Potentially eligible players thread

[Jolly Red Giant]

Can't you see that Grealish was "playing you" from the start i.e. using ROI to get playing time for a higher age group than he would have got with England, until he was no longer eligible for your U-21's? And that he and Rice eventually reverted to the country of their choice (and birth), a country which (incidentally) was miles better/more attractive than their original team.
I think you are attempting to throw a lump of mud here - Grealish grew up in an Irish household in Birmingham - played GAA as a teenager etc. Both Grealish and Rice opted for England because of pressure from both agents and their clubs - higher transfer values as English players and higher income streams as English players. Grealish's father now works for the agent who persuaded him to switch allegiance.

And I am making these points as someone who, while I regret that they are not playing for Ireland, I don't have any issue with either player opting to play for England. No kid should be pushed into making a decision like that while they are still a kid - but money rules all in football these days.




As an NI fan of over half a century, how is it in the interest of me and my fellow NI fans, to see our team disappear? As I've said consistently, and I'm sure the vast majority of my fellow NI fans would agree, I have no more desire to see an all-island team than I have to see an all-UK team, even when the latter is more logical politically, both big "P" (United Nations) and small "p" (FIFA).

As a Republic of Ireland fan for over half a century - I have zero issue with losing 'our team'. I do recognise that 50 years of sectarian division in the North / Northern Ireland does have an impact on the outlook of many / most soccer fans in the North (from both sides of that sectarian division). Your reference to an 'all-UK team' is interesting - in that there is an all-UK team in many sports and competitions, most prominently the Olympics. Yet the British media consistently refer to 'Team GB' - not 'Team GB + NI'. It shows the regard that the British establishment have towards their 'subjects' in Northern Ireland. Indeed, from a British, particularly English perspective, those in the North who regard themselves as British, are regarded as Irish by the same establishment once they set foot on English soil. That is the reality and it is based on a British imperialist outlook.

My motiviation for an all-Ireland team is political - not for an all-Ireland team based on Irish nationalism - but a recognition that soccer fans throughout the island are almost exclusively working class and working class people North and South, Catholic or Protestant, Nationalist or Unionist, have common interest and far more that unites them than divides them. As I have previously asserted, the sectarian divisions on this island are promoted by the established elites, North and South and in Britain, to maintain political, economic, social and religious control over working class people. When class interests are pushed to the fore, sectarian division are forced into the background - and this will be amply demonstrated with the general strike of public sector workers, Catholics and Protestants, in the North tomorrow. Sport is one of the fields of endeavour where sectarian division among working class people can be overcome - for example, despite the 85 years of conflict in Israel/Palestine there are soccer teams in the Israeli league that draw their support from both the Jewish and the Palestinian communities. In my view an all-Ireland soccer team could contribute to demonstrating the common interests of working class people on this island and assist with alleviating the sectarian divisions that still exist.



In any case, we have qualified to as many Finals as you, including getting to the Quarter Finals twice. But if you told me that we would never qualify again in my lifetime, then it wouldn't change a damned thing for me - all I've ever asked is that win, lose or draw. we send out 11 players who give 100% for the shirt, without their politics/race/religion etc mattering one damned bit.
Unfortunately - the reality is that politics and religion in the North do matter. For me the success at international level is very much secondary. I would not and do not advocate an all-Ireland team without an all-island league. Creating an all-island league with teams from North and South would (along with serving important political aims - i.e. demonstrating common working class interests) significantly improve the development of soccer on this island - stronger teams, bigger attendances, new rivalries etc. It could create a situation whereby Irish players across the island would find it more attractive to remain here and play for Irish teams - where Irish soccer fans support Irish rather than English (or Scottish) teams etc. - where teams on the island could develop to the point of being able to compete in European competitions - where the island could have a regularly participant in the CL group stage, teams in the Europa League and Conference etc.

At the end of the day all sport is rooted in politics - unfortunately the people who run sporting organisations tend to come for the upper echelons of society and they operate in the interests of the money and the money men. The only place that working class people can exert an influence is on the pitch and on the terraces and they should do so based on the common interests of the working class, not in the interests of those who promote working class divisions and whom benefit from the same division.

[Jolly Red Giant]

As for your SRFC v Brazil game (over half a century ago btw), I know one participant who most definitely wouldn't have favoured a combined team (though he was always up for a good laugh, a couple of pints and a weekend away!).
That is hardly a difficult one to figure out


While I have spoken to one legendary former NI international, from the "other side of the house" who was pretty disgusted with the FAI when the Darron Gibson affair first sprung up.
Like the cases of Grealish and Rice - Gibson's decision to switch to the Republic team happened when he was a kid (16 or maybe 17) - and it is hardly a surprise that the IFA kicked up a stink. However, that decision really isn't something that should be influenced by either the FAI or the IFA and the reality is that they have created issues like this as a result of the self-interest of the people who run both associations. And players on this island have a right to criticise the associations - they see far more of the shenanigans that go on behind the scenes than we, as fans, do. The FAI do deserve criticism for their carry on at the time - but this is nothing new, for either association and the people who run them.

[Joxerbrowne]

Have to agree re a United Ireland football team uniting working class men of every religion.

The sport of Boxing is where you can see this the most, the only sport on this Island where lads from every single type of background mix and become good friends. You have lads like Carl Frampton from a tough loyalist estate in Belfast become team mates with lads like Davey Joyce (Irish traveller) and Paddy Barnes from Ardoyne and Kenny Egan from Dublin with support from the whole Island.

It's a real shame we don't have a United Ireland side. End of the day we are all Irish and have more in common than some might like to think.

[EalingGreen]

I always read EalingGreen's posts in the voice of this fella. :)

https://youtu.be/wxpYW_w5pgo?si=mhS4GM-ZV6Jperlm

And I always think of this fella when reading your posts:

https://youtu.be/nOWR2LPZ-TI

(The one in the ROI shirt, that is)

[EalingGreen]

I think you are attempting to throw a lump of mud here - Grealish grew up in an Irish household in Birmingham - played GAA as a teenager etc. Both Grealish and Rice opted for England because of pressure from both agents and their clubs - higher transfer values as English players and higher income streams as English players.Both Grealish and Rice have an Irish heritage, but that is by no means all of their make-up, since they are at least as much English as they are Irish.
And if you look at Grealish, as someone who has no "dog in the fight", it seems to me that he used ROI to gain experience at a higher age group than he would have got with England. The fact that he switched when he did, to play oin one last U-21 tournament, and even after he was being offered a place in the senior squad by Martin O'Neill, indicates to me where his real preference lay.
As for Rice, he developed much later than JG, such that when he was first being considered for a senior cap with ROI, even WHU fans wouldn't have given him a chance of playing for England. Of course that was to change not much more than a season or two later.
As for "pressure from both agents and their clubs", that may well have been a factor, but you cannot assume that it was the only one, never mind the decisive one, even if it comforts you to imagine so.


Grealish's father now works for the agent who persuaded him to switch allegiance.And does the agent tell Jack's oul fella how to dress as well?

https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/b1a52c33-b6ca-4af0-93bf-fdd270d29822.jpg



And I am making these points as someone who, while I regret that they are not playing for Ireland, I don't have any issue with either player opting to play for England. No kid should be pushed into making a decision like that while they are still a kid - but money rules all in football these days.Yet when Michael O'Neill made that very same point (when eg the FAI sought to cap teenagers who had already played for NI at, say, U-17 level, thereby using up their one permitted switch), he got pelters from ROI fans, including some on this forum.

Funny that.


As a Republic of Ireland fan for over half a century - I have zero issue with losing 'our team'. Fcuk me, that's sad.


I do recognise that 50 years of sectarian division in the North / Northern Ireland does have an impact on the outlook of many / most soccer fans in the North (from both sides of that sectarian division). Your reference to an 'all-UK team' is interesting - in that there is an all-UK team in many sports and competitions, most prominently the Olympics. Yet the British media consistently refer to 'Team GB' - not 'Team GB + NI'.
"Team GB " is a marketing brand, copyrighted and registered in 1999 as a trademark with the Patent Office.

Meanwhile, here is what the BOA says on its website:
"The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The BOA is responsible for the participation in the Olympic Games of athletes from GB and NI, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and UK Overseas Territories which do not have their own National Olympic Committee."

Personally I'd kinda prefer if it was "Team UK", but quite honestly, I have rather more important things to worry about. Which reminds me, I must rearrange my sock drawer this afternoon, it's getting into a bit of a state.


It shows the regard that the British establishment have towards their 'subjects' in Northern Ireland. Indeed, from a British, particularly English perspective, those in the North who regard themselves as British, are regarded as Irish by the same establishment once they set foot on English soil. That is the reality and it is based on a British imperialist outlook.As someone who has lived in England for four decades, I wonder how I've managed to survive all this time.

Though at least I never had it so bad as this poor sod:
https://www.the42.ie/martin-oneill-7-5913676-Nov2022/

But still, thank you for the history lesson, it's always good to be told stuff you never knew.


My motiviation for an all-Ireland team is political - not for an all-Ireland team based on Irish nationalism - but a recognition that soccer fans throughout the island are almost exclusively working class and working class people North and South, Catholic or Protestant, Nationalist or Unionist, have common interest and far more that unites them than divides them."Almost exclusively working class" is it?

Stay on the line caller, you might be interested to hear from our next studio guest, the Twenty First Century...

"The share of the population that lives in middle-income households in Ireland increased by about 9 percentage points, from 60% in 1991 to 69% in 2010. The share in lower-income households fell 7 percentage points, and the upper-income share decreased 1 percentage point."
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/interactives/irish-middle-class/


As I have previously asserted, the sectarian divisions on this island are promoted by the established elites, North and South and in Britain, to maintain political, economic, social and religious control over working class people. When class interests are pushed to the fore, sectarian division are forced into the background - and this will be amply demonstrated with the general strike of public sector workers, Catholics and Protestants, in the North tomorrow. Sport is one of the fields of endeavour where sectarian division among working class people can be overcome - for example, despite the 85 years of conflict in Israel/Palestine there are soccer teams in the Israeli league that draw their support from both the Jewish and the Palestinian communities.That's all very well, but it fails to get to the core of the matter, namely whether Stephen Kenny's successor should stick with trying to play out from the back, or take a more pragmatic view of the players at his disposal and go more direct.


In my view an all-Ireland soccer team could contribute to demonstrating the common interests of working class people on this island and assist with alleviating the sectarian divisions that still exist.Clearly you're a disciple of those other Titans of the Working Class Struggle, Comrades Blair and Campbell:
https://foot.ie/threads/289172-Belfast-Dons!?p=2172331#post2172331


Unfortunately - the reality is that politics and religion in the North do matter. For me the success at international level is very much secondary. I would not and do not advocate an all-Ireland team without an all-island league. Creating an all-island league with teams from North and South would (along with serving important political aims - i.e. demonstrating common working class interests) significantly improve the development of soccer on this island - stronger teams, bigger attendances, new rivalries etc. It could create a situation whereby Irish players across the island would find it more attractive to remain here and play for Irish teams - where Irish soccer fans support Irish rather than English (or Scottish) teams etc. - where teams on the island could develop to the point of being able to compete in European competitions - where the island could have a regularly participant in the CL group stage, teams in the Europa League and Conference etc.You are Keiran Lucid and I claim my five Euro!
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/national-league/kieran-lucid-s-all-island-league-plan-should-be-a-no-brainer-1.4060731

And I must say, I like your style. I mean, we could build on the runaway success of the All-Island Cup, which itself followed on from that triumph of unity and inclusivity that was the Setanta Cup, which itself evolved from the Great Progenitor, the Blaxnit Cup (google it).

What could possibly go wrong!


At the end of the day all sport is rooted in politics - unfortunately the people who run sporting organisations tend to come for the upper echelons of society and they operate in the interests of the money and the money men. The only place that working class people can exert an influence is on the pitch and on the terraces and they should do so based on the common interests of the working class, not in the interests of those who promote working class divisions and whom benefit from the same division.Ah right. Tell me, when we finally reach the Socialist Utopia of an All-Ireland National Team and League etc, will the people who run it now all be chosen from the Proletariat for their impeccable working class credentials?

And what will happem to the Plebs who formerly ran the FAI and IFA - maybe build a Gulag on the Blasket Islands?

What was John Delaney, 'Man of the People' or just another exploitative (nearly) Accountant?

And as a homeowning University graduate who went to a rugby-playing school and who likes to rustle up a fine Risotto of a weekend to go with my bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, will there be any place for me? You know, what with my being irredeemably middle-class and all that?

Anyhow, I suspect you are someone who views everything, including football, thrpough the prism of your politics. Whereas me, I go to football to get away from all that stuff.

You know, cheer my team and boo the other team, then go for a couple of (working class?) pints afterwards, maybe even in the company of some opposition supporters.

[EalingGreen]

Have to agree re a United Ireland football team uniting working class men of every religion.And what about the women, eh?

Including ones like these:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lh2y1R11Em4


The sport of Boxing is where you can see this the most, the only sport on this Island where lads from every single type of background mix and become good friends. You have lads like Carl Frampton from a tough loyalist estate in Belfast become team mates with lads like Davey Joyce (Irish traveller) and Paddy Barnes from Ardoyne and Kenny Egan from Dublin with support from the whole Island.
Ah sure it's all grand - at least so long as the IABA manages to keep a lid on things:
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/inquiry-over-belfast-boxing-club-s-claims-of-harassment-1.539793
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-30960038

Btw, you do know that Boxing and Football are two different sports, don't you?


It's a real shame we don't have a United Ireland side. End of the day we are all Irish and have more in common than some might like to think.As I was just saying to some of my English/Scottish/Welsh/Northern Irish friends:
"It's a real shame we don't have a United Kingdom side. End of the day we are all British and have more in common than some might like to think."

[tetsujin1979]

take it to the inboxes lads, almost nothing of this conversation relates to players who are potentially eligible for the Republic of Ireland side

[Bungle]

From having lived in a few different parts of England, the problem with a lot of these lads is that they are living in areas that aren't as Irish as they used to be - to be fair someone like Grealish seems to come from a very Irish area. I actually have no doubt that both Rice, Grealish and the nine or ten others in the England squad who are eligible for us are proud of their heritage, but if all they see is excitement around them about the England team, you can't blame them for buying into it. When we do eventually have a good team again, I'd like to see the kids from different backgrounds buying into it, so we can't have it both ways.

Someone like Aldridge is the opposite to a lot of these lads. For starters he played in an era when we had world class players, so even if he joined the band when the good times were kicking off, the feeling in England at the time was very much them being baffled at how we weren't qualifying for tournaments on a regular basis. A football legend in Jack was always going to make a difference especially in those days. Secondly, while his ancestry was a bit back, he came from a place that is culturally Irish. An old Scouse mate of mine's grandson was called up for the England underage team earlier this year and he was saying none of them give a ****, but they see it's good for his development. Six of his great grandparents are Irish so we might have another inclusion in a Balls.ie what if Irish team.

[Jolly Red Giant]

Well - well - well - talk about all the cliches


Both Grealish and Rice have an Irish heritage, but that is by no means all of their make-up, since they are at least as much English as they are Irish.
And if you look at Grealish, as someone who has no "dog in the fight", it seems to me that he used ROI to gain experience at a higher age group than he would have got with England. The fact that he switched when he did, to play oin one last U-21 tournament, and even after he was being offered a place in the senior squad by Martin O'Neill, indicates to me where his real preference lay.
As for Rice, he developed much later than JG, such that when he was first being considered for a senior cap with ROI, even WHU fans wouldn't have given him a chance of playing for England. Of course that was to change not much more than a season or two later.
As for "pressure from both agents and their clubs", that may well have been a factor, but you cannot assume that it was the only one, never mind the decisive one, even if it comforts you to imagine so.

There is zero evidence that either Grealish or Rice were engaged in using Ireland to get into the English set-up.

Money dominates football and it is the key factor in why so many players opt for certain international teams - and there are hundreds of them - and it is particularly a problem in relation to players from neo-colonial countries. And the current rules operated by FIFA actually work against the neo-colonial countries.


And does the agent tell Jack's oul fella how to dress as well?
Once you go down the rabbit-hole



Yet when Michael O'Neill made that very same point (when eg the FAI sought to cap teenagers who had already played for NI at, say, U-17 level, thereby using up their one permitted switch), he got pelters from ROI fans, including some on this forum.
I will repeat again - no kid should be forced into making decisions before they are old enough to make a mature decision (and that decision should not be influenced by money, agents or clubs).


me, that's sad.
What is sad about it - having an all-island team would be something to celebrate.


"Team GB " is a marketing brand, copyrighted and registered in 1999 as a trademark with the Patent Office.

Meanwhile, here is what the BOA says on its website:
"The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The BOA is responsible for the participation in the Olympic Games of athletes from GB and NI, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and UK Overseas Territories which do not have their own National Olympic Committee."

Personally I'd kinda prefer if it was "Team UK", but quite honestly, I have rather more important things to worry about. Which reminds me, I must rearrange my sock drawer this afternoon, it's getting into a bit of a state.
So - after you bring up the topic you decide to be flippant in your response.


As someone who has lived in England for four decades, I wonder how I've managed to survive all this time.
Maybe you should give yourself more credit


Though at least I never had it so bad as this poor sod:
https://www.the42.ie/martin-oneill-7-5913676-Nov2022/
The sectarian divide runs deep - and not always along straight lines.


But still, thank you for the history lesson, it's always good to be told stuff you never knew.
You're welcome.


"Almost exclusively working class" is it?
Absolutely


Stay on the line caller, you might be interested to hear from our next studio guest, the Twenty First Century...

"The share of the population that lives in middle-income households in Ireland increased by about 9 percentage points, from 60% in 1991 to 69% in 2010. The share in lower-income households fell 7 percentage points, and the upper-income share decreased 1 percentage point."
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/interactives/irish-middle-class/
And he hauls out a pro-big-business American lobby group to prove his point.

Class affiliation is not based on income - but on the relationship with the means of production.


That's all very well, but it fails to get to the core of the matter, namely whether Stephen Kenny's successor should stick with trying to play out from the back, or take a more pragmatic view of the players at his disposal and go more direct.
Has nothing to do with this discussion


Clearly you're a disciple of those other Titans of the Working Class Struggle, Comrades Blair and Campbell:
https://foot.ie/threads/289172-Belfast-Dons!?p=2172331#post2172331
Excuse me while I get my barf bag


You are Keiran Lucid and I claim my five Euro!
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/national-league/kieran-lucid-s-all-island-league-plan-should-be-a-no-brainer-1.4060731

And I must say, I like your style. I mean, we could build on the runaway success of the All-Island Cup, which itself followed on from that triumph of unity and inclusivity that was the Setanta Cup, which itself evolved from the Great Progenitor, the Blaxnit Cup (google it).

What could possibly go wrong!
Oh yea - I'm touting a proposal from a chancer with vulture fund backing trying to make a quick buck - pull the other one.


Ah right. Tell me, when we finally reach the Socialist Utopia of an All-Ireland National Team and League etc, will the people who run it now all be chosen from the Proletariat for their impeccable working class credentials?

And what will happem to the Plebs who formerly ran the FAI and IFA - maybe build a Gulag on the Blasket Islands?

What was John Delaney, 'Man of the People' or just another exploitative (nearly) Accountant?
I would suggest that it should be run by the coaches, players and fans - but that is just me.

And you can't really call John Delaney a pleb.


And as a homeowning University graduate who went to a rugby-playing school and who likes to rustle up a fine Risotto of a weekend to go with my bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, will there be any place for me? You know, what with my being irredeemably middle-class and all that?
I hate rugby - but am partial to a glass of Chianti myself - but are you sure you are 'irredeemably middle-class? I am holding out hope for the emergence of your working class consciousness.


Anyhow, I suspect you are someone who views everything, including football, thrpough the prism of your politics. Whereas me, I go to football to get away from all that stuff.
Most people do - except the politics usually gets in the way when it comes to sport.


You know, cheer my team and boo the other team, then go for a couple of (working class?) pints afterwards, maybe even in the company of some opposition supporters.
And wouldn't it be great to have more people at games, bigger rivalries and your couple of pints - without the money undermining your enjoyment.

[Jolly Red Giant]

As I was just saying to some of my English/Scottish/Welsh/Northern Irish friends:
"It's a real shame we don't have a United Kingdom side. End of the day we are all British and have more in common than some might like to think."
And here is the issue - what you have in common is not an affiliation to an imperialist entity, apart from the fact that your English/Scottish/Welsh/Northern Irish friends are all victims of that entity.

[Jolly Red Giant]

take it to the inboxes lads, almost nothing of this conversation relates to players who are potentially eligible for the Republic of Ireland side
noted

[CraftyToePoke]

take it to the inboxes lads, almost nothing of this conversation relates to players who are potentially eligible for the Republic of Ireland side

Ah let it roll, at least there's a bit of life in the place today due to it.

[SkStu]

As a Republic of Ireland fan for over half a century - I have zero issue with losing 'our team'.


Fcuk me, that's sad.

"Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them, wouldn't leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one that was lost, until he found it? When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. When he comes home, he calls together his friends, his family and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance."

[SkStu]

As a Republic of Ireland fan for over half a century - I have zero issue with losing 'our team'.


Fcuk me, that's sad.

OK. So no one liked the parable of the lost sheep in this context. Fair enough. It was funnier in my head.

How about “we’re not losing a daughter, we’re gaining a son in law”?

[EalingGreen]

OK. So no one liked the parable of the lost sheep in this context. Fair enough. It was funnier in my head.I couldn't figure out why you were calling JRG a sheep, even if he is lost somewhere in the last century.


How about “we’re not losing a daughter, we’re gaining a son in law”?Except our son doesn't want to marry her. In fact, he doesn't even fancy her.

[Diggs246]

I couldn't figure out why you were calling JRG a sheep, even if he is lost somewhere in the last century.

Except our son doesn't want to marry her. In fact, he doesn't even fancy her.

What is she was pi**ed and had had it in months? any chance?

[SkStu]

I couldn't figure out why you were calling JRG a sheep, even if he is lost somewhere in the last century.

Except our son doesn't want to marry her. In fact, he doesn't even fancy her.

But also, he has a face only a mother could love and an awful reputation. He'd be doing quite well for himself. :)

[EalingGreen]

What is she was pi**ed and had had it in months? any chance?What, you mean a "friendly"?

A helluva way short of a full relationship.

Far more fun to stay single and carry on playing the field. ;)

[EalingGreen]

But also, he has a face only a mother could love and an awful reputation. He'd be doing quite well for himself. :)Maybe, but as against that, he's solvent and got his own house and car, while her oul fella has p1ssed away all their money at the bookies and is still trying to keep the debt collectors from the door.

How's he going to pay for a wedding in that state?

[pineapple stu]

But also, he has a face only a mother could love and an awful reputation. He'd be doing quite well for himself. :)
Has she huge...tracts of land I wonder?

[The Fly]

take it to the inboxes lads, almost nothing of this conversation relates to players who are potentially eligible for the Republic of Ireland side
I was about half way through EG's post and bet myself you'd interrupt like so.

This forum's been half dead for a long time and why would people bother much anyway if every little tangent is snuffed out.

As CraftyToePoke (https://foot.ie/members/4763-CraftyToePoke) said...just let it roll!

[seanfhear]

Has she huge...tracts of land I wonder?No No No ! ! !

[SkStu]

Maybe, but as against that, he's solvent and got his own house and car, while her oul fella has p1ssed away all their money at the bookies and is still trying to keep the debt collectors from the door.

How's he going to pay for a wedding in that state?

The brides family will take care of that, a mhac. Dont worry. You know it makes sense.

[EalingGreen]

The brides family will take care of that, a mhac. Dont worry. You know it makes sense.Even if they could, why would he want to tie himself to some yoke who's going to keep him at home every night and never let him out on his own with the lads he used to run around with?

I mean, it's not even as if she's a good cook, when you look at some of the rubbish she's been serving up lately.

Doesn't make any sense.

[seanfhear]

Have we turned in to, Tinder / Grindr ? !

[elatedscum]

Have we turned in to, Tinder / Grindr ? !

(Un)Hinge(d)

[EalingGreen]

Have we turned in to, Tinder / Grindr ? !
There's only one party talking about getting hitched - and it ain't us!

[seanfhear]

There's only one party talking about getting hitched - and it ain't us!
Circle the wagon (s) !

[EalingGreen]

Circle the wagon (s) !

https://carltoncc.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/13-may-circle-the-wagons-cartoon-resize-1.jpg

[OwlsFan]

I assume Callum O'Hare has been mentioned here as according to Wikipedia he's of "Irish descent" (not going to wade through 254 pages :)). On a good run of form and will probably score on Saturday.

[JR89]

Doesn't qualify. He's a generation out.

[seanfhear]

Doesn't qualify. He's a generation out.Poor bar-steward ! (wink)

[Eirambler]

Jake Clarke-Salter getting a decent run in the QPR first team at the moment. He'll probably never play for us as we have loads of centre backs, but his combination of being left footed and a decent ball player makes him worthy of keeping an eye on at least. Almost all of our centre backs are right footed, would be useful to have a few left footed options if we're going to continue playing three centre backs. Cashin, Scales and Garcia-MacNulty are the other left footers that come to mind and he's probably at least as good as any of those three at present.

[SkStu]

McAteer and Cannon start for Leicester tonight against Ipswich where it looks like Taylor has let Crafty down again as he finds himself on the bench.

[tetsujin1979]

18 year old Kian Tydeman was in midfield for Bournemouth's U21s last night in the Premier League Cup. Listed as Irish on Bournemouth's website, and is Will Smallbone's cousin, but he doesn't seem to have been called up
Match report: https://www.afcb.co.uk/news/development-squad/sadi-stunner-caps-cup-progression/
Player profile: https://www.afcb.co.uk/teams/development-squad/kian-tydeman/

[Olé Olé]

18 year old Kian Tydeman was in midfield for Bournemouth's U21s last night in the Premier League Cup. Listed as Irish on Bournemouth's website, and is Will Smallbone's cousin, but he doesn't seem to have been called up
Match report: https://www.afcb.co.uk/news/development-squad/sadi-stunner-caps-cup-progression/
Player profile: https://www.afcb.co.uk/teams/development-squad/kian-tydeman/
Smallbone qualifies through his mother who was born in Ireland? Could be a funny connection if it is on that side.

[Fixer82]

And he spells like that fella from Westlife with the lovely blue eyes

[SkStu]

Tweet from Aidan Fitzmaurice says Sandy Walsh of KRC Genk is eligible.
https://twitter.com/fitzmaidan/status/758710777004093441

According to his wiki page. He was born in Brussels but has played for Holland through all the ages groups up to U20.

Another Barry Maguire?

scored for Indonesia today in the Asian Cup defeat to Japan. :)


Walsh was born in Belgium to an Irish father who was born in England, and an Indonesian mother who was born in Switzerland and raised in Netherlands.[12][13] He is therefore eligible for either Belgium, England, Ireland, Switzerland, Netherlands, or Indonesia.[14]

On 17 November 2022, Walsh officially acquired Indonesian citizenship.[15]

[Eirambler]

If the Carsley appointment goes through it will be very interesting to see what (if any) movement we might see on a number of English/Irish dual eligible players. The first one up either way is likely to be Cannon, but there are obviously a number of others that could be on the radar in the next couple of years - Delap and Cirkin are two others that stand out, there could be others we aren't aware of also.

[JR89]

Hopefully Delap had his citizenship sorted before playing for England otherwise we'll need him to switch ASAP if he has any interest.

[zero]

If the Carsley appointment goes through it will be very interesting to see what (if any) movement we might see on a number of English/Irish dual eligible players. The first one up either way is likely to be Cannon, but there are obviously a number of others that could be on the radar in the next couple of years - Delap and Cirkin are two others that stand out, there could be others we aren't aware of also.

McAteer another, was the paperwork there ever sorted out?

[Eirambler]

I'm taking McAteer as a given to be honest, but we'll find out for sure in March I suppose.

[SkStu]

Goal for Goodrham. Outside the box. Six or seven goals for the season I think, a few assists too. Not bad going for a 20 year old in League One. Saw him on the EFL highlights show at the weekend. Looks a talent.

[SkStu]

Goal for Goodrham. Outside the box. Six or seven goals for the season I think, a few assists too. Not bad going for a 20 year old in League One. Saw him on the EFL highlights show at the weekend. Looks a talent.

https://streamion.me/watch/oxford-united-1-0-portsmouth-tyler-goodrham-44_QcYkOREml4S8R49.html

[The Fly]

I know all the Conor Bradley chat is now over but…sigh! :(

[Razors left peg]

I know all the Conor Bradley chat is now over but…sigh! :(

United Ireland football team back on the agenda :p

[The Fly]

United Ireland football team back on the agenda :p
That’s the spirit. Isn’t it EG? ;)

[EalingGreen]

That’s the spirit. Isn’t it EG? ;)"He's one of our own, He's one of our o-o-own, Conor Bradley, He's one of our own!" :cool:

[gastric]

"He's one of our own, He's one of our o-o-own, Conor Bradley, He's one of our own!" :cool:

With Michelle about to take charge, we will have unity next year and then one team, so he will be one of our own!:o

[samhaydenjr]

CJ Egan-Riley loaned from Burnley to PSV Eindhoven - might be worth keeping an eye on him