The Commentary Box: An interview with new Dundalk keeper George Shelvey

Dundalk confirmed the signing of a second goalkeeper George Shelvey, late on Tuesday evening. Within 14 hours, George was on the training pitch with his new teammates at Oriel. Dundalk signed George on a permanent deal. He had been with Nottingham Forest. George is just 22 and could well be in goals against Shamrock Rovers at the Tallaght Stadium as the new season begins.

George revealed to the media on Wednesday that Forest spoke to him when the UK transfer window opened. They told him that Dundalk wanted to sign him. He says he kept his focus on training and playing and decided to let other people sort out the issues.

George says he spoke to a number of Irish players at Forest. They told him that the League of Ireland is very competitive and that every game is a tough environment. George said he decided to come to Dundalk because it’s a massive club with a rich history. He also said it was time for him to try to achieve something in his career.

In the summer of 2018, George signed for Forest, who were his hometown club. George helped Forest’s Premier League 2 side to the playoff-final in 2022. He has also had brief loan spells at Truro City, Wealdstone and Mansfield Town. George was drafted into Forest’s first team  2022/23 squad.He was named on the bench for games against Tottenham Forest in the Premier League and against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Caribou Cup semi final.

He also took part in several pre-season friendlies last summer. George faced the local and national media yesterday. He once again says his main aim is to return and play in the Premier League. But to do that, he must prove himself at Oriel. George says he must earn the right to the number one jersey at Oriel. He must earn that right. He knows that he is in competition with another good keeper in Ross Munro. George was at his first day of training when he spoke to the media. He says he knew nobody at Oriel. But he does not mind as he knows what he must do and what he has to do. George confirmed that he played under former Dundalk player Dave Rogers who was manager of one of Forest’s youth teams at the time.

He said that the deal bringing him to Dundalk went through so quickly on Tuesday that he did not have any time to speak to Dave about the move to Oriel. George says the move happened so quickly and that it was such a big turnaround that he had no time to speak to anybody about the move. George says that when he gets time for things to settle, he will get talking to Dave Rogers. There is a lot of talent in the current Dundalk team and in the League of Ireland in general. He says the younger players from the under 19 team squad have a particularly strong talent.

He says he knows a little bit about some of the clubs in the League. He accepts there is a lot he does not know about, but he emphasises he will adapt accordingly. George says one of his best strengths is that he can play with his feet really well and can scan any pitch superbly as well.

George  wants to be as mobile as possible and also earn the trust of the manager, which would allow him to play on a weekly basis. George says he has been unlucky with loan deals to other clubs. Last August he was due to go out on loan to a club when three of the first team goalkeepers were injured. He could not go anywhere as he was immediately part of the first team panel. He says timing has been against him in some ways in the progression of his career. But he stresses he will now get the time as his move to Dundalk was a permanent one.

He was on the first team panel for 33 games last Premier League season.

The ex Forest keeper says that he has got great help and advice from older keepers who have come and gone at the club. He says that he wants to win the league with Dundalk this season. He would also look forward very much to getting into Europe. He says he has not been told whether or not he will start against Shamrock Rovers tomorrow evening. He says all he can do for the moment is to try to impress Stephen O’Donnell in training. George says he was delighted to have signed for Dundalk on a permanent basis. He said he now had something concrete to aim for. There was no time for the deal with Forest to be a loan deal. This was because the deal with Dundalk would have been held up with international clearance regulations having to be dealt with.

The Dundalk team is a high-quality squad. The manager wants to see them achieve their best potential.

Eleven of the team are all facing the same issue in that they are all new to Ireland and Dundalk. George believes that this creates a very strong bond among the team as a whole. Many of the players are away from their families. But George says this will bring the new players closer together.

Rovers are hot favourites to win the game in Tallaght tomorrow night. Dundalk are 10/1 to win with the bookies. Rovers are 1/4. Dundalk have never won in Tallaght under Stephen O’Donnell. Indeed, they have not won a game at the Dublin venue since 2019.

I was very impressed by the way George dealt with the media yesterday. On the pitch he will be in for a healthy battle for the number one spot with Dundalk’s other new keeper, Ross Munro.