With the start of a new season, might be worth looking at bringing this back from a year or two ago. Ratings for the Irish players as per whoscored.com, which should at least be consistent and impartial, even if you can argue about how accurate or relevant it is. Seems to be a fairly good indicator though.
Think I might leave out League One as there's nobody there who would really be threatening the senior setup. Callum Robinson might be about the only interesting name, and he's unlikely to be called up in September given he's starting on the bench for Cardiff there.
Championship
Birmingham 1-1 Ipswich - Cashin an unused sub; O'Shea 6.9, Ogbene 6.1, Taylor 6.6, Szmodics 6.3
Charlton 1-0 Watford - Coventry 6.6, Abankwah 6.9
Coventry 0-0 Hull - McCarthy and Egan unused subs
Southampton 2-1 Wrexham - Bazunu 6.4, Manning 7.8 (last 20 minutes only, but scored), McClean 5.9 (last 5 only), O'Connell an unused sub
Boro 1-0 Swansea - Gilbert an unused sub
Norwich 1-2 Millwall - Emakhu 6.2 (last 5 only)
Oxford 0-1 Portsmouth - Goodrham 6.0, Shaughnessy 7.4
Stoke 3-1 Derby - Lawal 6.5, Bonham an unused sub
WBA 1-0 Blackburn - Molumby 7.2, McLoughlin 7.0, Johnston an unused sub
Sheffield United 1-4 Bristol City - Cannon 6.1 (last 30 only), Knight 6.9, Armstrong 6.2 (last 10 only), Sykes 6.1 (last 15 only), Murphy an unused sub
Leicester 2-1 Wednesday - McAteer 6.2 (last 15 only), Otegbayo 5.9
SPL - first two weeks here
Killie 2-2 Livi - Carey 6.1 (taken off at half-time), Blaney an unused sub
Dundee 1-2 Hibs - O'Hora 6.3, McGrath 7.0 (last 35 only)
Celtic 1-0 St Mirren - Scales 8.5 (man of the match), Idah 6.1, Kenny 6.1 (last 15 only), Phillips 6.5, Idowo 6.2, Sobowale 6.2 (last 10 only)
Hearts 2-0 Aberdeen - McEntee 7.7
Livi 3-1 Falkirk - Carey 6.4, Blaney 7.9 (came on after 15 minutes)
St Mirren 0-0 Motherwell - Phillips 6.6, Idowu 6.0 (taken off at half-time), Sobowale 6.1 (replaced Idowu)
Aberdeen 0-2 Celtic - Molloy and Kenny unused subs, Scales 7.0, Idah 6.5
Hibs 2-2 Killie - O'Hora 6.2, McGrath 7.7 (one assist)
Dundee United 2-3 Hearts - McEntee 6.7
Other leagues
AZ 4-1 Groningen - Parrott 9.0 (scored twice)
PEC 1-0 Zwolle - MacNulty 7.6
Braga 3-0 Tondela - Hodge 6.2
Then Serie A hasn't started yet, Istanbul Basaksehir's game was postponed, Finn is in the second tier after Lyon's relegation was overturned and Afolabi is in the Belgian second tier. I think that's the foreign contingent - getting harder to keep track of them all!
So very good weeks (8.5+) for Scales, Parrott
Good weeks (7.5-8.4) for Manning, McGrath, McEntee, MacNulty
Poor weeks (5.5-6.2) for Ogbene, Otegbayo, Idowu x 2, O'Hora, Carey, Idah, Hodge
And very poor weeks (<5.5) for no-one
So a couple of bright spots, but overall nothing really special I think.
Good to see this back. Also positive that we're close to completely moving on from picking League 1 players in squads, it's only couple of years since we'd regularly have had half a dozen or more of them involved.
The one club down there that might be the exception could be Luton, who are a bit unfortunate to be there to start with and will expect to bounce straight back. They have McGuinness, Alli and Keeley and some good form could get any of those three into our squad I think.
In terms of the continental based players the other ones that may still be of interest would be Omobamidele in Ligue 1 and O'Dowda in Hungary.
Honestly in League 1, you've got 7 lads who have been called up not that long ago: Mark McGuinness, Callum Robinson, Josh Keeley, Aaron Connolly, Marcus Harness, CJ Hamilton, Luca ConnellOriginally Posted by pineapple stu
And I'd say another 7 interesting senior players due to our lack of depth at left back and in midfield primarily and a few just because they're interesting: Mellenic Alli, Sean Roughan, Tayo Adaramola, Baba Adeeko, Jack Moylan, Neil Farrugia, Andy Lyons...
Good spots! There's no ratings for the Hungarian league games though so O'Dowda won't feature here.
There's more League One players of interest than I'd realised! The last time it seemed to be mostly ex-LoI players, a couple of guys on the way down, and Cashing standing out
But will leave it out all the same. The player threads can cover them
This one might be worth stickying in place of the "Games Weekend: All Leagues" thread btw?
First weekend of the Premier and in Holland too - just Serie A to start now really.
Premier League
Spurs 3-0 Burnley - Cullen 6.9 (their highest rating by a distance)
Wolves 0-4 Man City - Doherty 5.8
Forest 3-1 Brentford - Kelleher 5.8, Collins 5.9
Championship
Portsmouth 1-2 Norwich - Shaughnessy 7.4
Wrexham 2-3 WBA - McClean 6.6 (and an assist), O'Connell and O'Connor unused subs, Molumby 6.8, Johnston 7.4 (last 20 minutes only, but two assists)
Millwall 0-3 Boro - Emakhu 5.9 (last 10 only), Azaz 7.1 (last 20 only, but an assist)
Preston 2-1 Leicester - McAteer 6.2 (last 5 only)
Wednesday 0-3 Stoke - Otegbayo 6.3, Lawal 7.1, Bonham an unused sub
Swansea 1-0 Sheffield United - Cannon 5.9 (last 30 only), Curtis an unused sub
Watford 2-1 QPR - Abankwah 6.5, Vata an unused sub
Blackburn 1-2 Birmingham - McLoughlin 6.3, Cashin 6.5 (injury time only)
Bristol City 0-0 Charlton - Knight 7.1, Armstrong 6.2 (last 10 only), Sykes 6.2 (last 35 only), Coventry 7.1
Ipswich 1-1 Southampton - O'Shea 6.7, Taylor 6.4, Szmodics 6.1, Ogbene 6.2 (last 20 only), Bazunu 6.1, Manning 6.4 (last 35 only)
Hull 3-2 Oxford - Egan 6.8, McCarthy an unused sub, Goodrham 7.3 (and an assist - though I don't know if I should be counting him really)
SPL - no games this week as it was the League Cup
Other
Volendam 2-2 AZ - Parrott 7.2 (and scored)
Telstar 0-2 PEC - MacNulty 7.2
Tondela 0-1 Familicao - Hodge 6.4
Basaksehir 1-1 Kayserispor - Ebosele 7.4
So very good weeks (8.5+) for no-one
Good weeks (7.5-8.4) for no-one
Poor weeks (5.5-6.2) for Doherty, Kelleher, Collins, Szmodics, Bazunu
And very poor weeks (<5.5) for no-one
A pretty mundane week all told to be honest.
Last edited by pineapple stu; 17/08/2025 at 10:09 PM.
Ratings as we get close to the international window - probably expect a squad decision in the next week?
Premier League
Leeds 1-0 Everton - O'Brien 5.9, Coleman and Travers unused subs
Bournemouth 1-0 Wolves - Doherty 6.9
Brentford 1-0 Villa - Kelleher 6.7, Collins 7.3
Burnley 2-0 Sunderland - Cullen 8.3 (one goal, one assist, one man of the match)
Everton 2-0 Brighton - O'Brien 7.1, Coleman and Travers unused subs
Championship
Derby 1-1 Bristol City - Knight 6.4, Armstrong 6.2 (last 35 only)
Hull 0-3 Blackburn - McCarthy 6.3, Egan 6.7, Ashbee an unused sub, McLoughlin 7.2
Charlton 0-1 Leicester - Coventry 7.1
Swansea 1-1 Watford - Abankwah 6.7, Vata 6.1 (last 5 only)
WBA 1-1 Portsmouth - Molumby 6.3, Johnston 7.3 (and scored), Shaughnessy 7.1
Coventry 7-1 QPR - Dunne 6.1
Wrexham 2-2 Sheffield Wednesday - McClean 6.8, O'Connell an unused sub, Otegbayo 6.1 (injury time only)
Birmingham 1-0 Oxford - Cashin an unused sub
Norwich 1-2 Boro - Azaz 7.2 (and scored)
Preston 1-0 Ipswich - O'Shea 6.9, Taylor 6.3, Szmodics 6.4, McAteer 5.8 (last 25 only), Ogbene an unused sub
Sheffield United 0-1 Millwall - Cannon 6.1, Emakhu 6.3 (last 20 only)
Southampton 1-2 Stoke - Bazunu 6.3, Manning 7.4 (came on after 20 minutes), Lawal 6.7, Bonham an unused sub
SPL
St Mirren 1-1 Rangers - Phillips 7.0, Idowu 6.7 (last 5 only - great rating for an 85th minute sub!), Sobowale an unused sub
Celtic 3-0 Livi - Scales 7.7, Kenny 7.2 (last 20 only, but scored), Blaney 6.7 (came off after 30 minutes)
Hearts 3-3 Motherwell - McEntee 6.0
Other
Roma 1-0 Bologna - Ferguson 7.3
Strasbourg 1-0 Nantes - Omobamidele 6.6 (but subbed off before half-time, presumably injured)
Benfica 3-0 Tondela - Hodge 6.0 (taken off at half-time)
No games for Parrott, Ebosele or MacNulty due to the European games midweek
So very good weeks (8.5+) for no-one
Good weeks (7.5-8.4) for Cullen, Scales
Poor weeks (5.5-6.2) for O'Brien, Dunne, Cannon, McEntee, Hodge
And very poor weeks (<5.5) for no-one
Again not a massive amount of good news in all of that
Is 8.5 maybe too high a bar for a "very good week"? Maybe 8.0 and up would be more realistic - I'd say Cullen definitely had a very good week this week. And maybe 7.2 - 7.9 for a "good week" - Collins, Johnston, Azaz and Ferguson all had good weeks this week I would say?
Funny. I had a post written to say something very similar but decided not to post it as it’s all subjective. I’d go with anything over 8.0 being very good, anything over 7.1 being good and average being 6.5-7.0…
You’d be fairly happy with a B in the leaving, like.
Thanks for doing this though, Pineappler.
I think this has come up before alright. There's an argument 7.5 is too high for "Good" alright. Whoscored themselves define "Good" as 7.0-7.9, but more than a third of players score 7.0 or higher and that seems too much.
They also say 6.0 is "Average" but I'm defining it as poor because it effectively means you had bugger all impact on the game (I remember Will Keane's cameo in France was 6.0 because he was on the pitch 10 minutes and literally never touched the ball once - and not through his own fault either")
That said, if "Poor" is <6.3, there's an argument you could leave out 6.3-7.2 as nothing special, and then good starts at 7.3 and very good at 8.3
But in the end of the day, it's just an exercise in seeing who did what over the weekend where (which is a lot easier having taken out the League One sides), and then you can see that, for example, Otegbayo wasn't great in his first two starts for Wednesday and has been dropped, or Coventry may be coming back as an option. (Cashin was one who got great scores on this too actually)
The ratings as we go international week so -
Premier League
Wolves 2-3 Everton - Doherty and Travers unused subs, O'Brien 6.6, Coleman 6.0 (came on in the last minute and didn't touch the ball)
Sunderland 2-1 Brentford - Kelleher 5.7, Collins 7.1
Man Utd 3-2 Burnley - Cullen 6.1 (scored an own goal)
Championship
Leicester 2-0 Birmingham - Cashin an unused sub
Boro 1-0 Sheffield United - Lenihan 6.0 (came on in the last minute and didn't touch the ball - but his first game in two years I think?), Cannon 6.1 (last 20 only)
QPR 3-1 Charlton - Dunne 7.3, Coventry 5.9
Stoke 0-1 WBA - Lawal 6.3, Molumby 6.4, Johnston 6.9, Bonham an unused sub
Watford 2-2 Southampton - Abankwah 6.4, Vata 6.9 (last 35 only, but got an assist), Bazunu 5.9, Manning 7.8 (and scored), Azaz 6.7
Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Swansea - Otegbayo an unused sub
Blackburn 0-2 Norwich - McLoughlin 5.4 (sent off in the first half)
Bristol City 4-2 Hull - Sykes 6.3, Knight 7.0, Armstrong an unused sub, Egan 7.0, McCarthy 6.1 (injury time only)
Ipswich 2-2 Derby - O'Shea 6.9 (an eventful game - hit the bar, made a last ditch tackle, and made an error that lead to a goal), McAteer 6.1, Taylor 6.7 (last 15 only), Szmodics 6.0 (last 25 only)
Millwall 0-2 Wrexham - Emakhu 6.8, McClean 6.9 (last 15 only, but an assist), O'Connor an unused sub
Portsmouth 1-0 Preston - Shaughnessy 7.4
SPL
Aberdeen 0-1 Falkirk - Molloy 6.5 (second half only)
Livi 1-2 Hearts - Carey an unused sub, McEntee 6.7
Motherwell 2-2 Killie - Brown an unused sub
Rangers 0-0 Celtic - Scales 7.7
Hibs 1-1 St Mirren - McGrath 6.4 (last 25 only), O'Hora an unused sub, Philips 6.4 (came off after 25 minutes), Sobowale and Idowu unused subs
Other
Pisa 0-1 Roma - Ferguson 6.9 (and an assist)
PEC Zwolle 0-2 Utrecht - MacNulty 5.9
Basaksehir 0-0 Eyupspor - Ebosele 7.3
And Parrott, Omobamidele and Hodge all missing
So very good weeks (8.3+) for no-one
Good weeks (7.3-8.2) for Dunne, Manning, Shaughnessy, Scales, Ebosele
Poor weeks (5.3-6.2) for Kelleher, Cullen, Coventry, Bazunu, McLoughlin, McAteer, MacNulty
And very poor weeks (<5.3) for no-one
Might be worth noting the ratings from last night - see how they seem for a game most of us were watching more closely than the other games listed here.
Kelleher 7.0
O'Brien 6.4
O'Shea 7.5
Collins 6.8 (technically an assist for Ferguson's goal)
Doherty 6.4
Szmodics 6.4
Knight 6.9
Cullen 6.0
Manning 8.4 (man of the match, and an assist)
Azaz 6.6
Ferguson 7.0 (and scored)
Ogbene 6.4 (last 25 only)
Idah 7.2 (last 15 only - but scored)
Johnston 6.2 (last 15 only)
Taylor 6.2 (last 25 only)
McAteer 6.1 (injury time only)
So on that basis a very good game for Manning, a good game for O'Shea, and a poor game for Cullen.
Not sure how O'Shea got such a high rating and Collins had a nightmare game, which is standard enough for him in fairness for Ireland. He's lucky Doherty was there to take the flak. Rest of ratings seem ok, Azaz a bit high but improved marginally second half i guess.
Tonight's ratings are rather predictable really...
Kelleher 7.0
O'Shea 6.0
Collins 6.1
O'Brien 6.1
Ogbene 6.0
Manning 6.5
Cullen 6.6
Knight 6.1
Azaz 6.1
Taylor 6.3
Ferguson 7.1
Phillips 5.9
Johnston 6.1
Idah 6.6
Scales 6.1
McAteer 6.2
So poor games for O'Shea, Collins, O'Brien, Ogbene, Knight and Azaz - more than half the team
Kelleher and Ferguson the two obvious positives
Back to club action this week - although to be honest it feels a bit of a futile exercise when you see the disparity between club form and international form last Tuesday...
Anyways!
Premier League
Newcastle 1-0 Wolves - Doherty an unused sub
Everton 0-0 Villa - O'Brien 7.1, Coleman and Travers unused subs
Brentford 2-2 Chelsea - Kelleher 6.8, Collins 6.7
Burnley 0-1 Liverpool - Cullen 6.8
Championship
Ipswich 5-0 Sheffield United - O'Shea 7.6, McAteer 7.1, Szmodics 6.5 (last 30 only), Taylor an unused sub, McGuinness 5.8, Cannon 5.9, Barry 5.7
Preston 2-2 Boro - Lenihan 6.9 (his first start in two years), Browne 6.3 (last 5 only - his first appearance of the season)
Charlton 1-1 Millwall - Coventry 6.8, Emakhu 7.1
Sheffield Wednesday 0-3 Bristol City - Otegbayo 5.7, Sykes 6.8, Knight 6.7, Armstrong 6.6 (last 10 only), Lumley an unused sub
Stoke 1-0 Birmingham - Lawal 8.7 (man of the match, and scored), Cashin an unused sub
Swansea 2-2 Hull - Idah 6.1 (last 25 only), Egan 6.8 (and scored)
Watford 0-1 Blackburn - Vata 6.4, Abankwah an unused sub
WBA 0-1 Derby - Molumby 7.2, Johnston 7.2
Wrexham 1-3 QPR - McClean 6.2, Dunne 7.3 (an assist)
Southampton 0-0 Portsmouth - Bazunu 7.0, Manning 7.1, Azaz 6.5, Shaughnessy 7.1
SPL
Killie 1-2 Celtic - Brown 6.6, Scales 7.1
Aberdeen 0-0 Livi - Molloy and Carey unused subs
Falkirk 1-2 St Mirren - Phillips 6.6, Sobowale and Idowu unused subs
Rangers 0-2 Hearts - McEntee 7.3
Hibs 3-3 Dundee United - O'Hora 6.9, McGrath (scored from the spot)
Others
Roma 0-1 Torino - Ferguson 6.1 (second half only)
Ajax 3-1 PEC - MacNulty 5.9
Besiktas 2-1 Basaksehir - Ebosele 6.6
And no games for Parrott, Hodge or Omobamidele, who I assume are all still injured
So very good weeks (8.3+) for no-one
Fair to middling weeks (in and around 8.7) for Lawal
Good weeks (7.3-8.2) for Dunne, O'Shea, McEntee, McGrath
Poor weeks (5.3-6.2) for Otegbayo, McGuinness, Cannon, Barry, McClean, MacNulty
And very poor weeks (<5.3) for no-one
I think some would question the methodology as to these rankings, but an appreciated resource nonetheless.
As an aside, could I ask who is Lumley (likely brain-fog) and why Josh Key of Swansea isn't included?
Joe Lumley is a brainfart - good spot! I meant Jack Bonham, who was an unused sub for Stoke.
Generally speaking I just cycle through the teamsheets and pick out the Irish flags - there's a fair few exceptions though, such as Szmodics (English flag) and Sykes (NI flag), so I have to just remember those guys.
Josh Key has no flag beside him and hasn't been linked with us for a couple of years at this stage I think, so just not on my radar at all. 6.6 was his rating, for what it's worth.
I see I also left out McGrath's rating from the weekend - 7.8. You can question the methodology for sure - any rating has to be subjective to some extent - but I think they're not bad, and they should definitely be independent and consistent, which is useful. Certainly don't take them as gospel for sure.
Thanks. And all questions well explained.
I'm not still not sure if Key is absolutely elligible.
A useful and valued imput anyway.
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