Hourihane gone in January?

[S8TY]

Still a good player hope he stays plus better than some  give him credit for ….would get into any team in L1…

[1of4]

20 minutes ago, Mostyn6 said:

possibly used in the wrong position for us, which makes him look like a slow, immobile passenger. Maybe in a team with more protection, he COULD thrive.

He is a slow immobile passenger.

His one decent forward pass, that led Bird's second goal, isn't a good enough a return from a player that some posters extol as a championship level player.

Two other forward passes where straight to the feet of an opposition player and on one of these occasions, instead of trying to get the ball back he turned towards Nelson  gesturing for him to challenge the Northampton player.

If has many fans have stated, that they want to see us playing the ball through the middle of the park that will require a mobile midfield unit and it can't afford to be carrying a passenger

One moment of magic isn't good enough to warrant his being named in the starting line-up

[Wolfie20]

4 hours ago, Nuwtfly said:

From what I've seen of CH this season, Liam Thompson could do everything he does (and would do it on probably a quarter of the wages)

No way would Thompson have played the dink over the defensive line for Bird to score his second goal. I like Thompson - he has age on his side but also different qualities to Hourihane, stronger tackling and higher energy.

[hintonsboots]

6 minutes ago, 1of4 said:

One moment of magic isn't good enough to warrant his being named in the starting line-up

I would prefer him to stay, 7 goals and 10 assists last season, ? 2 goals and 4 assists this season so far. His stats are very similar to the much lauded Barry Bannan (22/23). Key part of the squad and willing to have polite discussions with the fans.

[Steve How Hard?]

Better get the ballot box out for a new captain then if this is true. 

[Yoxoram]

21 minutes ago, Gerry Daly said:

You however are a football supporter that does understand it right? 

No, not completely and I have been wrong about many things in football such as the appointment of Jim Smith. I have been involved in grassroots football for many years and have occasionally been paid for doing so (a little pocket money only) but I wouldn't call myself a professional within the game. However, I do trust the opinion of the true professionals. If the speculation is accurate, we are talking about Championship clubs who think he can do a job in a higher division than he is currently playing in. Doesn't that suggest something, such as he's considered to be a decent footballer.

[Srg]

5 minutes ago, Yoxoram said:

No, not completely and I have been wrong about many things in football such as the appointment of Jim Smith. I have been involved in grassroots football for many years and have occasionally been paid for doing so (a little pocket money only) but I wouldn't call myself a professional within the game. However, I do trust the opinion of the true professionals. If the speculation is accurate, we are talking about Championship clubs who think he can do a job in a higher division than he is currently playing in. Doesn't that suggest something, such as he's considered to be a decent footballer.

Doesn't take much to be paid for an opinion as an ex-footballer, just stick sky sports on any day of the week. Doesn’t mean they’re predisposed to be any more right than anyone else. In fact, in this day and age, the more radical your opinion the more views you get. 

[Ghost of Clough]

7 minutes ago, Yoxoram said:

No, not completely and I have been wrong about many things in football such as the appointment of Jim Smith. I have been involved in grassroots football for many years and have occasionally been paid for doing so (a little pocket money only) but I wouldn't call myself a professional within the game. However, I do trust the opinion of the true professionals. If the speculation is accurate, we are talking about Championship clubs who think he can do a job in a higher division than he is currently playing in. Doesn't that suggest something, such as he's considered to be a decent footballer.

It could be that he suits a Championship club's style of play more than ours. He could also just be a squad player at that level, rather than a regular starter in L1.

[Rammy03]

Hope he stays. Good footballer and good character

[Gee SCREAMER !!]

45 minutes ago, 1of4 said:

He is a slow immobile passenger.

His one decent forward pass, that led Bird's second goal, isn't a good enough a return from a player that some posters extol as a championship level player.

Two other forward passes where straight to the feet of an opposition player and on one of these occasions, instead of trying to get the ball back he turned towards Nelson  gesturing for him to challenge the Northampton player.

If has many fans have stated, that they want to see us playing the ball through the middle of the park that will require a mobile midfield unit and it can't afford to be carrying a passenger

One moment of magic isn't good enough to warrant his being named in the starting line-up

When Fornah came on he spent 20 mins passing the ball back to Wildsmith and Nelson. 

Hourihane gets my vote.

[DRBee]

2 hours ago, 1of4 said:

He is a slow immobile passenger.

His one decent forward pass, that led Bird's second goal, isn't a good enough a return from a player that some posters extol as a championship level player.

Two other forward passes where straight to the feet of an opposition player and on one of these occasions, instead of trying to get the ball back he turned towards Nelson  gesturing for him to challenge the Northampton player.

If has many fans have stated, that they want to see us playing the ball through the middle of the park that will require a mobile midfield unit and it can't afford to be carrying a passenger

One moment of magic isn't good enough to warrant his being named in the starting line-up

Did you spend a long time on the concourse?

[Blondest Goat]

7 hours ago, jameso said:

I like Hourihane and he'd have an advantage over Thompson in terms of experience/decision-making and passing, but Thompson brings other attributes he doesn't have and overall it wouldn't be the end of the world.

What would you say Thompson's ratio of good games to poor / average games has been?  He's had a handful of good games this season and a handful of good games previously in the championship but he's also had an awful lot of bang average ones.  I'd say the jury is still out on him.  Much more promising this season but need to see him do it over a longer period.

[Magicman]

2 hours ago, 1of4 said:

He is a slow immobile passenger.

His one decent forward pass, that led Bird's second goal, isn't a good enough a return from a player that some posters extol as a championship level player.

Two other forward passes where straight to the feet of an opposition player and on one of these occasions, instead of trying to get the ball back he turned towards Nelson  gesturing for him to challenge the Northampton player.

If has many fans have stated, that they want to see us playing the ball through the middle of the park that will require a mobile midfield unit and it can't afford to be carrying a passenger

One moment of magic isn't good enough to warrant his being named in the starting line-up

He calms things down , plays keep ball and can put in great crosses or free kicks for me justifies his place but fades after 60 mins. 

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, Blondest Goat said:

What would you say Thompson's ratio of good games to poor / average games has been?  He's had a handful of good games this season and a handful of good games previously in the championship but he's also had an awful lot of bang average ones.  I'd say the jury is still out on him.  Much more promising this season but need to see him do it over a longer period.

Ouch... do I need to provide a stat?! 🤣

Completely agree with you. Brilliant debut, has been very good indeed this season... and then there's a rather big patch in the middle when (for whatever reasons) we didn't benefit much from him.

Mind you, Hourihane was quite frustrating last season and I think it's probably too late to fix any limitations in his game. But he's an honest and talented player and I'm not saying I'd be looking to move him on. But if he wanted to go, I don't think we'd be as disadvantaged as much as if, say, Bird left.

[lrm14]

2 hours ago, 1of4 said:

He is a slow immobile passenger.

His one decent forward pass, that led Bird's second goal, isn't a good enough a return from a player that some posters extol as a championship level player.

Two other forward passes where straight to the feet of an opposition player and on one of these occasions, instead of trying to get the ball back he turned towards Nelson  gesturing for him to challenge the Northampton player.

If has many fans have stated, that they want to see us playing the ball through the middle of the park that will require a mobile midfield unit and it can't afford to be carrying a passenger

One moment of magic isn't good enough to warrant his being named in the starting line-up

Disagree, I thought he was brilliant last night particularly in the first half. Played exactly like the sort of player I thought he'd be when he signed. Came deep to collect the ball from the defenders and moved it on quickly to find an opening. Although we took our foot off the pedal slightly last night towards the end of the game, I felt when he was taken off the midfield was much less effective in both keeping the ball and breaking through their lines. Whether he can maintain that standard remains to be seen but last night was a top quality playmaking performance, for this level at least.

I think if he leaves in January we'll really miss him. His set pieces alone contribute massively to the team last season and if we're potentially losing Bird too our midfield will have taken a nosedive in terms of quality. It'll be very difficult to find players with their attributes willing to play at this level.

Edited November 1, 2023 by lrm14

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, lrm14 said:

Disagree, I thought he was brilliant last night particularly in the first half. Played exactly like the sort of player I thought he'd be when he signed. Came deep to collect the ball from the defenders and moved it on quickly to find an opening. Although we took our foot off the pedal slightly last night towards the end of the game, I felt when he was taken off the midfield was much less effective in both keeping the ball and breaking through their lines. Whether he can maintain that standard remains to be seen but last night was a top quality playmaking performance, for this level at least.

I think if he leaves in January we'll really miss him. His set pieces alone contribute massively to the team last season and if we're potentially losing Bird too our midfield will have taken a nosedive in terms of quality. It'll be very difficult to find players with their attributes willing to play at this level.

I'm with you in terms of his strengths and he had plenty of opportunities to show those yesterday because it was Northampton not Stevenage. His pass for Bird's second was an absolute beauty. I didn't think he had quite as exceptional a game because he gave the ball away multiple times, but that was outweighed by what he did well.

For sure, if Hourihane and Bird were to leave in January that would rip most of the creativity out of our central midfield - but there must be other talents out there and it really wouldn't be good enough if we could see this situation potentially arising and weren't doing everything possible already to have found them and lined them up as replacements.

[Van der MoodHoover]

Well his legs went a while ago so makes sense for the rest of him to try and catch them up......

[TheTinMan]

I've always thought he was just dossing in this league. This is a player who shone in the playoff final against Lampard's side not long ago and when we signed him I thought like someone else on here said he could/should be the best player in this league with his ability. In reality he shows that ability in 1 in 4 games and then just looks okay the rest of the time. Obviously would be missed because we're light on numbers and he's not a bad player but I'm not convinced he's putting it all in. Won't be here after next summer anyway so only delaying the inevitable if its not true. 

[Gerry Daly]

3 hours ago, Yoxoram said:

No, not completely and I have been wrong about many things in football such as the appointment of Jim Smith. I have been involved in grassroots football for many years and have occasionally been paid for doing so (a little pocket money only) but I wouldn't call myself a professional within the game. However, I do trust the opinion of the true professionals. If the speculation is accurate, we are talking about Championship clubs who think he can do a job in a higher division than he is currently playing in. Doesn't that suggest something, such as he's considered to be a decent footballer.

A lot of us were wrong about the appointment of Jim Smith so you are in good company!  We don't know that the speculation about Hourihane interesting  Championship clubs is true, so you don't know if there are in fact footballing professionals that support your view. What I would say is that he hasn't got any better in the two years he has been with us, going from the age of 31 to 33 yet there didn't appear to be a queue of Championship clubs after him before now. Now clearly Hourihane is a talented player and has been a top player in his prime. As with all such players, their physical decline can be counterbalanced for a quite a while by their ability and the experience that they have. The best example perhaps that we have seen of that at Derby being Paul McGrath. Hourihane could almost certainly still do a job at Championship level for the right club - one that has a certain playing style and the right blend of players to go with him. That doesn't mean though that he remains ideal for us, given the other players we have, the way we want to play and the sort of opposition we face 

[jono]

I like him. Gentleman footballer in the autumn of his career. Not always razor sharp but has valuable attributes. That said, time moves on. I trust our management to decide. If he goes we have options or we can find them. The real worry comes if he goes and Max goes at the same time. Double whammies aren’t good. We can adjust and develop to changes in personal as long as there is a sound plan for “what next” and an orderly planned transition.