Let's be fair about it further though..
Polish league is a good league yes. My comment was a little tongue in cheek. Go around Dublin, London, Paris, Madrid or any other major European city and ask a random 100 local people do they know who Jagiellonia are and what league they play in, and I'd wager you won't get too many correct answers. They're hardly a household name, much the same a Levadia Tallinn. That was the point I was making. The Polish league is well supported in Poland, it's hardly full of household names though?
Also, Jagiellonias average attendance last year was just north of 13,000. Only one team in the league averaged over 20,000, and that was Legia Warsaw. Lech Poznan were next on 19,000. They hardly 'regularly filled their 22,000 seater' at that?
I'm not trying to denigrate anyones level, far be it from me as a League of Ireland supporter to attempt to denigrate any level of football, as you say, stats don't lie and Ireland is sitting in a heady 36th place in terms of league ranking. The point is, Maguire is an in-form striker, and just scored a European hat-trick on top of his 19 league goals, and yet he still has to make a step up in leagues to be regarded worthy of a call up. I don't understand this. If he played five good games and scored five goals in that space at Preston, you can sure he'll get called up, and everyone will be (rightly) saying it's well deserved.
If he's in good form now, why not call him up now?
Every striker you mentioned above as current options are over the age of 30, or in the case of McGoldrick, turning 30 this year. Will Keane has given no indication that he'll declare for Ireland and has arguably yet to prove himself at senior level. O'Brien is playing League One. Are you saying that's above where Maguire is playing? Joe Mason is an average to poor Championship striker who's best league season to date saw a return of only 9 goals, 7 seasons ago. Grego-Cox reportedly has potential, I have yet to see him play, but he's got a grand total of 6 senior appearances and no goals. Turning 21 this year, that's hardly ideal?
For me, Maguire should be in the squad already. It's total bullsh!t from O'Neill to pander him off saying he's not ready yet.
Last edited by nigel-harps1954; 12/07/2017 at 11:00 AM.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
No problem, it will mean any comparison between the two strikers will be interesting
Apologies. That was carelessness on my part.
I hadn't looked at specific or average attendance figures. I was just going off match coverage and highlights videos with the stadium looking fairly full from what I saw, although all the games I watched were towards the end of the season when they had a serious chance of winning the league up until the final day. They might have been drawing larger crowds then than attendances they'd have been bringing in at the start of the season as a result.
Still, 13,000 isn't an insignificant figure and the league itself tends to be around the 12th-best supported league in Europe with an overall average attendance of over 9,500 last season when you take all clubs into account.
It's not necessarily a strict indicator of the playing ability on show, of course, but it's undoubtedly a fair bit ahead of ourselves in terms of average attendances and the financial clout of their clubs. More money generally means they have the ability to source, attract and pay a higher standard of player.
I fully agree with you on that. At the very least, he should have been brought into the recent training squad at Fota Island.The point is, Maguire is an in-form striker, and just scored a European hat-trick on top of his 19 league goals, and yet he still has to make a step up in leagues to be regarded worthy of a call up. I don't understand this. If he played five good games and scored five goals in that space at Preston, you can sure he'll get called up, and everyone will be (rightly) saying it's well deserved.
If he's in good form now, why not call him up now?
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 12/07/2017 at 2:22 PM.
I understand the argument that he needs to play at a higher level to be in consideration. And he will be next season. However, if you saw him play regularly in the last year, I don't think you'd have any doubt that he would improve our striker options. He should have been brought to the US at least. He'll easily make the World Cup squad if we qualify.
While the strikers I mentioned are over 30, they will be our main strikers for the rest of the qualifying campaign - there's only three months and four games left (plus possible play-offs). Places will likely open for the Euro 2020 qualifiers. My point is that it is difficult to compare Maguire's achievements in the LOI against strikers in The Championship and it is entirely possible that they might still be better options and it will be only after a year at the same level that we'll be able to judge if he will fill one of those places versus the players I mentioned:
- McGoldrick likely has at least one campaign left in him (assuming he stays fit) and is an experienced Championship campaigner
- As noted, O'Brien will be playing Championship next year after a reasonable season in League One, where he notched up 13 goals - if he can build on that, he could have a break-out season
- Will Keane actually has expressed an interest (https://www.thesun.ie/archives/footb...comes-calling/) and while his form to date hasn't exactly set the world on fire, Hull seemed to see something in him when they made him a Premier League striker before injury cut his season short. If he can start to deliver on that promise next season, he might be worth looking at
- Admittedly Joe Mason hasn't been a particularly prolific goalscorer (although he has got a record of about 1 goal in 4 games over eight seasons, mostly in the Championship) - but then, neither was Daryl Murphy until he turned thirty.
- OK, Reece Grego-Cox might still be a bit of a long-shot, but after scoring five goals in two appearances for QPR's U-23s recently, hey, you never know
- And there's no guarantee that Maguire will be able to carry his LOI form straight into The Championship as the experience of Richie Towell and others has shown. That said, if he bangs in 15-20 goals next season, which I certainly hope he does, then he should definitely be called up for the Euro 2020 qualifiers and possibly for the World Cup Finals, should we make it
He didnt do much the last day against a very average but physical cypriot side
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
TBF he had two men on him the whole time
Just as well other sides won't think of that
Just as well there's no-one as good as Larnaka in the English second flight. Or at international level.
Another goal in his last LOI appearance for Cork. 20 for the season in the league is some return.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
Maguire discussed on Soccer Republic last night. - https://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/so...4171/10752427/
What a goal he got at the weekend.
Call him up Martin.......
Absolute cracker. The finish at the end was just gorgeous to top it all off.
yep, apart from the super finish , it was his confidence to hold the ball and not pass to a team mate, that makes it great
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