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Oh happy days. As a Sunderland fan im well chuffed with todays signing. From what ive seen of the lad with the under 21s he looks a great prospect and im very surprised that keegan is letting him go. He is one of the few real prospects we have up front and the move should give him a better chance of first team football with him and kevin kyle looking like the lightly partnership .
Its good news for all of us TBH. Division 1 football is better than reserve football. I'm looking forward to next season already. :)
CATS BEAT OFF COMPETITION FOR YOUNG STRIKER
by Nick Robson - 1 Jun 2004 12:33
Places still available for our half-term soccer courses this Thursday/Friday. Click here.
Mick McCarthy made his first signing of the summer today after securing the services of much sought-after Manchester City striker Stephen Elliott.
The player, who is out of contract with the Blues this summer, has signed a 3-year deal with the Black Cats and will be a Sunderland player from 1 July 2004.
Elliott made his top-flight debut at Bolton in February 2004 and is highly rated by the Premiership outfit. He has been a regular goal scorer in the City reserve side, netting 11 goals in 15 games, making him leading scorer.
The 20-year-old is a Republic of Ireland Under-21 international, who claimed a hat-trick in the 5-0 win over Poland and was Ireland's top marksman at the World Youth Championships last November.
Stephen, who expressed his delight at securing his new deal, said: " With my contract about to expire at Manchester City I had various options presented to me but when I heard about Sunderland's interest I was thrilled.
"The prospect of joining Sunderland is very exciting and I am looking forward to having the opportunity to work with Mick McCarthy. Sunderland is a very ambitious club and although I know it's a cliché, they are a massive club.
"They deserve to be in the Premier League and hopefully I can play a part in helping them achieve this."
McCarthy said: "I'm excited about Stephen, he's a great young prospect who has scored goals at every level. I'm delighted he'll be joining us and confident he'll be a great addition to our side."
do you reckon he has what it takes to partner Robbie up front in another year say?
As a Man City fan I am disappointed 2 of our most exciting prospects are leaving in the close season.
Elliott's move to Sunderland after Glen Whelan's decision to move to Sheffield Wednesday shows, perhaps, a lack of faith in the manager by the underage players that they will break into the first team, even with the emergence of Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joey Barton.
On the other hand as an Ireland fan I'm delighted that one of our most exciting prospects will bde playing first team football in the new season and possibly making a push for the senior side.
my sentiments exactlyQuote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
As a fan of City too, I agree completely with Tetsujin. Felt Keegan could have taken a chance considering how muck his senior pros were this year. That said I've always put country ahead of club and this is a great move for Elliott. I really believe he can fulfil his potential there. Think Whelan is better than 2nd Division football but hopefully his move will be the start of something great for him too. Only Paddy McCarthy left for Keegan to give the boot now.
Is willo flood not still with city ? Great little prospect that fella
How could i forget our Willo! Little being the operative word - eat up young Willo for god's sake!! :)
Saw him last year at the U-19's vs England at Tolka Park, he was (and still is) skin and bone. Like Duff was a few years ago... Still only about 18 he will fill out a bit before long.
There's a few more Irish in the U-19 side at Man City as well, Karl Bermingham is supposed to be a decent striker, also Paul Murphy in midfield
His scoring record for Ireland at under-age and reserve level for Man City is quite good. If he can get regular football at Div 1 level with Sunderland and score some goals I think he could push Connolly or Lee out of the senior squad, I think he is a more realistic prospect that McGeady for next season at least.Quote:
Originally Posted by thejollyrodger
The good thing about Elliot is his style is perfectly suited to being alongside Keane. If he reaches his potential that'll be a class partnership.
As I understand it, he turned down Martin O'Neill and the chance to sign for Celtic before deciding on Sunderland where it is believed he will have a much better chance of securing first team football.
And an totally up himself a*sehole . :mad: If he ever plays for our national team I'll boo his ever touch.Played against Willo Flood once aswell but we had him man marked the whole match and he didn't get a sniff,wasn't too impressed :pQuote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
Shut up. Thats all I can say to that. Booing your own bloody players.Quote:
Originally Posted by Beavis
Bit of a stupid comment there are a few arsewholes playing for Ireland doesnt mean we boo them . David Connolly been a prime example of an arsewipe . We should not go down the road of booing our own playersQuote:
Originally Posted by Beavis
Dunno about that, I grew up in the same neighbourhood as Brian O'Callaghan (just released by Barnsley) he was a bit of a tool, but I'd never boo himQuote:
Originally Posted by Beavis
Think you'll find a lot of professional footballers are highly paid tools but once they play well for your team you shouldn't care and certainly not boo them. Look at RMK for a classic example. Oh my god I've inadvertently turned this into a Keane debate. :eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by Beavis
I've become everything I hate. :p
Well,he punched a tooth out of our centreback for no apparentQuote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
reason and after anything he did good he would gloat to the opposition and ask them if they saw it :rolleyes: Justifyiable means for booing methinks.If you ever met him you'd realise he's a bigheaded plonker and I don't want him representing my country.
Well I have no idea who he is but if he was the next Pele (which he probably isn't), I would want him playing for my country no matter how much of an ******* he is, you are however entitled to you opinion and boo him away if you please.Quote:
Originally Posted by Beavis
And back to the matter in hand, I'm quite disappointed to see Elliot go to Sunderland, they have a ploker for a manager to start with, but if Keegan is willing to let him go he is probably not all he was cracked up to be.
You obviously haven't heard of David "I'm Ireland's No.1 striker" Connolly or you have certainly booed him by now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Beavis
And Keegan's a better judge of a player, or indeed manager, than McCarthy? I don't think so. We all know McCarthy has limitations, but they're mirrored in the excitable one. Snatching Premiership defeat for Newcastle from the jaws of victory in the 1996 EPL race? Buying Faustino Asprilla in the same season? Tactical naivety at international level? The list goes on.Quote:
Originally Posted by carnstien
I'm going to stick up for Elliott here. Keegan has always splashed the cash on big-time Charlies up front (cf. Asprilla, Shearer, Anelka) at the expense of coaching them through the ranks. McCarthy has had to take the opposite line in his time at Sunderland, which augurs well. Watch this space.
:) PP
I'd agree with PP there, I think whatever his limitations McCarthy usually has an eye for talented youngsters, and more importantly is usually willing to give them a chance. I'd expect Elliot to get a lot of playing time next season. :)
Keegan didn't want to let him go. He offered him a contract but Elliot felt he had a better chance of first team football at Sunderland. Fair play to him, he has a bit more sense than Partridge. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by carnstien