It'll be interesting to see how Shels get on now that they have access to the system that the likes of Brighton and Hearts use. Hearts signed a lad from the second tier in Norway and he's turned out to be one of the best players in league this season.
So there is players out there in places you wouldn't think to look in but it's probably not feasible for many clubs here.
Being part of a link-up like that is probably the way it'd happen alright. Athlone have signed some randomers over the last while (it's not worked, granted), as have Waterford. The problem of course is the LoI tends to end up with the dregs.
I think this is not just an Irish problem. In 2013/14, I met and spoke to Abel Xavier who was managing in Portugal Olhanse or Farense I can't remember which. Anyway he had a similar problem most of his team were from lower league south America, mostly Brazil or north Africa Morroco etc. Wages in Portugal weren't high but were better than the players home country, most were signed on a one year contract and if they showed any promises they were scooped up for free by the larger Portuguese clubs or ended up in Europe. Unfortunately most Irish clubs don't have the resources to tap into these markets including Haiti and I'm sure Africa is awash with talent who would grace our league but finding them is the problem.Originally Posted by pineapple stu
I wasn't around in the 1950s, and have no genuine knowledge of any World Cups before 1966 to be honest (when Gaetjens was dead, btw). I bet if you ask people around Europe who are into their football who that guy is, then 99%+ of them will have no idea.
It ls again telling that the only 'famous' Haitian player anyone can name is barely known and made his mark over three-quarters of a century ago.
Again - can we just agree that Haiti is extremely unlikely to be a happy hunting ground for footballers, given its past history delivering so few and its current status as a basketcase?Which is the fundamental point here.
I said Haiti but that was as much tongue in cheek, a reference to the bizzare and 'exotic' and I couldnt spell Curacao without looking it up. I dont suggest a scattergun approach. We do that, or more others use us to do that, with the loan system. But with todays scouting networks, multiclub ownership, scouting platforms, damn even just agents, well there has to be a way. We used to talk about losing Irish players to the game when they were dumped by English clubs at a young age, do we look at players released by higher level leagues as standard and I dont mean Real Madrid. A trusted EU agent network, yeah yeah I know? could be useful for both. I refuse to accept that there are just no strikers, for example, that are not technically better that what is in LoI and within reach of certainly the upper PD clubs.
We call for young Irish lads to go to Europe rather than UK to develop yet we still rely pretty heavily on the UK for players in - do we develop relationships with the European mainland system.
You will have youtube vids and Del Boy flogging his wares, but there a lot more than that messing like the often mentioned Abibi or that former La Liga joker, that was an old man American being conned. There has to be some reputable player reps, if they never deliver or overstate abilities they get cut lose league wide....let them see proper opportunity rather than a quick few quid.
Why do you insist they're famous ?, why not players of a good enough standard to play in the League of Ireland who've come here.
Of which you've been given two examples, one of which was quite recent.
This will be fascinating. Major issue for Dublin clubs in particular will still be the cost of living. Wages are up but you'd probably need to be offering housing in addition?
Shels have a pretty good squad already. Id imagine they are looking for a striker and centre half. When we played Celje, their striker Kovacevic, who had been bouncing around some lower leagues, looked levels above anyone else on the pitch. Signed for an undisclosed fee and now worth 600k+. If Shels can find someone like that they could really have a go.
If Dundalk got a player like that we could really have a go. Im only half joking. The league has been pretty close considering the disparate resources and a proper 20+ goal player closes gaps. You may not hold on to that player for longer than a season before the ktchen sinks come out. Its stating the obvious but the dearth of strikers with high chance to conversion rates makes it a big deal if one happens. I think the Seanie league win is the last good example where you get a striker firing it can carry a team - in that case just a half a season was enough.. Mostly we get 10-15 hit rates with goals chipped in from others, fine domestically but not Europe really where we need say 5 chances to each goal. Unless you get lucky like Rovers in Athens.
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