Top 20 most read extratime.com articles - Part 1 (20 to 11 from Saints signings to test events and of course Celtic)

Gavin Bazunu blocks a late Cristiano Ronaldo effort in last month's international at the Aviva

Gavin Bazunu blocks a late Cristiano Ronaldo effort in last month's international at the Aviva Credit: Eddie Lennon (ETPhotos)

Unlike 2020 which started with full crowds and ended in lockdown, this year we started in lockdown and ended with full crowds. The thoughts of what 2022 may could well may be troubling some people this Christmas so who is up for a bit of distraction as we look back at our Top 20 most read articles of this past year on extratime.com?

We will start in reverse order going from 20 to 11 in this Christmas Eve article with the Top 10 to follow as our Christmas Day present to our readers.

20. Celtic snap up Izzy Atkinson from Shelbourne (Tadhg Williams) 

We do try and avoid click bait headlines but our data analytics tell us that if we put Celtic in the headline we reel in those clicks. While Liam Scales made the move to the Scottish footballing giants in August, that switch from the Hoops to the eh other Hoops had been well signposted for a while so it was Izzy Atkinson’s move from Shelbourne to Celtic that crept into our Top 20.

19. Bazunu start for Ireland set to reward Shamrock Rovers (Macdara Ferris) 

When Stephen Kenny named Gavin Bazunu in his starting line-up for the World Cup 2022 qualifier against Luxembourg in the Aviva Stadium back in March, it earned Bazunu his first competitive international cap.

It also earned Shamrock Rovers the first of a series of six figure sums for each competitive international appearance (reported to be capped at eight) as part of the transfer arrangement between Shamrock Rovers and Manchester City. It also earned this article a place in the Top 20 most read on extratime.com for 2021.

18. Keeva Keenan swaps Celtic for Shels as WNL title race heats up (Paul Corcoran)



What is this? Another Celtic transfer story? Yes, why yes it is but this one is a move from Scotland to Ireland as we had quite the interest in our article documenting Keeva Kennan’s transfer to Shels from the Glasgow club. She scored on her debut for the Reds in the 7-2 win over Treaty United and the 24-year-old defender went on to help Noel King’s side to win the WNL title. 

17. Saints sign Jaros on loan from Liverpool (Ronan McNamara) 

A signing of an under-21 international on loan from Liverpool was always going to attract readers. 

Vitezslav Jaros proved to be a superb acquisition for Stephen O’Donnell as the former Slavia Prague youth player helped the Saints secure the FAI Cup as well as the runners up spot in the league, picking up the club’s player of the year award in the process.

Neither Jaros nor O’Donnell will be representing the Athletic in 2022.



16. Lee O'Connor: 'I've accumulated a lot of caps, a lot of experience at underage level, so it is up to me to help the young lads through at times when things get tough' (David Wilson) 

And of course, another Celtic story. David Wilson spoke with Waterford native Lee O’Connor last month. The defender is currently plying his trade with Tranmere Rovers (on loan from Celtic) and he spoke with extratime.com after the 1-0 Ireland under-21 win against Sweden in Tallaght Stadium.

And Ah Course Celtic

 

 

15. Stoke City boss Michael O'Neill says it will take a 'big number' offer for Burnley or Leeds Utd to sign Nathan Collins (Dave Donnelly) 

Stoke manager Michael O’Neill suggested back in February that Nathan Collins’ progress would mean only a large transfer fee would see him move away. Well Burnley ponied up the money for the Potters to prise Collins to Turf Moor.

Collins went on to make his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in the 4-0 win over Qatar last October.

14. Fixtures added by government to test event list (Macdara Ferris) 

Supporters slowly made their way back to stadia from the middle of the 2021 season as COVID-19 restrictions gradually eased.

A number of ‘test’ events were designated by government that allowed larger crowds to attend some matches.

Amongst a list that included Ireland’s three one day test series against South Africa and Mayo taking on Leitrim, in early July three European fixtures involving League of Ireland clubs were added to the test events as we reported in this article.

13. Galway United announce departure of Head Coach Lisa Fallon (Paul Corcoran) 

The Galway United Head Coach Lisa Fallon, who has previously spent time coaching at Chelsea, Cork City and the Northern Ireland men’s team, moved on from her role with Galway last month to take up a job in FIFA’s High Performance department.

12. Ciaran Kilduff: 'I'm sure Kildare has the appetite for League of Ireland football' (Andrew Dempsey) 

We caught up with Maynooth University Town’s player-coach Ciarán Kilduff ahead of his side’s FAI Cup clash against Cobh Ramblers. The former Dundalk, Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers striker spoke about the possibility of his club entering the League of Ireland.

The chances of that happening were certainly increased after this interview. Not due to our article but the fact that Maynooth beat First Division side Cobh Ramblers 3-2 in the second round and the possibility of a third tier in the League of Ireland coming in 2023.

11. Stephen Bradley: ‘I think a lot of credit is owed to people in the FAI’ (Dylan O’Connell) 

The Hoops Head Coach Stephen Bradley spoke with extratime.com ahead of the start of the League of Ireland season which was delayed due to the COVID-19 crisis that enveloped the country early in 2021 with the alpha variant. Bradley praised the FAI for their handling of the situation.

“I think the league being delayed was the right decision," said Bradley. "Honestly, I think it would have been crazy to start early. That was a really good decision. It gave people time to get ready and get squads together.”

    About Macdara Ferris

    Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile