Staying put can work out for the best
Credit:
It has been a great few weeks for the Irish senior international team. They have enjoyed some
wonderful results over Macedonia and Italy, not to mention winning the Carling Nations cup. I can feel the old sparkle already being brought back to people’s eyes when they talk
about the Irish team now. It’s great and I am just as excited as everybody else. How great would it be
to qualify for a major tournament again? I don’t want to go too far off topic but I can’t help but think
that there’s so much negativity in the Irish economy with talk of Irish debt dominating newspapers
daily that such an Irish sporting achievement could bring so much positivity back into people’s lives
and possibly the economy could also see a positive turn.
From a League of Ireland perspective, it is fantastic to see so many ex-LoI lads in the Irish squads these days that have played and performed so well here before getting their chance across the water; Seamus Coleman, Shane Long, Kevin Doyle, Noel Hunt, David Forde, Keith Fahy and Stephen Ward to name a few. It gives so much hope to young lads here that still have aspirations to play for the senior team.
Seeing that should give every young lad that is playing here in the LOI so much hope and belief that if you perform well for your club here on a consistent basis you will get your chance to not only head across the water but also represent your national team.
It also gives even younger lads that are playing schoolboy level a second option. Heading away at such a young age can be daunting and some are just not ready to make such a massive move. However, now there is a second option whereby they can stay here, play for their local LOI team until they are more comfortable and ready to make a move away.
Whilst the last couple of weeks have been successful for the senior team, the biggest Irish international success in my eyes have been the U’19’s qualifying for the European Championships due to be held between the 20th July and 1st August in Romania. Paul Doolin and his young squad have been given a testing group which will see them face hosts Romania, unbeaten qualifiers Greece and the Czech Republic.
I wrote an article last year praising Paul Doolin as a football coach and someone who is a born winner. His results speak for themselves and as a football man I have complete respect for him and I think he deserves a special mention and congratulations in getting the U’19’s through to a major tournament.
Again, from a LoI perspective, there was one member of the U’19 Republic of Ireland team that still plays here in Ireland. Conor Murphy of Bray Wanderers has been in flying form this year and carried such form into the U’19 team, where he not only starred and but also scored against Italy in their final group game which secured their qualification into the prestigious tournament in July. He is a prime example of a young player who is performing so well here in the league and will reap the rewards at both club and international level if he continues to do so well. Congratulations and all the best in the tournament Conor! It was revealed earlier this week that Damian Richardson will be the manager of the Airtricity League select team that will play in the Dublin Super Cup against Celtic and Man City at the Aviva Stadium. Damian is a very respected and successful manager and no doubt he will have whatever team he picks ready come the 30th and 31st July. It will be great for a team representing the league here get a chance to pit themselves against some of the best players in the world.
I am also delighted to read that he is preparing to have pre-camp training sessions with the squad. I think that will give the players a great opportunity to get to know each other better on the pitch and also give the manager a better idea of what he is working with team wise. What a tournament that will be and I am sure every player (myself included!!) will be trying his best to impress Damian in this weekend’s games in the hope of getting picked for the squad. That alone should make this weekend’s games all the more exciting!
From a League of Ireland perspective, it is fantastic to see so many ex-LoI lads in the Irish squads these days that have played and performed so well here before getting their chance across the water; Seamus Coleman, Shane Long, Kevin Doyle, Noel Hunt, David Forde, Keith Fahy and Stephen Ward to name a few. It gives so much hope to young lads here that still have aspirations to play for the senior team.
Seeing that should give every young lad that is playing here in the LOI so much hope and belief that if you perform well for your club here on a consistent basis you will get your chance to not only head across the water but also represent your national team.
It also gives even younger lads that are playing schoolboy level a second option. Heading away at such a young age can be daunting and some are just not ready to make such a massive move. However, now there is a second option whereby they can stay here, play for their local LOI team until they are more comfortable and ready to make a move away.
Whilst the last couple of weeks have been successful for the senior team, the biggest Irish international success in my eyes have been the U’19’s qualifying for the European Championships due to be held between the 20th July and 1st August in Romania. Paul Doolin and his young squad have been given a testing group which will see them face hosts Romania, unbeaten qualifiers Greece and the Czech Republic.
I wrote an article last year praising Paul Doolin as a football coach and someone who is a born winner. His results speak for themselves and as a football man I have complete respect for him and I think he deserves a special mention and congratulations in getting the U’19’s through to a major tournament.
Again, from a LoI perspective, there was one member of the U’19 Republic of Ireland team that still plays here in Ireland. Conor Murphy of Bray Wanderers has been in flying form this year and carried such form into the U’19 team, where he not only starred and but also scored against Italy in their final group game which secured their qualification into the prestigious tournament in July. He is a prime example of a young player who is performing so well here in the league and will reap the rewards at both club and international level if he continues to do so well. Congratulations and all the best in the tournament Conor! It was revealed earlier this week that Damian Richardson will be the manager of the Airtricity League select team that will play in the Dublin Super Cup against Celtic and Man City at the Aviva Stadium. Damian is a very respected and successful manager and no doubt he will have whatever team he picks ready come the 30th and 31st July. It will be great for a team representing the league here get a chance to pit themselves against some of the best players in the world.
I am also delighted to read that he is preparing to have pre-camp training sessions with the squad. I think that will give the players a great opportunity to get to know each other better on the pitch and also give the manager a better idea of what he is working with team wise. What a tournament that will be and I am sure every player (myself included!!) will be trying his best to impress Damian in this weekend’s games in the hope of getting picked for the squad. That alone should make this weekend’s games all the more exciting!
