Ronan Hale

[elatedscum]

Don’t think there’s a thread on him but he scored 4 in 5 and won a penalty which his teammate missed since he signed for Ross County. I’ve always really liked him going back to his u21 days under Noel king when he was the youngest player in the squad. Had some issues off the field which had to deal with but looks to have come the other side really well.

Certainly someone I’d have on a provisional list, even if he’s a way behind the likes of Idah, Parrott, Szmodics. Then you’ve obviously got Ferguson (injured), Obafemi (not playing), Cannon (not playing) and Will Keane who WBA are trying to buy

[elatedscum]

His performances have been great and Michael O’Neill has understandably been very interested

[CraftyToePoke]

Certainly someone I’d have on a provisional list, even if he’s a way behind the likes of Idah, Parrott, Szmodics. Then you’ve obviously got Ferguson (injured), Obafemi (not playing), Cannon (not playing) and Will Keane who WBA are trying to buy

Great to see him resurfacing like this but he has more than those few ahead of him surely ?

Armstrong Emakhu O'Mahony of the up & coming then a slew of might be ones, O'Neil Kenny Kavanagh Okoflex & the likes & a gaggle of similarly aged boyos dotted around the leagues. I hope he holds out, maintains his goals ratio & gets that Celtic ( or similar ) move obviously but hard to blame him if he switched.

[Olé Olé]

Great to see him resurfacing like this but he has more than those few ahead of him surely ?

Armstrong Emakhu O'Mahony of the up & coming then a slew of might be ones, O'Neil Kenny Kavanagh Okoflex & the likes & a gaggle of similarly aged boyos dotted around the leagues. I hope he holds out, maintains his goals ratio & gets that Celtic ( or similar ) move obviously but hard to blame him if he switched.

Obafemi, Parrott, Idah, Szmodics, Cannon in last squad. Ferguson and Armstrong probably the only two you could say would be coming into contention - Robinson isn't playing, Keane's ship has surely sailed, Afolabi is well off it, Connolly clueless and pre-seasonless.

Realistically, Parrott, Idah, Szmodics and a fit Ferguson should be fairly nailed on. Armstrong will probably move in behind them ahead of Obafemi and Cannon based the season to date but a decent loan move for Cannon and a few goals and I would imagine Haimir will gladly pick him - good player.

Emakhu and O'Mahony need runs of senior games and goals for contention I reckon. Seems like they are a bit away from that presently. I really like both of them though. If Emakhu gets games somewhere decent he has a lot about him to like.

Overall, there's a good volume of bodies there and I don't see Hale every pushing ahead of Parrott, Idah, Szmodics and Ferguson if I'm honest. But they will get injured and we might need to pick a 5th. He could compete with Cannon, Obafemi and Armstrong for that 5th + spot if he was scoring 1 in 2 or more in Scotland.

I would hope he gets a call for a quick chat on his thoughts either way. He may have zero interest in NI or he may be tempted. I would hate to lose someone to them but if Hale is tempted by the nailed on opportunity for caps on offer there over the fainter chance we can give him then the very best of luck to him.

[Jolly Red Giant]

I really like Armstrong and I think he could be a top player - he has power and pace and no little skill. Despite being around for a couple of years I think he is still quite raw and I think it will take another couple of years before we really know how good he could be. Cannon is a talented footballer and with a good run of games we could see why Leicester paid a lot of money for him.

The problem for Hale is that he is four years older than both Armstrong and Cannon (they are both still only 21) - and while is could come good, even at this stage he is well behind both Armstrong and Cannon.

[Eirambler]

He should probably go with the north, being honest. 26 in a couple of weeks and possibly not in our top 10 forward options as it stands.

Ferguson/Szmodics/Idah/Parrott/Cannon/Armstrong/Ogbene/Keane/Robinson/Emakhu/Vata/Obafemi would all get picked ahead of him next month. And that's leaving out Connolly. We can't pick them all and I can't see Hale ever moving past enough of those to become a serious starting option for us. Unless he's particularly uncomfortable with the realities of playing for the north (flag, anthem etc.) he should switch from a footballing point of view.

[elatedscum]

I get it. I just think he’s an absolute baller and think there’s a chance he could score goals for us. It’s not just the quantity of goals but the quality of them… and some of the near misses

I think if you look at someone like Szmodics who was playing in League 1 at 26 and league 2 just before his 24th birthday, then you can see there’s always a route to the national team when the ability is there…

Here’s hoping HH keeps him interested till the end of the season and he scores 30 goals this season (unlikely as it is) and he gives everyone a choice to make.

[Olé Olé]

He should probably go with the north, being honest. 26 in a couple of weeks and possibly not in our top 10 forward options as it stands.

Ferguson/Szmodics/Idah/Parrott/Cannon/Armstrong/Ogbene/Keane/Robinson/Emakhu/Vata/Obafemi would all get picked ahead of him next month. And that's leaving out Connolly. We can't pick them all and I can't see Hale ever moving past enough of those to become a serious starting option for us. Unless he's particularly uncomfortable with the realities of playing for the north (flag, anthem etc.) he should switch from a footballing point of view.

But maybe he doesn't want to?

[EalingGreen]

His performances have been great and Michael O’Neill has understandably been very interested

"Interested" yes, but he also made it clear a few months back, when a move to GB seemed imminent, that he's not going to beg him, the player has to make the first move:

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill has revealed that he would be open to a conversation with Cliftonville’s Irish Cup hero Ronan Hale if the striker decides to switch his international allegiance from the Republic of Ireland.
[He added]“I wouldn’t pick a player unless he had committed to do an international transfer. The fact is we could pick him and play him but it wouldn’t really count for anything but I don’t think that would send the right message to the rest of the squad."
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/s...585952490.html

The key words in that are "committed" and "right message". We saw that in the summer with (English-born) Paddy Lane, who had just finished a very good season with Portsmouth. When he declined to join up with the squad for a training camp and two friendlies in Spain in June, citing fatigue etc, Michael made it quite clear that the player, who already had a couple of caps, now has it all to do to persuade him why he should consider him in future.

[Trequartista20]

Ronan Hale’s Northern Ireland switch only a matter of time, claims Michael O’Neill

https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/spo...106303357.html

[Eirambler]

Best of luck to him, wasn't within a mile of the Ireland squad. Had a look at their squad announced today and I can see why they would want someone like Hale, they seem to have nobody of note at all to call on in terms of attackers. Saw a stat somewhere recently where the last striker with the north to score a goal in the Premier League was way back in something like 2009 or 2010!

[Trequartista20]

Crikey. Healy when at Sunderland I presume?

You can certainly understand why they'd be keen on Hale.

[Eirambler]

Martin Paterson apparently.

(No, me either!)

[elatedscum]

A shame but understandable. Always rated him as a footballer

[Acornvilla]

He'll never play for us, but this deserves a mention!

[Predator]

Ronan Hale poached by unscrupulous IFA!

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/s...a96575657.html

[EalingGreen]

Ronan Hale poached by unscrupulous IFA!

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/s...a96575657.html

Ha!

It hardly counts as "poaching" when the fish voluntarily opts to jump into the net for himself, while the landowner watches on, entirely unconcerned!
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/s...585952490.html

P.S. Re your signature, there wouldn't be any "apartheid" [sic] had your lot not broken away in the first place. Still, your bed, you lie in it!

[Diggs246]

Ha!

It hardly counts as "poaching" when the fish voluntarily opts to jump into the net for himself, while the landowner watches on, entirely unconcerned!
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/s...585952490.html

P.S. Re your signature, there wouldn't be any "apartheid" [sic] had your lot not broken away in the first place. Still, your bed, you lie in it!

The first causality of the troubles was comedy

[EalingGreen]

The first causality of the troubles was comedy

And the second was spelling?

[Predator]

Ha!

It hardly counts as "poaching" when the fish voluntarily opts to jump into the net for himself, while the landowner watches on, entirely unconcerned!
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/s...585952490.html

P.S. Re your signature, there wouldn't be any "apartheid" [sic] had your lot not broken away in the first place. Still, your bed, you lie in it!

Given that over a decade has passed since the signature was adopted, it is worth remembering that it was a direct response to OWC members outrageously labelling the FAI "Football Apartheid [sic] in Ireland" for the 'crime' of selecting players who voluntarily declared their allegiance to the FAI. But that's ancient history at this point.