I’m unsure about mcdonnell but was nodding in agreement when he said that there is a chunk of oirish football fans who would rather to go to liberty hall to listen to podcasters talk about football rather than going to LOI games and he found them odd
3 Likes
oh look
i know him and he and johin “jonny” ward are passionate about the league and call out those so called football supporters very well and deserve praise for it
i just dont like this probing of mick and kenny about so called “issues” that exist between them - its not helping the bottom in any way- Tony O Doanghue ( ok a simplleton) and his sensationalising of Troy Parrot and asking mick daft questions after the bulgaria game about a 17 year old who to that point had never played a game of senior football… asking him will he contacf stephen kenny, it sad and immature ,
the boys are right on irish football fans - that we do know
2 Likes
The Irish soccer media are a weird type.
I agree that Kenny should be left continue to build the 21s without every flavour of the month being touted for instant senior hurlers inclusion. Dont really mind Connolly getting the call in this instances due to absentees but if all were fit and well he should be with the 21s. In fairness to big Mick he has been fairly consistent and has built continuity in his squad selections and as he only has a short window in charge he isn’t overly worried about the media/public opinion in calling up a heap of kids.
Who is taking over the under 21 gig when Kenny gets the senior job?
4 Likes
i dont know mick
it could be your pal Keith Andrews 
Assumed he would bring Andrews with him.
I think Kenny might be foolish to take the gig next summer. I think a second campaign with the 21s would serve him well with the relatively decent talent we have coming through. If we somehow scrape to the Euros then Kenny is going to be under pressure straight off the bat and a number of the current youngsters may not be quiet ready to step up. Purely from a Kenny perspective, he would be best served with us going out in flames in the rest of this campaign
If mcgoldrick isn’t fit then Connolly surely has to start.
Why has pico slipped through the net
1 Like
Tom Mohan will surely get it
Nice write up on Connolly included in this piece
n the training ground, Dunk has taken a senior role in nurturing the blossoming talents of Connolly, the Irish 19-year-old who on Saturday started his first Premier League game, scored his first Premier League goals and received his first full international call-up all within the space of eight exhilarating hours.
In Potter’s progressive system, pace across the forward line is essential and Connolly’s performance enlivened the team.
“He’s deserved the chance,” Dunk said. “Aaron has been outstanding since pre-season. He works his socks off in training. He’s a terrier to mark, non-stop running, nippy. He catches you by surprise with his pace. He’s difficult to play against. He has the shooting capabilities as well. I’m buzzing for the kid.”
Back home in Galway, Connolly’s rise has been predicted for some time, long before Brighton signed him in the summer of 2016.
Brighton’s recruitment process was aided by Hughton, who appealed to the family as a former Irish international. The Athletic understands that Connolly had previously been scouted and trialled by Manchester United.
For Brighton, he was named Player of the Year in Premier League 2 last season and when he scored a hat-trick against MK Dons in the EFL Trophy last November, 40 scouts from the Football League were in attendance, hoping to secure a loan move. He spent the second half of last season helping Luton win the League One title, but injury hampered the loan spell.
Ollie Neary, his former coach at Mervue United in Galway, says: “Aaron always had this tremendous work-rate, absolutely relentless in pursuit of defenders. He could be too hard on himself at times. He’d be gutted if he had not scored, even if his team had won 5-0. When the other boys were chatting in the dressing room, he’d be down in the gym, building up that frame.
“Every day he’d ask, ‘How can I get better?’ His finishing training was very repetitive. I’ve seen that bending finish (for his second against Tottenham) 200 times in Ireland. He reminds me of Norman Whiteside, how he would use the defender as a shield, coming in from the left side.
“Watch out for his Wayne Rooney finish, too, when he comes in from the left, uses the defender as the shield, disguises it and rasps it into the near corner. One touch inside and bang. He has a ferocious shot. The ball and the goalkeeper will end up in the back of the net. He’d score 40-60 goals every season for us as a younger teenager.
“We are so proud of him. We had a game this morning and I told the young lads, ‘Aaron was in the dressing room here three years ago. This is what you can become.’ He still comes here. He was home after the game last weekend. He flies in, spends the night, treats his friends.”
Martin Horgan, the secretary of Oranmore FC where Connolly began playing as a five-year-old, recalls his impact at the local secondary school.
“He could carry teams on his own,” he said. “My wife is a teacher at his school and they won two Irish school titles at under-15 and under-17. The year he left for Brighton they were knocked out in the first round without him! That shows his impact. We would always hear about scouts coming to watch him at tournaments. He is just an exceptional talent.”
The evidence was there on Saturday. Connolly performed the basics we demand from any starting debutant. He chomped at the heels of his opponents, he snacked on every loose ball. He was a blur of speed and sharpness. Already, supporters were turning to one another, nodding approvingly. Then came the quality. Brawn, brains and brilliance.
Connolly is a stocky, muscular teenager, not dissimilar in build to a young Rooney. On one occasion, his strength was such that Eric Dier could only plonk his opponent on the deck. Yet it was his intelligence and quality that raised his performance from that of a plucky youngster to the greatest day of his professional life.
For Brighton’s second goal, he devoured space between Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, pouncing in that corridor of uncertainty and a clever flick forced a save from Paulo Gazzaniga. No bother, Connolly was sharpest to poach the rebound.
That movement continued to bedevil Tottenham’s backline. He should have made it 3-0 in the first half, skewing a presentable chance wide after a flowing move but his two darts — first inside right-back Moussa Sissoko and then checking to the edge of the box — underlined a speed of thought that distinguishes the best players. Again and again, he troubled Spurs.
As the visitors reverted to a back three, he pulled more to the left, sensing a past-his-prime, leggy Alderweireld did not want to be dragged into foot-races in the channels. He can go both ways, first hitting the byline and then checking inside, in that way Thierry Henry used to do, as Connolly did before bending a stunning finish into the far corner.
With two goals and his side 3-0 up, Connolly refused to slow down. As Tottenham passed it across the back, first he pressed Dier, then he scuttled at pace to leave one on Alderweireld. Then, his number was up and he trudged off the field.
On Saturday night, he returned home to the apartment he rents with a couple of his fellow Brighton youngsters. Last season, he shared with Ben White, the defender who is now excelling on loan at Leeds United in the Championship. White was the resident chef — cooking is not Connolly’s forte — and the forward only started driving a car over the past year.
“He has not shelled out on things or splashed out,” said one source. “Brighton are excellent in looking after young talent, too. The young players know not to say they are footballers if they go on nights out. He has a swagger, confidence without arrogance. But it is only because he is good.”
Don’t Tottenham know it.
4 Likes
What result are we looking for in the Denmark Switzerland match?
Denmark have three games left and are on 9 points from 5 games- Swiss at home, Gilbrater and ourselves in the Aviva.
Swiss are on 8 points from 4 games - with Denmark away, Ireland at home, Georgia at home and Gibralter away.
If we were to draw our three remaining games that would leave us on 14 points from 8 games. Switzterland will have 15 from 7 games with a draw against us and wins over Georgia and Gibraltar. Denmark would have 13 from 7 with a draw against us and win over Gibraltar.
A win for Denamrk at the weekend would see them with 15 points and the Swiss and ourselves with 14 potentially. A win for the Swiss would give them 18 points and the Danes would need to beat us in the Aviva in the last round to get second.
Would be a huge result if we were to beat Georgia at the weekend and if there is a winner in the other game. Would potentially mean that a draw in either of our last two would get us top two. 15 points seems the magic number for us regardless of what happens in the other games.
1 Like
We need the Swiss to win. Unless we plan on topping the group which is slightly optimistic I fear and also completely unnecessary in that both go through.
Swiss beat the Danes they’ll be happy with a draw against us you’d imagine, I’m sure they’ll try to win but not with the same ferocity as if they lose or draw.
Whatever happens it’ll be in our hands once we beat Georgia.
If we get three points in Georgia we can probably afford to lose one of the games to Switzerland or Denmark if they draw against each other or if we lose the game to the side that wins this weekends game.
Any word of Shane Duffy ?
Big Mick is hopeful… Didsy is struggling as well
I think two group draws are nailed on this weekend unfortunately, a loss away to the Swiss will set up a winner takes all showdown in the Aviva against the Danes, Deja vu anyone?
After the Denmark-Georgia result, we want Denmark to get as little as possible. Swiss to win ideally.
I think the Danes will end up coming to Dublin needing a win while a draw should do us.
It’ll be on a knife-edge in November.
4 Likes
Great stuff. Badly needed
1 Like
His warrior spirit will be much needed in Tiblisi.