I'm glad to see Obafemi get a call up, but the cynical view is that it's only so he can get a brief run out against Denmark to tie him to the national side.
https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/irel...-double-header
Ireland MNT: Provisional squad selected for double header
Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill was at SSE Airtricity HQ to unveil a provisional squad for the international friendly against Northern Ireland (November 15) at Aviva Stadium and the UEFA Nations League clash with Denmark (November 19).
6th Nov 2018
Both Stephen Ward (knee) and Jonathan Walters (Achilles) are ruled out, but the duo of Seamus Coleman (foot) and Robbie Brady (ankle) return to the squad following respective injuries.
There are first senior call-ups for Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool), Jimmy Dunne (Hearts), Ryan Manning (Rotherham United) and Michael Obafemi (Southampton).
Kelleher previously trained with the squad in Wales following the first UEFA Nations League game in Cardiff, while Dunne and Manning were recently involved in Noel King's Under-21 squad. Obafemi is an U-19 international, who has made two Premier League appearances so far this season.
Midfielder Glenn Whelan will lead Ireland out as captain against Northern Ireland for what will be his 85th senior appearance. The Aston Villa man will not be part of the squad for the Denmark game.
The Ireland squad will report into camp on Sunday, November 11 ahead of the Northern Ireland game on Thursday, November 15. They will then depart for Aarhus on Saturday, November 17 to prepare for their final UEFA Nations League game away to Denmark on Monday, November 19.
The final squad will be confirmed ahead of training on Monday, November 12 at the FAI National Training Centre.
Tickets are selling well for the Northern Ireland game, so supporters are encouraged to purchase now to avoid disappointment. Available now from Ticketmaster.ie
Republic of Ireland Provisional Squad
Goalkeepers:
Darren Randolph (Middlesbrough),
Colin Doyle (Hearts),
Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool),
Sean McDermott (Kristiansund BK)
Defenders:
Seamus Coleman (Everton),
Cyrus Christie (Fulham),
Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers),
Richard Keogh (Derby County),
Shane Duffy (Brighton & Hove Albion),
Ciaran Clark (Newcastle United),
Kevin Long (Burnley),
Jimmy Dunne (Hearts*),
John Egan(Sheffield United),
Enda Stevens (Sheffield United),
Darragh Lenihan (Blackburn Rovers),
Derrick Williams (Blackburn Rovers),
Greg Cunningham (Cardiff City)
Midfielders:
Robbie Brady(Burnley),
Jeff Hendrick (Burnley),
Harry Arter (Cardiff City*),
Conor Hourihane(Aston Villa),
Glenn Whelan (Aston Villa),
David Meyler (Reading),
Alan Browne (Preston North End),
Shaun Williams (Millwall),
Richie Towell(Rotherham United*),
Ryan Manning (Rotherham United*),
Callum O'Dowda (Bristol City),
James McClean (Stoke City)
Forwards:
Shane Longi (Southampton),
Michael Obafemi (Southampton),
Scott Hogan (Aston Villa),
Sean Maguire (Preston North End),
Callum Robinson (Preston North End),
Aiden O'Brien (Millwall),
Ronan Curtis (Portsmouth)
*Indicates the player is on loan
Last edited by Closed Account; 06/11/2018 at 11:05 AM.
Did any jouro ask about Dan Crowley?
Delighted Kelleher and Ofafemi are there, it will break my heart is Ofafemi pulls out
Please turn the teams around, for the love of God.
Kelleher, Dunne, Manning and Obafemi are all great to see in there. Whether they make the cut is another thing.
Crowley and Michael Duffy are two I'm wondering on the status of. The sooner the better for that pair coming in.
the Crowley thing is bizzare can someone ask MON whats the story is
Is this not the second or possibly even 3rd squad where Duffy being excluded has been blamed on paperwork not yet processed? Surely it doesn't take that long and O'Neill is either bull****ting us all to appease the LoI crowd or someone in the FAI hasn't done their job (hypothetically of course, because that would obviously never happen)
Mon the Town!
Fair point.
Southampton are a bit of a mess up front this season though. If Connolly was at Southampton - I'm sure he'd have gotten game time this season.
But if it means getting Obafemi on our side - I'm all for it.
Interestingly Connolly tweeted 'what am I seeing' just after the the squad announcement. It's been liked by a few lads from the U19s.
That's intriguing! I'm sure there's questions on his commitment from those players.
The sooner Connolly gets a run in the Brighton senior side the better. He's on Hughton's radar which is great but I can't see him pushing up the Irish ranks until he gets that exposure.
Also, he wasn't picked for our under 21 side whilst lads playing at Conference level (Quigley, Grego-Cox for a while) were in there. We're not showing a tendency to promote from under 19 to under 21 level so quickly so there won't be a trend forming for under 19 players jumping to senior too soon if that's case, I would say. Obafemi being an exception for a few reasons.
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