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Eoghan O'Connell - Sep 2025: Wrexham contract cancelled by mutual consent (p11)
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It feels like Christmas
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The fact I haven't heard of him doesn't matter. If Garner fancies him and thinks he will fit in with what he wants to do the question boils down to the judgment of the manager. This is not a criticism, but I don't know about the quality of his judgement. I hope he is somewhere in the Chrissy Powell league in that respect and we should do ok.0
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Sounds like we might have got a bit of a steal here, and one a 3 year contract! Sounds as if he is a good player, my question is, why hasn't anyone taken punt prevoiusly!5
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Not just a defender, but "a ball playing defender".
Will he play alongside our non-ball playing defender Lavelle?
Seriously though, he seems to tick a lot of boxes and the Celtic connection suggests a bit of pedigree.
Sounds like an exciting appointment and I'm looking forward to watching him play.0 -
Good to hear that he was on our list before Ben even came in.
Feels like an important signing this one.10 -
We did but there wasn’t a clear playing style to go with it and the signings reflected that. Stockley a traditional target man, Kirk coming from a possession style to replace Millar’s pace and energy, Dobson a ball winning DM rather than a playmaker etc. We were going to mash them together into a 4-3-3 and expected Adkins good run to continue into the new season.killerandflash said:
It will only bring stability though if we stick to the strategy, even if things aren't going well.Scoham said:Great point, hopefully more of the same on the way.
After all wasn't there a 433 strategy last summer, which the whole club would follow, and that got dumped from the first team in Jacko's first game...
It makes more sense to build around a style without being fixed to a specific formation.Garner played three at the back at Swindon before switching to a 4-3-3 so it’ll be interesting to see if he focusses on one or switches between them as needed.1 -
Welcome to the club mate. Dont know much about him, but seeing as he has Celtic pedigree hopefully he will shine.1
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Jackson ball, for want of a better word, was actually very similar in style to what we played under Adkins the previous season, just different in shape and roles.Scoham said:
We did but there wasn’t a clear playing style to go with it and the signings reflected that. Stockley a traditional target man, Kirk coming from a possession style to replace Millar’s pace and energy, Dobson a ball winning DM rather than a playmaker etc. We were going to mash them together into a 4-3-3 and expected Adkins good run to continue into the new season.killerandflash said:
It will only bring stability though if we stick to the strategy, even if things aren't going well.Scoham said:Great point, hopefully more of the same on the way.
After all wasn't there a 433 strategy last summer, which the whole club would follow, and that got dumped from the first team in Jacko's first game...
It makes more sense to build around a style without being fixed to a specific formation.Garner played three at the back at Swindon before switching to a 4-3-3 so it’ll be interesting to see if he focusses on one or switches between them as needed.
I know we ran out of time last summer, hence the late flopsam and jetsam, but even the early signings were not suitable for the style we said, and have restated, we wanted to play. Re signing the likes of Pearce reinforced that.
It's going take an almighty window to undo last summer, probably a good one to just get us back to where we were at the end of the previous season. My expectation now is that this time next year we just need x, y and z. At the moment we need a defence, a midfield and an attack.0 -
Ball playing footballer . What fckn footballer doesn’t play with a ball?! Answers to follow…0
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Cork City 😉mendonca said:We are Eoghan's first club south of Manchester I believe. Fingers crossed.
edit just seen @el-pietro beat me to it 😁☘️3 -
Have u read the OS?Richard J said:Happy with this.
I had never heard of him until someone mentioned him on the rumours thread as someone who had good stats. So this is the black box in action.
Looks like he has a good pedigree at Celtic and has played in L1/2 for a couple of seasons.0 -
Not sure why everyone appears to be wetting their knickers on the strength of one signing who most haven't even heard of and suggesting this is a statement of intent by the club?
Plus why haven't we had the usual, free transfer bargain basement type of comments?
I'm jus asking, I haven't myself got a clue!0 -
You didn’t see much of us last season then?!? 🤷🏻♂️😏KiwiValley said:Ball playing footballer . What fckn footballer doesn’t play with a ball?! Answers to follow…3 -
Happy with that, build from the back, him & Lavelle are both leaders.4
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Rothko said:Sounds like the black box has delivered…
smacks me as a player who will do a wonder for Lavelle
Yellow card for Rothko even though you got some of the ball.
Ben Garner knew all about Eoghan and would have gone in for him if he had stayed at Swindon. He knew about the man and had seen him play on quite a few occasions.
The data gathered by Cafc, matched the opinion of Ben Garner.
Because of data protection I'm not convinced you can input if the player is in a stable relationship of if he mixes well with his teammates. Could the problems of Marcus Maddison be held on a black box ?
You only had to read MM views on social media to realize that he was imploding.
The "Black Box" can throw up stats on a player but to put meat on the bone you need to watch the player and talk to football people; the Rochdale fans do seem to be in unison and positive and no bitterness on his departure.
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I remember curbs saying once he always looked for players who’ve had a knock back in their careers and therefore are a bit angry and keen to prove doubters wrong, this signing fits that idea, he’s been back down the ladders before working his way up again, I think this will be a key signing.2
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If this signing and others of this ilk work out I'll be Eoghan Sandgaard an apology.
Hopefully this signals the start of a rebuild within the manager's philosophy and an improvement in the recruitment strategy.
Really please how it was done so quietly and professionally with no leaks and think that’s how it should be.
Fingers crossed for the rest of the window.
Looking forward to getting back to the Valley for next season with a new team.3 -
Some players, especially defenders, just find their way late in their careers. There's also a huge amount to be said for finding the right system for a player. I always think about Sheffield United's defence that finished 9th in the Premier League in 19/20. Their defence was insanely poor for a Premier League team on paper. It was a backline made up of proper well-travelled Football League journeymen. The overlapping centre backs that everyone enjoyed were Jack O'Connell (26), Chris Basham (31) and John Egan (27). They had between them 21 Premier League appearances, all of them from Basham, with the most recent being in the 2010/11 season. Up to that point they'd all taken in Championship, League One and League Two football, with two of them signing for Sheff Utd when they were a League One club. Their wingbacks were the same story. It just worked though, the system was good, the players worked well together and they were absolutely brilliant together at the back. It shows what a delicate ecosystem it was that a big reason it fell apart the next season was that O'Connell had a bad injury and only played two games. If the player fits the system and can be partnered up with the right people around him it doesn't matter where he's played before as long as it's right for the team. Hopefully that will be the case hereExiled_Addick said:
Agreed. My one reservation would be, if he can defend and play and has been at a club like Celtic, what was he doing in the bottom half of League 2 with Rochdale? I mean, he is 27 in a coupleScoham said:Got a good feeling about this one. There will be plenty of CBs available on a free, you don't sign one from the bottom half of L2 in June unless you rate him highly.
Glad we're looking beyond L1 and the more obvious players willing to drop down from the Championship. Looking forward to seeing who we sign next.
of months so not exactly at the start of his career either.
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I am in the position that I am a sceptic in terms of believing the club might be run by people who think they know more than they do. I am not in a position where I am certain and signings like this working out will push me back in positive territory. I do ask myself how he ended up at Rochdale from having great things said about him at Celtic but there could be something there we have identified that nobody else has. I have been supporting us too long to not be on the fence at this moment.
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If a signing who's been relegated from League One and finished 18th in League Two doesn't get your juices flowing I don't know what will !!sillav nitram said:Not sure why everyone appears to be wetting their knickers on the strength of one signing who most haven't even heard of and suggesting this is a statement of intent by the club?
Plus why haven't we had the usual, free transfer bargain basement type of comments?
I'm jus asking, I haven't myself got a clue!
Dare you say anything negative while Charlton ride this crest of a fooballing wave and all the playground rose tinted bitches will be out to slap you and your pessimistic brethren down .3 -
Welcome O-hun.
You will be Shay Given a good reception in the friendlies but after you are caught in possession a couple of times in the first five minutes of the 1st League match I must warn you that Charlton fans turn quicker than Johan Cruyff at his pomp.
I hope you have a good craic at it and are made captain and also bring the luck of the Irish to Cafc.
Have you heard of Mark Kinsella because that's who you have to emulate as a captain and leader.
Remember pressure is a privilege 👍👏0 -
I think it's because he fits the profile of the kind of player we've been saying we want for once. The market has changed a lot in the last ten years and you can't just buy up all the best players in the league around you, it's far too expensive. As a result a lot of teams are looking down a league to bring in the better players from there. We know that if we're going to play the way Garner wants we'll need a ball-playing CB and we've brought in the ball-playingest of CBs at that level on a free transfer. Sounds like he only re-signed at L2 level because of his relationship with the manager anyway so it looks like we've picked up a L1 level CB for nothing who fits the plan we've laid out. If nothing else it looks like a good startsillav nitram said:Not sure why everyone appears to be wetting their knickers on the strength of one signing who most haven't even heard of and suggesting this is a statement of intent by the club?
Plus why haven't we had the usual, free transfer bargain basement type of comments?
I'm jus asking, I haven't myself got a clue!
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Black box is part of the recruitment process nowadays, people would moan if we didn't use it. Honestly think the black box comments are to dig out TS/MS. Black box comments are boring now btw..28
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Welcome Jog-On2
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Who would have been O'Connell's equivalent at League 1 level last season?Garrymanilow said:
I think it's because he fits the profile of the kind of player we've been saying we want for once. The market has changed a lot in the last ten years and you can't just buy up all the best players in the league around you, it's far too expensive. As a result a lot of teams are looking down a league to bring in the better players from there. We know that if we're going to play the way Garner wants we'll need a ball-playing CB and we've brought in the ball-playingest of CBs at that level on a free transfer. Sounds like he only re-signed at L2 level because of his relationship with the manager anyway so it looks like we've picked up a L1 level CB for nothing who fits the plan we've laid out. If nothing else it looks like a good startsillav nitram said:Not sure why everyone appears to be wetting their knickers on the strength of one signing who most haven't even heard of and suggesting this is a statement of intent by the club?
Plus why haven't we had the usual, free transfer bargain basement type of comments?
I'm jus asking, I haven't myself got a clue!
I did note that Peter Clarke (yes, that Peter Clarke ... now at Walsall via Tranmere, but previously from Huddersfield and about fifteen other clubs) made the EFL League 2 Team of the Season at centre-back. That's 40-year old, ponderous lump, Peter Clarke.0 -
It's almost up there with the "but has he got a hard shot" banterRedhenry said:Black box is part of the recruitment process nowadays, people would moan if we didn't use it. Honestly think the black box comments are to did out TS/MS. Black box comments are boring now btw..5 -
I was going to say something similar on the Gilbey thread about midfielders. We have used about 15 over the last 2 seasons ranging from the excellent to the adequate. None of the 3 managers have been able to get the balance right for any length of time. We have 6 now, which should be enough but I still don't see how you perm a good 3, that would work together, out of it.Garrymanilow said:
Some players, especially defenders, just find their way late in their careers. There's also a huge amount to be said for finding the right system for a player. I always think about Sheffield United's defence that finished 9th in the Premier League in 19/20. Their defence was insanely poor for a Premier League team on paper. It was a backline made up of proper well-travelled Football League journeymen. The overlapping centre backs that everyone enjoyed were Jack O'Connell (26), Chris Basham (31) and John Egan (27). They had between them 21 Premier League appearances, all of them from Basham, with the most recent being in the 2010/11 season. Up to that point they'd all taken in Championship, League One and League Two football, with two of them signing for Sheff Utd when they were a League One club. Their wingbacks were the same story. It just worked though, the system was good, the players worked well together and they were absolutely brilliant together at the back. It shows what a delicate ecosystem it was that a big reason it fell apart the next season was that O'Connell had a bad injury and only played two games. If the player fits the system and can be partnered up with the right people around him it doesn't matter where he's played before as long as it's right for the team. Hopefully that will be the case hereExiled_Addick said:
Agreed. My one reservation would be, if he can defend and play and has been at a club like Celtic, what was he doing in the bottom half of League 2 with Rochdale? I mean, he is 27 in a coupleScoham said:Got a good feeling about this one. There will be plenty of CBs available on a free, you don't sign one from the bottom half of L2 in June unless you rate him highly.
Glad we're looking beyond L1 and the more obvious players willing to drop down from the Championship. Looking forward to seeing who we sign next.
of months so not exactly at the start of his career either.1 -
Reminds me of Tal Ben Haim, watching youtube clips...
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Because many "follow the crowd".sillav nitram said:Not sure why everyone appears to be wetting their knickers on the strength of one signing who most haven't even heard of and suggesting this is a statement of intent by the club?
Plus why haven't we had the usual, free transfer bargain basement type of comments?
I'm jus asking, I haven't myself got a clue!
Personally, I'm optimistic that he'll be decent/more than decent, but in truth I haven't a clue.5
