Ireland B Team Announcement

[KK77]

Sounds encouraging but I agree with Dodge - Devlin is not the man for the job - no doubting his managerial ability - I just dont think he has the leagues best intersets at heart

Well said it's a joke him being appointment he's the past not the future.

[joema]

Jesus lads, how many times must i say this.......

DEVLIN IS NOT A SCOUT FOR ANY CLUB WHAT SO EVER, ESPECIALLY IN THE UK.

Yeah, hes not a scout - he's an advisor - in other words hes not officially recognised by FIFA so he operates as a so called "advisor" - its all the same to him at the end of the day - as long as he gets his cut he couldnt care less - I'll say it again - Devlin has his own agenda

[KK77]

Jesus lads, how many times must i say this.......

DEVLIN IS NOT A SCOUT FOR ANY CLUB WHAT SO EVER, ESPECIALLY IN THE UK.

If a youngster or an eL player is wanted by a uk club he will want to move, maily because of the money and the standard of football, theres nothing we can do about that what so ever, we just cant compete. Now the way i see it is that Devlin is in then game long enough, he knows what he is doing, if a young player asks Pat for advice on what to do and to make sure the contract is best for him and his club then whats wrong with that ? People go to Devo because he's the best in the business in Ireland at what he does. He can't help it if a young lad that goes over does'nt make the grade. plane loads of kids go over nothing to do with Devo at all that dont make it.

How come he got a huge cut out of the Duff deal??

[Jerry The Saint]

I'd also add that as he is a club manager he shouldn't be near a job that involves looking at the whole league. If Bray play every Friday and so do Cork how often will he get to see George O'Callaghan play (for example).

Leaving aside the other main objection (which I also agree with BTW) this is a HUGE problem. We can expect that he will be unable to watch up to 10 out of the 12 Premier teams almost every weekend and would need to travel up to Sligo/Longford the day after a Bray game every weekend to bring this figure down.

This is also likely to cause a natural bias to his own players when selecting squads. I'm sure a manager like Devlin wouldn't care one way or the other if regular appearances in B internationals happened to increase a players transfer value....

Two words that jump out at me about this appointment and the FAI attitude to the eircom League: LIP SERVICE.

[Stuttgart88]

Presumably he'll be able to delegate, or is that just a wild assumption?

[Jerry The Saint]

Surely Bobby Robson would have been ideally placed to do this job?

I agree 100%. It would have been the perfect way for Robson to show he was legitimately earning his quarter of a million by giving him a role that would have clear results in terms of developing players for both the league and international squad. As a complete outsider he would be free of any petty infighting and could look at the league with a clear, impartial eye. Not to mention the tremendous influence a coach of his experience could have had on managers and players.

Sadly, you get the feeling that this would have never crossed the FAI's mind, and if it did that they would be too embarrassed to ask the big, important Englishman to take any interest in our piddling little league...

[Jerry The Saint]

Presumably he'll be able to delegate, or is that just a wild assumption?

Sure, he could get Damien Richardson, Stephen Kenny, Pat Fenlon and Paul Doolin to be his assistant managers.

[Bray Head]

Have to agree there is no way he can do both jobs. If he's managing Bray on a Friday night he can only see 1 team a week (apart from Bray who won't have any players on the B team) unless Sligo or Longford are playing at home on the Saturday. Most of the players on the B international team will probably come from lower leagues in England with a few Eircom League players.

[tippex]

In fairness devo has missed a considerable number of Bray's games over the last few seasons (due to outside Interests) I'm not including his hip operation last term. However it will be interesting to see how this one develops.....

[KK77]

Yeah, hes not a scout - he's an advisor - in other words hes not officially recognised by FIFA so he operates as a so called "advisor" - its all the same to him at the end of the day - as long as he gets his cut he couldnt care less - I'll say it again - Devlin has his own agenda

100% Correct you took the words out of my mouth

[KK77]

In fairness devo has missed a considerable number of Bray's games over the last few seasons (due to outside Interests) I'm not including his hip operation last term. However it will be interesting to see how this one develops.....

Again someone who speaks the truth

[Schumi]

If he's managing Bray on a Friday night he can only see 1 team a week (apart from Bray who won't have any players on the B team) unless Sligo or Longford are playing at home on the Saturday.

In fairness, UCD are at home on Saturdays now so he'll be able to get in two games most weekends. Still don't think he's the right appointment though.

[Seagull]

In fairness devo has missed a considerable number of Bray's games over the last few seasons (due to outside Interests) I'm not including his hip operation last term. However it will be interesting to see how this one develops.....

If he's going to miss even more Bray games (what with watching Chelsea and now this) then he should resign rather than let McGuirk and Gormley fill in the gaps. We live in hope...

[Roo69]

Someone mentioned Bobby Robson for the post, Do they honestly think he would attend eL matches every week ? or even who the players and clubs are ? he would'nt have a clue......

And why no fuss about Bray's assistant manager, Tony McGuirk, when he manages the Irish U19 squad ? Half the moaners probably did'nt even know that....

On another note, what players if any will be included in the B Internationals from the eL ?

[tetsujin1979]

I reckon it's a good idea, it'll give some of the EL players a chance to stake their claim on the international stage (well, of sorts). As well as that it'll give the up and coming players a chance to become part of the setup without the pressure of a full international (either friendly or competitive). I can understand the disapproval of Devlin, I fully expect comments like "he'll be flogging them to the likes of S****horpe and Notts County while lining his own pockets" in the near future, but let's give him a chance at this job before condemning him. I think a comparison with the Scotland Future squad is apt, anyone have any stats on how many Future squad members are now full internationals? I'm pretty certain Maloney and Marshall both played for the Future squad at one point, have the likes of Kris Boyd also done the same?
What other countries besides Scotland regularly play B internationals. i.e. what's the standard of opposition we can expect?

[Roo69]

I reckon it's a good idea, it'll give some of the EL players a chance to stake their claim on the international stage (well, of sorts). As well as that it'll give the up and coming players a chance to become part of the setup without the pressure of a full international (either friendly or competitive). I can understand the disapproval of Devlin, I fully expect comments like "he'll be flogging them to the likes of S****horpe and Notts County while lining his own pockets" in the near future, but let's give him a chance at this job before condemning him. I think a comparison with the Scotland Future squad is apt, anyone have any stats on how many Future squad members are now full internationals? I'm pretty certain Maloney and Marshall both played for the Future squad at one point, have the likes of Kris Boyd also done the same?
What other countries besides Scotland regularly play B internationals. i.e. what's the standard of opposition we can expect?

best post on this all day ! fair play

[klein4]

I dont think it will be a problem for him not to be able to see every player play.I presume it will only be the top players in the league he will be looking at so the names will fairly stand out to anyone following the league anyway. I think he carries too much baggage to be given the job. but then most of the managers in the league would in some way or another. the idea of a b team seems to be more of a showcase for english scouts post Reading gettin doyle on the cheap than for the irish manager. maybe it was pushed for by the chairmen so they dont get stuffed on the transfer fee again.

[joema]

Someone mentioned Bobby Robson for the post, Do they honestly think he would attend eL matches every week ? or even who the players and clubs are ? he would'nt have a clue......

On another note, what players if any will be included in the B Internationals from the eL ?

Dont agree with idea of appointing Robson to el - afterall he knows the english league inside out so leave him to it over there. Also, he lives in England and has just had minor surgery so it would be better for him to stay over there.

Here is just some players who I think should be included from el in a B international team:

George O' Callaghan
Danny Murphy
Simon Webb
Aidan Price
Barry Murphy
Mick Devine
Joe Gamble
Owen Heary
Jason Byrne
Paul Keegan
JP Kelly - if not playing for u21s
Stephen Ward - if not playing for u21s
Stephen Grant - if not playing for u21s
Gary Dicker - if not playing for u21s
Darren Quigley - if not playing for u21s

[joema]

WHO WOULD YOU PICK GUYS?
SOME OF MINE WOULD BE
conner
heary mc shane coughlan
gamble tabb o flynn
trundle bryne crowe

I wouldnt bother with Coughlan - not with a view to playing for the full international team anyway - maybe to make up the numbers for the B team though

Id definitly have Weso, Richie Foran, Hunt and the likes in there aswell

[Bald Student]

He seemed particularly annoyed about it when last he spoke about it (the Great Soccer Debate in Portlaoise six weeks ago or so; there's a link to what was said in the eL General forum somewhere)

I remember at that Fintan made a comment about agents working for clubs which was clearly aimed at Pat Devlin and Delaney said he was unaware of anyone working in such a capacity but I anything was reported to him he'd act on it.