Nathan Fraser came on to make his Wolves debut tonight and got himself an assist for Doherty's second before netting his first and Wolves fifth goal.
Good for him. What's his connection to Ireland? Born in England but can find no trace of how he qualifies.
Not in Mohan's U-19 squad named today, which seems odd.
It's for friendlies so you always get some lads left out for others who've never made a squad before. Don't think the U19s play qualifiers till November so they'll have games in October too.
from the BBC reporter at Molineux
Nathan Fraser is a local lad, born and bred in Wolverhampton, who has come through the club's academy and made it into the first-team.
He is 18-years-old, is a Republic of Ireland youth international and in three senior appearances for Wolves he has two goals.
Living the dream.
Highlights here for anyone who hasnt seen. Not only did he grab a tidy goal but he could have had a second but for a great save from the Brentford keeper and he played in Cunha for the winning penalty with a nice pass. Highlights from Hodge (nice to see him get a chance and 70 minutes under his belt), Doherty and Collins' goal in here too.
Is this lad still with us? Haven't seen his name in an underage squad for a while. He made his Premier League debut tonight.
Keane O'Shea Given Best Smallbone
Nothing since his only real involvement in the Euro qualifying round in September 2022 - if he keeps on his current trajectory, I don't think it would be a surprise to see him switch later this year, unless he states otherwise - the U21s only have the game against San Marino before September and, by then, an U21 call-up might be a bit of an insult . We really need to get him, Cannon and Delap to co-ordinate which of them will commit to us - surely we should get one of them, at least!Originally Posted by Eirambler
Last edited by samhaydenjr; 02/02/2024 at 1:38 AM.
He took part in an u19 training camp in January and then he missed the March camp with injury if I remember correctly
Really think there needs to be more of a concerted effort to bring these kids into the fold. This kid has been extremely highly rated at Wolves for a long time, is physically strong enough and banging them in for the U23’s for over a year, however Conor Carty (a Wolves reject) is preferred to him at U21 level?
Can’t help think that the parochial nepotism of favouring lads who came through the youth system in Ireland at the expense of lads brought up in the UK is going to be to our long term detriment. Exactly the same for Cannon who was tearing in up in the Championship for Preston, yet misfiring Parrott and Idah were prioritised over him. That Moron, Andrews was even at the Blackpool game where he tore their defence apart with his pace and power.
National Identity is a conundrum, especially for kids with mixed parentage. However, hopefully the new regime will put an arm round them and encourage them in; rather than treat them with suspicion and contempt as part of a Rice / Grealish hangover and seemingly make them prove their commitment, when their talent is evidently obvious.
To be fair, Conor Carty was playing at a senior level. Fraser was in under-23 level. That's not particularly a difficult choice.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
They were both at Wolves at the same time. They gave Fraser a professional contract and released Carty. There's a lot more to consider here than whether a lad is playing football at that age.
Clearly somebody in Wolverhampton considered Fraser to have the better chance of being an elite level player.
Bring Back Belfast Celtic F.C.
I agree, I think Jim Crawford's thing about constantly favouring players playing senior football is a bit of a cop out to be honest. He needs to be able to look a bit deeper than that and work out who are the best players ability wise, not just what club games they play in, because an under 21 player at Wolves could be better or worse than a player playing senior football for another club. It depends on the ability of the player at that age, not necessarily the games they're playing in.
Keane O'Shea Given Best Smallbone
That's exactly what causes you to lose talented players like Tom Cannon. Players play u19s and then they're idle for years before appearing at 21s. Take Fraser - he was in a training camp in January 2023. Jim probably wouldn't use him at all till the qualification for the 2027 u21s. So you end up going 2 and a half years without representing Ireland. And if you're a 2004 kid like Luke Pearce at Southampton or Cian Coleman at Leeds, then it's 3 and a half years without representing Ireland. It's nature of their being a 2 year gap from 19s to 21s and it being a 2 year cycle.
It's also why we should definitely have an u20s team. It keeps really talented players on board every international window until they're ready and it gives them an opportunity to really demonstrate that theyre ready for the next level
Starts up front against Fulham. Great opportunity after coming off the bench and impressing recently.
Hopefully will be in u21 squad next week, I'm not totally convinced he's with us so will be interesting to see
Its really not that complicated!!!
Played well by the sounds of it. Big lad and holds the ball up well - not dissimilar from Ferguson. Also concerned by his commitment - although can’t help think the parochial mindset of the previous regime, favouring lesser players who have come through the Wolves academy like Conor Carty at his expense will have helped - need to make these players feel wanted. No idea of his family background - however hopefully he was draped in green as a kid, as could be a valuable asset.
https://www.molineuxmix.co.uk/forum/....734837/page-2
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