& there it is. First half hat trick.Quote:
Originally Posted by CraftyToePoke
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& there it is. First half hat trick.Quote:
Originally Posted by CraftyToePoke
March will be interesting
This January transfer window will be too. Must be a few twitchy for goals clubs in the division above about to take panic punts.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Fair point. 19 goals for an average Championship team now. Doesn't have to be division above either I guess - a side looking for a boost in the promotion run-in might fancy a chance too
Anything can happen, remember Wigan dropping 3 million on Davey Connolly one time ? I had a season ticket at Leicester at that time & most fans couldn't stand him, if it wasn't inside the width of the goals and within the penalty area, he wasn't interested. One game a ball visibly held up in mud that was rolling out, and stopped. Connolly looked at it and just didn't move. Took some balls. Three million soon after ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
After losing Ben Brereton Díaz on a free they might feel some pressure to sell if a good fee comes in for Sammie. They got him cheap enough too at €2m.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
You'd have to wonder why Hungary aren't all over him for the euros.
Maybe he's said no already or maybe they want to stick with the lads that got them qualified.
But he must be good enough for their squad
Not in the Blackburn squad today, ill for most of the week (Lancashire Telegraph)
According to John Fallon of the Examiner he has been.Quote:
Originally Posted by Diggs246
Not sure he’d be interested. There would be a language barrier.
I think if England came knocking it might be a different story though
You lost me at "John Fallon"
I'd be surprised if a major finals didn't interest him at 28 years of age & Callum Styles of Barnsley in L1 is doing ok with the language barrier, he's going to the finals with them. I'd also be surprised if Hungary haven't spoken to him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
But as tets says ... John Fallon
Yeah basically what Tets said. Fallon is more often wrong with stuff he reports that might happen. Think Cathal Heffernan to Newcastle was the only things he's been right about lately.
Think if a switch was happening it would have happened already. Hungary have a League One player starting in midfield for them so isn't like Szmodics was a level beneath the standard of players they have until he started scoring goals.
Presumably he would need to go through the process of gaining Hungarian citizenship, which might take a while. Although Orban is a football enthusiast so could probably push it through if it was deemed important enough.
A bit mental that we're in a position that we haven't capped him in the last three years. I know he left a recent squad for personal reasons, but there were plenty of opportunities before that and we capped plenty of League 1 players and bang average lads like Curtis and Hamilton, but somehow not Szmodics.
But probably not worth dragging up the last three years again, we just have to work from where we now are as best we can.
He only got his passport back in March.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
He was called up back in 2021 though?
https://m.independent.ie/sport/socce.../40480359.html
Not necessarily saying you're wrong, as I wouldn't rule out us being badly enough administered that we'd call up an ineligible player to the senior squad, but that would have been a story in itself at the time surely?!
Yeah, there isn't a Kenny blame claim to be had here however you spin it but that wont stop people taking lazy shots like the one two posts above. He was called up soon as we could and chose not to show up once and to go home the next. He paperwork seemed to take an age and if he does decide to go elsewhere, that and the squad no shows and go homes will become much clearer as to why.
Yeah and more recently:Quote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
It was Szmodics’ first call-up since the summer of 2021 when he missed out on the chance of a debut due to a shoulder injury. Since then, there had been some administration issues surrounding the paperwork submitted for his Irish passport, which were resolved earlier this year.
https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.u...ireland-squad/
The bit in bold is a contradiction in itself though surely? Or else we fortuitously avoided an absolutely massive administrative balls up?
The call up in 2021 I'd assume he was either only gonna train or one of the matches (likely Andorra) was gonna be non competitive to allow him play in it. Definitely would have been a massive **** up if he played in those games and then turned out he was ineligible to play.
*laughs in Tony Cascarino*Quote:
Originally Posted by JR89
Cas was always eligible in fairness. Did manage to cast a bit of doubt over it in order to sell his book though! I think I read somewhere that Callum Robinson might have technically been ineligible when he first played for Ireland, but FIFA had cleared the switch so there was no error by the FAI. Aldridge played despite only having Irish great-grandparents, however again that was permissible at the time so it was all above board.
That was a marketing gambit by Cascarino in the UK to help the book sales and his media career ~ ~ And it worked.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
Yes Callum Robinson's switch to us shouldn't have been allowed at the time but FIFA didn't know their own rules or didn't care until Luxembourg highlighted the rule when Ryan Johansson wanted to switch.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
Aldridge qualified through his grandmother, who was from AthloneQuote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
https://www.westmeathindependent.ie/...athlone-roots/
I know, I know. Just having a laugh.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
Funny, it's given as great-grandmother here - https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/spor...c-hero-3380446Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
But that was never the rule, was it?
Not so sure, I read in a few places it was a great grandparent and it was a bit of a grey area that we got away with
Quote:
Originally Posted by JR89
Sorry Im lost, explain relevance to Sammie?
I'm guessing he hasnt shown an interest in switching to Hungary and/or gotten his paperwork sorted out (which is the "on the one hand" criteria)...
The "captain" is obviously the manager as well
It's sounds like good news...I think
I think he has turned them down and they are a bit salty about it to be honest.
Good chance that his Hungarian grandfather was one of the many that fled the country when the Soviets invaded back in the 50s. Possibility that he's unable to sort any official paperwork especially if said grandfather is died.
could be that they've been asked about the article in the Examiner over the weekend and had to put out a statement to put a stop the speculation
Knocks back the claim from Fallon that he'd been offered a place in the squad
This was commonly quoted as being the case, but is incorrect, as explained by Philip Quinn here:Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
https://m.independent.ie/sport/fais-.../26108028.html
Aldridge had already played for Ireland when FIFA formalised the grandparent rule in the mid to late 1980s (previously the player just needed to have a heritage link to the country in order to represent them), so again the FAI were fine in picking Aldo when they did.
I still don't understand how McAteer got a passport with grandparents from the 6 counties.
I understand he could get one now but how did he get one then?
Didn't Alan Kernaghan get a passport cos one of his grandparents were born in the South?
It seems that anyone from the North could claim citizenship after a 1956 law in the Republic, and the GFA just saw the UK recognise that right:Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_..._as_a_republic
Weird as I distinctly remember the Kernaghan story about his Granny being born in the south making him eligible.
It even says it on his wiki page
McAteer's grandfather was born in Co. Down - but held an Irish passport - resulting in McAteer being able to secure the passport.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
Kernaghan's situation is different. Neither he nor his parents weren't born in the North - but he grew up in Bangor. The IFA could have selected him - he did play underage for the North and in all likelihood he would have played for the North at senior level - but the IFA had their own policy the time of not picking players who weren't born in the North and whose parents weren't born in the North.
Tony Cascarino qualified based on the fact that his grandfather was Irish born - but later claimed that because his mother was adopted he had no qualification rights to play for Ireland. Technically its true because his mother never held an Irish passport - but adopted children were entitled to an Irish passport under the 1956 Act. Cascarino in reality was using it to whip up interest in his book.