Analysis: 'Cherry selection a gobsmacking move'
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Belfast Telegraph
3 minutes ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Northern Ireland boss confident Premier League star will be ‘ready to play' in opening World Cup qualifiers
Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill is anticipating that Liverpool star Conor Bradley will be 'ready to play' in next month's World Cup qualifiers in Luxembourg and Germany despite missing the start of the Premier League season. Moments before O'Neill's media briefing on Thursday afternoon at Windsor Park to announce his latest squad – which included Bradley – Liverpool manager Arne Slot revealed that the full-back had trained for 'a few minutes' with the Reds having been ruled out of the FA Community Shield against Crystal Palace and last Friday's 4-2 victory over Bournemouth due to a hamstring injury. The timing of Bradley's return is particularly useful for the Anfield outfit, with summer signing Jeremie Frimpong, who started at right-back versus Palace and the Cherries, now side-lined until after the international break. Whether or not Bradley features or starts in Monday's League game at Newcastle United remains to be seen but O'Neill was sounding positive about the prospects of the Tyrone native being available for the crucial September double header. That will be a boost for the rest of the national team and the fans, who recognise the Premier League winner as one of the country's most influential players. O'Neill stated: 'Conor's good. You know he'd be frustrated because his pre-season I think was going very well and, like anything, there's such competition at a club like Liverpool that you don't want to be injured because you have to try and find your way back into the team. 'But he gets opportunities. There's so many games with the Premier League season and the start of the Champions League. 'We just have to be mindful of where Conor's at physically when we look at him in these two games, but we anticipate that he'll be ready to play and we'll obviously have the dialogue with Liverpool to get their thoughts on that as well. 'Hopefully Conor can get minutes before we meet up on Sunday week.' On that Sunday week O'Neill refers to – August 31 – Liverpool host Arsenal prior to the Northern Ireland squad assembling to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers. Bradley would relish starting in that one. Three of O'Neill's players in his 26 man squad have already played in the Premier League this term – Sunderland duo Trai Hume and Daniel Ballard plus Crystal Palace's Justin Devenny, who came on as a late substitute in his side's scoreless draw at Chelsea on the opening weekend having netted the winning penalty in the shoot-out against Liverpool at Wembley in the Community Shield. Devenny is developing superbly for the Eagles, and with Eberechi Eze set to join Arsenal, the 21-year-old may enjoy even more first team opportunities. 'I think (Palace manager) Oliver Glasner has a lot of faith in Justin,' said O'Neill. 'He gets minutes off the bench. Like anything, sometimes it's maybe not as much as what he'd like, but there's real competition in that team and the position that he plays in. 'I think with Justin, we have a lot of versatility in him. We played him as a wing-back in June and I thought he did extremely well. He's got a real positive attitude to play wherever you ask him to play. 'He's trying to get into a very good and established Premier League team. The players that are keeping him out of that team are moving to Arsenal and that shows you the competition for places. Hopefully, as I say, he just continues on that upward curve. 'Also he showed his confidence, belief, to come on and take the penalty (at Wembley). I think he's very highly thought of at his club.' O'Neill was at the Stadium of Light last weekend to see Hume and Ballard make their Premier League debuts in a 3-0 win against West Ham with the latter scoring. 'Sunderland have invested very heavily in the team and they've invested well based on what I saw in the game. That club's been on a really positive journey for the last three or four seasons,' said O'Neill. 'With the team that started, Trai and Daniel and one other player were the only three players from last season. 'It shows you the regard they're held in by the people at that club. Sunderland clearly have taken on a strategy where they're not just going up to the Premier League to take part and get the financial benefits of that. 'They want to make sure that they can stabilise and stay in the League. If they can do that the first year, you build on that, and the two lads (Hume and Ballard) were terrific in the game against West Ham. 'I think when you have that kind of start, then you have that belief that you can deal with the Premier League. I don't think they should have any fear. It was a real positive start for both of them.' O'Neill added that he has further been encouraged by the early season performances of other key players, such as Shea Charles at Southampton and another Championship ace in Ethan Galbraith following his transfer to Swansea City. The key for the manager is that all of his big hitters are good to go and injury free when the matches in Luxembourg on September 4 and Germany three days later come around.
Wales Online
an hour ago
- Wales Online
The nuclear button has been pressed but WRU must now get out of the URC
The nuclear button has been pressed but WRU must now get out of the URC The WRU has laid its cards on the table with a radical plan. Steffan Thomas looks at the potential holes in it Picture shows (from left) Richard Collier-Keywood, WRU chairman, Dave Reddin, WRU director of rugby and elite performance and Abi Tierney, WRU chief executive (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd) The Welsh Rugby Union hit the nuclear button yesterday when it put forward proposals to cut the number of professional teams in Wales by half. A formal consultation process will begin in September where the WRU will consult with a number of key stakeholders including the current four professional clubs - Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets - along with supporters, present and former players and the Welsh Rugby Players' Association. The WRU believe radical change is needed to drag the game in Wales out of the doldrums along with providing the platform to win the Six Nations and become "genuine wild-card World Cup winners" in the future. But a reduction to two teams is the WRU's optimal option; this could change during the consultation process where there is likely to be significant kick-back. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. After a press conference which lasted well over an hour at the Principality Stadium yesterday and a document of more than 100 pages there remain questions which need answering. Steffan Thomas has been through the document to pick out the key points, issues and questions, as he sees it. What is the optimal solution? The optimal solution focuses on two clubs with a men's and women's team. Each squad will consist of 50 senior players and operate with playing budgets of £7.8m, while there will only be room for two non-Welsh qualified players in each side. It favours a heavily centralised system in line with the New Zealand model. In terms of the ownership model the WRU wants control of all rugby operations with the current investors taking charge of the commercial element of the club. In its own words the WRU wants "unified management and contracting of all elite players (professional men's and women's teams, national team and national academy) to align decisions on selection and talent development with players and clubs". The union insists "that PRA-style arrangements are a particularly challenging choice due to an inherent mismanagement between stakeholder objectives". In other words there is a significant lack of trust between the WRU and the four professional clubs with both parties often pulling in different directions. The WRU sees this as an opportunity to "optimise collaboration" if it can seize control of all rugby operations. Controversially it wants to build a new national campus and base the two professional clubs there. In terms of players development the main point put forward is the return of a national academy-style system and significant investment being poured into Super Rygbi Cymru. The idea behind the two-club scenario is to concentrate talent which in turn creates more competition for contracts and starting places. It's a case of elitism on steroids, with the aim of driving up standards on and off the field. Is there likely to be pushback during the consultation and what might change? Having spoken to numerous high-ranking sources within the game there will be significant pushback. Clearly clubs are going to be fighting for their lives and the first priority will be survival. On that note we do not yet know whether the WRU will simply scrap two teams or create two new entities with new branding. Under the proposed optimal system private investors are still required to pour in £17m, which amounts to £1m a year. But why would any private investor want to pour money into a club if the WRU have complete control over player contracting and development? The original PRA25 involved circa £125m worth of WRU funding over five years, while their new 'optimal solution' of two teams results in £94 worth of WRU payments. But where is the remaining £26m? That has not been accounted for but may well be kept back to invest into a new national campus, the SRC and academy system. There will also be significant investment into improving the women's game, while competition income will likely decrease with a reduction of teams, as might broadcasting income. They have also spent £6m on a roof walk, while the cost of assuming ownership of Cardiff also has to be taken into consideration There is £121m worth of investment with the three equally-funded club solutions and £116m if they go to three teams under a tiered funding model. Private investors are required to put in £25m if it's four teams, £21m with three unequally funded teams, £21m with three in a tiered funding model and £17m if they reduce to two. The academy budget per club is £800k in every mode. Join WalesOnline Rugby's WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free They are now also proposing a salary cap of £7.8m-£8m in the optimal solution which is only marginally better than where they are now. This is close to the Gallagher PREM cap but short of some of their competitors in the United Rugby Championship. It seems they are hoping to drive a harder bargain with Welsh talent with limited number of overseas player spots at clubs in England and France. This is likely to be enough to be significantly more competitive if talent is concentrated into two teams, although to really compete in the latter stages of the Champions Cup it will need to be higher. Another area where there will certainly be a significant amount of pushback is with the idea of having two teams training at the same national campus. The WRU's director of rugby and elite performance Dave Reddin was quick to stress both teams would have separate team rooms at the facility and different identities. But there are many within the game who believe this is anti-competitive, with professional sport all about different styles and cultures. Union-owned sides allow for far greater control from the national coach and potentially greater cohesion in terms of on-field partnerships and playing styles, especially if the majority of the national squad are concentrated into two teams. But it is arguably not the job of the WRU to own and control its teams, but rather to facilitate the growth of the game in Wales. Union-owned teams are arguably anti-sport and is one of the reasons the URC is an inferior competition to the French Top 14 and the Gallagher PREM. Can the new 'optimal structure' win over supporters? This remains to be seen but the reaction has not been a positive one on social media. Wales has a club-based history and it is a very tribal nation so the very idea of creating two new teams is not going to go down well. There were hints during the media interviews this week the WRU saw the SRC as the "heritage league" where tribalism can thrive and old rivalries can continue. While this has not been confirmed they may prefer to have an East and West team playing in the professional game with the current four clubs downgraded to SRC level. Reading between the lines they may view a fan supporting east Wales the same as a Cardiff fan now supporting Wales. If they can be successful and challenge for silverware then they will attract supporters. But this is highly unlikely to get buy-in from current supporters of the four professional sides, with traditional club branding more likely to attract fans. Welsh rugby's tradition is rooted firmly in the club game. What competition will they play in? A reduction to two teams playing in the URC would be a complete and utter disaster because it is a competition which Welsh fans have never truly bought into. The vast majority of Welsh fans would much prefer to face the likes of Bristol, Bath, Gloucester, Northampton Saints, Exeter Chiefs and Leicester Tigers on a weekly basis. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here. It would be transformational for the Welsh game and a leading figure at a Welsh club told WalesOnline this week an Anglo-Welsh league would result in its commercial income rising by at least £3m. The WRU insist they are committed to the URC but if it really wants to deliver an 'optimal solution' it has to be in an Anglo-Welsh. Anything else is sub-optimal. According to numerous people within the upper echelons of the game PRL might expand to 12 or 14 teams but would only consider two Welsh teams. Article continues below It is worth noting teams who are owned by a governing body or has significant union control is unlikely to get accepted into an Anglo-Welsh league. Like it or not radical change is required to drag Welsh rugby out of the doldrums and unlike what some fans have been saying this is not a knee-jerk reaction. But it has to be the right change and the WRU's 'optimal solution' leaves a lot to be desired.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Price earns call-up for World Cup qualifier
West Bromwich Albion midfielder Isaac Price has been called up to the Northern Ireland squad for their opening 2026 World Cup 21-year-old is currently the Championship's top goal scorer, having netted three times in two games and helping to secure Ryan Mason's side maximum points so has made 18 appearances for Northern Ireland and scored six goals since national team boss Michael O'Neill handed him his debut aged Ireland open their World Cup qualifying campaign when they visit Luxembourg on 4 September.
