Manchester City’s European dream might hang in the balance this season but for a former Blues youngster, the continental campaign has already been an outstanding success with the prospect of more to come.. The Conference League might have its doubters in this country given the way Chelsea steamrolled through the league phase with a perfect record, an 8-0 win and a plus 21 goal difference from just six games. All while leaving talisman and former City man Cole Palmer out of the squad.. But the competition has shone a light on sides from the smaller leagues in Europe and has presented some with historic nights. From Bosnia to Belarus, the competition is nothing if not eclectic.. And one of the biggest success stories has come from just over the Irish Sea with Shamrock Rovers reaching the play-off round. The Irish side caught the eye in the group stages with three wins and only missed out on an automatic place in the last 16 on goal difference.. Their reward is a tie with Norwegian side Molde and the chance to make further history having already become the first Irish side to reach the knockout stages of a European competition.. At the heart of their success has been one time City starlet Jack Byrne. The Irish midfielder was highly rated coming through the ranks at the Etihad, earning comparisons to Paul Scholes and being tipped for a bright future.. It was former City star Niall Quinn who compared Byrne to Scholes, after watching him mastermind a win at Viktoria Plzen in the first-ever UEFA Youth League campaign in 2013. Byrne modelled his game on United great Scholes. Indeed Patrick Vieira, his academy coach at City, felt Byrne, who modeled his game on Scholes as a youngster, could be a more all-round player than the former England star.. “What I like about Jack is his personality,” said Viera speaking in 2013. “He doesn’t get scared at all, he just plays his football and some of his passing in Moscow was excellent.. “He can be different to Scholes, who was more about getting in the box – he scores more goals than Jack, so I think Jack will be a different type of player. But they are both great on the ball.. “Jack is really young and not afraid – he really wants to play. He has taken the responsibility, and is a strong boy. Physically he is not impressive at all, but his technique and first touch are excellent and he always likes to play forwards.”. Byrne was handed a three year contract by City in 2015 but having spent time on loan in the Netherlands with Cambuur and at Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, departed for Wigan Athletic in 2017.. He joined Shamrock in 2019 after spells with Oldham and Kilmarnock and after a brief spell at Apoel in Cyprus, returned to the Irish giants in 2022. He has since become a mainstay of the side and featured in all six of their Conference League group games.. Now 27, he is a key player for Rovers having been shaped by some of the greats during his time with City, where he frequently trained with the first team.. He might not have made the grade at the Etihad, but his European adventure could well last longer than City’s this season.
