Bobby Edwards at Portadown FC (N. Ireland)

Discussion in 'Yanks Abroad Academy' started by BostonRed, Jun 17, 2019.

  1. BostonRed

    BostonRed Member+

    Oct 9, 2011
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #1 BostonRed, Jun 17, 2019
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2019
    Bobby Edwards
    Goalkeeper

    Just finished up his post-bachelors year at Mount St. Mary's and signed with Portadown FC in the 2nd tier of Northern Irish football:

    https://www.everybodysoccer.com/eve...wards-looks-back-on-his-collegiate-experience




     
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  2. BostonRed

    BostonRed Member+

    Oct 9, 2011
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Winoman repped this.
  3. BostonRed

    BostonRed Member+

    Oct 9, 2011
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Started with his family in attendance:







    They won 2-0.
     
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  4. BostonRed

    BostonRed Member+

    Oct 9, 2011
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/50755648

    Portadown manager Matthew Tipton has described his American goalkeeper Bobby Edwards as the best he has seen in Northern Ireland.

    The 24-year-old from New Jersey has attracted significant attention recently for a number of spectacular saves for the Championship club.

    Teams in the English Premier League and the Championship have been over watching him and inviting him to train with them - that's the kind of level he's at.

    Portadown are currently six points clear at the top of the Championship table as they bid to return to the top flight after getting relegated in 2017.
     
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  5. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    Would he have needed some kind of EU passport to play at this level? Portadown seems to be in the second division, so he may not have.
     
  6. BostonRed

    BostonRed Member+

    Oct 9, 2011
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Northern Ireland is part of the UK, so the same rules apply there AFAIK, but the appeals process will likely be much easier to pass through. The Wiki page says the club is semi-pro.

    Of course, he'll need an EU passport to play in the Championship, etc. The club only lists him as American.
     
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  7. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    Yeah, that word seems to mean a lot of different things, though if it's essentially classed as amateur then work regulations may not matter. In any case, good luck to him.
     
  8. BostonRed

    BostonRed Member+

    Oct 9, 2011
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    On trial at Shrewsbury Town in League One, which may very well indicate an EU passport:

     
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  9. soccersubjectively

    soccersubjectively BigSoccer Supporter

    Jan 17, 2012
    Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
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  10. BostonRed

    BostonRed Member+

    Oct 9, 2011
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Started in yesterday's Irish Cup, losing 5-4 in PKs, 2-2 AET.



    Had a couple of saves in PK round:



     
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  11. The Irish Rover

    The Irish Rover Member+

    Aug 1, 2010
    Dublin
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Ireland Republic
    In Ireland (North or South), as in the UK, semi-pro means that most or all of the club's players are paid, usually under contracts lasting to the end of a given season.

    Where the semi part comes in is that the players don't 1) earn anything like enough to live on and therefore have other jobs, and 2) therefore can't/don't train as much or as long as full-timers, generally 3-5 evenings a week for 2 hours instead of twice a day (mornings and afternoons) every day.

    Northern Ireland D2 is a very low standard, way below the Conference for example; PDL sides would do very well there
     
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  12. The Irish Rover

    The Irish Rover Member+

    Aug 1, 2010
    Dublin
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Ireland Republic
    He may be on an amateur contact, officially anyway, getting paid in kind (local family providing room and board) or cash under the table.

    Scotland has slightly easier WP requirements. If Portadown go up, he would be even more intensively scouted.

    I hope that's what happens, because otherwise I have no idea what the hell he's doing there.
     
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  13. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    Football's coming home. From Portadown's manager:

    Bobby has received an offer to go & play in the MLS & after chatting with him over the last 24 hours I’ve told him to take up the offer as it’s an excellent opportunity for him to progress his career. Obviously we would have loved him to stay for the rest of the season & Bobby wanted that more than anything but the American system for transfers is completely different from the way we are used to it here & the rest of Europe.
    https://portadownfc.co.uk/2020/01/11/bobby-edwards-departure-confirmed/

    Lots of love flowing his way from PFC fans:



    And, in the other direction:

     
  14. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
  15. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    For what it's worth, this rundown of Cincy's roster doesn't seem to position Edwards as battling for the top job.

    https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/soccer/fc-cincinnati/2020/01/22/fc-cincinnati-roster-breaking-down-2020-mls-prospects/4532246002/

    I have no idea if that's true, though you may wonder whether an opportunity to be an MLS #3 constitutes a "life-changing" deal -- though, on the other hand, if you were playing lower-division soccer in Northern Ireland, it almost certainly would be. In any case, one wonders what other opportunities he might have had, and of course, good luck to him.
     
  16. The Irish Rover

    The Irish Rover Member+

    Aug 1, 2010
    Dublin
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Ireland Republic
    #18 The Irish Rover, Jan 23, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2020
    In the context of Northern Ireland D2, a salary that you can live on without taking on a second job (coaching kiddies, taxi driver, busboy, etc) genuinely is "life-changing", and in a major way.

    Linfield and Glentoran apart, that league, never mind the second division, is "get going while the going is still good" territory. His only pipeline to a pro-standard League was Scottish WP criteria are so flexible as to be nonexistent, or a transfer from the Norn Iron teams that get eliminated from the EL/CL qualification rounds gets him noticed in places like Latvia or the League of Ireland where he starts the process again. He might get a slightly better offer, say, backup for an Eredivisie bottom-feeder, four or five years.
     
  17. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    Yeah, that was my point. Maybe he is just going to be a third-stringer (or maybe not) but he's a full-timer now. Lives can change in lots of ways.
     
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