Killian Phillips M St Mirren (on loan from Crystal Palace) b.2002

**Razors left peg** · 20/08/2024, 12:08 AM

Originally Posted by Eirambler

Looks like he's about to sign for St Mirren. Should be somewhere where he'll get plenty of game time at least, and can hopefully build back up from there. But he definitely seems to have stalled since his promising loan to Shrewsbury a couple of years ago.

In terms of context Jake Doyle-Hayes was a standout in midfield for St Mirren a few years ago and did nothing of note afterwards. So for Phillips, even being a standout there may not mean that much (to be fair John McGinn was also a standout in midfield for St Mirren and he did OK afterwards).

Philips I think is a lad that will make a living from football. He seems a good lad and works hard, but Id have doubts he'd ever get an Ireland cap. As he gets older, you'd never know. We've had plenty that came into their own in their mid to late 20s, but right now I wouldnt be relying on him to come into the Ireland midfield like we would have done a couple of years ago

**seanfhear** · 20/08/2024, 3:06 PM

Originally Posted by Eirambler

Looks like he's about to sign for St Mirren. Should be somewhere where he'll get plenty of game time at least, and can hopefully build back up from there. But he definitely seems to have stalled since his promising loan to Shrewsbury a couple of years ago.

In terms of context Jake Doyle-Hayes was a standout in midfield for St Mirren a few years ago and did nothing of note afterwards. So for Phillips, even being a standout there may not mean that much (to be fair John McGinn was also a standout in midfield for St Mirren and he did OK afterwards).

Ok ~ Would be a bit under-statement-ish for John McGinn.

To put it mildly !

**JR89** · 20/08/2024, 3:12 PM

Originally Posted by seanfhear

Ok ~ Would be a bit under-statement-ish for John McGinn.

To put it mildly !

I wish our midfielders had an ok career like John McGinn.

**Eirambler** · 20/08/2024, 8:36 PM

There was an element of sarcastic humour in the McGinn comment that might've gone over a head or two there!

**tetsujin1979** · 31/03/2025, 1:40 PM

Interviewed in the independent: https://www.independent.ie/sport/soc...116447321.html
Was on the provisional squad list for the play off against Bulgaria

**Eirambler** · 31/03/2025, 5:30 PM

Interesting side note from that article (though I'd say not hugely surprising based on what I've seen of him) is that JP Finn isn't one of Hallgrimsson's first 12 picks in midfield.

**Razors left peg** · 31/03/2025, 5:58 PM

Originally Posted by Eirambler

Interesting side note from that article (though I'd say not hugely surprising based on what I've seen of him) is that JP Finn isn't one of Hallgrimsson's first 12 picks in midfield.

Things can change quickly in a few months, before the England game not too many on here would have been calling for Mark McGuinness to start. Friendlies are next up so Finn so be given a look in training at least

**Eirambler** · 02/04/2025, 10:15 AM

I suspect the McGuinness cap was at least partly to tie him to us as the north were known to be keen on him (his dad is from Derry).

**Razors left peg** · 02/04/2025, 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by Eirambler

I suspect the McGuinness cap was at least partly to tie him to us as the north were known to be keen on him (his dad is from Derry).

If that's the case then getting Finn in camp would be even more logical considering he could play for Cameroon too.

**Eirambler** · 02/04/2025, 1:25 PM

Only if they think he's at least somewhere near good enough and there's a suitable competitive game to cap him in. We've had some great opportunities for that recently - England away was a dead rubber and the Bulgaria games were always likely to give us some scope to cap-tie. We're less likely to take risks in actual World Cup qualifiers, at least until such time as we're out of contention. Friendlies don't count of course (in most cases - though they'd still help a little in Vata's case).

**Razors left peg** · 02/04/2025, 3:13 PM

There's a lad playing in a top division in Europe who is 21 and playing in a position of most need for us. He also might have the physical attributes that we are crying out for... I'd say it's worth having him in camp for some unimportant summer friendlies and after that let's see how he does

**Eirambler** · 02/04/2025, 3:32 PM

Maybe...looking at their recent results though, they seem to have been doing better since they dropped him. Let's see if he can win his starting place back with his club first.

**Razors left peg** · 02/04/2025, 4:31 PM

Hes 21

**Eirambler** · 02/04/2025, 7:54 PM

Right, so maybe we don't need to go rushing him into the senior squad in the hope he's the answer to our midfield problems, when it's fairly clear that he isn't.

**Razors left peg** · 02/04/2025, 8:14 PM

Originally Posted by Eirambler

Right, so maybe we don't need to go rushing him into the senior squad in the hope he's the answer to our midfield problems, when it's fairly clear that he isn't.

I dont think thats clear at all... what I think is clear is that any combination of Knight, Cullen and Molumby absolutely isnt the answer to our problems. Maybe a bit of outside the box thinking might go a long way.

When a young Jack Grealish was tearing up L1 on loan we had a stubborn manager who thought that he wasnt even worth a look on an end of season tour to America, how did that work out for us. By this time next year Finn may be crap or he may be really good. Getting him involved now wouldnt cause any problems. Its not like the strikers where if all are fit someone really good might get left out.

Im am not saying for one minute that I think Finn is a brilliant player who would transform our fortunes immediately, but he has attributes that could in the not too distant future and I'd rather have him on board with us than not

**Eirambler** · 02/04/2025, 8:30 PM

Fair enough, the problem I see though is that at the moment (unlike Grealish) this lad isn't tearing anything up. He's a squad player who has made a small number of starts for a mid table French team. I get that he's eligible for about half a dozen countries, but I'd like to see him do a bit more to earn a call up than what I've seen of him so far.

**Razors left peg** · 02/04/2025, 8:43 PM

Originally Posted by Eirambler

Fair enough, the problem I see though is that at the moment (unlike Grealish) this lad isn't tearing anything up. He's a squad player who has made a small number of starts for a mid table French team. I get that he's eligible for about half a dozen countries, but I'd like to see him do a bit more to earn a call up than what I've seen of him so far.

I dont want to put words in your mouth here, but if the Jack Grealish situation arose today I could see you saying that hes a L1 player and that its not of a high enough standard to consider him. TBF I even said myself last week in a conversation about Hodge that I dont think we should be picking players from L1. But I think we have to be open minded on a case by case basis. First priority in midfield I believe should be to get Jack Taylor starting, after that we dont have any clear possible pathways to improve our midfield in the short term barring maybe playing Collins again. So what harm would it do to see if this guy has something about him in the end of season friendlies. Other countries have gotten benefits to playing players earlier than the club form would suggest, we are so weak in midfield that I dont think we can ignore a lad of his size and physical abilities.

**pineapple stu** · 02/04/2025, 8:59 PM

Originally Posted by Eirambler

Maybe...looking at their recent results though, they seem to have been doing better since they dropped him. Let's see if he can win his starting place back with his club first.

Has he been dropped? Started all three of their games in March. Scored in two of them too.

Agree a mid-table SPL player isn't anything to get particularly excited by. Let him improve at club level before calling him up to the seniors. Just because we're stuck for midfielders doesn't mean he's better than what we have already.

**Razors left peg** · 02/04/2025, 9:21 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Has he been dropped? Started all three of their games in March. Scored in two of them too.

Agree a mid-table SPL player isn't anything to get particularly excited by. Let him improve at club level before calling him up to the seniors. Just because we're stuck for midfielders doesn't mean he's better than what we have already.

We were talking about Patrick Finn

**SkStu** · 02/04/2025, 9:25 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Has he been dropped? Started all three of their games in March. Scored in two of them too.

Agree a mid-table SPL player isn't anything to get particularly excited by. Let him improve at club level before calling him up to the seniors. Just because we're stuck for midfielders doesn't mean he's better than what we have already.

I think he was talking about JJ Patrick-Finn, who has been on the bench (dropped). It is not unreasonable to want to see him in a friendly squad but i dont think anyone can claim yet that he is the solution to our problems. I dont think Razor is claiming that but Eiramblers assessment is also fair, he is not tearing up trees (performances have been average - 6.3 on whoscored FWIW) and still has a lot to prove. I've seen next to nothing of him (highlight reels on youtube if im being honest) but I'm not getting too excited by him at this point. Grealish was tearing new arseholes out of L1 defenders at 18 years old. He was clearly a generational talent.