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Troy Parrott

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/will-mick-mccarthy-take-chance-on-the-next-robbie-keane-gqhbq3xgh


Will Mick McCarthy take chance on ‘the next Robbie Keane’?
November 30 2018, 12:01am,
How fitting it is for Uefa to be given a tour of the north Dublin inner-city’s football playgrounds this week when Ireland’s future hopes rest upon one of its products.

Troy Parrott, the distinctively-named and richly talented 16-year-old, is making headlines for Ireland underage teams and gathering a showreel of goals for Tottenham Hotspur.

He is yet to grace the first team as fellow Dubliner Robbie Keane did with such verve, yet observers place Parrott in the same bracket for talent at that tender age.

There were shades of Keane’s agility and eye for goal in the strike Parrott buried against Inter Milan during Wednesday’s Youth Champions League game.

Rather than being on the fringes of their under-18 team, as most Irish imports are in their first year, Parrott is the main striker for Tottenham’s under-23 side. Mauricio Pochettino does not need his son, fellow academy scholar Maurizio, to inform him of his team-mate’s ability.

David Pleat, the club’s former manager and advisor to chairman Daniel Levy, witnessed Parrott shine during Ireland’s march to the quarter-finals of the Under-17 European Championships in May, scoring three in four games at the finals in England.

Wes Hoolahan may have the balance of an ice-skater, Graham Burke a wand of a left foot but it is the instep of their fellow north inner-city Dubliner which stands out now. All three were raised within a square mile of each other around the north strand, an area steeped in football.

Eamon Dunphy and John Giles have long attributed Ireland’s woes at senior level to the death of street football, but there is no shortage of the art in this district. Not even the scourge of gangland feuds blighting the area since the Regency Hotel murders 20 months ago could suppress this hothouse of football.
It is here that the blazers of Uefa, in town for Sunday’s Euro 2020 qualification draw, will have been brought for an insight to Dublin’s culture. Last night, the roadshow with the trophy hit Mountjoy Square, tomorrow Commons Street will be visited. “My mother couldn’t get me in off the street every day,” said Parrott, from Buckingham Street, a long pass away from Burke’s family home on Sean MacDermott Street. “Whether I was out on the road or in the local park with my mates, I enjoyed having the ball at my feet.”

Now, he has got the world at his feet. Tottenham have his path mapped out, but Ireland’s need is far more pressing, leaving Mick McCarthy grappling with a balancing act.

Martin O’Neill said he was tempted to draft the forward into his last squad, predicting a “big, big future” for him. McCarthy may have no choice but to fast-track him during 2019.

Would he rely on a rookie to cure his shortage of firepower? McCarthy showed his faith in youth on his first stint at the helm, blooding six debutants, including Keane, in a friendly against Czech Republic 20 years ago.

Were Parrott to be thrown in for his bow in McCarthy’s first set of matches in March, he would smash the 38-year-old record held by Jimmy Holmes for being the youngest ever player to win a senior cap.

Marty McGuigan, Tottenham’s Irish scout who first spotted their prospect, has noticed the change in Parrott’s physique since he started full-time training in the summer.

“He’s already developed into a man,” McGuigan said. “I was over at the club training ground recently and Troy ran across a couple of pitches to greet me. He has adjusted to the professional environment with ease and I could sense his degree of focus. It’s very early days for Troy but so far, so good.”

Parrott has probably heard the name Terry Dixon. He was 16 when parachuted into the Ireland squad by Steve Staunton 12 years ago, touted as the next big thing, only for injuries to strike.

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola took him off the scrapheap he was thrown on by Spurs. He earned one under-21 cap, never played in the Premier League and, at 28, is now turning out for non-League Aylesbury United.

Closer to his Dublin home, across the road in Seville Place to be exact, a chat with Keith Treacy is advisable for Parrott. The winger did break into the Ireland team, winning six caps under Giovanni Trapattoni, but the trappings of a footballer’s lifestyle sent him into a tailspin. He recalls earning €3,000 per week as a 17-year-old at Blackburn Rovers, shelling out on a new Range Rover without even having a licence to drive it. Depression engulfed his life and back in his native city, poorer but happier, Treacy is done with the game.

Then there is the case of Anthony Stokes, reportedly on his way from Iran last night after severing his ties with Tractor Sazi just 11 games into his contract. A contemporary of Treacy’s, also now 30, talent alone could only get Stokes so far.

Vincent Butler, the former Ireland Under-16 manager and founding member of Belvedere, the schoolboy club where Hoolahan, Burke and Treacy learnt their trade, believes their latest graduate has a lot in his favour.

“Anything can happen — injuries, pressure, change of manager — but we in Belvedere would be quietly confident that Troy can succeed,” he said.

In these desperate times for Irish football, that is enough for the weight of expectation to snowball
 
Think this is what confirms to me that Poch does not trust youth like when he first turned up in the country. Putting Janssen in the squad for the west ham against a lad ripping it up in the under 23s despite being just 17.

Think it is time we give this lad a 10 minute cameo. Janssen though a willing runner has never shown any skill.
 
Think this is what confirms to me that Poch does not trust youth like when he first turned up in the country. Putting Janssen in the squad for the west ham against a lad ripping it up in the under 23s despite being just 17.

Think it is time we give this lad a 10 minute cameo. Janssen though a willing runner has never shown any skill.

What 17 year old academy players was Poch giving game time to when he was first here?
 
Think this is what confirms to me that Poch does not trust youth like when he first turned up in the country. Putting Janssen in the squad for the west ham against a lad ripping it up in the under 23s despite being just 17.

Think it is time we give this lad a 10 minute cameo. Janssen though a willing runner has never shown any skill.

Ripping it up?

He scored his first goals for the under 23s a few weeks ago
 
Weird one this. You'd think the club would be happy to see him at an international tournament

https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/u17-euro-ireland-squad-announced-for-tournament

"A decision will be made on the final player to complete the squad with O'Brien still in talks with Tottenham Hotspur over the possibility of playmaker Troy Parrott being involved."

This was from this morning :


Hasn't he been 19th man a couple of times recently? He might be needed similarly for Bournemouth.
 
This was from this morning :


Hasn't he been 19th man a couple of times recently? He might be needed similarly for Bournemouth.

From what I can gather they are taking to games for experience and to stop the likes of him going off to the Bundesliga.
I mean they took him to Barcelona, even though he can't be registered on the Champions League B list for u21 players because he hasn't been at the club for 2 years yet.
 
Think this is what confirms to me that Poch does not trust youth like when he first turned up in the country. Putting Janssen in the squad for the west ham against a lad ripping it up in the under 23s despite being just 17.

Think it is time we give this lad a 10 minute cameo. Janssen though a willing runner has never shown any skill.

It's also about not putting a kid in a high-pressure situation like that - it can ruin young players.

He just turned 17 in February, I think. And will turn 18 next year.

That's astonishingly young, and even Dele didn't have to play at our level at that age.

Personally, I'd treat Parrott gingerly. Next season, have him regularly training with the team, and put him on the Champions League B list. In 2020-2021, have him as one of the 25-man squad (he'll be 18 then, will turn 19 midway through the season).

And then, provided he keeps progressing, I'd look for him to have a real impact in 2021-2022, by which time, we might well be scouting around for replacements/regular backups for Kane.
 
Robbie Keane began his professional career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, scoring twice on his first-team debut aged 17. The following season he was the club's leading goalscorer and scored his first international goal for the Republic of Ireland. He changed club frequently between 1999 and 2002, breaking transfer fee records, but his brief spells at Inter Milan and Leeds United were unexceptional. He joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2002 and played there for seven-and-a-half years over two spells and amassed 306 appearances across all competitions, scoring 122 goals. The 2007–08 season was the most fruitful of his career as he set a career record of 23 goals in a season, including a landmark 100th competitive goal and won his first senior honour, the League Cup.
 
It's also about not putting a kid in a high-pressure situation like that - it can ruin young players.

He just turned 17 in February, I think. And will turn 18 next year.

That's astonishingly young, and even Dele didn't have to play at our level at that age.

Personally, I'd treat Parrott gingerly. Next season, have him regularly training with the team, and put him on the Champions League B list. In 2020-2021, have him as one of the 25-man squad (he'll be 18 then, will turn 19 midway through the season).

And then, provided he keeps progressing, I'd look for him to have a real impact in 2021-2022, by which time, we might well be scouting around for replacements/regular backups for Kane.

I see what your saying, but the is no pressure on him. We are not talking him up just giving the lad a chance because the guys in front of him are cack.

Rashford surprised everyone and this kid could to.

To be fair to Poch he has given Sparks a chance.
 
I see what your saying, but the is no pressure on him. We are not talking him up just giving the lad a chance because the guys in front of him are cack.

Rashford surprised everyone and this kid could to.

To be fair to Poch he has given Sparks a chance.

I know what you mean, mate, and it's sound - I just think that, even if the guys ahead of him are undoubtedly cack, it's a lot to put on very young shoulders.

Maybe Poch is more hesitant to play youth now, but I'm definitely giving him the benefit of the doubt on that given Parrott's age and inexperience.
 
Think this is what confirms to me that Poch does not trust youth like when he first turned up in the country. Putting Janssen in the squad for the west ham against a lad ripping it up in the under 23s despite being just 17.

Think it is time we give this lad a 10 minute cameo. Janssen though a willing runner has never shown any skill.
Alli
Sanchez
Foyth

Young adults ready to embed

Edwards - Poch talked him up. It backfired.
His prudence with children is understandable.
 
It's also about not putting a kid in a high-pressure situation like that - it can ruin young players.

He just turned 17 in February, I think. And will turn 18 next year.

That's astonishingly young, and even Dele didn't have to play at our level at that age.

Personally, I'd treat Parrott gingerly. Next season, have him regularly training with the team, and put him on the Champions League B list. In 2020-2021, have him as one of the 25-man squad (he'll be 18 then, will turn 19 midway through the season).

And then, provided he keeps progressing, I'd look for him to have a real impact in 2021-2022, by which time, we might well be scouting around for replacements/regular backups for Kane.

He can't go on the Champions League/Europa League B List until March 2020. I believe he joined Spurs in March 2018 after he turned 16.

He was stretchered off tonight in the u23s. Hopefully nothing too serious.
 
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