The ones that got away

[third policeman]

Is it possible to put together a team of current Premiership players who were eligible for Ireland but have elected to play for another country?
Got stuck with the goalkeeping position, but the rest of this team looks pretty decent.

AN Goalkeeper

Anton Ferdinand
Zat Knight
Rio Ferdinand
Kieron Richardson

Aaron Lennon
Paul Scholes
Kevin Nolan
James Milner

Wayne Rooney
Tim Cahill

sub(s)
Darren Fletcher
(there must be a few more?)

[Razors left peg]

Gary Cahill

[ifk101]

Oh good Lord .....

[NeilMcD]

If my aunty had balls she would be my uncle.

[bwagner]

ahhh i love Kevin Nolan , Chris Armstrong

[endabob1]

Jose Luis Brown in the Argentina 1986 side, Always remember Jimmy Magee claiiming he had a grandparent from outside Athlone.

[irishultra]

Oh good Lord .....

:D

interesting thread tho...

what was the situation with scholes? how could he have played for us?

Also aaron Lennon? I doubt that.

Jamie Carragher, Clint Dempsey(USA), Joe Hart I presume would all have Irish heritage. Clint Dempsey looks so Irish as well.

[Dublin12]

but have elected to play for another country?


You mean they elected to play for their own country.

[Razors left peg]

:D

interesting thread tho...

what was the situation with scholes? how could he have played for us?

Also aaron Lennon? I doubt that.

Jamie Carragher, Clint Dempsey(USA), Joe Hart I presume would all have Irish heritage. Clint Dempsey looks so Irish as well.

Lennon turned down Brian kerr when he tried to get him I think. I remember hearing bout Scholes years ago too but not sure what the family connection is

[Ash]

Jose Luis Brown in the Argentina 1986 side, Always remember Jimmy Magee claiiming he had a grandparent from outside Athlone.

There was a shop just outside the town run by an auld lad called Joe Brown ... must be him :D

[EAFC_rdfl]

Scholes has family in letterkenny and visited the town regularly as a youngster

[Junior]

Jamie O'Hara of Spurs?

[Razors left peg]

Jamie O'Hara of Spurs?

both parents from Wicklow I think

[paul_oshea]

both parents and he didnt join Ireland, its always the country parents kids that seem to join. more proud of their heritage and upbringing i spose.

Martin keown - disputes the above fact..

david healy, aaron hughes...etc etc.

irishultra we have done this a few times before i think thats partly why ifk did that, also the term "got away" is probably another reason...

[BobbyHans]

Keown's family are involved in the GAA in Oxford I believe.

However, I'm slightly surprised at this thread. Alot of second and third generation lads get stick for their accents at Ireland games I've been to. So why does it matter if people like O'Hara, Keown etc play for England anyway...

[Billy-Green]

. Clint Dempsey looks so Irish as well.

Ye he really does look irish

http://www.4thegame.com/media/00/03/98/clint_dempsey.jpg

[Sligo Hornet]

:d

interesting thread tho...

what was the situation with scholes? How could he have played for us?

also aaron lennon? I doubt that.

Jamie carragher, clint dempsey(usa), joe hart i presume would all have irish heritage. Clint dempsey looks so irish as well.



ginger hair!!:d

[NeilMcD]

both parents and he didnt join Ireland, its always the country parents kids that seem to join. more proud of their heritage and upbringing i spose.

Martin keown - disputes the above fact..

david healy, aaron hughes...etc etc.

irishultra we have done this a few times before i think thats partly why ifk did that, also the term "got away" is probably another reason...

Eh Wicklow is the country Paul. Or what is your def of it.

[Ash]

Ye he really does look irish

http://www.4thegame.com/media/00/03/98/clint_dempsey.jpg

Phil Lynott look-a-like ... and also a bit like Dion Dublin ... Dublin Ireland ... Of course he qualifies :p

[Razors left peg]

Keown's family are involved in the GAA in Oxford I believe.

However, I'm slightly surprised at this thread. Alot of second and third generation lads get stick for their accents at Ireland games I've been to. So why does it matter if people like O'Hara, Keown etc play for England anyway...

It doesnt matter, its just a bit of craic to see who we could have had playing for us

[theworm2345]

Ye he really does look irish

http://www.4thegame.com/media/00/03/98/clint_dempsey.jpg

Looks like (and is) a **** to me :mad:

[irishultra]

the lighting in that picture makes him look darker than he is t plus growing up in USA he's going to get a tan...the whole 'black irish' thing.

[citizenerased]

Benny McCarthy

Danny Murphy

Deco- his auld one is jacinta from the mun

[Razors left peg]

Benny McCarthy

Danny Murphy

Deco- his auld one is jacinta from the mun

classic

[paul_oshea]

is benny mccarthy anything to Benni McCarthy that plays for blackburn 'erased?!

[richieos]

dont forget stephen ireland of man city, apparantley hes eligible to play for us too :rolleyes:

[macdermesser]

Paul Gasgoigne .. read somewhere years ago that he could have played for us .. and that Charlton approached him. Might have dreamed that though ... would he have got into our team though with Mc Grath and Keane, Townsend, Lawrenson, Whelan, Brady, Sheedy, houghton etc etc?

might have found room for him as a supersub when Houghton got tired.

[colster]

There was a shop just outside the town run by an auld lad called Joe Brown ... must be him :D

Jaysus, used to get my cheap ass morning after fry up from there back in the day :)

[gspain]

Paul Gasgoigne .. read somewhere years ago that he could have played for us .. and that Charlton approached him. Might have dreamed that though ... would he have got into our team though with Mc Grath and Keane, Townsend, Lawrenson, Whelan, Brady, Sheedy, houghton etc etc?

might have found room for him as a supersub when Houghton got tired.

Jack told this one at a function in Galway I attended.

He asked Gazza did he have any Irish blood in him and was told "not me boss I'm pure Geordie". A few weeks later at Gazza's england U21 debut he mentioned it to Gazza's parents that he'd have been in the rish senior squad if he'd any Irish blood. "but my mother is Irish said Gazza'smum".

Not sure if he counts as one that got away or a lucky escape.

[abbeyvale]

Jack told this one at a function in Galway I attended.

He asked Gazza did he have any Irish blood in him and was told "not me boss I'm pure Geordie". A few weeks later at Gazza's england U21 debut he mentioned it to Gazza's parents that he'd have been in the rish senior squad if he'd any Irish blood. "but my mother is Irish said Gazza'smum".

Not sure if he counts as one that got away or a lucky escape.



Terry Henry (Think he used to play for Arsenal)

[citizenerased]

surely brian McBride aswell..half them scottish lads Phil o'donnell, Simon Donnelly, Jackie McNamara, Shaun Maloney, john collins .

[tetsujin1979]

We've been down this road before.
More than once.
http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=66824
http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=87812

[citizenerased]

We've been down this road before.
More than once.
http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=66824
http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=87812

oh..lighten up ffs, whats the harm, you swear it was the civil service with all yer bureaucratic rules and procedures not a footy forum...i suppose ill get an infraction for raging against the machine now!!:D

[Mcgeady46]

WHAT???????????????

Paul Gasgoine???

Does any1 hav any internet link 4 this storey or a source??? I cant believe my eyes!!:eek::eek::eek:

[redobit]

This thread could be compared to a funny question ive heard before:

Q. Does the pope sh*te in the woods?
A. Theres a possibility he could have, but he cant anymore.

[third policeman]

surely brian McBride aswell..half them scottish lads Phil o'donnell, Simon Donnelly, Jackie McNamara, Shaun Maloney, john collins .

Paddy Crerand, Eddie and Frank Gray and Paul McStay were definitely qualified. On the retired "English" players front you could include Steve McMahon and Kevin Keegan. I think McMahon turned us down.

It's a bit of topic but I was told the following story about Lawrenson. At one stage we had Chris Hughton writing for the Socialist Worker newspaper and Lawrenson writing a sports column for Newsline which was the daily paper of the Workers Revolutionary party in the UK. He was allegedly asked shortly after joining Liverpool whether he had regrets about not declaring for England. The reply (according to the person who allegedly read it) was; "Not really, I would never have felt comfortable playing for an imperialist nation."

If true, its pretty difficult squaring this with his current "BBC pundit" persona. of course it could be a complete myth, but I was told it by my cousin who is now a lawer in Derry and therefore an absolute pargon of honesty and veracity.

[see's it]

Boupa papa diop's father was from Ennis

[boovidge]

Jack told this one at a function in Galway I attended.

He asked Gazza did he have any Irish blood in him and was told "not me boss I'm pure Geordie". A few weeks later at Gazza's england U21 debut he mentioned it to Gazza's parents that he'd have been in the rish senior squad if he'd any Irish blood. "but my mother is Irish said Gazza'smum".

Not sure if he counts as one that got away or a lucky escape.

yeah im not sure either :D

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/07/21/article-1036791-00C1A67300000190-34_468x286.jpg

[livehead1]

I wouldn't want a bigoted, woman beating, alcoholic, drug taking individual representing us at any sport. I must admit to not being particularly moved by his fall from grace.

[Metrostars]

On the US players mentioned, while they have Irish names, Dempsey, McBride and others like Donovan and John O'Brien were not eligible. A few other recent US internationals were eligible e.g. Michael Parkhurst(father from Galway), Greg Berhalter(mother also from Galway)

[Razors left peg]

I wouldn't want a bigoted, woman beating, alcoholic, drug taking individual representing us at any sport. I must admit to not being particularly moved by his fall from grace.

agreed... hes a w*nker

[EalingGreen]

I remember hearing a story of the time when Gordon Lee was manager at Newcastle United. They had a young footballer on the books called Aidan McCaffrey.
Lee suggested he approach the FAI to see whether they might be interested in him.
"But I'm not Irish, Boss", replied McCaffrey.
"You must be Irish", said Lee.
"No Boss, no Irish blood in me at all"
"A name like that and you're not Irish?", Lee spluttered, "I don't bloody believe it!"
At which point, Malcolm McDonald butted in:
"Hey Boss, did you ever play for China?" ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aidan_McCaffrey

[ArdeeBhoy]

I remember hearing a story of the time when Gordon Lee was manager at Newcastle United. They had a young footballer on the books called Aidan McCaffrey.
Lee suggested he approach the FAI to see whether they might be interested in him.
"But I'm not Irish, Boss", replied McCaffrey.
"You must be Irish", said Lee.
"No Boss, no Irish blood in me at all"
"A name like that and you're not Irish?", Lee spluttered, "I don't bloody believe it!"
At which point, Malcolm McDonald butted in:
"Hey Boss, did you ever play for China?" ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aidan_McCaffrey

Surely though, an unwilling? Member of the Diaspora!

He was cr*p mind, as I recall.....

[theworm2345]

On the US players mentioned, while they have Irish names, Dempsey, McBride and others like Donovan and John O'Brien were not eligible. A few other recent US internationals were eligible e.g. Michael Parkhurst(father from Galway), Greg Berhalter(mother also from Galway)
The day MLS players (at least if it stays at its current level) start representing Ireland in competitive matches is the day I stop watching football

[Metrostars]

The day MLS players (at least if it stays at its current level) start representing Ireland in competitive matches is the day I stop watching football

Good that Joey Lapira never played in MLS then.

[Wolfie]

Bit of a shocker that John Joe O'Toole is actually Belgian :eek:.

[theworm2345]

Good that Joey Lapira never played in MLS then.
Yes it is, though that was a friendly match (Bolivia and Ecuador), and at that point I was thinking that I may never watch football again.

Apparently he's doing OK in the Norwegian 2nd Division

[aidz1]

wayne hennessey???:D

[Splurge]

Lennon turned down Brian kerr when he tried to get him I think. I remember hearing bout Scholes years ago too but not sure what the family connection is

It was on one of the sunday papers, yrs back before he was a Utd regular. No one tought he would ever be good enough for Utd or England back then, the chubby ginger that he was.

[OwlsFan]

I wouldn't want a bigoted, woman beating, alcoholic, drug taking individual representing us at any sport.

That would rule out 20% of the population ;)