| Next off the cork production line?
 By
Graham Clifford
The city that gave us Murphys, the Jazz Festival and Barry’s Tea has
now become a breeding ground for English football’s latest stars.
Roy O’Donovan is the latest Cork City player to be linked with a
move to the English football League with Mick McCarthy’s Wolves
favourites to win the 21-year-old’s signature.
It’s rumoured that the former Republic of Ireland manager will bid
£600,000 for the services of the innovative winger turned striker.
Other clubs who have been linked with O’Donovan include Celtic,
Ipswich Town, Sunderland, Wigan, Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County.
Meanwhile Hull City had a £300,000 bid for O’Donovan turned
down in January.
Mick McCarthy was one of several cross-channel representatives in attendance
last week when Cork faced St. Patrick’s Athletic in the Setanta
Sports Cup.
The Irish under-21 international didn’t find the back of the net
on that occasion but he had scored eight goals in his previous four outings
for Richardson’s side.
Intriguingly O’Donovan is finding goals at a much quicker rate than
Kevin Doyle managed before signing for Premiership outfit Reading two
years ago.
After a brief spell with Coventry City the Cork man made his way to Cheltenham
Town before realising two years ago that he would be better off plying
his trade in his home town.
Since returning to the banks of the Lee O’Donovan has excelled.
Initially he lined out on the right-wing but now poses Cork’s main
threat up-front as the club bid to regain the Eircom League Championship
which they relinquished to Shelbourne last season.
As manager Damien Richardson ponders on life without his main marksman
he has become something of a victim of his own success. When O’Donovan
eventually leaves Turner’s Cross he’ll join a long list of
Cork men to cross the Irish Sea in recent times.
The pick of the bunch was obviously the unique Roy Keane but in recent
times others have bid farewell to the Shandon bells for greener pastures.
While neither Kevin Doyle nor Shane Long are Cork men they did cut their
teeth with Cork City before signing for Steve Coppell’s Reading.
They were joined in Berkshire this year by City man Alan Bennett. Manchester
City’s Stephen Ireland hails from Cobh while Liam Miller has been
winning the praises of his manager at Sunderland.
In the Midlands Colin Doyle has become Steve Bruce’s first choice
between the posts for Birmingham City while George O’Callaghan and
Billy Clarke are plying their trade with Championship outfit Ipswich Town.
City Boss Damien Richardson admits that losing the likes of Roy O’Donovan
in the near future has become a fact of life at Turner’s Cross though
he said this week that English clubs need to pay the right money for his
players.
Kevin Doyle was sold to Reading for a mere £78,000 in 2005 and now
boasts a price tag of £8million.
Richardson said: “What you want is for us to be treated with respect
and I’m sure that is how Mick McCarthy is approaching the O’Donovan
issue.
“We don’t want players to leave but you have to look at the
reality of the situation. Players have ambitions and as long as everyone
treats the process with integrity there are no problems.”
Undoubtedly the money raised from the sale of such home grown talent will
assist Cork City and the League of Ireland in general but it seems the
conveyer belt of Irish talent moving to clubs on this side of the Irish
Sea is still working overtime. |
