Czechlad Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 It's crazy to me that we have a midfielder who scored 10+ goals from the CM position, and people don't want him starting for the playoffs. Hourihane may not be perfect, but he is the best CM we have, and honestly one of the best in the league. We can have Onomah coming off the bench as a good sub for Hourihane if need be. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Has been everywhere in this first half Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Brilliant. Got through so much work. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 I thought he did brilliantly with his work rate, BUT, 2 things.... a) For a guy who has a decent left foot and scores a fair few goals, he doesn’t half love passing the ball tamely to the opposition keeper. b) Slipping, appealing for a penalty and then having a go at the ref for not giving a penalty was an unbelievably dickish move. I didn’t like that at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted May 15, 2018 Moderator Share Posted May 15, 2018 He worked like two men. Two hard working men. In good health. On a good day. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Probably our best player for me. Worked so hard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJim Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 I have been a big critic in the past but fair play to him today, he put a real shift in defensively. Unfortunately he was a bit of a waste of space offensively. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 Harsh he would have scored only for an amazing tackle from Friend 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Willard Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 What an engine! My friend who supports Saints messaging me asking who our No14 is. Said he looks decent and linked up well with Grealish. Always a positive when a neutral highlights that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyAnty Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 I think he really is Mark Kinsella. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 Him and Snodgrass set the tempo for us yesterday. They were so up for it and wanted to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mole86 Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 49 minutes ago, HeyAnty said: I think he really is Mark Kinsella. What an awful comparison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapal_fan Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 2 hours ago, mole86 said: What an awful comparison I think Hourihane is a bit like Hitler - because they both have (had) hair. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czechlad Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 If he plays like this, he is definitely good enough for the premier league. His work rate was immense, and he was covering so much ground. He also pops up in good spots for goals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSV Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 (edited) He works that hard all the time. I am glad people are starting to take notice. His job was to shut down Traore. Yes Hutton did a great job on him but Mile and Hourihane took turns covering Hutton and doubling up on Traore. Needs to be back on set pieces. Snoddys have been awful lately. Edited May 17, 2018 by KSV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czechlad Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 11 hours ago, KSV said: He works that hard all the time. I am glad people are starting to take notice. His job was to shut down Traore. Yes Hutton did a great job on him but Mile and Hourihane took turns covering Hutton and doubling up on Traore. Needs to be back on set pieces. Snoddys have been awful lately. Hourihane should have been on set pieces all season. Both are good, but Hourihane is better and more consistent. It always pains me to see Snodgrass win out on who should take the free kick because I know it's just going to hit the wall. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurembergVillan Posted May 17, 2018 Moderator Share Posted May 17, 2018 Quote Hard work brings Ireland's Conor Hourihane to brink of his biggest break Corkman now just 90 minutes away from Premier League dream 1 Conor Hourihane. Photo: Getty Images Daniel McDonnell May 17 2018 2:30 AM It was late on Tuesday night when Conor Hourihane's mood was temporarily darkened by a query from a local reporter who asked if he had ever played at Wembley before. "I've won there twice, I thought you might know that, no?" came the slightly snappy reply from the Corkman, who was otherwise in chirpy form after a night that represented another step forward in his career. The 27-year-old has built himself up from the bottom and the heartbreak of rejection from Sunderland and Ipswich to a position where he is just 90 minutes away from a proper Premier League breakthrough. He does share a Aston Villa dressing room with higher profile players. The peaks and troughs of John Terry's career are well known, while there may not be an appreciation of Hourihane's journey. Tense Steve Bruce has assembled a group of players with high-level experience, and it showed as they squeezed past Middlesbrough in a tense scoreless draw to set up a decider with Fulham on Saturday. Hourihane (27) has yet to sample top-flight football, but he has tasted Wembley joy with Barnsley. He won there twice in 2016, with Johnstone's Paint Trophy success followed by a League One play-off final victory over Millwall. That delighted his fan base back in Bandon, who took extra pride in the fact that he was the first man from West Cork to captain a side at the famous venue. It's an experience that has prepared him for the pressure of this scenario, although the stakes have been raised higher again. "Hopefully I can get the hat-trick," he grins. "Look, it helps. The play-off experience with Barnsley has helped me. The names here speak for themselves, the other lads, they've played in big games. This is probably one of the biggest campaigns I've been involved in. But that experience with Barnsley means I knew what was coming in the semi-final and I know what's coming in the final as well. It might give me an edge." There was a pitch invasion at Villa Park after of the triumph over Middlesbrough, yet Bruce's savvy dressing room were guarded about getting caught up on it. They noted Fulham players getting a chair lift off the pitch following their dramatic second leg with Derby and filed it away for motivation. "That's been mentioned, don't worry," Hourihane says. "They celebrated like they won the league or something. All the best to them if they fancy themselves more than us because we'll be ready for it, that's for sure. We had calm celebrations in the dressing room. There's more business to do." The influence of Terry has been significant. Hourihane feels it has served as inspiration for Jack Grealish to knuckle down and deliver on his potential. And the £1.5m purchase is taking something from it too, even though a career total of over 300 appearances across spells at Plymouth, Barnsley and now Villa have opened his eyes to the vagaries of his trade. What he has gleaned from Terry and other senior pros like Mile Jedinak and Glenn Whelan is the habits that keep a player in elite company consistently. "These lads are fantastic," he stresses. "JT and Mile and people like that. You can learn so much off them. If you don't, then you're a silly, silly man. To have the opportunity to work with these lads has been fantastic, it's brought another string to my bow. "It's how they conduct themselves every day. What they demand off people and what they demand of themselves, it drags people through. And it's brought the best out of players like Jack, being able to look up to someone like John. It's worked wonders for his game." Hourihane has evolved too. He joined from Barnsley 18 months ago and the first six months were a difficult transition with Bruce trying to find the right characters for a dressing room that he has described as toxic. Aston Villa are a huge club - 40,000 fans were present for the Middlesbrough game - and it's a level of expectation above what Hourihane has encountered before. Satisfaction He has contributed 11 goals from midfield and it's clear he has taken satisfaction from proving he is capable of making an input. "I've probably done it the harder way to a lot of lads in that dressing room," he concedes. "I've come from the lower leagues all the way up. A lot of the others have been in the Premier League and at a high level and we've met in the middle here. "I'm a firm believer that hard work pays off. I feel like I've had a good season, I've put in some good performances and added goals to my game as well. I feel like I'm starting to make my own way here, helping the team out in lots of ways. I'm pleased with what I'm doing. "But we haven't achieved anything yet. You can't get too high with the highs, or too low with the lows. We're in the play-off final, but we've a lot to do. There's still 90 minutes to go. Maybe even 120 minutes and penalties, so there's a little bit to go until I get to the Premier League. Hopefully, that hard work will pay off." Irish Independent https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/other-soccer/hard-work-brings-irelands-conor-hourihane-to-brink-of-his-biggest-break-36915712.html 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Willard Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 £1.5m absolute bargain. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carewjust4u Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 36 minutes ago, Lord Willard said: £1.5m absolute bargain. You can say that again!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bannedfromHandV Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 2 hours ago, Lord Willard said: £1.5m absolute bargain. Yep, another superb bit of business from the gaffer. His dealings to date give me great confidence that given more money to spend, the quality will only increase. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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