[Albion] Aaron Connolly's goal-scoring record

[Mo Gosfield]

....and well done to Graham Potter for starting the lad. We can all now see why he let Locadia and Andone go out on loan.

 

[Stat Brother]

....and well done to Graham Potter for starting the lad. We can all now see why he let Locadia and Andone go out on loan.

Hmmm, I'd like a bit more depth before making such a statement.
After Saturday I think we can get pretty close to saying the current back up doesn't fit the template.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

No-one could give a toss what United FANS think about Connolly, but unfortunately they aren't the only ones at Old Trafford who clearly rate the lad. Connolly was brought to the Albion during the time that Mark Anderson (the bloke generally credited as "discovering" Raheem Sterling when he was at QPR) was our head of academy player recruitment. In January 2017, after more than four years at Albion, Anderson moved to United.

Even now, every time Connolly scores, Anderson tweets out "#goalmachine".

These are from Saturday:-



And from earlier this year:-

Let's hope we still have a strong scouting presence in Ireland.

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

Oh, we do have a pretty good idea, [MENTION=33329]Jolly Red Giant[/MENTION].

It is good of you to come onto this board and give us the benefit of your, er, "wisdom", though.

Actually you don't - you are making an assertion based on flimsy evidence.

A week ago Mick McCarthy (who has been name dropped on here as a supporter of Hughton) said there wasn't a hope in hell of him selecting, never mind starting, Connolly. Yesterday Connolly was added to the Irish squad and today McCarthy is talking about starting Connolly against Georgia on Saturday.

Why this change - a change that has only taken a few days - because Connolly has shown a big jump in terms of maturity and ability.

It is nonsense to suggest that Hughton would have ignored such a development and not considered playing Connolly just like Potter did.

Now the jury is still out on Connolly - one swallow doesn't make a summer. But he has shown a big step forward. A few weeks ago I suggested on here that Connolly was behind several others in the pecking order in the Irish U21s - he has clearly jumped ahead of some of the others (in part because Alofabi is still trying to make up for a lack of pre-season training, Obafemi has been injured and Idah has Pukki ahead of him at Norwich) - while he is still behind Parrot (who won't get picked for Ireland because he is only 17). Time will tell if Connolly fulfills the promise he is showing - I think he will, he is showing a lot of maturity - but we will have a better idea at the end of this season.

 

[martin tyler]

Actually you don't - you are making an assertion based on flimsy evidence.

A week ago Mick McCarthy (who has been name dropped on here as a supporter of Hughton) said there wasn't a hope in hell of him selecting, never mind starting, Connolly. Yesterday Connolly was added to the Irish squad and today McCarthy is talking about starting Connolly against Georgia on Saturday.

Why this change - a change that has only taken a few days - because Connolly has shown a big jump in terms of maturity and ability.

It is nonsense to suggest that Hughton would have ignored such a development and not considered playing Connolly just like Potter did.

Now the jury is still out on Connolly - one swallow doesn't make a summer. But he has shown a big step forward. A few weeks ago I suggested on here that Connolly was behind several others in the pecking order in the Irish U21s - he has clearly jumped ahead of some of the others (in part because Alofabi is still trying to make up for a lack of pre-season training, Obafemi has been injured and Idah has Pukki ahead of him at Norwich) - while he is still behind Parrot (who won't get picked for Ireland because he is only 17). Time will tell if Connolly fulfills the promise he is showing - I think he will, he is showing a lot of maturity - but we will have a better idea at the end of this season.

Alofabi he has never been behind as he’s never played for the u21 Irish side only at u19 level and the goal scoring statistics of the 2 at the same level suggest Connolly is a better goal scorer. A move to Celtic could be positive for the career but he actually needs to play.

Obafemi got 1 run out for Irish 1st team a year ago but played less football since in the PL than Connolly has played this year and is clearly now behind Connolly.


Idah is yet to even play for Irish u21s but is actually playing a few minutes here and there for an injury ravished Norwich bit is clearly behind Connolly

Parrot is clearly very gifted but is no where starting for the 1st team yet at Spurs but is a couple years younger so has plenty of time but to say he’s ahead of Connolly seems daft although in time could clearly be a better player if he forfills his potential

Things will unfold through the season but at the moment Connolly and Idah look like the only 2 who are going to get a reasonable amount of minutes leaving the other 3 playing catch up.

 

[GT49er]

Actually you don't - you are making an assertion based on flimsy evidence.

Whatever else, the evidence is far from flimsy!

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

Been through this before

Alofabi he has never been behind as he’s never played for the u21 Irish side only at u19 level and the goal scoring statistics of the 2 at the same level suggest Connolly is a better goal scorer. A move to Celtic could be positive for the career but he actually needs to play.

Afolabi has played for the U21s and was offered contracts by three PL clubs before he signed for Celtic - he missed all of pre-season and then had a niggling injury. He is still a little time away from full fitness. He scored twice for Celtic reserves last weekend. He is expected to make his full debut for Celtic after the international break.

got 1 run out for Irish 1st team a year ago but played less football since in the PL than Connolly has played this year and is clearly now behind Connolly.

Olafemi has had an ongoing hamstring problem since the end of last season and is still trying to get up to speed this season. At Southampton he is ahead of Che Adams in the pecking order.

Idah is yet to even play for Irish u21s but is actually playing a few minutes here and there for an injury ravished Norwich bit is clearly behind Connolly

Like Afolabi you are wrong on this one - Idah has 10 caps for the Irish U21s - he is behind Pukki at Norwich.

Parrot is clearly very gifted but is no where starting for the 1st team yet at Spurs but is a couple years younger so has plenty of time but to say he’s ahead of Connolly seems daft although in time could clearly be a better player if he forfills his potential

Parrot is the no.1 striker with the Irish U19s - Connolly is playing on the wing as a result. Parrot will be brought along slowly - and rightly so - but anyone who has seen him consistently knows that he is the class player in the Irish underage set-up. There is no debate on this one in Ireland.

Things will unfold through the season but at the moment Connolly and Idah look like the only 2 who are going to get a reasonable amount of minutes leaving the other 3 playing catch up.

Idah is going to have a tough time in a Norwich team that will struggle all season and probably get relegated. It will likely be next season when we see him making a real impact. Olafemi is far more likely to make progress once his injury heals up properly.

There is way to much expectation being heaped on Connolly's head at the moment - he is still only a kid in a league that eats kids for breakfast - dozens have made splashes and very many have sunk without a trace afterwards (a prime example of this that always sticks in my mind was Federico Macheda at Man U - but he is far from the only one). I hope Connolly can handle it - and he seems mature enough to be able to - but only time will tell (and if/when Brighton hit another rough patch then Connolly will probably suffer).

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

Interesting aside on this -

Harvey Neville - son of Phil Neville - who is with Man Utd - has just been called into the Irish U19 squad (Conor Noss of Borussia Monchengladbach has also been called into the squad)

 

[AZ Gull]

Interesting aside on this -

Harvey Neville - son of Phil Neville - who is with Man Utd - has just been called into the Irish U19 squad (Conor Noss of Borussia Monchengladbach has also been called into the squad)

Are you aware this is a Brighton and Hove Albion forum?

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

No-one could give a toss what United FANS think about Connolly, but unfortunately they aren't the only ones at Old Trafford who clearly rate the lad. Connolly was brought to the Albion during the time that Mark Anderson (the bloke generally credited as "discovering" Raheem Sterling when he was at QPR) was our head of academy player recruitment. In January 2017, after more than four years at Albion, Anderson moved to United.

Even now, every time Connolly scores, Anderson tweets out "#goalmachine".

These are from Saturday:-

[TWEET]1180453785329684480[/TWEET]

[TWEET]1180467441438253056[/TWEET]

[TWEET]1180473586831769601[/TWEET]

And from earlier this year:-

[TWEET]1123219728615596032[/TWEET]

Thankfully, decisions on whether to recruit Connolly or not are now at much higher levels than club scouts. But I would happily put money on United signing the Irish Rooney at some point in the next couple of years.

Shame we couldn't hang on to this Anderson fellow I guess

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

Are you aware this is a Brighton and Hove Albion forum?

Oh yea - but people keep bringing up Connolly's record with the Irish underage teams and comparing him with other Irish players

 

[CheeseRolls]

Been through this before


Afolabi has played for the U21s and was offered contracts by three PL clubs before he signed for Celtic - he missed all of pre-season and then had a niggling injury. He is still a little time away from full fitness. He scored twice for Celtic reserves last weekend. He is expected to make his full debut for Celtic after the international break.


Olafemi has had an ongoing hamstring problem since the end of last season and is still trying to get up to speed this season. At Southampton he is ahead of Che Adams in the pecking order.


Like Afolabi you are wrong on this one - Idah has 10 caps for the Irish U21s - he is behind Pukki at Norwich.


Parrot is the no.1 striker with the Irish U19s - Connolly is playing on the wing as a result. Parrot will be brought along slowly - and rightly so - but anyone who has seen him consistently knows that he is the class player in the Irish underage set-up. There is no debate on this one in Ireland.


Idah is going to have a tough time in a Norwich team that will struggle all season and probably get relegated. It will likely be next season when we see him making a real impact. Olafemi is far more likely to make progress once his injury heals up properly.

There is way to much expectation being heaped on Connolly's head at the moment - he is still only a kid in a league that eats kids for breakfast - dozens have made splashes and very many have sunk without a trace afterwards (a prime example of this that always sticks in my mind was Federico Macheda at Man U - but he is far from the only one). I hope Connolly can handle it - and he seems mature enough to be able to - but only time will tell (and if/when Brighton hit another rough patch then Connolly will probably suffer).

Hi JRG, as you can probably tell we are a parochial bunch round here and tend to get behind our own, when things are going well, but form is temporary and class is permanent and all that, so just so that we are clear.
We still have the fifth best Republic of Ireland U21 forward?

 

[AZ Gull]

Oh yea - but people keep bringing up Connolly's record with the Irish underage teams and comparing him with other Irish players

And why do they do that? Because you posted a completely irrelevant and idiotic comment that he was 5th in line in Irish U-21 strikers - just 37 days before he gets called up for the full Irish squad.
Do you think there is a single Albion fan on this board who could genuinely give a flying **** where he stands in the pecking order of strikers for his age-level national side? It would be like some random French bloke logging in and posting on the Neal Maupay thread "Oh, he had a decent game on Saturday but, to be clear, he's only 12th in the current list of French strikers."

I have a genuine question for you: why on earth do you post on here?

You seem to dislike most things about the club; you've previously told us that Maty Ryan is shit, you've told us (twice) that (our player of the season) Shane Duffy is shit, you despise our chairman because he is wealthy, you've stated that he would "drive the club into the ground" if it was in his interest to do so, and you've told us that Graham Potter is over-hyped.

Have you suffered some kind of deep-seated trauma at the hands of the club in times past?

Don't get me wrong - we are a broad church here and if you really get some kind of perverse miserabilist satisfaction out of posting, then knock yourself out. But why?

 

[The Optimist]

Actually you don't - you are making an assertion based on flimsy evidence.

A week ago Mick McCarthy (who has been name dropped on here as a supporter of Hughton) said there wasn't a hope in hell of him selecting, never mind starting, Connolly. Yesterday Connolly was added to the Irish squad and today McCarthy is talking about starting Connolly against Georgia on Saturday.

Why this change - a change that has only taken a few days - because Connolly has shown a big jump in terms of maturity and ability.

It is nonsense to suggest that Hughton would have ignored such a development and not considered playing Connolly just like Potter did.

Now the jury is still out on Connolly - one swallow doesn't make a summer. But he has shown a big step forward. A few weeks ago I suggested on here that Connolly was behind several others in the pecking order in the Irish U21s - he has clearly jumped ahead of some of the others (in part because Alofabi is still trying to make up for a lack of pre-season training, Obafemi has been injured and Idah has Pukki ahead of him at Norwich) - while he is still behind Parrot (who won't get picked for Ireland because he is only 17). Time will tell if Connolly fulfills the promise he is showing - I think he will, he is showing a lot of maturity - but we will have a better idea at the end of this season.

Have a look at Hughton’s record of bringing through young players and have a look at Potter’s. While it’s impossible to say Hughton definitely wouldn’t be playing Connolly it’s absolutely not nonsense to suggest it would be much more unlikely.

 

[Wozza]

And again we have more of this bullsh*t - Hughton gave Conolly his debut, signed him to a 3 year contract last January and spoke highly of him. You have zero idea whether Hughton would be playing Connolly or not if he was still manager.

Wait, Hughton awarded player contracts at Brighton & Hove Albion? And you accuse me of writing bullsh1t?!

Tactics would have been 4-5-1 against Spurs if Hughton was still around - nailed on - and the one would not have been Connolly (two n's).

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

Hi JRG, as you can probably tell we are a parochial bunch round here and tend to get behind our own, when things are going well, but form is temporary and class is permanent and all that, so just so that we are clear.
We still have the fifth best Republic of Ireland U21 forward?

Nah - read what I posted a couple of days ago - it is clear that Connolly has jumped forward in the last few weeks - partly because Alofabi and Olafemi have not been fit. Jaysus - if Mick McCarthy can say last Tuesday there is no reason to promote Connolly to the senior squad because there is no way he would start him ahead of James McClean (who has been utter sh*te for Ireland for the past year) - can change him mind and promote him by last Sunday and then say that he is considering starting him yesterday - surely I am entitled to a little re-evaluation in the light of developments.

Now - I will reiterate what I have been saying for the past couple of days - there is serious over-hyping of Connolly at the moment - he has started one game, scored a couple of goals and all of a sudden he is the new Wayne Rooney. I really hope his is as good a footballer as Rooney - but jaysus - get a sense of proportion.

And why do they do that? Because you posted a completely irrelevant and idiotic comment that he was 5th in line in Irish U-21 strikers - just 37 days before he gets called up for the full Irish squad.
Do you think there is a single Albion fan on this board who could genuinely give a flying **** where he stands in the pecking order of strikers for his age-level national side? It would be like some random French bloke logging in and posting on the Neal Maupay thread "Oh, he had a decent game on Saturday but, to be clear, he's only 12th in the current list of French strikers."

My comment was backed up by evidence - the fact that it doesn't sit with the over-hyping of Connolly's performance on Saturday does not take away from this.

It is also worth noting that many of the posters on here are hoping that he will come good so that he can be flogged off to a top six team for crazy money - I want him to be the best striker in soccer so that he will break every record that Robbie Keane has for Ireland (and Robbie Keane is an individual that I despise on a personal level - no matter how good he was). Irish fans have a different perspective than Brighton fans - no matter which club team they support.

I have a genuine question for you: why on earth do you post on here?

You seem to dislike most things about the club; you've previously told us that Maty Ryan is shit, you've told us (twice) that (our player of the season) Shane Duffy is shit, you despise our chairman because he is wealthy, you've stated that he would "drive the club into the ground" if it was in his interest to do so, and you've told us that Graham Potter is over-hyped.

Have you suffered some kind of deep-seated trauma at the hands of the club in times past?

Don't get me wrong - we are a broad church here and if you really get some kind of perverse miserabilist satisfaction out of posting, then knock yourself out. But why?

What evidence do you have that I dislike the club? - where have I ever made such a comment?

As for the other stuff - I have stated on here that I was wrong about Ryan - he has turned out to be a lot better than I expected. I never said that Shane Duffy was sh*t - I said that he was rash and made mistakes (Hughton did a very good job coaching him up) - what I did argue was that John Egan was a better prospect and I believe that will ultimately prove to be the case. I still believe that Potter is over-hyped - he has been manager for a handful of games. When people were raving about what he did at Östersund on a shoe-string budget, I pointed out that the club was mired in corruption - and guess what - the club is now on the verge of collapse.

I disagree with the way money rules football - you now have to be a billionaire to have a PL team - fans have no say - I grew up when teams like Ipswich, Derby, Nottm Forest, Leeds, Everton, Villa could win the league - where the likes of QPR, WBA, Watford, Burnley, Southampton could challenge for the title. That doesn't happen anymore - and the prospect of Brighton ever being in such a position are extremely remote. Sky and the wall-to-wall coverage of soccer has ruined the sport and those that now buy out clubs contribute to the crap we now have to endure every Friday night, Staurday morning, Saturday night, all day Sunday and Monday night. Soccer used to be about going to a game with your kids at 3pm on a Saturday and sitting on the couch watching MotD on a Saturday night as you dissected the performance that afternoon - now you spend a weeks wages on going to a game as a tiny number of footballers earn an obscene amount of money for kicking a ball around a field.

Brighton are a fantastic club - a club that has survived many a troubled time - a club that has made great strides forward - but it is also a club that is trying to play the big money game except it is doing so by taking a series of gambles in the hope of becoming a big club - and without the money of an Arab oil sheik or a Russian oligarch or an American money-grabber these gambles tend to leave clubs in free-fall like so many before them. That is something I would hate to see happen to Brighton (or any club).

Have a look at Hughton’s record of bringing through young players and have a look at Potter’s. While it’s impossible to say Hughton definitely wouldn’t be playing Connolly it’s absolutely not nonsense to suggest it would be much more unlikely.

How many of the 2015-2016 development squad have made the jump to the PL - or the 2016-2017 development squad or 2017-2018 ? This is the first year that there is some potential in the younger players making the break through. Maybe, just maybe - the reason why Hughton didn't promote these players is that they just weren't good enough at the time. If he was manager today he could well be playing Connolly and others. When Hughton was at Norwich he was in a similar boat - he inherited a squad where the average age was well north of 30. When he got a chance he bought Nathan Redmond from Birmingham as a 19 year-old and Redmond played 34 times in the PL that season. He also gave 18 year-old Josh Murphy his debut. At Newcastle Hughton played 20 year old Andy Carroll 39 times in 2009-2010, he also brought Tamas Kadar into the team as an 18 year-old and gave 18 year-old Nile Ranger his debut, playing him 25 times in 2009-2010 (mostly as sub). Hughton has played young players when they have shown that they are good enough to make the team and there is no reason to believe that Hughton would not have done the same with Connolly.

All of this has kicked off because Connolly scored two goals last Saturday - if Brighton had lost and Connolly had a stinker instead then the tone of the comments would have been 'give Potter credit for playing him - but he clearly wasn't ready'. If Potter was manager last season I would suggest that there is no way that Connolly would have played. A year is a long time in the life of a 19 year old footballer and they can mature a lot in a few months (even weeks). Here is hoping he continues to improve (and may I add - I have seen both Connolly and Molumby several times for Ireland - and in my opinion Molumby has been the far more impressive of the two).

 

[B-right-on]

Interesting aside on this -

Harvey Neville - son of Phil Neville - who is with Man Utd - has just been called into the Irish U19 squad (Conor Noss of Borussia Monchengladbach has also been called into the squad)

Oh yea - but people keep bringing up Connolly's record with the Irish underage teams and comparing him with other Irish players

What AZ is trying to say is that WE DON'T GIVE A SHIT what the ManUre lot do.

Not sure if this is too subtle for you or not.

Ps: it wasn't interesting.

 

[CheeseRolls]

Nah - read what I posted a couple of days ago - it is clear that Connolly has jumped forward in the last few weeks - partly because Alofabi and Olafemi have not been fit. Jaysus - if Mick McCarthy can say last Tuesday there is no reason to promote Connolly to the senior squad because there is no way he would start him ahead of James McClean (who has been utter sh*te for Ireland for the past year) - can change him mind and promote him by last Sunday and then say that he is considering starting him yesterday - surely I am entitled to a little re-evaluation in the light of developments.

Now - I will reiterate what I have been saying for the past couple of days - there is serious over-hyping of Connolly at the moment - he has started one game, scored a couple of goals and all of a sudden he is the new Wayne Rooney. I really hope his is as good a footballer as Rooney - but jaysus - get a sense of proportion.


My comment was backed up by evidence - the fact that it doesn't sit with the over-hyping of Connolly's performance on Saturday does not take away from this.

It is also worth noting that many of the posters on here are hoping that he will come good so that he can be flogged off to a top six team for crazy money - I want him to be the best striker in soccer so that he will break every record that Robbie Keane has for Ireland (and Robbie Keane is an individual that I despise on a personal level - no matter how good he was). Irish fans have a different perspective than Brighton fans - no matter which club team they support.

So taking away the knee jerk reaction of Mick McCarthy, the comparisons to Wayne Rooney, the fitness of Alofabi and Olafemi, and allowing for the tender years of Parrot, do we still have the fifth best Republic of Ireland U21 forward?
Just for the record, I would prefer to be celebrating the goals and progress of the Irish fifth best prospect, than moaning about the new Rooney, not living up to impossible expectations.

 

[The Wizard]

My god this guy chats some drivel, even by NSC standards. Imagine writing posts as long as that on a teams forum you don’t even like, I’m not reading the telegraph ffs.

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

What AZ is trying to say is that WE DON'T GIVE A SHIT what the ManUre lot do.

I don't either -

So taking away the knee jerk reaction of Mick McCarthy, the comparisons to Wayne Rooney, the fitness of Alofabi and Olafemi, and allowing for the tender years of Parrot, do we still have the fifth best Republic of Ireland U21 forward?
Just for the record, I would prefer to be celebrating the goals and progress of the Irish fifth best prospect, than moaning about the new Rooney, not living up to impossible expectations.

There is a common saying that the English, after making half the world use it, don't understand their own language.

So I will state it clearly for you - at the moment Connolly must be regarded as the second best striker in the Irish underage set up. That is partly because of what he has done over the past couple of weeks and partly because of the fact that Afolabi and Obafemi haven't been fit. How this will pan out over the coming season we will to wait and see.

My god this guy chats some drivel, even by NSC standards. Imagine writing posts as long as that on a teams forum you don’t even like, I’m not reading the telegraph ffs.

Go back and read what I wrote and then produce evidence that I 'don't even like' Brighton. I suspect that not only do you not read the telegraph (for which I wouldn't blame you) - but clearly you didn't read what I posted either.

As an interesting update - Conor Hourihane said at the Irish training camp that Aaron Connolly has been a 'nightmare for defenders' during training.