Republic of Ireland Team 2023/24 [old thread]

Ah its very harsh to put any real judgment on what someone does in a few minutes here and there off the bench in a dysfunctional Ireland team. Without having seen much of him in Italy, I'd leave him as a '?' for now. But he's played 1600+ Serie A minutes this season… the mere fact he's even actively playing in a top league means he's not to be sniffed at given our talent pool though.

Looking at the lad who's taken his spot at Udinese, seems he's much more of a regular orthodox fullback, whereas obviously Ebosele is more of a true wingback, bordering on winger. Makes sense for a new manager to shore things up and err on the side of caution in his selections.

Posts like this are absolutely ridiculous. He’s a professional footballer, playing in Serie A, a top 5 league. Putting him in the top 1% of all defenders in the world.

But someone who probably has 3 caps for the Dog and Duck says he can’t defend, when he quite literally plays professionally as a defender. Do you think clubs throw darts at TransferMrkt printouts to decide who they sign??

Hands up that's a fair enough critique of my post. It was a bit of a throwaway remark.

I still don't think he is going to be the answer at RB or RWB for Ireland long term but would be delighted to be proven wrong

Do you think Matt Doherty is a good defender?

Thats a bit of a bizarre OTT rebuttal.

No he’s absolutely terrible. What would Bohs(fair enough) Wolves, Spurs, Atletico and multiple Ireland managers know about football.

He’s been signed and played as a defender for all of the above. Like Festy he’s in the top 1% of defenders in the world. He’s played 35 times this season for a premier league team that could easily finish in the top 10. He must be truly awful at defending………

travers starts again. Can he get 3 clean sheets in a row!

I'd argue he should stay where he is (unless moving for a big wage increase), as whatever they're doing at Blackburn has turned him into a better player than he has been previously, and he's unlikely to find the same setup to bring out the best in him if he moves.

That said, I don't expect him to hit numbers like this again next season even if he stays.

Both him and Blackburn will be hoping he moves this summer. Szmodics turns 29 at the beginning of next season so his last chance to get a big contract and Blackburn are fucked financially.

Delighted to see Birmingham get relegated after they sacked Eustace, who had them fifth in the table for Wayne Rooney.

Alan Browne still hasn't signed a contract and some fans saying he's fallen out with the manager and will leave the club this summer after being there 10 years.

Millwall manager was asked about the absence of a couple of players (Obafemi being one):

Harris said: “All I’m going to say is I’m building a culture and an environment at the football club. The standards are set by Neil Harris and Millwall Football Club. These are standards that I expect players to adhere to. Players will only be involved at my football club, when I’m in charge, if they hit those standards. It’s all about culture and environment.”

“Michael has done brilliantly for us on loan and we’re really thankful for his efforts. He didn’t feature for us off the bench the other day he wasn’t going to feature today. I’d rather play our own players who have trained impeccably.

“And secondly, with Kevin, it’s a disciplinary matter about culture and standards. There’s no bigger problem moving forward. Kevin is a huge part of our football club moving forward. But it wasn’t right to involve him today so I went with the group that I did.”

On Obafemi, Harris added: “Michael was based around discipline but also around that we weren’t not going to look to sign him in the transfer window, so no need to include him.”

Believe Mark Hughes and Kenny were the only managers that probably didn't comment on his work/dedication. Hughes got the sack not long after Obafemi's debut and think Obafemi got injured a few games after his debut.

Sounds like Connolly could be leaving Hull too. Feel sorry for the lad as things were going good for him until Angus Gunn absolutely creamed him resulting in a bad concussion and shoulder injury. Since then struggled for minutes and fitness. Hull fans seem a bit upset that he might be leaving.

I doubt we'll hear anything until after the Euros (and/or when Georgia get knocked out after the first round).

Good point actually

The feeling amongst my Scottish friends is that Clarke is done. Barring a phenomenal tournament, I think he’ll go after the Euros. And I think they’ll go out at the group stages again.

Edit: depending on the next few weeks Celtic could be interested in Moyes too.

Bit of both.

That issue has already been decided and Rodgers will be Celtic manager next season.

It’s nice to think about the likes of Rodgers or Moyes or others.

But does anyone think the FAI has the competency to 1) approach these type of people, and 2) actually convince them and get a deal over the line ?

Rogers is on £3 million a year at Celtic or around 5 times as much as we're paying. Laughable to even suggest him.

Moyes was getting £5 million from West Ham. He has done a good job there and will be seen as a steady pair of hands by any mid-table/relegation threatened EPL outfit. Another one not even close to being in our universe.