Potentially eligible players thread

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Originally Posted by DannyInvincible

I can'y find this supposed tweet by Mac Giolla Bháin either. I've had a look for recent mentions of Gweedore on Twitter too, but nothing of relevance in sight.

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Yep. Felt duped looking for it last night.

Wangball is our only hope for clarity... Or something resembling clarity.

http://backpagefootball.com/league-c...d-call/114396/
Sydney FC midfielder Brandon O’Neill has spoken of his interest in representing the Republic of Ireland in the wake of claiming the A-League’s top honours in Australia.

Gut test passed already. Proper nearly-but-not-quite 2nd generation Irish name too. I always liked Shannen Doherty. She passed my gut test back in the 90s.

Its always nice to see a young man interested in playing international football these days......

So interested he'll play for anyone. The Rathfarnham angle even further endorses his case.

Looks bit like Ander Herrera I think in that shot (but not remotely like him in any other picture)

http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/...5000?s=612x612

I can confirm he has got a good Irish head on him!

His mongrel Dublin-Perth accent is great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8MYtQdtU6g

It actually sounds kind of like a Chester or Scouse accent at times.

'FAI approach Scottish-born Celtic winger Michael Johnston over declaring for Ireland': https://www.thesun.ie/sport/football...g-for-ireland/

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Originally Posted by Kenny Millar

SunSport understands FAI representatives have already made contact with Celtic, Johnston and his family to make their plea.

Johnston, who qualifies for Ireland through his grandparents, was only called into the Scotland Under-19s squad for March’s Euro elite round qualifying stage in the Czech Republic following injury withdrawals.

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so is he ineligible for the U19s, or would he be eligible for the next U19 competition?

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Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

so is he ineligible for the U19s, or would he be eligible for the next U19 competition?

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A player cannot switch horses mid stream in a competition.
If he declared for Ireland today and the switch was certified as kosher by FIFA tomorrow, then he could no longer play in this current competition.

If he was age eligible, he could play in the next u19 competition.

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Originally Posted by DannyInvincible

'FAI approach Scottish-born Celtic winger Michael Johnston over declaring for Ireland': https://www.thesun.ie/sport/football...g-for-ireland/

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Cheers Dan. Interesting to note it's been an ongoing matter since March. Hopefully this pans out in our favour.

Here's another one

https://www.balls.ie/football/mikey-johnston-364790

I heard he was interested eligible as an aside from a pal who has literally zero interest in football. He works with Johnston's uncle here in Dublin. So I posted here....then I was bored one day and had a look at young Johnston's account and noticed that he follows the FAI but not the SFA, that might mean nothing or.....

He's ours to steal.

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Originally Posted by Wangball

Here's another one

https://www.balls.ie/football/mikey-johnston-364790

I heard he was interested eligible as an aside from a pal who has literally zero interest in football. He works with Johnston's uncle here in Dublin. So I posted here....then I was bored one day and had a look at young Johnston's account and noticed that he follows the FAI but not the SFA, that might mean nothing or.....

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It's the same article, balls just lifted the quotes from the Scottish sun instead of the Irish version of that paper

Wonder what the FAI have said to convince him to switch? The next u19 qualifying series is in October, and he'd be eligible.

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Originally Posted by Wangball

Here's another one

https://www.balls.ie/football/mikey-johnston-364790

I heard he was interested eligible as an aside from a pal who has literally zero interest in football. He works with Johnston's uncle here in Dublin. So I posted here....then I was bored one day and had a look at young Johnston's account and noticed that he follows the FAI but not the SFA, that might mean nothing or.....

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Knew you knew something. Cheers Wangball. That's good information.

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Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

Wonder what the FAI have said to convince him to switch?

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Scotland's 'did not qualify' record

and this is what the SFA make their senior players wear.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...voXYg5g90XrkNA

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Originally Posted by DeLorean

He's ours to steal.

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does he then become ours to lose?

He is ours to behold presently.

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Originally Posted by CraftyToePoke

He is ours to behold presently.

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Send Don Givens over asap!;)

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Originally Posted by gastric

Send Don Givens over asap!;)

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To work for the Scottish FA.......

Patrick Bamford scored Middlesbrough's only goal in their 2-1 home loss against Southampton. Pretty sure that's his first ever EPL goal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk3GIBTFuwU

First goal in two years according to the radio commentary

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Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

First goal in two years according to the radio commentary

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He probably thinks he has a chance of playing for England now:rolleyes:

On the "development or recruitment?" debate, can't we use both development and recruitment (when possible and potentially beneficial) to our advantage? It doesn't have to be a case of one or the other.

The idea that we, a nation whose biggest export is people, give up on diaspora and just focus inwards is pure craziness. A dual approach is surely the best approach.

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Originally Posted by Wangball

The idea that we, a nation whose biggest export is people, give up on diaspora and just focus inwards is pure craziness. A dual approach is surely the best approach.

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Indeed, if anything, having a number of players from the diaspora actually provides a more accurate or authentic reflection of what constitutes the modern Irish nation; that being a body of people sharing a common bond that extends beyond the island of Ireland and across the entire globe.

I think we can put this one to bed (for now anyway) - http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...-35715939.html

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Originally Posted by Independent.ie

Another absentee is Aston Villa striker Scott Hogan who is yet to declare for Ireland but O'Neill has revealed that he is not hopeful the 25-year-old will do so after a "very short conversation" with his agent."I really can't give you much of an update, I've left it with his agent and the lad himself," he added.

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I think a few of you are missing the point O'Riordan was trying to make there.
All too often it seems as if we pursue a foreign born player with Irish ties, and seem to often prioritise capping these lads, whilst seemingly neglecting the development and progression of our own homegrown players in favour of tying down and committing the foreign born players to Ireland for their careers.
There's a big deal made of pursuing an English or Scottish born player, who may only have made one or two senior appearances in their careers to date. Irish born players are almost cast aside at times to ensure these other players are capped.

Why, instead of focusing on "could he play?" or "will he declare?", and making a big deal of approaching a player, can we not focus strongly on the development of home grown players and let these eligible lads simply approach us if they want to play? If they really want to play for Ireland going forward, they'll be the ones to make contact with the FAI declaring their interest.

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Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

I think a few of you are missing the point O'Riordan was trying to make there.
All too often it seems as if we pursue a foreign born player with Irish ties, and seem to often prioritise capping these lads, whilst seemingly neglecting the development and progression of our own homegrown players in favour of tying down and committing the foreign born players to Ireland for their careers.
There's a big deal made of pursuing an English or Scottish born player, who may only have made one or two senior appearances in their careers to date. Irish born players are almost cast aside at times to ensure these other players are capped.

Why, instead of focusing on "could he play?" or "will he declare?", and making a big deal of approaching a player, can we not focus strongly on the development of home grown players and let these eligible lads simply approach us if they want to play? If they really want to play for Ireland going forward, they'll be the ones to make contact with the FAI declaring their interest.

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Didn't Dave Henderson write a piece recently saying that FAI policy at U21 level was to use the squad primarily to recruit Anglo-Irish players rather than to field a best XI regardless of birth? Many of the previous U19s may have been locally trained but very few progress to U21 level to accommodate British-born players. Something like that anyway...

Didn't see it at the time but yes - http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/socc...evel-1.3022118

The role of any international manager in any sport is to win games by fielding the best payers available to them. Where they're from or where they play should really be irrelevant, it should only matter that the player in question is good enough.

EDIT***Just read Dave Hendersons piece

Maybe King should be moved on from the U21's and focus on his other job title in an effort to avoid allegations of "conflict of interest".

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Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

All too often it seems as if we pursue a foreign born player with Irish ties, and seem to often prioritise capping these lads, whilst seemingly neglecting the development and progression of our own homegrown players in favour of tying down and committing the foreign born players to Ireland for their careers.
There's a big deal made of pursuing an English or Scottish born player, who may only have made one or two senior appearances in their careers to date. Irish born players are almost cast aside at times to ensure these other players are capped.

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Are superior Ireland-born players genuinely missing out to inferior eligible players born outside of Ireland? If so, have we got examples of these superior Ireland-born players who have been cast aside where an inferior foreign-born player has been favoured? O'Riordan mentions Matt Hamilton being favoured to Sean Maguire for an under-21 squad in March of 2015 and also mentions Jack Connors winning 15 under-21 caps between 2014 and 2016 compared to Kevin O'Connor's five caps during the same period, but can we be sure the decision to select the foreign-born player ahead of the Ireland-born player wasn't simply based on an ability or utility judgment? I'm not saying your assertion is necessarily right or wrong, but possible examples would help illustrate it.

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Why, instead of focusing on "could he play?" or "will he declare?", and making a big deal of approaching a player, can we not focus strongly on the development of home grown players and let these eligible lads simply approach us if they want to play? If they really want to play for Ireland going forward, they'll be the ones to make contact with the FAI declaring their interest.

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Some players may not have the confidence or sense of assuredness to unilaterally volunteer such a declaration. I think Clinton Morrison is an example of a player who was a bit nervous as to how he would be received by supporters before first coming over - he probably needed a bit of reassurance - but he was embraced by the fans, he gave his all and he loved playing for Ireland. The Irish aspect of his multicultural identity subsequently blossomed and flourished, whereas it may not have been something that was at the forefront of his cultural experiences during his early life. I don't see why there should be a problem with that. He still very much has a big space for the team (and Irish football generally actually) in his heart. If it took a bit of convincing to get him on side, I've no problem with that. It's great that we got a player on board who was both decent and committed.

Some players might even view it as arrogant and a bit presumptuous to make such a declaration without first getting a nod from someone at the FAI to indicate interest from that side. A player might feel foolish or open to ridicule if he declares himself available when the reality is he may not even be close to a squad place. Maybe Ciaran Clark was a bit like this until Richard Dunne coaxed him. Who knows?

Also, we're increasingly a more diversified, assorted and cosmopolitan nation. There'll be plenty of Irish-eligible players who genuinely will have split or dual national allegiances due to their parents being from different countries or whatever. For these players, they may be happy to wait and see who offers them an opportunity first and I don't think you could really hold that against them. Brandon O'Neill is an example of a player who would be as proud to represent Ireland as he would be to represent Australia and seems to be saying that he'd opt for whoever gives him the opportunity first.

O'Riordan and Henderon's articles are chalk & cheese really, despite sharing a common ground.

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Originally Posted by DeLorean

Didn't see it at the time but yes - http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/socc...evel-1.3022118

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A very interesting article and much more compelling and analytical than O'Riordan's. I'd posted the above post before seeing and reading it.

Whilst there doesn't appear to be an explicit policy of primarily using the under-21 squad for the selection of eligible dual nationals (or is there?), Noel King's double role - as both manager of the under-21s and the FAI's Head of International Player Identification - probably is influencing his squad selections as he stands to gain directly (financially presumably) from the greater the number of foreign-born players he recruits/selects. Henderson is right to suggest this represents a possible conflict of interest.

Another issue with this situation is that caps at youth underage level surely come into the equation for foreign clubs scouting Irish players.

Assuming that does factor into the equation, the FAI not selecting Irish-born players first could damage those players' careers -- and essentially negate a move that could have hypothetically occurred from never transpiring.

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Originally Posted by irishfan86

Assuming that does factor into the equation, the FAI not selecting Irish-born players first could damage those players' careers -- and essentially negate a move that could have hypothetically occurred from never transpiring.

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Our least concern is the multitude of Irish players going over the sea to ply their trade in the various underage & B teams in the English league.

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Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

I think a few of you are missing the point O'Riordan was trying to make there.
All too often it seems as if we pursue a foreign born player with Irish ties, and seem to often prioritise capping these lads, whilst seemingly neglecting the development and progression of our own homegrown players in favour of tying down and committing the foreign born players to Ireland for their careers.
There's a big deal made of pursuing an English or Scottish born player, who may only have made one or two senior appearances in their careers to date. Irish born players are almost cast aside at times to ensure these other players are capped.

Why, instead of focusing on "could he play?" or "will he declare?", and making a big deal of approaching a player, can we not focus strongly on the development of home grown players and let these eligible lads simply approach us if they want to play? If they really want to play for Ireland going forward, they'll be the ones to make contact with the FAI declaring their interest.

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It raises eyebrows when eligible players get called up for Ireland without making a single senior appearance in their entire career i.e. Matthew Hamilton. Lanre Oyebanjo was called up ahead of better, Irish born, players many times despite the fact he never played at a level above League Two.

Some lads i.e. Glen Rea, you would wonder how on earth they are getting called up.

I'm no cheerleader for the Irish domestic league but there are a good few lads who are talented enough to get called up for national duty, but won't, because their names don't carry the cachet that eligible players do.

And this doesn't just apply to the Irish domestic league. I've been baffled by a few squad exclusions through the years, a majority of which, again, happen to be Irish born lads.

I'd have to imagine it's been mentioned elsewhere but Scott Hogan doesn't appear to be interested in representing Ireland.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...-35716214.html

Update on Michael Johnston.

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/..._over_Ireland/