com/JudgeDyl/status/1961010214439633319?t=5FcDbMzYSN5MpSBkeDpCqg&s=19

[elatedscum]

Really imbalanced squad. At their best positions:

3 Goalkeepers (Jauny, Maguire, Wogan)
0 Right backs
6 Centre backs (Abankwah, Okagbue, Murphy, Grehan, McCarthy, Turley)
1 Left back (Slater)
2 defensive midfielders (Devaney, Lipsiuc)
5 attacking midfielders (Hakiki, Vaughan, Romeo, Mullins, Murphy)
2 wingers (Kone-Doherty, Vata)
4 Centre forwards (O'Mahony, Melia, Noonan, Dillon)

There's more versatility there but still the make up of the squad makes no sense to me.

Notable Exclusions:

GK: Conor Walsh (not starting for Sligo, fair enough)
RB: Sam Curtis (dropping your most capped player in the current squad), Connor O'Brien (not in squad for Accrington, maybe injured?)
CB: Gabriel Otegbayo (198 mins this season in champ + vs Leeds), Conor McManus (not playing for Brentford), Senan Mullen (receiving rave reports in Italy)
LB: Cory O'Sullivan (not played a huge amount for Rovers in recent weeks)
CM: Joe O'Brien-Whitmarsh (injured?), Ed McJannett (he played 4 games in the last campaign and can't get close now),
AM: Jack Moorhouse (injured? played 57 mins last weekend which was his first start), Glory Nzingo (playing at a **** level but looked good for the 21s in opening camp)
WG: Franco Umeh (injured), Cathal O'Sullivan (injured), Kevin Zefi (looking for a club), Sean Moore (getting his feet at Shels)
ST: Eoin Kenny (4 goals and 4 assists in his last 3 games - the in form player), Nathan Fraser (career has gone to pieces), Adrien Thibaut (looked great in the friendly but barely playing in League 2), Tommy Lonergan (not in great form but probably a better player than Dillon right now), Joe Garner (hasn't played for Mansfield), Warren Davis (didn't particularly impress in the last squad), Owen Elding (presumably not eligible yet)

[ifk101]

Eoin Kenny has gone with the North, included in their U21 squad.

[Eirambler]

On first viewing Franco Umeh, Jack Moorhouse and Sam Curtis appear to be notable absentees, though there may be others also. The squad looks strong up front and at centre back (as usual), but less so in other positions.

Moorhouse is absent due to an eligibility issue - the eligibility issue being that he isn't, as things stand.

[tetsujin1979]

Curtis has only played 90 minutes this season for Sheffield United - 2-1 loss in the League Cup - so no great surprise on his omission

[Eirambler]

Curtis has only played 90 minutes this season for Sheffield United - 2-1 loss in the League Cup - so no great surprise on his omission

I don't have huge hopes for Curtis longer term, but given that there are no specialist right backs in the squad, I'm still surprised that he missed out.

[tetsujin1979]

Moorhouse is absent due to an eligibility issue - the eligibility issue being that he isn't, as things stand.
Hopes to be available for the October qualifiers (paywalled)
https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/republic-of-ireland-u-21-boss-jim-crawford-hopes-to-have-jack-moorhouse-and-owen-elding-for-october-window/a1607271233.html

[Kingdom]

Really imbalanced squad. At their best positions:

3 Goalkeepers (Jauny, Maguire, Wogan)
0 Right backs
6 Centre backs (Abankwah, Okagbue, Murphy, Grehan, McCarthy, Turley)
1 Left back (Slater)
2 defensive midfielders (Devaney, Lipsiuc)
5 attacking midfielders (Hakiki, Vaughan, Romeo, Mullins, Murphy)
2 wingers (Kone-Doherty, Vata)
4 Centre forwards (O'Mahony, Melia, Noonan, Dillon)

There's more versatility there but still the make up of the squad makes no sense to me.

Notable Exclusions:

GK: Conor Walsh (not starting for Sligo, fair enough)
RB: Sam Curtis (dropping your most capped player in the current squad), Connor O'Brien (not in squad for Accrington, maybe injured?)
CB: Gabriel Otegbayo (198 mins this season in champ + vs Leeds), Conor McManus (not playing for Brentford), Senan Mullen (receiving rave reports in Italy)
LB: Cory O'Sullivan (not played a huge amount for Rovers in recent weeks)
CM: Joe O'Brien-Whitmarsh (injured?), Ed McJannett (he played 4 games in the last campaign and can't get close now),
AM: Jack Moorhouse (injured? played 57 mins last weekend which was his first start), Glory Nzingo (playing at a **** level but looked good for the 21s in opening camp)
WG: Franco Umeh (injured), Cathal O'Sullivan (injured), Kevin Zefi (looking for a club), Sean Moore (getting his feet at Shels)
ST: Eoin Kenny (4 goals and 4 assists in his last 3 games - the in form player), Nathan Fraser (career has gone to pieces), Adrien Thibaut (looked great in the friendly but barely playing in League 2), Tommy Lonergan (not in great form but probably a better player than Dillon right now), Joe Garner (hasn't played for Mansfield), Warren Davis (didn't particularly impress in the last squad), Owen Elding (presumably not eligible yet)

Thanks for that ES.

To be very fair, Abankwah has played a fair bit at RB hasn't he - even if he is seen as and wants to be seen as a CB (and I'm not one who advocates that "to develop as a cb properly, one must be deployed as a rb, blah blah blah"? So that's an option.
Curtis has had a torrid time by all accounts - probably as quick a descent for someone so highly rated as we've seen this century - and I would wonder is there something going on that isn't in the public domain. I think most reasonable people here would glean that you've an insight into underage players and the periphery of that scene and are informed better than most, so the fact that you've highlighted him and qualified the dramatic nature of his demotion would lead me to think that there are no external factors at play. In that regard, having him in the squad at least would have been fair.

Perhaps he's gonna road test a new formation given the oppostion? 3 centre backs and a holder to cover the full back area on transitioning counter attacks to allow wide players (Kone-Doherty - Murphy?) who are gonna play higher up the pitch and attack from wide to draw out defences that will likely crowd the middle?
Would Kone-

[Razors left peg]

Moorhouse is absent due to an eligibility issue - the eligibility issue being that he isn't, as things stand.

How has he played already if not eligible?

[Eirambler]

He has only played friendlies, they don't really count for anything at underage level.

[Razors left peg]

True, but if that was the case he could have been included this time while they are sorting it.... seems like a mistake previously

[Eirambler]

It's qualifiers this time, so the can't include him as he can't play the games.

[tetsujin1979]

True, but if that was the case he could have been included this time while they are sorting it.... seems like a mistake previously
These things take time, Elding still hasn't completed his paperwork

[Razors left peg]

It's qualifiers this time, so the can't include him as he can't play the games.

Ah ok, I thought these were Frendlies

[Trequartista20]

Can't find a thread. Frank Umeh moving to Portsmouth in a permanent move.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cwy34r7ln84o

[Eirambler]

He has a thread, just bumped it up there.

[tetsujin1979]

U21 team announced. Starting XI isn't bad, but there's not a lot on the bench after noonan and TKD
1963615865846333693

[elatedscum]

First game of the campaign - not sure if he's playing a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3:

Jauny


Devaney
Abankwah
Grehan
Slator


Hakiki
Mullins
Murphy
Vata


Melia
O’Mahony

If it's a 4-3-3, Hakiki is on the wing and one of Melia or O'Mahony, which seems weird - you've basically got two big number 9s playing.

I'm trying to work out how it could be a 5-3-2 like Crawford normally plays away from home but don't really see who your third centre back could be.

Personally I'd rather have Devaney in midfield and say Alex Murphy in the back 4 (Abankwah to RB) - Romeo (or Adam Murphy) instead of Hakiki and Kone-Doherty in for O'Mahony, although there's not a lot between himself and Melia in that respect...

I guess as this camp begins, we're all looking for Jim to have an ok camp, where he doesn't do anything too mental. When you think of just the senior players that have broken through recently from the last group: Keeley being dropped for Tiernan Brooks at the end of the campaign, John Patrick unable to make a squad while playing well against Real Madrid, Killian Phillips (and Adeeko and JP) being behind Matt Healy in midfield. Vata regularly on the bench - and Ebosele not making squads prior to his senior call up. The mind boggles. The previous camp we could still talk about Ebosele being behind Wright, Costelloe etc. and Devoy and Tierney being picked ahead of Azaz, Cannon excluded, so on, so on.

[Eirambler]

I'd say the best thing to do would be to not get too invested in this Under 21 team and campaign. Crawford has already failed to qualify with three previous squads that were considerably stronger than this one, it's highly unlikely that he's suddenly going to become a capable manager with these lads.

[Razors left peg]

I'd say the best thing to do would be to not get too invested in this Under 21 team and campaign. Crawford has already failed to qualify with three previous squads that were considerably stronger than this one, it's highly unlikely that he's suddenly going to become a capable manager with these lads.

Its more a case of hoping some of the player start showing signs of improvement. You like to see Vata be a standout at this level. Melia should be also showing why hes getting a move to Spurs. Devaney is highly rated and is playing above his age level so he might be one to keep an eye on.

But overall Id have zero expectations of many wins in this group

[SkStu]

Currently 1-1 (Melia with an equalizer, assisted by Hakiki). Approaching HT.

[Kingdom]

Its more a case of hoping some of the player start showing signs of improvement. You like to see Vata be a standout at this level. Melia should be also showing why hes getting a move to Spurs. Devaney is highly rated and is playing above his age level so he might be one to keep an eye on.

But overall Id have zero expectations of many wins in this group

Razor, you need to start giving Melia some credit. The kid is 17. And he's playing his 3rd year LOI, has shone in a couple of big games in Europe a LOI side and is scoring at 21s level.

You're a very very reasonable fella from experience, but you appear to have a totally irrational dislike of Melia which I don't think is warranted.

[Razors left peg]

Razor, you need to start giving Melia some credit. The kid is 17. And he's playing his 3rd year LOI, has shone in a couple of big games in Europe a LOI side and is scoring at 21s level.

You're a very very reasonable fella from experience, but you appear to have a totally irrational dislike of Melia which I don't think is warranted.

Im far from reasonable, but you are right that he has improved this season. Last season my opinion him was that I thought he should stand out more even at such a young age if he is to justify a million quid move to Spurs. When he goes there at 18 he will go into a much larger group of young players and potentially disappear. It might be an irrational opinion but I expect star players to stand out even at a young age, which he is now starting to do more in fairness to him.

[Kingdom]

Vata in full flow is lovely to watch.
i'd forgotten how ****ty it is to listen to Alan Cawley

[rebelmusic]

Crawford drives me absolutely bonkers. Granted wae just scored the second but his unwillingness to make substitutions costs us every single game. What is the point of having an U21 team where only 50% of the players coming through get some reasonable experience. Argrhrhrh

[Kingdom]

Crawford drives me absolutely bonkers. Granted wae just scored the second but his unwillingness to make substitutions costs us every single game. What is the point of having an U21 team where only 50% of the players coming through get some reasonable experience. Argrhrhrh

You know it was the substitute that made that goal out of nothing, yeah?
But your overall point stands, it is one of a few flaws.

Melia ( :-D ) with a smart run to tap in from superb work by Vaughan.

[Kingdom]

Would Jim Crawford on the books help with the FAI's obligations towards disability employment? Because he has the bandiest legs I've ever seen for an ex-pro. He makes Mané Garrincha's legs look straight by comparison

[Razors left peg]

Would Jim Crawford on the books help with the FAI's obligations towards disability employment? Because he has the bandiest legs I've ever seen for an ex-pro. He makes Mané Garrincha's legs look straight by comparison

Its a symptom of having his balls removed when he became a manager

[rebelmusic]

They closed it out well in the end in fairness. The defence looked shaky the whole game but Vaughn, Vata and Melia all did well. Would have liked to have seen TKD get a run out but no great shock there. Hopefully Crawford will be a little bit more open against Andorra with giving lads some game time

[Kingdom]

Moldova 1 - 2 Ireland (Melia x2).

A good result coming back from going behind in the first half to take the lead in the 2nd half with 15 to go on a poor pitch. Hard to say there were too many standout performers. Melia's run and will to get their before the centre-half to score the winner following Harry Vaughan's great steal and roll across the goal from 3 yds out demonstrated why he's regarded so highly by 5,499,999 people to warrant a multi-million euro move to Spurs.

Rocco Vata showed a number of glimpses of potential and nearly scored with one incredible run and shot, with Djad Hakiki and Jamie Mullins also showing some promise at times. Defensively we looked weak(ish) and lacking composure.

Still, good to get the win and move on to giving Andorra a pummelling on Tuesday in Tallaght.

[Razors left peg]

Thats a very impressive dig Kingers, Well played :laugh:

[Kingdom]

Thats a very impressive dig Kingers, Well played :laugh:

I love you too. Hope none of your in-laws weren't caught up in that disaster buddy.

[elatedscum]

Even though we were possibly the better team, no idea how they didn’t score at least 4. Jauny did fine although the weakness with his feet is an issue. Devaney isn’t a right back and struggled, we also probably missed a midfielder like him, particularly for the goal where the midfielder had acres to make a pass. Not sure if Okagbue is an option there, I’ve never seen him play there but he has done it for Walsall I think. Same with Alex Murphy. Otherwise call up someone who can play the position, could be Curtis or O’Brien or Babb, could be Grante or Toure or Reynolds or O’Regan if they’re up to it. But you need one right back in the squad.

Both Grehan and Abankwah were ok, both had good and bad moments - but I’d see something to build on with that pair. I wouldn’t be keen on moving Abankwah to full back, I think you want him to take on the role of Lawal in the last campaign or O’Brien, Collins and O’Shea in previous campaigns. A dominant and composed bully.

I think the midfield could have used another man (at the expense of O’Mahony) but both Mullins and Adam Murphy had their moments. Probably both 6.5/10 type performances but both had a nice pass here and there or a run or a piece of composure. Vaughan was good coming on, full on energy and spark.

Vata had moments, that one in particular where he ran the pitch, few others too, you’d probably want more from him overall though - he should be the best player on the pitch and he maybe didn’t have the influence that the best player should have. I like Hakiki, I always have, very skilful, nice feet, busy. But he shouldn’t be starting for the 21s - he’s being promoted way above his current station in a classic Crawford move. Kone Doherty should have gotten minutes and there should be another winger in the squad for competition (Umeh is fit).

Melia was very good, much better than Mark. I really like Mark but he’s got no confidence right now. A mistake to play him and put him in the firing line. I’d have more faith in Noonan right now. Not sure why Dillon is in the squad. I haven’t seen anything to suggest he’s close to ready, I think he’s more a player for the next campaign.

At least we somehow got 3 points. Wouldn’t be surprised if they took points of someone useful in Moldova if they keep that team together on that pitch

[Eirambler]

Surely an easy answer is to bring in Curtis, limited and all as he is he should be fine at Under 21 level, and that would release Devaney into midfield. And hopefully Moorhouse to come in by next month.

What's with Alex Murphy not being picked to start, is he just not that good or is it another Jim Crawford special?

I just find everything about the Under 21 setup under Crawford beyond frustrating. We'd likely have established ourselves as regulars at tournament finals in recent years under an even remotely competent manager.

[~YTM~]

I'd say the best thing to do would be to not get too invested in this Under 21 team and campaign. Crawford has already failed to qualify with three previous squads that were considerably stronger than this one, it's highly unlikely that he's suddenly going to become a capable manager with these lads.

It's two campaigns. Anyone blaming the first campaign on Crawford is doing so because they don't like Crawford. He came in that campaign with only three games to go, we were already third when he came in, and Kenny gutted the team when he left.

[Eirambler]

Yes, Kenny took a few, but Crawford still had a squad that included at least half a dozen future internationals (Collins, Scales, Taylor, Obafemi, Parrott and McGuinness) as well as other players that were strong at that level - O'Connor, Masterson, Scully, Coventry, Ronan etc. All we had to do was beat Iceland at home and we'd have qualified. It's absolutely fair to include it.

[tetsujin1979]

Yes, Kenny took a few, but Crawford still had a squad that included at least half a dozen future internationals (Collins, Scales, Taylor, Obafemi, Parrott and McGuinness) as well as other players that were strong at that level - O'Connor, Masterson, Scully, Coventry, Ronan etc. All we had to do was beat Iceland at home and we'd have qualified. It's absolutely fair to include it.
Iceland had already beaten us in that qualification series in Reykjavik under Kenny, so not quite as straightforward as that

[Eirambler]

Well, it kind of was though, in that we literally just had to beat Iceland at home. They weren't necessarily a terrible team, as you say they had beaten us away, but my recollection was that the game was played in very challenging conditions on an open windy park.

They went on to the finals at our expense and were soundly beaten in all of their games. With the team we had we really should have been qualifying there and I don't see how Crawford gets any more of a free pass for that than the one where we missed out in the playoffs to Israel. International qualifications campaigns are decided on fine margins and in that regard he's 0 from 3.

[geysir]

Well, it kind of was though, in that we literally just had to beat Iceland at home. They weren't necessarily a terrible team, as you say they had beaten us away, but my recollection was that the game was played in very challenging conditions on an open windy park.

They went on to the finals at our expense and were soundly beaten in all of their games. With the team we had we really should have been qualifying there and I don't see how Crawford gets any more of a free pass for that than the one where we missed out in the playoffs to Israel. International qualifications campaigns are decided on fine margins and in that regard he's 0 from 3.
Féck the windy game game in Iceland excuse, in the return game in Tallaght, Iceland beat the fancied Ireland fair and square to go through to the Finals.
By the time the Finals happened, things had changed for that Iceland team, the senior team in need took priority.

[elatedscum]

It's two campaigns. Anyone blaming the first campaign on Crawford is doing so because they don't like Crawford. He came in that campaign with only three games to go, we were already third when he came in, and Kenny gutted the team when he left.

We were top of the group when Kenny left with 16 points in 7 games. The team that played under Crawford had a mix of now internationals: Bazunu, O’Connor, Collins, Smallbone, Taylor, Obafemi, McGuinness (Scales. Parrott on bench) along with Kenny mainstays Masterson, Coventry, Ronan, Elbouzedi, Leahy. Why exactly he started Antony Scully over Troy Parrott, we’ll never know… Bazunu was called up to the seniors for the Iceland game cause of an injury to Kelleher which was a huge blow.

Iceland did beat us in Iceland but yes, it was in a wind storm on a trampoline of an artificial pitch where Obafemi missed an open goal and there was a pretty questionable penalty and a late red card for Lee O’Connor. It was also the worst result in the campaign for us. We beat Sweden home and away and we took points off Italy at home under Kenny.

Not at all the same as playing them at home - albeit during covid and in equally bad conditions and another last minute red card.

Also worth comparing their home results vs their away results:

Iceland 6-1 Armenia
Iceland 3-0 Luxembourg
Iceland 1-0 Ireland
Iceland 1-0 Sweden
Iceland 1-2 Italy

Sweden 5-0 Iceland
Italy 3-0 Iceland
Ireland 1-2 Iceland
Luxembourg 0-2 Iceland
Armenia P-P Iceland

[Eirambler]

It got a bit lost in the aftermath of the senior debacle, but the Under 21s followed up a narrow away win over Moldova with a narrow home win over Andorra. This crop are, as expected, going nowhere fast under Jim Crawford, I wouldn't be shocked if Andorra took something from the return fixture.

[elatedscum]

They’re gonna need a better manager than Jim to guide this group. A centre midfielder at right back. A centre back in centre midfield and another centre back at left back. A number 10 on the right wing. In the second half, a winger playing number 10. Late in the game, a defensive midfielder coming on at right wing. Basically a performance as messy as that sounds.

The good news is that both Melia and Noonan look better than Ferguson did at 17. How wild is that???

Kone Doherty looked good on his debut. Hopefully Moorhouse and Elding can add something quickly - that squad had a handful of players who I don’t think are up to the level yet. Would have liked to see Romeo - the game was calling out for him to replace Mullins in the second half

[passinginterest]

I only saw the second half but there is probably a case to fast track Kone Doherty to the first team squad. He’s absolutely lightening fast with the ball at his feet and seems to have the close control to go with it that’s very rare to see. The problem being, the senior team has so many other issues at the moment, that I’m not sure they have the ability to get the ball to his feet and he’s still very slight so not going to be any use firing 50/50 balls in the air at him. He looks to be as quick as Festy/Ogbene but with much better control and speed with the ball.
Noonan took his goal brilliantly off the bench. Didn’t look to be much else to get excited about. Not much evidence of a solution to left back or central midfield issues in the senior team.