Lewis McGugan

[livehead1]

He's a very talented young footballer playing for Forest and has real potential. I found out yesterday that his father is Irish, making him eligible for Ireland....Can somebody notify the FAI as they're probably not aware of this!

[livehead1]

Don't know about either but anyone who has seen him play will recognise he has bags of ability.

[Dodge]

If he wants to play for Ireland he should notify them himself...

[eirebhoy]

If he wants to play for Ireland he should notify them himself...
Exactly.

[back of the net]

If he wants to play for Ireland he should notify them himself...

100% agree mate

if ppl wanna play for the green then its up to them to let the fai know

it should be a honour to wear the green not a chasing scenario for the fai

[shakermaker1982]

Don't know about either but anyone who has seen him play will recognise he has bags of ability.

He has a lot potential. I went to see Forest few times last season and he looked a talent but then again he had 10 donkeys beside him!!! However if he wants a call up he needs to get his agent, his dad or himself on the blower to the FAI HQ saying he wants a chance. Maybe he's holding out for an English call up?

[Paddy Garcia]

Thanks Livehead.

I for one have no confidence in the FAI doing the right thing. A little pressure would do no harm.

Noel Whelan advised the FAI he wanted to play for Ireland & was ignored. I still remember a great goal he scopred for their U21s against us, just stupidity.

[CollegeTillIDie]

First step is, he should apply for a passport off his own bat. He's entitled to one. And this will save the FAI the bother of doing an express application jobbie.

[AlaskaFox]

Scored his ninth goal of the season today. Time for a phone call from Don Givens?

[theworm2345]

Scored his ninth goal of the season today. Time for a phone call from Don Givens?
Thats the last thing we need.

[tricky_colour]

I thought he was Scottish, I was really disappointed when I found that out, cos I thought he might be Irish.
I hope I am wrong though cos I think is is fantastic.
He would be a great asset to the squad.
Forest also in a play-off place now.
In wikipedia it says Scottish descent, but he could be irish descent too.
He has played for England at u17 and u19.

Apparently his middle name is Shay ;).

[AlaskaFox]

Thats the last thing we need.

But the man is such a people person. Should've been a professional negotiator.

[youngirish]

Thanks Livehead.

I for one have no confidence in the FAI doing the right thing. A little pressure would do no harm.

Noel Whelan advised the FAI he wanted to play for Ireland & was ignored. I still remember a great goal he scopred for their U21s against us, just stupidity.

And the damage that missing out on that little bit of world class talent did to the Irish senior team is something we're only now starting to recover from.

[tricky_colour]

If anyone thinks we should wait for him to contact us this might change your mind!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWfcYpJ8-AU&feature=related#

[kev mcq]

If anyone thinks we should wait for him to contact us this might change your mind!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWfcYpJ8-AU&feature=related#

Are we going to get him in just to take free kicks? In that case lets petition for rolling subs in international football and we can bring on Delap as well every time we have a throw-in :rolleyes:

[tricky_colour]

Are we going to get him in just to take free kicks? In that case lets petition for rolling subs in international football and we can bring on Delap as well every time we have a throw-in :rolleyes:

This is not a free kick, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPNSOZh6qPg
yea and why not bring on Delap?

[Paddy Garcia]

And the damage that missing out on that little bit of world class talent did to the Irish senior team is something we're only now starting to recover from.

There is no doubt you are getting sharper youngirish - just three years for that quick and witty riposte!

[youngirish]

There is no doubt you are getting sharper youngirish - just three years for that quick and witty riposte!

Comedy gold takes time and effort. You can't rush the creative process.

[tricky_colour]

Another one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aEW1YYMa2Q

[Crosby87]

This is not a free kick, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPNSOZh6qPg
yea and why not bring on Delap?

If I remember correctly They DID bring Delap into the senior team for a game, saw how he was horrid and never called him up again.

[tricky_colour]

If I remember correctly They DID bring Delap into the senior team for a game, saw how he was horrid and never called him up again.


Here is a list of players I am fairly confident who have had more Premiership games this season, feel free to complete it:-


Doyle.
Dunne.

Actually I think both have started the same number.

[AlaskaFox]

Stephen Carr and Kevin Foley too. Think they've played nearly every game.

[tricky_colour]

Stephen Carr and Kevin Foley too. Think they've played nearly every game.

Thanks, I think those two have the most, with 14, 13 for Dunne Doyle and delap I think.
Interesting that Carr does not play for us either any more.

Delap also plays for the highest placed team bar man u

[gastric]

Speculation about a possible move to Aston Villa. Don Givens should look into his availability for us.

http://www.fansfc.com/teams/NottinghamForest

[Stuttgart88]

Don - "I rang Lewis McGugan to check on his interest. He said, "sorry Don, me missus is in late stages of labour and me gaff is on fire, can I call you back in an hour?" I said if that's your attitude then fine, stuff off".

[Sullivinho]

Don - "I rang Lewis McGugan to check on his interest. He said, "sorry Don, me missus is in late stages of labour and me gaff is on fire, can I call you back in an hour?" I said if that's your attitude then fine, stuff off".

Alarmingly plausible.

[rebelmusic]

Speculation about a possible move to Aston Villa. Don Givens should look into his availability for us.

http://www.fansfc.com/teams/NottinghamForest

If that happens i'd prefer if the scouting was left to Dunne. Honestly

[gastric]

All valid points about our Don. With the redundancies occuring at the FAI at the moment, why is Don still employed? Keeping Packie as technical director would make more sense.

[Adrock]

I think its beneath even the Don's dignity just to ring up random players and ask if they have any Irish in them and try and sweettalk them in to playing for us. Every player's got an agent and if they are in any way eligible to play for us and inclined to do so it is quite a straightforward matter for them to declare themselves available.
There is no evidence whatsoever Mcgugan can or has any interest whatsoever in playing for Ireland so this childish fantasising doesnt have any real relevance to Irish football anyway.

[CraftyToePoke]

I think its beneath even the Don's dignity just to ring up random players and ask if they have any Irish in them and try and sweettalk them in to playing for us. Every player's got an agent and if they are in any way eligible to play for us and inclined to do so it is quite a straightforward matter for them to declare themselves available.
There is no evidence whatsoever Mcgugan can or has any interest whatsoever in playing for Ireland so this childish fantasising doesnt have any real relevance to Irish football anyway.

Livehead, who started this thread by saying McGugan has an Irish father, is based in Nottingham, and played semi pro in the area, and while I'm not suggesting his word on it is law, he has been accurate about Leon Best and his Irishness in the past.

His agent will most likely be guiding him toward England, even if he does qualify for us, as the agent will stand to make more money that way. Look at what Rooneys agents nearly did recently, was that about football? They are all the same.

But yes, I take your point that he hasnt expressed any desire to play for us publicly, again that does not mean he wouldnt want to, look at the Ciaran Clarke scenario.

And what you dismiss as childish fantacising is actually active FAI policy at present, so you could argue a degree of relevance, in my opinion.

[gastric]

Livehead, who started this thread by saying McGugan has an Irish father, is based in Nottingham, and played semi pro in the area, and while I'm not suggesting his word on it is law, he has been accurate about Leon Best and his Irishness in the past.

His agent will most likely be guiding him toward England, even if he does qualify for us, as the agent will stand to make more money that way. Look at what Rooneys agents nearly did recently, was that about football? They are all the same.

But yes, I take your point that he hasnt expressed any desire to play for us publicly, again that does not mean he wouldnt want to, look at the Ciaran Clarke scenario.

And what you dismiss as childish fantacising is actually active FAI policy at present, so you could argue a degree of relevance, in my opinion.

Thanks Crafty for your educated post. It shows an understanding of our situation unlike the previous contributor.

[Adrock]

Livehead, who started this thread by saying McGugan has an Irish father, is based in Nottingham, and played semi pro in the area, and while I'm not suggesting his word on it is law, he has been accurate about Leon Best and his Irishness in the past.

His agent will most likely be guiding him toward England, even if he does qualify for us, as the agent will stand to make more money that way. Look at what Rooneys agents nearly did recently, was that about football? They are all the same.

But yes, I take your point that he hasnt expressed any desire to play for us publicly, again that does not mean he wouldnt want to, look at the Ciaran Clarke scenario.

And what you dismiss as childish fantacising is actually active FAI policy at present, so you could argue a degree of relevance, in my opinion.
If his father was Irish though why has he got a scottish surname? If there is an Irish connection it is likely to come from the northeaterly part of our Ireland which isn't particularly known for its affinity to the Irish republic. Leon Best was a cinch as he had been playing for Irish teams since the age of 15 and was very vocal about his Irish heritage. As for the money aspect of it, you could surely earn more from the 30 caps you could win for Ireland before your first England cap (especially given our curent midfield) and most the attention and apparent Premiership interest in St Ledger can only have come from his Irish international exploits rather than his mediocre club performances.
Anyway I think if there was a genuine likelihood or possibility even of Mcgugan representing us, with the FAI's recruitment strategy it is likely to come to our attention pretty soon, if it hadn't done already. Until there is any word from the man himself or at least a repectable newspaper on the subject it is just idle bartalk, like all the nonsense surrounding Kevin Nolan all these years who was never actually eligible to play for us anyway.

[AlaskaFox]

If his father was Irish though why has he got a scottish surname?

Why couldn't his father be called Ramon Antonio Gerado Estevez and still be Irish? His surname is irrelevant.

[Charlie Darwin]

There are dozens of Scottish names that are popular in this country. McDonald is the obvious one. There has been 500 years of migration around Ireland since the plantations, you know.

[Adrock]

Could be but if there was a Lewis Gerado Estevez playing for Shamrock Rovers for instance I would tend towards the presumption he had hispanic ancestry on his father's side in the absence of any evidence whatsoever to the contrary, though of course his father could have been from Kazakhstan

[Charlie Darwin]

Well nobody's saying he doesn't have Scottish ancestry. And looking up the name it is of Irish origin in any case.

[Adrock]

There are dozens of Scottish names that are popular in this country. McDonald is the obvious one. There has been 500 years of migration around Ireland since the plantations, you know.

Tell me about it........... all my ancestors are scottish or english looking back far enough as my own name testifies but if I heard there was another gent on the island with my name I would judge it 10 times more likely demographically they were from the queen's country than this side of the border, having nothing else to go on

[Charlie Darwin]

Well which side was Barry McGuigan from?

[Adrock]

Well nobody's saying he doesn't have Scottish ancestry. And looking up the name it is of Irish origin in any case.

No Mcguigan is gaelic - and hence Irish in its uncorrupted form , Mcgugan is an anglisisation suggesting scottish or Norterhn Irish origin and making it unlikely, though not impossible that the holder could be of southern Irish origin, same as any english or scottish footballer's parents may be Irish but with no facts to back it up it is a hypothetical and could justify starting a thread on any pro footballer in England or Scotland who has not yet been capped competitively , which may be the way this board is going.

[Charlie Darwin]

It could be an Anglicisation or an organic variation. There's no way to tell which. And Anglicisation happened as much inside Ireland as it did abroad - more so probably.

[tommy_c12000]

Just been through the Notts Forest forum quite thoroughly. No mention of any Irish ancestry. But interestingly there was a post mentioning that he has "threatened" to declare for Trinidad & Tobago in the past. Why hasn't he also "threatened" to declare for Ireland if his father is Irish?! He will probably bide his time for another while yet (in the hope of an England call up - Look at Jay Bothroyd) before making any decision.

Last post on this page:

http://www.forestforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=22568

[tricky_colour]

View from the Guardian

The lowdown
The young midfielder had a tough time at the City Ground last season – overweight and out of favour with Billy Davies he made only eight starts – but since losing three kilos over the summer he's turned his fortunes around. "I realised I had to do something to get fitter," he said earlier this month. "I know the gaffer won't cut me any slack, but while I'm scoring goals it makes it difficult to drop me." A wonder goal yesterday can only help his cause.


View from the terrace
We love Lewis, but he doesn't half drive us mad sometimes. Undoubtedly talented, last season we all worried that he was wasting his ability as his role reduced to that of an impact sub, and as the season went on he looked, well, a bit fat. There have been two developments this season: Lewis has lost rather a lot of weight. Also, Billy Davies is finally playing him in his natural position just behind the centre-forward. And just look at his goals this season – this boy doesn't score tap-ins!


He is certainly an exciting prospect.
Could swop dieting tips with Andy Reid, who incidently also played for Forest.

The figure mentioned for clubs interesting him are about £3 million, Forest would be mad to accept such an offer, especially as they are now in a play off position.
If McGugan keeps scoring they may well be in an automatic promotion spot by the end of the season.

[shakermaker1982]

He is a talent but I'm not sure if he's Trap's kind of player. He's got bags of ability and when on top form he can look a million dollars but he isn't suited for just shielding the back 4 and passing sideways or back to Shay Given so I doubt the Trap would call him up.

[Junior]

To be fair, neither is McGeady, Duff, Robbie, so if he's a wide midfielder or in the hole (not that we play anyone there other than when Robbie drops deep) he could have a look in. Not all 11 players in Traps side are defensive.

[shakermaker1982]

To be fair, neither is McGeady, Duff, Robbie, so if he's a wide midfielder or in the hole (not that we play anyone there other than when Robbie drops deep) he could have a look in. Not all 11 players in Traps side are defensive.

You could only play him in central mf or as a number 10. he's not a wide man. So unless the Trap tries out 4-5-1, McGugan (if he declared for us) would be vying for a central midfield place. I cannot see the manager ever trusting anybody in the middle of the park with that many attacking tendencies.

To be fair to Duff, Keane and Doyle they all track back and press the opposition when they can. This isn't a strength of Lewis.

[Adrock]

Well which side was Barry McGuigan from?
The Monaghan side I think. Anyway definitely a fenian or else he's be Barry Mcgugan!

[SkStu]

McGuigan was from Clones in Monaghan.

Didnt stop BBC describing him as a british boxer just after he won the title and irish just after he lost it.

[Junior]

'Barry the Brit' as he was affectionately known. Christened 'Finbarr Patrick McGuigan'

He took out British citizenship so that he could fight for British titles (so wiki says). I have vague memories of him coming out behind a UJ or wearing UJ shorts or something - perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me though.

Completely off topic - apologies.

[EalingGreen]

McGuigan was from Clones in Monaghan.

Didnt stop BBC describing him as a british boxer just after he won the title and irish just after he lost it.Link?

Anyhow, the wee man himself didn't have a political/sectarian/Nationalistic bone in his body - quite the contrary, in fact. Which partly explains his overwhelming popularity in Unionist parts of NI.

Sadly, however, I am led to believe that his willingness to box for NI in the Commonwealths, or for a British title etc, meant that "Barry the Brit" occasionally got abuse from Nationalist circles in NI. The fact that he was also proud to box for Ireland etc, did not protect him.

P.S. On the surname thing, when Barry's father Pat sang for Ireland in Eurovision, I think he used the stage name "McGeechan"?

[EalingGreen]

'Barry the Brit' as he was affectionately known. Christened 'Finbarr Patrick McGuigan'

He took out British citizenship so that he could fight for British titles (so wiki says). I have vague memories of him coming out behind a UJ or wearing UJ shorts or something - perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me though.

Completely off topic - apologies.Barry will never have worn UJ shorts - to identify with one tradition in ireland like that would have been anathema to him.

As "British" Champion, he might conceivably have stepped out behind a UJ, however, just as his opponent will have entered the ring behind a Stars and Stripes or the flag of Panama etc - it's often part of the razzamatazz which surrounds such contests.