"Stephen Bradley won't stand in way of Shamrock Rovers star playing for Ireland at U17 World Cup"
https://www.the42.ie/michael-noonan-...urce=shortlink
I should bloody hope he doesn't stand in his way, is Bradley looking for a ticker tape parade for his act of outstanding generosity or something?!
Talk about allowing someone to frame the media narrative.
I think I read that clubs don't have to release players for the tournament
It would be very poor form to hold him back from this opportunity, and would reflect very poorly in terms of the desire that exists within the league to keep players in the country beyond their 16th birthdays.
Realistically he's due to miss the game away to AEK Athens and the FAI Cup Final. If we reach the final then he'll miss the home game v Shakhtar. Not insignificant for Rovers but you've got to release players for a world cup.
I think Rovers would recognise that in terms of increasing his market value, Noonan having a great tournament could be a game changer and it's also possible that part of the reason Arsenal wrapped up Victor's signing so early was because he was due to head to the u17 world cup and if he had a really excellent tournament then heads could be turned across Europe
Last edited by elatedscum; 06/10/2025 at 6:39 PM.
The top scorers at the last U17 World Cup were
Paris Brunner(Germany), signed for Monaco and gone on loan to Club Brugge
Ibrahim Diarra(Mali) joined Barcelona's B Team
Claudio Echeverri(Argentina) signed for Man City from River Plate, currently on loan at Leverkusen
Agustín Ruberto(Argentina) still with River Plate, has played and scored for their first team
“Michael will go to the World Cup. It’s an incredible opportunity for him. It’ll be a brilliant part of his development,” said BradleyOriginally Posted by Eirambler
"How dare he" said angry man on foot.ie.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
“Michael will go to the World Cup. It’s an incredible opportunity for him. It’ll be a brilliant part of his development,” said Bradley, "but I'm still trying to rig his incredible opportunity so that he misses two World Cup games but no Shamrock Rovers games at the point where the fixtures clash".
He should be told in no uncertain terms to **** off.
Ah so you're annoyed about the bit he didn't say? That makes more sense tbf. Carry on.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
Bradley admitted the club will now speak with the FAI about Noonan's schedule and the possibility of him skipping the first two World Cup group games against Panama on 5 November and Uzbekistan three days later before travelling for the final fixture with Paraguay on 11 November.
"We haven't really had any discussions but now we'll have them. And if that's a possibility [for him to miss the first two games], that's obviously what I would like."
It can't be much clearer than that really. Again, he should be told in no uncertain terms to **** off.
You've gone from that to "but I'm still trying to rig his incredible opportunity so that he misses two World Cup games but no Shamrock Rovers games at the point where the fixtures clash"?
He's his manager, and you're upset that he would want him for the biggest game in Irish football? Michael will go if he wants to and play the cup final if he wants to and can. The idea that Bradley would stand in his way after he said he wouldn't is deluded. He hasn't stood in any Rover's players way when it comes to call ups and often actively advocates for it. It's good for the club and player. You've a weird record on here of being ****ed off over things that aren't controversial where Bradley is concerned.
Last edited by ontheotherhand; 06/10/2025 at 9:25 PM.
Well, at least you seem to be admitting he said it now, which is some small bit of progress if nothing else I suppose. It does mean you've had to change your argument to get around that unfortunate fact though.
Shamrock Rovers will play in plenty of cup finals and plenty of Conference League games. If Noonan ends up being ****ter than he's expected to be then he can play in plenty of them too. But, being Irish, there's a reasonable chance that this will be his only World Cup at any level.
People go on about how important it is for young players to stay in Ireland until they're 18. Then, when a player does just that, one of our managers tries to deny him an opportunity of a lifetime to play a full part in a World Cup campaign purely out of self interest. So, I'll say it again.
He should be told in no uncertain terms to **** off.
He didn't say what you quoted him as saying at all so I don't really have to change anything. Just decided it's best to maybe try to explain to you what the situation likely is as you seem to have decided to be angry without knowing much about the players desire or what Bradley actually said. There's a bit of paraphrasing in the quotes you shared. At best, he said he would like him to play the cup final even if it means missing two games of the WC. He's not denying him anything. He literally said he wouldn't. Michael himself said he wanted to be in the team for the cup final so maybe he thinks that combining that with a few u17 WC games is the ideal world.
And "Shamrock Rovers will play in plenty of cup finals" - That sounds lovely but it's not in any way accurate unfortunately. Those days long gone. Michael turns 18 in July next year and this would likely be his only chance to play in a cup final. It would be part of a double winning season so it's even more special.
Anyway, I know we tend to overdo it on here. You're probably a decent lad. Think you're upset over nothing and have a bit of an overreaction to Bradley in general, but I'm also trying to poke you a bit and it's not great reading for the forum. Have a good night.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
Ah, Eirambler is still upset over Stephen Kenny. Upset is his happy place. He takes likes & dislikes & they embed & set. I await the same levels of vitriol toward HH if we collapse on Saturday v Portugal, which Kenny's sides never did. Didn't collapse at Wembley either for that matter. Both having lost unacceptably to minnows, you'd imagine HH will get the full Eirambler works.
He won't though.
It's a bit odd really. Maybe it is the Kenny thing but you'd really think Bradley would have a bit more credit in the bank with fans of the Irish u17s in particular. He was instrumental in setting up the Rovers academy which has provided so many players to this current team. Would they have received the same level of coaching without it, and other set ups like it that have done what they can after Brexit with limited resources? Or would they have needed to go abroad to try their luck in France etc? That hasn't really worked out very well in a lot of cases. Personally I think Bradley has done a lot more for Irish football than any international manager in recent years.
He's also more directly responsible for Michael's development after getting him out of Melias shadow and giving him first team experience.
Also has to be remembered that Michael is a Rovers fan. The family are season ticket holders. The cup final and potential double would mean a lot to them.
I think Shamrock Rovers have a lot of credit in the bank. They have a really good and professional academy, which does a lot in one of the most deprived areas in the country. My mate is a teacher in Tallaght and said Rovers are so involved with the kids, even the ones that are nowhere near good enough for their academy - really encouraging of them staying playing the game. Can't speak highly enough of Bradley and my mate is a Pat's fan.
Certainly, my hope is that if government funding leads to a few more Shamrock Rovers, we will be in a good position in the coming years.
Your view on this is clearly coloured by your allegiances. You can spin it any way you want, but the bottom line is that Bradley is making an attempt to restrict Noonan's involvement in the World Cup out of self interest. I think that's really poor form from him, and it's fully appropriate to call it out. He should be doing the decent thing and fully endorsing Noonan going and playing a full part in the tournament, but sadly he isn't doing that.
I don't have a particular view on Bradley other that I think he's a bit too fond of the sound of his own voice and he's a fairly limited manager who would be quickly found out if he ever got anywhere near the Ireland job. I think he has said in the past that he wouldn't want it anyway, so probably we're all on the same page on that score. I wouldn't want him anywhere near it and if he's true to his word then neither would he. He'll probably end up at Lincoln City or somewhere like that in a year or two.
As for Hallgrimsson, unless there's a fairly sudden turnaround in fortunes he'll be gone by Christmas. I'd rather that than have another Stephen Kenny situation where we're lumbered with him for another two years beyond the point when everyone with any sense knows it's a write off. Luckily the Kenny fanboys haven't latched onto Heimir in the same way, so there's unlikely to be any huge backing for him to stay on, unless things turn around fast.
Of course it's what comes after that that's the scary part.
So no particular view on him aside from everything you've just said which is pretty particular?
No point going round the houses on what Bradley said really. It's not controversial but if you see it that way that's up to you of course. Michael and Bradley will figure out what's best and hopefully that includes Michael scoring the winner in the Aviva with his Rovers family watching. I know he'd cherish that.
Fwiw Bradley has said he'd like to manage Ireland and went to a meeting about it before HH was appointed. The FAI didn't show up to the meeting. He has been pretty up front with all of that. Doesn't have much time for the FAI and most Ireland fans should appreciate strong voices pushing for improvements there.
As for "Kenny fanboys". My god man, move on. God forbid an Irish manager gets a bit of support. If we are just going to hammer every manager who doesn't get results we might as well pack the international team in for a few decades.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
If Bradley was reluctant to release Noonan, I wouldn’t entirely blame him. The games are being played on back pitches. Our group games will take place in hot desert conditions with no shade on Aspire Zone Pitch 5 and 6. Far from ideal for player welfare and not to mention young kids, and not befitting a WC tournament imo.
Bradley's first priority, like all club managers, is the club he works for. He wants the club to succeed, and he needs his best players available to him to do that. As an Irish man, working in Irish football, I've no doubt he wants to see the national side succeed, but that will always be secondary to his club's success. There's no real right answer here - should he keep one of his best players to help him win their first cup final in six years, and only second this century, or send him to a high profile tournament that could benefit the club in the long run with increased exposure and increased transfer fee?
As for liking the sound of his own voice, he's the most successful manager in recent years in the LOI, that attracts attention.
True, you also have to figure in whether the u17 WC is a better place for Michael to showcase his talents and develop while ultimately earn Rovers a higher fee. As we've seen with Victor this season, Bradley will keep a player out of the team if it means the player gets the move that's right for him and Rovers.
Ultimately I'd trust them all to figure out the right move here. All parties want Michael to reach his ceiling. Michael will have a strong say in what happens I would be willing to bet. Rovers can manage the cup final without him.
Last edited by ontheotherhand; 07/10/2025 at 12:14 PM.
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