Jack Grealish

[gastric]

Mention here of Quinn's comments to Grealish, the ginger b#st#rd! How could he? This is quite a balanced article on where he stands presently, if anything, it makes me hopeful he will make the right decision. I do hope Roy's role at Villa will be a positive in him picking Ireland.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/grealish-willing-to-take-his-time-on-big-decisions-30578518.html

[Stuttgart88]

Quinn called him a fake paddy? That's a bit rich coming from a guy who has carefully crafted this look:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Leprechaun-Outfit-Halloween-Costume/dp/B002BAU7Q4

[the doc]

Quinn called him a fake paddy? That's a bit rich coming from a guy who has carefully crafted this look:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Leprechaun-Outfit-Halloween-Costume/dp/B002BAU7Q4

😇😄👍

I don't think Quinny will be giving Jacko any wishes!

Seriously, pathetic to start making such a big thing about being called a fake paddy.

I'm sure lots us have been called that in our time.


I did say that Grealish wants to play for England,so I don't want him playing for us, if Woy overlooks him.

England's player pool is diminishing in quality anyhow.

I want players 100% committed to Ireland, it's an honour to wear the Green shirt.

Imagine how good it feels to walk out and see a sea of green shirts in the crowd?

Truly wonderful to see and be a part of.

As for Grealo

Lots of young player burst onto the professional stage, have a good season and fade away.

Grealish looks promising, but nothing more than that, top defenders will soon work him out.

If he's as good as people are claiming, then he will be able to deal with that.

Let's see how he does after his first season as the second season is much harder and many have fallen by the wayside after that.

[paul_oshea]

I thought cd was taking the ****!!! Quinn obviously doesn't want him taking his place!

[paul_oshea]

Gastric what do you mean by pick?he's ours to lose!

Doc thats a fair assessment and one I'd say he is thinking of hence he is waiting till nxt summer to decide.

[Stuttgart88]

Seriously, pathetic to start making such a big thing about being called a fake paddy
Where did he say it was a big thing?

The article said Grealish giggled as he described the incident, said it's only banter and it's no problem.

[jbyrne]

������
Imagine how good it feels to walk out and see a sea of green shirts in the crowd?


id say our players have to imagine that all the time. cant remember the last time the team were greeted by such a sight.

the fans need to up their game!

[Stuttgart88]

He meant green seats.

[gastric]

Gastric what do you mean by pick?he's ours to lose!

Doc thats a fair assessment and one I'd say he is thinking of hence he is waiting till nxt summer to decide.

Pedantic O' Shea!

[geysir]

Mention here of Quinn's comments to Grealish, the ginger b#st#rd! How could he? This is quite a balanced article on where he stands presently, if anything, it makes me hopeful he will make the right decision. I do hope Roy's role at Villa will be a positive in him picking Ireland.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/grealish-willing-to-take-his-time-on-big-decisions-30578518.html
i wouldn't read anything into Quinn's comments.
Any Irish player, playing against Grealish would be well advised to kick lumps out of him, shouting 'take that you fake paddy cnt' as he lies writhing on the grass.
After the game - shake hands and wish him well with his club and intl career, whichever country he decides to play for.

[TrapAPony]

Jack Grealish ‏@JackGrealish1 (https://twitter.com/JackGrealish1)
The way things can get blown out of proportion in newspapers is a joke.. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v1/72x72/1f648.png



Also he turned 19 yesterday. FAI said then would send him new shin pads.

[Duggie]

i don't get what is there to think about, you either want to play for Ireland or England. Simple. He has played all the way up for Ireland so does he now suddenly want to change. If he does then ok but hes not 12. Just make your decision and stick by it.

[gastric]

i wouldn't read anything into Quinn's comments.
Any Irish player, playing against Grealish would be well advised to kick lumps out of him, shouting 'take that you fake paddy cnt' as he lies writhing on the grass.
After the game - shake hands and wish him well with his club and intl career, whichever country he decides to play for.

I was being sarcastic! I will always remember Roy and McAteer, pure entertainment!

[paul_oshea]

I'm begining to dislike him a bit now. Effectively he is saying don't call me up for a year, that we must wait on him, he is a 19 year old that has done SFA really and he is calling the shots to O'Neill and Keane Ireland. What exactly will he have learnt in a year anyway? I think we know the answer to that. If the group is doing well and looking like qualifying I would be very upset as a player him coming in then when it suited him and England don't select him taking someone else's place.

What's to say next year after an average season he doesnt impress England or at club level will he want to hold off again in the hope he does better the following season.

He is 19 years old. I was making a decision to spend a year of my life almost in Boston at that age, he is certainly old enough to decide who he wants to play with.

[DannyInvincible]

In the Independent article, John Fallon says Grealish has already shunned England twice. It seems he turned down an offer to play for their under-17s as well as the offer to play for their under-19s that we already know about. Fallon also states,"if it's any consolation, defection to England during the interim is a non-runner too", but on what basis, I'm not sure. Why would it necessarily be a non-runner during the interim? Has Grealish assured him of that? Martin clearly never asked him to join our squad either, so there was no invite to turn down.


"Martin O'Neill appreciates from my meeting with him that I need to put my club future first before thinking about the international situation.

"My father and I wouldn't have liked to go to that meeting and hear Martin say, 'Come on and play for Ireland'. In fairness, he didn't put me under pressure to make a decision.

"He sat me down, treated me like a man and talked through everything.

"It wasn't just about football but growing up as a footballer and where my grandparents are from in Ireland.

"That's what I wanted to hear from Martin because it is a big decision to make and one I want to take my time over."

RTÉ claim his father, Kevin, is from Dublin: http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/international/2014/0911/642970-grealish-to-bide-his-time-on-international-future/


Grealish, whose father Kevin is from Dublin, has represented Ireland from U15 to U21 level but could still switch to England unless he makes a senior competitive appearance for the Boys in Green.

That's not correct though, is it?

[DannyInvincible]

i don't get what is there to think about, you either want to play for Ireland or England. Simple. He has played all the way up for Ireland so does he now suddenly want to change. If he does then ok but hes not 12. Just make your decision and stick by it.

It's easy for you to say it's "simple", but you're not a dual national? Why do you think it would be a simple decision for someone with split loyalties?

[tetsujin1979]

Martin clearly never asked him to join our squad either, so there was no invite to turn down.I've grown tired of reading over and over recently that he turned down an invite to the senior side, when there was no invite in the first place. Did some research myself, and there's no quotes from the player, or the manager, that there ever was an invite.

If I was someone who's been using this as another stick to beat the lad, I wouldn't mention it again without providing some concrete evidence (ie direct quotes from the player or manager) that it did occur

[DannyInvincible]

I'm begining to dislike him a bit now. Effectively he is saying don't call me up for a year, that we must wait on him, he is a 19 year old that has done SFA really and he is calling the shots to O'Neill and Keane Ireland. What exactly will he have learnt in a year anyway? I think we know the answer to that....

What's to say next year after an average season he doesnt impress England or at club level will he want to hold off again in the hope he does better the following season.

Why not just take his words at face value?


If the group is doing well and looking like qualifying I would be very upset as a player him coming in then when it suited him and England don't select him taking someone else's place.

It won't be his decision to come in and take someone else's place.


He is 19 years old. I was making a decision to spend a year of my life almost in Boston at that age, he is certainly old enough to decide who he wants to play with.

But that's you, Paul. Poor Jack Grealish obviously isn't as amazing as you. :p

[Stuttgart88]

Where is almost in Boston? Cape Cod? :)

If you had to stay there for the rest of your career would you have chosen to go there?

I still think everyone is overthinking things by phorensically examining his remarks beyond what we know.

We know he doesn't want to commit. We think he probably supports the English national team. We know many people support two countries. We know England go into tournaments with big fanfare whereas we don't. We know he plays for us now and that he does clearly identify with his Irish roots. We know he is happier with Ireland U21s than England U19s. We don't know if he would have chosen England U21s over our U21s if offered both at the same time. We know he is being asked questions by the media so he is answering them.

We don't know what factors are motivating his decisions. We're guessing. My own guess is that he'll declare for England at the start of the next U21 campaign, but equally I'm not convinced he's not just letting things calm down and he might well opt for Ireland.

The only thing this proves is that we're bored at work.

[jbyrne]

I was making a decision to spend a year of my life almost in Boston at that age, he is certainly old enough to decide who he wants to play with.

and was this decision going to affect greatly the rest of your career?

[DeLorean]

If the reason for wanting the 'year out' is to focus on his club career without any distractions and controversy, I totally get that. It makes an awful lot of sense seeing as his focus has to be on a first team place at Villa right now.

If the reason is that he needs time to mull over which country he'd prefer to represent, I think that's a bit much. I'm not a dual national but I'd be shocked if he didn't know who he'd prefer to play for, whether that's pleasing his family or pleasing himself, or even pleasing himself by pleasing his family. As he says himself, he's not a kid anymore, and grown ups have to make decisions. If he feels being tied to Ireland could be something he'll regret for the rest of his life, then he has his answer right there!

The article seems to say that the time out is more to do with the former, whereas the comments from O'Neill seemed to suggest the latter. Maybe it's a bit of both but I'd only be sympathetic towards the first reason above to be honest.

[paul_oshea]

Stutts almost boston is as close to Cape Cod as phorensically is to forensically. ; )

DI & Stutts its all well and good saying that, but there is ambiguity in his words. If he had come out and said I want to focus on my club career and I don't want to be called up for any Senior International, but he has been more clever than that. He leaves it open that he doesn't want to commit, but no mention whether he would if England came calling, he could have clearly come out and said I want to focus on my career and not playing for Ireland but I'm committed to Ireland.

Look, I'm tired all this arguing, its exteremely clear and I'm sure Martin and Roy are aware of that, one thing that re-enforced a belief I had with regards to diplomacy and Roy and Martin was after that breakfast thing. What they are saying publically is usually quite different privately.

It turned out indirectly of quite signficance in my career, however I didn't know that at the time when I went. How can he know if it will or not, how it can effect him in anyway, if he is good enough and is playing for Ireland he can play for anyone. I think its funny we are stil debating this really.

[Charlie Darwin]

What's the 'breakfast thing'?

[DannyInvincible]

Jack Grealish ‏@JackGrealish1 (https://twitter.com/JackGrealish1)
The way things can get blown out of proportion in newspapers is a joke.. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v1/72x72/1f648.png

It seems he's referring to the Chelsea interest story there. Or so think most of those who've replied to him on there anyway.


We know he doesn't want to commit. We think he probably supports the English national team. We know many people support two countries. We know England go into tournaments with big fanfare whereas we don't. We know he plays for us now and that he does clearly identify with his Irish roots. We know he is happier with Ireland U21s than England U19s. We don't know if he would have chosen England U21s over our U21s if offered both at the same time. We know he is being asked questions by the media so he is answering them.

We don't know what factors are motivating his decisions. We're guessing.

This is a very fair and reasonable summary of the situation.


My own guess is that he'll declare for England at the start of the next U21 campaign, but equally I'm not convinced he's not just letting things calm down and he might well opt for Ireland.

There's a lot of risk attached to making the jump. Even if he did wish to commit to England, I feel that fact might tip the balance in Ireland's favour.


DI & Stutts its all well and good saying that, but there is ambiguity in his words.

But you've been saying all along that there's no ambiguity in the situation.


If he had come out and said I want to focus on my club career and I don't want to be called up for any Senior International, but he has been more clever than that. He leaves it open that he doesn't want to commit, but no mention whether he would if England came calling, he could have clearly come out and said I want to focus on my career and not playing for Ireland but I'm committed to Ireland.

Fallon stated that "defection to England in the interim is a non-runner", so maybe Grealish did tell him he has no plans to switch.

[paul_oshea]

Ambiguity in his last interview DI. I meant he is being purposely ambiguious.

Stutts can you stop Flicking on those Russia Brides sites from foot.ie they keep coming up now at work.

[DannyInvincible]

Stutts can you stop Flicking on those Russia Brides sites from foot.ie they keep coming up now at work.

I think those ads are tailored towards your own browsing history... :o

[paul_oshea]

I think those ads are tailored towards your own browsing history... :o

It's not that simple and straighforward( :P ). I've clicked on many things but not Russian Brides, plus it keeps saying for older men - it must be stutts.

[MeathDrog]

If he says "First thing's first I'm the Grealish" before announcing that he is going to play for Ireland then all is forgiven.

[Stuttgart88]

there is ambiguity in his words.

Look, I'm tired all this arguing, its extremely clear

I've done you the favour of correcting the spelling mistake, but what exactly is clear in the ambiguity?

[Stuttgart88]

What's the 'breakfast thing'?
Martin, Roy, Paul and I had brekky in Crackbird recently.

[paul_oshea]

Stutts you missed mine as usual - worry about your own first before mine!!

[tetsujin1979]

Martin, Roy, Paul and I had brekky in Crackbird recently.
But they don't serve breakfast in Crackbird? The ambiguity is clear!

[Stuttgart88]

Stutts you missed mine as usual - worry about your own first before mine!!
No, I saw it which is why I thanked your post. The rest of your post didn't merit a thanks :)

[Bungle]

My sense of Jack is that he is either genuinely torn about which country to play for, or else he is hedging his bets to see if he is good enough to break in to the English team over the coming year, before giving up on Ireland.

Personally, I feel that it is the first one rather than the second. Clearly, he is one of the most talented, if not the most talented player of his age in England. He is more than good enough to play for the English u21s or at least their u19/u20 teams and if he begins to impress for Villa this season, he will have a great chance of getting a cap off Woy - England are not as bad as some make out, but they don't have the talent they used to. To put it in perspective, against the German u21s he looked more than able for them, whereas Jack Byrne who is a massive talent and one of the best players of his age in England looked totally out of his depth.

It seems to me that he is from a massively Irish background. I reckon it's 50-50, but I'd be more hopeful of young Crowley to be honest.

[paul_oshea]

No, I saw it which is why I thanked your post. The rest of your post didn't merit a thanks :)

Ya there should be half thanks on this, or thank part of the post. Always felt that with your posts and reluctantly i had to thank the whole post.

[paul_oshea]

Personally, I feel that it is the first one rather than the second. Clearly, he is one of the most talented, if not the most talented player of his age in England. He is more than good enough to play for the English u21s or at least their u19/u20 teams and if he begins to impress for Villa this season, he will have a great chance of getting a cap off Woy - England are not as bad as some make out, but they don't have the talent they used to. To put it in perspective, against the German u21s he looked more than able for them, whereas Jack Byrne who is a massive talent and one of the best players of his age in England looked totally out of his depth.
.

Was he tweeting about Irish senior games(what about georgia?) and Ireland during the Euros with the same frequency as he does for England. He could well be torn but that's his family as opposed to how he really feels, he could be under pressure he feels from his grandparents but in his own heart he wants England and doesn't want to upset anyone. I'd still go with whatever it is that he wants England first.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I think it's a misconception among people that he played for Ireland ahead of England at any underage level. He was sent away from England trials at a young age ostensibly because he was sick and they didn't want him contaminating anyone. He was close to switching another time but changed his mind at the last moment. I remember an interview where he said he was playing for Ireland because he was playing with older kids at a more competitive level. Perhaps he is playing for Ireland underage because would not get selected/start for the same England age groups? Of course that would probably change now.

I've heard that the father would push him towards Ireland but I don't get any great sense of that really. He didn't seem that inclined for Jack to play for us in the Sunday Times piece.

I think they are all very invested in his career. The brother was his biggest cheerleader on VillaTalk and his father is his agent and goes to every match. I think people are getting their hopes up if they think he's going to play for Ireland for sentimental reasons. I think he's going to do what's best for his career.

But just look on the face of it. He said he supports the England national team. He said he supported the Ireland underage teams to appease us. He tweets about the England national team with more frequency. We are not his native country and we cannot offer him guaranteed qualification and the profile he would get with England. We are operating at a strict disadvantage here.

Best case scenario is he turns out to be not good enough for England but good enough for us. But England are not that good to begin with so.......

[Closed Account]

He said he supports the England national team.
He said he supported the Ireland underage teams to appease us.
Not that I disagree with your broader point or genuinely care that much but where did you make this distinction from?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

It just seems like a consolation prize; like something someone would say out of appeasement. It's like he remembered that he is playing Intl. football for us so he better meet us halfway. That's what I get out of it.

I have never heard anything like that before. Someone supporting one senior national team and a different underage team..

[Closed Account]

It just seems like a consolation prize; like something someone would say out of appeasement. It's like he remembered that he is playing Intl. football for us so he better meet us halfway. That's what I get out of it.

I have never heard anything like that before. Someone supporting one senior national team and a different underage team..Oh okay, so he didn't say he supported Ireland underage teams to appease us. It's just what you get out of it. Cleared up. Cheers

[Stuttgart88]

It just seems like a consolation prize; like something someone would say out of appeasement. It's like he remembered that he is playing Intl. football for us so he better meet us halfway. That's what I get out of it.

I have never heard anything like that before. Someone supporting one senior national team and a different underage team..
I think you're getting too hot and bothered by the whole thing quite frankly.

[DannyInvincible]

He was close to switching another time but changed his mind at the last moment.

When was this?


I think people are getting their hopes up if they think he's going to play for Ireland for sentimental reasons. I think he's going to do what's best for his career.

Any decision he makes can be coloured by both types of reasons. It's not necessarily a case of either/or.


Not that I disagree with your broader point or genuinely care that much but where did you make this distinction from?

That's Knockers' reading of two tweets from February 2012, recorded here on YBIG, but since deleted, seemingly: http://www.ybig.ie/forum/jack-grealish_topic20933_post837975_SID273014024ce332e3 d1764db2745b79821875.html#837975


Counting down the days to european championships , wouldnt miss it for NOTHING !! Im feeling it's irelands year lol :) !!


& btw peeps i mean u17 european championships lol :) not the senior one in the summer as I would prefer England to win that #Opinions

Of course, just because he would have preferred England to win the senior Euros doesn't mean he had no interest in Ireland's fortunes, but everything is very much black-or-white with Knockers, so he refuses to acknowledge the possibility that Jack the "mercenary" might have any sentiment for Ireland at all.

[tricky_colour]

I think it's a misconception among people that he played for Ireland ahead of England at any underage level. He was sent away from England trials at a young age ostensibly because he was sick and they didn't want him contaminating anyone. He was close to switching another time but changed his mind at the last moment. I remember an interview where he said he was playing for Ireland because he was playing with older kids at a more competitive level. Perhaps he is playing for Ireland underage because would not get selected/start for the same England age groups? Of course that would probably change now.

I've heard that the father would push him towards Ireland but I don't get any great sense of that really. He didn't seem that inclined for Jack to play for us in the Sunday Times piece.

I think they are all very invested in his career. The brother was his biggest cheerleader on VillaTalk and his father is his agent and goes to every match. I think people are getting their hopes up if they think he's going to play for Ireland for sentimental reasons. I think he's going to do what's best for his career.

But just look on the face of it. He said he supports the England national team. He said he supported the Ireland underage teams to appease us. He tweets about the England national team with more frequency. We are not his native country and we cannot offer him guaranteed qualification and the profile he would get with England. We are operating at a strict disadvantage here.

Best case scenario is he turns out to be not good enough for England but good enough for us. But England are not that good to begin with so.......


What if Ireland qualified for the Euro's and England didn't?

How would that affect things :)

[Stuttgart88]

Of course, just because he would have preferred England to win the senior Euros doesn't mean he had no interest in Ireland's fortunes, but everything is very much black-or-white with Knockers, so he refuses to acknowledge the possibility that Jack the "mercenary" might have any sentiment for Ireland at all.

"Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more."

Still, Arsenal fans didn't love Caesar at all, not after the League Cup Final defeat to Luton. Made Eric Young in Wrexham look like Beckenbauer.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

When did I ever say that he had no sentiment for Ireland or that he was a mercenary? When you accuse me of saying things like that and using such strong words it really does devalue your argument. He does have sentiment for Ireland. There are plenty of players that play for England who have sentiment for Ireland. What International football team you declare for is not an indicator of sentiment. There are plenty of England players who were a lot more Irish than past Ireland players. They played for England because it was their native country and they were good enough to play for England. I'd imagine Jack's decision might come down to something similar. And I politely have to disagree with commercial or financial interests being a valid reason in his decision of what country to play for. That should not have to come into a decision like this.

When you cut straight to the thick of it, there are similar motivations for Noble and Grealish yet one seems to be viewed with suspicion and another seems to be treated with kid gloves, and some of us condemn the former for being completely honest and transparent in his actions and statements yet patiently put up with the other's vagaries and indecisiveness.

"Any decision he makes can be coloured by both types of reasons. It's not necessarily a case of either/or."

Yes. That's why I prefixed my sentence with "I think"; because it's an opinion.

"When was this?"

" Jack's Done a complete U-Turn and decided to stick with ireland after me submitting his form back to England. yeahh i know im as clueless as you lot on this one but hes sticking with ireland for the near future for sure"

That was over three years ago now and we are still all eagerly waiting to see what country he declares for.....

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/12/jack-grealish-real-deal-aston-villa

Barry Glendenning on Grealishgate.

[DannyInvincible]

When did I ever say that he had no sentiment for Ireland or that he was a mercenary? When you accuse me of saying things like that and using such strong words it really does devalue your argument. He does have sentiment for Ireland.

You often claim that the only reason he's lining out for our under-21 side is because it's beneficial for his career at this present moment in time. In fact, you stated the following on this very page: "I think people are getting their hopes up if they think he's going to play for Ireland for sentimental reasons. I think he's going to do what's best for his career." How else should one interpret that?

You also often make out that he supports England, as if he supports only England, and feigns support for our under-age teams in order to keep us happy. How else should one interpret the following statements, also from this very page: "He said he supports the England national team. He said he supported the Ireland underage teams to appease us. "


And I politely have to disagree with commercial or financial interests being a valid reason in his decision of what country to play for. That should not have to come into a decision like this.

It's just a reality. I'd like if we lived in an ideal world too where football decisions weren't tantamount to business decisions, but it's naive to think all our England-born eligible players can be Kevin Kilbane.


When you cut straight to the thick of it, there are similar motivations for Noble and Grealish yet one seems to be viewed with suspicion and another seems to be treated with kid gloves, and some of us condemn the former for being completely honest and transparent in his actions and statements yet patiently put up with the other's vagaries and indecisiveness.

Noble has indicated no positive sentiment for Ireland whatsoever. Meanwhile, Jack Grealish has been representing us since the age of 14 and is very much in tune with his Irish heritage.


"When was this?"

"Jack's Done a complete U-Turn and decided to stick with ireland after me submitting his form back to England. yeahh i know im as clueless as you lot on this one but hes sticking with ireland for the near future for sure"

That was over three years ago now and we are still all eagerly waiting to see what country he declares for.....

Fair enough.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

/ Certain things give me that impression.
/ I should have said it was my impression that he supports the Ireland U-17 team as a meeting of half way. I should make that more clear some times. I don't understand why someone who supports the England national team over the Ireland national team in the same tournament would want to play for Ireland above England. I cannot reconcile that. Folly of me.
/ Grealish is definitely more in touch with his roots than Noble but certain other aspects are very similar. And Noble was captain of his country at U-21 level, while it is unclear if Grealish was held in the same esteem by England up until 6-12 months ago. I think - and I base saying this on - something I read and I'm paraphrasing here... what was pivotal in Grealish's thinking in sticking with Ireland was that he was playing with/against younger kids - I believe he said something to this effect while explaining his decision. That begged a question with me.

[DannyInvincible]

I should have said it was my impression that he supports the Ireland U-17 team as a meeting of half way. I should make that more clear some times.

You should. :p

It doesn't help when you state opinions in such a matter-of-fact manner, but at least you've acknowledged that.


I think - and I base saying this on - something I read and I'm paraphrasing here... what was pivotal in Grealish's thinking in sticking with Ireland was that he was playing with/against younger kids - I believe he said something to this effect while explaining his decision. That begged a question with me.

This is the quote to which you're referring:


The English FA met dad and I before this campaign started and told me where I'd be playing for them (their under 19s). We had already spoken to Noel (King) by that stage and thought, as I'd be with the under 21s, Ireland was the best place for me.

It's not clear from that whether or not he would have switched to England had they offered him a place in their under-21 squad, so it would be unfair to reach such a conclusion.

[geysir]

It's not clear from that whether or not he would have switched to England had they offered him a place in their under-21 squad, so it would be unfair to reach such a conclusion.
But Danny, you're not gifted in the art of reading peoples' minds, reading between the lines or transforming yourself to be a fly on the wall while Jack and his dad have a chat with O'Neill, otherwise you would have the clarity of the gifted.