Ogbene seems an odd selection. Havenât heard much buzz around him at Rotherham.
is the defender Pat Mcclean from Glentoran?? brother of James btw
Are we a GGA club side in Mayo?
He does himself no favours with this crap.
Hassenhuttel (sp) thinks Obafemi is a waste of space i think as well
Donât understand how a washed up Shane Long is prefered to Obafemi. Makes no sense.
Mipo is going to fuck us for Nigeria or England, he is going to be a decent player too, disaster.
He will have the Irish bottom feeding journalists out defending him anyway.
Uncertainty over Mipo Odubekoâs long-term commitment to Ireland is a worry for the FAI
The FAI are fearful that the highly rated Mipo Odubeko, who featured twice for West Ham this season, could turn his back on the Republic of Ireland
May 26 2021 08:00 AM
The FAI have admitted their fears over the long-term commitment of West Ham prospect Mipo Odubeko after he turned down an offer to hook up with the Irish U-21 squad this week, with Stephen Kenny involved in talks to keep the Dublin-born striker on board.
But U-21 team boss Jim Crawford says the door remains open for Manchester Cityâs teenage striker Liam Delap â son of former international Rory â to join up with the Republic, even though he has been involved with the England youth set-up.
Odubeko (18) made the breakthrough at West Ham this season with two appearances, in the FA Cup, for David Moyesâ side. The Tallaght lad, who was previously with St Josephâs Boys, had been involved with the Irish set-up since 2016, when he was capped at U-16 level. Initially at Manchester Unitedâs academy, he joined West Ham in 2019.
He was named by Crawford in the Irish squad for an U-21 friendly in Wales in March but withdrew, and now he has made himself unavailable for duty for a training camp and a three-game friendly tournament in Spain, starting this week.
That has raised fears that Nigeria and England are both trying to convince the teenager to declare for them. It is a concern for Crawford, especially as the playerâs agent is now involved in talks. Senior boss Kenny is also included in discussions as Crawford predicts that, with Odubekoâs talent, he would not spend long in the Irish U-21s before promotion to the senior squad.
âI got a text off him at the last camp, that he was honoured to be selected for the camp against Wales, so thereâs certainly something there, that he wants to play for Ireland. But, at the minute, heâs a young boy and, obviously, might need time to make his decision,â Crawford said.
âSome players like Ryan Johansson jump all over it and go, âYeah, I canât waitâ. Others need time. He is a player whoâs got unbelievable pace, can score goals and would be an asset to any squad, so weâll just see what happens in the near future.
âItâs a little bit stale at the minute. Stephen (Kenny) has been in touch with the agent, Iâve been in touch with the agent, and they will be sitting around the table today (Tuesday) discussing whatâs the next steps for Mipo. Whatever decision is made, I just hope itâs the right decision for Mipo, because heâs a good fella.
âSometimes an agent does make great decisions for players. I just hope that, whatever decision is made, itâs the right decision for Mipo. He is a talent, heâs played and scored goals with West Hamâs 23s and the 18s. Heâs been on the bench with the first team for quite a number of games, but I think if he comes with the (Ireland) 21s and scores goals, I wouldnât say heâd be here that long, because everybody knows that a goalscorer will certainly jump into the senior team (quicker) than anybody else.â
Pleased to have finally named Spanish-based recruits Ryan Johansson (Sevilla) and 17-year-old prospect John Joe Patrick Finn (Getafe) in an U-21 squad for the first time, Crawford is also still keen on recruiting City forward Delap, who is expected to get more first-team football under Pep Guardiola next term.
âI did have a discussion with him about it, and it was something that he considered, but England jumped in and he made that decision. I texted him all the best. From me, if thereâs an opportunity to get someone with high potential on board, why not? Iâd be on the front foot with getting people on board,â added Crawford.
âI certainly wouldnât be closing the door on it. Itâs something that myself, the staff, Stephen and his staff, have to sit around a table and say, âOK, what are we going to do about this situation?â Heâs another player that would add value to the playersâ pool, and thatâs what we need, a competitive player pool to push competition and competitiveness among ourselves, to get the best out of everybody.â
Crawford, who confirmed that Bohemiansâ pair Dawson Devoy and Andy Lyons would be free to play for their club on Saturday before heading to Spain to join the squad, is also keen to see a fresh start at Celtic next season for Luca Connell after âtwo years wastedâ since he was in the senior Irish squad under Mick McCarthy. âHe knows he needs to be playing, and itâs that two seasons of going off the radar which gave him time to reflect and say, âNo, this is not what I am aboutâ,â Crawford said.
Irelandâs U-21s play Switzerland, Australia and Denmark in Marbella.
Thatâs that so. He is gone
4 Likes
Noel King is doing Trojan work as player identification officer only for Spock to turn off players of dual nationality with his extreme nationalism.
1 Like
whats this nonsense about yer man Luca Connell?
He was playing in the 4th yes fourth tier of Scottish football this year at an amateur club Queens Park- thatâs the equivilant of AUL1A down in cork or the NEFL up here- this is classic Noel King - Rhys Grego Cox stuff- English born player sliding down to the lower echelons of football as he fails at every level⌠SIGN HIM UP
lets bring back Harry fucking Charlsely shur
Heâd have been more worthy of a run for Celtic this year than Ryan Christir tbf
Celtic have been disastrous for Irish football recently.
Duffy, Connell, Lee OâConnor, Barry Coffey all floundering.
1 Like
Afolabi as well
2 Likes
None of them good enough to make the step up at a big club.
Even an EPL stalwart like Duffy was unable to cope with the demands of facing McJockstrap week in week out.
1 Like
Willo Flood too.
1 Like
Paddy McCourt
1 Like
Could you call a man thatâs played less than 100 games a stalwart?