I've never seen him play, but Ipswich have just been rejected after making a 7 figure bid for him:Originally Posted by Irish_Praha
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,195...020069,00.html
Think he will move down south myself. I think he has seen the way former players at the club are getting on in the Old Firm clubs from joining from the likes of Hibs. Think someone like Boro, Fulham or even Sunderland will go for him and be better choice.
I've never seen him play, but Ipswich have just been rejected after making a 7 figure bid for him:
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,195...020069,00.html
He played on the left against Coventry recently. Probably Ipswich's most effective player. Garvan could hardly find a teammate with a pass and tried too many long balls. They're a different team at home.
About Liam Lawrence - 8 goals and 12 assists this season.
A lot of people don't read the sticky so I'm repeating myself but McShane has been in very good form recently. I must be the only person in the country that still thinks he'll be a class act.Dunne-McShane still definitely our best partnership imo.
Last edited by eirebhoy; 03/01/2008 at 10:59 PM.
Martin Rowlands should get a shot, Morrison should definitely get a recall (unless he just stops scoring...which is possible considering he is very streaky). I don't think Long deserves a spot either
Last edited by theworm2345; 03/01/2008 at 11:13 PM.
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He was out of the Charlton side for almost 3 months, and only got back in bacause of injury and suspension. But he took his chance and has kept his place ever since. Good article about him here on Charlton's website: http://www.cafc.co.uk/newsview.ink?nid=31749&newstype=p Didn't know about the charity donation every time he scores, Dean Kiely does something similar when he keeps a clean sheet AFAIR
So far this season, he has 9 starts, and 2 substitutes appearances, with 2 goals and only 2 bookings. By the same time last season, he had 19 starts, and 2 substitutes appearance, 2 goals, 6 bookings and a sending off.
Probably says a lot about how the manager rates him that he signed McCarthy, despite being out injured for most of the second half of last season.
Here's a comparison of the season to date for the central defenders in the Championship: http://tetsujin1979.googlepages.com/...omparison.html
He's only missed one game for Plymouth this season, that was their League Cup game at home to Wycombe at the start of the season, and started every other game. Plymouth haven't lost a game where he scored, and only drawn one. He has four bookings this season, 2 of those in his last 2 games. Having said that, I don't see him getting into the starting XI, but he could be a squad player.
I still have faith, he faded a little as the qualifiers went on, but I still think he could go on to be a top player for club and country. Still have him as a sub in my fantasy football too!A lot of people don't read the sticky so I'm repeating myself but McShane has been in very good form recently. I must be the only person in the country that still thinks he'll be a class act.
Who would Rowlands get in ahead of in the squad? Right now I think the widemen in the squad are going to be Duff, McGeady, Hunt and one from Hoolahan or Yeates. Rowlands is probably 6th (at best) behind those players, and Kilbane
Agreed, on both counts. Clinton's one goal away from equalling his tally from last season. He's on a fantastic streak at the moment - 9 goals in 11 games - but before that he hadn't scored since August. Last season was similar, he scored 6 goals in his last 12 games, but before that he hadn't scored since December, where he hit 4 goals in 7 games.Probably not until his scoring record improves. Could still a job for the U-21s as well. He's only started 4 games all season, and one of those was in the Carling Cup, which Copell is on record as not caring about. If I was picking the squad tomorrow, the strikers would be Keane, Doyle, Morrison, and one from Lee, Walters and Hunt.
Rowlands is at his best, in my opinion, in the middle. I forgot about Yeates and Hoolahan who also deserve a sport but I think Rowlands deserves it as much as them because he has been consistent throughout this and last season. I think the Brazil game would be a good test for all 3 of them (and I'm still hoping to see Glenn Whelan eventually as well) to see if they could do the job in the qualifiers. Perhaps JJ O'Toole if he starts starting again
I've also argued for Lee for a long time but no one here seems to agree. Walters seems to be very streaky as well and is not first choice (with Lee and Counago doing well together). I assume that is Noel Hunt you are talking about and I admittedly don't know enough about him (or Scottish football in general) to really make a judgement (besides that Anthony Stokes dominated up there and hasn't really dont much at all, even when, albeit too rarely, he is played at striker, in the CCC or EPL).
Last edited by theworm2345; 04/01/2008 at 3:19 AM.
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Am looking for old Irish matches on VHS, PM me if you have some and I'll upload them here
Worm, I've argued for Alan Lee in recent times....can't say I agree with Connolly though
Even I can't argue for him right now--though I can't really say its his fault he hasn't been scoring--he can't get a game for the team he got promoted (certainly it was as much him as it was Keane, but thats another discussion for another time)Worm, I've argued for Alan Lee in recent times....can't say I agree with Connolly though
My Guarantee
Am looking for old Irish matches on VHS, PM me if you have some and I'll upload them here
Ipswich are rumoured to be interested in Connolly.
Rowlands could be an interesting option in a 4-2-3-1 alongside Carsley. He's the right type of player and he's on good form at the moment but it says it all if our best central midfield options are at mid/low Championship clubs.
Agree about Long. Long, Keogh and Stokes should be in the U21s. Rather than demoralising defeats at this level we should be playing our best U21 team and actually building that way. Of the underage players only McGeady and Joey O'Brien should be in the senior team or thereabouts on merit, maybe also Garvan. If a kid has nothing to offer the senior squad that an older player can't do then leave him to enhance the U21s.
Player for player we've probably our strongest squad of players in over a decade. I say player for player because of Roy Keane's influence.
I'd probably go for Lee out of the three I listed above (Hunt/Lee/Walters), we've not had a genuine target man in the team since Niall Quinn retired - the Doc does not count - and he would offer something different to Keane and Doyle. I've had my doubts about Hunt in the past, but he's scoring regularly and deserves a chance, if he had the same scoring record in the Championship, people would be calling for him to be given a squad place.
Wasn't Yeates compared to Paul Gascgoine when he was at Spurs??
Jol definitely rated him, even though he was constantly sending him out on loan to get experience. He did say he had the same sort of tricks as Gazza in this article: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/...tes/article.do
I think the regular football at Colchester, as opposed to 2-3 months at various clubs, is having a positive effect on him. He's their joint top scorer, along with striker Kevin Lisbie, which is no mean feat for a midfielder playing in a struggling team. They're 2 points from safety, but it's very tight at the bottom of the Championship - 6 points separate 7 teams - if Colchester did go down you would hope his form this season would get him a move to a better Championship side, or even one of the promoted teams.
When you look at the young players we have coming through and playing regular 1st team footaball at Championship level and above, coupled with the regular national team players who are playing at Premiership level.
Then you have to say that it is looking good for the future of the national team, providing we can get the right manager in to take them forward of course.
We definitely need a big target man in the squad, if only to change things around from time to time. How many times last year did we see long balls going forward and no one big enough to win it.
In the Cyprus game Given was reduced to kicking towards Kilbane on the left. It became predictable. From what I've seen of Lee (admittedly not a lot), he looks reasonably mobile as well.
"Look at them. They're all out of step except my son Johnny"
Mrs. Delaney
Rory Delap is tall, athletic, playing well in an in-form team and a central midfielder. Woefully under-considered in the past and frequently played out of position.
In the old soccercentral.ie days, just after WC02, Delap was my shoe-in CM option. Funny thing is, we haven't come up with anyone really better since. Have we been wasting our time with the likes of Douglas, Miller, Gibson etc. when there's a cpmpetent option right under our noses all along? Maybe we were too proud, i.e., unlike Northern Ireland we wanted a "name" in kudfield or failing that, a potential "name"?
Why not try Delap to fill the gap until the younger tyros are properly ready?
I like Lee a lot but he's in the Championship because he lacks mobility & athleticism. Very game player and a handful for defenders - certainly at 3rd & 4th seed international level - but mobile, alas not
I remember Giles suggested that we play him upfront
In Trap we trust
Yep, well remembered.
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