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'Gerry Armstrong warns Derry footballers about Republic switch': http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-15656709
:rolleyes:Quote:
The 1998 Good Friday Agreement ruled that anyone from Northern Ireland can designate themselves to be British or Irish and FIFA have recognised this by letting players decide to pursue an international career with the Republic.
Jaysus. When will it end?
How about -Quote:
Originally Posted by Predator
It's all about the nuances maybe. I underestimated Jobby, he's always got his (good) eye on the ball
Say, what?:DQuote:
Originally Posted by gastric
Good to see that Northern Ireland youth players are taking Gerry Armstrong seriously :
shaymccartan shay mccartan
Really hope ireland win tonight,can't believe its been nearly ten years since the world cup in japan #gettingold
CBrennan44 Conor Brennan
Estoina down to 10' brilliant opportunity to get a few goals for Ireland! #qualification
rmckeown23 Rory McKeown
Can't believe that Estonia team beat N.Ireland 4-1 haha. Cmon the boys #trapsarmy
RyanMcL2 Ryan McLaughlin
What a great night, the Irish are taking over Poland cmonnnnnnn :)
lee_toland Lee-ryan Toland
Ireland for the euros #sohappy ☺☺☺
You're like a cat with a ball of yarn, toying! I did underestimate Jobby. There I said it!Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
Those guys on Twitter are predictably getting a fair amount of abuse.
Rory has a solution:Quote:
Originally Posted by boovidge
rmckeown23 Rory McKeown
@Liambo9 mo chara! We'll speak in irish and they can't abuse haha.
Come on lads..you know you want to... :DQuote:
Originally Posted by TrapAPony
It must be a bit of a blow to hear that the players you support don't even support the team they play for. Sure, they give 100% on the pitch, but they're more passionate about watching their real international team.
The day will happen when a NI player refuses to play in a match/meet up with a squad because he'd rather watch the Republic on telly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Predator
Mark my words
some interesting future talent there in fairness. Mcloughlin is supposed to be a very good attacking right full for liverpool and Conlon highly thought of striker at celtic
It's very silly of OWCers to seize upon this obvious reality and chastise their own players.
Haha Gerry has his work cut out for him. A few alleged whispers in the ear from someone in the FAI would be one of the last things needed to urge those young lads to play for the South. Also, qualifying for the Euro's could see a spike in Northern players switching allegiance.Quote:
Originally Posted by TrapAPony
Is that the same Shay McCartan that I saw playing for Down minors before? I'd say there's a fairly comprehensive list of present or past professional footballers who have played for their county minor team in the Ulster Championship; McCartan, Lennon, O'Neill, Ferguson, McGinn...
Brilliant post about the tweets. Sums up the scenario fairly well.
Is that the same Shay McCartan that I saw playing for Down minors this year or last? I'd say you could draw up a fairly good list of Northern professional soccer players who represented their county in GAA too; O'Neill, Lennon, Ferguson, McCartan, McGinn...Armstrong himself?
The players dealt with it very well from what I saw. Seem like a level-headed bunch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrapAPony
It's this kind of crap that continues to alienate Catholics in NI. It angers me at this Unionists type attitude to those who decide to play for us, as being in some way treacherous in their decisions. This antiquated attitude is something even the English themselves don't possess. Hopefully, many of those who are mentioned above will play for a country which judges them on their abilities, not their background.
http://www.independent.ie/breaking-n...n-2933227.html
They already have.Quote:
Originally Posted by gastric
Like who??
'Gerry Armstrong: 1972 withdrawal has caused player problem': http://www.derryjournal.com/sport/fo...blem_1_3237650
Whilst the club's membership of the League of Ireland may aid its players' access to the FAI and vice versa, I don't think it would be correct at all to attribute the declarations of northern-born players for the FAI to Derry's withdrawal from the Irish League in 1972. To do so is to completely misunderstand the crux of the issue, again. Derry's withdrawal from the Irish League was a symptom of a beast similar and very much related to that which has caused and prolonged the eligibility dispute. Anyway, plenty of non-Derry players have also opted to play for the FAI. How does this theory account for those lads?Quote:
GERRY Armstrong believes Derry City’s withdrawal from the Irish League in 1972 has had a long-standing and detrimental affect on the association’s image within the North-West region
Likewise, I don't think the image problem is limited exclusively to the north-west; the NI team is viewed either in a negative light or as largely irrelevant within broad nationalism.
Increasing regularity? Has the impact even been significant? How does one gauge in the absence of impact? Sounds like filler to me, or nonsense; whichever...Quote:
With the increasing regularity of Derry-born footballers opting to switch national allegiances in favour of the Republic of Ireland, the impact on the N. Ireland international squad has been significant.
See folks, it's not just the FAI who'll fiddle with your kids. :rolleyes:Quote:
However, in his new role as ‘Elite Player Mentor’ for the IFA, the former Real Mallorca and Tottenham Hotspurs striker, insists he can help repair the damage as the powers that be at Windsor Avenue intensify their campaign to win over the hearts and minds of young players from Derry.
...
"And the set-up in the grassroots level here has been very good but we know that there is a gap when they get to between 12, 13 and 14 years of age until they get to 18 or 19 years, and we need to fill that void."
I think Gerry could also touch up on his history after he has had a read of the Kearns judgment and articles 5 to 8 of FIFA's Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes.Quote:
“That’s the problem - the fact Derry City players and supporters look to the south and are more familiar with the League of Ireland. We can’t change the fact Derry City play in the League of Ireland, that’s something that was done when the police made a recommendation 30 or 40 years ago.
Who's Armstrong referring to here exactly? Michael O'Connor and Tony Kane are the only two of whom I'm aware that switched back to the IFA. And has he actually outlined these supposed "pitfalls"? What are they? A healthy challenge for places, I gather? Sure why not just tell the poor craiturs straight out they're ****? :bulgy:Quote:
Outlining the potential pitfalls facing young N. Ireland-born players who have opted to play for the Republic, Armstrong hoped that his advice would help alter the opinions of young footballers facing that particular dilemma.
...
“I just want to point out that it’s not always the right decision because some of them have actually made the change and regretted it and had been able to reverse the decision to come back to play for N. Ireland.
“A lot of these lads in the past few years have decided to go and play for the Republic U17 or U18s, have then changed their mind, didn’t feel they were apart of it and then we welcomed them back again.
Blah, blah...Quote:
“But because of the Good Friday Agreement that’s not always going to be able to happen in the future and I have to concentrate on anyone who wants to play for us.
Awk now Gerry, who on earth would ever have thought such a thing? I mean, really...Quote:
“This is not a charm offensive,” he insisted.