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I make that 12 UK/overseas players in that Dundalk squad could be a LOI record?
Unfortunately the track record of UK/overseas imports from recent seasons into the LOI is mostly miss than hit despite some hype I always read about some of these players making appearances for clubs in higher level leagues that the LOI so Dundalk would want to be striking gold with most of these guys otherwise it will mid-table at best for them
Athlone last year would have beaten it, no?
Harps had 12 overseas players over the 2022 season. Athlone definitely had more than that last season though, and I would presume they'll be much the same again this coming season.
Derry seem to have loads every year too
I hadnt seen this tweet until linked by 2YC and I am genuinely bemused or maybe more amused by Burton on this new episode of spitting the dummy. I doubt anyone agrees his comparison between loan players and permanent signing with a free release clause mid season, never mind in the no1 keeper position. Dundalk would have been rightly laughed at if Sheppard had walked away for free midseason by taking on those terms. It is also very odd behaviour from a person in a role that requires a significant amount of credibility to do his job properly for his clients - If clubs see such obvious lack of insight it affects how the agent's rating of players he is trying to shop, the attempt at publically ridiculing the club for standing firm, exposes that he is willing to bluff so clubs know they could be in future positions to dictate negotiations, surely some discretion is a requirement - negotiations break down, its part and parcel of the world game?! Then there is the impact on the players and how other players may steer clear of the agency. Its a real shame for Shep if he is left without a club until the summer though Im sure some there will be at the very least a non-league offer in the UK as a back up keeper but I think it will stall his development, could see him on reduced terms of the Dunalk offer and weaken his hand for the next transfer window. But, while he is a young lad, he ultimately instructs his agent and will have been offered additional advice so not all his just agent promising alternative options and playing with a hardball bluff. He could learn more in general life terms if he ends up kicking his heels until the summer than a last minute bailout by AB. How much is an agent a friend or sees a players simply as a commodity...Quote:
Originally Posted by 2 Year Contract
We see such antics from super agents (Id have a differnt term for them) but Jorge Mendes Andy Burton is not! Its like something straight off Football Manager and contract negotiations and 'the agent' getting cranky:rolleyes:
With all our keepers last season we must have come close.Quote:
Originally Posted by total hoofball
Is Burton an agent for other LOI players? Sign of the times in the LOI's recent growth that clubs now have now villainous LOI agents to contend with
Depending on how you categorise Tiernan Brooks (Ireland U21 International but born and raised in the UK) we had either 12 or 13 international/non Irish players last season.Quote:
Originally Posted by El-Pietro
Brooks is probably not eligible as he is very literally Irish.
Oliver Byrne - English
Tobi Oluwayemi - English
Ally Gilchrist - Scottish
Kevin ?ustovi? - Swedish
Jonas Hakkinen - Finish/Canadian
Rokas Stanulevi?ius- Lithuanian
Andrii Kravchuk - Ukrainian
Ben Worman - English
Albin Winbo - Swedish
Malik Dijksteel - Dutch
Tunde Owalabi - Belgian
Daniel Krezic - North Macedonian
We had 9 in 2020 when we were relegated, plus Liam Bossin who played underage for Ireland but realistically is Belgian, and we had 3 (plus Stephen Dooley from Northern Ireland in 2017 when we won the Double. Achille Campion, cult hero, Robbie Williams who came in after the title was effectively won and did not play all that well and Rimvydas Sadauskas who played 0 minutes but has gone on to have a decent enough career in Lithuania.
In 2005 we had Danny Murphy, Dan Murray and Phil Harrington, all of whom have settled in the city for the most part since retiring. Danny I think has been in the US/UK coaching in recent years. Neal Horgan is technically a US citizen too.
In 1993 Phil Harrington might have been the only non Irish player, plus Caulfield who is also technically a US citizen.
Causation does not equal correlation, but in our case squads full of non Irish players have not worked out for us, though I think that really says more about how we source those players more than anything else. Lots of lower league English players with very short spells
Italian superstar Christian Nanetti in 2017 as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by El-Pietro
Bohs sign Polish keeper Kacper Chorazka who had been playing in Cyprus on a multi-year deal. Another unknown but at least there's cover for Talbot now. Another centre half and I think that'll be that until the summer.
I have no idea how good the league in Cyprus is but another keeper was needed. There are far too many question marks in this Bohs squad and many of them were signed on multi year deals. Would love a couple of players in on loan to fill out CB and an extra striker instead of committing long term to more unknown quantities.Quote:
Originally Posted by RealJohn91
Cyprus have had a team in the CL quarter-finals in the past 10/15 years - so that's a vague question.Quote:
Originally Posted by Another Bohemia
Seems he's joined from Ermis, bottom of the second tier though. Before that he was an occasional reserve keeper with Omonia in the top flight but never played.
So he's probably not quite CL quarter-final standard, but that doesn't tell us anything we didn't know anyway I guess.
Edit - actually, wiki says he had moved on to ASIL Lysi since being at Ermis, another second tier side.
Seems like he's played about 20-ish senior competitive games in his career all in the Cypriot second tier, so not much to go off on paper. Bohs and to a greater extent Dundalk seem to be reliant on unknown relative quantities turning out to be shrewd bits of scouting, tough to call how either will get on.
In other news Kian Leavy has signed a new contract with Pats, the classic "multi-year" deal. Happy with that, signed well into the season so only played a handful of games but he improved with each one and by all accounts Daly et al have high hopes for him.
So is suppose what I was trying to imply was I know very little about the league in general. Is it a one horse league where the co-efficient is boosted by 1 or 2 regular participants in the group stages? How far below the first division is the 2nd division? What's the standard of play like and is it a physical league? I wouldn't really expect an answer on any of these from anyone unless they watch the league regularly and I think at best this guy is an unknown with decent potential.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Yeah, fair
The top flight attendances address here FWIW - https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn.htm. 2019 half the top flight was pulling in under 1000 on average. I think there's a lot of (probably Russian?) money at the top which helps the top punch above their weight. But you have to imagine the second tier is lower. Probably getting down to part-time with a smattering of pros, possibly like this guy (why move from Poland otherwise?)
There's a great chart here which aims to rate European leagues and the teams in them - I think it does a good job in general, except it doesn't include Cyprus. Maybe they've a site with more detail?
I think it was worth clarifying Cypriot second tier though. Abibi was second tier as I recall... :p
But - not very helpful overall. Time will tell I guess
On the plus side if he is another abibi we are least have Dennison there as a starter which is something. Given how late this guy has come in I'd say Dennison is the starter until he has a howler anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Yeah a few Dundalk fans were saying the same while thinking we should beat Larnaca! Technically a good standard, full of Spanish and foreign players brought in by questionable finances in the Cypriot league. If anything i'd say their league has improved with continued groups stage football for a few clubs. I dont thik the standard would be a worry but not sure its a useful metric on a signing....Zahibo haunts still!Quote:
Originally Posted by Another Bohemia
Abibi???
I'm really happy with that signing.
In general I think you can see the difference in quality between players who are being loaned from the UK than the guys who've been released.
He's played 30 or so games in L2 at 21 years of age which is a decent pedigree for what Galway have been signing this past decade.
He's had his injury problems so hopefully he can stay fit.
Maleace Asamoah joins on loan for the season from sister club Fleetwood, he looked outstanding against us in the friendly last summer, a quality baller, should be a major threat to all Premier League clubs, delighted with this one.
https://waterfordfc.ie/maleace-asamoah-becomes-a-blue/