https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpsPwxJ-eSg
20 minutes in he talk about being Irish and representing Ireland etc
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpsPwxJ-eSg
20 minutes in he talk about being Irish and representing Ireland etc
Interesting, he repeatedly refers to the step up to Feyenoord, and the technical skill levels he encountered there and the comparisons to passing training there Vs training & passing drills in England.
Was he definitely injured? Givens' version of events (as outlined at a press conference in the video I posted) would seem to suggest otherwise; as if Connolly would have accepted a call-up had he been first-choice rather than back-up to another player who got injured and dropped out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
Givens does strike me as a bit of a mouth either way, mind.
I remember this well at the time. Connolly's manager at Wimbledon (was it Wimbledon he was with then? Leicester?) came out saying he would never turn down a chance to play for Ireland but he'd gotten injured that weekend and had stitches in his ankle.Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
I think I remember Givens getting involved with a row over Anthony stokes too when it really had nothing to do with him.
And a few other players who's names don't spring to mind
Fell out with Chris McCann too.
Does that mean Givens was embellishing or completely fabricating the claimed content of their conversation? Why would he do that?Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
If not, and if Connolly was injured, why would he say those things to Givens if he wasn't available anyway?
I'd say the truth is in the middle somewhere.Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
Maybe Connolly was a bit smart with him but a simple bit of diplomacy and man management would have seen there was no trouble.
At the time, I got the impression that Givens didn't like Connolly (perhaps because of something to do with Connolly when he was an underage player?) and anticipated an awkward phonecall and got exactly what he expected/wanted.
If Givens didn't have such a bad track record I wouldn't have been so quick to jump to Connolly's defence at the time.
I believe he fell out with many players when he was the U-21 manager.
Fell out with Owen Garvan as well.
I think you're right. I've always had the impression he was a very inept man-manager.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
wasn't there something with Alan Judge as well?
I'm with Connolly on this one, Givens has too much previous.
Don't let Stuttgart see you referring to Owen Garvan. He had high hopes for him and now the very mention of his name pains him.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
Garvan, Stokes and Judge, though.....not exactly saints if you believe what you read.
Not a fan of Givens, mind. Though his da hurled for Limerick so he maybe gets a bit of a pass off me....!
Anyone who scored a hat trick against the Soviet Union and 4 (yes 4) against Turkey, can't be all bad. Don't mind them, Don, I still love you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yard of Pace
As an aside, has anyone else ever scored 4 for Ireland in a game?
Republic of Ireland national football team (Wikipedia)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wikipedia
And Steven Ireland. Although we can't hold that against him. Fairly sure there were a few others too.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
Pretty sure Givens fell out with Treacy too.
And these are just the ones we know about.
My impression of him was of a dedicated professional, I liked him, he was a stylish crafted player, bottom 1/4 of the epl to upper championship standard.
As regards the WC play-off, kick into the player on the ground, I felt a similar frustration as Connolly at the time so I can't criticise him for that, I just could understand it at that very second, why he impulsively did it on a player milking a run of the mill tackle for all it was worth, when we were frantic to keep the ball moving.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
Cracking little anecdote in there about Jim Beglin. For those who haven't watched the video, Connolly asserts his Irishness and goes on to say that he supported Ireland growing up and supported Liverpool because they had Irish players. Such a supporter was he that at 8 years of age Connolly wrote a letter to Jim Beglin asking for his autograph. Beglin sent back two tickets to a Liverpool game. Little did Beglin know that he was sending tickets to a future Ireland international...
Did Givens drop you for Glenn Crowe too?Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
The talk about Connolly on another thread got me wandering through YouTube. I came across this little video which seems to be featuring strikers who didn't quite succeed at Feyenoord, I think that's what it is anyway. It shows a few missed chances from Connolly but also a couple of big goals in a match away to Ajax, which they won 4-3 to almost guarantee automatic CL group stage qualification. This match is from around 1:10 in the video, both goals are Michael Owen-esque I think, particularly the first one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-vK09bG4zg
Connlly would have broken the scoring record of Quinn's if a certain Robbie Keane wasn't around.
Probably rightQuote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom
Shouldn't have moved back to England.
He was playing third division in HollandQuote:
Originally Posted by brine3
Second tier, not third tier. (There wasn't a third tier in Holland at the time really; just regional leagues with no promotion/relegation)
I read before that he said before he left for Feyenoord he was Keeping Kevin Phillips out of the Watford team. Imagine a sliding doors moment where Connolly moved to Quinns Sunderland in ‘97.
That was because he got into a massive bustup with Leo Beenhakker and was farmed out to Feyenoord's feeder team in the Dutch second division, where he scored goals for fun.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
After Beenhakker was sacked, the new manager (Van Marwijk) brought Connolly back into the Feyenoord team. Connolly was a revelation, getting goals and assists. Including his demolishing of Ajax. He left at the end of the season on a free transfer, to live the dream of playing for Wimbledon. Feyenoord went on to win the UEFA Cup the next season. Wimbledon, well, we know how that turned out.
Should have signed on for another couple of seasons with Feyenoord.
Yes I remember keeping an eye on him at Excelsior and he’d often score 3 or 4 goals in a match.
He wanted to be highest paid at Feyenoord and so they let him go. Silly boy.
Always liked him though. He’d run all day. Played a cracker of a game against Turkey in a crazy friendly where Dunne scores the equaliser.
Just couldn’t play beside Robbie really.
Well, he could have played on the wing for us I think.
4-3-3 with Duff-Keane-Connolly up front.
Not sure I can say I always liked Connolly. Petulant aggression in Brussels cost us dear.
Nah not a winger. He was a poacher. Unfortunately blew very hot and cold when it came to his finishingQuote:
Originally Posted by brine3
He was 19 at the time though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
I remember Robbie getting booked in 1st leg against Turkey in play off for Euro 2000 for whinging at the ref. Put him out of the return leg.
Robbie was probably 19 then too
Big difference! He got his second yellow of the campaign very harshly. He kicked the ball into the ad hoarding rebounding it into play exactly where the free kick he was angry about was to be taken. Petulant but equally jobsworthy of the ref I thought. His first yellow was 8 or 9 games earlier. Connolly stood on a bloke's head!
His head shouldn't have been there.
[/shearer defence]
I actually thought he threw him a little dig. I can’t remember the incident exactly and there’s no evidence of it on YouTube.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
But, my point was, a lot of young players do stupid things. Roy Keane was always getting sent off when he was a nipper. Remember him against Romania kicking the lad from behind? And he was well in his 20s at that stage.
i could never criticise Connolly for sticking the boot in in Brussels because I felt exactly the same.
I wish Andy O’Brien had actually planted that Israeli keeper and I really wish Neil Lennon had stuck the boot into the Porto keeper in the UEFA cup final
Could be our 'Zapruder Film'!Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979