Richardson is tied to England. He has caps in competitive gamesQuote:
Originally Posted by SunderlandBohs
Printable View
Richardson is tied to England. He has caps in competitive gamesQuote:
Originally Posted by SunderlandBohs
i personally think that whatever improves our situation is a good thing. however, if u watch the sky sports ad for u21 champs, there is a clip of mark noble crying when England got knocked out, also Anton missing the crucial penalty.
I think a player should know by u21 level where he wants to be. But i am also in favour of a player without a distinguished u21 career being able to declare at older age.
Kevin Nolan, no way is he needed. O Hara, maybe. Ferdinand, no addition. But Barry Maguire is interesting, dutch born and bred of irish parents. He was included at u21 level, and opted out.
USA have had players lately that could declare for us, so maybe we'll see some of these in u19-u21's and then graduate to seniors?
When Clinton Morrison started, didnt he played b team/u21 matches first? Before getting into squad?
Any dual international loyalties amongst us here?
Iceland ladies would always get my loyal support and first preference :)
http://www.mbl.is/frimg/4/82/482208A.jpg
I'm a dual citizen (Irish and Canadian).Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
I love both countries and would be proud to represent either. If I was a world-class player I'd hold out for Ireland, but if I was just an average player that would get 1 or 2 caps with Ireland, I would play with Canada as I could do more for them.
Unfortunately I'm totally sh1t at football. :D
Interesting change. Personally I think it should go on how Irish the player "feels". Subjective to be sure but look at it this way, as good as a player might be a non-Irish player (in thought and mind) could be very disruptive to a squad. As such, any benefits he brings could be off-set by the mercenary baggage that follows. That could have a knock-on effect on other players.
Someone like Nolan clearly doesn't want to play for Ireland. Therefore, why risk the potential team poison for a rather questionable benefit?
my unborn son will be able to play for Ireland, Canada or Croatia. He will play for Ireland though or i will chop his legs off. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by irishfan86
Jonathan de Guzmán and his brother Christian declared for 2 different countries. Jonathan plays for Canada and his brother who has been with Feyenoord since he was a kid got his Dutch passport and has since played for the U21s.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fizzer
Nolan is a clown. I remember he was even talking about trying and declaring for the Dutch team. Ill try and find the link.
here it is... http://www.manchestereveningnews.co....to_nolan_.html
"It's funny because I was at a soccer school in the summer in Spain and while we were having a question and answer session with the kids, my little cousin asked me why I hadn't been asked to play for Holland, obviously he's got a bit of Dutch in him, and why everyone's asking whether I can play for Holland. It just made me laugh."
The most likely outcome is that Nolan will try his luck with the Irish.
He added: "Not being in Europe with Bolton this year it could be one of those things where I could step into the international scene with Ireland. That's if Steve Staunton wants to pick me.
The lad is a joke, plain and simple as well as being a ****e footballer.
Well I could have, grandparents on my mums side were Ukrainian Jews. So I could play for Israel.:rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
:rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Den Perry
Noble has done nothing at all to irk me! In fact, I can safely say that I hold no strong feelings towards Mark Noble, be they positive or negative. Why would I, ffs?
As for the rest of your post...
You have well and truly missed my point...read all my posts on this issue and then maybe come back to me.
And I love Ray Houghton...and he wanted to play for us! Always read his interviews with great interest.
Lads,
One more thing:
Lets maybe look at this from a players point of view, and not just that of a supporter:
Take for example:
You are an Irish lad, love your country and love the game, it has always been your ambition to play for your country....you are doing well in your club career and finally it looks like you may get the chance of a lifetime and break into the senior squad...
Until...
An English lad, ala Morrison (I won't hear any defence of him, especially after how long it took him to declare for us) decides he wants to use his dubious connections (in previous cases such a connection has often been a dead grandparent that the player in question never even met) and throw his lot in with the Irish...
Hardly fair is it?
There are lads out there that really, really want to play for the country...and for the right reasons.
Hiring players who's hearts are not in the right place is not fair on the Irish lads who want to play for Ireland.
"decides he wants to use his dubious connections (in previous cases such a connection has often been a dead grandparent that the player in question never even met) and throw his lot in with the Irish..."
Jamie McCarthy?
I always got the feeling he was a little bitter about not being picked by Scotland. More than most to be honest.Quote:
Originally Posted by joema
Agree with your general point though. No problem with the Kilbanes, Carsleys, Kellys of this world, I simply can't identify with the Townsends, Aldridges and Morrisons of this world.
Can we please stop talking about dead grannies! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by joema
I'm Irish and I'm really keen to play foor Ireland, for all the right reasons, unfortunately though I'm not good enough and I accept that there are better players as eligible for Ireland as I am who are going to be picked ahead of me.Quote:
Originally Posted by joema
Your argument is stupid, if these English born lads qualify for a passport than they have as much right to play as anyone born in Ireland...thats just a fact
You look at almost any national side out there and you will see players like these involved.
England has Hargreaves, Italy has Camoranesi, Germany has a couple of Polish forwards, and half of the rest of the world have naturalized Brazilians in their squads.
It's one thing sticking to your principles, but in my view we must use FIFA eligibility rules to make our team the best it can be.
I'd rather a team with 9 out of the starting players "truly Irish" (by whatever bizarre definition you want to choose) play in a major tournament, than see an all "purebred" Irish side just miss out because of some twisted sense of morality.
I don't see any real difference between being smart with the rules off the pitch and being smart with the rules on the pitch.
Number of direct quotes from Nolan saying he was interested in pursuing the Dutch option in the article = 0Quote:
Originally Posted by dodgycanadian
I quite like Clinton, and I'd have him back in the squad (not necessarily the starting XI, just the squad) in a minute. Always gave his all for the jersey when he played.Quote:
Originally Posted by joema
And IIRC his grandmother was present at a press conference he had in Dublin.
I've backed up Morrison and I'll do it again. He always worked his socks off for us, and I remember in our away draw with France 0-0 during the Kerr era when he got injured, and looked absolutely heartbroken coming off the field.
In addition, I've heard of him attending 'B' and underage internationals to support his potential international teammates while he was involved with the senior side, which I thought was really cool, and after that I knew I'd never doubt his commitment.
I dunno.. I've heard Townsend pull people up over his Irishness on UTVQuote:
Originally Posted by Dodge
The Irishness that he discovered in his mid 20s? Or the Irishness that requested the team wear black armbands for Princess Di?Quote:
Originally Posted by dr_peepee
You are wrong about Houghton, his first love was always Scotland. remember reading it in Shoot all those years ago!! lolQuote:
Originally Posted by joema
All the team I believe were making their living in England at the time. I can understand but don't necessarily agree with the gesture.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodge
If you think that's bad, I was in school at the time of her death. The dance teacher had this obsession with Princess Di, and every year on the anniversary of her death she would send out her dance class to do a performance to Elton John's rendition of "Candle in the Wind."Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodge
Three ****ing years later and I'm thinking, get over it woman!
This is true. I was at the B game VS Scotland in Dalymount a few years ago, and Clinton was there. McGeady and Duff came along as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by irishfan86
i remember reading somewhere as well that clinton married an irish girl and has a son who he called cian. genuine paddy now... he tried very hard in the green as well
we've had these type of players throughout the last quarter century, particularly during our most successful period under jack.
if we get a few extra quality players in using this rule and it helps take us to a higher level then i think we'll all be happy regardless of whether they are first, second or third generation Irish.
reality is that players like kilbane are the rarity among the foreign born contingent. most would have rather played for the country of their birth if they had thought they would get the opportunity. I would include aldridge, sheedy, houghton, morrison, mcateer, babb, townsend, lawrenson etc.. in this bracket. nobody questioned their credentials when they brought us to 3 major tournaments in 6 years? if we are going to be that parochial about things why dont we ship out trap and only give the managers job to a 'proper paddy' too.
doesnt bother me at all. furthermore, if a few foreign-born players can come in and help us to be successful at a world cup or euros then it will encourage more youngsters in Ireland to take up the sport and hopefully help develop the type of quality players domestically that we need to compete at international level in the longrun
:rolleyes::rolleyes:You stated that you would not be happy with Nolan, Noble or O'Hara playing for Ireland. While I understand that Nolan sat on the fence and O'Hara gave negative vibes, I merely asked what had Noble done or said that made you feel this wayQuote:
Originally Posted by joema
And for the rest of my post? FFS I replied to your one single post. Lads, I think we have to read all Joema's posts before we are entitled to reply
Shock, he loved the country into which he was born.Quote:
Originally Posted by Den Perry
And now he has 2 loves and all the better for it.
A second national identity can also be built upon or even acquired.
What one person regards as Irish or being Irish, is their subjective opinion.
Nationality rules and regulations are without prejudice towards subjective opinion or sentiment.
A dual national is one before the age of 21 just he as he is the same after 21.
No one is forcing a federation to chose an older player who has not been a part of the set up from an early age.
The question is, will this be abused to the detriment of the game?
In that case, FIFA can always add another regulation to tighten it up :)
If you check the links on the other section, duff at the end of the bulgaria game, made a point and came over to this fella in a wheelchair near the irish section. He grabbed yer mans hand and shook it well not shook it but you know the way you clinch yer hadn with someone!!:D He then took off his jersey and kissed the badge i think and gave it to the lad win the wheelchair. Thought that was the nicest thing i have seen in a long time by an irish player, ill still remember him though checking in in bratislava behind me walking normal and then when he gets to the lounge and starts limping with all teh irish fans around ;DQuote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
I remember as a kid seeing Houghton on some kind of tribute show to someone or other on Kenny Live, and when asked about how he came to play for Ireland, replied, "well, it was always my dream to play for Scotland, but ......." and I forgot the rest after that as I lost all respect for the man. I can't understand how any Irish fan wouldn't be embarrassed by that statement. Even the current soccer republic ad on tv says you just need an Irish greyhound or something along those lines to play for Ireland. If that's the reputation we have in this country, imagine what it's like outside.
A lot of people on here seem to want to support a successful team at all costs, not a representative team of this country. I can't relate to this at all. How would you feel if we just threw a load of money at some world class footballers to buy them a passport, like some Middle East countries have done with athletes?
A few links in todays press about it:
http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...e-1766303.html
http://www.examiner.ie/sport/cunning...its-93664.html
The one from the 'Indo' looks at players that could play
According to Daniel McDonnell, in the Indo piece which DeckyDee quoted:Quote:
Originally Posted by Den Perry
"[Noble is] Another grandparent link who holidayed here as a child but pretty much no hope of Noble being converted to the cause as Ireland have tried and failed before. The West Ham midfielder is preparing for the European U-21 Championship with England, and is tipped as a certainty to progress to senior international honours"
Coincidentally, Stuart Pearce picked Noble as his Captain in the England U-21 team which beat Azerbaijan U-21's 7-0 last night, in preparation for their trip to the Euro U-21 Finals.
Tbh, with Zola guiding him at WHU, Noble must be a decent bet for a senior England call-up in the next 2 or 3 years, as McDonnell says.
Quote:
Originally Posted by irishfan86
Thanks Irishfan. As a kid, Clinton used to spend some of his summer holidays in Ireland (in Garristown, north county Dublin) and he's talked over the years about trying to play GAA with his cousins. He did take his time declaring finally for us but if you're a young kid with agents and managers putting pressure on you not everyone will have the strength of a Kilbane or a Breen to say no.
The Townsends and Aldridge's may have slightly more tenuous connections but as long as they play with commitment and passion (as they always did) then I have no problem with that as they have got Irish bloodlines. I have second cousins born in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Newcastle and they have been brought up in England but always aware of their Irish background. How can people say they are any less Irish than someone born here just because their parents or grandparents moved away to get a job?
We've already seen that- USA 94 squad.7 of the 22 Irish born. The point for me is that i dont want representing your country to be a p1sstake and us going after failed English rejects. Anton Ferdinand and Kevin Nolan to me is a complete joke-and I still think the same about the likes of Morrisson even if he played with heart-I'll always consider his addition to the Ireland set up as a disgrace.Quote:
Originally Posted by irishfan86
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodge
What was that about requesting black armbands for princess Di?
Nolans only 26 :eek:
Alway thought he was much older....
Houghton was honest enough to state that playing for Scotland was his original goal. I wouldn't knock him for that - as it in no way detracts from the effort, commitment and contribution he made to Irish International Football.Quote:
Originally Posted by misterk
There's the small matter of scoring 2 of the most important goals in Irish Footballing history for a start. He also weighed in with a play off goal as well. The goals he scored only scratch the surface of his playing contribution. He was a massively influential player throughout the Charlton era.
Only a few days after the Hillsborough disaster, a tragedy that traumatised so many, Houghton travelled to Dublin to play against Spain. He crossed the ball for the winner and had a goal chalked off for off side.
I'm proud to say that Ray Houghton represented this country at International Football.
I bet when you found out were St Patrick came from you took it worse than when you found out about Santy!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodge
Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
You are missing my point. I welcome players born in other countries that play for us, and to tell you the truth once they play for Ireland, to me they are Irish. However, I'm discussing Houghton, as Joema gave the impression earlier that he would not welcome Noble, Nolan etc because apparentky thay had stated that England would be their first choice. I then put the example of Houghton to him. To happily accept Houghton and not Noble, for example, smacks of hypocrisy. It doesn't matter that he played brilliantly for us and scored important goals. The fact is he wanted to play for Scotland as his first choice - no differant from what Noble allegedly said re England