Don't think he starts and is used from the bench to begin with. Ogbene, Robinson, and Knight finished the Luxembourg game strongly and played 76mins against Belgium as the front three. Can't see Kenny moving from that front three and you'd be looking at Obafemi coming on to replace one of them.
I think he plays central given that idah is out with parrott for knight to allow him play centre midfield and Robinson the other front player. Ogbene might play right wing back for some of the games with doherty injured and seamus unlikely I would have thought to play so many games close togetherOriginally Posted by JR89
Decent suggestions. I know Hendrick has done well in recent games, but his club career is a major concern. Not been getting games at QPR and it’s difficult to see where and at what level he’s likely to end up. It would be interesting to see how Knight and Cullen combine in midfield.
More chance of O'Shea or Collins slotting in at RWB than Ogbene. Big difference playing their for Ireland compared to Rotherham who have the best defence in the league so can get away with playing him there. He'll also be wasted playing there for us rather than RW. Christie will be in the squad and has played well since joining Swansea.
Long term Knights position will hopefully be where Hendrick plays but he's been good for us playing in one of the advanced roles and against bigger teams drops back to make it three in midfield.
Agree about Christie. Probably playing the best football of his career getting assists and a couple of goals. I think we have better genuine forward options than Knight with Robinson, Ogbene, Parrott and Obafemi. Midfield is the one area where we don’t have depth or much emerging talent. Kilkenny, Coventry, Smallbone don’t look like obvious upgrades on what we have. If Cullen got injured we’d really struggle. Hourihane is a name that should never be on a team sheet going forward.
We can't just go with two in midfield, we'll get overrun. One of the forwards needs to be able to drop back into midfield. That's why we need Knight to be one of the forward three - or if he's going back into Hendrick's position someone like McGrath or Browne needs to be further forward.
I think Robinson and even Parrott are capable of doing that whilst offering more to the attack as well. I don’t think either McGrath or Browne are international quality players. I’d like to see Ronan given an opportunity. Didn’t see the point in calling him up and not even putting him on the bench.
Jamie McGrath has played well in every game he’s played for Ireland.
Kenny often plays 3 out and out attackers for the games we should find easy and 2 and a midfielder doing half and half (McGrath or Knight generally, you’d imagine Ronan and Sykes would also fit the mould).
Obafemi is probably playing centrally unless he’s alongside Idah.
As for RWB, Cyrus Christie and Danny McNamara are the most likely candidates
I like that idea for a couple of reasons:
Let those lads run a defense ragged for 60-70 minutes and then bring on a player who makes the starting forwards look slow - also if we're defending a lead would give a great outlet for somebody like Cullen to play balls in behind a high defensive line
If Obafemi's hamstrings are still a concern, allows him to protect himself with limited minutes to start
I really don't think that Robinson is capable of it. Against Belgium he was the least hard working of our front three by a mile. He drifts in and out of games too much to consistently execute that role. That drifting is fine when he can contribute some great moments and be involved in good attacks. Against Belgium Knight was tireless and Ogbene was behind him slightly in terms of effort but not by much. It would be a lot to ask of Parrott too in that he is an out and out forward but maybe he is capable.
Watching how Knight instigated the press against Belgium and organized those around him and then contributed going forward, I think he has to be kept where he is for now.
I would agree with that. While Robinson and Ogbene have stolen the headlines it's the positioning of Knight as one of the three forwards that has been the main driver of our upturn in form for me. He absolutely has to be one of the three when fit, he gets back and covers the midfield well when we don't have the ball but also manages to contribute to our attack with crosses and assists when we're in possession - he's the perfect player for that link position between midfield and attack, an out and out forward like Robinson will never be able to do the job as well as him. Parrott might be able to in time as he develops his all round game, but I don't think he's there yet and I would just pick him as a forward for now if picking him.
I'd go as far as to say Knight is our most important player at the moment, although Cullen is up there also. We are so light in terms of quality midfielders that they are both absolutely crucial for us.
It annoys me when pages like Kenny's Kids and the likes post things like "what's your front three for June" and the responses are all Ogbene/Obafemi/Robinson or similar with no mention of Knight. People have a very simplistic view of football sometimes - more goalscoring forwards doesn't necessarily mean more goals.
In terms of Obafemi I'd like to see him in the squad and capped off the bench to begin with, I like the idea of giving teams 70 minutes of Ogbene running at them and then sending on Obafemi to finish the job. Hopefully he is fully committed to us. I see him, Parrott, Robinson and Ogbene competing for two starting spots as things stand with Idah also competing with them once he's back fit.
Last edited by Eirambler; 24/04/2022 at 7:52 AM.
I'd like to see Connolly involved as well . He offers us a threat off the bench and a skillset that we should try to develop even if his club career has stalled
I agree with all the above too. I think Knight is essential. I actually think that when Idah comes back and if Obafemi comes in and impressed and Parrott maintains his present trajectory that Knight is nailed on but that Ogbene and Robinson will be more likely to interchange with the incumbents. Not that they will definitely be dropped but that they will be more susceptible to the competition that Knight is. The competition for his role is much slacker. McGrath and Browne have played the role Knight is in before (even in the same game) but neither is where Knight is now, not to mind where Knight is likely to get to.
Assume Idah comes back to full fitness and starts ripping up the Championship in August, picking up on the back of his good couple of Premiership performances, I would imagine Kenny will definitely pick him...
There's some nice healthy competition in those positions and some lovely variety in the players available. The lads that are of a good age to really progress have space for improvement too and some are targeting moves. Fingers crossed.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qlh7kp45xEc
An excellent goal from Obafemi. I look forward to seeing him back in a irish shirt in the summer. Connolly chance at the end, good first touch, a bit of a timid attempt but unlucky to have it come off the post…short on confidence clearly
That latter is quite a big assumption, isn't it?
He had a couple of decent performances and a couple of ineffective ones (and he was far from the only Norwich player to have some poor games). He scored one - slightly lucky - goal and had a pretty bad miss in the same game. And he got two assists in the same time I think. It's a long way from there to "ripping up the Championship" though.
We've four games in June though, so we're going to need some squad rotation (and I wonder will club managers have any say as to how many games players play?) On that basis, let's hope Obafemi accepts the call-up which will surely come his way, and then I agree with you that Robinson is the most likely to miss out when Obafemi plays.
Last edited by pineapple stu; 24/04/2022 at 3:54 PM.
Keeping the Obafemi appreciation going, didn't score tonight but, as mentioned in the Cyrus Christie thread, was credited with two assists and was involved in the third one as well: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60652952 - this is another aspect of his game that I've noticed - he has a good eye for a key pass
Police investigating racial abuse of Obafemi at a recent Cardiff/Swansea game: https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2022...ed-at-obafemi/
Author of Never Felt Better (History, Film Reviews).
Another goal today
He has to be called up in June.. whether he comes.. that'll be the big thing
and a brilliant finish it was
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