Liam Kitching. 24yr old left footed CB that also played LB when breaking into senior football. Got the assist for Coventry's goal against Wolves.
Gavin Cooney in The42 confirmed Kiernan Dewsbury Hall is eligible today. No England underage representation. 25. 10 goals & 12 assists this season at Leicester. Probably already been approached, been mentioned here & there a few times in recent years.
https://www.the42.ie/ireland-midfiel...28992-Mar2024/
I was going to say he's a good move and a good season away from England caps.
I saw him mentioned as a target for Brighton, Brentford and even Arsenal in January.
I would say that the reason for the Arsenal link (if anything in it) is the same reason he might not make the England squad too easily.
From what I have seen, he's an out and out 8. He's not a 6 or wide forward player or 10. Arsenal set up with two 8s a lot. However, England don't. He would actually have an awful lot to do to get in there. He'd need a move to Arsenal or another top half side and good run.
Good article on it (and him) here
https://www.balls.ie/football/tomas-...ootball-553795
There's also a Thiago Dowd mentioned makes me think of 90's GAA footballer Tommy
Christopher Seamus Michael Conn-Clarke, 22, from Antrim has just signed for Peterborough United. Has underage previous up to 21s with our northern brothers. Scored 23 goals & 12 assists in the National League last season. Plays as a 10 or as a striker.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
£350k the fee being reported. Does seem like one good season alright with not a lot before that.
He's Peterboroughs third double barrelled Clarke in recent years, Clarke Harris, Mason Clark & now this boyo. So maybe they just wanted that really strange trio Nigel. For quiz purposes or some madness like that.
Last edited by CraftyToePoke; 17/06/2024 at 11:15 PM.
If he gets a run of games in League 1 the north will cap him this side of Christmas. He's from a nationalist background but the best we could offer him is to ask him to sit tight, play better and get a move to the Championship, at which point he might get a game for us in a couple of years time.
We're never going to compete for these lower league lads because we can't just start capping them in the Nations League the way they do, nor should we even try. It's the same as Eoin Toal. If someone (like Sykes) is particularly keen to play for us and genuinely believes that they're good enough to make it with us they'll wait it out. But the reality is that most will take the handy caps on offer with the north.
Name me one youngster from a Nationalist area whom we've capped even once in any Nations League game, as some form of inducement towards us, or as a ruse to keep them from heading towards the south.
To make it easier, you can find all our NL games, with line-ups, here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northe...%80%93present)
P.S. You probably don't want to waste too much time looking
While I wouldn't be much of a northern watcher myself ( the odd quick Google to check which new & creative ways unionism has found to keep its heel pushed down hard on the self destruct button aside ) I did take a wee peep at your squad there and found Oxford / Kilmarnock / St Mirren / Fleetwood / Leyton Orient / Stevenage / Larne as well as a few unattached players.
So if this Conn Clarke has a pulse come September you'll be eyeing him up at the dance, ye wee hures. Aye. Etc.
If he starts any way decent at L1 we should be making a phone call & telling him we're watching & to sit tight a while. Do well for a year & see where he's at. Thing is you need a manager ideally for elaborate maneuvers like that.
Maybe, but that's just a reflection of where we're at, playing pool-wise.
Which is very different from Eirambler's claim that NI give out "handy" caps to young Nationalists in NL games, solely in order to keep them from the clutches of the FAI etc.
Which is why he will prove unable to cite even a single example from the three series of NL games I provided for him.
CCC has been capped by us at U-17 level (when he was at Linfield), U-19's (Glentoran) and U-21's (Fleetwood), so he's been on our radar for a few years now.
He was highly rated back then, but seemed to lose his way for a bit, before making a (relatively) spectacular "comeback" at Altrincham, whose fans absolutely loved him:
http://altyfans.co.uk/index.php?PHPS...topic=26883.45
Or see what this non-league blogger had to say when selecting him for his National League Team of the Season:
"The final player on this list is one that has dazzled all season with play-off side Altrincham, and that is wide player Chris Conn-Clarke.
Conn-Clarke was one tipped in the summer as having the potential to be one of the standout signings, if not the standout signing, and he has more than lived up to that as being the jewel of a Robins attacking crown that has shone bright all season long.
The Northern Irishman finished the campaign with 22 goals in 46 appearances and helped himself to a further (recorded, at least) six goal involvements with assists, and so has contributed to nearly 2/3rd of The Robins entire output in the final third this year.
A mesmeric player with balletic dribbling and the man for the big occasion be it intelligence to set up his team mates or the ability to go it alone, he has been a joy to watch."
https://offtheline599656488.wordpres...eason-2023-24/
My guess is that Posh will make a Lge One player out of him, which should put him on the fringes (no more) of NI squads, especially should we suffer injuries etc in his position. Whether he goes beyond that, who knows, but based on Posh's record, I'm cautiously optimistic.
Either way, Michael O'Neill's pronouncements and selections have consistently demonstrated that he will NOT give player caps just to keep him away from the FAI.
Do your worst - though you don't want to upset James McClean, who probably wouldn't appreciate the competition.
Actually I never said that at all. What I said was:
"We're never going to compete for these lower league lads because we can't just start capping them in the Nations League the way they do"
The stuff about giving caps to Nationalists solely to keep them away from the clutches of the FAI is your own addition/invention. I wasn't saying that at all. What I was saying is that your squad is fundamentally crap, so lads like Conn-Clarke can get capped easier, so they usually just take the caps rather than waiting around for an FAI call that may never come. As happened with Toal.
There's a simple answer. A United team
Folding my way into the big money!!!
Bradley. Maybe Shea Charles with time. And maybe you could argue for one of their CBs but that a position where we have strength in depth. Don't think the North produces that many (good) players tbh.
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