His best set pieces are brilliant but I've lost count of the number of games I've come away totally frustrated with inaccurate corners and crosses from frees. At club level he seems more consistent in his set piece delivery than for us.Originally Posted by Fixer82
Didn't really stand out in the European run last year, did he? Rovers' big problem in the Conference Groups was how toothless up front they were. I think he's down the pecking order for me. That he's even worth mentioning just highlights how bad our options up front are, sadly. (Ferguson aside taken as read by now)
I don't think Rovers had much of the ball in the group stages. He scored a crucial goal in the qualifiers and nearly took the head off a guy at Tallaght!
I just think he's in great form at the moment and wouldn't be out of place on the bench, versus Parrott for example.
Put any of our other "bad options" as you say into the LOI and they would instantly become the best player by a country mile.
They would, for sure.
There's an argument there that he's in form at least and that may be worth something, even in training. But is he really any better than he was in his English league days, which were mostly spent in the fourth tier? That's a long way off the required standard
Ronan Coughlan might bang in one against Gibraltar now based on his recent form!
Last edited by pineapple stu; 07/06/2023 at 1:13 PM.
Gaffney was very good against the "weaker" sides we played but I'm not sure he's a better option than Parrot as much as I love him. His pace stands out in the LoI but I don't think it would at higher levels. I'd have Jack Byrne in the Ireland team ahead of him tbh. Still hits a better corner than anybody else we have and he's back playing at the level he was before covid and the back injury. Did a job against Bulgaria so I'd be happy seeing him come off the bench against Gibraltar if we needed a bit of creativity. Hopefully Johnston gives us something we've lacked against the poorer teams who park the bus.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
I was at the Pat’s / Derry match on Monday. Chris Forrester ****ing hell. I would love to see how he’d handle a call up. He’s just different. He moves differently to everyone else. I know the ship has sailed but he’s so so good.
When he's on song he's top class. You can see how he was tipped for even bigger things than Peterborough when he was running the show for them.
If ever there was a window to call up Forrester or Byrne or the likes of Farrugia you'd think it's this one. They are in season, bang in form and we are playing Gibraltar. They would be well able to do their stuff.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
But whats the point longer term in calling them up against Gibraltar? Its been discussed to death for years but the LOI just isnt of a standard that a player can play there and be a regular call up to the International team. The majority of the players that leave to England go to L1 to mixed success. I dont see anyone calling for Dason Devoy to get a call up right now, but if he was still in the LOI there would probably be a few saying hes worth a look. Jack Byrne is brilliant, I love him and its frustrates me that he wasnt able to kick on his career when he left the LOI, but the fact is when he was called up for Ireland squads under different managers he didnt get much of a look in. I've speculated plenty of times in the past that he probably didnt look as good in training when up against the likes of Hendrick and Hourihane.
This window is all about the Greece game. Adding token call ups for Gibraltar is completely pointless and an unnecessary distraction in the squad. We also cant take Gibraltar lightly, we just about scraped by them under Mick, so we need to be going in with the attitude of putting a full team out against them and taking care of them early in the game.
Dawson Devoy probably a poor example. He was only ever really a player with good potential in the LOI, and still is a player with potential, to be fair to him. The likes of Jack Byrne and Chris Forrester are generational players, and probably will go down in years to come as one of the big shames that Forrester was never capped. On his day is just sublime.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
Forrester and Byrne are brilliant, but both have also failed to kick on at higher levels. I wouldnt trust either at international level at this stage of their career.
Devoy was an u21 international, but lets say Mandroiu instead. Hes actually had a pretty good season in L1 but I dont see any calls for him to get call up yet, but he was probably on the fringes of it when playin LOI. Mandroiu still has the potential to kick on and might be good enough for international football yet, but we all would agree he has to show more, which is what Byrne and Forrester were unfortunately not capable of doing.
Yeah, even Forrester only played League One as well (plus a disastrous spell at Aberdeen, which probably isn't much better)
I'd consider someone like Paddy McCarthy never being capped as being far more regrettable than Chrissy Forrester, I have to say.
The point is to win the game. It can't all be about long term development and that's coming from someone who thinks we are years away from being properly competitive. We know we will have the ball against them and we've consistently struggled in those scenarios because we lack any real creative players. We need players who can link up with Ferguson to get the most out of him. Picture it being 0-0 with 15 to go and you look at the bench.....who do you pick to get on the ball and do something magic?
Nobody was or is mentioning Devoy because he's nowhere near Byrne or Forrester's level. They are both playing in a league well below their ability for various reasons. You might be right that Byrne didn't impress in training but it would be odd that he got on the field multiple times in that scenario.
But look, Kenny agrees with you so you must be on to something.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
I said that is exactly about winning the game and not about handing out token caps. Picking players playing at higher standards gives us the best chance to do that.The point is to win the game. It can't all be about long term development and that's coming from someone who thinks we are years away from being properly competitive. We know we will have the ball against them and we've consistently struggled in those scenarios because we lack any real creative players. We need players who can link up with Ferguson to get the most out of him. Picture it being 0-0 with 15 to go and you look at the bench.....who do you pick to get on the ball and do something magic?
Nobody was or is mentioning Devoy because he's nowhere near Byrne or Forrester's level. They are both playing in a league well below their ability for various reasons. You might be right that Byrne didn't impress in training but it would be odd that he got on the field multiple times in that scenario.
But look, Kenny agrees with you so you must be on to something.
Right, but I'm not saying he would be useful as a token cap....I'm saying he or someone like him would be useful in the type of game we will face against Gibraltar. We could pick all the highest level players we have and not have the right ones out there to do the job. Sure some of them have barely played a game this season. Any of the top LoI players are capable of playing against a team whose best players play for Lincoln Red Imps.
Anyway, my point was that NOW would be the time to call up the likes of Byrne or Forrester when our main players are in end of season mode and the LoI is in full swing. I'm not saying it should happen all the time. I'm not even complaining that it isn't happening to be honest. I think the squad makes reasonable sense although it is short on creativity.
That said I'd take Jack Byrne at the height of his powers over Jamie McGrath any day of the week but particularly after McGrath's season has ended.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
I think you'll find I was also posting on here that I didn't think Mandriou was good enough either, when he got his move to England!
I also think it's fair to say it wasn't purely footballing reasons as to why neither Byrne or Forrester kicked on from League One level.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
I suppose if we are comparing like for like Byrne and Forrester would be in the Smallbone role, who I would take over them every day of the week. I don't like arguing against those 2 players either by the way because like I've said I'm a big fan of both, but also with both its a disappointment of what might have been given their talents. I'm also not going to argue that McGrath should be ahead of either, that's the spot where they could squeeze in, but even then I'd have others like Luca Connell ahead
Yeah all fair enough. Like I said I'm not raging they aren't included. I was surprised Jack wasn't involved in the training camp but not surprised he wasn't involved in the squad. He's flying though and it's great to see him back to those levels. Also great to see Forrester playing well and enjoying himself.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
Unfortunately this is almost certainly the case with Git. He has a comfort zone (in the nicest possible way) and once he's happy then he can shine.
That begs the question which always circles the drain but never quite drops - and it's relevant when you think about someone like Keith Fahey - is whether a certain type of player needs to be playing in England to merit a call-up?
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
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