Youth Development/ Coaching etc etc..

[lopez]

...I'm a huge Ireland fan and always celebrate when we win etc but it pains me to see mercenary cnuts like Morrisson et al playing for us...Gurkhas are mercenaries. French Legionaires are mercenaries. That Dub who got himself killed in Iraq was a mercenary. But I think you'll find Clinton could have got an Irish passport even if he wasn't a half-decent footballer. No one is paying him for his (1/4) Irishness. It was always there.
My defining statement on all of this is "Irish Born or of Genuine Irish Decent"

Genuine Irish decent:
For Example,
David Connolly
Kevin Kilbane
Both English born with english accents but as Irish as i am

Not Irish

Clinton Morrison
Macken

Only played for Ireland when England didnt come knocking and we all know it

I'm inclined to but O'Brien purely because, a kid or not, he played for another countryWhat about the 'half-breeds' (copyright Davros). Can I be Irish, eh? Pleeeeeeease!!!!!! :rolleyes:

[Pablo]

What about the 'half-breeds' (copyright Davros). Can I be Irish, eh? Pleeeeeeease!!!!!! :rolleyes:

did you grow up thinking you were irish? or on any given day were you English? or maybe Scottish on a thursday? or or wait a minute maybe Jamaican?

[Donal81]

My defining statement on all of this is "Irish Born or of Genuine Irish Decent"

Genuine Irish decent:
For Example,
David Connolly
Kevin Kilbane
Both English born with english accents but as Irish as i am

Not Irish

Clinton Morrison
Macken

Only played for Ireland when England didnt come knocking and we all know it

I'm inclined to but O'Brien purely because, a kid or not, he played for another country

Listen man, I can't stand the thought of mercenaries as I've said plenty of times on this forum but who can say that, during the Charlton years, Andy Townsend, John Aldridge and Ray Houghton didn't give as much to the Irish squad as Packie Bonner and Steve Staunton? They may not have been Oirish and may fit into your column B - which I think is crude - but they gave their all every time they played. They certainly gave a lot more and seemed to give a sh*t a lot more than some of the Irish-born guys who are knocking around today and some during the McCarthy era.

[lopez]

did you grow up thinking you were irish? or on any given day were you English? or maybe Scottish on a thursday? or or wait a minute maybe Jamaican?Well my mother put me on her passport when I was a nine-month old baby (to go and see my granny) so technically I was Spanish for around 14 years. :eek: I'll take that as a no then! :(

[livehead1]

players in the EL blatently aint good enough to be playing international football when they aint good enough to earn a move to an english club. Ireland has so much to thank english football for as regarding developing young talent so in my opinion as long as these lads give 110% just like morrison then we should back them

[Slash/ED]

Ireland has so much to thank english football for as regarding developing young talent

English football has raped the Irish game for young talent, mistreated them when they got them and this has caused many players who could have made it to not get there due to homesickness and what have you. Look at Andy Reid, who so very very nearly went the way of Keith Foy as a result of this. We need to stop relying on English teams to pick and choose players from here and develop our own proper academys and keep the kids here until they're at least in their late teens.

[Plastic Paddy]

Yeah quite a large group of Cork City fans refused to cheer for Morrisson's goal that day and rightly so too.

How pathetic. :rolleyes: As I've been reminded here in the past, any player donning the green shirt deserves our full backing, nothing less. I'm surprised you condone such childish behaviour.


We need to stop relying on English teams to pick and choose players from here and develop our own proper academys and keep the kids here until they're at least in their late teens.

Which requires a vision and drive from the FAI, something they seem completely incapable of delivering. If we all ask Santa nicely, you never know. I feel that's our only chance though. :(

:ball: PP

[holidaysong]

just wondering is clinton second generation?

[Plastic Paddy]

He's third-generation. One of his grandmothers is from Dublin. The other three grandparents are Jamaican, as far as I know.

:) PP

[tricky_colour]

Clinton Morrison
Macken

Only played for Ireland when England didnt come knocking and we all know it

I'm inclined to but O'Brien purely because, a kid or not, he played for another country

I think thats a bit harsh, you can hardly expect a kid to play for a country
other than the one in which he lives, it's just not practical, but it is
important to get experience at international level.

[Stuttgart88]

How pathetic. :rolleyes: As I've been reminded here in the past, any player donning the green shirt deserves our full backing, nothing less. I'm surprised you condone such childish behaviour.

:ball: PP

Hear Hear. I suppose the Cork City lads all sat motionless, going "mercenary cnut (quote)" when Ray Houghton scored against England and Italy.

Of course we should use the rules to full effect. As written above, many other countries do it and in many cases simply by using naturalisation laws. Deco is another example of this.

Just look at the team now anyway: it's probably more "Irish" than at any time in my lifetime with many of the players having come through the underage set-up. I'm actually really proud of this.

[tetsujin1979]

I'm pretty sure the Croatia team had at least 2 Germans, and 2 Brazilians in the friendly game, did this stop the fans cheering them on?? did it FCUK!
It doesn't matter to me where someone is from, if they give it their all in the green then that's all I need.
Agree with Stuttgart as well that this is about as Irish as the team has been in my lifetime and I am really proud of this, it does go to show the FAI (or at least some part of it) are doing something right.

[lopez]

I think thats a bit harsh, you can hardly expect a kid to play for a country
other than the one in which he lives, it's just not practical, but it is
important to get experience at international level.I presume you mean schoolboys, although there are arguments that this should be extended to U17/U18 level as well. UEFA/FIFA regard schoolboy representation as different from youth, U21 or full internationals (see Ryan Giggs) exactly because of your point. Qualification is by residence and school not by citizenship. Any Irish international that played for England Schools is IMO not making a definite statement of his nationality but merely playing in a side representing schools in the region.

I'm pretty sure the Croatia team had at least 2 Germans, and 2 Brazilians in the friendly game, did this stop the fans cheering them on?? did it FCUK!It's a bit rich to count the 'Germans' as foreigners. They had Croatian parents and would have been denied German citizenship normally because of this. The Brazilians though were in Croatia solely to play football, had no connection with the place whatsoever, and became naturalised purely because of it. Croatia BTW has been accused of discrimination against minorities (Serbs), which may even extend to the aquisition of citizenship.

[livehead1]

English football has raped the Irish game for young talent, mistreated them when they got them and this has caused many players who could have made it to not get there due to homesickness and what have you. Look at Andy Reid, who so very very nearly went the way of Keith Foy as a result of this. We need to stop relying on English teams to pick and choose players from here and develop our own proper academys and keep the kids here until they're at least in their late teens.

sorry fella i live in nottingham and keith foy and andy reid were both a disgrace to the title of 'professional footballer'. it is in my mind like yesterday remembering their local, Callaghans, the pair of them shhhteaming out of their faces singing on the karaoke. this was a regular occurance, i talked to them regular, foy was on last warning after last warning and ****ed up and thats the way it happens, was his own fault, he was warned bout the drink and the weight but thought it was all a bit of craic

[eirebhoy]

Morrison won the penalty which Savage took to make it 1-0 and he scored the second. Its 3-0 at half time.

[thejollyrodger]

3 goals in 4 games. Great run of form !! :D :D

[1MickCollins]

Yeah quite a large group of Cork City fans refused to cheer for Morrisson's goal that day and rightly so too. I'm a huge Ireland fan and always celebrate when we win etc but it pains me to see mercenary cnuts like Morrisson et al playing for us.
We won't even mention the fact that Morrisson is a waste of space and doesn't deserve to be called a footballer!! Surely Crowe, Doyle or O'Flynn would be better than Morrisson or Macken and they are actually Irish too.

Have you made your feelings known to the FAI and Brian Kerr? If Clinton is a mercenary then so is Brian Kerr. Morrison didn't put a gun anyone's head, he was invited to play for Ireland.

At any rate I do agree that only those players, whatever their colour or creed, who identify 'culturally' first and foremost with Ireland should be given the opportunity of playing for Ireland.

Perhaps for those born outside of Ireland we need a test of loyalty? What should that test be? ;)

[livehead1]

gun running from the GPO....lol

[Cowboy]

Perhaps for those born outside of Ireland we need a test of loyalty? What should that test be? ;)

They need to ba able to sing "Sean south" and forget the words half way through like everyone else :D anyone who sings it and knows what its about is disqualified :D

[Pablo]

sorry fella i live in nottingham and keith foy and andy reid were both a disgrace to the title of 'professional footballer'. it is in my mind like yesterday remembering their local, Callaghans, the pair of them shhhteaming out of their faces singing on the karaoke. this was a regular occurance, i talked to them regular, foy was on last warning after last warning and ****ed up and thats the way it happens, was his own fault, he was warned bout the drink and the weight but thought it was all a bit of craic

you talk some rubbish. people have their opinions and are trying to back them up. correct or incorrect they are OPINIONS

[lopez]

They need to ba able to sing "Sean south" and forgot the words half way through like everyone else :D anyone who sings it and knows what its about is disqualified :DYahooooo!! I'm Irish! :D

[Bondvillain]

They need to ba able to sing "Sean south" and forgot the words half way through like everyone else.anyone who sings it and knows what its about is disqualified



Yahooooo!! I'm Irish! :D


Im F*ked after the first line, so I assume this makes me Taoiseach.

[Cowboy]

Im F*ked after the first line, so I assume this makes me Taoiseach.

No that makes you minister for transport as hes f***** too
:D

[livehead1]

you talk some rubbish. people have their opinions and are trying to back them up. correct or incorrect they are OPINIONS



o well, its better that people know the truth and on that matter or andy reid and keith foy i would know more about it than you....having played in england and now living in nottingham!!!

[Adrianovic]

English football has raped the Irish game for young talent, mistreated them when they got them and this has caused many players who could have made it to not get there due to homesickness and what have you. Look at Andy Reid, who so very very nearly went the way of Keith Foy as a result of this.

You have completely neglected to mention the fact that if it wasn't for the firm hand of Nottingham Forest and Paul Hart in particular, Andy Reid would be playing at nowhere near the level today and being part of Ireland's plans would be nothing but an unrealistic dream.

When Keith Foy and Andy Reid acted irresponsibley and did what they did to their careers, they had nobody else to blame. Nottingham Forest didn't push them into the drinking culture and being lazy, Foy and Reid did. Its worth remembering that it is in the club's best interests for the players to succeed. When Irish players join Forest at a young age, they aren't there to make up the numbers, Forest want them to succeed and be the best player they can.

In fact, Nottingham Forest have one of the best youth academy's in the country, and each player is well looked after - as they would vouch for.

This demonising of football clubs in England is irrational in my opinion. If all Irish youngsters were left to develop in Ireland, then they would be unable to progress to international level as the quality of football in Ireland is relatively poor. I'm all for developing the clubs in Ireland and I understand that it will be hard to improve without the best players playing there, but I refuse to sacrifice the interests of the players themselves and the Irish national team, for the sake of the Eircom League. There must be better ways.

Ade

[thejollyrodger]

Morrision scored again today !! Excellent !!

It's the best form he has been on in years :D

[Slash/ED]

You have completely neglected to mention the fact that if it wasn't for the firm hand of Nottingham Forest and Paul Hart in particular, Andy Reid would be playing at nowhere near the level today and being part of Ireland's plans would be nothing but an unrealistic dream.

When Keith Foy and Andy Reid acted irresponsibley and did what they did to their careers, they had nobody else to blame. Nottingham Forest didn't push them into the drinking culture and being lazy, Foy and Reid did. Its worth remembering that it is in the club's best interests for the players to succeed. When Irish players join Forest at a young age, they aren't there to make up the numbers, Forest want them to succeed and be the best player they can.

In fact, Nottingham Forest have one of the best youth academy's in the country, and each player is well looked after - as they would vouch for.

This demonising of football clubs in England is irrational in my opinion. If all Irish youngsters were left to develop in Ireland, then they would be unable to progress to international level as the quality of football in Ireland is relatively poor. I'm all for developing the clubs in Ireland and I understand that it will be hard to improve without the best players playing there, but I refuse to sacrifice the interests of the players themselves and the Irish national team, for the sake of the Eircom League. There must be better ways.

Ade

Andy reid and Keith Foy was just one of many examples. There's far too many players who goto England with all the potential in the world and fail because of homesickness of being mistreated or for whatever reason, it happens time and time again. We can't keep relying on the English clubs to take every talent here and to hope a small number of them makes the break through, we need to do what other countries do. Look at france, their elague, while impressive, is weaker than the big leagues in Europe yet they still set up academys of their own and develop their own players until they're in their late teens and look at the results. The scandanavian countries do the same, it's nothing to do with being for the sake of the eircom league it's to do with the international team. If we had the sense to actually bother setting up proper academys here to keep players here until they're in their late teens we will produce far more players. If they're top quality they will inevitabley move on to the top teams, if they're not good enough for the big teams they still have a better chance of making it. Look at how many players get released from these big clubs, and many of them are good players, lots of these players never recover from this and never get close to their potential. We need to protect these players and keep them here as long as we can, we would produce far more players if we did. And yes, as a knock on effect, the standard of the league here would also improve and we would actually get the money we deserve for consistently producing good players in this country.

[Fergie's Son]

Morrisson is scoring at will now which is a good thing.

Excellent post Adrianovic. Let's be perfectly honest here. We do not have the resources to develop talent to international level. The EL is nothing like the French league and has nothing near its resources. Perhaps we could do a better job of preparing Irish youngsters who go abroad but that is about it. Anything else is utter nonsense. We are simply too small and do not have the resources to develop talent to the fullness of their potential. That's a pipe dream that should be stopped now.

[Cowboy]

We are simply too small and do not have the resources to develop talent to the fullness of their potential. That's a pipe dream that should be stopped now.

If we followed your logic nobody in football in Ireland would ever strive to make things better . France was not always the great football nursery it is now, it took time comitment, imagination and vision.

If you think size is an issue then perhaps you can explain how Denmark managed to win a european championship.

If Brian Kerr, packie Bonner and Co. thought they way you do they would never have bothered spending a great deal of thought and energy on the technical plan they have created.

[Fergie's Son]

If we followed your logic nobody in football in Ireland would ever strive to make things better . France was not always the great football nursery it is now, it took time comitment, imagination and vision.

If you think size is an issue then perhaps you can explain how Denmark managed to win a european championship.

If Brian Kerr, packie Bonner and Co. thought they way you do they would never have bothered spending a great deal of thought and energy on the technical plan they have created.

Don't be obtuse. I am not suggesting that we stop nurturing talent but that we accept that we will always be a feeder country to England and mainland Europe. We could do a better job with youngsters, preparing them for life abroad but that does not mean we could do the job ourselves in Ireland. Put another way, we have neither the size or the resources of a France so we have to be realistic.

As for that Danish team, well ask yourself this: How many of those players played for a domestic Danish team....

[Cowboy]

I am being anything but obtuse, you suggest that it is not possible without even trying, I suggest we do everything possible to create the conditions to achieve this.

Its the easiest thing in the world to call something a "pipe dream", be negative if you wish but I prefer to be positive about what can and will be achieved in the future.


Don't be obtuse. I am not suggesting that we stop nurturing talent but that we accept that we will always be a feeder country to England and mainland Europe. We could do a better job with youngsters, preparing them for life abroad but that does not mean we could do the job ourselves in Ireland. Put another way, we have neither the size or the resources of a France so we have to be realistic.

As for that Danish team, well ask yourself this: How many of those players played for a domestic Danish team....

[Fergie's Son]

It's also easy to be unrealistic and make outlandish claims. I am not suggesting that we can't improve our systems in Ireland but it would be wrong to suggest that we can train and nurture international calibre talent in Ireland. At some point, those who are capable will need to go abroad. We can do our best to make sure that they are ready for that but we cannot do it all at home. Ireland and France is not comparing like with like. They have a much larger population and can sustain such development. We can't.

[Cowboy]

Of course not now but should we not support those who seek to change things for the better so that in the future this may be possible.

If we fail to plan we plan to fail


It's also easy to be unrealistic and make outlandish claims. I am not suggesting that we can't improve our systems in Ireland but it would be wrong to suggest that we can train and nurture international calibre talent in Ireland. At some point, those who are capable will need to go abroad. We can do our best to make sure that they are ready for that but we cannot do it all at home. Ireland and France is not comparing like with like. They have a much larger population and can sustain such development. We can't.

[lopez]

As for that Danish team, well ask yourself this: How many of those players played for a domestic Danish team....Out of a squad of 20 at Euro '92, 13 played for Danish clubs.

[eirebhoy]

If the Eircom league clubs become successful in Europe we will see more talent in this country. A mate of mine was at Leeds for a couple of years a while back. He failed to even make the reserves yet he came back to Ireland with a brand new car. There is absolutely no way we can compete with England on the wage front and nobody is going to turn down a move across the water for that very reason.

[Fergie's Son]

Out of a squad of 20 at Euro '92, 13 played for Danish clubs.

Could you provide a citation for that? Most, if not all, of the starting 11 were playing for non-Danish clubs. Let's also remember that Denmark did not qualify for Euro '92 so there was some good fortune involved. The reality is we can prepare the lads better but that's about it.

[Slash/ED]

What exactly has how many Danish players played in Denmark have to do with anything? :confused: I'm not saying we keep players here for life, but we should keep players here until their late teens when the best players will obviously go abroad. The weaker players who don't make it will be better prepared for a life outside football or will be better placed to find a club here. The more relevent question is out of that Denmark team how many were shipped off to foreign countries when they were barley teenagers?

[lopez]

Could you provide a citation for that? Most, if not all, of the starting 11 were playing for non-Danish clubs. Let's also remember that Denmark did not qualify for Euro '92 so there was some good fortune involved. The reality is we can prepare the lads better but that's about it.Source: World Soccer July 1992, pp 8. Danes that didn't play in Denmark were were Peter Schmeichel, John Sivabaek, Lars Olsen, Henrik Andersen, Flemming Povlsen, Brian Laudrup and Bent Christiansen . Only Schmeichel, Sivabaek, Olsen, Povlsen & Laudrup played in the final against Germany (Source World Soccer July 1992, pp 2), so no, the majority of the starting eleven wasn't playing outside Denmark, although it's pretty obvious that the better players would have been those that had moved onto a superior league like the Bundesliga. As for the 'they didn't qualify automatically for the tournament' argument, put away the shovel son before you disappear completely. :rolleyes:

[Fergie's Son]

Source: World Soccer July 1992, pp 8. Danes that didn't play in Denmark were were Peter Schmeichel, John Sivabaek, Lars Olsen, Henrik Andersen, Flemming Povlsen, Brian Laudrup and Bent Christiansen . Only Schmeichel, Sivabaek, Olsen, Povlsen & Laudrup played in the final against Germany (Source World Soccer July 1992, pp 2), so no, the majority of the starting eleven wasn't playing outside Denmark, although it's pretty obvious that the better players would have been those that had moved onto a superior league like the Bundesliga. As for the 'they didn't qualify automatically for the tournament' argument, put away the shovel son before you disappear completely. :rolleyes:

Eh? They had a good tournament, no they had a great one. That does not, however, make them a footballing powerhouse. Sunderland won the FA Cup in 1973 beating a poweful Leeds but that still didn't make them a particularly good team. Knock-out tournaments are littered with cinderella teams but that does not mean that the lower rank team football is sudenly better than the top levels. All it proves is that on any given day any team can beat any other team. Overall, however, the better (higher quality) team will win more often than not

Denmark had a nice run in a knock-out Tournament (even though they were beaten by Sweden). They were so good that they couldn't beat Ireland in the subsequent qualifiers :rolleyes:

Also, of the 11 who played against Germany, 4 were from the Brodby club. Brondby dwarves any Irish club so again, you are not comparing like with like. So 5 from non-Danish clubs and 4 from one Danish club.

Also, there about 1, 400,000 more Danes than there are Irish so it is 25% bigger than we are.

Further, Danish players still travel abroad to seek fame and fortune and any really good Danish player will leave. I am not suggesting that we cannot do a better job of nurturing and developing our own talent but only in preparation for the trip abroad. We cannot and, absent a fluke, will not be able to develop internation calibre players on our own.

[Slash/ED]

Further, Danish players still travel abroad to seek fame and fortune and any really good Danish player will leave.

Yes after getting their footballing education at home, more often than not.


We cannot and, absent a fluke, will not be able to develop internation calibre players on our own.

If we can "fluke" another Roy Keane or Paul McGrath I'll be very happy.

[1MickCollins]

If we can "fluke" another Roy Keane or Paul McGrath I'll be very happy.

In all fairness you probably couldn't have picked two worse examples, these guys are natural athletes with terrific stamina. I don't think any coach in Ireland could say "I am responsible for that developing Paul/Roy".

[Slash/ED]

In all fairness you probably couldn't have picked two worse examples, these guys are natural athletes with terrific stamina. I don't think any coach in Ireland could say "I am responsible for that developing Paul/Roy".

Yet they didn't suddenly turn into people who couldn't kick a ball straight through having to come through the system here. We should be putting money into building academys throughout the country so that players like that have even better oppurtunities to develop if they stay here until their late teens or in McGraths case, early 20s.

[Fergie's Son]

McGrath was the exception that proved the rule. Keane even states in his autobiography that it was Brian Clough's coaching that developed him into a great player.

I'm all for player development in Ireland but we have neither the infrastructure or the resources to pull it off at a national level. Perhaps we could emulate a Rosenberg (Shelbourne maybe) but even that is a long, long way away. You have to be practical.

[Plastic Paddy]

You do indeed have to be practical. I would suggest the first step has to be the promotion of coaching qualifications countrywide by the FAI. We seem to have plenty of people willing to become involved in the game at all levels; their potential needs harnessing. It's a long-term venture, but it's clear (at least to me) that we won't get anywhere in developing these players at home unless the standard of coaching is vastly improved in the domestic game.

Maybe that could be a brief for the new CEO... :rolleyes:

:ball: PP

[lopez]

Eh? They had a good tournament, no they had a great one. That does not, however, make them a footballing powerhouse. Sunderland won the FA Cup in 1973 beating a poweful Leeds but that still didn't make them a particularly good team.
Your original point was that Denmark won the tournament with just foreign-based players. They didn't. In fact they had not just a few home players but a majority of them. Then you claim that the majority of the first team were foreign-based players. Again they weren't. Then, instead of admitting that there was no reason why Ireland couldn't do the same, you go off onto every excuse imaginable. What next: Home was just five minutes away.

Denmark had a nice run in a knock-out Tournament (even though they were beaten by Sweden). They were so good that they couldn't beat Ireland in the subsequent qualifiers :rolleyes:
The reason was probably down to an exhaustive Euro 92. One game which Denmark could have lost the 2nd place to us was against Latvia in August 1992. True they didn't beat us. Neither did we beat them. Your point?

Also, of the 11 who played against Germany, 4 were from the Brodby club. Brondby dwarves any Irish club so again, you are not comparing like with like. So 5 from non-Danish clubs and 4 from one Danish club.
The argument that 4 came from one club while 9 more came from other Danish clubs does not suggest a club's dominance of the league's talent. Twenty to thirty years previously you'd put money on an Irish club beating a Danish or Norwegian club in Europe. Johnny Giles' dream of creating a Shamrock Rovers capable of winning the European Cup may seem laughable now but was a possibility then (Nottingham Forest winners, Malmo runners up 1979). Perhaps we should ask why instead of some improvement, Irish clubs fell further in the 80s that they began losing to Cypriot club sides.

Also, there about 1, 400,000 more Danes than there are Irish so it is 25% bigger than we are.
Does Denmark have 1 million of Danish born living in Sweden or Germany? Also does it have potentially 3-6 million people eligible for Danish citizenship in those countries. This doesn't include the 1.5 million people in NI who are eligible to Irish citizenship but have their own (geographical at least) side. And people wonder why I go on about the lack (or should that be total discardment) of education on emigration in Irish schools.

Further, Danish players still travel abroad to seek fame and fortune and any really good Danish player will leave. I am not suggesting that we cannot do a better job of nurturing and developing our own talent but only in preparation for the trip abroad. We cannot and, absent a fluke, will not be able to develop internation calibre players on our own.If a player is leaving to join Arsenal, Liverpool or Man U. Fine. That is a success. If you are talking about a player leaving Ireland to play for Wycombe Wanderers then that is a disgrace. A number of problems exist for Irish football. Firstly, thankfully at last being plugged up, is the history of British clubs bringing over players without paying a penny in transfer fees. Perhaps this is demonising British clubs but it smacks of not just theft but exploitation. Example, Eamonn Collins playing for Blackpool at just 14: He should have been at school in Dublin and living with his parents at that age. Instead he ended up having a mediocre career playing for such powerhouses as Exeter and Colchester. Secondly, the fact that Irish football is pushed out by the Premiership in every way by an ar*e lickin' anglophilic media. Thirdly, the competition local football gets from not only other sports (Gaelic Football and Rugby) despite the others having a limited calendar in comparison, but from football in the divisions below, which I've known on my relatively limited time in Ireland, often getting bigger crowds. However, there is potential. The Shelbourne v Deportivo game showed there is a market for domestic football in Ireland. There is no reason why the Irish cannot conceivably match Denmark, Norway, Sweden or Scotland even if they'll never match the French.

[livehead1]

jesus mother of mary, ya wunt wana have bleary eyes when ur trying to read that post ^^ !!!!

[Cowboy]

jesus mother of mary, ya wunt wana have bleary eyes when ur trying to read that post ^^ !!!!

why? what part did u not understand?

[hudhastings]

did u now cascorino wasnt even irish he was an italien who was adopted from irish parents and he played for ireland for years and got us a sh-t load of goals. i for one would rather lose than have sum1 like cascarino playing for ireland, same goe for morrison who is more irish than a foreign far-t. why not kevin doyle he is a class act and the fact that kerr keeps looking past the EL is a disgrace. The other english cluds havent come looking at Doyler yet but its only a matter of time, with his pace along with his ability to finish along with keonos skill no one would stop the boys in green. I mean Morrisons heart is in England. Macken ??????????????? theres no point in Macken in general.

[hudhastings]

clubs