23: Seamus Coleman - Sligo's overpriced superstar

The Griffin wrote:Think I had a dream I was playing togger with Seamus last night? Either that or I was singing his praises to someone about how fast he is??

Tonteau wrote:http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/8586198.stm

video of the game.

Knight of Thorgothshire wrote:

The Griffin wrote:Think I had a dream I was playing togger with Seamus last night? Either that or I was singing his praises to someone about how fast he is??

You had a dream about seamen?

Coleman's leap of faith takes him to new heights
By SEN RYAN
Sunday March 28 2010
A SPORTSMAN'S life is a short one -- and individual sportsmen react differently to that ticking clock, which is busy measuring off their allotted span at sport's top table. This was brought home to me when I had occasion to interview two of Ireland's brightest 21-year-old talents.

Galway hurler Joe Canning, although the proud owner of two All-Ireland minor medals, an U21 medal, two All-Ireland club medals and a Young Hurler of the Year award, was intensely impatient. "I have won nothing," he declared, "and time is running out." He won't be happy until he has a senior medal to complete his collection.

Everton full-back Seamus Coleman is of a different disposition. If he has a mantra, it is embodied in one word: patience. It's surprising really, because he made the jump from League of Ireland football with Sligo Rovers to the FA Premier League within 10 months of his arrival at Goodison Park, and this despite losing valuable time overcoming a foot infection. From October until January, he was a regular in Everton's first-team squad, but that changed with the return to action of Phil Neville.

Acknowledging the hot competition for the right-back position he covets, Coleman repeats his mantra: "I've got to be patient. When I went to Sligo, it took half a season to get on the team. Eventually I played a lot of games for Sligo, but there's a big difference, so I'm not going to play every game for Everton."

He has another two seasons on his contract, and his goal is to impress manager David Moyes. However, even though going on loan to Blackpool for a month is part of that plan, he's not sure if Moyes will see him in action there. "He's a busy man," he concedes.

Make no mistake, though, Moyes will have read the reports and been suitably impressed by Coleman's display against promotion rivals Swansea City last Tuesday. In a terrific performance, the right-back laid on three goals in a 5-1 romp.

Good delivery from wide positions is a huge part of Coleman's repertoire. When he came on as a sub against Tottenham in December, it was his crosses which helped Everton pull back a two-goal deficit and draw 2-2.

This ability, in which the ball is delivered at pace, teasing the goalkeeper and favouring the attacker, is highly regarded at the top level and, with regular exposure in his current loan spell, he could catch the eye of Giovanni Trapattoni.

Already, he can see the benefits. "I did okay in my first game against Crystal Palace and then the Swansea game was as good as I can remember playing and it did my confidence a lot of good. It's also a good test of my stamina. In the Palace game I was tired after 80 minutes, but I was a lot fitter against Swansea, and that means better control and touch right to the end. There are a lot of advantages to being match-fit."

There's no danger of him treating the Championship as a comfort zone. Having played for Everton against Benfica, Tottenham and Manchester City, Swansea must have been easier then? "I wouldn't say this level is easier because I haven't played regularly at Everton. It's a very competitive league, in which any team can beat any other team, and that's what I want. Reserve team football is important for my development, but in the Championship there's a lot to play for."

Considering he was more a Gaelic footballer four years ago, Coleman's rise has been pretty rapid. Coaches John Conwell and Brian Dorrian at St Catherine's, Killybegs, and Sligo Rovers' Paul Cook and Gerry Carr laid solid foundations to prepare him for the move to Everton in January last year. He was one of those talents who missed out on caps at schoolboy and youth level, his first honours coming as an U21.

"I played a lot of Gaelic and didn't move to Sligo Rovers till I was 17," he explained, "and while St Catherine's were prominent in Donegal they were probably under the radar at a national level. I went to Sligo to play League of Ireland and professional soccer, and when you've done that, you want to play for Ireland."

His speedy, aggressive play with Sligo soon had the scouts flocking, and a number of clubs were mentioned before Everton made an offer. "Once I heard about Everton, that's where I wanted to go," he said, and he's delighted with his progress. "At the start of the season I wouldn't have expected to play seven times for Everton, and now I'm delighted to get more games with Blackpool.

"I wanted to get out on loan, but the final decision was the manager's. I don't know what his thinking was, but I was told about Blackpool and I couldn't wait to get some games."

At Sligo, he drove home to Killybegs every day after training, so the move to Liverpool put a stop to that. However, he has visits from home every other weekend. And the fan club will be growing, if last Tuesday's display is anything to go by.

SEAMUS Coleman might have been a Blackpool player at the start of the season, but for an injury scare.
Ian Holloway has revealed he intended to sign the Everton youngster last summer.

In the end Coleman suffered a serious problem – and Holloway was given some money and went for Neal Eardley instead.

But after a scan revealed that Eardley has suffered a 14cm tear of his hamstring – which will rule him out until the final days of the season – Holloway has been able to resurrect the deal for Coleman.

The 21-year-old has signed for a month and will make his second start against Swansea tonight.

"Seamus is an Irish lad who will literally run through a brick wall for you and I am delighted we've added him to the squad," said the boss.

"He has more discipline in his left toe than my whole squad has got.

"He's a fantastic lad and he could well have been here already had things turned out differently.

"I was going to borrow him at the start of the season but it fell through because he had a terrible blister situation where he almost lost one of his toes. It went septic and the lad has been out most of the season.

"I was then given some money by the board and that allowed me to buy Eardley.

"But Coleman is a wonderful kid, as we saw on Saturday. Everybody around him was flailing and falling to bits and he just kept going and doing what he does.

"By the end of the game the fans were loving him. He was running with it and trying to get us back in the game.

"He never stops. In fact he's a bit of a Duracell bunny and it is great to have him."

mindyercarmisterho? wrote:"He has more discipline in his left toe than my whole squad has got."

and that'll be the toe he almost lost. What a motivator Holloway is.....

Bluejags wrote:Scores the 2nd goal in 4-2 over Scunthorpe. Good on you Seamus..