Know nothing about those other ROI prospects, but Ethan's career development is a very interesting one. He was extremely highly thought of when he went to Man U as a teenager, and Ian Baraclough gave him his debut in a friendly vs Luxembourg when he was 18 i.e. before he'd ever played for MU. Indeed Bara even gushed that Ethan was "Northern Ireland's very own Andres Iniesta or Xavi", which at the time seemed just a tad optimistic, to say the least!Originally Posted by backstothewall
In fact he never got to play for MU's 1st team and after a couple of underwhelming loans to Doncaster and Salford, when he picked up only another couple of caps, he was released to sign for Orient, under Richie Wellens, who'd previously managed him at Donny.
Turns out he did extremely well at Orient, getting him a move to Swansea, where he's continued to thrive, while now establishing himself with NI under Michael O'Neill. (He was quite superb vs Germany last week, I'd go so far as to say he actually ran the midfield for a period in the second half, he was that good).
What might this mean for ROI? I'd say three things.
1. It's not enough just to have talent, it has to be developed properly, ideally by a manager who "gets" the player;
2. Unless a complete prodigy (eg Norman Whiteside), young players need to play themselves into international football - minimum of 10 caps before they know anything, often 20 or 30 before they even start to perform consistently, esp in a lower ranked team;
3. Management at international level is crucial, far more than at club level, where the whole set-up has to be right. I actually think Baraclough was decent enough, but he took over a team where the backbone had retired after Euro2016, and had to rely on too many youngsters before they were ready. (He might have got away with the best one or two, esp if introduced into a strong team, but he had no choice but to pick half a dozen at a time, in a struggling team).
Which is where Michael O'Neill stepped in. With his experience and nous, he's now building a very decent team, largely based round the players whom Bara had blooded a couple of years previously, with a lot of them in the early-to-mid 20's, but with terrific experience eg Shea Charles (21 y.o/31 caps), Trai Hume (23/25), Danny Ballard (26/29), Ali McCann (25/33), Brodie Spencer (21/13) and of course, Conor Bradley (22/28). And if his most regular gk has been Peacock-Farrell, 52 caps aged 28, Michael is clearly grooming Pierce Charles for the role, a 20 y.o., who would have had more than 8 caps so far but for injury. Anyhow, this is all reflected in the fact that one of the teams he picked earlier this year was the youngest NI team since 1945 - and they won!
When you consider the majority of those players are at the same or lower level than their ROI counterparts, the difference in performances and results cannot really be accounted for eg by wrong formations, poor tactics or substitutions, bad luck, injuries, overlooking possible alternative players, not trusting youth, or not moving Nathan Collins into midfield!
The bigger picture surely suggests that your current struggles are down to management failings over a prolonged period. That is, O'Neill/Keane had "lost it" by their final few games; Kenny never really had it; O'Shea is out of his depth, even as caretaker; and even if HH has what it takes (can't see it myself), then he has to be given time to turn round 5+ years of decline before he ever took over.
The problem there being that even if he got it (he won't), it risks many of the present squad becoming completely disillusioned and falling out of the reckoning before results began to turn around.
So that he, or more likely his successor, would be faced with having to start again pretty much from scratch, relying (like Bara/Michael) on new/young players, who may or may not have what it takes.
Which realistically means that unless you chance upon eg a Jack Charlton or a Michael O'Neill who can come in and hit the ground running, then turning things round will take time, with your share of setbacks along the way.
Either that or a United Ireland team
Quote
Bookmarks