QuoteIreland said what to Given?
I really hope Noble, O'Hara and Nolan don't go on to play for us! (Ireland too, for that matter!) Don't think the three mentioned want to play for us anyway!
Now all elligble to play for Ireland. And Stephen Ireland has made it clear through Shay Given that he wants to come back into the squad ( I guessed at that yesterday). Interesting times.
Ireland said what to Given?
I really hope Noble, O'Hara and Nolan don't go on to play for us! (Ireland too, for that matter!) Don't think the three mentioned want to play for us anyway!
Kevin Nolan could be useful to look at in the centre of the park if he was willing to play for us.
Not sure it would be a massive improvement over Whelan and Andrews, but he had a lot of impressive seasons with Bolton.
Noble would be a great acquisition if he was interested, but he's young and I'd be surprised if he didn't try to bide his time for an England call-up.
Jamie O'Hara has been less impressive than last season, but could still be a good player for us when he matures. I doubt he'll ever be good enough for an England call-up, so if he's smart he'll sign up with us.
I don't think he would fit into Trap's system though- not disciplined enough for the middle, and not skilled enough for the wing.
And, do you have a link about Shay Given's comments?
From my WH supporting friends Mark Noble of the 3 will declare for Ireland. And thankfully Trap will have the final say anyway. Stephen Ireland is coming back whether you, me or anyone else disagrees.
This is from the Monday ExaminerOriginally Posted by irishfan86
Irishfan86
And then, of course, there is the unique case of Stephen Ireland. Trapattoni confirmed that he is keeping the lines of communication open with the absentee Manchester City player through direct contact, through his manager Mark Hughes and through the player’s Irish team mates – Shay Given and Richard Dunne – at Eastlands
Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/sport/ireland...xzz0HnNkgDPE&C
Remember football can be a really cruel game ala Gary Waddock losing out to Jason Macateer 1994. Also Radio 5 have been saying for almost a week that Ireland wants to return.
I hate your attitude.
Where's the pride? Depressing stuff
Trap like Charlton (Cascarino, Houghton, Aldridge, Houghton) and Giles (Heighway, Mancini, Dempsey, Rpbinson) will call up who he believes will help the team within Fifa rules. The pseudo morality you seem to be alluding too is laughable when you consider the make up of our country. We have nationalties friom all over.
There lies the difference...what you call "pseudo morality", I call "pride".
Still, if Trap goes on to achieve anything like the success of Charlton than I'll be as happy as anyone.
I'll support my country regardless. I'll do so for the Irish born lads and the lads who, although born abroad; are Irish.
I will not be happy to see Noble, Nolan or O'Hara play for Ireland, because they want to play for England...simple as that.
It is here that I have particular respect for the likes of Kilbane...who turned down England when he was younger.
The only laughable thing is you describing my outlook as such!
Lets be honest here. A large percentage of players who declare for Ireland are players who have NOT been selected by England *or in a few instances Scotland, Wales or NI). They declare for us because it is a professional decision. They want to further their football careers. Cascarino is a prime example. But when we have home grown players not interested in playing for Ireland (SI)then someone like Cascarino seems like a hero because he put in a shift every time he put on the Green jersey.There lies the difference...what you call "pseudo morality", I call "pride".
Still, if Trap goes on to achieve anything like the success of Charlton than I'll be as happy as anyone.
I'll support my country regardless. I'll do so for the Irish born lads and the lads who, although born abroad; are Irish.
I will not be happy to see Noble, Nolan or O'Hara play for Ireland, because they want to play for England...simple as that.
The only laughable thing is you describing my outlook as such!
And you don't think I'm aware of that?
I know what you are saying, and the Irish national team has a long history of recruiting such players...often to great results!
That, however, does not mean that supporters should adopt the attitude of "we'll take anyone"!
I'm a pragmatist. If a player can improve us, and he is eligible, he should be contacted. Instead of "we'll take anyone," which I disagree with, I would say, "we'll take anyone who can make us better."And you don't think I'm aware of that?
I know what you are saying, and the Irish national team has a long history of recruiting such players...often to great results!
That, however, does not mean that supporters should adopt the attitude of "we'll take anyone"!
Furthermore, things are a bit more complicated than "I love England, therefore I shouldn't represent Ireland."
If a guy is born in England, and raised by English parents, he may love England; however, if he has an Irish grandparent, he may also have a love of Ireland as well.
Just because a player wants to play for England first, doesn't mean he doesn't want to play for Ireland at all- indeed, perhaps it didn't occur to him that he could ever play for Ireland.
To add to my argument, a lot of the "grannie rule" acquisitions have been legends in the green shirt, and helped us achieve great things by our standards.
We are a nation of only 4 million, and our diaspora is a resource we simply must make the most of.
I thought I'd also add some other players who could play for us as a result of this:
Dave Kitson- Not sure he'd improve us but he could be an option (has turned us down before and I don't know if he would add to the squad).
Anton Ferdinand- Could be useful given our lack of depth at centre-half.
Gary Cahill- I know he's just been called up to the England squad, but I also read somewhere he is eligible.
Kyle Naughton- May become an option later if England chances don't materialize.
Barry Maguire- This ruling eases the pressure on him to make a decision in the next little while.
Please add confirmation for these players if you know. I'm sure there are others out there as well that normally we wouldn't think of as well, so feel free to add others you know of.
Last edited by irishfan86; 08/06/2009 at 7:39 AM.
Firstly, did anyone notice that Newcastle got relegated. I don't hear of a clamour of prem clubs looking for Nolan. That might tell you all you need to know. He's had enough chances to declare and didnt. Secondly, Noble is a more interesting proposition, but does a competitive U21 England cap not rule him out anymore? I gave up following those rules on eligibility so I may be wrong. O'Hara has done nothing. It reminds of Dean Marney who scored a cracker for Spurs in one game and someone found out he had an Irish parent. Flash in the pan. O'Hara is probably the same. If I was going after anyone it would be Kyle Naughton of Sheff Utd, seemingly Man U are interested in him.
'And Crouch must score'
Under the old rules, yes it would rule him out if he didn't switch to us before his 21st birthday; however, FIFA have changed that rule, so that you can switch nationality at any age assuming you haven't received a senior cap for another country.
no thanks. far too error prone and not good enough. simple as
We're just very thin back there at the moment. What if a nightmare situation happened where Dunne was injured and O'Shea suspended?
We're left with Sledge and McShane at the heart of our defense...I'm not championing Ferdinand as a starter for us, but I think he would add to our squad in terms of providing cover.
Could be wrong on this but I think I read in the papers before that when the FAI enquired about O'Hara's eligibility they discovered that his Irish connection was a generation too far back, i.e. Great Grandfather or something.
The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.
Muhammad Ali
Roy Keane is still a pri*k!
Whatever about the others, calling up Nolan would not sit easy with me. He has been approached in the past and didnt show much interest, in fact i think there is a fairly extensive thread on him here.
Generally, Im all for diaspora been called up. However i prefer it when its not the case that the particular has little or no chance of been called up for his native country. Take a few from the past and present, McCarthy, Aldridge, Houghton, S Reid for example, its not inconceivable that these players couldve realistically played for their native country but all opted for us at a relatively young age.
As for SI, i really dont think Trap should call him up this campaign unless the squad are unanimously in agreement with the decision.
The only one I'd be interested in would be Noble. I wonder if there are any decent left backs out there who would qualify. I not sure I actually like this rule, but if it improves the team is probably the duty of the manager to explore any possibilities.
Always look on the bright side of life
Trap, although a gentleman, doesn't strike me as the kind of guy to be sentimental.
He's not going to bend over backwards to get Ireland back. He's just going to let him know that he's welcome back.
Obviously there is a cutoff point, and for some that would have been the Nigeria friendly, or perhaps the friendly we had before that.
If Ireland returns now, some would call it a chicken little situation, but I don't think of it that way. Although the squad have accomplished much so far, our ticket to South Africa isn't confirmed yet.
We look on pace for the playoffs, but what good is it making that far if we can't advance because of a lack of quality?
Ireland could be the difference maker, and it's not too late for redemption.
If I were Trap, I'd invite Ireland to the friendly against Australia. This would let him learn Trap's system and methods, and would allow the media to go nuts about his return in a non-crucial match.
With that distraction out of the way, we would go into the competitive situation in September with a player that could make our team significantly better.
I've seen some hate filled, vitriolic posts on this issue, but I don't think it's the way forward for us.
I'm not a religious man, but the parable of the prodigal son is probably one I'd recommend for the lot of you.
Let's forgive Ireland, who made some bad decisions (who didn't in their early 20s?), and be men about it as supporters. Let's show some maturity and take a step forward by giving the lad a second chance.
Ireland will be stronger with Ireland in the lineup, and he will enjoy a more fulfilling career by playing a key role for us.
It's easy to be bitter and resentful, and hurl childish insults towards Ireland, but it doesn't get us anywhere.
Let's forgive him, bring him back, and move on.
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