David McGoldrick F Barnsley b.1987

[JR89]

If you watch Kennys OTB interview, I think he left something unsaid about Didsys exit, just an opinion, but an interesting moment in the conversation.
Did he depart the scene around the time of that storm in a thimble about the Irish history video lesson ? Or have I got that wrong

He retired after the play off game which was the month before.

[SkStu]

No, I think you’re right there Crafty on the timing of the English game and his retirement. Definitely recall it being around the same time. And, yeah, there was always an element of surprise or weirdness in how and when he retired.

[SkStu]

He retired after the play of game which was the month before.

Fair enough - that makes sense too.

[JR89]

Fair enough - that makes sense too.

FAI put the statement out he retired on Nov 4th actually which was the week before the November internationals. Assume he'd have spoken with Kenny in the month before the announcement to talk about it.

[seanfhear]

Kenny was asked that this week on OTB and said there's no chance.

I've zero interest in him at this point. He could have helped us in last couple years and wouldn't. He's playing in L1, not like he was extending his Champions League career or something by quiting international footballWhen ya think about it, he wasn't that keen in the first place considering how long it took him to get his paper work sorted out.

[JR89]

When ya think about it, he wasn't that keen in the first place considering how long it took him to get his paper work sorted out.

Or the fact he was adopted as a kid and didn't know he qualifed might have played a role.

[ontheotherhand]

Do youse think McGoldrick would still do a job for us? He’s in ridiculously good form this last couple of seasons. It would be great to still have him around the squad.

I haven't been watching him but it sounds like he is bang in form alright and some of the highlights are quality. The turn and assist last weak was lovely.

I've said elsewhere I wish Kenny had done more to keep him in the picture but I obviously don't know how possible it was. He was one of Mick's best players and would have been great to pair with whichever two of our sporadically available up and comers were available. He can link and create and we don't have many who can do both. Worked his socks off for us as well. If he's close to his previous levels he'd be great to have. Get Obafemi and Ferguson playing off him and around him and we'd be in decent shape.

But that ship seems to have long since sailed. Now I'd be building the front 3 around Ferguson.

Bazunu, Collins, Cullen, Ferguson. That's a decent spine to work with that should be around a long while and I'd prefer if we just focused on that now. Hopefully Obafemi gets himself properly going as well. I see he got on for 28 mins today. A report says he made an impact from the left but it ended scoreless.

[seanfhear]

Or the fact he was adopted as a kid and didn't know he qualifed might have played a role.
He didn't hang around for very long to make up for lost time though.

He wasn't that interested in playing for Ireland as was proven. That's fine , if he doesn't want to play then that's fine ~ Let some one who does want to play for Ireland play.

[CraftyToePoke]

He didn't hang around for very long to make up for lost time though.

He wasn't that interested in playing for Ireland as was proven. That's fine , if he doesn't want to play then that's fine ~ Let some one who does want to play for Ireland play.

Saw a bit of thankless hard work ahead with whatever reward (if any) came after it all going to the youngsters coming through behind him & high tailed it back to England Seanie :)

[seanfhear]

Saw a bit of thankless hard work ahead with whatever reward (if any) came after it all going to the youngsters coming through behind him & high tailed it back to England Seanie :)
In this day and age it's almost surprising that more players don't call it a day from international football sooner especially if you are playing for smaller countries, football wise ( like the Republic of Ireland )

I expect players get a lot of grief about not getting injured ( pulling hamstrings and the like ) and not putting in too much effort from clubs that may well be paying them a lot of money.

[JR89]

He didn't hang around for very long to make up for lost time though.

He wasn't that interested in playing for Ireland as was proven. That's fine , if he doesn't want to play then that's fine ~ Let some one who does want to play for Ireland play.

You just saying this doesn't prove anything, you know that right, it's just your opinion, not a proven fact. And big whoop if he only stuck around for six years. Is he meant to put in a solid ten years before he can sail off into the sunset before he's proven himself.

14 caps only and 8 of them came in his final 19 months as an Ireland player. Doubt if he didn't want to play for Ireland he could have walked well before Mick made him a starter when he wasn't getting picked, unless he was injured a lot or could have went to play with Scotland instead who he turned down and would have gotten more caps with.

[seanfhear]

You just saying this doesn't prove anything, you know that right, it's just your opinion, not a proven fact. And big whoop if he only stuck around for six years. Is he meant to put in a solid ten years before he can sail off into the sunset before he's proven himself.

14 caps only and 8 of them came in his final 19 months as an Ireland player. Doubt if he didn't want to play for Ireland he could have walked well before Mick made him a starter when he wasn't getting picked, unless he was injured a lot or could have went to play with Scotland instead who he turned down and would have gotten more caps with.Or, after giving it a go, he decide that it wasn't for him ~ Which he is perfectly entitled to do.

There has been some Irish players in the past that said ~ You don't retire from playing for Ireland, meaning that Ireland does not have a large playing pool, and if you were needed ~ You would turn up and play ~ If you were able to contribute in any way.

[tetsujin1979]

There's very little there that would constitute any kind of proof that he wasn't "interested" in continuing to play international football. It could have been any one of a number of reasons.

[tommy_c12000]

Is it time to resign this thread to the international section? He certainly won’t impact our future irish fortunes, and overall he had limited impact when he did play. Discussion about a league one retiree is redundant to me

[John83]

I don't think we've traditionally done that to any retired player's thread, have we?

[tetsujin1979]

Nope, thread stays here, same as every other retired player thread

[elatedscum]

Is it time to resign this thread to the international section? He certainly won’t impact our future irish fortunes, and overall he had limited impact when he did play. Discussion about a league one retiree is redundant to me

https://youtu.be/6zkL91LzCMc?t=84

[tetsujin1979]

Wins February's League One Player of the Month
1634071586449002496

[Demesne Lad]

A goal every 119 minutes so far in 2022/23, the best strike rate in League 1. Not surprisingly, Derby want McGoldrick (35) to stay on after his 12 month contract expires at the end of this season. (FLW, 20 April). Contract talks have begun, but as his next contract may well be his last, McGoldrick may wait to see whether Derby can get into the play-offs and get past Sheffield Wednesday and/or Barnsley to return to the Championship.

[JR89]

Turned down a move to Middleborough to join Derby as it's closer to his family. I'd say he'll be happy to stay where he is.

[Demesne Lad]

Hardly a surprise ..... McGoldrick wins Derby Co. Player of the Season award.

[Demesne Lad]

Now linked with a move to Notts County (EFL 2).

[JR89]

Started his career at Notts County.

[JR89]

Officially signs for Notts County.

[pineapple stu]

That's a bit unexpected! Not often Player of the Season immediately drops a division, even if Notts County do seem to have a bit of cash

[seanfhear]

Maybe a steal by the Magpies.

[Eirambler]

Wrexham and Notts County could end up having the same battle again next season at the top of the table, just a division higher this time around.

[pineapple stu]

Two goals today in a mental 5-5 draw away against Grimsby.

Notts equalised three times, coming from 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3 down. McGoldrick's 91st minute second looked to have won it, but Harry Wood came on in the 93rd minute for Grimsby and equalised in the 94th.

Notts are the leading scorers in the division (60 in 27 games, with 11 for McGoldrick), but only three teams have conceded more than their 52. They've seen more than 4 goals per game this season. In September, they had a 4-3 win and a 5-4 defeat in successive weeks; their four games since Christmas have ended 3-0, 5-0, 2-4 and 5-5. Good value for money anyway, plus they're in the playoff spots as things stand.

[tetsujin1979]

McGoldrick is having the time of his life in league two
1912969894959763470

[third policeman]

A beautiful footballer who may have been more appreciated playing in a European League. Even at this age I wonder how he’d look if he was miraculously teleported into a Manchester City team. Not saying he could seriously play at that level, but for a few fleeting moments he wouldn’t look out of place.

[seanfhear]

A beautiful footballer who may have been more appreciated playing in a European League. Even at this age I wonder how he’d look if he was miraculously teleported into a Manchester City team. Not saying he could seriously play at that level, but for a few fleeting moments he wouldn’t look out of place.
I think he, is / was, the kind of player that was maybe a bit unlucky not to get playing at a higher level sooner in his career ~ I assume many clubs looked at him for some reasons or other just thought that he wasn't quite good enough ~ I would say that he was probably very unlucky that one of those clubs just didn't take that chance ~ Funny old game, soccer can be at times !

[Eirambler]

I think he admitted himself that he didn't apply himself as much as he could have done earlier in his career. By the time he did there was a ceiling to what level he could realistically reach, but he did still make it to the Premier League for a while.

[Demesne Lad]

Notts County manager Maynard liked McGoldrick, but he was sacked and McGoldrick and the club have not been able to agree terms on a new contract, so Didzy is now a free agent.

‘Embarrassing’ - EFL fans slam club for statement after star rejects new contract and leaves | talkSPORT (https://talksport.com/football/3251507/efl-news-league-two-notts-country-david-mcgoldrick/)

[Demesne Lad]

Moves up to EFL 1 by joining Barnsley (and former team-mate Hourihane) on a 12 month deal.

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/barnsley-fc-signing-david-mcgoldrick-on-reds-supporters-labelling-him-as-an-old-veteran-5218824

[SkStu]

La Cucaracha!

[SkStu]

Hat trick for McG today against Leyton Orient and his 10th goal in last 9 games.

Call him up Trap!

[Fixer82]

Hat trick for McG today against Leyton Orient and his 10th goal in last 9 games.

Call him up Trap!

He is on fire. Shame he retired early and wasn’t picked earlier by MON

[pineapple stu]

Is it desperation to wonder if he'd fancy a little World Cup playoff return? A chance to play in the World Cup?

We currently have -

Parrott (on fire)
Ferguson (injured)
Idah (injured)
Szmodics (****ed out of his club)
Connolly (injured)
Kenny (hard to argue it isn't an expecteed drop for him going from Celtic to Bolton)
Obafemi (already ruled out for the season with injury)
Robinson (probably? But he's a bench option in League One who scored his first goal of the year yesterday)
Armstrong (likely to get a call up I guess, but is he any good?)
Emakhu (maybe behind Armstrong in line, but not convinced he's any good either)
Curtis (one in 11 since joining Plymouth in January)
Collins (hasn't played in three months - presume he's injured)
Moylan (six goals in eight games in League One)
Keane (two goals since joining Reading in Jan)
Alli (has moved up to Portsmouth in the Championship but between them and Luton, he only has two goals this season)

It really is a pile of dreck after Parrott

[Eirambler]

Idah is expected to be back. There's also Cannon who isn't mentioned above and has scored a few in the Championship. The striker situation isn't really any different now than it was in November. Absolutely no need to be calling up a 38 year old third division player. Anyway, him retiring from international football is probably part of the reason why he's still able to play in League 1.

[ontheotherhand]

Is it desperation to wonder if he'd fancy a little World Cup playoff return? A chance to play in the World Cup?

We currently have -

Parrott (on fire)
Ferguson (injured)
Idah (injured)
Szmodics (****ed out of his club)
Connolly (injured)
Kenny (hard to argue it isn't an expecteed drop for him going from Celtic to Bolton)
Obafemi (already ruled out for the season with injury)
Robinson (probably? But he's a bench option in League One who scored his first goal of the year yesterday)
Armstrong (likely to get a call up I guess, but is he any good?)
Emakhu (maybe behind Armstrong in line, but not convinced he's any good either)
Curtis (one in 11 since joining Plymouth in January)
Collins (hasn't played in three months - presume he's injured)
Moylan (six goals in eight games in League One)
Keane (two goals since joining Reading in Jan)
Alli (has moved up to Portsmouth in the Championship but between them and Luton, he only has two goals this season)

It really is a pile of dreck after Parrott

Is Celtic to Bolton that much of a drop for Kenny? Wouldn't think so tbh.

Our star striker plays for AZ Alkmaar. A better club than Celtic obviously but not exactly gargantuan. Where would they land in the English pyramid? Championship?

[pineapple stu]

I think Bolton is a come down from Celtic in fairness. No Champions League, and he's not exactly home up in the world. And we knew he was not really Celtic level I think - the move to Bolton just confirms it

Parrott potentially is in line for an upwards move though

I keep forgetting about Cannon, but again he's not up to much lately. I wouldn't rule out an attempt to bring McGoldrick back for one squad. It wouldn't really reflect well on our striking options, but here we are

[third policeman]

I think Bolton is a come down from Celtic in fairness. No Champions League, and he's not exactly home up in the world. And we knew he was not really Celtic level I think - the move to Bolton just confirms it

Parrott potentially is in line for an upwards move though

I keep forgetting about Cannon, but again he's not up to much lately. I wouldn't rule out an attempt to bring McGoldrick back for one squad. It wouldn't really reflect well on our striking options, but here we are

McGoldrick is a beautiful footballer. Lovely touch and great football brain. I actually think he would still thrive in international football.

[ontheotherhand]

I think Bolton is a come down from Celtic in fairness. No Champions League, and he's not exactly home up in the world. And we knew he was not really Celtic level I think - the move to Bolton just confirms it

Parrott potentially is in line for an upwards move though

I keep forgetting about Cannon, but again he's not up to much lately. I wouldn't rule out an attempt to bring McGoldrick back for one squad. It wouldn't really reflect well on our striking options, but here we are

Not sure about that at all. Rovers qualify for the Champions league so you can't really use that as a barometer. Celtic have been soundly beaten in Europe these past few seasons. Not sure what "home up in the world" means? Come I assume?Celtic are, at best, a championship level side. Probably closer to the top of league one at the moment. It's a very light diagonal move down maybe. But out of a toxic club and into one with the chance to go up. Im sure he's delighted.

[pineapple stu]

Rovers have never qualified for the Champions League.

Celtic got out of the groups last year and were a whisker from beating Bayern in the knockouts. This year they've obviously regressed - which is reflected in the fact Kenny was getting games for them. I think Bolton is more his level

I meant to say Parrott was going up in the world - 24 goals in 34 games for a good Dutch side is the sort of stuff that gets you a bigger move

Kenny wasn't up to Celtic standard - Idah maybe was but his attitude didn't help him a lot of the time. Scales is up to the standard.

[Eirambler]

I'd say I have about as much chance of getting a cap for Ireland in March as McGoldrick has. He wouldn't want to come back and HH wouldn't want to bring him in. We have plenty of other options at a similar and higher level.

[ontheotherhand]

Rovers have never qualified for the Champions League.

Celtic got out of the groups last year and were a whisker from beating Bayern in the knockouts. This year they've obviously regressed - which is reflected in the fact Kenny was getting games for them. I think Bolton is more his level

I meant to say Parrott was going up in the world - 24 goals in 34 games for a good Dutch side is the sort of stuff that gets you a bigger move

Kenny wasn't up to Celtic standard - Idah maybe was but his attitude didn't help him a lot of the time. Scales is up to the standard.

You never said groups stu, but fair enough. They have been operating at a higher level in seasons past. Right now, I don't think they are at all. SPL seems very weak overall.

As it stands, where would they be on the English pyramid in your opinion?

Either way we can agree it's a good move.

[pineapple stu]

The qualifying rounds aren't the Champions League though - no more than the World Cup qualifiers are the World Cup.

I don't really know where that team would be in England - solid Championship at worst I'd say. There's a definite correlation between income and performance in football, and Celtic's income of £140m is way in excess of any League One club. (In fact, it's about four times the average Championship club) Though they're certainly going backwards alright and haven't recruited very well.

It's probably a good move for Kenny. But I do think it is a drop for him all the same, and not unexpected as he just wasn't up to it at Celtic. I'm generally not much in favour of calling up third tier players and Kenny would come under that remit.

And yes, I'm aware of the Sideshow Bob clip of suggesting that McGoldrick could have his ear bent about now...

[ontheotherhand]

The qualifying rounds aren't the Champions League though - no more than the World Cup qualifiers are the World Cup.

I don't really know where that team would be in England - solid Championship at worst I'd say. There's a definite correlation between income and performance in football, and Celtic's income of £140m is way in excess of any League One club. (In fact, it's about four times the average Championship club) Though they're certainly going backwards alright and haven't recruited very well.

It's probably a good move for Kenny. But I do think it is a drop for him all the same, and not unexpected as he just wasn't up to it at Celtic. I'm generally not much in favour of calling up third tier players and Kenny would come under that remit.

And yes, I'm aware of the Sideshow Bob clip of suggesting that McGoldrick could have his ear bent about now...

Id usually take the income argument and call it a win for you but Im not sure Celtics current squad are worth what they are being paid and of course there are concerns amongst Celtic fans that their income isn't very reflective of their ambitions. Let's say championship is their level though...will Kenny be around Celtics level if Bolton get promoted?

I'm not advocating for Kenny to be called up at all btw. Just haven't had a good chat with you for ages! Sadly though, he's probably not all that far off it is he? Did fine in his only appearance so I wouldn't be too concerned if he was. Well not on the micro level!

[pineapple stu]

Id usually take the income argument and call it a win for you but Im not sure Celtics current squad are worth what they are being paid
Well probably the bigger factor I suppose is that I should have said it's wages rather than income that equate to performance - in Celtic's case they make a profit because they're so tight, while in the Championship it's almost expected to spent 125% of income on wages. But the fact their income is so much bigger than a Championship club's means the parallel should still stand. And yeah, they may have to pay a premium to get you to come along and play Ross County and Dundee so regularly.


will Kenny be around Celtics level if Bolton get promoted?
All a bit hypothetical, no? Kenny has one goal for Bolton; he hasn't proven he's Bolton's level yet! If they get promoted, will they look to replace him? And so on. Let's see how he goes.


Sadly though, he's probably not all that far off it is he?
Oh I completely agree with this! I don't think it's a good thing we could consider McGoldrick either, but never say never. I think our striking options are terrible if anything happens to Parrott. And the concern is how many of our promising options from 4-5 years ago - Connolly, Idah, Obafemi, Ferguson, even Cannon more recently - are going backwards.

[ontheotherhand]

Well probably the bigger factor I suppose is that I should have said it's wages rather than income that equate to performance - in Celtic's case they make a profit because they're so tight, while in the Championship it's almost expected to spent 125% of income on wages. But the fact their income is so much bigger than a Championship club's means the parallel should still stand. And yeah, they may have to pay a premium to get you to come along and play Ross County and Dundee so regularly.


All a bit hypothetical, no? Kenny has one goal for Bolton; he hasn't proven he's Bolton's level yet! If they get promoted, will they look to replace him? And so on. Let's see how he goes.


Oh I completely agree with this! I don't think it's a good thing we could consider McGoldrick either, but never say never. I think our striking options are terrible if anything happens to Parrott. And the concern is how many of our promising options from 4-5 years ago - Connolly, Idah, Obafemi, Ferguson, even Cannon more recently - are going backwards.

Definitely hypothetical and probably pointless. It's Monday. But yeah let's see how he goes. I've said before that I didn't think he was even Rovers standard when we signed him first. His improvement the following season may have been him hitting his ceiling or close to it. Or maybe he can go up another level or two.

Yeah agree on the disappointing track record of our prospects. We probably have a few similar stories in every position but it's hard not to get excited about strikers who look promising, and some of those really did look like they were on track to be fairly elite. To not even get one of those to achieve what we expected is brutal.