Shane Ferguson

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Originally Posted by French Toasht

and Winkie Rea appointed as spokesman for the cause

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Winkie Rea's cause, and that of the one Supporters Club he speaks on behalf of, is against the IFA - in case you didn't pick up on that.

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Originally Posted by French Toasht

Yes and I agree with you, they are entitled to appoint who they wish as spokesperson. But do you not think his particular selection is a bit ill judged? If you look at this from the point of view of an impartial observer, here is a man with a seriously dodgy past taking a human rights case. It really does not lend them too much credibility from a PR point of view.
Now perhaps you will state that certain assembly members may not have a whiter than white past themselves, but does that really lend legitimacy to the view that he should be a good spokesman for the cause?

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The Officers and Members of the 1st Shankill Northern Ireland Supporters Club will not give two flying ones what you or anyone else thinks about their choice of Spokesman.

Rather than be perturbed by your opinion, I expect they'll get on with the excellent community relations work they do, without seeking fame or praise.

In addition, they have regularly provided a warm welcome to football supporters from the ROI in their premises.

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Originally Posted by French Toasht

In essence the point this makes is to suggest that the re-unification of an All Ireland team is not all that dissimilar to suggesting a united Scandinavian team. I think Irish people effectively have a united Irish team currently and do you not envisage massive problems down the line if there was only one team on the island?

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Take your general point about Scandinavia and the crossover of language, but ultimately that's up to them.
And the status of the Ireland team as mentioned, but don't see the massive problems either, you suggest. At least, not longer-term.

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Originally Posted by Gather round

Strangely enough, most people I've met on similar travels aren't at all bemused. They accept that there is variety of different types of political organisation across the continent, and just get on with welcoming the other teams when they arrive to play.

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Ha ha, we must move in different, er, circles. :rolleyes:
I'm sure we can find more than a few people who are bemused....
;)

I think I am being misunderstood on the point about Winkie. I'm not so much stating it will be a key factor in nationalists choosing Ireland or anything, but I'm just saying that if we wanted our EU/IMF bail out re-negotiated, I don't think it would be advisable to send Sean Fitzpatrick to do our bidding.

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Originally Posted by Not Brazil

The Officers and Members of the 1st Shankill Northern Ireland Supporters Club will not give two flying ones what you or anyone else thinks about their choice of Spokesman.

Rather than be perturbed by your opinion, I expect they'll get on with the excellent community relations work they do, without seeking fame or praise.

In addition, they have regularly provided a warm welcome to football supporters from the ROI in their premises.

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Well said! A great club.

They host the guests that Linfield bring in the Setanta cup if I'm not mistaken?

Please keep all "eligibility" discussion here. This thread should be only related to Shane Ferguson and his form.

So the "Northern Irishman" has signed a new 5 year deal...

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Newcastle boss Alan Pardew today tied up the future of one of his most promising prospects as Shane Ferguson signed a new five-year contract.Just days after it was revealed that key midfielder Joey Barton will not be offered an extension, the 19-year-old Northern Irishman has committed his future to the club.
Ferguson, who is thought to be keen to declare for the Republic of Ireland, said: “I’m really happy. I’ve enjoyed this season so much and the new contract has just been the icing on the cake for me.“It’s a great thrill to play for the club and the support I have had from the fans since making my debut really means a lot so I’m just delighted to be with Newcastle for the next five years now."

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http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/soc...297906011.html

North-western Englishman Joey Barton will be disappointed with his lack of a new contract..

“I haven’t made any decision yet and some of the stuff Nigel Worthington has come out and said wasn’t true. That has really annoyed me. He said something about me not talking and ignoring calls from him, and that’s not true either.

“I spoke to him and told him I wanted to wait until the summer before making any decision. I want to have a good think about things and then I’ll make my decision.

“I told him that very early, long before I was even home for the summer break, and then he’s come out and said all this stuff. He’s probably made me out to look bad,” he said.

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“It’s just a hard decision and I’ll have to sit and think about it over the summer. People are jumping the gun and thinking I’ve done it already, but nobody has heard me say anything about this.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...298146697.html

Cheers Nigel!

Wow. Keystone Cops.

Methinks agent Worthington needs to be careful or he'll blow his cover.

all we need now is Trappatoni to get wind of this and call him out on his lack of commitment to international football..... ;)

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Originally Posted by SkStu

all we need now is Trappatoni to get wind of this and call him out on his lack of commitment to international football..... ;)

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Or we could go one step further and get Don Givens to liaise with Ferguson.

Worthington may well have made Ferguson's decision for him. That Irish Times piece by Simon Collins seems to be an abridged version of an article from the Derry Journal.

I thought this paragraph a bit odd though, considering the Journal's target audience:

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Incredibly Ferguson is the third Derry lad plying his trade in the Premiership to find himself at the centre of the controversy but there is still some hope he will decline the invitation from the Republic of Ireland and refuse to switch his allegiance from the North.

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I find it difficult to imagine that there'd be too many in Derry outside of the small minority of NI fans hoping Ferguson will stick with the IFA.

That's a really strange article from the Journal.

You could read that as 'hope (within the IFA) that he will refuse to switch........'

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Originally Posted by Bottle of Tonic

You could read that as 'hope (within the IFA) that he will refuse to switch........'

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I did and I was gonna say that earlier. However its other aspects of the article that make me sceptical that that qualifier of "within the IFA" was ever considered.
It all reads weirdly.

SHANE FERGUSON refuses to be rushed into declaring his international allegiance and has rejected comments made by Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington that the 19-year-old Newcastle United left-sided player has ignored his calls.
The Derry-born player is the latest teenager to become embroiled in an international tug-of-war between the IFA and FAI over recent weeks, and despite reports suggesting he was bound to declare for the Republic, Ferguson yesterday insisted he would take his time before making a decision.
Worthington appeared to have given up on the possibility of keeping the Newcastle starlet in the North, claiming he had made several failed attempts to contact the player.
“The situation with Shane is, I and two other officials from the Irish FA have tried to make contact,” he said. “We have left voicemail messages, text messages and made random calls to Shane. There has been no reply.”
However, Ferguson described those claims as “untrue”, and said he had informed the Northern Ireland boss he wanted time to mull over his decision before pledging his future to either jurisdiction.
Ferguson is concerned Worthington’s public comments would damage his future relationship with Northern supporters, should he decide to opt to represent the North.
Ferguson, who can play on the left side of midfield or in the converted defensive role adopted at Newcastle, suggested that the IFA were “jumping the gun” before he had made a final decision.
“I haven’t made any decision yet and some of the stuff Nigel Worthington has come out and said wasn’t true. That has really annoyed me. He said something about me not talking and ignoring calls from him, and that’s not true either.
“I spoke to him and told him I wanted to wait until the summer before making any decision. I want to have a good think about things and then I’ll make my decision.
“I told him that very early, long before I was even home for the summer break, and then he’s come out and said all this stuff. He’s probably made me out to look bad,” he said.
Whether Worthington’s comments have forced the hand of the teenager remains to be seen, but Ferguson is adamant he will take everything into consideration during his break before making his final decision.
“It’s just a hard decision and I’ll have to sit and think about it over the summer. People are jumping the gun and thinking I’ve done it already, but nobody has heard me say anything about this.”
The eligibility row has soured the relationship between the IFA and FAI following high-profile cases involving other Derry-born players Darron Gibson and Shane Duffy in recent years.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...298146697.html

'The Derry-born player is the latest teenager to become embroiled in an international tug-of-war between the IFA and FAI over recent weeks'

Gross inaccurate description there. We don't need to tug, we just have that natural magnetic attraction.