Independent's Top 20 Players Outside the Premiership

Just found this from an article last year

"I would certainly speak to Ireland if they were interested as my grandfather on my dad's side is Irish," he added. "Had I been fit and scored 25 goals then maybe I would have got a phone call."

But then I also found this on a different site

He said: “I’ve known for a couple of years that I was eligible to play for Ireland through my grandfather ... but I never knew my grandfather and I don’t feel Irish"

I've never seen him play but by all accounts he's a big lad with an eye for goal which is exactly what we need as a foil for what we have available to us.

P.S Spare me the plastic paddy b0llix...

Don't worry Doctor, you won't hear a peep out of me on that score... ;)

On another note, I've just found this article by David Pleat in today's Guardian on Kevin Foley of Luton Town. One for the future by all accounts. I'm not sure we need yet another right-back though.

:ball: PP

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http://football.guardian.co.uk/comme...676768,00.html

Scouting report:
How he rates: Kevin Foley, Luton Town

David Pleat
Tuesday January 3, 2006
The Guardian


Mike Newell has been true to Luton's tradition of giving youth a chance since he took over as manager in 2003. In August he sold Curtis Davies to West Bromwich for £3m and Kevin Foley, a right-back of great promise, also looks to have the potential to play at a higher level.
Luton have no need to sell anyone but I'm sure big clubs are keeping an eye on this steady, clean-passing defender. He has already enjoyed one promotion and efficiently blended into the team pattern with a resilience that stands out.

Foley is a full-back who tries to pass the ball out of defence and resorts to a big clearance only when no alternative presents itself. I like the way he sees the early pass once he has gained possession. Players who make early passes have already seen the picture and are quick decision-makers.
He looks to get forward and can hit decent crosses to the far post but most of the time he plays a simple, accurate pass from advanced positions and gives Luton's forwards the chance to continue the passage of play comfortably.

When Foley goes to join the play in the midfield third he is helped by having the cunning Ahmet Brkovic ahead of him on the right wing. Brkovic's ability to look after the ball means Foley has the confidence to go forward in the knowledge that the ball will not be given away easily.

Defensively Foley, a regular in the Republic of Ireland's Under-21s, is more than capable. His heading could be better but he has sharp recovery pace and an awareness of his responsibilities whenever possession changes hands.

He also has the natural defender's ability to smell danger and knows when to offer cover to Luton's experienced and helpful right-sided centre-half, Chris Coyne. His other fine attributes are his clean timing in the tackle and his balance. He relies on his astute anticipation to win possession and does not go to ground and hand the advantage to a forward. He is rarely booked and has not been suspended - not bad for someone who has been a regular since August 2003.

If you over-analyse Foley's bearing you may be dissuaded from appreciating his qualities. He has the gait of an ugly duckling, "ten-to-two" feet and a fast waddle of a running style. But there is no mistaking his talent and a brief chat with Newell confirmed my view that Foley ticks all the boxes. He is a good listener, hard trainer and concentrates well. Newell tells me that Foley is quiet, slightly shy and still reticent to speak during team discussions but I am sure his personality will develop with experience.

On Saturday Luton play Liverpool in the FA Cup at Kenilworth Road. Older Liverpool fans may see in Foley intimations of two former Anfield right-backs, Chris Lawler and Phil Neal, who played reliably, effectively and with steady passing for many successful seasons. Foley, luck permitting, can look forward to a fine future.

Age 21

Born London

Position Full-back

Height 5ft 10in

Weight 11st 2lb

From Trainee

Recovery speed 8/10

Passing 9/10

Heading 7/10

Reading of the game 8/10

Team responsibility 9/10

Pleat's valuation £1m (but they have no need to sell yet)

Douglas played a blinder for Leeds against Plymouth last night ....Liam Miller less so as they marked him heavily but he won the penalty for Leeds third.

Pretty sure I read somewhere the Leeds manager expects Miller to sign permanently at the end of the season, I'll try to track it down

This is what today's Guardian said about Miller after the Plymouth game:

Miller became increasingly influential as the game progressed, linking well with both attack and defence. Indeed his 25-yard shot, although saved by the goalkeeper Romain Larrieu, started the passage of play which led to the first goal. His reputation has shown glimmers of recovery during his two months at Elland Road.

When he moved to Manchester United from Celtic he was, after all, regarded by some incautious judges as the product of a genetic collaboration between Roy Keane and Paul Scholes. This was his last game for Leeds but Blackwell wants to keep him. "I will be talking to Sir Alex in the next few days and we will see what happens," he said. "We would like him to stay and I think he would like to."

Ritchie Partridge signs at extension to his contract at Hillsborough until the end of the season.

Another great prospect is Chris McCann. He scored a belter for Burnley last night and they were raving about him in the Sun. He's 18 and has two goals in only a handful of starts this season so he looks like he could be one to watch.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by youngirish

Another great prospect is Chris McCann. He scored a belter for Burnley last night and they were raving about him in the Sun. He's 18 and has two goals in only a handful of starts this season so he looks like he could be one to watch.

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Aye, he's a player I've been keeping an eye out for but hasn't been starting much recently.

Another player who might be one for the future is Andrew Keogh at S****horpe. He's a 19 year old striker who was banging the goals in earlier in the season though his scoring run seems to have dried up now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by youngirish

Another player who might be one for the future is Andrew Keogh at S****horpe. He's a 19 year old striker who was banging the goals in earlier in the season though his scoring run seems to have dried up now.

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He's back in the goals with 1 against Man City.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by eirebhoy

He's back in the goals with 1 against Man City.

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Set up by Cliff Byrne too.

What about Saul Deeney, on yesterday's performance against United could be worth a cap :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hither green

What about Saul Deeney, on yesterday's performance against United could be worth a cap :D

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I'd expect to see more of Deeney. He has a fantastic boot on him too. Funnily enough, Henderson was picked ahead of him for the Irish underage sides but when they were both at Notts Co., Deeney was clearly no. 1. By all accounts Henderson is rated by Brighton fans so if Henderson can cut it at Championship level, surely Deeney could too. Not many Premiership keepers have done as well against rooney :)

Deeney, Doyle, Henderson, Stack, Murphy, Randolph [edit: and of course Shane Supple] are all starting to come through to various degrees. Any young eL keepers of note? I liked Dan Connor when he played for the U21s.

Watching this weekend's FA Cup footy, and a small bit of the Celtic game, a couple of thoughts crossed my mind, both pops at Kerr:

On the day smaller teams can give any big team a run for their money if they go about it properly . I hate the term "passion" in football because I always associate it with patronising ****s like Lineker & Motson going on about the Irish passion, overlooking the fact that from time to time we actually have a good side. But with application & commitment a lot can be achieved in one off games. I think Kerr's approach overlooked this at times, in favour of a more technical approach.

Also, given the current proliferation of young Irish making an impact why was it that Kerr's squads were always so predictable, leading in my opinion to complacency by at least half the players. I suppose there seems to be a lot of people making their first real impact this year so this second dig is a little harsh, but the first point above stands out I think.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Any young eL keepers of note? I liked Dan Connor when he played for the U21s.

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Darren Quigley (UCD) has been in the U-21 squad ahead of Saul Deeney the last few games. However, in the last two games when we couldn't qualify, Givens dropped all the overage players except for Henderson, so there may be someone else coming through to take over the No 1 jersey from him. Very strange decision from Givens (even for him)...

Of course, thanks. How do you rate him?

He won our Supporters' Player of the Year award this season, though he fell away a bit at the end of the season like a lot of our players. Superb shot-stopper (ask any Cork fan after his one-man defence down in Cork in September) and decent in the air too, though he'll punch rather than catch usually. Drogheda were after his but we - and he - told them where to go, but he's getting noticed anyway. Think he's only 19 at the moment, but I don't know if he'll ever progress to the stage where he's a viable option for the senior team, which I assume is what you're looking at.

Yep, but I also have an interest in UCD and especially goalies. paul Brogan and paul Kavanagh were the incumbents in my time. Mad Charlie McCormick played a few times and if I remember right, I think Brendan Dillon may have filled in once or twice.

Don't know if Dillon ever played first-team for us - must ask him next time I see him!

Jim McCabe - our first ever league goalie - owns the wine shop next door to where I work!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by youngirish

Another great prospect is Chris McCann. He scored a belter for Burnley last night and they were raving about him in the Sun. He's 18 and has two goals in only a handful of starts this season so he looks like he could be one to watch.

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Posted by a Burnley fan on another site:

Posted by Jambfc05 on 10 Jan 16:50 Email | Complain | Prev | Next | Reply
Chris McCann ...

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A great player for the future from what we at Turf Moor have seen of him this season. A proper midfielder who is a good passer of the ball and has an excellent shot on him. Certainly a future international player from what we have seen of him so far!
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Fingers crossed.