He's declared and primed for an under-21 call-up apparently.
MLS watchers, what do we know about him?
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He's declared and primed for an under-21 call-up apparently.
MLS watchers, what do we know about him?
Was just about to make a thread on him.
Did a little bit of research on him:
http://greenscene.me/2012/05/ny-red-...s-for-ireland/
He's NY's first choice, so that can't be a bad thing.
He was drafted 31st this year. Kept his first clean sheet of the seson this week. Played 8 gaem in his pro career so far. Hard for anyone to judge on that
It's funny, we have an American in Meara declaring for Ireland while an Irish 'keeper (Darren Randolph) is considering declaring for the USA thanks to his American father.
I'd only pick him if he pronounces his surname the Irish way.
Fair play to him, very positive.Quote:
Ryan has made contact and wants to play for us.
He was already an Irish citizen and it was just a matter of getting his passport which he has now.
6ft. 4, U-21, first-team regular. A reason other than Robbie to watch MLS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGWcADj1UhE
Interesting and promising development. I wonder what influenced his decision. Could Robbie's move to the MLS have contributed in raising our profile over there? Maybe we'll see more Irish Americans declaring in future. Would be a fantastic source of potential; not to release the FAI of their responsibilities at home, of course.
Some interesting comments on the MLS post about him:
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/articl...future-ireland
Sorry, not trying to ruin the joke, but how else can you pronounce me-ra? With no prefixed O' it can't be pronounced mara....even if the yanks just cut it off anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
irishFan86 writes for that sometimes, perhaps he can shed some more light on his quality?
Or will being Irish as opposed to Irish American smooth a path for a move to Europe at all ? Don't US players still hit work permit issues sometimes? I could be very wrong on this and concede in advance if so. Welcome aboard Ryan, great to see and hopefully Robbie was a factor also.Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
Oh eff off Paul. Mara or Meera. Duh. It doesn't need an "O".
God, to think the football gods decided to award you a ticket.
Anyway, I think I'd have made all those saves that Sully linked above. Seriously.
Good point that. I reckon it had something to do with it. He probably also sees playing for Ireland as a better chance to get a move to England/Scotland.Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
Stutts are you still looking for a ticket?Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Once he has an Irish passport, whether he plays for Ireland, the US or anyone else wouldn't matter. He'd be a citizen of the EU and entitled to work where he liked (Several brazilian internationals have Portuguese passports, Argentinians with Italian passports etc etc). All treated exactly the same way as if born in IrelandQuote:
Originally Posted by CraftyToePoke
He wouldn't necessarily have had to declare for Ireland in order to claim his entitlement to Irish/EU citizenship by virtue of his Irish grandparents.Quote:
Originally Posted by CraftyToePoke
This could well be it. A move to Europe would be more likely if he's in the Ireland squad.Quote:
Originally Posted by JGKyne
However, maybe he's just very Irish. There's loads of Americans for whom "heritage" is the most important thing.
Given that many Irish-Americans seem to attach a lot of pride to their Irish heritage, it's quite surprising at this stage that more (other than Joe Lapira) haven't declared at this stage.
I think the point about Robbie is a valid one. He's the first Irish international to play in the MLS, while Ronnie O'Brien was seemingly in fine form for Dallas and didn't play for Ireland during this period. With Robbie there the door has been opened perhaps.
If this had been explored in the past who knows what players would have declared for Ireland. Names such as Clint Dempsey, John O'Brien, Brian McBride, Brek Shea and Michael Bradley spring to mind immediately, whether or not they are even eligible. I remember reading Landon Donovan isn't eligible on the basis that his father is Canadian (unsure of his ancestry after that).
Considering he is just out of college, he has made an impressive start to his career. NY was on the fence about getting a new goalkeeper after Frank Rost retired last year and even after they picked Meara in the draft, the expectation was that they would still go and get a more established goalkeeper. But I guess he impressed the coaches in preseason and they decided to stick with him. The team has let in a bunch of goals so far but that is more due to their porous defense than Meara. In fact he's kept the team in a number of close games with his play.
He still has a lot to learn but he's good on crosses and seems to be fearless.
I can see him getting a half against the Danes and that'll be it. McLoughlin has been the first choice 'keeper for King despite competition from (initially) Branagan and Quirke, and later McCarey.
Of course, I could be horribly wrong.
Apparently not....
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/articl...qualifier-callQuote:
“I got called in for the U-21s, but the Red Bulls would rather me stay here and focus on continuing to win games here,” Meara told MLSsoccer.com following Tuesday's training. “My main focus is here as well. We have a great team and I think the goal is the MLS Cup, so that’s all I’m focusing on.”
The camp and games fall during the international break at the end of May and beginning of June, but FIFA regulations do not require the Red Bulls to let Meara go since he is being summoned for a youth team competition.
That, however, does not mean the 21-year-old has no interest in international soccer.
“Any player wants to push themselves and see how far they can go,” said Meara, who is eligible to represent Ireland through his grandparents. “It’s an honor to be considered for Ireland, but like I said, right now, I am focused on what’s going on here with the Red Bulls.”
Fresh off recording his first clean sheet as a professional this past weekend, Meara revealed Ireland first touched base with him during the preseason, and that he has not had any contact with anyone in the US Soccer organization.
Born in Yonkers, N.Y., Meara is eligible to represent the United States, and he has previously expressed an admiration for US men’s national team goalkeeper Tim Howard. Still, he was noncommittal when asked if he would play for the US.
“Every player wants to play international soccer,” said Meara. “But for me, I’ll cross that bridge when that comes.”
Based solely on the footage posted above, they can keep him,,, looks bang average
“Every player wants to play international soccer,” said Meara. “But for me, I’ll cross that bridge when that comes.”
Evidently, Meara does not consider playing for Ireland "international soccer".
To be honest I haven't watched much of the Red Bulls lately so can't comment on his ability. That said, if there's one area that I feel MLS is just as good as any league around it's between the sticks.
As watchers of English football know well, North American trained goalkeepers are some of the best around.
If Meara is getting a chance to start for one of the clubs with the greatest resources in MLS at just the age of 21 it says a lot.
It's worth bearing in mind that the previous goalkeeper was Frank Rost, a German classified as a "Designated Player," so if their manager, Hans Backe, is going with Meara in the period immediately following Rost's departure I think that's also a positive.
Now for the downside: Backe is notorious for getting players to agree to put club before country. He convinced Joel Lindpere to retire from Estonia (although he did come out of retirement for the playoffs against us), and I think a lot of MLS clubs understandably want nothing to do with European call-ups given they often clash with the league's summer schedule and mess with sleep patterns, etc.
Anyway, can't hurt to have another option but with Westwood around I think we're set for quite some time in any event. Until Meara verifies his status as a "good Catholic boy" I won't hold my breath...
All stinks a bit of career progression as opposed to Irish pride to me... (though he does suggest the FAI approached him)
No thanks.
From what I saw in an MLS game a few weeks ago vs Columbus, this would be accurate. ..got a lot to learn and is brave. He really does need to play a lot more club games so that we can see if there's true potential for the level we would want for him. He's at a tricky point as to whether he should come over for a U21 call-up because he really needs to consolidate his club position. (The fact that he is not being released is unusual for an mls club. The league itself has many examples of it's players putting country before club and games not being canceled, although most are full team callups. )Quote:
Originally Posted by Metrostars
I have to laugh at comments such as has Robbie playing for LA had an effect on raising our profile. --- we really don't have much of an opinion of ourselves sometimes. WE are bigger than that. Lads like Meara, and there are many of them, are totally immersed and highly knowledgeable about the game. I've not read all the links in this thread, but I did read a few weeks ago that Meara has played gaa. I doubt his "Irishness" is defined by an Irish U21 camp call up. That's entirely not needed anyway (in this context) - there's gks playing in the epl, who started out with New York team and with Columbus.
I suggested it might be the case. Admittedly, I haven't a clue what sort of profile we have in the US, but. surely if it was one of any great significance, we'd have benefited a bit more from the Irish diaspora there than just one-cap-wonder Joey Lapira.Quote:
Originally Posted by cclinton
Have we had many Irish Americans play for us over the years?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sullivinho
He must have been watching Pat Jennings and learned the one handed save technique!! (at 1.13)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjbe6AMMsyI&feature=related
Not that I can think of.Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
One reason would be they are not good enough, another reason to be considered is how much they could make financially
for playing for the USA, a third would be the time zone difference and distance you would have to travel.
It's a fair trot across the Atlantic and back. Especially for those on the west coast, a 7.30pm kick off here is
a 2.30am kick off of a USA player.
So if you see Robbie nodding off during a match you will know why, mind you the time difference in Poland
for him is -9 hours so he will be kicking off at 4.30 am in his local time so by the end of the match he might
start to wake up.
MARE-uh allegedly:Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
http://www.newyorkredbulls.com/news/...uct-ryan-meara
So probably like Mayor-a, not mara, or meera.
Pual, the moral of this episode is never underestimate Americans' ability to find a new pronunciation for a foreign name.
Co-lin Powell FFS.
The different pronunciations isn't really surprising. The name O'Meara is from Tipperary - you can see why Americans, for instance, would hear immigrants pronouncing it the Irish way but hear it Mare-ah or Meer-ah because of the Munster accent.
never underestimate the ability of the Irish to think pronunciation should be one way, and their way only ;-)
That's because he's an a**hole...Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
BTW, La versus NY at the weekend should be interesting with Keane versus Meara.
Keane hasn't travelled to Seattle for tonights game, hope he's fit for weekend
Quote:
***Update*** ESPNLA Soccer writer Scott French has confirmed that Robbie Keane did not travel with the Galaxy to Seattle as well. Would be interesting if Pat Noonan is given the start tomorrow, considering his Sounders history.
What should he have done? Made dramatic dives for each routine save? He wasn't tested in that video, there's no way of knowing how good he is from it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Manblue
Interesting on the pronunciation side of things, comes up with McClean too. I don't think that it's that his name is to be pronounced McClane, it's just that that's how McClean sounds in a Derry accent? Then again, that's all that different pronunciations are anyway, regional differences. Anyway as a rule, however someone pronounces their name is how everyone else should say it too - Tim Cahill.
sorry for thinking aloud!
Nothing to do with the accent. The Derry accent can distinguish between the "cleen" and "clane" sounds quite easily. I would imagine that its pronunciation as "McClane" is rooted in the pronunciation of it's Gaelic origin; Mac Gille Eathain.Quote:
Originally Posted by fionnsci
In Belfast people would pronounce it McClane too so it isn't down to the Derry accent! PS what is going on with this forum and a new found obsession with how names are pronounced :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by fionnsci