Latest news with #Kilbane
The Irish Sun
13-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Ireland star Evan Ferguson ‘chooses' move to Serie A giants from Brighton but potential hurdle to shock loan emerges
EVAN FERGUSON has taken a big step towards securing a shock loan move to AS Roma, according to reports. striker has chosen a move to the Italian capital as a means to rekindle his career. 2 Evan Ferguson is set to leave Brighton Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile 2 And he is closing in on a move to Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma Credit: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile However, Brighton are reportedly seeking a transfer fee of €45 million should the The 20-year-old is set to leave the Seagulls this summer after struggling to establish himself on loan at He made just eight appearances for the Hammers since joining in January, but played only 14 minutes in their last eight games. And former Ireland international Read More on Evan Ferguson "I played in the old Division 3 - League 2 and League 1. I'd had two years at that level, stepped up, took me a little time and then I felt I was starting to establish myself then or getting close to international set-up. "I was probably very mature as a player. I was still developing as a player in my body as well. "Physically I was going to get probably stronger along the way. My body was probably still developing until I was 22, 23 and beyond that as well, certainly physically. Most read in Football "Certainly in those first two years, I was worried because I was finding really inconsistent spells when I'd gone to West Brom." After making 106 appearances for the Baggies, Kilbane moved to for £2.5million in 1999. Ireland ace Jessie Stapleton recalls marking Evan Ferguson in her schoolboy football days It was a difficult first season, as they went winless between his debut against Peter Reid's side was eventually relegated from the Premiership, with Kilbane labelling his first six months at the Stadium of Light as a "write-off". He said: "I signed just before "I was being seriously questioned. "My whole Sunderland career probably in that first two years was probably, 'he can't cut the mustard', 'he can't do this', or whatever. "It took me with Sunderland, probably 18 months before I felt really properly established." ROLE MODELS Kilbane credited the influence of managers Peter Reid and And he reckons Kilbane added: "I was 22 then, "He's going to have decisions to make across his career. He's going to have spells of bad form and he's going to have injuries and he's going to have certain setbacks along the way. "I had great managers around me. It was Peter Reid and it was Mick McCarthy. They gave me the belief and gave me the feeling of, 'you're going to be part of my squad, you're going to be part of this.' "That was the thing that I probably needed. "I always look back at my own career and feel as though it was underachievement because of the certain attributes that I would have had when I was coming through. "You've got to do everything that's going to get you in the team and keep you in the starting 11 week in, week out. "I started to learn that very early in my career and how to do that. "That was the fortunate thing for me, again, that I had people around me that could have guided me."
Irish Daily Mirror
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
‘My body needed a break' - ex-Ireland international's take on summer friendlies
One former Ireland international has offered his perspective on the summer friendlies - claiming they can be 'disruptive' for some and an opportunity for others. The games can interfere with a player's recovery from a long, hard season, and have a knock-on effect heading into the next campaign, says 110-time capped former international Kevin Kilbane. He recalls how he once skipped a couple of summer fixtures to ensure he was in top condition for the season ahead. He believes that summer friendlies are opportunities to give young and inexperienced players a taste of the international scene - both on the pitch and around the camp. And in that regard, he believes Heimir Hallgrímsson has got his squad selection spot-on for the games against Senegal at the Aviva Stadium and away to Luxembourg, with five uncapped players arriving this week into camp and 12 with 10 or fewer caps. The former Iceland boss also made a point of omitting most of his Championship-based options, as their season ended a month ago. 'I always think the experienced players probably have more to lose than anything with these games,' said Kilbane, speaking to Mirror Sport with Netbet Sports Betting. 'The players that pull out get their attitudes questioned, and the players that turn up are maybe not looking after their bodies, they are not doing things right. You can't really win with it. 'It's all about the younger players, the inexperienced players with not a lot of caps, the youngsters that have never been a part of the squad before. 'They are the ones that can really make an impression around the whole camp itself, not just the games. 'That's going to be an interesting one to see how they adapt coming into the squad. Are they able to cope with that sort of atmosphere, the intensity around it? 'I think it is a bit more relaxed, the summer friendlies, but there is still an intensity around it that a lot of players - and we've seen it over the years with so many players - they are not really able to cope the best when they are away from home, away from their families, and also around the environment they are in. 'It's going to be an interesting one to see how the younger players do cope with that.' Kilbane, who now lives in Canada with wife Brianne Delcourt, famously played 66 competitive games for Ireland in a row - a run that, in international football, is only bettered by England legend Billy Wright. A back operation meant Kilbane could not catch Wright's record of 70 consecutive games, and he missed a Euro 2012 qualifier against Slovakia as a result. It was an earlier back injury that led to Kilbane making himself unavailable for Giovanni Trapattoni's first camp as Ireland boss - including a pair of summer friendlies against Serbia and Colombia. 'I did actually miss international windows,' he said. 'I missed certain games that maybe I wasn't picked for or was left out of. 'But I always remember, I think I was at Wigan, it was Trap's first game, his very first window with the squad, and I was really struggling with my back for the majority of the second half of the season. 'It was a case of, if it's a cup final tomorrow, yeah, I can play. And if it was a competitive game, I absolutely probably would have played in it. 'But I knew my body needed those four weeks that I hadn't had probably for 12 years previous. 'I hadn't had a month off in a long time, but I needed it just to get myself ready for the next season, and obviously I would have been looking ahead to the World Cup qualifiers after that. 'I didn't really have too much dialogue with Trap at that time, but the message that went back to him was, look, he's been struggling. 'So he said, fine, let him have the rest, or whatever it will be. 'I think that will be the case for a lot of players now, they will have had these sorts of injuries that continuously come up. Can you just manage your body now and have that break? 'I think Heimir Hallgrímsson has been wise in giving the Championship players that have had a lot of games that little bit of time. 'I'm sure one or two that have been left out are probably struggling with injury, a little bit. Or certain little niggles that they've had across the course of the season. 'This gives them those three or four weeks off that they wouldn't have had in a long time to fully recuperate, get the body right and start the pre-season.' This international window, according to Kilbane, can have a knock-on effect and disrupt pre-season training - particularly if a club manager gives a player extra time off on account of their activities earlier in the summer with their country. The former Sunderland and Everton man said: 'Probably during my whole career, my pre-season was always disrupted because of the international games in the summer. 'Whether it was a certain manager who might give you an extra week off, if you go back into pre-season a week later, you always feel as though you are behind in the running, fitness-wise. 'So you always feel like you are playing catch-up then. 'I honestly don't think it makes too much difference, it's more of a mental thing from the player - I've got to have a good pre-season, I've got to get myself as fit as possible. 'If you feel like you are lagging behind a little bit, you are behind in the runs or you are behind in certain things, then I always feel as though that's maybe the mental side of it, that you always feel like you are on catch-up. 'I think giving the players a break is wise, but looking at the window in general, I think it's more of an opportunity for younger players than the experienced ones.'
The Irish Sun
04-06-2025
- General
- The Irish Sun
Ireland legend ‘not as confident as Heimir Hallgrimsson' about World Cup chances but admits ‘I like his attitude'
KEVIN KILBANE admitted he is "not as confident as Heimir Hallgrimsson" when it comes to Ireland's chances of qualifying for the World Cup. The Boys in Green get their qualification campaign underway at home to Advertisement 2 Heimir Hallgrimsson has been bullish about Ireland's chances of qualifying for the World Cup Credit: Seb Daly/Sportsfile 2 Kevin Kilbane revealed why he is not as confident Credit: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile That will be followed by fixtures home and away against And while the Icelander has been next year. He told SunSport via : : "I'm not as confident as Heimir Halgrimsson and that's simply because of what's happened in the last couple of years. Advertisement Read More on Ireland MNT "We're all a little bit probably tarnished from what's happened during the last five or six campaigns . You can't get away from that." They missed out on a place at Ireland won just two of eight games in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar . Advertisement Most read in Football Kenny's men won the same number of games in the And Kilbane added: "We all support the team and we all want the best for them but we're all realistic with what we've been watching and we've seen leads slip against sides that we shouldn't be letting leads slip against. Shamrock Rovers snap up Northern Ireland Under-21s goal-getter as Stephen Bradley gives exciting verdict "We've not been putting in good performance against sides that we should have been putting better performances in, particularly at home." While the 48-year-old is skeptical that Ireland can get to the 2026 World Cup, he admires Hallgrimsson's outlook nonetheless. Advertisement He was co-coach of Since succeeding summer , Ireland have won exactly half of Hallgrimsson's eight games in charge. There is a renewed optimism after their two-legged win over Bulgaria in the Automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup goes to the side that finishes top of the four team group. Advertisement Meanwhile, the 12 runners-up and the four best-ranked group winners from the Nations League outside those top two positions will go into the play-offs next March. Former star Kilbane continued: "I like what he's been saying and I like that he's got a clear message and I think it's internal as well as external. "If you don't have that attitude, you're not going to qualify. "I like what he's done and I honestly think that the shortened qualification will help us because qualification for us is probably going to be over by March next year. Advertisement "We want to be playing in those big games and I think that every window coming in, now that we know we've got to start well, if we start well and hopefully we do that, the next window is ramped up again. "We could be done after two windows, we know that, but equally, if we get it right in that first window, we've got a chance and we have to believe that. "I do think that there is a chance. but I, like everybody else, every other Irish supporter, is scarred by what's happened recently in the last so many campaigns ." GAME TIME The club campaign has been a mixed one for Irish players. Advertisement Jake O'Brien had a breakthrough 2025 with Everton. Meanwhile, strikers On the flipside, however, Meanwhile, Advertisement In all, 19 Irish players clocked up 18,445 minutes of football in Europe 's top five leagues, an average of 972 per player, equating to fewer than 11 full matches. That statistic is likely to be inflated in 2025/26 by And game time at the highest level is Kevin Kilbane's biggest concern. He said: "The nucleus of our side is lower half Premier League/top half Championship and that's where we are. Advertisement "I think the most important thing for our players is game time and that's the only thing that every single player wants. "We're in this boat where our players are not playing regular enough at the top level and that's where we are but the ones that we have, we've got to build our side around those players. "We've got enough quality and I know that we've got enough quality but it's about game time for them all." Find the latest and get the 18+ GambleAware Advertisement
Irish Daily Mirror
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
‘What am I doing with life?' - How Covid in Canada gave Kevin Kilbane the answer
Friday March 13, 2020: The date stamped on the outbound line of Kevin Kilbane's airline ticket. Little did he know that, for the next 18 months anyway, his flight to Toronto would be a one-way journey. Up to this point, there had been the outline of a plan: Kilbane, capped 110 times for Ireland, would eventually settle in Canada with his fiancée Brianne Delcourt. The pair had met a year earlier on ITV's Dancing On Ice. They would get married in Ireland. The date had been set. September 4 of that year. But the big move? That would happen a year or two down the line. And then, days after his trans-Atlantic trip, the whole world shut down. 'We've all got our story to tell from Covid,' says Kilbane, recalling his own remarkable tale. 'I'll never forget the date. I arrived in Canada on Friday the 13th of March. Toronto Airport closed down, I think, on the 14th or 15th. 'It basically shut the weekend after I arrived. Every airport across the world was closing down across the course of that week.' Suddenly, the former Preston, Everton and Sunderland man was trapped by the pandemic. For 18 months, he was unable to leave Canada. 'To get on a flight I had to get vaccinated,' replies Kilbane, 'but I couldn't get vaccinated because I wasn't a citizen here, I wasn't a resident. 'So I couldn't get the vaccine, which I needed to fly back.' Plans were moved forward. Kilbane and Brianne bought a house together, they got married in Canada, and Brianne, whose daughter Gracie was three at the time, fell pregnant. From feeling trapped, he soon came to realise that he had, in fact, been freed by this once-in-a-generation event. Life on the other side of the Atlantic had been spinning out of control. But unable to get a work permit in Canada, Kilbane was forced to take stock. 'I didn't get residency until about October 2021, so I was in the country for 18 months, and I wasn't allowed to work for well over a year,' he says. 'I was stuck, I couldn't fly back. It was over a year down the line and still wasn't able to get vaccinated. 'I couldn't get a doctor because I wasn't a resident, I couldn't get a health card here, and off the back of it I couldn't get a work permit. 'So I wasn't able to work until literally on the eve of the Euros, which were delayed because of Covid. I'm talking days; one or two days, June 2021. 'That's the first bit of (punditry) work I did over here (with Canadian TV channel, TSN). I was only able to get a work permit because I had to push certain things. 'Even off the back of that, I still didn't get residency until October or November, another few months after that. 'It was 18 months before I had residency and 15 months before I was able to work. 'During that time it was a nightmare in terms of, what am I going to do and how am I going to get work and what am I going to be able to do? 'I couldn't get work, I couldn't fly home, I couldn't do anything. It was just a crazy time for me. 'But it certainly helped me to settle down, it helped me almost to smell the roses in many respects. It definitely helped me to calm down a little bit and not go chasing stuff. 'Even when I was probably speaking to you over the years, you would have been like, Jesus Christ, you are everywhere. 'I was basing myself in Dublin at that time and I always felt that was where I was going to be, I was going to be in Ireland permanently. 'And if I needed to fly back to the UK or whatever, I'd get on a flight and go back. 'I felt like I was constantly at the BBC, I was in Manchester, I was in Dublin, I was doing the Virgin Media stuff, I was with the Off The Ball lads, and I constantly felt like I didn't have any time. 'I was constantly getting up at 4am to make a 5.30 flight, driving out of Kilmainham at whatever time. 'Then I bought my place in Castleknock and I felt like I was always racing to get on the M50, getting to the airport, running through the airport, getting on a flight, landing, working, flying back… 'I was sometimes doing that four times a week and I was like, what am I doing? 'Covid helped that. That's all I'll say. It calmed me down in so many ways. 'I just felt, where am I going? What am I doing with my life? Then everything took shape from there and I'm really thankful for everything. 'For me to be able to calm down was great, it was a great time for me.' Kilbane, with two daughters in their early-20s living in England, is now the proud stepdad to Gracie (8), and dad to Olivia (4) and Keavy (3). 'It was Covid that changed it,' he says. 'The reality was, once we hit May or June (2020); look, we're kind of stuck and we are going to have to make a decision on what we are going to do. 'We knew what we were going to do eventually, so it just kind of brought everything forward a year or two for us. 'So it was an amazing time. However we are all going to judge Covid, and we've all got our story to tell from it. But I have no regrets. Absolutely not. 'You asked me at the start if I was nervous, and I was probably nervous for different reasons. 'Obviously I didn't want to be leaving my daughters in England, but they were at an age where they could understand to an extent what was happening. 'I kind of knew where I was going. Whether it was a year or two ahead of where I thought it was going to be, then so be it, because it was going to happen anyway. 'And now I couldn't be happier. Life is as hectic as it ever has been. Keavy here has just turned three, Olivia was four in February, she starts school in September. 'It's just crazy to think of where we were and what's happening now. 'Our eight-year-old, Gracie, we are racing around with her, taking her to all sports. My middle daughter, Olivia, has soccer tonight, so we are taking her there. We're full-on. 'There's the lack of sleep, as any father and mother knows. Every single day you are tired. 'My wife Briana and I, crazy stuff! It's great. Now that I'm approaching 50, I think I should be at the stage where I'm a middle-aged man who's enjoying a bit of sleep now. 'But I love it and I couldn't have wished for things to have gone as well as they have done.'
BBC News
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
VE Day 80th celebrations in North Yorkshire
Victory in Europe Day, known as VE Day, is celebrated on 8 May to mark the moment the Allies formally accepted Germany's surrender in across North Yorkshire are being encouraged to join in the celebrations and commemorations, with York's City Walls lit in red, white and blue from Monday 5 until Thursday 8 Kilbane, executive member for economy and culture at City of York Council, said: "The end of the war in Europe is a moment to celebrate. It also reminds us of the sacrifices people made so that we can be free today. "So let's come together in our streets, communities and workplaces and mark this 80th anniversary." Scarborough service On 8 May, the Royal British Legion Scarborough branch will hold a service of prayers and wreath-laying in Alma Square from 11:00 BST. Cocktails and lunch On 10 May, there will be a cocktail reception and formal lunch at Middlethorpe Hall & Spa near York from 12:30 four-course meal will have a "Dig for Victory" theme, using produce from the venue's own gardens and local will be accompanied by live music from York's Celebration Singers. Military Wives concert St Wilfrid's Garrison Church in Strensall will be hosting a concert by York Railway Institute Band and the York Military Wives event, at 19:30 BST on 8 May, will feature old and new songs that evoke memories of 1945, concluding with a Last Night of the Proms-style are priced at £10 per adult and £5 per child. 'We'll Meet Again' Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington will hold celebrations on the weekend of 10 and 11 museum said its "We'll Meet Again" weekend would be its "big event of the year", featuring reenactors in 1940s dress, who will be giving demonstrations and talks, with vintage vehicles on show and tables and chairs set out for a street party. Proms and family fun On 8 May, Ripon Cathedral will be hosting a VE Day anniversary proms, with children from a local school giving readings. Tickets are £ City Council will host a free event in the market square from 18:00 to 21:30 BST, with live music, a climbing wall, vintage games and family friendly on Sunday 11 May, there will be a traditional parade through Ripon for the Installation of the new Mayor of Ripon at Ripon will also be a performance of stories of Yorkshire Normandy veterans, as told by Ripon Theatre Festival and the Ripon Community Poppy Project, at Lister House. Victory in Europe exhibition On 1 May, York Army Museum will launch its Remembering Victory in Europe exhibition showcasing regiments and the home front in will be live performances at 17:00 and 19:00 BST on 8 May telling the stories of two of York's Normandy 10 May the museum will host a dramatisation offering an insight into the lives of prisoners of war, and highlighting the ethnic diversity of the veteran community. Evensong commemorations On 8 May, York Minster will host a special Evensong commemorating the 80th anniversary of VE Day, starting at 17:30 BST. Knaresborough Castle On 8 May at 18:00 BST, Knaresborough Castle will host themed entertainment including performances from local musicians, bands and dance of the Knaresborough Branch of The Royal British Legion, Sea Cadet Corps, Army Cadet Force and Air Training Corps will parade in the castle grounds and lead attendees to gather at the War Memorial for prayers of remembrance. Do you have memories of VE Day? Share your stories, email Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
