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Return of the forgotten man
 By
David Thorpe
The new Premiership season can’t come quickly enough for Joey O’Brien.
The forgotten man of Irish football is determined to force his way back
into the Bolton Wanderers team and then push for a regular place in Steve
Staunton’s international set-up.
O’Brien’s rise through the footballing ranks was swift. The
Dubliner made his debut in the League Cup against Yeovil in 2004 when
he replaced the former Real Madrid great Fernando Hierro in central midfield
for Bolton. He played all of his underage football for club and country
in that position.
But Joey made his name at right-back. He was forced to play in that position
for half-a-season as Sam Allardyce’s men had no other fit full-back.
Despite never having played in defence he immediately produced some excellent
performances.
It is a sign of the esteem in which O’Brien is held by new Wanderers
boss Sammy Lee that his imminent return to first-team action has been
described as “like signing a new player”.
O’Brien quickly won over the Bolton fans with a series of superb
performances. He was man of the match in the UEFA Cup tie against Turkish
giants Besiktas in 2005 and went on to make 23 appearances in the Premiership.
He also played six matches in the UEFA Cup and enjoyed a successful loan
spell with Sheffield Wednesday where he won two player-of-the-month awards
for The Owls.
He made his senior international debut in the friendly against Sweden
in 2006 and Ireland fans will be hoping that O’Brien can mature
into an eventual replacement for Steve Finnan at international level.
O’Brien was battling with the England under-21 international Nicky
Hunt for the right-back spot at the Reebok Stadium when his injury jinx
first struck.
A knee injury caused him to miss all of last season and just as he was
ready to return to action he picked up a throat infection which caused
him to miss all pre-season games and delayed his comeback by several weeks.
Bolton fans believe that O’Brien has the talent to re-place Hunt
as first-choice right-back.
But as the Premiership season warms up and the thoughts of Republic of
Ireland fans turn to the upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers against Slovakia
and the Czech Republic the forgotten man of Irish football could find
himself back in the spotlight for club and country. |
