IRELAND MANAGER STEPHEN Kenny named his squad earlier today for next week’s World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Luxembourg.
The games, scheduled to take place on Thursday 11 and Sunday 14 November respectively, will conclude the campaign for Kenny’s side.
The main talking point from the squad announcement was the omission of Brighton & Hove Albion striker Aaron Connolly, who also remained an unused substitute for last month’s wins against Azerbaijan and Qatar.
On the latest episode of The Football Family – a podcast which is exclusively available to The42 members – Paul Dollery got the views on Connolly’s absence from Gavin Cooney and David Sneyd.
While Kenny stated that the Galway native has been left out due to a foot injury, missing out on two important games is a significant setback for a young player who has been unable to kick on from his memorable full Premier League debut.
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He scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Tottenham in October 2019, but there have been few signs of progress for the 21-year-old since then.
“Kenny did say that he’s injured, but he could technically be fit for the game on Thursday [against Portugal],” Gavin Cooney said. “He just hasn’t been training. Either way, Connolly has slipped down the pecking order pretty quickly.
“He was a real favourite of Kenny’s from obviously back in the U21s. He very much trusted him in the senior set-up, he was due to start in the Euros play-off in Bratislava before he sat in the wrong seat on the plane etc.
“It’s only two months since Connolly started against Portugal, then he was hooked at half-time against Azerbaijan and he has kind of fallen off the map since then.
“His club career has almost totally stalled. He played all 90 minutes of the League Cup game against Leicester and Kenny was saying that’s the first time he’s played a full game at club level in nearly two years.
“He just can’t break into the Brighton team and until he’s playing even semi-regularly, you can’t argue that he deserves a place in the Irish squad.”
Connolly celebrates after scoring in a Carabao Cup win against Swansea City in September. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Having appeared just twice for his club so far this season in the Premier League, a January loan move away from Brighton may be required for Connolly to ignite his career.
“Graham Potter [Brighton manager] has been very open over the last few months about Connolly’s struggles, even just in his own head,” David Sneyd added.
“It’s something he was open about himself after the Finland game. We’ve spoken about how he kind of beats himself up when he has a bad performance. He expects a lot of himself and I suppose you’re not going to get to where he is if you don’t place those demands on yourself.
“You speak to people around the squad and there are times when he might rub certain people up the wrong way, but in terms of ability it’s clear that it’s there. It’s just about being able to grasp that and get it out of him on a consistent basis.”
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'Until he's playing semi-regularly, you can't argue that he deserves a place in the Irish squad'
IRELAND MANAGER STEPHEN Kenny named his squad earlier today for next week’s World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Luxembourg.
The games, scheduled to take place on Thursday 11 and Sunday 14 November respectively, will conclude the campaign for Kenny’s side.
The main talking point from the squad announcement was the omission of Brighton & Hove Albion striker Aaron Connolly, who also remained an unused substitute for last month’s wins against Azerbaijan and Qatar.
On the latest episode of The Football Family – a podcast which is exclusively available to The42 members – Paul Dollery got the views on Connolly’s absence from Gavin Cooney and David Sneyd.
While Kenny stated that the Galway native has been left out due to a foot injury, missing out on two important games is a significant setback for a young player who has been unable to kick on from his memorable full Premier League debut.
He scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Tottenham in October 2019, but there have been few signs of progress for the 21-year-old since then.
“Kenny did say that he’s injured, but he could technically be fit for the game on Thursday [against Portugal],” Gavin Cooney said. “He just hasn’t been training. Either way, Connolly has slipped down the pecking order pretty quickly.
“He was a real favourite of Kenny’s from obviously back in the U21s. He very much trusted him in the senior set-up, he was due to start in the Euros play-off in Bratislava before he sat in the wrong seat on the plane etc.
“It’s only two months since Connolly started against Portugal, then he was hooked at half-time against Azerbaijan and he has kind of fallen off the map since then.
“His club career has almost totally stalled. He played all 90 minutes of the League Cup game against Leicester and Kenny was saying that’s the first time he’s played a full game at club level in nearly two years.
“He just can’t break into the Brighton team and until he’s playing even semi-regularly, you can’t argue that he deserves a place in the Irish squad.”
Having appeared just twice for his club so far this season in the Premier League, a January loan move away from Brighton may be required for Connolly to ignite his career.
“Graham Potter [Brighton manager] has been very open over the last few months about Connolly’s struggles, even just in his own head,” David Sneyd added.
“It’s something he was open about himself after the Finland game. We’ve spoken about how he kind of beats himself up when he has a bad performance. He expects a lot of himself and I suppose you’re not going to get to where he is if you don’t place those demands on yourself.
“You speak to people around the squad and there are times when he might rub certain people up the wrong way, but in terms of ability it’s clear that it’s there. It’s just about being able to grasp that and get it out of him on a consistent basis.”
You can hear the newest instalment of The Football Family, as well as accessing a huge array of other podcasts and newsletters, by becoming one of our valued members.
Details of how to do so for just €5 per month (or €42 for a year) are available here.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Aaron Connolly Boys in Green COYBIG Podcast The Football Family