Unknown teenager in the squad

[gspain]

No not that one...:D

Terry Dixon is a surprise choice for the Irish squad for the forthcioming friendly v Chile.

Makes sense to me though. He is highly rated and looks to be a real talent.

Could be a sneaky one by Stan too to cap him v Chile as his father is apparently still trying to persaude him to play for England but the Irish mammy from Cavan is holding sway. My understanding is that if he is capped v Chile then he is tied to us.

[Stuttgart88]

Could be a sneaky one by Stan too to cap him v Chile as his father is apparently still trying to persaude him to play for England but the Irish mammy from Cavan is holding sway. My understanding is that if he is capped v Chile then he is tied to us. My first instinct was that it's a cynical ploy by Stan.

[Dodge]

Bobby Robson was on TV last night talking about Walcott, saying " ala d with no first team experience can't be ready for international experience"

[colster]

Lads it's only a training camp. I think it's a good idea to invite a good prospect to train with the senior team. They do it all the time at club level.

[Stuttgart88]

Wasn't Staunton an unknown teenager when called up by Jack for Euro '88?

[gustavo]

Yeah its alll good and well saying that its a good idea to give a youngster a chance at a training camp , but there are plenty of other lads who have been around longer that are maybe not quite ready for international football who could have benifited.

[eirebhoy]

Yeah its alll good and well saying that its a good idea to give a youngster a chance at a training camp , but there are plenty of other lads who have been around longer that are maybe not quite ready for international football who could have benifited.
There is no limit to the size of the squad so Dixon is not taking anyone's place. Staunton has asked McCaffrey/Givens for the most impressive player at each age level. According to the Indo he won't call an U19 player up because they have important matches coming up but he will call up an U21 player after the Azerbaijan match.

[Hither green]

Bobby Robson was on TV last night talking about Walcott, saying " ala d with no first team experience can't be ready for international experience"

Typical. I know he used to manage england and there's apparently a world cup coming up but since Bobby Robson's started working for us, he's hardly off the tv/radio talking about the england team. He should concentrate on our friendly.

[CraftyToePoke]

i think his being born in england and there being the possibility of england pursuing him is a huge factor here, whatever Staunton may say, fair enough this may get the lad to pin his colours to the mast early and avoid debate and a disgracefull nolanesque scene later on but its a big gesture to a guy of his age who despite undoubted potential, has done nothing yet.

should he go on and earn 50 caps for us then it will be revised as an act of genius by Staunton, and should he not then, its just a training camp and a low-key end of season friendly so maybe Staunton feels he can shrug if off on those grounds

either way, there was more than one other player who could have rightfully considered themselves ahead of this guy in the queue at this time, theres definately fasttracking at play for fear of losing him, im my opinion.

[NeilMcD]

The man is getting over cancer for **** sake. If somebody rings him up he is perfectly entitled to comments on issues with England

[NeilMcD]

As I said on another thread, Getting into a squad is not the the Civil Service or applying for a job. Its not done on timed worked up or service given to the Green Colours. Its done on talent. There is no such thing as someone who is entitled to be in teh squad. The manager is hired by the FAI to pick the players he thinks are best in order to be successful. If he has watched players from each age group and has seen that Dixon has real class, which I agree with having seen him a few times, then fair enough. Its Stauntons call.

[Stuttgart88]

Its Stauntons call. Agree, it's that simple. I'm sure he has good reasons.

[geysir]

Could be a sneaky one by Stan too to cap him v Chile as his father is apparently still trying to persaude him to play for England but the Irish mammy from Cavan is holding sway. My understanding is that if he is capped v Chile then he is tied to us.
Have to admit the Nolan saga confused me more.
In the (very unlikely) event of him getting capped in a friendly against Chile, is it for sure that it would tie down a teenager with dual citizenship?

[Dodge]

The man is getting over cancer for **** sake. If somebody rings him up he is perfectly entitled to comments on issues with England
PLus he obviously loves his country. Oh and he knows more than anybody about preparing an English team for the World Cup.

[Stuttgart88]

is it for sure that it would tie down a teenager with dual citizenship?Yes, a full international cap, even a friendly, ties you down permanently.

[gspain]

My understanding of the rules are that once you get a full cap you are tied to a country. However otherwise you can change anytime up until you are 21.

The Kevin Nolan situation is different. He played competitive U18 for England so was tied under the old rules. When the new rule was introduced FIFA held an amnesty for those who would have qualified under the new rule to switch. Kerr didn't want Nolan and it's not too clear if he wanted to switch. The amnesty is now up but many believe FIFA would make an exception.

I believe there is a case pending for one of the world cup nations - Ghana or T&T if I remmeber correctly but may be wrong here requesting an amnesty. If this succeeds then Kevin Nolan would most likely succeed IF he wants to declare.

[pete]

PR exercise by Staunton. Putting undo pressure on young kid.

I was going to suggest if was as good as suggested he'd be playing U21s but then again Don Givens "manages" them...

[beautifulrock]

How can it be a PR exercise?? He has moved swifly as far as I can make out. If it was the other way aroundand Dixon was called into the English squad we would be saying "hold on he has an Irish mother , he played underage and we still let him slip through the net". Well done Stan, maybe a bit ruthless but fair play.

[shakermaker1982]

fair play to Stan. We are not taking him to a world cup like ING - GER - LAND are doing with Walcott it's a training camp. Hopefully the kid fulfills his potential and makes the grade.

[gustavo]

If it was the other way aroundand Dixon was called into the English squad we would be saying "hold on he has an Irish mother , he played underage and we still let him slip through the net". Well done Stan, maybe a bit ruthless but fair play.
If he was called into the England squad presumably it was because he wanted to play for England so pursuing him would be pointless.

[beautifulrock]

Quote:
Originally Posted by beautifulrock
If it was the other way aroundand Dixon was called into the English squad we would be saying "hold on he has an Irish mother , he played underage and we still let him slip through the net". Well done Stan, maybe a bit ruthless but fair play.

If he was called into the England squad presumably it was because he wanted to play for England so pursuing him would be pointless

What do you mean by that?

[eirebhoy]

What do you mean by that?
At the end of the day it's up to the player. If he wants to play for England then let him. Judging by his quotes after scoring for the under 17s a couple of months ago, I doubt he'll be changing his mind any time soon.

"it's the best feeling when you put the green jersey on and its even better when you score"
"This was the biggest goal of my career"

[Stuttgart88]

Here's Staunton's explanation:

"He's a talent with very good ability and also highly thought of. I've been speaking with Seán (McCaffrey) and Don (Givens) and I want to reward at least one player in each squad who they felt were progressing.

"The under-19s and under-21s have games but Dixon's done well for the under-17s - he is somebody who can play with his back to goal, he's very confident on the ball and he knows where the goal is.

"We'll take him along and show him what we're all about," he added. "If he progresses nicely we'll see the benefit in a couple of years."

and also:

"If they are good, they don't have to play for the U21s first, but I don't want to ruin their development.

Some players react differently when they skip a stage and then come back down. Between myself, Sean and Don we will do what is right for the kids."


So, taking this on face value, it appears that he's happy to get the U21s and U19s involved but as they both have important games for whom Dixon isn't going to figure he felt it'd be worthwhile bringing him along for the experience.

I don't see the problem with this attitude.

I know there are hardened cynics on this board (by their own admission) & I admit my initial reaction was that Staunton's probably just trying to nail him down to Ireland's cause. In fact I still think there's an element of that though I don't think he'd be so cynical as to cap him for 5 minutes.

But any refreshing positives we've seen so far from Staunton have either been a PR exercise (Dixon), a token gesture to the eL (Jason Byrne) or at its most extreme, rewarding so called "pimps" (Pat Devlin and the "B" squad).

Honestly, it's a bit like "The Life of Brian" sometimes: "Apart from making our best underage players welcome, listening to the opinions of the underage managers, talking up the domestic league, specifically stating they'll include domestic players in their plans & appointing a manager to oversee the monitoring of domestic players for the senior manager, selecting domestic players for squads and so on, just what HAS the Irish management done for the domestic game?"

[Paulie]

But any refreshing positives we've seen so far from Staunton have either been a PR exercise (Dixon), a token gesture to the eL (Jason Byrne) or at its most extreme, rewarding so called "pimps" (Pat Devlin and the "B" squad).

Honestly, it's a bit like "The Life of Brian" sometimes: "Apart from making our best underage players welcome, listening to the opinions of the underage managers, talking up the domestic league, specifically stating they'll include domestic players in their plans & appointing a manager to oversee the monitoring of domestic players for the senior manager, selecting domestic players for squads and so on, just what HAS the Irish management done for the domestic game?"

Well said.

[Paulie]

Here's an article from The Independent on Dixon.

Schoolboy Dixon in dreamland after call-up
Tuesday May 9th 2006
ADVERTISEMENT





IF YOU'RE good enough, then you're old enough. That was Steve Staunton's message yesterday after the Ireland manager sensationally called up 16-year-old schoolboy Terry Dixon.

The cynics might argue that the teenager's inclusion in next week's training camp is pure opportunism given that he is being put under tremendous pressure to turn his back on Ireland and declare for England.

However, the reality is that the London-born 16-year-old is a red-hot prospect who is also coveted by England. And, if Sven Goran Eriksson can take 17-year-old Theo Walcott from Arsenal's reserves to the World Cup finals, then surely Steve Staunton can select a Spurs academy player in a 29-man training panel without being branded an opportunist.

If Dixon was to be capped on May 24 against Chile he would, at 16 years and 129 days, become the youngest footballer to play for Ireland in a senior international, beating Jimmy Holmes' 35-year-old record by a massive 436 days. That, however, is heading into the realms of fantasy football and Staunton has shown he is nothing if not a down to earth pragmatist.

He doesn't do fairytales and no one will play for his Ireland team unless they are good enough.

But he's seen and heard enough about Dixon to realise that he is a tremendous prospect and inviting him to rub shoulders with the likes of Robbie Keane, Damien Duff, Shay Given and John O'Shea will surely do the teenager the world of good. After that, the ball will be at Dixon's feet.

Dixon, an academy player at Tottenham who has yet to play a reserve game for Spurs, caught Staunton's eye in March when he came off the bench to score a dramatic injury-time equaliser for Ireland against Israel in a European U-17 Championship qualifier in Dublin.

Special talent

"I just felt he has got a special talent and, if he progresses nicely, we will see the benefit in a couple of years," said Staunton.

"He is a young lad with great potential and, while he has got a lot to learn, he can already play with his back to goal. He is very confident on the ball and he knows where the goal is. There's not too many of them around."

"I am stunned really," said Dixon, who does not turn 17 until next January. "Sean McCaffrey had said to me that there was going to be a 30-man squad named for a training camp and that I might be in it, but for it to actually happen - I'm over the moon."

Dixon qualifies to play for Ireland through his mother, Marion, who was born in Co Cavan and although he has lived all his life in London, the striker was keen to don the green jersey when U-16 manager Vincent Butler approached him to play after seeing him play for Tottenham Hotspur's youth team. It didn't take long for Dixon to make an impression, scoring a 30-yard piledriver on his debut against Sweden and his size and strength, not to mention his ability, prompted Sean McCaffrey to draft him into the U-17s a year early, where he has scored three goals in five internationals this term.

Staunton has established strong links with both McCaffrey and U21 boss Don Givens since taking over as Ireland boss and is well aware of the tug-o-war that has been going on over Dixon for the past few months between McCaffrey and England youth team boss Kenny Swain.

Allegiance

However, having watched the teenager celebrate his goal against Israel, the Ireland manager is in no doubt as to where the boy's allegiances lie and his desire to establishing a stronger link between the senior set-up and Ireland's under-age squads has now been brought to fruition.

"Terry is good enough to play for us and he wants to play for us and that's fine by me. At the end of the day, he can still change over before he is 21 but we saw his reaction after he scored for us," said the Irish boss.

Yesterday's news, though, has brought the links between the set-ups to a whole new level and McCaffrey was delighted to see the player called up.

"Terry has done brilliantly for us this season," said McCaffrey. "He has a terrific football brain and he has a great first touch. He can go past people and is a really good finisher."

Staunton is well aware that it's a long road to making it as a professional footballer, with plenty of pot-holes to be navigated by young players between the ages of 16 and 21.

When the Irish boss was a teenager he and a another young player, Mark Kelly, were invited to train with the Ireland squad before their departure to the 1988 European Championship finals.

Both made their debuts the following September but, while Staunton went on to play in three World Cup finals and win 102 caps, Kelly's career was dogged by injury and he played only four times for Ireland.

Keane and Duff by-passed the U21 team and Staunton is ready to fast-track more young players like Dixon into the senior squad when the opportunity arises.

"If they are good, they don't have to play for the U21s first, but I don't want to ruin their development.

"Some players react differently when they skip a stage and then come back down. Between myself, Sean and Don we will do what is right for the kids."

[The Legend]

ha.. "ruin their development" by having to be managed by Givens :p

[lopez]

If he was called into the England squad presumably it was because he wanted to play for England so pursuing him would be pointless.Well he's been called into the Irish squad, so what's your problem?

[pete]

What next a 14 year old gets 2 minutes of international football to stop him decalring for another country?

:rolleyes:

[beautifulrock]

Sorry Pete but that is not this case, have a quick read of the indo today. I said it yesterday and I will say it again today after getting even more background that Stan has done very well here. It may not work out but if it does he deserves a clap on the back. Dixon's mammy is irish and we all know that Irish mammy's always get their way especially the North London ones : )

[Stuttgart88]

Reading today's Indo it seems Dixon's dad is chuffed to bits about his son playing for Ireland so maybe the assumed context of his dad wanting him to play for England is off the mark.

[tetsujin1979]

Seemed to me his dad was chuffed that he was playing football at all, after the serious injury he had. Whatever about him wanting him to play for England or not I didn't expect him to say something like "I really wish he had the 3 lions on his chest" in the indo!!

[livehead1]

i've just been on msn and had a brain wave....one of my mates from uni trains with spurs reserves when hes home, and he was on msn so i thought i would ask him about terry dixon. Here is the full conversation:

God Bless You Bobby Sands says:
gav your a spurs man
God Bless You Bobby Sands says:
tell me about terry dixon???
God Bless You Bobby Sands says:
who the feck is he
theo walcot was 11 when sven became england manager says:
mate massive surprise - i used to take him to spurs when he was younger
God Bless You Bobby Sands says:
is he has good as people are saying? there saying hes possibly the next wonderkid and has been called up to stop him choosing england later in life
theo walcot was 11 when sven became england manager says:
well when he was younger - 14 he was the best in the the country
God Bless You Bobby Sands says:
so is it possible that he could go on to be the next big star? i mean he hasnt even played for the reserves yet, when i saw his name on the squad list i was shocked but i've spoken to some people who saw him play for spurs under 18 and they said hes pure class
theo walcot was 11 when sven became england manager says:
bit rooney like mate - busserly
God Bless You Bobby Sands says:
potential to be as good?
theo walcot was 11 when sven became england manager says:
doubt it mate but you never no
God Bless You Bobby Sands says:
also, one last thing, does he consider himself irish or english?? or wat was he back then
theo walcot was 11 when sven became england manager says:
not aure really - ginger kid - looks irish
God Bless You Bobby Sands says:
lol o must b irish then!!!!
God Bless You Bobby Sands says:
just wondering why hes been called up

[as_i_say]

thats cleared that up!

[livehead1]

interesting to hear that he was "the best in the country at 14" must be a terrific talent.

[livehead1]

i wonder will terry himself come on here and give us a few words!! if i was a 16 year old just been called up to the irish squad, the first thing i would do when i got home was google me name and see what other people reckon.

[Paddy Ramone]

Well he's been called into the Irish squad, so what's your problem?

You've got a chip on your shoulder about plastic paddys.

[lopez]

You've got a chip on your shoulder about plastic paddys.I've got two: One on each shoulder. :rolleyes:

[Cowboy]

I've got two: One on each shoulder. :rolleyes:

A well balanced individual, mi amigo :)

[NeilMcD]

I care cause I want ireland to do as well as it can. So you asked the question who cares and I put my hand up and say I care. Any other people care out there.

[Stuttgart88]

it's not as If either team's likely to win anything, in the near, or distant futureIf that's your basis for caring, why bother following football?

[NeilMcD]

Could not agree more Stuttgart. In internation football only

France
England
Uruguay
Italy
Argentina
Brazil
Germany

have won the world cup. IF we say that Uruguay are not likely to win the thing any time soon why should anybody else even support their team going on Gonzo's logic. Some people here care about the Irish football team so thats why they support them and go to games or post up here. If you dont care that why are you even on a forum that talks about the Irish football team.

[NeilMcD]

When Terry Dixon packs his bag for the Republic of Ireland's training camp in Portugal next week, his mother, Marion, will make sure he has remembered all the essentials: boots, shin-pads and, most important of all, his Maths and English textbooks. Her son may just have completed one of the most remarkable ascents to international football in Ireland's history, but she will not let that get in the way of his studies.

Dixon will sit his GCSEs later this month, but for the time being he is relishing a different sort of examination - one involving Robbie Keane, Damien Duff and Shay Given. The 16-year-old Tottenham forward was the most surprising name on Steve Staunton's 29-man list for the four-day camp announced on Monday, but perhaps this is a portent of things to come.


Players used to graduate from their clubs to their countries, but now they appear to do the opposite: Dixon's call-up came on the same day that Theo Walcott, older by just a year, was elevated to the England squad despite having never played for Arsenal. Dixon, for his part, has yet to feature for Spurs' reserves, let alone their first team, and will not even join the academy until July. Needless to say, his head is still spinning.

"I was at school when my mate sent me a text saying it had been announced on Sky Sports News," he said. "I was gobsmacked and my phone just started going crazy. But now I'm more excited: to be honest, I'm more nervous about my GCSEs than about training with such good players. It'll be great to be with the Irish squad and I'd love to get a chance to play."

Dixon has already impressed for Ireland's under-17s, but his sights are fixed on more prestigious targets. The senior side play a friendly with Chile on May 29th and, though Staunton claimed on Monday Dixon's inclusion was merely designed to "show him what we're all about", he is understood to want to accelerate his protege into first-team duties in order to deflect interest from England. Dixon is qualified to play for both countries; Marion hails from Bailieborough, Co Cavan, and Terry's father, Darren, is a Londoner.

"Ireland gave Terry his first international chance when they called him up for an under-16 game against Sweden," said Darren. "England never called so he just carried on. I must admit, I was surprised by that because he's been known by people in the game since he was under 14.

"I watched England pick boys nowhere near as good as Terry. It was a mystery to me, but it never bothered him - he just loved playing for Ireland. He says he feels Irish so I suppose I'll have to keep him away from the Guinness in a couple of years."

Dixon should find avoiding that pitfall easy enough, having grown up in Wood Green, a poverty-stricken suburb of north-east London where crime and unemployment are rife. Football has offered an escape route but many of his friends have not been so lucky.

"It is a tough area to grow up in and there's a lot of crime," he said. "I know a lot of friends who have been in trouble with the law but, luckily, I never had the time for any of that as I was always too busy with my training and stuff. Had I not become so involved with football then it might have been a different story."

He has been fortunate, too, to play for a club who realise the importance of giving youth its chance. Martin Jol, the Tottenham manager, has made a point of flooding his squad with young, English-speaking talent and the results have been spectacular. Spurs missed out on qualification for the Champions League last Sunday because of a combination of dodgy tummies and dodgier defending at West Ham, but consolation, of sorts, came the following day when four players - Paul Robinson, Michael Carrick, Aaron Lennon and Jermaine Jenas - were named in England's squad for Germany. The Seven Sisters Road has become a fast track to international recognition.

Dixon will take the first steps on his own journey next week, although he was at least given a taste of what to expect by being called to train with Spurs' first team last week.

"It was hard, but I really enjoyed it," he admitted. "I've been a Spurs supporter all my life. When I was growing up my hero was David Ginola because of the way he used to skip past people. Now I like Wayne Rooney for his power and his heart."

Dixon's barrel chest and stocky physique are reminiscent of the bullish Rooney, but for the time being he will have to make do with comparisons with Walcott, in itself no bad thing.

"I've never played against Walcott because he's older than me, but I'm glad he's been given a chance in a major tournament," he said. "He gives hope to the rest of us trying to make it in the game."

© The Irish Times

[lopez]

I care cause I want ireland to do as well as it can. So you asked the question who cares and I put my hand up and say I care. Any other people care out there.Yeah, you care and you get accused of chips on shoulders or anti-Britishness. Said it before and I'll say it again, certain people on this forum and in this country, need to grow up. You're in one of the richest and most successful countries on earth, punching well above its weight. Sometimes 'plastics' choose England because they don't feel Irish (mostly those whose Irish connection is confined to one grandparent), some are so unpoliticised they want what's best for their career, and if they could play for Brazil they would. Some actually would choose Ireland if they were the crappiest side on the planet and they were the greatest player its ever seen. Get over your inferiority conplex, lads.:rolleyes:

As for Dixon, time will tell where his heart truly lies - Michael Robinson and Clinton Morrison prove that you can't always believe the old 'I'm Irish' line but then neither spent as a kid every summer in the place, did they? - but I feel, seeing Dixon's mother is Irish and his father's a genuine cockney geeza, he probably likes both countries.

[pete]

Stauntons latest underage talent target! boywonder (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Kid_playing_soccer.jpg/250px-Kid_playing_soccer.jpg)

Sign him up now!

[Stuttgart88]

Pete, do you treat every topic in life with such cynicism, or just football?

[beautifulrock]

Why waste your time posting on this topic Pete?

[pete]

Why waste your time posting on this topic Pete?

No sense of humour here. :(

[Paddy Ramone]

Yeah, you care and you get accused of chips on shoulders or anti-Britishness. Said it before and I'll say it again, certain people on this forum and in this country, need to grow up. You're in one of the richest and most successful countries on earth, punching well above its weight. Sometimes 'plastics' choose England because they don't feel Irish (mostly those whose Irish connection is confined to one grandparent), some are so unpoliticised they want what's best for their career, and if they could play for Brazil they would. Some actually would choose Ireland if they were the crappiest side on the planet and they were the greatest player its ever seen. Get over your inferiority conplex, lads.:rolleyes

Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against plastics. I even think the heritage rule should be extended. For instance someone with four or more great-grandparents out of eight should be allowed play for Ireland. This would go back as generations as possible as long as someone were able to show the majority of their ancestors of a particular generation were Irish with some documentary evidence. This could bring in the large communites of Irish descent in Cardiff and Liverpool, Hibs and Celtic fans in Scotland and the Argentinian community with roots in the Irish midlands.

[beautifulrock]

No sense of humour here. Yeah Pete good joke. keep them coming.

[Stuttgart88]

There's a good picture of Dixon on oneteaminireland (good site). Very Rooney-esque:

http://oneteaminireland.bravehost.com/