Delisted #41: Cian McBride ☘️ - Not offered a contract for 2024 - 28/8

[Lore]

Contract Status: Out of contract 2023 (Category B Rookie)
My Boy Draft 2023: Claim here

 

[Don Won]

Not to mention McGrath and McKernan.

Mc's are the new 'S' in Essendon recruiting circles so it seems

Replacing the previous H fixation

 

[Foxx]

Will probably be a backman. There probably was, but I don’t recall there ever being a really good Irish forward.

 

[ant555]

Young bloke I work with from Ireland has the same first name and he pronounces his Keean.

 

[BrunoV]

Always good to get a tall athlete onto the list.

Lot of water to pass under the bridge but the combination of height and athleticism probably makes him as likely to make it as someone like BZT.

A lot of good key defenders start out as little more than tall athletes.

 

[TheGrizz]

Will probably be a backman. There probably was, but I don’t recall there ever being a really good Irish forward.

Always good to get a tall athlete onto the list.

Lot of water to pass under the bridge but the combination of height and athleticism probably makes him as likely to make it as someone like BZT.

A lot of good key defenders start out as little more than tall athletes.

It seems that Irishman generally make good backmen rather than forwards, with the odd exception like Jim Stynes (ruck) and Hanley (although he started as a defender).

It probably has to do with the physical 360 degree nature of football. Gaelic football for example is also 360 but it is no contact, so it can take a bit for irishman to have the awareness of when they are about to get tackled or need to dispose of the ball under physical pressure.

As a defender the majority of the field and general play is normally in front of you and makes it easier to read, or you just follow your man anyway and can afford to be reactive. Both of which obviously makes it easier to adjust as a newcomer. Playing with your back to goals and knowing where the sticks are, and leading patterns etc is a lot of new info to learn and apply.

Also, the fact that the Irish are generally exceptional kicks helps as well. In today's game you need speed and ball skills out of your defensive half, both of which tend to be the hallmark of Irish recruits.

All this to say, I think McBride projects as a defender, although who the heck knows at this point in this development.

 

[windyhill]

We have gone mad !

 

[Donakebab]

Google tells me Kee-an if that’s anything to go by, with Kean and Keane as variant spellings.

I also tried YouTube and other people called Cian being interviewed (their name is mentioned in the vid) and it’s Kee-an there too.

100% Kee-an, I've met someone with the same name.

 

[Yoda_]

Young bloke I work with from Ireland has the same first name and he pronounces his Keean.

pronounced key - an?

 

[CianJF]

Cian is pronounced Key-an, I know from experience

 

[yodellinhank]

100% Kee-an, I've met someone with the same name.

McBride?

 

[Maxabillions]

Cian is pronounced Key-an, I know from experience

High username to credibility ratio

 

[Keystone agony]

Hopefully he can become Mitch Lewis

 

[Don Won]

Hopefully he can become Mitch Lewis

Yeah, much easier to pronounce.

 

[Towno78]

If in doubt, it's pronounced mate.
Welcome mate. Hopefully he can provide us something to talk about other than how do you say his name.

 

[Foxx]

How do you say McBride?

 

[Maddogm]

I hope we play all three of our McIrish at the same time, BT would lose the plot. He can’t even get McKenna right, calls him McConnor half the time.

Our own version of the Russian Five? (NHL - Red Wings - 90's)

 

[ant555]

pronounced key - an?

 

[VelvetSledge]

How do you say McBride?

MackBroiyed

 

[rumply]

I think it was BT, but it could have possibly been Hamish/RompingWins.

has got Basil written all over it

 

[Atavistic]

Can we call him Danny?

 

[Andronicus]

Our own version of the Russian Five? (NHL - Red Wings - 90's)

Or the Italian 18 (AFL - Footscray Bulldogs - 90’s)

 

[BrunoV]

Or the Italian 18 (AFL - Footscray Bulldogs - 90’s)

Wasnt it the "Wog Squad"?

Ah, the 90s. Back when words were just words, intent mattered and virtue signalling wasn't a thing.

Would be the era of football everyone would long for, too, if they were being objective about it and not just pining for some fantasy about what footy was like.

 

[Maddogm]

Or the Italian 18 (AFL - Footscray Bulldogs - 90’s)

except The Red Wings with the Russian Five won the cup. Only a couple years earlier fans were calling for the list manager to be sacked

 

[RedmanWasHere]

First, McQuillan, then, McBride.

Always the McBridesmaid but never the bride.

 

[Lore]

Article and video finally on the club website, appears to finally be in the country Very raw though, has to do a lot of basic skills work as you'd expect (there's footage of him training in the video).

Irish gun settling in seamlessly

Cian McBride first picked up a football in April, but just seven months on the Irishman is chasing his footy dreams.

www.essendonfc.com.au

“I saw (McKenna) plenty of times before in the red and black. If one Irish man can do it, we all want to try and give it a go too.

“I heard about (Australian football) a couple of years ago at home when a couple of lads from home were moving out, and I looked into it and said it might be something I’d like to give a go,”

“It was always going to be tough moving away from home. It was a big decision, but it was the right decision in the end, I’m happy here at the minute,”

“It’s great to have a couple of Irish (players) at the club, so you don’t feel too far from home – they’re always there to just give you that extra bit.

“And it’s not that the other lads don’t, everybody is getting behind you, but it’s great to have the boys from home with you.”

“We got out and had a look about over the weekend and it’s a great city.”

“The drop for the kick and the hands, you need quick hands and hands out front all the time, so I need to get working on them,”

“(I want to) just get in and get going. Getting my hands right and feet right, getting my shot selections right and just focus on all of my skills, because they all need a bit of a touch-up.”

“My marking and hopefully further down the line a bit of goalkicking (can be strengths).

“We’ll have to show that (athleticism), it’s the trait of the Irish so we’ve got to keep that going.”