Stephen Elliott

What option? From what I've seen he's not even a good target man. Morrison, Elliot and Keane yes, the others would mean moving our team around which is not an idea mid tournament. I'd prefer it if we had Connolly, or hopefully someone better on the bench who could actually play at that level. If there's just two injuries or suspensions we'd be relying on starting Macken and he is just not good enough. He's not Niall Quinn and he wont do what Quinn did against Germany no matter how tall he is, picking players on the basis of what kind of player they are rather than if they're actually upto it or not is daft. I doubt the Brazil manager is thinking "We have Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Adriano and Kaka, wait, hang on a minute, lets leave out Adriano cos he's similar to Ronaldo and bring up Gary Dohertys Brazilian cousin" and I don't see why we should have that mentality that we simply need a big man in the team, if he's good enough, fine, atm we've none good enough. Unless you count Morrison as a target man as he is under rated at holding up the ball.

Slash/Ed, I think you'll admit that Connolly is no Adriano. :) If he was good enough he'd be in there but he hasn't proven to be any better than Macken and Macken offers us more considering our options. Anyway, I've just thought of a new topic to open, lets leave this one to Elliott. :)

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Originally Posted by eirebhoy

I must have missed that one. ;)

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Arggh! Might help if I finished my sentences! We all know Drogba plays for Dundee...

What about that young fella Stokes. He could make a late burst for the squad if all the hype is to be believed. He's nearly Seventeen now and is turning heads in a big big way at Arsenal.

Could he be our answer to Owen '98 or Rooney '04?

That Go West song springs to mind..... "I'm the king of wishfull thinking" :)

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Originally Posted by dr_peepee

What about that young fella Stokes. He could make a late burst for the squad if all the hype is to be believed. He's nearly Seventeen now and is turning heads in a big big way at Arsenal.

Could he be our answer to Owen '98 or Rooney '04?

That Go West song springs to mind..... "I'm the king of wishfull thinking" :)

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Still not 17 til June but certainly won't get his chance at Arsenal just yet, he has only broke the reserves this season and hasn't made a Carling cup squad yet. Wenger paid £250k for Lupoli so he and Aliadiere would be ahead in the pecking order.

Tuff Paddy - Connolly has a very good international record. Take away the matches he only came off the bench and the matches he was partnered with Keane (who just can't play with each other) and he has scored 9 in around 18.

Connolly is crap, full stop

High praise for Stephen Elliott from yesterday's Independent on Sunday. An abbreviated version of the same report appeared in today's The Independent (UK paper) under the title "Big Input from Diminutive Elliott".

http://sport.independent.co.uk/footb...p?story=603738

Let me know if you want the actual article pasted.

Elliott

starts: 21 (1 fa cup)
sub: 10 (2 league cup)
goals: 12
assists: 7

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Originally Posted by Tuff Paddy

Lads, sorry to be the one to burst the bubble here . . . but Connolly has been banging in goals in Div1 now for years and when it comes to international level he couldn't hit a cow's ar$e with a banjo . . . never mind score a WC penalty against Spain . . . so aren't we getting a bit carried away by Elliott?
I know it's early days, but there is a hell of a difference between scoring against clubs like Millwall, Rotherham and Preston and hitting the net against France and Switzerland.
Sorry for being honest. I hope I'm wrong here.

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Maybe so, but the guy really looks to have an eye for goal. His performances in the U20 World Cup were fantastic, his finishing lethal. Man City fans who watched him in the reserves rave about him. I have a feeling that this guy will become the real deal in time. But you're right in a sense, there've been many players who were to be the next big thing but it never happened. I remember 10 years ago everyone said Alan McLaughlin was going to be a major star...

another goal for Elliott tonight and what a stunner it was too. :)

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Originally Posted by eirebhoy

another goal for Elliott tonight and what a stunner it was too. :)

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I've just seen it on Foxtel here in Australia. Fan-fecking-tastic. Good to see that he's not all tap-ins. :)

:D PP

Chris Kamara, on sky, gave him MOTM though McCarthy oddly took him off with 20 minutes to go.

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Originally Posted by Slash/ED

Chris Kamara, on sky, gave him MOTM though McCarthy oddly took him off with 20 minutes to go.

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I wouldn't read too much into that, McCarthy's said on more than one occassion that he would have to rest Elliott as some point over the course of the season. Didn't he get dropped/rested for 2 games or so over December to prepare him for the Christmas games? Some goal too, be fantastic for him if he scores on Wednesday. As an aside, I pass through Royal Oak Estate on my way to work, where he's from. There's a few cars with Sunderland Elliott window-sticky things in there, loads of flags flying the day he made his debut too

I can't believe nobody has commented yet on Stephen Elliott's goal on Friday (or have I missed it?). He came on after 75 mins and made one great run from the touchline beating a few players before forcing the 'keeper into a decent save from outside the box.

Then in the last minute he scored a really good goal, taking it early with his left foot and placing it with power just inside the post. The work of a natural goalscorer. This lad gets all kinds of goal: tap ins, 20 yarders, headers, right foot, left foot, one-on-ones...

I saw the Sunderland vs Ipswich game recently and he scored with his first touch.

FIFA put him in as sub in their team of the World Youth Cup in 2003(?), their techincial sassessment being that he has a real talent in front of goal.

I didn't see Elliott's goal but he seems to be the type that likes to come off the bench and grab a goal.

I seen the first half of the Wigan match on Saturday morning and the commentator said he doesn't think there's a better passer of the ball than Kavanagh outside the top flight. Kav took the free kick that the goal was headed in from and what a free kick it was. He has a superb technique, a bit like Ronan O'Gara stepping up for a conversion. :)

Look out forv Elliott's goal. It was real quality.

This is what The (UK) Times said about Kavanagh at the weekend:

“It is the type of pressure the lads will really enjoy,” Graham Kavanagh, the white-haired wizard of the Wigan midfield, said.

Kavanagh, whose superb reading of the game allows him to break up so many opposition moves and who dictates the tempo of the Wigan attacks, was first to admit that this was not a vintage performance. “We didn’t play, we had to scrap it out, but we have still got Premiership football in our grasp,” he said.

Kavanagh is one of three £1 million-plus players at a club bankrolled by Dave Whelan, no Roman Abramovich maybe, but with a personal fortune estimated at nearly £300 million quite capable of indulging his passion to Wigan’s benefit. But while Kavanagh is the heartbeat of the side and the other big-money signings, Jason Roberts and Nathan Ellington, have 43 Coca-Cola Championship goals between them, this is a team based not on superstars, but on brilliant organisation and discipline, with a frisson of flair.

yes i saw the goal, it was a great finish, though i think the keeper could have done better tbh. also the defender let him away to easily, though elliot should strenght and speed holding him off to be fair.


saw kav, he seemed to be getting involved with everything wigan were doing.

Looks like Sunderland are signing Daryl Murphy. It is certain that they'll be signing 1 or 2 strikers for the premiership so its good news if they're Irish.

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Originally Posted by eirebhoy

Looks like Sunderland are signing Daryl Murphy.

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They're paying €100,000 for him.
Many Premiership players could have paid that out of their weekly wages.
The eircom League gets raped again! :mad: