Denis Behan

[A face]

He played about 8-9 games at the start of the season and scored 7 (am i right?) and he has came on in a few after that ... maybe 6-7 games (could have been 1-2 more?) ..... but it has to be said, the guy has done really well .... he has his critics that is for sure .... but imo he has proved them all wrong with his performances this year .... on the bench most of the year and whenever he came on towards the end, he has been brilliant.

Non-City fans that watched a few game on telly and a few day trippers have point him out as having done really well and asked how important he was etc.
I'm actually more inclined to agree with them over the Behan critics, the guy just doesn't warrant half the abuse he gets.

[Risteard]

Spot on.
Knows his job and does it well. A la Fenn.

[Hulsey]

Spot on.
Knows his job and does it well. A la Fenn.
Fenns a good player, but how come he was so bad on Sunday? Was he injured or something?

[tiktok]

Fenns a good player, but how come he was so bad on Sunday? Was he injured or something?

Re: Fenn. he was injured last day of the seaosn and only started back training on thursday last, in hindsight, he wasn't ready.

Re: Behan, did his job and did it well when called upon this season. Doesn't deserve the stick he gets from some quarters, he's scored some vital goals for us this season, e.g. those extra two points he won for us on a dreary evening in flancare early in the season.

[Risteard]

Exactly, its a disgrace that he has to say stuff like
"I'm not exactly a shed favourite but i couldn't be happier here" in the Echo a while back.

[pete]

Behan has been must better this season when he gets a run in the team. IMO Fenn is a luxury in this league & does not score enough as doesn't exactly setup a huge amount of goals as some people think. I think speed & strength is required in the league & Behan has more of this than Fenn.

[Hecko]

Behan is exactly what we need to progress. As Damo has said a number of times it was lack of physical strength that held us back in Europe this year.

I think Denis offers a lot and is definitely more consistent against strong opposition than someone like Kearney, who a lot of people think can do no wrong

[drinkfeckarse]

Behan is exactly what we need to progress.


No offence intened Hecko but I always find it hilarious when people say things like that. Don't get me wrong, I've never seen Behan play other than the Cup Final highlights so I'm not judging him.

But to say the league needs big physical target men is exactly the same attitude that's kept the league back. What the league needs is players who are technically aware. The players actually need to improve their basic skills to compete at a higher level, not do some weights so the full backs can hump it up the park to them IMO.

Looking back on all the coaching I received, very little of it concentrated on improving my techniques and a lot of it concentrated on improving my fitness and strength to be able to cope with the L.O.I.

That is a major issue if you ask me.

[pete]

The technique at top eL sides & type of football played is much more continental than British. People who are not eL fans have said this to be many times.

[drinkfeckarse]

Lets not get this into a EL v EPL debate. I never mentioned anything British, all I'm saying is that the players do not need to improve their strength, they need to improve their technical ability in order to improve. Same with the National team.

[yiddo]

Afaik what Damo said was that the City players were as good technically as the teams we played in Europe this season but they that the European teams, Prague in particular, were physically stronger than us. Not in a "big strong man up front type of way" but that their players were better developed physically having played in full time professional leagues for longer. He also said that it would take 3/4 years full time training for EL players to reach this level.
As regards Behan. A good player who is much maligined by some sections of City's support. Why do we always have to have someone to pick on?

[gufcfan]

Exactly, its a disgrace that he has to say stuff like
"I'm not exactly a shed favourite but i couldn't be happier here" in the Echo a while back.

Pity bout Behan seems a good lad. Done a gud job wen i seen him a couple of times n cork.

Is there more to it than meets the eye?....

[gufcfan]

No offence intened The players actually need to improve their basic skills to compete at a higher level, not do some weights so the full backs can hump it up the park to them IMO.

I saw that with Cork in Europe this year. The opposition was clearly technically better, it was their determination that saw them right.

They did go a bit jack Charlton and lunp it a bit aswel.

i know dam wel this is gona get shot down, in 2 seconds...

[Hecko]

Bang on yiddo. I never mentioned Behan as a big target man. As someone who has seen him play more than once ;) his main attributes are speed and a powerful shot.

But the main point, as Damo has said, is that part of the difference between stronger continental leagues and leagues like ours IS the fitness and upper body strength of players. Skill and fitness aren't mutually exclusive. Fair enough at the younger levels, concentration should be on developing skills, but professional athletes should be working on proper weights programmes etc.

[Risteard]

Is there more to it than meets the eye?....
Such as?

[A face]

Is there more to it than meets the eye?....

No ... there is no history there or anything .... its kinda weird cos the guy turns up for every community/charity type gig, he is great with the young fans, he has a great attitude in training, and helps out afterwards etc. (as opposed to first to the car to get outta there), he gets on with everyone in the staff, backroom staff, office staff included, all the sub committees etc.

Thinking back now .... its bizarre how people just turned on him. Dolan really didn't help the guy, bringing him on with 3 minutes to go about 20 times in 2004. Maybe that has something to do with it, but no there is nothing more to it.

[Fair_play_boy]

Thinking back now .... its bizarre how people just turned on him. Dolan really didn't help the guy, bringing him on with 3 minutes to go about 20 times in 2004. Maybe that has something to do with it, but no there is nothing more to it.Not bizarre at all IMO. In the 2003 season we heard loads about him scoring for fun in the U 21 competitions. In 2004 here he came and he did not live up to his reputation. He had one good game when he could do no wrong, when he came on with 20 minutes to go, I think for Colin O'Brien who suffered a shoulder injury the same night. Yes Denis rarely got more than a few minutes, but even in that time he showed he had the first touch of a tractor. This year, we had the pleasure of seeing a totally different Denis. His first touch is greatly improved, his inter-linking 2-touch play has been intuitive and polished, and until he broke his cheekbone 7 or 8 games in, he had a high scoring average. And there was that 35 yard bullet he put past the Shels keeper (Steve Williams?)
Denis is still really young (22 I think) but has matured a lot in the last year. Anybody who is still knocking him is really making a show of themselves. We have a class player who is happy to be with City. We should be delighted that we have him.
FPB