Keith Fahey can crack it in England, says Paul McGrath

Jan 3 2009 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

‘‘All the money in the world and the chance to make a fortune can’t help if you’re missing home so much.

“There was a lad called Anton Whelan who was a brilliant player in Dublin and he came over to Manchester United when I was first there but he just couldn’t stay. It works out for some and it doesn’t for others.

“I think Keith will be fine this time around. He came back to Ireland, knuckled down, got his head down and started to show what he is capable of.

“He will have learned a lot from his experiences last time. He’s a bit older and he’ll have grown up a bit so he’ll know this is an opportunity not to be missed.”

Blues should be good for the 25-year-old midfielder, and vice-versa, said Birmingham Mail columnist McGrath.

“He’s a good strong boy, he’s got speed and he’s not afraid of things.

‘‘There are parts of his game that he can still work on but when he’s training every day with people like Kevin Phillips then he can only get better.

“It might take him a few weeks or months to get settled and to start playing how he can but I think moving to Birmingham could be the making of him. Alex McLeish will get them into the Premier League this season I’m sure and hopefully he will bring out the best in Keith.

“I compare it a bit to Darryl Murphy at Sunderland. I was football director at Waterford for a while and I’d seen Murphy and knew he could play.

“He was good on the ground and had a good left foot but I had my doubts about him in the air. He didn’t seem to realise how to get around defenders to out-jump them. But he went over to England, made a success of it and proved me wrong.

“Some of the Irish lads have an impact and some don’t, but I’m sure Keith will.”

Revered former Villa star McGrath added: “I think the transfer fee could prove to be good value, because if you’re an English club looking to buy young players anywhere in Europe at the moment you’ll probably pay a lot more than that.

“It’s not cheap, but in terms of the market, it’s cheaper than what’s out there and I think we will get more and more English clubs looking to Ireland for young players again.”

Blues will have to pay St Pat’s another £200,000 in add-ons, depending on success and appearances for Fahey, who missed today’s FA Cup game against Wolves as he has carried over a one-match ban.