Eligibility Rules, Okay

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Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks

Even if eligible, calling up the likes of Jon Flanagan, Will Buckley or Richard Stearman begs the question of whose place in the team/squad they would be taking and would they be satisfied not being a guaranteed starter; as the likes of Mark Noble and Jamie O'Hara patently weren't.

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Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks

I must qualify that O'Hara is on record in saying that he is aware and proud of his Irish heritage but identifies as English and doesn't want to take the place of someone who is Irish.

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So, re O'Hara, which is it ?

Really amuses me how people feel the need to trawl the site to try and catch me in a lie or a contradiction over something inconsequential as the precise reason a League One player doesn't want to play for Ireland.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,195...245325,00.html

http://www.joe.ie/football/football-...ish-after-all/

I may have been hard on O'Hara in the first quoted post but my opinion - and just my opinion - he would play for Ireland if he was guaranteed starts but his heart clearly isn't in it and like Davies, his frankness is refreshing.

I didn't trawl much indeed, I just remembered you saying it as I was involved in that discussion at the time. And for a player so inconsequential, it is you, and not I who has now brought him up. Twice.

I am glad you are amused, I'm amused too, almost as much as when you flit between aggressor and victim depending on how discussions develop.

Why no mention of McManaman at Wigan or Bamford, out of interest ?

But are Bamford/McManaman even remotely interested/likely...
Because if on a par with the likes of Kevin Nolan/Mark Noble, is there even much point discussing...

It amuses me how TOWK still doesn't know what "begs the question" really means, especially as he's a master of sophistry :)

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Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks

I really would love to know where these players McAteer is alluding to are hiding.

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I'd imagine someone stuck a microphone to McAteer's mouth and he spouted the generic stock "expert/ex-player opinion" on the "granny rule".

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Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks

I may have been hard on O'Hara in the first quoted post but my opinion - and just my opinion - he would play for Ireland if he was guaranteed starts but his heart clearly isn't in it and like Davies, his frankness is refreshing.

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Aren't you contradicting yourself again there though? Previously, you'd said O'Hara "identifies as English and doesn't want to take the place of someone who is Irish". He'd be taking the potential place of someone else if he was guaranteed starts, but you say he would play for us under those circumstances? True, he's fairly inconsequential, but both conclusions can't be correct; it's indicative of your habit of jumping to flimsy conclusions seemingly based on whim or flighty preference rather than solid evidence.

Eamon (TOWK) Dunphy

Is it really you ? or has Eamon got himself a rival in the popularity stakes

.....

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Originally Posted by ArdeeBhoy

But are Bamford/McManaman even remotely interested/likely...
Because if on a par with the likes of Kevin Nolan/Mark Noble, is there even much point discussing...

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There is little or no value discussing any number of the players on the post I was responding to, in terms of either being interested or being good enough, but in a contribution which saw fit to mention Lonergan, Bunn, Tierny and the likes, I thought it strange to omit two of the better, younger 'possibles', was all AB.

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Originally Posted by CraftyToePoke

There is little or no value discussing any number of the players on the post I was responding to, in terms of either being interested or being good enough, but in a contribution which saw fit to mention Lonergan, Bunn, Tierny and the likes, I thought it strange to omit two of the better, younger 'possibles', was all AB.

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It's a fair point, Crafty.

Bamford played once for the U18's when he was at Nottingham Forest. He is now owned by Chelsea, playing for the England U21's and is firing in the goals for Derby. It's pointless talking about him. Maybe he will become relevant to this discussion again when he is in his mid to late twenties and depending on his career trajectory. McManaman is being discussed as a possible for the England WC squad so, again, pointless and irrelevant to the discussion.

But you are right about Lonergan, Bunn and Tierney. They are not very good options but it's hard to flesh out a list of tenable options from the Granny rule pool. I shouldn't have bothered naming Redmond either because he is too young, has too much potential, too tenuous and is too disinterested to be a realistic option either.

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Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks

It's a fair point, Crafty.

Bamford played once for the U18's when he was at Nottingham Forest. He is now owned by Chelsea, playing for the England U21's and is firing in the goals for Derby. It's pointless talking about him. Maybe he will become relevant to this discussion again when he is in his mid to late twenties and depending on his career trajectory. McManaman is being discussed as a possible for the England WC squad so, again, pointless and irrelevant to the discussion.

But you are right about Lonergan, Bunn and Tierney. They are not very good options but it's hard to flesh out a list of tenable options from the Granny rule pool. I shouldn't have bothered naming Redmond either because he is too young, has too much potential, too tenuous and is too disinterested to be a realistic option either.

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And where did you get your information on Redmond? Where has he stated he is disinterested or interested, or are these comments from 'The World according to TOWK.'

Mainly the fact that he is playing for England U21's and hasn't once confirmed his alleged eligibility.

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Originally Posted by geysir

Be surprised then:) It's (hypothetically) unprecedented.
Where you have a new FIFA member from a new breakaway region/country, whose players are not playing with the 'mother' FA, but with other countries in Europe.
And hypothetically (on being accepted as full member), Kosovo are looking for an amnesty for those capped players.

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so, are there many good Crimean footballers who have played for Ukraine?

Crimea's accession to Russia is even less likely to be recognised by FIFA or UEFA than Kosovo's independence.

Hard to see anything wrong with Davies' comments. He's not attempting to plant seeds in future by ingratiating people and talking about his proud Irish roots or anything. I hope he gets his England cap - he's surely not much worse than their alternatives.

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Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks

Mainly the fact that he is playing for England U21's and hasn't once confirmed his alleged eligibility.

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So your comments are opinion rather than facts. Clarke captained the English U20s and now plays for us. I feel you need to justify your opinions more as they could be well off the mark.

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Originally Posted by gastric

So your comments are opinion rather than facts. Clarke captained the English U20s and now plays for us. I feel you need to justify your opinions more as they could be well off the mark.

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Redmond is an current England U21 International and hasn't declared his eligibility; that much is true.

There was a gap of two and a half years between Clark's last match at any level for England and his first call up for Ireland. He also - crucially - confirmed his eligibility and interest in playing for the country; and promptly at that. I think he has two Irish parents. I think he is more attached to the country than Redmond is but that is just my instinct.

I'd agree with that. I think Clark's mum is from Leitrim, his dad born in Scotland to a Leitrim family. Something like that anyway.

Not far wrong. Clark's paternal side of the family are from Donegal. :)

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Originally Posted by Donegal Democrat

Although London born, Clark is the grandson of Vera Clark, originally from Moyle Hill in Milford, but presently living in Manorcunningham. Ciaran's father Michael, although born in Edinburgh when his family were working in Scotland for a time, is a former student of Drummond National School in Ballyare and played for Milford United under Fr Michael Herrity as a teenager.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

so, are there many good Crimean footballers who have played for Ukraine?

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'They (Russia) can take part of our land, but they can't take our internationally capped footballers' :)