George Best "Merge both the national teams"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...sh/4374631.stm

George Best wants football authorities north and south of the Ireland border to create a unified national team.
The former Northern Ireland star, 58, believes a united Irish side could be a force if they pooled their resources.

He told BBC Radio Five Live: "At any given time, both the Republic and Northern Ireland have had some great world-class players.

"I just believe in trying something. If it doesn't work, at least you've tried. I just hope it happens in my lifetime."

The move would be politically controversial and may face Fifa opposition, given that both nations have their own unique identities.

It would inevitably also be a thorny issue for both the Northern Ireland FA and the Football Association of Ireland, which might be required to merge in order for the unified team to become a reality.


... No chance!!

& whatever about past players, there's not many of their first 11 that would even make the irish squad...

Northern Ireland squad - goalkeepers: R Carroll (Manchester United), Maik Taylor (Birmingham City).

Defenders: M Williams (Rushden and Diamonds), S Craigan (Motherwell), C Murdock (Crewe), A Hughes (Newcastle), M Clyde (Wolves), C Baird (Southampton), T Capaldi (Plymouth), G McCartney (Sunderland).

Midfielders: D Johnson (Birmingham City), J Whitley (Sunderland), T Doherty (Bristol City), C Brunt (Sheffield Wednesday), S Davis (Aston Villa), K Gillespie (Leicester), P Mulryne (Norwich).

Forwards: S Jones (Crewe), S Elliott (Hull), A Smith (Preston), A Kirk (Northampton Town), D Healy (Leeds), W Feeney (Stockport).

-- There's maybe 3 you'd consider out of that bunch...

Carroll would be at best 3rd choice behind Given and Kenny

I'd have Maik Taylor in though, good second choice keeper to have.

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Originally Posted by loscherland

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... No chance!!

& whatever about past players, there's not many of their first 11 that would even make the irish squad...

Northern Ireland squad - goalkeepers: R Carroll (Manchester United), Maik Taylor (Birmingham City).

Defenders: M Williams (Rushden and Diamonds), S Craigan (Motherwell), C Murdock (Crewe), A Hughes (Newcastle), M Clyde (Wolves), C Baird (Southampton), T Capaldi (Plymouth), G McCartney (Sunderland).

Midfielders: D Johnson (Birmingham City), J Whitley (Sunderland), T Doherty (Bristol City), C Brunt (Sheffield Wednesday), S Davis (Aston Villa), K Gillespie (Leicester), P Mulryne (Norwich).

Forwards: S Jones (Crewe), S Elliott (Hull), A Smith (Preston), A Kirk (Northampton Town), D Healy (Leeds), W Feeney (Stockport).

-- There's maybe 3 you'd consider out of that bunch...

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I think there would be a lot more than 3 that would get a look in.
Carroll instead of Kenny/Murphy
Taylor instead of Kenny/Murphy
Hughes instead of Doherty
MacCartney instead of Maybury
Johnson instead of A. Quinn/Miller (right sided winger + full back)
Gillespie instead of Barrett/Miller (a natural right winger)
Healy instead of Macken/Connolly/Elliott

Yeah, like that really happen.

A few points........

1). They have no players at the moment that would make our squad let alone our team

2). Where do we play? Dublin or Belfast?

3). What flag & anthem would be used?

4). IMO what would happen out of this is Northern Ireland will efectively become extinct, particulary if it follows the same lines as rugby. i.e. plays in Dublin, uses Irish tricolour and Irish Anthem. So the Republic of Ireland will then becoem Ireland.


Hey that's not a bad idea at all George - :)

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Originally Posted by Glapots

Yeah, like that really happen.

A few points........

1). They have no players at the moment that would make our squad let alone our team

2). Where do we play? Dublin or Belfast?

3). What flag & anthem would be used?

4). IMO what would happen out of this is Northern Ireland will efectively become extinct, particulary if it follows the same lines as rugby. i.e. plays in Dublin, uses Irish tricolour and Irish Anthem. So the Republic of Ireland will then becoem Ireland.


Hey that's not a bad idea at all George - :)

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Firstly, they have plenty of players that would make the squad.

Secondly, the rugby lads have no problem playing in Dublin. It's possible that Belfast will have a better stadium (Maze prison site) before Landsdowne is redeveloped.

Thirdly, Flag and Anthem don't seem to be a problem for Rugby.

Finally, Ulster/Northern Ireland still have a strong identity in Rugby and have had over the years a strong representation on the Rugby squad. They've hit a lean spell at the moment but that will changed over the next few years.

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Carroll instead of Kenny/Murphy

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The same Carroll that plays for united :rolleyes:

I wouldnt want a United Ireland team. Games would have to be played outside Dublin. We would loose our identity, flag, national anthem.

ROI have a great team so why loose it just for 2 players ?

[QUOTE=colster]Firstly, they have plenty of players that would make the squad.

Secondly, the rugby lads have no problem playing in Dublin. It's possible that Belfast will have a better stadium (Maze prison site) before Landsdowne is redeveloped.

Thirdly, Flag and Anthem don't seem to be a problem for Rugby.

Finally, Ulster/Northern Ireland still have a strong identity in Rugby and have had over the years a strong representation on the Rugby squad. They've hit a lean spell at the moment but that will changed over the next few years.[/QU


It's different when it comes to football though. Can you imagine the currenty Northern Ireland supporters supporting an united Ireland team under the same conditions as the rugby setup? No chance

No way...

We are not loosing Amhran na bhFiann again :mad:

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Originally Posted by thejollyrodger

The same Carroll that plays for united :rolleyes:

I wouldnt want a United Ireland team. Games would have to be played outside Dublin. We would loose our identity, flag, national anthem.

ROI have a great team so why loose it just for 2 players ?

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Carroll may have made a few mistakes for United but he's played regularly in Europe and Premiership which is more than Kenny or Murphy. N.Ireland would have a lot more than 2 players in the combined squad.

The flag and anthem issue would have to be fudged in the same way it is for the Rugby.

Would Neil Lennon still have got the threats to his family though, if it were a United Ireland team he had been playing for?

There are rules about Great Britain ever playing as a united team, so might there not be similar problems with a part of GB playing with a nominal foreign power? If it were allowed, then why couldn't any other country decide to amalgamte to field a stronger side?

Oh yes, I'll be cheering Nord Iron over England by the way. :)

[QUOTE=Glapots]

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Originally Posted by colster

Firstly, they have plenty of players that would make the squad.

Secondly, the rugby lads have no problem playing in Dublin. It's possible that Belfast will have a better stadium (Maze prison site) before Landsdowne is redeveloped.

Thirdly, Flag and Anthem don't seem to be a problem for Rugby.

Finally, Ulster/Northern Ireland still have a strong identity in Rugby and have had over the years a strong representation on the Rugby squad. They've hit a lean spell at the moment but that will changed over the next few years.[/QU


It's different when it comes to football though. Can you imagine the currenty Northern Ireland supporters supporting an united Ireland team under the same conditions as the rugby setup? No chance

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Give us a reason why it wouldn't work? don't just dismiss it out of habd without any reason for it. Incidentally I remember a DUP councillor playing for a combined Irish rugby team in the 80/90s.

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Originally Posted by colster

Carroll may have made a few mistakes for United but he's played regularly in Europe and Premiership which is more than Kenny or Murphy. N.Ireland would have a lot more than 2 players in the combined squad.

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And just look at Carrolls performances in Europe, hence why he's getting the boot at united. No big club would want anything to do with him.

Kenny would DEFINITELY stay 2nd choice. Kenny is also a regular 1st team player, unlike Carroll

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Originally Posted by SAINTS4EVER

And just look at Carrolls performances in Europe, hence why he's getting the boot at united. No big club would want anything to do with him.

Kenny would DEFINITELY stay 2nd choice. Kenny is also a regular 1st team player, unlike Carroll

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It's a marginal decision between Carroll + Kenny.
I still think that N.I would get 6/7 into a combined squad.
Hughes/MacCartney would play instead of O'Shea as left back in the first team.

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Originally Posted by colster

Give us a reason why it wouldn't work? don't just dismiss it out of habd without any reason for it. Incidentally I remember a DUP councillor playing for a combined Irish rugby team in the 80/90s.

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You can't compare the rugby situation to football. Rugby is an elitist sport in Ireland.

Exactly. Carroll spills goals. I would have paddy kenny over him any day. Carroll suffers from a lack of confidence or something. I would never have Carroll in goals for Ireland.

The other 2 players mentioned , S Davis, A Hughes might get in the squad but I couldnt see them starting in the first 11.

Who wants Ireland to have to play their games in Winsor Park ? Not me thats for sure. I dont like the look of the new stadium being built in the maze either. Its in the middle of nowhere and the chances of getting tickets there is worse than lansdowne.

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Originally Posted by Glapots

You can't compare the rugby situation to football. Rugby is an elitist sport in Ireland.

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Elitist sport. Are you mad? The Irish rugby matches regularly sell out. Heinken cup matches regularly sell out. The Television audience for both are pretty high too.
More people attend the average Provincial rugby game than the average EL game.
So tell me which is the Elitist sport?

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Originally Posted by thejollyrodger

Exactly. Carroll spills goals. I would have paddy kenny over him any day. Carroll suffers from a lack of confidence or something. I would never have Carroll in goals for Ireland.

The other 2 players mentioned , S Davis, A Hughes might get in the squad but I couldnt see them starting in the first 11.

Who wants Ireland to have to play their games in Winsor Park ? Not me thats for sure. I dont like the look of the new stadium being built in the maze either. Its in the middle of nowhere and the chances of getting tickets there is worse than lansdowne.

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I think Taylor, Hughes, MacCartney, Johnson, Gillespie and Healy would make the combined squad ahead of Murphy, Maybury, Doherty, Quinn, Miller and Elliott.
Davis would also be an option.

Where they would play is not an issue. The fans have no problem travelling to games.

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Originally Posted by colster

Elitist sport. Are you mad? The Irish rugby matches regularly sell out. Heinken cup matches regularly sell out. The Television audience for both are pretty high too.
More people attend the average Provincial rugby game than the average EL game.
So tell me which is the Elitist sport?

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Well it is in Dublin anyway, if there was perhaps more 'howya's' like Robbie Keane playing rugby instead of 'ya heads' like Brian 'mommy's boy' O'Driscoll well then we could have the 6 nations. Take a reality check of course it's elitist

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Originally Posted by colster

Thirdly, Flag and Anthem don't seem to be a problem for Rugby.

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It is, that's why we had to have Phil Coulter write 'Irelands Call'.

If an Irish Rugby international took place in Ravenhill, the Union Jack would fly, and God save the Queen would be played, there are people down here that would complain if that was the situation with an All-Ireland team playing in Windsor Park.