Jack Grealish

[DannyInvincible]

doc, doc! Before you slip off again, any chance of answering my question here?: http://foot.ie/threads/148358-Jack-Grealish?p=1815363&viewfull=1#post1815363

Cheers in advance!

[tricky_colour]

If he carries on playing like this Brazil will be showing an interest.

[DannyInvincible]

The 'year off' doesn't sit too well with me, when the U21's wouldn't have tied him down anyway. Concentrating on his club career seemed a lame excuse, every young player has to do that but they generally don't exclude themselves from internationals.

I'm not saying we should or shouldn't read anything into it, nor am I trying to condone it or whatever, but it's not unprecedented. Rory Donnelly and Ryan McLaughlin took time out from NI. Due to their dual eligibility, this caused NI fans to worry, but they are committed to NI, as far as I know. Well, McLaughlin definitely reassured their fans anyway that he'd only been taking time out to focus on his career at Liverpool. I'm aware of those cases because they're relevant and close to home. Surely there'd be other examples of it happening around Europe?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Donnelly & McLaughlin?

As Robert De Niro said in The Deer Hunter: This is this. This ain't something else. This is this.

Players and their fathers shouldn't be dictating when they are called up and the terms of their being called up.

Come September he has to make a decision one way or other. He'll be 20 years old. He can't call himself a child anymore. Just make a decision and stick to it. He's had his year out to sign his contract and break in to the Villa team and he has done both of those things.

I don't think he should be called up to the U-21's and hold off on playing for the senior team. I think that is complete nonsense on so many different levels to be quite frank.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Furthermore, it's none of my business, but I don't agree with family members having such influence on their family members careers. It's interfering is what it is. Get a f*ing agent or represent yourself like Kevin Doyle does.

Fair enough when it's Messi's dad, Ronaldinho's brother or Anelka's brother - they want to protect their millions and they have many more intermediaries to deal with/protect their assets from - but we are talking about Jack Grealish here.

Edit: On second thought I am being a bit harsh here but it must be incredibly frustrating having to deal with one grown man in a situation like this let alone two grown men. I pity the people that have to deal with it.

[Charlie Darwin]

Kevin Doyle doesn't represent himself. Fathers and other family members representing players seems to be becoming more and more common, though it was always a thing. I can only assume there's some benefit to having your agent able to dedicate all their time to your career.

[tetsujin1979]

FIFA made a change recently about who can represent a player, previously you had to be a licensed agent, a lawyer (Roy Keane, Dave O'Leary, Niall Quinn and David Connolly were all represented by the same lawyer) or a family member. Now, a player can be represented by anyone who's authorised by the relevant FA

[the doc]

doc, doc! Before you slip off again, any chance of answering my question here?: http://foot.ie/threads/148358-Jack-Grealish?p=1815363&viewfull=1#post1815363

Cheers in advance!

Ok, the NI reference was a hook to get the FAI to get their finger out.

It worked too, amazing who reads this forum!!!!!!!!!!!

SSL had already told NI 2 months before that he only wanted to play for Ireland.

So there you have it, Danno

[tetsujin1979]

Furthermore, it's none of my business, but I don't agree with family members having such influence on their family members careers. It's interfering is what it is. Get a f*ing agent or represent yourself like Kevin Doyle does.

Fair enough when it's Messi's dad, Ronaldinho's brother or Anelka's brother - they want to protect their millions and they have many more intermediaries to deal with/protect their assets from - but we are talking about Jack Grealish here.

Edit: On second thought I am being a bit harsh here but it must be incredibly frustrating having to deal with one grown man in a situation like this let alone two grown men. I pity the people that have to deal with it.

You're going to have to clarify that why is its ok when Messi, Ronaldinho or Anelka, are represented by a family member (as they always have been - even when they were Grealish;s age) but not when it's Grealish? If Grealish is still represented by his dad when he's their age, will it be ok then?
I'm actually not sure if his dad is still his agent, he was represented by Stellar Sports Ltd when he signed his new contract with Villa

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Having to butter up Messi, Ronaldinho & Anelka's parents/brothers is okay for a financial powerhouse like Barcelona, PSG or Arsenal. The financial backing of the club mixed with the talent & profile of the player, mixed with the potential money to be made by all parties makes it a necessary evil, but this situation isn't a club trying to acquisition a player and Messi, Ronaldinho & Anelka were only ever going to play/eligible for one national team. The situation as it stands, a national team trying to convince a young player that he is better served remaining with them. And no offence to Grealish but he is not up there with those players!

I think a decision like this is one that should be left to the player to make and I think any discussions should be between the player and the national team manager. I don't think any other parties are relevant to the discussion. And you have to ask what their motivations are.

An impression I got a long time ago is that Jack's parents (and brother) are too involved with his career. Almost living vicariously through him. To the extent that his older brother was posting on multiple club and national team boards. It always gave me a bad gut feeling.

I do be thinking to myself, what are you doing? I wouldn't do it myself in the same situation.

Time goes on and father is doing media interviews, hypothesizing about Jack's International future, making social media posts about Jack getting called up to an Intl. friendly, saying he'll be back with the U-21's..... almost trying to dictate and micromanage things.

Then you have journalists questioning MON & Keane and saying they should be doing this & that, should have done this & that. Making all kinds of assumptions and suggestions and I do the same thing. I just think it must be a thankless and exasperating thing for them to deal with when a Euro 2016 qualification is delicately in the balance, a contract is to be fulfilled and a reputation is to be defended.

I'm going on a tangent here. I'm gonna stop. I have to finish a report tonight.

[Charlie Darwin]

The flipside to all that is that the stability and support of his family - even if it does smack of basking in his reflected glory - could be one of the reasons he's able to excel at football. Seems to have worked well for Neymar.

[DannyInvincible]

Donnelly & McLaughlin?

As Robert De Niro said in The Deer Hunter: This is this. This ain't something else. This is this.

But we don't know what this is nor what is to come of it, so whilst players "generally don't exclude themselves from internationals", I sought to highlight that it has happened before and that it hasn't always been a necessary cause for concern. But as I acknowledged, it doesn't mean we should read anything into it. Just adding some extra info into the mix. No harm.


Players and their fathers shouldn't be dictating when they are called up and the terms of their being called up.

I don't think anybody would ever suggest that anyone other than the manager should be selecting the team. For what it's worth, Kevin Grealish strikes me as an excitably overbearing parent. I agree with you on that.


Come September he has to make a decision one way or other. He'll be 20 years old. He can't call himself a child anymore. Just make a decision and stick to it. He's had his year out to sign his contract and break in to the Villa team and he has done both of those things.

I don't think he should be called up to the U-21's and hold off on playing for the senior team. I think that is complete nonsense on so many different levels to be quite frank.

I think that's fair enough. He's said he wants to be back in the green come September, so let's hold him to that. (Can we assume he definitely meant he'd return to under-21s only and not senior?) If he's not prepared, at the age of 20, to accept a senior call-up in September, after a year out to mull things over, having signed his new contract and having broken into the Villa team, I think then would be time for us to forget about it and wish him all the best.


Furthermore, it's none of my business, but I don't agree with family members having such influence on their family members careers. It's interfering is what it is. Get a f*ing agent or represent yourself like Kevin Doyle does.

Fair enough when it's Messi's dad, Ronaldinho's brother or Anelka's brother - they want to protect their millions and they have many more intermediaries to deal with/protect their assets from - but we are talking about Jack Grealish here.

Edit: On second thought I am being a bit harsh here but it must be incredibly frustrating having to deal with one grown man in a situation like this let alone two grown men. I pity the people that have to deal with it.

I wish to keep this exchanges civil for everyone's benefit, but, without wishing to provoke accusations of harrying you, I have to point this out as it kind of encapsulates what I fundamentally struggle to understand about you; you say (seemingly without a hint of irony) that it's none of your business, but then you immediately jump in to cast judgment, as if it were completely your business... You are aware of the glaring contradiction of what you're doing there, right? If Grealish wants his da to represent him, that's his call.


Ok, the NI reference was a hook to get the FAI to get their finger out.

It worked too, amazing who reads this forum!!!!!!!!!!!

SSL had already told NI 2 months before that he only wanted to play for Ireland.

So there you have it, Danno

So you swindled your way into the team (fair play!) and would never have played for NI had you not? What do you think those you conned at the FAI will make of reading the above message now?


I'm actually not sure if his dad is still his agent, he was represented by Stellar Sports Ltd when he signed his new contract with Villa

Aye, pretty sure I read from one of the recent interviews that his da said they brought in a professional representative when things started getting serious quickly.


I think a decision like this is one that should be left to the player to make and I think any discussions should be between the player and the national team manager. I don't think any other parties are relevant to the discussion. And you have to ask what their motivations are.

The decision is the business of whoever the player himself wishes to make it the business of surely. If he wants to involve/consult his overbearing and excitable da, so what? If the manager (who might even want to involve his assistant manager also) doesn't want to speak to the player with his da present because he finds it doubly frustrating dealing with two grown me, he's free to tell him and they can work something out or go their separate ways.


I wouldn't do it myself in the same situation.

How would you know though? You've never been in that situation before and your misanthropic lack of empathy is notorious. :p


Then you have journalists questioning MON & Keane and saying they should be doing this & that, should have done this & that. Making all kinds of assumptions and suggestions and I do the same thing. I just think it must be a thankless and exasperating thing for them to deal with when a Euro 2016 qualification is delicately in the balance, a contract is to be fulfilled and a reputation is to be defended.

Keith Duggan raised a silly theory, if I'm not mistaken, in suggesting maybe Grealish was "privately smarting" over a reluctance from Martin to select him, so that's why he was being distant, or so the theory went. That was nonsense, as nothing would suggest it is remotely near the truth.

But, hey, journalists can write what they want. They're not there to be worshiping or thanking the management team. If Martin and Roy find it all a bit thankless and exasperating from that side, maybe they're in the wrong game. If they find it all a bit thankless and exasperating from Grealish's end, they can just say "no more" and let Grealish be on his way. If the FAI are making demands of them to entertain/massage Grealish's ego, well, then it's their contractual duty and what they're getting paid plenty of money to do, so not quite "thankless". If they find it exasperating taking instructions from the FAI, they can always find something else to do with their time.

[gastric]

I know I have said this before somewhere on here, but if Mark Kinsella, Kwame Ampadu and Tony Scully can influence their sons to play for us, I really couldn't give a damn about their other involvement in their careers.

[tricky_colour]

I think it's good his dad takes an interest in his career, we don't want him to e the next Balotelli.

[Deckydee]

http://www.punditarena.com/football/english-football/rcribbin/the-jack-grealish-conundrum/

[Olé Olé]

http://www.punditarena.com/football/english-football/rcribbin/the-jack-grealish-conundrum/

That's a terrible article.


. The Aston Villa teenager was struggling to break into the first team team and therefore looked set to confirm his attention to play for the Boys in Green at senior level
Simply because he wasn't starting for Villa at the age of 19, he was going to play for Ireland instead of England? Pull the other one. The Liverpool game has thrust him under the limelight and the media and fans are pressurising the powers that be in the FA to call him in. Gareth Southgate and other under-age managers were well aware of Grealish prior to this.


Before Sherwood took over at Aston Villa, Grealish was not only getting next to no game time but he was far from the realms of England selection.
How many 19 year-olds are within "the realms of England selection"? Raheem Sterling was but he had been a regular for Liverpool at that point.


Ireland are becoming experts at claiming talents who may not have been born in the Republic. Examples include James McCLean, Marc Wilson, Darron Gibson, Aiden McGeady and James McCarthy, all of whom have had their own controversies with regards to international eligibility.
When it comes to most of the players above, I don't think it's a case that we are "experts at claiming talent" as much as most/all of the above identified as being Irish.


The fact that Grealish was born in England, both his parents are English, and the fact he probably grew up dreaming of playing for England is likely to sway his decision.
He was born in England and so were his parents. Does that make his parents strictly English? And, if he grew up dreaming of playing for England then why didn't he throw his lot in with them at a young age? I know we've seen tweets of support for England but that doesn't mean he grew up dreaming of playing for them as opposed to Ireland. Or maybe he did and tweenage Jack still managed to tell the England under-15's thanks but no thanks (which would be strange).

[SwanVsDalton]

Did Kevin Grealish definitely say it was only the under-21s for whom Jack would return? A few journalists have assumed that's what was meant - I acknowledge Fallon (closely connected to the Grealish family?) was one of them - but I'm not sure there's a direct quote. Very much open to correction on that though. (And maybe it's fair to assume it's more than just an interpretation of ambiguity if Fallon said it?)

Fair point, and short answer is I'm not sure, but the ambiguity does bother me.

We'll have to wait and see until September - hopefully he isn't man of the match in the cup final, the chat about him will be deafening around the Scotland game.

[Stuttgart88]

Did Jack himself not say at the awards ceremony that he'd be back for the U21s in September? Recent articles added the word "hopefully". But I'm 99.9% certain it was only the 21s that was mentioned as otherwise it'd have been a much bigger story.

[back of the net]

Did Jack himself not say at the awards ceremony that he'd be back for the U21s in September? Recent articles added the word "hopefully". But I'm 99.9% certain it was only the 21s that was mentioned as otherwise it'd have been a much bigger story.

He says "hopefully next year ill be back playing for "(then Tony o Donoghue interruptes him before he says for who, although you would assume ireland u21s) .....
http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/irish/2015/0322/688974-video-grealish-likely-to-return-to-ireland-set-up/




But in the below in the post awards interview - he says its an honour to have the choice of been able to choose between 2 countries, but he also says hopefully next year he "will be back in the green jersey" and "hopefully in september time I will be back playing for Ireland"
http://balls.ie/football/32423-video-jack-grealish-ireland-jersey/

[Olé Olé]

He says "hopefully next year ill be back playing for "(then Tony o Donoghue interruptes him before he says for who, although you would assume ireland u21s) .....
http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/irish/2015/0322/688974-video-grealish-likely-to-return-to-ireland-set-up/




But in the below in the post awards interview - he says its an honour to have the choice of been able to choose between 2 countries, but he also says hopefully next year he "will be back in the green jersey" and "hopefully in september time I will be back playing for Ireland"
http://balls.ie/football/32423-video-jack-grealish-ireland-jersey/
It does smack of insecurity on the Irish football supporting public that after one good, high-profile performance we feel the need for Jack to come out and state the above yet again.

I guess it's like a girl accepting your proposal and, wow, now she's your fiancé and maybe you should wait a year for the wedding but she could do a runner before you get that ring on her finger. Crap.... who's that handsome b*stard flirting with your fiancé at the bar?

[gastric]

It does smack of insecurity on the Irish football supporting public that after one good, high-profile performance we feel the need for Jack to come out and state the above yet again.

I guess it's like a girl accepting your proposal and, wow, now she's your fiancé and maybe you should wait a year for the wedding but she could do a runner before you get that ring on her finger. Crap.... who's that handsome b*stard flirting with your fiancé at the bar?

Jeez, maybe OWC posters are correct. Maybe we are insecure, paranoid and irrational rats who can't quite handle our women! ;)

[DannyInvincible]

Had missed this piece by John Fallon the other week: http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/john-fallon-martin-oneills-handling-of-jack-grealish-saga-leaves-a-lot-to-be-desired-31156636.html

He's fairly critical of O'Neill's comments and handling of the situation.


...

Officially, Grealish is off the market – be it to Ireland or England – until September but lest it not be forgotten that he’s represented the country of his grandparents since the age of 14 and rebuffed England’s overtures twice already.

Yet, were he to contact O’Neill this week and break his sabbatical for the pivotal qualifier, he would be wasting his time based upon the manager’s latest sentiments.

As well as discounting Grealish's ability for the big occasion, O’Neill made some other interesting remarks on the hot topic of the teen prodigy during his briefing with reporters from Sunday newspapers.

"I've been involved close to 18 months now, if he was available to us he would have quite surely. . . regardless of not getting starts at Aston Villa, we'd have had enough friendly games that he would have had an opportunity to make an impact at senior level, if he'd been with us from the start," he said.

Really? The date of 15 November 2013 was significant not alone for being O’Neill’s first game in charge against Latvia but so too for Grealish, as he netted his first goal for Ireland’s U-21s against Faroe Islands a few hours earlier in Sligo.

The following week, Grealish made light work of the monsoon-like conditions in Podgorica and cynical fouling by the Montenegrins during a scoreless draw to claim the man-of-the-match accolade. Afterwards, Ireland manager Noel King likened the individual display to one of Aiden McGeady’s better performances.

Five months later, in March 2014, Grealish was again on international duty but much closer to home at Tallaght Stadium on a Spring afternoon.

Montenegro were also the opposition in a make-or-break qualifier for the U-21s. Although the seniors were playing a friendly against Serbia that night, neither O’Neill nor his assistant Roy Keane came to watch any part of a game in which Grealish shone.

The playmaker was at the time playing his club football on loan with Notts County in the lower reaches of League One.

Two weeks later, O’Neill sent his goalkeeping coach Seamus McDonagh to watch Grealish play 90 minutes in the 4-1 win over Carlisle. On April 5, O’Neill himself fancied a gander and turned up at Brentford where the loanee was dropped as County went on the defensive against the division’s pacesetters. Grealish was introduced at half-time.

Throughout all this time, Grealish was very much “available” to O’Neill.

An inherent trait of any successful manager is their ability to spot potential.

For all his shortcomings, Stephen Staunton displayed enough conviction to call a 16-year-old, Terry Dixon, into his squad for a training camp and friendlies in May 2006 while, eight years prior, Mick McCarthy threw a 17-year-old Robbie Keane into the senior international set-up whilst the fresh-faced Dubliner was operating in the second tier of English football.

With four friendlies, including two in America, arranged for May/June 2014, latitude for experimentation was there for O’Neill to utilise in the lead-up to the Euro 2016 qualifiers commencing in September. Grealish wasn’t deemed worthy of being part of that process, even as a fringe player.

Rookie goalkeepers Aaron McCarey and Ian Lawlor were brought stateside in the past two summers respectively for “experience”, so why didn’t the same apply for a player clearly head and shoulders above his peers at U-21 level?

Another curious O’Neill observation was introduced to the rationale behind his current take on the situation.

He said: "This time last year, when I was having conversations with him and his father, I bet you he probably thought he was going to start between 15 and 22 games for Villa. And you know what? He hasn't.”

The first meeting between O’Neill, Grealish and his father, Kevin, took place on August 20 last. Also in attendance at the hotel in the Grealish’s neighbourhood of Solihull was Roy Keane, then double-jobbing at Villa.

This was exactly a week after Villa chief initiated contract talks with a player they risked losing for nothing in the summer amid interest from Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Genuine interest.

O’Neill later revealed that his suggestion of promoting Grealish to “train” with the senior squad had been politely declined, a stance he fully understood given the challenges he was dealing with at the time for club and country.

Fast-forward to April 2015 and Grealish seems to be further away from a senior Ireland cap than he was then. Whilst the Irish hierarchy continue to doubt him, similar showings by Grealish to Sunday in Villa's final six games of the campaign may convince England otherwise.

[DeLorean]

That seems kind of flimsy to me. The whole article is centered around O'Neill saying this:

"I've been involved close to 18 months now, if he was available to us he would have quite surely. . . regardless of not getting starts at Aston Villa, we'd have had enough friendly games that he would have had an opportunity to make an impact at senior level, if he'd been with us from the start"

O'Neill may have meant that he would have probably got an opportunity in one of the friendlies during the period Grealish has been on his break from international duty. The fact that he says "regardless of not getting starts at Aston Villa" kind of proves this is the period he was talking about, not when he was on loan in League One or playing for our U21's. So basically the next six paragraphs are pointless, as O'Neill probably wasn't referring to that period. I know techincially Grealish was with us at the start, but he hasn't been with us from the start, which implies he's been there all the way through.

It does seem unfortunate that O'Neill and/or Keane don't attend the U21 games but I suppose they'd be extremely busy with the senior team more often than not on those dates?

He talks about Staunton calling up Terry Dixon as if Dixon has vindicated the decision by coming a world class player or something. Robbie Keane was a totally different scenario too, firstly it was an area we were short and secondly Keane was playing at a higher level than Grealish, and generally causing more of a stir than Grealish during his time in League One.

How does he know that the interest from Chelsea and Tottenham was "genuine interest", and so what anyway? Big clubs sign kids that turn out to do nothing all the time.

[DannyInvincible]

I think you're right. Grealish became officially unavailable as soon there was talk of him being promoted to the senior team. I took it to mean that he would always have been unavailable for a senior call-up; obviously, it only became apparent to us once the prospect arose. The fact his declaration of unavailability also coincided with contract negotiations and an effort to break into the Villa first team beclouded things, or provided him with a "get-out", but I certainly don't think it is fair to portray it as a case of him having been available for a senior call-up at one point in time but being then unwanted or ignored by the senior management. Or is it? If Martin had called him up for, say, the competitive Georgia game last September, would he have accepted the invitation?

[DeLorean]

Well I suppose it's an important distinction (and one I kind of forgot myself) that he wasn't really taking the time out to concentrate on his club career ahead of playing international football, but ahead of decided who he would prefer to play international football with. So, no, I don't think he would have accepted any call up from us, and certainly not one that was forever binding. O'Neill has been speaking to the guy, I find it a bit ridiculous that these journalists just fill in the gaps and come to their own conclusions about what he should and shouldn't be doing. Just like their English counterparts, none of them were too bothered before Grealish made the headlines at Wembley.


My father and I didn’t want to go into the meeting and Martin being like, ‘come on and play for Ireland’. 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.

Things have just happened very quickly for me this season and I need to put on my club future first before thinking about the international situation.

[DannyInvincible]

Martin Samuel responds to some of the comments that were left under his article in the Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3058846/Jack-Grealish-good-games-Aston-Villa-suddenly-doesn-t-know-s-Irish-English.html

Not had any response from him to what I wrote myself, although I was assured it would be passed on to him.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Ouch.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

He says "hopefully next year ill be back playing for "(then Tony o Donoghue interruptes him before he says for who, although you would assume ireland u21s) .....
http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/irish/2015/0322/688974-video-grealish-likely-to-return-to-ireland-set-up/




But in the below in the post awards interview - he says its an honour to have the choice of been able to choose between 2 countries, but he also says hopefully next year he "will be back in the green jersey" and "hopefully in september time I will be back playing for Ireland"
http://balls.ie/football/32423-video-jack-grealish-ireland-jersey/

"Hopefully" is not a firm declaration of anything.

[back of the net]

"Hopefully" is not a firm declaration of anything.

Didnt think i implied it was

But agree - most certainly far from a definite

but please god he will be..........hopefully....

[DannyInvincible]

Ouch.

Don't worry. I'm not losing any sleep, nor did I particularly expect him to respond to me personally anyway, just in case that's how you interpreted what I'd written. I was simply clarifying that I was informed by the Daily Mail's corrections department that they would pass what I wrote on to him. I had no further expectations beyond that.


"Hopefully" is not a firm declaration of anything.

It wasn't a declaration of binding commitment, but it was a declaration of intent. That would naturally exclude other possible options (assuming he wasn't engaging in deceit). His father has also clarified that his plans to be back playing with us in September remain unchanged.

[DannyInvincible]

Grealish's assist for Cleverley versus West Ham yesterday:

http://c1.thejournal.ie/media/2015/05/cleverley-grealish-gif.gif

[Stuttgart88]

Grealish was quality throughout the game. A real talent not even remotely phased by playing at a high level.

[tetsujin1979]

Was MOTM as well, think that's his first in the Premier League

[tricky_colour]

Yes, but is it good news?

That is the question.

Bit like Macbeth.

"To be, or not to be, that is the question—"

[Eminence Grise]

Can't believe you wrote that....




You're supposed to call it The Scottish Play, in preparation for June. Or is that just in the theatre?:D

[Closed Account]

Interesting that Jack Grealishs football agency is Stellar Group, co-owned by a Jonathan Barnett. The same Barnett who said
“Why should we take any notice of comments from people who don’t know what they are talking about – and from people who have failed in management,”
during the week about another of his charges, Gareth Bale.

[TrapAPony]

I'm thinking if Jack really wants to play for us he will accept a call-up for the game against Scotland. Would someone who supposedly wants to play for Ireland not give their right arm to be involved in such a match???

[Deckydee]

http://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/paul-mcgrath-tells-jack-grealish-5666008

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/international/possible-jack-grealish-call-up-set-to-dominate-martin-o-neill-squad-announcement-1.2208382

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

http://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/paul-mcgrath-tells-jack-grealish-5666008

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/international/possible-jack-grealish-call-up-set-to-dominate-martin-o-neill-squad-announcement-1.2208382

I really hope Keane is on the bench for the Scotland game, unless he is fully fit for more than two weeks and shows something in the England friendly. He has been carted around enough lately without being half-fit at the same time. It's a great move going to the MLS at his age but he's been travelling halfway around the world for Intl. games for 3 or 4 years now and it's only viable for so long. It's taking its toll now.

[OwlsFan]

So Dunphy now wades in http://foot.ie/threads/200872-RTE-Dunphy-Martin-O-Neill-is-insulting-Jack-Grealish

I thought he would use just the Hoolahan situation to batter O'Neill but now he has found another stick in Grealish. As ever, the new manager is initially praised by both D & G and then slowly but surely the poison is spread.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

There's no way O'Neill can win is there?

Respect Grealish's wishes and he is ignoring our best young talent to the detriment of our qualification hopes. Give Grealish a call up and he declines it.

It's a frustrating situation. If the lad committed, it would have a galvanising effect on the squad and would give us a much needed spark.

But it is very unlikely he would accept a call up for a variety of factors, not least the fact that England are our next friendly opposition.

What planet is Dunphy living on? Or anyone else that thinks Grealish is going to play against England & Scotland. Even in an alternate universe where Grealish did want to play for Ireland right now, O'Neill would be too cautious to play him anyways!

[DannyInvincible]

I suspect this talk of Grealish possibly being in the squad is pure media speculation based on nothing. He said he hopes to be back in September and his father confirmed that these plans hadn't changed last we heard from him. I think I read somewhere that Jack has a holiday booked for early June anyway.


So Dunphy now wades in http://foot.ie/threads/200872-RTE-Dunphy-Martin-O-Neill-is-insulting-Jack-Grealish

I thought he would use just the Hoolahan situation to batter O'Neill but now he has found another stick in Grealish. As ever, the new manager is initially praised by both D & G and then slowly but surely the poison is spread.


We could have had Harry Kane, you know: he was in Tottenham’s reserves this time last year, and if you’d have offered him a cap he’d have jumped at it. Jack Grealish, could easily have been capped in the game against Gibraltar.

Was Dunphy calling for Grealish's inclusion against Gibraltar? No. Did Dunphy even know who Grealish was then? It's easy to talk in hindsight...

And there were talks with Kane going back a while now but he always reiterated that making it into the England senior team was his focus. As they say; you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink it. That applies to Grealish as well. Clueless stuff from Dunphy. Does he not know that Martin and Roy have met Grealish and his father and that Jack's break is self-imposed?

[tetsujin1979]

Telegraph reporting Grealish will be in the squad announced tomorrow: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/republic-of-ireland/11598670/Martin-ONeill-tries-to-force-Jack-Grealishs-hand-with-Republic-of-Ireland-call-up.html
Not a lot in it to be honest. Mentions that playing against England would not tie him to us (which is true) but no mention that playing against Scotland would

[DannyInvincible]

Interesting development, if true.

[Fixer82]

Telegraph reporting Grealish will be in the squad announced tomorrow: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/republic-of-ireland/11598670/Martin-ONeill-tries-to-force-Jack-Grealishs-hand-with-Republic-of-Ireland-call-up.html
Not a lot in it to be honest. Mentions that playing against England would not tie him to us (which is true) but no mention that playing against Scotland would

It mentions his Dublin born father but his Dad was born and raised in Birmingham

[nigel-harps1954]

It mentions his Dublin born father but his Dad was born and raised in Birmingham

This again? Really?

[Fixer82]

This again? Really?
Is there a problem?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Jack Grealish has just tweeted "WOW. Just read stff in the papers about myself that I didnt even kno bout. Smile smiley face. Sunglasses smiley face. Cheesy grin smiley face. Head in palm smiley face. Beach ball smiley face. Batman smiley face. Tongue out smiley face. Monocle smiley face. Harvey two face smiley face. LULZ. Exclamation mark. Exclamation mark. Exclamation mark".

[Charlie Darwin]

Is that you Roddy?

[samhaydenjr]

Telegraph reporting Grealish will be in the squad announced tomorrow: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/republic-of-ireland/11598670/Martin-ONeill-tries-to-force-Jack-Grealishs-hand-with-Republic-of-Ireland-call-up.html
Not a lot in it to be honest. Mentions that playing against England would not tie him to us (which is true) but no mention that playing against Scotland would

Spot on - they don't even claim to have been told this by a source - they just use the passive voice - "Jack Grealish is expected to be called up". Interestingly, they also use the phrase "force Jack Grealish's hand", almost like they read that article from that Irish journalist a couple of weeks ago and are trying to build on it to stir up conflict between MON and the Grealishes. I think it would be ridiculous for MON to start playing "silly buggers" by naming Grealish in a squad without knowing whether he will accept a call-up - he should talk to the Grealishes and let them know that he's ready to bring him into the fold before saying anything publicly, regardless of what the Telegraph or Eamon Dunphy say. (On a side note, it's also ridiculous that there's far more sensible and circumspect opinions to be found on an internet forum than from RTE's highly paid panel of experts)

As regards whether Grealish should be called up for Scotland, I guess that's Martin O'Neill's call at the end of the day. And while I think the phrasing he used about it being "too big a game" might be debatable, considering Grealish has already impressed in the FA Cup semi and Villa's relegation battle, the fact that he only got his first Premier League start in April might make it a little too soon to shoehorn him into the team's system for such a vital game (although events may well prove me wrong)

So yes, it would be a bonus to see him trot onto the pitch for the last 15 minutes on June 13 and help us clinch victory against Scotland and we could start high-fiving each other at the prospect of reaching five or six of the next seven tournaments instead of three or four. But if that doesn't happen, there's still no cause for panic. The more realistic target would be for him to play against Gibraltar and Georgia in September with a view to preparing him for a role, possibly as an impact sub, against Germany and Poland.