Who else in the Desmond league around that time would have been good?
Played beside some class players that hardly got a sniff of going cross channel. There’s a few lads around the city too who had chances of making it at premier league clubs but the “townie” broke out in them. One lad in particular was over at arsenal when he was 15, probably the most natural finisher I’ve seen, but he came home cause his girlfriend was pregnant (15)
Finnegan from abbeyfeale was brilliant for that Kennedy cup team. Pretty much all that team are either playing hurling or football for Limerick now.
Never heard of him.
I’m not sure where he went I think he was a good bit in side the Kerry border. Forde broke his leg just before the Kennedy cup and then moved to kingdom boys where he was a sub and then got picked up by wolves.
1 Like
Abbeyfeale had a couple of really good players, I didn’t know their names, Broadford had a fella who was class too- midfielder who used to run us ragged.
The likes of Tony Quaid, Danny Neville & Barry O’Connell were all within a year or two of Forde too. Danny Neville used to score a serious amount of goals.
I’m sure there’s a couple I’m forgetting too.
1 Like
Daragh traecy, Kevin Meade and Brendan mc were all very good from st KIerans. Brian griffin from ballybrown was decent too.
1 Like
He will sell a few shirts for them
Cross channel?
Kilimer
2 Likes
It was always very difficult for players to make it in the UK and I played with and against a somewhat golden generation of players in the Waterford league (John O’ Shea, Stephen & Noel Hunt, Daryl Murphy) so there was always the chance that someone could make it but nowadays it must be nigh on impossible to compete with all the money floating around. That’s why it’s imperative that we invest in and develop our own leagues
5 Likes
With 8 former League of Ireland players in the Ireland squad, including 5 starters for the Italian game; it shows it can be a good breeding ground.
And the best players are capable of doing well over in England too, maybe not always at the highest level but it took a good while for Hoolahan to work his way up but he always had the talent.
The likes of McClean and Coleman in particular show that it is possible to adapt pretty quickly.
Chris Forrester has shone for Peterborough and is now their captain, Rory Gaffney scored a decent amount of goals and got promoted with Bristol Rovers, Eoin Doyle got a few moves and is now doing well in the Championship, Richie Towell will get his chance with Brighton I’d say. Obviously it’s not all good- Hoban ended up getting released by Oxford, both Seanie Maguire & Gearoid Morrissey ended up coming home after a year or two. But they’re all fairly young.
3 Likes
I’ll be attending far more league of Ireland games from now on and might even make a couple of away trips.
1 Like
Cup semi-final away to Derry in Buncrana, should be a cracker.
Get to see John O’Flynn, who is currently averaging a goal every 47 mins (in the league).
he was a great striker on that cork team that had George o Callaghan a few more decent operators in it.
Stephen Ireland is the best i ever saw, played with my brother up until u-15 with Springfield
John o Flynn who was also unreal and had 2 great seasons at exeter was class also but Ireland was unatural at u-14 15,
i think ill never see that talent again live in front of me, i would have been 18 at the time and watching him beat 8 or 9 fellas in a dribble was some going
he made it
his father was a brilliant footballer also, hit hard times tho
I saw Stephen Ireland play a couple of times at that age, he was indeed an amazing talent. Of the Cobh players from my generation Kenny O’Rourke was the standout but there was a goalkeeper called O’Hanlon who could well have been one of the best I’ve seen, mad as a bag of hammers though.
Best I played with or against were Roy O’Brien who signed for arsenal but never made it, same with Anthony Connolly, a pure finisher, would always find a way to score and as strong as a bull despite being quite short.
Pep Guardiola has strengthened his Manchester City squad with the signing of Nolito.
Copy that
yeah Kenny O Rourke went to Rovers in the mid 90’s
he used to show up the odd time and go in full forward when the Junior A football championship was on at home
Is the keeper you are thinking about Willie O Hanlon with at 'tache?
He played most of his career with Wanderers up until id say the mid 90’s when they were flying in the Intermediate cup every year, his son also Willie would be 30 now was a class player and i think is playing with Shamrock Rovers in Perth.
I dont know the latter 2 names there in your mail
I’m a bit older than you then. I know of the younger Willie O’Hanlon, good player alright. The goalkeeper was Pat O’Hanlon, he never shut up talking but he had everything you’d want in a goalkeeper, he disappeared, never played LOI.
The two lads I mentioned earlier were to illustrate my point I suppose, they were so good that you would have assumed they would be in the Arsenal first team by the time they were 20, instead they pretty much disappeared.
Cobh is a good soccer town, Colman’s park was always a highlight, for a long time it was the best surface in Cork by a distance.
1 Like
Crystal Palce set to sign Andros Townsend for £3 million with Dwight Gayle going the other way.