Came so close to that 'golden goal' against Spain in 2002.
Printable View
Came so close to that 'golden goal' against Spain in 2002.
That's exactly what I mean. He actually has no idea what the guy was thinking when all he had to do was have a quick chat (and it seems like it would have been a very quick chat) with him about it at some point from before announcing the squad up until he had that press conference. But he clearly didn't and then had the audacity/arrogance to think he could bluff the question when asked and get away with it. All he had to say was something like "well we haven't chatted about it but he hasn't raised any issues with me so as far as I know he's an Irish player and we look forward to giving him some game time over the next week". It would be honest, it would be strong and it would have given Obafemi an avenue to say how easy a decision it was, that accepting the call up was a no-brainer etc etc instead of taking some of the flack he took and being on the defensive.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
Anyway, its all worked out well despite MON, not because of him and that is pretty damning. This is basic stuff. The man management skills of this management team is consistently shown to be a few steps below the basic expectations. The cynic in me sees Obafemis 10 minutes last night as nothing more than a tactic by MON to be able to take credit for (capped him, dual, young) as opposed to having a plan to use him to better us as a team.
I think the reaction is overexcited in regard to MON. I am far from convinced that MON messed this one up, even if he wasn't totally au fait with the kid's intentions. Afaiu, the situation was in no way out of control. Of course he should have been directly aware about Obafemi's confirmed intentions before calling him up to the squad, but so what, in the scheme of things MON can communicate to young footballers and they look up to him with respect, there was nothing so broken that couldn't easily be repaired. If a kid was going to run away after what MON was quoted as saying at Abbotstown, then good luck to him. Whilst I have the same truck load issues about MON since he took over, I have little doubt that he has managed the dual nationals with the appropriate sensitivity.
Nothing broken indeed Geysir. However, the optics of it are poor and it has been badly managed. And bad management is becoming a pattern.
I don't have a major issue with that either, but he should have talked to the player on arrival before speaking uninformed gibberish to the media. I agree he has handled the other dual national situations well and some of the criticism he's received has been unfair.Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
a little unlucky not to score an equaliser for southampton away in a 3-2 loss to fulham.
Starts tonight in League Cup.
I had a Rice moment there, clicking into the Obafemi thread waiting to see some bad news about him throwing his lot in with another national side. I momentarily forgot he's committed.
it's his first start for Southampton
missed a 'sitter' apparently
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soc...ight-1.3712711
Quote:
That was nothing compared to Obafemi’s miss. Redmond, twisting one way and then the other, broke into the Leicester area and thumped a left-footed shot that thudded against the bar and dropped at the feet of the Southampton striker. Only four yards out and with the goal yawning in front of him, Obafemi made poor contact with the ball and somehow contrived to hit his shot into the ground and wide. Hughes looked on in despair. It was a golden chance.
Pretty bad alright - https://youtu.be/_Ng66XhzW5E?t=112Quote:
Originally Posted by zero
starts this evening with gabadinni and Austin on bench
When did we have it so good then to have an 18 year old striker starting in the PL? Long time ago. I am a small bit frustrated at Hughton for holding out on Aaron Connolly though. I can't help but think Mick McCarthy would have the lad playing if he were his club manager.
Brighton are scoring regularly, Southampton are desperate for goals, so I can understand Hughton holding back on Connolly
Nice assist from Obafemi.
The boy is up with an assist after 13 minutes.
Good question. I checked it out, and the other teenage Irish strikers to start a Premier League game are Robbie Keane(19), Leon Best(18), Anthony Stokes(19), and Reece Grego Cox(18)Quote:
Originally Posted by Olé Olé
Very good. I honestly thought Robbie was the last. Maybe that was a fair assumption on my part as Stokes, Best and Grego Cox have seen their PL careers peter out.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
[QUOTE=Olé Olé;1984985]The boy is up with an assist after 13 minutes.[/QUOTE
He is raw no doubt, but he could be a player. He is small but stocky and has a great engine on him. If he starts scoring, i think he will become confident and we might just have found our guy
Decent, tidy performance from Obafemi - had limited possession as Southampton's play often just felt short of reaching him, but did well with what possession he did get - good vision and neat pass for his assist; excellent angled run to the edge of the box after a layoff near midfield to receive a return pass and get a shot off, which was blocked; won a free-kick in a dangerous area in the second half; and a good pass to the wing, just before his injury. Generally looked comfortable out there but could do with a bit more time to develop some guile. But if he keeps this progress up (and particularly if he starts scoring), I would now be happy with him starting in the qualifiers.
He is an inspiration to all I think. couldn't make our under 17s 18 months ago for the euros even when mccaley pulled out after throwing his toys out of the pram . An impressive 18 months
When we were told about him initially I thought of him as a smaller speedster that would be effective in counterattacking situations. Maybe he does have that to his game but against United his real strength was his back to goal play. His body positional and shielding play, and ability to receive the ball in tight spaces under pressure give me confidence that he can make a real go of it for club and country. Hopefully injury isn’t anything significant.
Southampton sack Mark Hughes. Hopefully the new guy shows as much faith in Obafemi.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/46091577
Martin O'Neill?!
Didn't even think of that, possible!Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
If he does get it. I bet a grand he doesn't take KeaneQuote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
Balls.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
the other side of Hughes getting sacked is that there's a few Irish lads in their U23 side - Aaron O'Driscoll, William Ferry, Thomas O'Connor, Will Smallbone, Jonathan Afolabi - and some of these might get a chance under a new boss
Ralph Hassenhuttl apparently, ex-RB Leipzig. Bold move. Well regarded by all accounts. I have rarely disliked a manager as much as I dislike Hughes. I hope he and his ilk are on the way out.
With you on that one Stutts,Hughes has never been the most encouraging to the Irish lads to play for their country.He’s a big pal of Stephen Ireland.Seem to remember he was the one who initiated the talk about the ‘decision’ that Obafemi had to make during one of his press conferences.
Southampton had a string of progressive looking 'bold' moves with a lot of success. I seem to remember them getting a lot of criticism when they (harshly) sacked Nigel Adkins and brought in some Pochettino fella instead!Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Koeman & Puel also did very well for them before they eventually got it wrong with Pellegrino. That must have scared them into a more bland appointment in Hughes!
I had previously name checked Hassehuttl for the Irish Job, I think he will do a good and actually save SouthamptonQuote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
He is renowned for his counter attacking speed, so that will suit Michael O"B and Shane long
If anyone can get Shane Long playing and scoring again it would be a massive plus for us
Sadly i meant stretching defences, for others to scoreQuote:
Originally Posted by backstothewall
Not in the team or bench today. Is he still injured?
Still injured according to flashscore anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Diggs246
Interesting to see him get on so early today ahead of long and austin
Even better to see him score his 1st Premiership goal 5 minutes later:DQuote:
Originally Posted by liamoo11
great stuffQuote:
Originally Posted by TrapAPony
Some stats about the goal: https://twitter.com/irish_abroad/sta...17514606186498
(embedding the twitter thread isn't working for some reason)