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I don't see there being much space for Crowley types in HH's setup. Seems clear enough that it's going to be about big men who can run hard and fast, get balls in the box and get on the end of crosses and set pieces. I'm not expecting the dinky little technical number 10s behind the front men to be seeing much of the action. It'll be more Molumbys and Ogbenes and less Crowleys and Morans I'd say.
Liamoo is right. There must have been existing stuff there and if there isn’t, surely there’s informed people who could help. Journalists have spoken in the past of Kenny’s database of footage of a crazy number of players.
Genuinely, I could spend a week with him and he’d leave with a detailed knowledge of the 100 players he needs to know about and their respective strengths, weaknesses, why the are where they are etc etc.
These things do often worry me. I was talking to one of the coaches from the 21s a few years back about one of the players, can’t remember who, maybe Tom Cannon, when he was being overlooked and we spoke generally about options and positions and so on that the next group would have. And he said that he reckoned that my knowledge of the players at that level was better than most of the coaching staff working with the team…
As for HH, I’m imagining a 4-4-2 with one pure winger and one midfielder shoe horned on the left if everyone is fit.
So something like:
Kelleher
Coleman Collins O’Brien Brady
Ogbene Molumby Cullen Knight
Idah Ferguson
Could have centre backs filling in for full backs (O’Shea, Scales)
Could have Smallbone or McGrath or Browne or Taylor (filling in for the aux midfielder)
Could have Szmodics or Parrott or Obafemi or Cannon up top (either replacing Idah or the injured Evan)
I don't think ifvwe play 4 at the back then there s a place for ogbene. A box 4 midfield of Cullen smallbone molumby and Knight offers us the best we have of creativity(smallbone) , defensive awareness(cullen) , workrate(knight) and mayhem(molumby). Our fullbacks are a concern regardless of how we set up but Coleman and Brady in a 4 get their lack of athleticism exposed less. If we went 2 up top then parrott or szmodics feel like a good match with ferguson or idahQuote:
Originally Posted by elatedscum
Crowley actually scored a good few headers last season if HH is readingQuote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
I wish someone would ask/implant the idea about the 21s not in the squad going back down to the 21s, annoyed me when Parrott and Omobamidele didn’t get called up for the 21s after missing Irish squads at the end of the Kenny era. Festy and Omobamidele likely candidates this time around
The problem is they don't want to Play u21 anymore. Also their clubs would explode if they got injured in an u21 gameQuote:
Originally Posted by elatedscum
I mean if they’re not starting for their club teams, if I was a manager I’d be pleased about the game time/development opportunity.
A lot of players say no to dropping back down, once they feel they've outgrown the level. Which is why, for all his faults, I'd give credit to Aaron Connolly for going back to the Under 21s for the Israel playoff that time.
I feel sorry for him. His injury was horrible, a concussion which is a brain injury which can leave memory issues, anxiety, depression headaches , and issues with thinking and concentration. I find it strange you rarely hear that concussion is a Brain injury with those types of potential symptoms that don't just disappear in a few weeksQuote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
I got a concussion once playing football about 2 or 3 years back. Was awful. Was in a wall and the guy just blasted it full force and as I jumped somehow, whatever was the freekick hit me, I think I moved my head to the side to block it cause it was just missing me so it hit me more in the temple than the forehead. But I was in pieces. There were about 3 mins left plus stoppages in the game and we had used all our subs, and I maybe didn’t know how bad it was for a minute or two, I thought it would just right itself, like when you get winded, so I didn’t go off but I was really struggling, struggling to see, just stars. And when the game ended I just lay in a heap for minutes.Quote:
Originally Posted by liamoo11
Wasn’t right at all for 3 weeks, maybe a month and after that it was probably another few weeks to a month before I was actually over it. Very hard to describe, except just that I wasn’t right. I couldn’t do the cognitive tests properly, and I had issues with vertigo, headaches and so on. And just nothing felt right and I didn’t feel ok. It was really dark. Don’t like to think about it.
Doctors were excellent and there were specialists and people who work with rehabbing people post concussion. I passed the tests in the time period just before it had to be escalated.
Haven’t had any issues since. Also was in many ways very random. I split my head open 13 times as a kid up to the age of 12 without any issues. And I’ve broken bones in my face from getting an elbow in face playing football - and had countless other knocks or whatever and no concussions, no issues.
I’ve often subsequently thought that it might make sense to allow players to have an arm directly covering their face/head in walls, like the way people sometimes hold their balls, as long as it doesn’t effect the overall body shape. John Arne Riise was able to break Alan Smith’s leg with a freekick - imagine that same shot direct to the head. I know it’s rare but it would do more preventative work without really changing the game at all.
Anyway, I’d feel for Aaron. It was a horror tackle and derailed what was an otherwise pretty promising period for him. Here’s hoping he comes through the other side cause he has bundles of talent… even if he has issues off the field
Connolly must have had a concussion 3 or 4 years ago so if that's the excuse we want to give him
That's not grounded in fact though. The time at Middlesborough he played well just couldn't buy a goal, the feedback at the time was that he was training really well. At Hull the goals started to flow and he was flying until the horror injury . Problem.often with the effects of brain injuries like concussion is that you engage in destructive behaviours like excess drinking to try and get through the dark times elatedscum mentions aboveQuote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
Look there have definitely been issues with Connolly, he doesn't get a free pass for everything. And he pretty much admitted himself that he messed up in Middlesbrough. And there's no doubt he went off the rails after he got the big contract at Brighton. But he has shown signs of learning from his mistakes as well, and I do think he was more unlucky at Hull than anything, he had been going really well up until the collision with Gunn. I'm hoping he gets one more shot at a decent level.
I see that Mason Greenwood is declaring for Jamaica - maybe far more to Hallgrimsson's involvement with him that our new manager made out.
Or maybe his leaving Jamaica has cleared the path for Greenwood to go in under McLaren. We don't know so there's no point speculating.
McLaren would have worked with him at United too
I doubt it. Probably just took time to get the international transfer sorted.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
Wasn't Greenwood suspended by the club while Rangnick was still manager and actually never worked under Ten Hag and co?Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
Of course its not grounded in fact, it was a dismissive comment to highlight the nonsense of giving him an excuse. Connolly and his off the field lack of professionalism is the only thing that has caused his career to go the way it's gone. He's a bellend, always has been one right back to his younger days. He got a big contract with Brighton and things went down hill.Quote:
Originally Posted by liamoo11
Have a look at the picture in his Wikipedia page and tell me that's the belly of a professional athlete taking his career seriously...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaro...sh_footballer)
Looks like a carpenters assistent carrying timber !Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg