{"id":664608,"date":"2026-08-31T04:16:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T04:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/664608\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T04:16:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T04:16:16","slug":"troy-parrott-feels-the-sting-of-harsh-spanish-critics-after-first-la-liga-start-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/664608\/","title":{"rendered":"Troy Parrott feels the sting of harsh Spanish critics after first La Liga start \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Hell hath no fury like a footballer scorned by player ratings. The old \u2018we don\u2019t read the papers\u2019 line doesn\u2019t wash once a four or five is slapped against your name, with irked players capable of demonstrating extraordinary powers of recall when they happen to collar the particular culprit at some point down the line.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">L\u2019\u00c9quipe are the grandmasters at such numerical savagery, delivering witheringly low marks for performance, or lack thereof. But Estadio Deportivo, the Seville-based sports daily, gave them a run for their money over the weekend, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/troy-parrott\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/troy-parrott\/\">Troy Parrott<\/a> \u2013 on his first La Liga start \u2013 wasn\u2019t spared.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Parrott provided a determined assist for Marc Bartra\u2019s 34th-minute goal, had a headed goal ruled out for offside, and then missed a sitter at a crucial stage. Estadio Deportivo dished out a lowly 4\/10 for his efforts. Mind you, the Dubliner was in good company as only two of his team-mates fared better, with fives, after the 5-2 drubbing at Levante.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cHe was involved in the first Verdiblanco goal, more through sheer determination and persistence than skilful execution,\u201d read Estadio Deportivo\u2019s review of Parrott. \u201cIn the second half, he missed a header from a clear scoring position. He never quite clicked with his team-mates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Considering he is only in Spain a wet week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/republic-of-ireland-mnt\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/republic-of-ireland-mnt\/\">Ireland<\/a>\u2019s poster boy won\u2019t lose sleep as the bedding-in process continues and, anyway, it was the \u201cdefensive disaster\u201d that veteran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/real-betis\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/real-betis\/\">Real Betis<\/a> manager Manuel Pellegrini was seething over.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Remember, Parrott could have joined a West Ham side still scratching around for a first Championship win after three attempts. Instead, he\u2019s preparing to face Real Madrid at home on Friday night. So, the good-time vibes remain strong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/heimir-hallgrimsson\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/heimir-hallgrimsson\/\">Heimir Hallgr\u00edmsson<\/a> will be tuning into that game as he prepares for a squad announcement on September 17th for the upcoming Nations League ties. But the Republic of Ireland manager will be heartened by the scoring return of some of his other players over the weekend, six of his players on the mark in the Championship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">That Jack Moylan was among them was encouraging after his eye-catching breakthrough on the international stage back in May, scoring a hat-trick on his debut against Grenada. He scored his first league goal for his new club Cardiff City in their 2-2 draw with Sheffield United, drilling a low shot to the net from just inside the box. Fellow Ireland international Tom Cannon cancelled it out from the spot moments later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cI think Jack Moylan had a really effective game,\u201d said Cardiff\u2019s Irish manager Brian Barry-Murphy of the former Shelbourne player. \u201cMy message to him before the game was to be patient with himself because you know when he gets the ball he\u2019s very attack minded and wants to do things that are unpredictable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">In a sport often straight-jacketed by structured clipboard coaching, \u201cunpredictable\u201d is a badge of honour.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Jimmy Dunne got the winner for QPR in their 2-1 success at Blackburn, while Jason Knight scored one and was involved in another as Bristol City edged Portsmouth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/finn-azaz\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/finn-azaz\/\">Finn Azaz<\/a> was feeling the social media love from Southampton fans after being dubbed a \u201cwizard\u201d for scoring one goal, assisting another and winning a penalty that was converted in their 5-1 takedown of Millwall, who had scored first through Ireland international Mark Sykes following his summer move from Bristol City.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">But if Azaz was twinkle-toed, Jake O\u2019Brien was crinkle-nosed after feeling the frustration of an unwanted hat-trick of outings as an unused substitute for Everton. A move away is still on the cards before the looming transfer deadline.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Brentford\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/caoimhin-kelleher\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/caoimhin-kelleher\/\">Caoimh\u00edn Kelleher<\/a> pulled off impressive saves as Leeds pegged <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/keith-andrews\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/keith-andrews\/\">Keith Andrews<\/a>\u2019 men back for a 1-1 draw at Elland Road, while Ipswich captain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/dara-o-shea\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/dara-o-shea\/\">Dara O\u2019Shea<\/a> and late substitute <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/kasey-mcateer\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/kasey-mcateer\/\">Kasey McAteer<\/a> featured in the bruising 5-2 defeat to Manchester United.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Former Ireland No 1 Gavin Bazunu was on Bolton\u2019s bench for their 1-0 Championship defeat at home to Mason Melia and Josh Honohan\u2019s Lincoln City, following his permanent move from Southampton on Friday. Expect him to start soon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Liam Scales made his first league appearance for Celtic this season, starting in their 2-1 win over Falkirk, while fellow Ireland defender Andrew Omobamidele got 90 minutes in Strasbourg\u2019s 2-1 victory over Lens in Ligue 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hell hath no fury like a footballer scorned by player ratings. The old \u2018we don\u2019t read the papers\u2019&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":664609,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,10,18,13,14,6,19,17,52489,11,12,15,16,5,7,8],"class_list":["post-664608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-eire","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irish-players-premier-league","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117188190617457510","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=664608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/664609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=664608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=664608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=664608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}