rob9872
Well-Known Member
Firstly apologies to the mods for opening up a new thread about Murphy when we already have a couple. However, this is an inside view from the editor of the Scunthorpe Telegraph and as I had posted on page 3 of the other thread I thought it may get missed and is an excellent and interesting piece worth viewing:
Coventry have finally signed Joe Murphy today after long speculation and was looking for your take on him as a keeper and how good you believe that he is and also what you think his attributes are. If you can send me something so that I can link it up on our forum board I would be grateful.
Of course we have seen him a few times in opposition and know that he is on the fringes of the Ireland squad, but other than that little really at all. What is the mood like with the fans? Are they disappointed he has left or was it in inevitable as he was out of contract?
Many thanks and best regards
Rob
Hi Robert, here's a link to a piece I put online a fortnight ago. We ran it in the Scunthorpe Telegraph at the end of May.
(Use the link rather than cut and paste if you don't mind - will get us a few extra web hits lol)
http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/SC...ail/story.html
Aside from that, below is a first-person piece I used alongside the article in print, you are welcome to use that if you so wish....
HAVING been a new father myself, I have experienced the joy and fear in equal measure that comes with holding your baby in the delivery room for the very first time.
When Joe Murphy is passed his newborn child in the coming weeks, he need not worry a jot.
The former Iron keeper, after all, has a safer pair of hands than most.
When his son or daughter enters the world, a new life will coincide with a new way of life for his or her daddy.
It is one that will undoubtedly be bright.
Scunthorpe will live on without the man who has been their number one for the past half a decade.
But when players report back for pre-season training, there will be a presence lacking in the dressing room as much as out on the pitch.
Murphy has been a big player for United, but he has been an even bigger character.
Players are often easily replaced. Personalities prove much tougher.
Always quick to voice his concerns to his team-mates during a game, he is then the first to embrace them at the final whistle.
Glanford Park will be a quieter place without him, but few can voice anything but admiration for his long and loyal service.
Inevitably when good players leave clubs at the end of contracts, questions are asked as to why.
Sorrow can be overcome by bitterness in the eyes of some, with integrity then wrongly questioned.
Not so in Murphy’s case. He must be allowed to walk away from United with head held high.
To suggest the Irishman was an unknown when he arrived at Glanford Park in the summer of 2006 is ignorant.
But it is fair to report that too much time on the bench, at West Brom and Sunderland, saw a once precocious goalkeeping talent stagnate somewhat.
Scunthorpe offered Murphy a chance to play regular first-team football.
He has paid them back at an interest rate they could never have believed possible.
For info, Joe is excellent keeper, the best I've seen in 25 years as a Scunthorpe fan/reporter.
He's a good shotstopper, very vocal, with pretty decent distribution too. Rarely has he made mistakes.
His exit from the Iron is a disappointment for fans, but one they understand given their relegation from the Championship. Many also believe Joe's understudy, Josh Lillis, is ready for the first team, having patiently bided his time while Murph was first choice.
He was actually released at the end of the season, but only because he'd told the manager he would be moving on.
He would get a great reception, should he ever return to Glanford Park
Of course we have seen him a few times in opposition and know that he is on the fringes of the Ireland squad, but other than that little really at all. What is the mood like with the fans? Are they disappointed he has left or was it in inevitable as he was out of contract?
Many thanks and best regards
Rob
Hi Robert, here's a link to a piece I put online a fortnight ago. We ran it in the Scunthorpe Telegraph at the end of May.
(Use the link rather than cut and paste if you don't mind - will get us a few extra web hits lol)
http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/SC...ail/story.html
Aside from that, below is a first-person piece I used alongside the article in print, you are welcome to use that if you so wish....
HAVING been a new father myself, I have experienced the joy and fear in equal measure that comes with holding your baby in the delivery room for the very first time.
When Joe Murphy is passed his newborn child in the coming weeks, he need not worry a jot.
The former Iron keeper, after all, has a safer pair of hands than most.
When his son or daughter enters the world, a new life will coincide with a new way of life for his or her daddy.
It is one that will undoubtedly be bright.
Scunthorpe will live on without the man who has been their number one for the past half a decade.
But when players report back for pre-season training, there will be a presence lacking in the dressing room as much as out on the pitch.
Murphy has been a big player for United, but he has been an even bigger character.
Players are often easily replaced. Personalities prove much tougher.
Always quick to voice his concerns to his team-mates during a game, he is then the first to embrace them at the final whistle.
Glanford Park will be a quieter place without him, but few can voice anything but admiration for his long and loyal service.
Inevitably when good players leave clubs at the end of contracts, questions are asked as to why.
Sorrow can be overcome by bitterness in the eyes of some, with integrity then wrongly questioned.
Not so in Murphy’s case. He must be allowed to walk away from United with head held high.
To suggest the Irishman was an unknown when he arrived at Glanford Park in the summer of 2006 is ignorant.
But it is fair to report that too much time on the bench, at West Brom and Sunderland, saw a once precocious goalkeeping talent stagnate somewhat.
Scunthorpe offered Murphy a chance to play regular first-team football.
He has paid them back at an interest rate they could never have believed possible.
For info, Joe is excellent keeper, the best I've seen in 25 years as a Scunthorpe fan/reporter.
He's a good shotstopper, very vocal, with pretty decent distribution too. Rarely has he made mistakes.
His exit from the Iron is a disappointment for fans, but one they understand given their relegation from the Championship. Many also believe Joe's understudy, Josh Lillis, is ready for the first team, having patiently bided his time while Murph was first choice.
He was actually released at the end of the season, but only because he'd told the manager he would be moving on.
He would get a great reception, should he ever return to Glanford Park
