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Its time Irish players who would have pride in wearing the green jersey. Third rate nobodies like andy O'Brien shouldn't be left anywhere near our squad.
An Eircom League XI would have beaten Cyprus on Saturday. FFS i stood in that very same stadium 2 months ago and saw Cork City knock out the Cypriot champions comfortably.
Why a new thread Pablo? This same point was made a dozen times in the Post Match Reaction thread.
i'm making the point that i was in that same stadium this summer watching an Irish team with heart, spirit, and no little skill knocking the champions of Cyprus out of the Champions league. Most of that Cypriot squad are based in Cyprus.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
I hope you don't include McGeady in that...
I'd say a key difference in McGeady and the anglo-Irish is that McGeady COULD HAVE played for the country of his birth but has so much pride in his Irish roots he'd walk over glass barefoot to play in the green.
Others though only play for us cause they'd never play for England cause they are not good enough :(
well maybe there are exceptions. I dont know. On Saturday nights evidences he's not up to the level of Cyprus.......perhaps Falkirks is his level.Quote:
Originally Posted by McGeady10
That side lacked basic organisation, had no heart and very little skill. I just want to point out that peoples fascination with third rate English rejects and English football in general needs to stop.
Irish players for the Irish team.
Right choice time then
Who would you pick for your Central Midfield
John O' Shea of Waterford
or Andy Townsend of Bexleyheath
Who gave more effort?
Forgetting MOTM performances in the CL against Milan and Copenhagen are we?Quote:
Originally Posted by Pablo
Boll*x,McGeady picked Ireland because they were a much better team than Scotland at the time. I bet he's kicking himself now!!Quote:
Originally Posted by McGeady10
spot on. I just wish O'Shea took up a career in hurling. He'd do us all a favour.Quote:
Originally Posted by cavan_fan
The reason MCGeady chose Ireland is because Celtic have a rule that you can not play for your school team if you're playing for Celtic youths. The reason for this rule is so you're not playing twice a week and being coached differently twice a week and learning different habbits from different coaches. The club want to control the development of young players.
The Scottish FA were unhappy with this and insisted to play for Scotland at school age level you had to play in your school team. McGeady was therefore left out of squads and word got back to Ireland (Pat Bonner) via a Glasgow coach with Donegal connections that the wee man would love to play for Ireland.
Since then McGeady has had ample opportunity to change his mind and go back to play for Scotland but he's stubborn and will play for Ireland cause they gave him the chance Scotland never and he loves playing for the country.
What people don't know is that even his own father recommended he play for Scotland cause:
1. He didn't want Aiden taking the abuse in Scotland that he does take cause he wants to play for us!
2. He thought Scotland had a lot of young players coming through who'd make them a better team than Ireland in the future when Aidan peaks.
Despite this he's remained faithful to the Green!
Sorry for my ignorance, but what has that got to do with anything? Surely Celtic youths don't prevent their kids from playing for Scotland.Quote:
Originally Posted by McGeady10
...they were all Irish! Even the manager was !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Pablo
Is that legal? The French FA threatened to report Chelsea to FIFA if they didn't release Makelele for France games, even though he had officially retired.Quote:
Originally Posted by McGeady10
It's a decision taken by Scotland, not Celtic.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
Celtic were not stopping them playing for Scotland.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
They were stopping them playing for their school team week in week out...
If the SFA had their way McGeady would train with Celtic on a Monday/Wednesday then train with St Ninians on a Thursday, play for his school Saturday morning and then play for Celtic on the Sunday!!!
Celtic insisted he, and all other young players, played for them only (week in week out) and as a result of that Scotland school boys refused to call up Celtic players for internationals. Celtic though made their players full available for any interntaional matches, they just weren't selected cause they only picked guys playing schools football.
My mistake, I misunderstood, I thought you meant the Scottish Schoolboy team, not the school's boy team!Quote:
Originally Posted by McGeady10
A lad I used to work with went to school with Richie Partridge, he had the same situation, Liverpool wouldn't let him play with his school's team, even stopped him from having a kick about on the street with his mates.
You lost all credibility with the above ridiculous statement.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pablo
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paddy Garcia
Well every player on the City team is eligable for Ireland if thats what you meant except some Aussie in our 21's.
McGeady opted for Ireland because Scotland where muck at the time Bet he was sick when he heard their result on saturdayQuote:
Originally Posted by McGeady10
Either way I reckon Scotland & Ireland will both be in the same boat in summer 2008.
McGeady opted for Ireland at the age of about 14 or 15 so I doubt it was down to the quality of players.Quote:
Originally Posted by Block G Raptor
Were Houghton, Cascarino and Aldridge either not good enough to play for England or just wanted to play for Ireland (This was before I was born)? Once they started they clearly tried their best. Also, Steven Reid and David Connolly both clearly wanted to play for Ireland, Connolly started when he was 17 I think, and Reid started when he was 20 maybe (at least for the Senior squad), though he started in the England setup. McAteer was 23 when he first got into the Irish squad, so I cant be sure about him either. By the way, Clinton's son is named Shay...cant be too ****ed about not being allowed in England. He started when he was 21. Andy O'Brien was also in the England youth set up, and played his first match when he was about 21Quote:
Originally Posted by McGeady10
But how can you judge? I'd say either look at a celebration after goals or look at them singing the national anthem.
Cork beat Appollon Limassol and they didnt do it easily either. I agree with the jist of what your saying though.Quote:
while i dont think its wise to open the plastic paddy debate again, its worth noting that Cork City easily beat an Omonia Nicosia side that had a number of players in the Cypriot squad.
A little bit of a knee-jerk reaction don't you think?
The reality is, most players who play in England are better than those who play in Ireland.
As for Ray Houghton, evidently he is quite Catholic and felt a "calling" to Ireland over Scotland. YMMV.
The EL players do deserve a chance, players like O Brien are good but defnitely not match fit, I believe the best players should play and the EL has got some excellent defenders and should be given their chance.
And if the Cyprus team had been composed of players who played for the Cypriot champions, or the best of the Cypriot equivilent of the Eircom league, we would have probably hammered them, however they had enough sense to realise that there were better eligible players playing for overseas clubs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pablo
I think they did play players from their league...
Question to those of you still besotted with English football....
How is the Football Combination ( reserve League where Andy O'Brien plays)
or the Coca Cola Championship, a higher standard , than where Derry City and Drogheda United who are full-time professional teams, playing in the UEFA Cup, or Cork City playing in the Champions League Qualification Rounds ?
My answer is they are not.
Posted this in another thread.It's honest.
I will say this, I watch Cardiff City at every home match, and there is no doubting that Cork, Derry, Shels, Drogs (with Sligo Rovers and Bohs next season) would hold their own in that league.People go on about EL players just being failed english lower league players, but there are an array of players in the Championship now who have failed at championship or league one standard, gone to league two or the conference, and ended up back in the championship playing regularly.Derry would beat Wolves. Luton, Coventry out of the teams I have seen come to Ninian Park this season.This is fact.
Excuse me but all the players bar the two who play for Olympiakos Piraeus in the Greek League, are Cypriot League players, who if they had taken all their chances, would have beaten the so called stars on the Irish team 9 or 10-2!Quote:
Originally Posted by tricky_colour
its got nothing to do with being besotted by english football. the system(if you can call it that) in place at the moment is that kids go to england and if they are good enough they make it and if they arent they dont. in general these are the best players we have. they are learning their trades in a better envioroment than learning it at clubs here. its not a put down of the league here to say this. its merely pointing out the insanity of the system which we expect to produce a good international side for us. arguably after a certain stage in a players development it would be better for them to be playing regular football in which case a strong domestic league is a necessity. its the system that is insane not people who point out where are good players are. apart from all that do you really want any player from the EL associated with the current fiasco? they are better off away from it. when kerr was let go there was an underlying feeling of smugness that "what do you expect from someone who came from the eircom league" I wonder will the same people be dismissing the English Premiership now staunton has been proven to have has much knowledge of the game as someone newly arrived from mars.
Some of the players played for Cyriot clubs, some for Greek clubs, they picked the best players available, which is the sensible thing to do.
To be fair though only four of the starting 11 didn't play for Cypriot clubs. However all the goals were by players from 'foreign' clubs the Cypriots formed the 'defensive' side of the team (which conceded two goals).
Stop making excuses, they are a team.It's not as if they were big mistakes they made defensively - A lucky header and a pot shot.We were lucky to score.
Well after much googling (took ages) I made it four non-cypriot players.Quote:
Originally Posted by CollegeTillIDie
After half time it was 5. Got my info from here:-
http://home.skysports.com/matchrepor...ional&cpid=235
here:-
http://www.ireland.com/sports/soccer...174676679.html
And here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
(to look up the clubs).
Quote:
Originally Posted by tricky_colour
Should read NON CYPRIOT LEAGUE PLAYERS... obviously if they were Non Cypriot they wouldn't be bloody well playing for Cyprus now would they? :)
Dunno maybe they used the grandmother rule ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by CollegeTillIDie
How many players are playing in the EL that didn't make the grade in England ? A fair few I am afraid.
I have seen all this before in my years of following Irish soccer. When the team goes in to a spiral, the call is made to play LoI players. Like all the leagues in the smaller countries in Europe (Norway, Denmark, Holland, Scotland, Sweden etc etc), the better players eventually go to the leagues in the bigger countries in Europe. So has it been. So shall it always be.
You fail to take into consideration that maybe the players that failed in Britain could have improved by playing professional and first team football as well as European games.Also, the fact that the league has improved, player wise.