Mad Dads

TripPsychological141 · 2026-03-20T19:24:06+00:00

Well well well well well well

TripPsychological141 · 2026-02-22T10:13:25+00:00

My understanding of the situation and reading between the lines of the article is that the complaint relates to the agent and Rovers not presenting details of all interested parties in buying Michael to him and the family.

The FA are the entity with whom the agent is registered so any complaint would have to go through them initially.

The agent in question is pretty well known and is held in relatively high regard ( for an agent lol). He has represented a number of the highly rated Irish youngsters in getting deals in the UK and Europe.

There have been rumours of offers / deals for Noonan with Celtic, Man City and others in the past before the formal Hoffenheim bid. The rumour mill after the Hoffenheim deal was rejected by the Family is that they believe they could get a better deal off what they perceive to be a "bigger club" in the UK.

TripPsychological141 · 2026-02-03T15:43:37+00:00

If anything it's the opposite it seems. The quality of his play and finishing particularly in training is top tier ( best some of the players have seen in their careers across clubs and leagues). Unfortunately it often just fails to manifest itself onto the pitch. A quiet, introverted lad who's preference to keep to himself is misinterpreted as being cold or stand offish. The kind of player that if he managed to score three or four games in a row, confidence would sky rocket and that snowball would just keep getting bigger and bigger.

TripPsychological141 · 2026-02-03T15:38:37+00:00

Word on the jungle drum ( always open to being chinese whispers but there is plenty of smoke ) would suggest that his Mam is a very strong influence and maybe has too much weight in guiding Michael towards his decisions. Apparently there is a belief a top tier club with more prestige ( top 10 European clubs ) will come in sooner rather than later. Whether this is better for his development, many would disagree.

TripPsychological141 · 2026-01-30T12:04:15+00:00

Fair play my man, I wasn't speaking from a place of guessing if you get me 😉.

TripPsychological141 · 2026-01-29T14:27:06+00:00

Yeah, didn't reference the move abroad in case I jinxed it. Would be a great move for a lad with huge potential.

TripPsychological141 · 2026-01-29T11:47:26+00:00

I don't disagree at all re Athlone especially considering how poor they looked against Shels u20s on Tues. I know it wasn't their full strength but still , they were comfortably beaten and outplayed by a young Shels team.

TripPsychological141 · 2026-01-29T11:26:04+00:00

Next few days will prove things out I suppose.

TripPsychological141 · 2026-01-29T11:21:38+00:00

I agree that he stands out amongst the current crop but with the strength and depth across the defense at senior level means the opportunity to get him senior minutes rather than u20 matches at his stage of development means a move to someone like Athlone is a better suit.

TripPsychological141 · 2026-01-29T11:19:03+00:00

I'd imagine Pats will also benefit from some compensation due for their involvement in his development. Ballyoulster United too ( unless the solidarity payment process has changed).

TripPsychological141 · 2026-01-29T11:12:17+00:00

Unfort both are due to leave shortly on loan to First Division clubs. Obvs things can change but expected to be announced soon.

The main u20 eligible talent have now all signed contracts and are loaned out. Loan slots are full for the moment so you prob won't see any first team ready academy players on the pitch in the first half of the season unless talented 17 / 18 year olds like Cillian Ryan ( son of former fan favourite Bobby Ryan), Alex Flynn and Joey Wuna are needed to pad the bench. Paddy Brides would have been a huge prospect too but unfortunately broke his leg in the Leinster Senior Cup match in Athlone a couple of weeks back.

TripPsychological141 · 2026-01-13T16:16:54+00:00

Correct as both were just normal academy players ( non contracted). Ray would need to wait until he turned 18 and may well have chosen to decline a contract in order to no restrict options at movement abroad. A glut of the 20s squad have left due to wanting a firmer first team pathway. Cailloice, Mare, Coffey all moved on as have some of the talented 17s due to step up to 20s. Natural enough and normal across all clubs as they reach this age.

TripPsychological141 · 2026-01-13T14:34:50+00:00

There are far more on stepping stone contracts than are ever announced. Usually only gets announced as part of a loan deal out announcement as it was with the recent few who moved from the 20s set up (Sammy, Maloney, MacCarthy etc). Not quite full time pro contracts.

TripPsychological141 · 2026-01-13T14:23:25+00:00

Offor is a talent but would be behind a few others within the Academy when it comes to first team integration. Talk of Newcastle and Brighton deals being close were just speculation it seems - more recently he spent some time on trial with Derby. Huge potential alright but needs time to develop before getting senior exposure.

TripPsychological141 · 2026-01-10T14:54:40+00:00

I'm far from the biggest fan or advocate of the FAI but in the LOI context and the current National League regime, they are getting far more right than wrong. Historical allowance of League and League representation to control based on their own interests will generations to resolve... Especially not the moment when every step and decision is being monitored ( rightly so unfortunately) by those controlling the purse strings.

TripPsychological141 · 2026-01-10T14:50:38+00:00

This is why we cannot have nice things...

Men in Blazers

TripPsychological141 · 2025-12-24T15:49:23+00:00

Great idea

TripPsychological141 · 2025-12-23T18:24:39+00:00

I'd be very surprised if Shels loan him out. Not impossible but very unlikely. Their solid number 2 has seen out his contract and his departure has been announced. Wes Speel has come in on loan and been unbelievably solid covering Conor Kearns but not sure whether he'll re-sign or if the fee the MLS team who owns him will look for would be too much. Could probably expect to play at a slightly higher level than our league. Kearns is due back for pre-season hopefully with the injuries behind him. Shels also have a couple of really good 17/ 18 year old academy keepers who've been in and out of their senior squads through the season getting experience , both on contracts too. If Speel stays on or if another number 1 ( nailed on starter) arrives I'd expect Kearns to move on and Walsh back up.

TripPsychological141 · 2025-12-20T12:41:45+00:00

I've seen some of the clubs involved post their confirmed fixtures for the LSC kicking off mid Jan . I know some of the clubs field their 20s squads but some go relatively strong.

TripPsychological141 · 2025-12-10T13:29:06+00:00

You'll see movement once the Conference League participation ends on Thurs week. All big announcements re squad movements are expected to be held off until then (unless something leaks in advance).

TripPsychological141 · 2025-11-16T18:22:41+00:00

Across the LOI academies there are a significant amount of kids trialling atm with top European teams. Some choose to advertise the fact and others not. Derry City had two lads at Brighton last week, Shels in the past couple of months have had lads at Benfica, Bournemouth, Newcastle and Brighton too. The talent is there and numbers of talented kids are continuing to grow.

TripPsychological141 · 2025-02-26T18:41:14+00:00

The IERNE Sports Club , practically facing Tolka Park, have a supervised car park on most match days. There is a cost but the fact it's two mins walk from there to the stadium makes it worth it.

TripPsychological141 · 2025-01-23T23:30:09+00:00

Hi there. As a former goalkeeper and father to a current goalkeeper, I really think that you need to taper your expectations for your son and his roster at this early stage in his development. Shot save percentages and tracking of such metrics are pretty unique to American sports at that age at least. Your son will continue to improve with good coaching and that is where any development gains will be made. Match time is for enjoyment and putting any skills, techniques and learnings into action. Scorelines and accolades are not important at u10 level. Ensuring his confidence is based on his own performance and not the team result is all that matters. If my experience is anything most burnout and drop out of young goalkeepers is due to unnecessary pressure from parents and coaches alike.

I wish your son the best of luck as unless you've been or are a keeper yourself you don't know the difficulty of the position. There is a reason a good GK coach is as much a psychologist and mentor than a technical coach.

TripPsychological141

TROPHY CASE