NB; you mean:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Not Brazil
Chris may not like our National Anthem, but he sure loves playing for Northern Ireland - been told Brian Kerr opened the door for him, but he told him "no thanks".
Of course no-one can be sure either way, but, assuming that Baird's claims were true, I have my suspicions that Kerr may well have been acting alone in a rogue capacity, for want of a better description, and against official FAI policy at the time. My reasoning for suspecting this is as follows:
i) In 1999, as we all know, the FAI voluntarily agreed with the IFA to select only volunteers or those who contacted the FAI first. (Sure, it doesn't necessarily follow that they kept their word and that such an agreement was respected, but it would have been naïve of the FAI to assume that they could say one thing to the IFA in public whilst making under-the-table approaches to northern players on the other and that they could or would remain secret. Out of interest, did the IFA ever have anything to say to the FAI on the Baird matter that you know of?)
ii) I know that Shane Duffy was intentionally ignored by Sean McCaffrey despite much talk of the lad's interest in playing for Ireland, including from family on Everton message boards and the like, and his previous participation in an FAI training camp. From the various discussions, it was clear that people, including Duffy himself and his family, thought it was a case of McCaffrey simply being pig-headed or incompetent until it became clear that McCaffrey would only entertain Duffy if Duffy contacted the FAI about making a formal switch first. Essentially, it was evident that Irish nationals born in the north were expected to make the first moves themselves and once that was done, the FAI would get on with considering them for selection.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Not Brazil
The (FAI's) door was always open to them.
Certainly, but, in his mind, he most likely felt he didn't have the capability to walk through it so opted to go through the other one that was open to him. Didn't the Fly say as much a while back; was it his brother or cousin or something had been playing football with McGinn and asked him about it? It was a lack of belief in his own capabilities and the fact that the IFA came calling that guided his decision more so than any long-standing love for NI. I mean, why would a self-admitted Ireland fan want to play for NI over the FAI team if things were as black and white as that and he had an equal chance of getting into both teams?
Quote:
McGinn chose to play for Northern Ireland, because, in his own words, he "was born in Northern Ireland".
That came in response to alleged anger as a result of the revelation that he supported Ireland and read in full:
"The bottom line is that I was born in Northern Ireland and I chose to play for Northern Ireland so I will always give 100% no matter what. Nothing changes and that's the bottom line.
I never set out to upset anyone. Maybe it was the wrong time for the comments but at the end of the day I will always give 100% any time I'm called upon and I think I've done that."
You could interpret that rather diplomatic opening line to mean whatever you want it to mean really. He's not necessarily saying that he chose to play for NI specifically because he was born there. He didn't say, for example, "The bottom line is that I was born in Northern Ireland so I chose to play for Northern Ireland..." Even if he was saying what you claim, he's not saying it was the reason to the exclusion of all other possible contributing reasons. Your assumption would be to imply that he would never have considered playing for Ireland simply because he wasn't born south of the border, but we know that isn't true. His quote could mean, "I have a deep affiliation with NI from birth...", or it could mean (more likely), "I was born in NI, so I'm eligible, and I'm happy to give my all for them even though I've supported Ireland all my life..."
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gather round
Any time after the squad was publicly announced is last minute. Unless you're suggesting he didn't know about the call-up? If he didn't accept it, he could have phoned the press immediately, or tweeted, rather than wait three days. Like I said, he looks like a timewaster.
I'd imagine he'd have needed a bit of time to consider it before he tied himself down to something before later regretting it, although I understand you may classify such a person as a textbook timewaster.
I came across this on another forum and thought it was pretty funny:
Quote:
rumour around Windsor tonight was that part of deal to Sunderland was issue of which Country he would play for, now who is the chairman of Sunderland , wonder if his signing on fee was boosted by switching Country
Now if only i was a betting man
http://scienceblogs.com/startswithab...infoil-hat.jpg