QuoteA loud rumour was 'Hendrick to Norwich'. Coincidentally or not, while Lambert was managing the Canaries.Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
Kinda looks like Niall.
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
A loud rumour was 'Hendrick to Norwich'. Coincidentally or not, while Lambert was managing the Canaries.
This thread deserves a bump, Hendricks part in the goal was as crucial as Wes's they seem to play well together
no surprise he was rumoured to be wanted at Norwich?
Superb ball and impressive little cameo. That little bit of imagination that has been missing from Irish teams for a number of years. While the journos continue their crusade over Hoolahan, a large part of that goal is down to the superb pass from Hendrick.
Found this on the Derby forum, seems he has come though a difficult spell and is now playing well.
GIOVANNI Trapattoni has generally left the second tier of the English club scene untroubled in his four years in charge of the Ireland team, so his presence at last weekend's Championship meeting of Brighton and Derby County could prove to be significant -- especially if your name is Jeff Hendrick.
The 20-year-old midfielder is in a rich vein of form with Derby, and a run of three goals in three games for Nigel Clough's side is the sort of goal-scoring return that midfielders can only dream of.
Hendrick is generally regarded as one of Ireland's finest young midfield prospects and only this week Kevin Kilbane was talking up the Coolock lad as a player who could even get a move to the Premier League.
Kilbane saw Hendrick first hand from his own spell on loan to Derby last season.
With so few Irishmen playing in midfield in the top flight -- only Glenn Whelan, Darron Gibson, Wes Hoolahan and James McCarthy can be considered as Premier League regulars in central midfield -- Trap will eventually be forced to turn the page and look to the Championship to bulk up the international squad, and that could lead to uncapped players like Hendrick getting the nod.
"I didn't know that Trapattoni was at our game last week, it's hard to pick one face out of a crowd of 25,000 and I only knew about it when someone told me a couple of days later," Hendrick told the Evening Herald, having scored in a 2-1 defeat for his side as Trapattoni watched last weekend as compatriots Richard Keogh, Mark O'Brien, Conor Sammon and Gary Dicker were also on view for the Irish boss.
"Even if I had known in advance that he was coming to see Derby it wouldn't have made me change my game, you can't let things like that get to you. It's not a big deal for me at the moment, I still have two years left at under-21 level and that's my focus now. But it's nice to be scoring goals and know that the Ireland manager is at least having a look.
"I got a text the other day about the squad for the under-21 game against Holland in Tallaght next month so I'm not counting on getting a place in the senior squad for the moment.
"I've enjoyed playing for the under-21s. We have a good squad and a good manager there and maybe we can push on and try to qualify for the Euros in the next campaign.
"I think for me to get into the seniors I'll need to do well with the under-21s and do well for Derby but if both of those things can happen then maybe it could come around for me, once I get some more experience."
A few years ago, Hendrick and Robbie Brady were team-mates with the St Kevin's Boys back home in Dublin and the dream was to make it at the top level in England and also play for Ireland.
Together
Brady has reached one of those targets and is expected to win his fifth senior cap against Poland next month.
"Myself and Robbie grew up playing together, since we were eight," says Hendrick.
"Robbie is flying at the moment with the move to Hull and his run in the Irish team. Hull are doing really well in the Championship and they have a great chance of getting into the Premier League for next year.
"I'm still good mates with Robbie, we meet up a fair bit with the Irish teams and I saw him when we played Hull a while back.
"We had a good team at Kevin's. You still have myself, Robbie Brady, Cian Bolger and Eoin Wearen over in England, the rest are back in Ireland now," says Hendrick.
The midfielder had a number of offers on the table when he was leaving Ireland at the age of 16 but opted for Derby, feeling that that the Championship club offered a more reliable path to success.
"I just liked the feel of the place from the first time I came," he says.
"When you went to other clubs sometimes you were made to feel like an outsider but at Derby they made a real effort to make you feel welcome and fit in.
"I knew that if I worked hard and did well I'd get a chance to play for the first team. At somewhere like Derby if you're good enough you will get a chance," added Hendrick, who made his debut for the Rams in April 2011 and has since made 74 appearances.
He seemed to struggle for goals but he's found a scoring touch in recent weeks, with four goals in the last seven games.
"My own form is pretty good. At the start of the season I struggled with my form a bit, but the last two months have been really good for me and I just want to get stronger and better," he admits.
"I have no idea why the season started badly for me but my confidence was just really low, and now I have my confidence back and a spring in my step, my game has improved and I'm trying things again.
Target
"I just had to dig deep, keep working hard in training until things turned for me and thankfully the season turned for me.
"It's nice to get on the scoresheet and hopefully I can keep that going.
"My target for the season was to hit double figures and I'm halfway there now, so if I can kick on in the second half of the season I might get there.
"This was a big season for me. I'm not a kid of 18 any more, I'm nearly 21 so I need to be moving on with my career, going further.
"Our aim for the season has to be to push into the playoffs and try to get Derby back into the Premier League, that's where a club of this size needs to be."
Reckon this lad is going places. Sublime piece of skill to set up Wes for the goal last night. Norwich would be a good move for him, as Chris Haughton is very interested.
Always look on the bright side of life
Would it be mischievous of me to say that, in his 20-minute cameo, Hendrick showed more in a green shirt than McCarthy ever has?
Mischievously accurate.
His biggest issue in establishing himself in an Irish team is the fact he is a creative midfielder. If he turned up in wellies and could drive a tractor he would be fine, such is Trap's love of agricultural type midfielders.
Would love to see him do well... Just trying to keep my hopes grounded.
Who was the last Championship bred Midfielder to really make an impression on the Premiership after a move up? Tim Cahill?
Did you not see the match against the Faroe Islands then? Do you remember who was Man of the Match?
Ha!!I see your point but the same could've been said for Charlie Adam and David Vaughan with Blackpool a couple of seasons ago.
I meant the centre mid equivelant of a Jolean Lescott for example, or Phil Jagielka. Not even necessarily Champoins League material. Just someone to step up and more than hold their own.
As an aside, re Hoolahan. I like what i see, but it's the kind of run of form we've seen in the past by Andy Reid (in seperate periods at Charlton and Sunderland) and Stephen Ireland. I've been erring on the side of the cynic in recent times when it comes to our players.
Yeah, Hendrick was better.
It would be mischievous and quite inaccurate. McCarthy has done well for us. He's now the platform to hold the ball up in midfield which we were missing since Roy Keane, albeit with James having mere paupers beside him in Whelan and Green, and I know I'll catch flak for this, but Andrews as well (Keith gives great effort but has very little technical ability).
Really like this lad Hendrick. I actually thought it was McCarthy who played the pass to Hoolahan, so I guess that's a great compliment to him. Looking forward to seeing much more of him.
I won't dispute that McCarthy has tremendous ability and potential, but to say he's the platform for holding the ball up in midfield is just not accurate. McCarthy or no McCarthy, we simply haven't done that for years, probably since the other McCarthy was in charge. I am a huge admirer of McCarthy but to even menton him in the same breath as Roy Keane is just laughable. Keane would dominate midfield with a broken leg; McCarthy isn't even mature enough as a player to dominate against Kazakhstan.
Would agree with you Charlie about McCarthy, but a future midfield of McCarthy and Hendrick would be very interesting indeed.
He's a 'big lad' who lobbed a good ball across the box in the general direction of one of 2 green shirts who were running (untracked) into an acre of free space.
Not unlike Finnan's lob in the general direction of Duff/McAteer.
Finnan was a good player, you make it soud easy but how many of our other players would have done it.
I thought he did well to chest the ball into space and spot the run and make a pin point pass which Wes could take in
his stride. It was like watching Inesta and Messi combining
As you say he is also a bit lad, 6'1 I believe which has got to come in useful.
McCarthy's rising effort at the start of the second half set the tempo after the break. Hendrick did well, but outside of that assist, he was no more impressive than Green was on Wednesday.
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