People I’ve noticed that in Dublin with the squad:
Joe Hodge
Luca Connell
Will Smallbone
Cameron Ledwidge
Oisin McEntee
Jonathan Afolabi
I think Tyreke Wright is in the background of the FAI post too. Wish they’d just announce the squad instead of finding it out piece by piece.
Pleased that Luca is involved. Maybe he sees it as a shop window. The ideal starting 11 for the age group is possibly something like:
Maher
O’Connor
Collins
McEntee
Connell
Coventry
Bolger
Connolly
Parrott
Obafemi
Idah
Interesting to see how many are allowed to go.
Bolger in
Hodge is some player. If I were to pick another player for a call up from that under 17 side then it would be Andrew Omobamidele, depending on the necessity for centre halves, of course.
I think Tyreke Wilson is overage for this unfortunately. Which might mean Connell having to play out of position at left back. Would James Furlong be an option from the under 17 squad to play left back?
Also Bazunu in goal maybe?
Yeah, Wilson is overage. Born in December 1999, the tournament is for players born on or after 1st January 2000
Training squad confirmed: https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/moha...assess-options
So, based on the training camp list the following eligible players are currently not with the squad:
Gavin Bazunu
Lee O'Connor
Nathan Collins
James Furlong
Conor Coventry
Nathan Carlyle
Jason Knight
Aaron Connolly
Glen McAuley
Michael Obafemi
Adam Idah
Troy Parrott
As well as Ryan Johannson who is underage but ineligible and Armstrong Okoflex who presumably remains uninterested.
Last edited by Eirambler; 25/06/2019 at 9:50 AM.
Going by his Instagram, Okoflex is in Austria with Celtic for preseason training
Irish teenage starlet will prioritise regular football over 'big' club allure https://the42.ie/4697485
Really like this lad. Going to Celtic would at least see him go into the first team early. Pity Rodgers wasn't still there.
Good interview, seems to have enjoyed his time with the seniors. He wasn't part of the squad for the qualifying round, but was given a chance with the U18s and earned a spot in the squad for the Elite round in Russia.
The little bit about Robbie Keane in training is on my mind a little. Used to hear similar things about Hoddle, that he was involved in training and had to be the best at it.
Hard to know from the interview if it was just banter. Or if Keane was actively asserting himself over the group. Hardly good for the morale of the strikers in his shadow. Weren't there murmurs about Roy Keane being 'the best player in training' at Sunderland or Ipswich?
Former St Pat's defender signs first pro contract with Birmingham City https://the42.ie/4697399
Hadnt even heard of this lad either. Some pool of players.
Really don't want to deflect away from a guy who I've commented on positively hear before - last year - but on a tangent that you yourself raise, I thought Robbie was too involved in the warm-up in copenhagen, and not for the better. The warm-up was sloppy, and at times during basic drills (the shooting drill particularly) it was laughable for senior professionals. I dunno if it was Curtis, I think it was, but 4 times in a row he played the ball to Robbie for a knock-back for a shot, and for whatever reason, 4 times he wasn't given a pass back to get a shot off.
It was farcical.
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
'My ma wants me to play for Nigeria... But I've been playing with Ireland for a long time' https://the42.ie/4698504
Aside from the dual nationality discussion, he highlights he was released by Southampton. I thought the view was that he rejected a contract. Interesting.
Bookmarks