Potentially eligible players thread

[Charlie Darwin]

Stop saying jeez over there.

[SkStu]

I can't stand how people refer to Jesus as "the lord". I've noticed Kieran Westwood doing it a lot. Feckin Catholics.

[geysir]

I can't stand how people refer to Jesus as "the lord". I've noticed Kieran Westwood doing it a lot. Feckin Catholics.
If they are good footballers, eligible to play for 'the country', I'd give them a pass on that.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Good rural country boys.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Bullet dodged.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/38146298

[DeLorean]

Three goals in eleven games for a 19 year old midfielder at League One level isn't to be sniffed at all the same.

[Charlie Darwin]

He can still declare for us.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

“I would love to play for both national teams,” McNamara said. “Right now I don’t have any chances, and am not thinking about this one or that one. For me, it would be an honor to represent either country, and however it works out down the road it works out.”

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1110/major-league-soccer/2016/12/07/30246302/eligible-for-two-countries-thomas-mcnamara-still-waiting-for

[IsMiseSean]

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1110/major-league-soccer/2016/12/07/30246302/eligible-for-two-countries-thomas-mcnamara-still-waiting-for

He kinda looks like a young Vladimir Putin.

[SkStu]

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1110/major-league-soccer/2016/12/07/30246302/eligible-for-two-countries-thomas-mcnamara-still-waiting-for

(cant link to an article - diverts to the home page) I have no idea how good or bad he is but that is pretty much the perfect answer to the question asked of anyone who is a dual national.

[liamoo11]

He can still declare for us.

be great if he does . In similar situation to Byrne at Blackburn whom I assume regrets that tweet earlier in the season which has him in the bad books don't see anyone writing Byrne off and rightly so and I think Crowley will have an excellent career and would love him to be on board with us

[Charlie Darwin]

be great if he does . In similar situation to Byrne at Blackburn whom I assume regrets that tweet earlier in the season which has him in the bad books don't see anyone writing Byrne off and rightly so and I think Crowley will have an excellent career and would love him to be on board with us
What tweet was that?

[BonnieShels]

Jaysus... He needs to be careful:


The Irish FA just reached out to confirm my citizenship, and that was that. I haven’t heard anything since, and I haven’t heard from the American federation."

[liamoo11]

What tweet was that?

he tweeted been unhappy at been on bench around September then coulee rightly banished him altogether but in fairness coyle has had him back on the bench for the last last month or so.

[The Fly]

He can still declare for us.

...and now would be a good time to have another talk with him.

[samhaydenjr]

...and now would be a good time to have another talk with him.

I'd say the ball's in his court now - if he wants to come on board at this point it's up to him to show interest, as MON already had The Chat with him. And besides, while a year ago speculation about him potentially declaring for us caused a bit of post-Grealish excitement, if he declared for us now, there'd be more of a collective "Meh" - and I don't mean that to be disrespectful to the lad, but when you look at our current and potential midfield options, we're in pretty good shape (even in a post-Wessi world) - if JG changed his mind, I think he'd struggle to be more than a fringe player, at most, and here are the reasons why:
- Current squad players under 30 who have really started to have a major impact over the last 12-18 months: Hendrick, Brady, McClean and Meyler
- James McCarthy is still only 26
- The talented late-ish bloomers (but still all under 30) - Arter, Judge, Hourihane, Hayes
- The young Championship lads starting to deliver on their potential, who have already been called up to the squad or could be within the next twelve months or so - O'Dowda, Lenihan, Byrne, Shodipo, Browne, maybe Kelly and Barrett also.
- The League One youngsters who could yet step up - Cullen, DiMaio, Osadebe, Murray
- The current/recent League of Ireland stars who may break through in the next couple of years: Towell, Forrester, Horgan
- Players under 30 who may not have featured recently but could still do a job, if called upon: O'Kane, Gibson, Pilkington, Scannell
- And a few highly-rated development players - Charsley, Ronan, Watts, ElBouzedi

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

The Sunday Times report that the player harbours ambitions to play for England, and a move to a Premier League team, or one who hope to be there next season, could put him in line for a call-up to the Three Lions.

"Scotty feels English and that is his number one priority" a source who is reportedly close to the player told the newspaper.


"And if he gets to the Premier League he will at least feel he is in with a chance of getting a call-up."



https://www.sportsjoe.ie/football/scott-hogan-brentford-norwich-city-england-republic-of-ireland/105886

[tetsujin1979]

a source who is "reportedly" close to the player. I, for one, am sold.

[Diggs246]

I don't think he is genuine with this business of "resting" during the international break. But that article is horse sh*t

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Scott Hogan, could be set for a £10 million move to Norwich City in the January transfer window, which could scupper Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill’s efforts to recruit the free-scoring Brentford striker.

The 24-year-old is one of the most sought after players in the Championship, having scored 20 league goals since returning from a cruciate knee ligament injury in March, with O’Neill as anxious as anybody to avail himself of his services.

After receiving some encouraging signals from Hogan’s agent, O’Neill is hoping to have Hogan on board for the visit to Dublin of Wales in the World Cup qualifiers in March, but the Brentford hierarchy believe Hogan still has ambitions to play for England. A move to a more high-profile club would be a step in that direction rather than Ireland’s. “Scotty feels English and that is his number one priority and if he gets to the Premier League he will at least feel he is in with a chance of getting a call up,” a source close to Hogan said. The player himself has refused to comment.

Brentford are prepared to sell Hogan if the price is right, while Norwich are desperate to reinvigorate their promotion challenge with the recruitment of a top striker.

“Scott’s scoring goals at the moment and if the bids come in we will address it,” Brentford manager Dean Smith told The Sunday Times. “This will go above my head because we have co directors of football who will deal with it. Brentford has been through things like this before with Andre Gray [sold to Burnley last year] banging in goals and now Scott doing the same. What we can’t do is deal with speculation.”

Hogan delayed making a call about his international career as he wanted time off to recover properly from two serious knee injuries in as many years, but Smith confirmed he was back to full fitness. “It has been a softly-softly approach. He still has his rehab and his gym programme, but he is doing everything in training now.”

Hogan’s Irish teammate John Egan refused to be drawn on the subject: “It is not really for me to comment on. I spoke about it before and then they put it in a big headline. It was just a question at the end of a conversation and my words were twisted a bit about Scotty playing for Ireland, but I didn’t say that.”



http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/irish-sport/oneill-eyes-hogan-move-m3nbsvlg9?t=ie

[DeLorean]

Nothing says you're ready for England duty quite like a transfer to another Championship club. :rolleyes:

[SkStu]

what did Egan say?

[DeLorean]

what did Egan say?

Headline a little exaggerated but they were encouraging words to be fair. Goal.com (http://m.goal.com/s/en-ie/news/3942/ireland/2016/12/06/30222992/scott-hogan-will-declare-for-ireland-insists-john-egan?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ie%2F)

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

what did Egan say?

More like what he didn't say. Clickbait headline; poor journalism. Egan's words were twisted to imply he believed Hogan would declare for Ireland.

http://www.goal.com/en-ie/news/3942/ireland/2016/12/06/30222992/scott-hogan-will-declare-for-ireland-insists-john-egan


(http://www.goal.com/en-ie/news/3942/ireland/2016/12/06/30222992/scott-hogan-will-declare-for-ireland-insists-john-egan)

[DeLorean]

Egan's words were twisted to imply he believed Hogan would declare for Ireland.

The headline is exaggerated but he obviously does believe Hogan will declare for Ireland. Unless they've actually misquoted him completely.

"He is a terrific striker, he’s quick and technically very good for us and hopefully he’ll be scoring goals in the green shirt some day.
“I think he will, he’s just back fit from doing his cruciate ligament twice so he’s just making sure he’s right.”

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

He said he was misquoted.


It was just a question at the end of a conversation and my words were twisted a bit about Scotty playing for Ireland, but I didn’t say that.”

Irish journalists have form for this. They did the same with Alan Judge months ago.

They do it all the time.

They manufactured quotes from Shane Long about Sean Morrison playing for Ireland even though he has no Irish links!

[DeLorean]

Fair enough.

[liamoo11]

Hogan clearly doesn't feel Irish please leave him alone . You can't make someone love you

[TrapAPony]

Hogan clearly doesn't feel Irish please leave him alone . You can't make someone love you
Maybe the FAI can capture him and eventually he will declare for us because of Stockholm syndrome.;)

[Wangball]

To me, this whole "source close to Hogan" talk is most likely an agent leaked story and Hogan will still ultimately end up with us.

The reason I think the agent is leaking guff like this is to increase his value prior to a January transfer window move because for some strange reason England players or even potential English internationals are more expensive.

It wasn't just Egan who said he'd end up with us, Judge did too -

http://www.herald.ie/sport/soccer/hogan-will-be-one-of-ours-alan-35167378.html

Both friends of his, both see him and presumably speak to him on a regular basis (Egan even went to New York with him to watch the McGregor fight with him) long and short of it is I'd believe what they say over some nameless source.

[DeLorean]

Good points. I guess we'll know soon enough anyway - if he's not committed by March or sooner.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

To me, this whole "source close to Hogan" talk is most likely an agent leaked story and Hogan will still ultimately end up with us.

The reason I think the agent is leaking guff like this is to increase his value prior to a January transfer window move because for some strange reason England players or even potential English internationals are more expensive.

It wasn't just Egan who said he'd end up with us, Judge did too -

http://www.herald.ie/sport/soccer/hogan-will-be-one-of-ours-alan-35167378.html

Both friends of his, both see him and presumably speak to him on a regular basis (Egan even went to New York with him to watch the McGregor fight with him) long and short of it is I'd believe what they say over some nameless source.

Except Egan never said he'd end up with us. In all likelihood, neither did Judge. Months ago, the Brentford boss said that the Irish media were trying to contact all their Irish players (presumably to manufacture stories, create clickbait headlines and mess around with quotes).

I would be more inclined to believe a source at the club and The Sunday Times newspaper than something I read on Goal.com, The Irish Herald or The Irish Sun. The Herald and Sun constantly have "exclusive" stories devoid of any quotes or grounding in reality.

The idea that Hogan needs to manage his fitness during International windows has also been quashed. His own manager has said he's been fully fit in every way for several months.

If his knees were that dodgy in the first place, he probably shouldn't be spending 7 hours each-way on an airplane going to watch UFC.

[Diggs246]

I think the reality is if England called him up he would be like Lazarus. If he wanted to play for us he can commit to us now... not in five months, five days or even five hours. yes or no now

[samhaydenjr]

The answer to our looming striker crisis? Lukas Jutkiewicz just got his third goal in five games for Birmingham - http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/37581974


Before this, he had failed to score in 37 games.


I know...tongue was partially in cheek on that one...unless he scores another 20 goals this season, in which case I will declare myself a prescient football pundit who saw how important he would be to our cause before anybody else...I'll be like an international football hipster:p


I am now officially declaring myself to be an international football hipster/prescient football pundit: http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/martin-oneill-steps-up-interest-in-birmingham-striker-everything-you-need-to-know-about-lukas-jutkiewicz-35314042.html


Not to worry - Lukas Jutkiewicz just scored again - that's 5 in 9 so my prediction is coming true:p. More seriously, considering that our main strike force is made up of Long, Walters, Doyle and Murphy and that it's likely that three of those will retire after this campaign so it's really important that we have replacements for them - I guess the obvious response is to give McGoldrick and Rooney some game time in preparation for that time, so they should both feature in the Iceland friendly in March. And with Long out, we could possibly use McGoldrick off the bench against Austria, as he has a few caps under his belt, at least, and showed well in the game against the USA a couple of years ago. And if Hogan decides to turn us down, then we may have to look at options like Jutkiewicz and Will Keane

Crikey, it's like MON is making decisions based on my posts now...I've got to say, it's a little unnerving. With that in mind, I would still have McGoldrick and Rooney ahead of Justkiewicz, as they have longer scoring records under their belts

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I would have Paddy Madden ahead of any of them.

[TrapAPony]

I would have Paddy Madden ahead of any of them.

I wouldn't. He has never really done anything outside of League 1.

[samhaydenjr]

Just learned that Birmingham made Jutkiewicz's loan move permanent a couple of weeks ago: http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/38381665

[samhaydenjr]

I would have Paddy Madden ahead of any of them.


I wouldn't. He has never really done anything outside of League 1.

Yes, I agree with Trap for now anyway, however Madden could get another shot at Championship level soon if Scunthorpe can go up. Hopefully he gets that chance, so that we can have as many realistic options as possible up front before the start of the next qualifying campaign, by which time we may lose up to three strikers.

[samhaydenjr]

Eighth of the season for Jutkiewicz, fourteenth for Hogan as Brentford beat Birmingham: http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/38433143

[SkStu]

Really would be great if we could persuade Hogan to join the dark side..


(green is darker than white lads)

[tetsujin1979]

True, but those on the dark side served the empire...

[samhaydenjr]

True, but those on the dark side served the empire...

...and many of them wore white

[Charlie Darwin]

True, but those on the dark side served the empire...
If we'd spun that yarn we'd probably still have Grealish.

[DeLorean]

Really would be great if we could persuade Hogan to join the dark side..

Would it be safe enough to assume that would be a more difficult task should he become a Premier League striker (https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jan/03/watford-scott-hogan-offer-8m-west-ham)? Probably.

Edit- or could we have a Bundesliga winner (http://www.skysports.com/transfer/news/12691/10715996/rb-leipzig-interested-in-signing-brentford-striker-scott-hogan-sky-sources) in our ranks? :)

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I wonder how Hogan's meeting with O'Neill went?

Or is he meeting him tomorrow?

He was supposed to meet him over the Christmas period wasn't he?

[TrapAPony]

I wonder how the meeting with O'Neill went?

It has all gone very quiet alright. Now we see West Ham bidding for Hogan as well as reports in the paper that we are looking at Lukasz Jukiewicz. I could be wrong but the signs are ominous.

[liamoo11]

I wonder how Hogan's meeting with O'Neill went?

Or is he meeting him tomorrow?

He was supposed to meet him over the Christmas period wasn't he?

im sure he had Christmas dinner with him dressed up as Santa with Roy there dressed up as rudolf. Still if he doesn't declare for us I think o neill could have done more

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

:poo:

[Closed Account]

Dan Crowley made his debut, 14min off the bench for Go Ahead Eagles last night.

[tetsujin1979]

might be a future recruit in the academy at LA Galaxy: https://twitter.com/LAGalaxyAcademy/status/820358552426418176

@LAGalaxyAcademy (https://twitter.com/LAGalaxyAcademy) 18s beat @SoundersAcademy (https://twitter.com/SoundersAcademy) 5-1. Two goals by Alex Mendez, Uly Llanez, Patrick Murphy and Aristotle Zarris. U16s up next.