Players to Watch in the UK Next Season
This season has seen Kevin Doyle, Stephen Hunt and Stephen Ireland cement themselves as proven Premiership players and in the process emerge as valuable International players for Ireland.
Hopefully next season we should see another 3-4 players establish themselves in the Premiership but who are the most likely candidates? The following are the players I think are the ones to watch most closely next season.
Name : Colin Doyle
Position : Goalkeeper
Age : 21
Club : Birmingham
The last two months has seen Doyle establish a reputation as one of the best goalkeepers outside the Premiership. By next season he should be a regular feature in the top tier of English football and will most likely become the deputy to Shay Given between the Irish posts.
Name : Stephen Kelly
Position : Right Back
Age : 23
Club : Brimingham
After an initial promising breakthrough season for Spurs a couple of years ago Kelly has since seen his career stutter and falter. A move to Birmingham last year has breathed new life into him and with their expected promotion to the Premiership he should get another chance to take up where he left off with Spurs.
Name : Paul McShane
Position : Central Defence
Age : 21
Club : West Brom
McShane has had a magnificient season establishing himself as a regular for Ireland and for promotion chasing West Brom. He could well be playing in the Premiership next season where he can test himself against some of the best strikers in Europe. A confident defender he is a great reader of the game considering his tender years, McShane should be a main feature of the Ireland team for many years. My only worry would be his lack of pace which may be exposed in the Premiership more frequently than it has been in the Championship. Good for an occasional goal from defence also.
Name : Joey O'Brien
Position : Right Back, Central Midfield
Age : 21
Club : Bolton
A year plagued by injury has halted the progression of arguably Ireland's most impressive young player last season. The improvement seen in Stephen Ireland this year only shows how far O'Brien could have come this term if he'd managed to stay fit. Next season could be a defining one for the young Dubliner and he needs to come back fitter and stronger to try to regain his place in the Bolton first team preferrably in his more natural central midfield role. If this occurs O'Brien could prove to be one of our most impressive young players next season but there's a lot of hard work ahead.
Name : Owen Garvan
Position : Central Midfield
Age : 19
Club : Ipswich
Garvan has been another player who has sufferred from the effects of injury this term as a post viral infection meant that he missed all of pre-season and only managed to regain his place in the first team in December. This setback has clearly affected him and he has struggled to regain the form that made him one of the most sought after young players outside the Premiership last year. In recent months, however, he has started to look more like the player we seen last season and a similar improvement next term could again see him attracting interest from a host of Premiership clubs in the January transfer window.
Name : Stephen Quinn
Position Left Midfield
Age : 21
Club : Sheffield United
A skillful winger with an eye for goal the introduction of Quinn into the Sheffield United first team in November last year provided the touch of class that had been lacking by the industrious Blades. A recent drop in form coupled with the fact that Warnock possibly doesn't quite see him as a player that's suitable for the last few games of a relegation battle has seen him lose his place in the last few weeks. Even considering this lapse Quinn has progressed beyond all expectations this year and has been one of Sheffield United's most impressive performers during his time in the team. If the Blades do manage to survive Quinn should again be gracing the Premiership on a regular basis next season.
Name : Anthony Stokes
Position : Striker
Age : 18
Club : Sunderland
Stokes exploded onto the scene earlier this season with a loan move to Falkirk where he netted 14 goals in 16 appearances. This form earned him a 2 million January transfer to Sunderland where he has since struggled to show his undoubted ability. With Sunderland looking increasingly likely to gain promotion Stokes should have the opportunity to show his talents in the Premiership next season. Next season he needs to recapture the form that he showed in the SPL to justify his inclusion in the Ireland squad.
Name : Shane Long
Position :Striker
Age : 20
Club : Reading
Another good season for Long has seen him feature on a regular basis for Reading in the Premiership and in the Ireland team. Strong and quick, Long has two of the most valuable assets a striker needs to make his mark in the modern game. His touch could be better but this should improve with time and a regular run in the Reading first team next season would allow him to enchance his growing reputation further. Of the two young Irish strikers Stokes and Long I've been more impressed by the latter this season despite the former's impressive start.
Name : Stephen Elliot
Position : Right Midfield, Striker
Age : 23
Club : Sunderland
After another injury ravaged season that he will want to forget Elliot should again have a chance to show what he can do in the Premiership with Sunderland. One of our most natural finishers Elliot impressed in a poor team in the handful of appearances that he made in the Premiership last time out and hopefully he can stay fit next year and continue where he left off. My only worry would be that Keane may choose to offload him on gaining promotion or that he again submits to injury. If he manages to stay fit and gets regular first team football in his preferred position as a striker then I can see him having a very good season and establishing himself as a viable alternative to Robbie Keane for Ireland.
Other candidates:
Shane Supple (Ipswich), Darren O'Dea (Celtic), Sean St Ledger (Preston), Aiden Mc Geady (Celtic), Darren Potter (Wolves), Cillian Sheridan (Celtic), Andy Keogh (Wolves), Billy Clarke (Ipswich), Leon Best (Southampton)
