Ciaran Donnelly

[Neil Weaver]

Anyone of a s**t-stirring nature might be inclined to ask where Ciaran Donnelly is, Mr 6. Not that I'd do anything like that you understand........

[67splitscreen]

Love shoit stirring.

Glenavon NI whats the script.

[American]

Anyone of a s**t-stirring nature might be inclined to ask where Ciaran Donnelly is, Mr 6. Not that I'd do anything like that you understand........

And I'd ask where Dom Matteo, Gresko and Nissa are.....

[Majiball]

Ciaran Donelly, what did happen to him??

England captain I believe for most of his school boy life, we really missed a trick there.

[cn174]

Ciaran Donelly, what did happen to him??

England captain I believe for most of his school boy life, we really missed a trick there.

He ended up at Fleetwood then some team in Northern Ireland called Glenavon. Just goes to show that just because you're good at u16 doesn't mean you're going to make it at all.

[Majiball]

He ended up at Fleetwood then some team in Northern Ireland called Glenavon. Just goes to show that just because you're good at u16 doesn't mean you're going to make it at all.

True very true.

Many kids have fallen by the wayside, and many more will. He had a lot of promise pity it never came to fruition.

[rover6]

I only make this post to correct cn174.

Donnelly did more than impress at U16. He impressed at England U19 level alongside a D.Bentley. He also impressed at reserve level and League One level. This lead Graeme Souness, not one to freely promote youth players (Gally is the only one he freely promoted, i believe), to call up Donnelly (along with Danns and Douglas) to the first team squad, although, Donnelly never made it to the bench.

It went horribly wrong but no-one can say that he had no potential. For whatever reason it did go wrong, he ended up being shoved onto the right wing for the reserves because they didn't know what else to do them. And there he played out the final and dismal days of his Rovers career.

I guarentee that reserve regulars of the time will tell you that Donnelly was at least as good as Danns, who is playing out a half-decent Champ/League 1 career. Why he collapsed so horrendously requires knowledge of details that I don't have. I still partially blame Souness for not giving Donnelly and other young players incentive appearances to psychologically motivate their development and self-discipline - but that cannot explain how far Donnelly fell.

Edited August 4, 2009 by rover6

[LeChuck]

Ciaran Donelly, what did happen to him??

England captain I believe for most of his school boy life, we really missed a trick there.

I honestly thought he was going to be brilliant. England Schoolboys used to be on TV a fair bit back then, I used to watch them whenever they were on. I even went to a game at the Stadium of Light to see England play Brazil, I managed to dig out the line-up from that day:

England: Pidgeley, Welsh, McKie, Schumacher (capt), Johnson, Taylor, Westcarr, Beck (Bell 62), Samba, Donnelly, Lambu

Brazil: Marcelo, Ferdandes, Wendel (capt), Wescley, Alberoni, Bruno (Vinicius 62), Leandro, Tavares, Marcio, Ricardo, Rafael

Donnelly was brilliant that day. Interesting to see how many of those have actually forged top flight careers though. Glen Johnson is the only one who has become a regular top flight player. I thought the Taylor might have been Steven, but it's Kris. None of the others have gone on to be regular Premier League footballers, and Donnelly isn't the only one to slip into obscurity. It's very odd how players can go from being the best in their position in the country for their age to not being good enough for the football league.

Does anyone recognise any of the Brazilian names? Bear in mind they'll be about 24 now, I know many Brazilian players tend to share the same name.

Edited August 4, 2009 by LeChuck

[owenrilla]

Does anyone recognise any of the Brazilian names? Bear in mind they'll be about 24 now, I know many Brazilian players tend to share the same name.

Do you know the sort of range of ages (beyond the 24 you mention) they could be now? Wendel could be the one at Bordeaux but he is 27 now, good player though. Link

[cn174]

Donnelly was brilliant that day. Interesting to see how many of those have actually forged top flight careers though. Glen Johnson is the only one who has become a regular top flight player. I thought the Taylor might have been Steven, but it's Kris. None of the others have gone on to be regular Premier League footballers, and Donnelly isn't the only one to slip into obscurity. It's very odd how players can go from being the best in their position in the country for their age to not being good enough for the football league.

That was kind of my point about being the best at 16 doesn't necessarily translate into anything, not being specific about Donnelly really. Those 10 players who didn't make it weren't all victims of bad management, not being put in the first team etc etc. although there seems to be a big trend of non-progression. I would suggest it is quite common if you look through other season's U16 squads to see who made it.

I remember watching a show about youth football, it was a documentary about Lilleshaw before it was closed. It was a similar situation there. Out of the group of 20 or so lads who moved in at 15 years old, the only one to make it was Alan Smith who actually decided to leave really early because he was homesick.

The only two players I can remember watching in the Victory Shield on sky who went onto big things are Owen and Joe Cole. Surely there are others but I can only remember them.

[LeChuck]

Do you know the sort of range of ages (beyond the 24 you mention) they could be now? Wendel could be the one at Bordeaux but he is 27 now, good player though. Link

I'm pretty sure it was an U16 game, although I think officially called 'England Schoolboys'. 27 is definitely too old, unfortunately. The oldest player I've been able to find in that England side is 25 and the youngest 24, so I would assume the same applies to the Brazilians. It's possible they could be younger if they were a wonderkid, but definitely not older.

[Blue blood]

I honestly thought he was going to be brilliant. England Schoolboys used to be on TV a fair bit back then, I used to watch them whenever they were on. I even went to a game at the Stadium of Light to see England play Brazil, I managed to dig out the line-up from that day:England: Pidgeley, Welsh, McKie, Schumacher (capt), Johnson, Taylor, Westcarr, Beck (Bell 62), Samba, Donnelly, LambuBrazil: Marcelo, Ferdandes, Wendel (capt), Wescley, Alberoni, Bruno (Vinicius 62), Leandro, Tavares, Marcio, Ricardo, RafaelDonnelly was brilliant that day. Interesting to see how many of those have actually forged top flight careers though. Glen Johnson is the only one who has become a regular top flight player. I thought the Taylor might have been Steven, but it's Kris. None of the others have gone on to be regular Premier League footballers, and Donnelly isn't the only one to slip into obscurity. It's very odd how players can go from being the best in their position in the country for their age to not being good enough for the football league.Does anyone recognise any of the Brazilian names? Bear in mind they'll be about 24 now, I know many Brazilian players tend to share the same name.

Very interesting. Of those the only one I know a decent amount (well something) about, bar Donnelly is Pidgeley. He's just moved to Carlisle having really struggled at Millwall due to personal problems. A lot of it in his case, from himself and the Carlisle manager (not that he's an authority mind) is that the taleny is there but the mental fortitude and application has been utterly lacking/messed up. This is only one case so not sure how far it can be extrapolated, but does add some weight to the argument that it's as much about attitude as talent.

This becomes even more odd when you consider the current premadonna stereotype of the modern footballer, who's likes to party and spend their obscene amounts of dosh. Granted this to an extent is a stereotype but it does make you wonder how dodge a bad attitude must be to contribute to them slipping into obscurity.

Kelbo - I've been saying that about reserve team football for years!

Edited August 9, 2009 by Blue blood

[Commondore]

And I'd ask where Dom Matteo, Gresko and Nissa are.....

Nissa is playing for AIK in the Swedish league, stuck at left back (again!) despite claiming to be a centre half...

I honestly thought he was going to be brilliant. England Schoolboys used to be on TV a fair bit back then, I used to watch them whenever they were on. I even went to a game at the Stadium of Light to see England play Brazil, I managed to dig out the line-up from that day:

England: Pidgeley, Welsh, McKie, Schumacher (capt), Johnson, Taylor, Westcarr, Beck (Bell 62), Samba, Donnelly, Lambu

Brazil: Marcelo, Ferdandes, Wendel (capt), Wescley, Alberoni, Bruno (Vinicius 62), Leandro, Tavares, Marcio, Ricardo, Rafael

Donnelly was brilliant that day. Interesting to see how many of those have actually forged top flight careers though. Glen Johnson is the only one who has become a regular top flight player. I thought the Taylor might have been Steven, but it's Kris. None of the others have gone on to be regular Premier League footballers, and Donnelly isn't the only one to slip into obscurity. It's very odd how players can go from being the best in their position in the country for their age to not being good enough for the football league.

Does anyone recognise any of the Brazilian names? Bear in mind they'll be about 24 now, I know many Brazilian players tend to share the same name.

The only Brazilian I recognise is Wendel, he's playing for Bordeaux who won the Ligue 1 last season.

[LeChuck]

Ciaran Donnelly has been reduced to playing Sunday League football in Blackpool.

http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sports-news/Veteran-Gouck-sees-off-Seniors.4666977.jp

[LeChuck]

Ciaran Donnelly (remember him?) has just signed for my hometown club, Barrow AFC.

If anyone told me on the day I saw him outclass Brazil at schoolboy level that, aged 26, he'd be signing for Barrow, I'd never have believed it.

Actually, considering I've been following his career and posting about him for a decade or so, it feels oddly fatalistic that he's gone there.