Andrew Moran M LA (loan from Brighton) b.2003

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Originally Posted by Eirambler

I don't know. If I was to put on my other sporting hat as a Connacht supporter...Connacht finished down near the bottom of the table last season. But, in 2016, they came from nowhere to win the whole thing.

Much as that's unlikely to happen again next season, if I was told that the league was being split into two tiers with promotion and relegation I'd likely be dead set against it. But, in football, where my team would be Hibs and that jeopardy already very much exists for them, I accept it. So I do think there's a historical element to it.

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in isolation, a sport with a limited number of teams, you can get that it would make sense for there to be limits on how far you go and little attraction in promotion/relegation for the sake of it - so I understand there's a basis there. Accept that completely. The debate in LOI circles for a very long time was also whether there should be one division or two - now we are talking two or three interestingly.

But if you step back and look at NA sports as a whole system it is designed around maximizing revenue for rich owners rather than sport in the truest sense, no? P/R is one example, the concept of post-season is another, the number of breaks during a game, the "best of seven" idea (this is the only different concept that has actually produced some great sporting moments imho)...

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Originally Posted by SkStu

in isolation, a sport with a limited number of teams, you can get that it would make sense for there to be limits on how far you go and little attraction in promotion/relegation for the sake of it - so I understand there's a basis there. Accept that completely. The debate in LOI circles for a very long time was also whether there should be one division or two - now we are talking two or three interestingly.

But if you step back and look at NA sports as a whole system it is designed around maximizing revenue for rich owners rather than sport in the truest sense, no? P/R is one example, the concept of post-season is another, the number of breaks during a game, the "best of seven" idea (this is the only different concept that has actually produced some great sporting moments imho)...

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I do like sports out here in general, theres no doubt that its 100% about entertainment and money rather than sport. The consistently make rule changes and even league structure changes based on TV revenue. Fans are more like customers. You go to a NBA game and theres a guy beside you eating popcorn like hes just at cinema.

I visited Old Trafford 3 weeks ago, and it really brought home the difference between the sporting cultures that I had honestly even forgotten about myself, even though Utd are such a commercial club themselves.

Moran going to the MLS would be a disaster. He'd be far better going to L1 for a year if it came down to that.

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Originally Posted by Kingdom

Yeah, but with the greatest of respects, you were born there you poor mite! Auld Razor choose to move there. Left the land of saints and scholars(TM) to try and connive those poor Valley strippers into 2nd & 3rd mortgages and profit from their sexy stupidity to go live it up with Jack and Leo courtside at the Staples Centre (dramatization: may not have happened

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Strippers are people too!!!

Headed to LAFC on loan it seems. Even if he does well there it will be hard to guage whether that's worth anything in terms of his standing with Ireland. If he's no good over there, we can probably forget about him for the foreseeable.

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Originally Posted by Eirambler

Headed to LAFC on loan it seems. Even if he does well there it will be hard to guage whether that's worth anything in terms of his standing with Ireland. If he's no good over there, we can probably forget about him for the foreseeable.

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When is he actually joining. The season ends in October and doesn't start again until March so a loan at this stage of season doesn't make a lot of sense.

Reported to be a short term loan until December 31st

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Originally Posted by Razors left peg

When is he actually joining. The season ends in October and doesn't start again until March so a loan at this stage of season doesn't make a lot of sense.

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LA likely to make the playoffs? I think they take place in November with a final in December.

Dissapointing, but not suprising i guess after two poor enough championship loans. Can't see what this does for his career tbh.

Not much, other than he'll hopefully get game time in a less physical league. But arguably it's his physicality that he most needs to improve and he has shown no signs to date of making a conscious effort to bulk up - him being so easily brushed off the ball in the lead up to the Senegal goal was just awful, you couldn't have him anywhere near an important qualifier with that weakness in his game.

I'd agree that this move has likely come about as a result of a lack of a better available option as much as anything.

Yeah would say that cameo v Senegal would have out him out of picture as far as Heimer is concerned, and a 4 month loan to MLS won't change that.

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Originally Posted by elatedscum

LA likely to make the playoffs? I think they take place in November with a final in December.

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Yeah didnt think of that.

On the bright side, even though I hate how LAFC were just created a few years ago they do seem to be run better than most. Their stadium is at least purpose built for football and does have the feel of an English football stadium, whereas most MLS are just US sports stadiums. They weirdly have very passionate fans (this is the main part I dont understand). Most the fans seem to be Chivas USA who transferred to LAFC after Chivas was disbanded.

I might try get to a game if hes playing regularly, but it is a bit soul destroying seeing him go to MLS at this stage give how brilliant he was as an underage player. I thought he was a cert to "make it"

I think, moreso than any other type of player, it's hard for a stereotypical "number 10" (I.e. a technically gifted but lightweight/non-athletic attacking midfielder) to make it at a high level. Compared to centre backs or defensive midfielders or whatever they need to be absolutely amazing to make it, because they're usually seen by coaches as luxury players that don't protect the ball enough or put in the hard yards tracking back. Managers will almost always favour a Bosun Lawal over an Andy Moran.

We've seen it in the past with many others, including most recently Connor Ronan and Jack Byrne. Wes Hoolihan was probably the one who came closest to making it to the top, but even he peaked at Norwich. Finn Azaz has goals in his game which gives him a better chance than most. In truth I've never really had huge expectations for Moran and I'm even less hopeful now seeing him going to LA.

I forgot that LAFC just signed Son a couple of weeks ago.... so at least there'll be one other decent player in the team :D

Agree ER. I also think, just on Azaz, that he is tall and strong - different from Moran, Ronan, Byrne and Hoolohan - so he definitely has that going for him as a 10 (in addition to being very good) and how he is seen.

Had a quick scan and the internet (Wiki, stats sites, EA Sports FC info sites) seems to think Moran is 5'10" and that's definitely wrong, right?

Anyway, I happened to listen to a snippet of one of the interminable ex-footballer podcasts the other day where an English player recalled playing against Lionel Messi and the one thing he was amazed by was Messi's strength. David de Gea recently commented on the same thing too and noted that it wasn't just that he was physically powerful, but he had a hard mentality too, a belief that he wasn't going to take sh1t just because he was small. Need to see more of that from our short-king tricky midfielders.

This is a bit of an Old Man yells at cloud rant by me, that is very loosely related to Moran...

On the way into work this morning I was listen to an interview with Ben Jacobs, who I keep hearing is supposedly one of the better football journos. He very confidently went on a spiel about how modern day managers now want to eliminate the tag of CDM or #6 in midfielders, and they now want players to be able to move freely between the #6 and #8 positions and into the #10. He said that modern managers want their midfielders to be equally as good around the opposition box as around their own. He compared it to the way wingers played in the 90s when they used to get up and down the pitch. In this lecture about "modern football" it seemed to completely escape him that this is what we just used to call midfielders just playing box to box! Bringing up wingers as the comparison instead of Roy or Vieira was hilarious and infuriating at the same time. To me it just showed the level of absolute b0ll0cks guys that are paid to talk about the game speak.

In regards to Moran, I think even though he has played in midfield he will never be a box to box traditional midfielder, but he also isnt really pacey enough to play as a wide forward. Looking as LAFC, they play 4 3 3, it is hard to see where Moran fits into that given how he lacks in physicality

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Originally Posted by Razors left peg

This is a bit of an Old Man yells at cloud rant by me, that is very loosely related to Moran...

On the way into work this morning I was listen to an interview with Ben Jacobs, who I keep hearing is supposedly one of the better football journos. He very confidently went on a spiel about how modern day managers now want to eliminate the tag of CDM or #6 in midfielders, and they now want players to be able to move freely between the #6 and #8 positions and into the #10. He said that modern managers want their midfielders to be equally as good around the opposition box as around their own. He compared it to the way wingers played in the 90s when they used to get up and down the pitch. In this lecture about "modern football" it seemed to completely escape him that this is what we just used to call midfielders just playing box to box! Bringing up wingers as the comparison instead of Roy or Vieira was hilarious and infuriating at the same time. To me it just showed the level of absolute b0ll0cks guys that are paid to talk about the game speak.

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I enjoyed this rant FWIW. Accurate, succinct and not too ranty.

It’s a bit of a complicated one. I’d say he’s really about what 5’7? He’s a very good technical number 10 in a traditional sense, however I’d say only a quarter of the teams play with that type of player these days.

He could try bulk up and become a more traditional midfielder when he improves his frame. Alexis MacAllister was a number 10 in Argentina, before becoming a more traditional midfielder in England.

On the other hand, he might lose a lot of the mobility that makes him technically brilliant if he bulks up too much. And I’m not sure that Andy has the required mettle to play that position while being so much physically smaller than his counterparts. MacAllister despite his size really put himself about and is prepared to leave a foot in on someone. And is also a technically wonderful midfielder. Maybe it’s a bit like Giles was, where he felt he had to become tough as ****, simply to take care of himself

Regarding this move, I would much rather him playing in a league like the Bundesliga 2 or the Dutch league or the Belgian league rather than in MLS. But I guess it’s just for three months and maybe it’ll be a shop window to something better, I guess. Him being stuck out there for the long-term would be a disaster.

Offical LAFC site has him down as 5'8".

Could be a nice sojourn.