Eoin Toal

[kitwe]

Bolton interested in our captain

[Nige92]

It'll be interesting to see what the compensation is for him. Shamrock Rovers are only getting a reported €30k for Mandriou who has 6 months on his contract too. I'd imagine we'll be looking for something similar. Below his value but unfortunately that's the way our league works atm

[brandyball]

Pity we couldn't get him on a long term contract.

[Nige92]

Pity we couldn't get him on a long term contract.

Agreed. From a player's point of view a longer contract means they'd cost more to get out of. Players with ambitions of playing elsewhere are probably reluctant to sign on to them as a result.

[Keyser Soze]

It'll be interesting to see what the compensation is for him. Shamrock Rovers are only getting a reported €40k for Mandriou who has 6 months on his contract too. I'd imagine we'll be looking for something similar. Below his value but unfortunately that's the way our league works atm

Reading that there was this low release fee inserted into Mandriou's contract when he signed with Rovers.

Seems strange, and I'm sure they aren't happy with such a paltry amount, especially as they will have a good chance of European progression in their tie.

[KEVK]

Pity we couldn't get him on a long term contract.

Agreed. From a player's point of view a longer contract means they'd cost more to get out of. Players with ambitions of playing elsewhere are probably reluctant to sign on to them as a result.

Agents are advising a lot of LOI players not to sign long term contracts as it's easier to get a move to England and elsewhere when not tied in to longer contracts.

[Nige92]

Move to Bolton has been confirmed. Has anyone heard about the fee?

Surely he'll go down as one of our best players of the last decade at least. A great servant to the club. Hopefully he succeeds and his career keeps improving. Wouldn't be surprised to see him called up for the North's squad soon.

[rodgers]

Great signing by Kenny Shiels and the best defender in the league even though so young.

I hope there are add ons including sell on fees and international appearances. Particularly the latter as he is bound to get a call up from the north soon. Is he still eligible for the south?

[marcoloco]

He's been great and it was inevitable that he would move on. He obviously knew this himself when he refused to extend his contract. Wish him all the best. Will be difficult to replace as he was both a CB and leader.

On a separate note, anyone think the league is getting rinsed of all its best young talent? Seems to be lots of moves from LOI to the lower leagues in England. Is this a Brexit side effect with less European players moving to England? Anyway, our league is much worse off as a result. Makes you wonder how any team in Ireland can reach any decent level if we cant compete / retain any young promising players.

[Nige92]

Great signing by Kenny Shiels and the best defender in the league even though so young.

I hope there are add ons including sell on fees and international appearances. Particularly the latter as he is bound to get a call up from the north soon. Is he still eligible for the south?

He would be eligible for the Republic but would need to go through international clearance. With the talent at CB the Republic has to choose from I'd suggest he'd need to be playing at high championship level to make the squad.

[Nige92]

On a separate note, anyone think the league is getting rinsed of all its best young talent? Seems to be lots of moves from LOI to the lower leagues in England. Is this a Brexit side effect with less European players moving to England? Anyway, our league is much worse off as a result. Makes you wonder how any team in Ireland can reach any decent level if we cant compete / retain any young promising players.

There's been a number of young players that have gone for relative peanuts. There's a number of reasons for it, Brexit being one. Rather than players going over as unknown underage players, they're now staying and getting experience, and a reputation, in senior football. The Irish market is a cheap one to shop in due to the short term contracts players are on. Partly because clubs only offer shorter terms and because players know to get to England easier they're better taking them.

The only solution to that is for clubs to offer better wages/terms, which they may not be able to do. It'll most likely happen every other summer as new players build reputations. Clubs will hopefully have sell on clauses etc until a longer term solution can be found.

[marcoloco]

Until Clubs grow, become sustainable and profitable, and can pay wages and offer better contracts we're really treading water. (We've are probably at a similar level to many U23 teams in Englands Championship and League 1 which isn't great for our hopes of negotiating big contracts). For improvements to happen we need a tv deal and sponsorship which is really only likely on the back of an All Island league format. We also need greater support from Gov and FAI but both those organisations are a mess. All in all the fundamentals arn't promising.

[forza]

Well done, son

Congratulations

[marcoloco]

Well done, son

Congratulations

Well deserved.

I wonder was there clauses in the deal that we'd get a little extra - suspect not as there was hardly any time remaining on his contract with us when he left.

[Keyser Soze]

Congrats to Eoin today.

EFL trophy winner at Wembley in front of nearly 80,000, with a clean sheet.

[danny hale]

Great player for Derry and Bolton