Barry Maguire

I refer again to my message above. I have said from the outset that the word 'petition' is inadequate to describe what I am actually intending to put together here, but that out of a desire to do something - anything - to try and repair some of the damage done by Don Givens, I thought that a show of support for the guy might be of some use: better to try and influence the situation than sit back, do nothing and then shrug our shoulders if he declares for the Dutch citing an ambivalent and ambiguous response from the FAI. We are Ireland supporters and we don't normally hold much sway in how these decisions are made. I don't believe in begging or asking anyone to play for Ireland. I do, however, believe in acting, making an effort and trying to influence a situation where it is appropriate. Given the quotes attributed to Barry Maguire in the press, and the soundings given by musicinmouth - if I am interpreting these correctly - I think that Barry has been left a bit bewildered by the carry-on of Don Givens and the FAI. He, apparently, is keen on playing for Ireland - but his prospects of doing so have been thrown into confusion by Givens. This is as I understand the situation to be. This is why I think it might help to let the guy know there are a lot of people who invest huge time, emotion and expense in following the Irish team who cannot trust the FAI to handle simple matters like this correctly, and who would rather communicate their hopes to the guy rather than bow their heads, fold their hands and trust in the FAI to clarify things for them.

Also, please read below the actual wording of the message to which people are putting their names. After you have read it, and you still feel that this is pathetic, embarrassing or desperate, you might please post your reasons.

To: Barry Maguire

We, the undersigned, being passionate and committed supporters of Irish international football, sign our names to this petition to show our admiration for Barry Maguire, and to reassure him of the great support he has among Irish fans. We sign our names to communicate to Barry our shared hope that he might one day decide to represent Ireland at senior level, and above all, to assure him of our respect and goodwill whatever his final decision.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

can all the little beeyatches moaning about this petition just voice their objection by not signing and leave this thread to people who would like to see him represent Ireland.

We are not exactly in a position to let any promising young player go without a fight and the whole "begging players to play for us" argument is well worn out at this stage.

59 ;)

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Originally Posted by SkStu

and the whole "begging players to play for us" argument is well worn out at this stage.

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How is it "worn out"? Is it just 'cause you have head this too many times??

Fact is, its very relevant.

Playing for your country is a great honor and nobody should need to be petitioned in order to do so. If you are to play for Ireland, one should chose so on his own accord.

Stop with this, "the Irish fans will like you, Barry..." nonsense...

The petition is embarrassing IMO.

Oh, and just out of interest, how many of ye who signed have seen Maguire play??

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Originally Posted by SkStu

can all the little beeyatches moaning about this petition just voice their objection by not signing and leave this thread to people who would like to see him represent Ireland.

We are not exactly in a position to let any promising young player go without a fight and the whole "begging players to play for us" argument is well worn out at this stage.

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Leave the thread to those who want him to play? Shockingly as it may sound, I want him to play for Ireland too, but then I want Kaka to be able to play for Ireland as well. Doesn't mean a petition is going to hold much water.

If a petition is the way to go, perhaps it should instead be aimed at the muppets in the FAI who have let this talent slip away ...

I want all good players available to us to be in the Irish squad but just as a matter of interest how many people on here have actually seen this lad play? Yes it would be great if we had more players scattered throughout the European leagues but just because a guy is playing on the contenent doesnt make him the second coming of Maradona.I wouldnt regard the Dutch league as particularly strong these days(just from judging on european results so obviously no expert).
If hes is as good as he is being made out to be and wants to play for us then fantastic, if not well at least we have the likes of Jamie McCarthy coming through in that position

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Originally Posted by Razors left peg

If hes is as good as he is being made out to be and wants to play for us then fantastic, if not well at least we have the likes of Jamie McCarthy coming through in that position

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Sorry Razor but I have to call you up on this one.

To say a player isn't good enough because he plays in a "weaker" league like Holland is one thing, but to suggest that a lad who plays with a small club in the SPL (which only has a decent UEFA coefficient because of the Old Firm) is a better choice is mind-boggling.

I'd call you both up on this one, Razor & Superfrank.

Surely at their age you look at each lad play and then make a judgment? Just because McCarthy is playing for a small club doesn't make him a mind-boggling choice, not as an 18 year-old. Likerwise the Dutch are renowned for developing young players even if their league isn't as strong as it has been. Their academy products are the envy of the world. A good young player is a good young player regardless of where he plays.

My point wasn't that McCarthy's crap; I haven't seen enough of him to make any judgement.

The whole point here is that we shouldn't have to choose- why not have both, or at least let both of them know that a good chunk of supporters would welcome them?

barry maguire has never lived in ireland, and probably doesnt know anything about irish culture. therefore i see no harm in sending him this petition to show him the close relationship that ireland supporters have to their team. the main thing that the ireland team has going for them is the special relationship the supporters have with the team, and i think this petition is a good way to show barry maguire what were all about, and that we respect his decision regardless of what it might be. he could turn out to be a great player and if we dont want to miss out on him then every little helps

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

I'd call you both up on this one, Razor & Superfrank.

Surely at their age you look at each lad play and then make a judgment? Just because McCarthy is playing for a small club doesn't make him a mind-boggling choice, not as an 18 year-old. Likerwise the Dutch are renowned for developing young players even if their league isn't as strong as it has been. Their academy products are the envy of the world. A good young player is a good young player regardless of where he plays.

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I think I was misunderstood a little bit. I wasnt saying that because he is playing in a weak league that he couldnt be a good player,my point was that some people have a mystique about players playing in any other league but England and Scotland.Yes the dutch league has a history of developing technically good players but that doesnt make every player from that league good enough to play at the top level.I have never seen the lad play so I cant comment on him to say whether he is good enough or not,I hope he is and if he is I would be delighted if he was to declare for us.

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Originally Posted by richieos

barry maguire has never lived in ireland, and probably doesnt know anything about irish culture. therefore i see no harm in sending him this petition to show him the close relationship that ireland supporters have to their team. the main thing that the ireland team has going for them is the special relationship the supporters have with the team, and i think this petition is a good way to show barry maguire what were all about, and that we respect his decision regardless of what it might be. he could turn out to be a great player and if we dont want to miss out on him then every little helps

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You are correct - he probably knows very little about Irish culture, therefore he should probably not play for Ireland!

Half his family are Irish.
The better half :)

Personally I don't swallow the ´Givens fecking it up again´ theory.
Barry has been invited to play for Ireland. Normally that on its own is enough.
He is also Dutch, probably his first choice is to play for Holland, if he can.
He does not have to declare just yet. He can play for Holland underage, then change over to Ireland before 21. He can only change once.

On the changing once before he 21.
Barry has not played for Holland or Ireland yet.
He has to play before being recognised as having declared for that federation.
If Barry played for Ireland underage he would still be entitled to one change back to Holland before the age of 21. Givens is correct in this.

On another point I don't know if even playing underage friendlies count as a full registration.

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Originally Posted by joema

You are correct - he probably knows very little about Irish culture, therefore he should probably not play for Ireland!

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possibly so, but why not give him an idea of what were about before he makes his mind up?

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Originally Posted by joema

You are correct - he probably knows very little about Irish culture, therefore he should probably not play for Ireland!

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yep we'll have to send him off his man utd or celtic jersey, britians got talent DVD boxset, 'an audience with take that' cd, perhaps even if somebody has recordings of 'corrie' or eastenders we could send that as well just so he can familairise himself further with irish culture.

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Originally Posted by joema

You are correct - he probably knows very little about Irish culture, therefore he should probably not play for Ireland!

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No one is making you read this thread, or post on this thread or indeed sign the petition....why don't you just grow up and move on???!

The boy has an Irish born and raised father, this isn't some tenuous crawl through the family tree connection. Look at his name for gods sake, this alone shows he's acutely aware of his roots, sure he's probably had to explain it to every Dutch person he's met through out his life when they look at him oddly after asking his name and I bet he answers every time "My Father is Irish" how much more aware do you want him to be? Do you want him to stand on the steps of the GPO and recite the proclomation? Or perhaps he could Riverdance his way into your heart???

We want him to play football for us....not run for Taoiseach, get a grip and crawl back into whatever LOI thread you clawed your way out of, there's raffle tickets that need selling

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Originally Posted by geysir

Half his family are Irish.
The better half :)

Personally I don't swallow the ´Givens fecking it up again´ theory.
Barry has been invited to play for Ireland. Normally that on its own is enough.
He is also Dutch, probably his first choice is to play for Holland, if he can.
He does not have to declare just yet. He can play for Holland underage, then change over to Ireland before 21. He can only change once.

On the changing once before he 21.
Barry has not played for Holland or Ireland yet.
He has to play before being recognised as having declared for that federation.
If Barry played for Ireland underage he would still be entitled to one change back to Holland before the age of 21. Givens is correct in this.

On another point I don't know if even playing underage friendlies count as a full registration.

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If his first choice is Holland he should probably play for Holland. Ireland shouldnt be the "second choice" team even if we had to resort to that in the past.

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Originally Posted by irishultra

yep we'll have to send him off his man utd or celtic jersey, britians got talent DVD boxset, 'an audience with take that' cd, perhaps even if somebody has recordings of 'corrie' or eastenders we could send that as well just so he can familairise himself further with irish culture.

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You have a look at the above post too.....this sort of guff is nothing short of pathetic

Whats wrong with wanting the best players available/eligible to play for your country? Would you rather we sent out a team of cloggers from Finn Harps and Kilkenny to get horsewhipped??

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Originally Posted by Wangball

Would you rather we sent out a team of cloggers from Finn Harps and Kilkenny to get horsewhipped??

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That's not the alternative though is it? Ireland produces enough good players and has players born in other parts of the world who chose to play for Ireland without needing a petition.

Having read more about the petition I do understand that it's not a begging letter and I can see now why it was started. I'd love to see Barry Maguire representing Ireland but i'd rather Ireland be his first choice than a last resort. I don't really see how that is an unreasonable opinion to have.