QuoteAFAIK, he isn't eligible. That link is incorrect.Originally Posted by rebelmusic
Flanagan is also eligible for the Republic of Ireland through his grandparents, and new Ireland manager Martin O'Neill wants him to declare.[20]
According to Wikipedia o.O
AFAIK, he isn't eligible. That link is incorrect.
Quote
Commentator on the Pool Bournemouth game yesterday. Said it was through grandparents and that Roy in the studio might be watching with interest, or words to that effect.
Even if eligible, calling up the likes of Jon Flanagan, Will Buckley or Richard Stearman begs the question of whose place in the team/squad they would be taking and would they be satisfied not being a guaranteed starter; as the likes of Mark Noble and Jamie O'Hara patently weren't.
Leaving aside Jon Flanagan, of whom no-one including himself, has a definitive answer as to whether he is eligible or not and Richard Stearman who is just rubbish; who would Will Buckley be keeping out? McGeady? Pilkington? McClean? Brady? Is he better than any of those players? I don't know.
There are plenty of examples of players such as Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble, Jamie O'Hara, Kyle Naughton, Curtis Davies, Anthony Gerrard and several others, some of whom there are doubts over eligibility and some of who lack the motivation/have no desire of playing for Ireland. We are still talking about the eligibility of some of these players 5 or 6 years later? Are they really worth it?
In my opinion, Martin and Roy have better ways of spending their time than pursuing players, none of whom would walk into the Ireland team on merit.
We aren't that lacking in talent so much that we have to reduce ourselves to scouting Football League journeymen in their mid 20's. And Redmond and Davies are clearly reasonably talented players but is a wild goose chase worth it for players who probably won't be satisfied with travelling around the world for a country they don't identify with and all to sit on the bench?
'Tis better to have them, and not need them... Than to need them and not have them!
Robbie Keane
Btw, "begs the question" doesn't mean what you and 99pc of the population think it means. It's a long story...
Is this the case with Noble & O'Hara though, I don't ever remember O'Hara saying anything like that, or any demands like that being reported, I could be wrong but I just remember a guy who is of dual heritage, and while proud of and aware of his Irish side, wanted to represent England in football, and was never anything other than honest and open about that, and remained so even as it became obvious he wasn't going to do so, which I respected the guy for.
In Nobles case, he met with Trap, I think, and Trap mentioned something about him wanting to start, but looking back at the Trap era now and the litany of unhelpful incidents his communication caused, can this exchange be believed as being accurately processed by Trap ? Much less properly relayed in any ensuing press conference. I'd have doubts.
I don't think we need either of these guys, I am not advocating they play for Ireland, I am just saying to say they made demands to start in order to declare is perhaps stretching it ?
Whatever Noble and O'Hara did say, you can't believe a word of what people say they said (especially derogatory) on the matter of declaring for Ireland.
O'Hara said he wait on England, that he had a few truck loads of irish relatives urging him to declare, said he felt more Irish than English but ultimately didn't know how he would be received. You'd speculate if he came in contact with some hate monger diatribes telling him to buck off.
I do find your opinion annoying. We are a minnow football wise and one of our biggest problem is our lack of depth. Granted Buckley and Flanagan would not walk into the team now, but it isn't just about now, it is building for the future. Both are young players and could make a contribution in the near future. Having them declare costs us nothing, nor do we have to play them immediately.
Stephen Hunt and Keith Andrews have made a valuable contribution to Irish football and neither were overnight sensations. Keep in mind too, that with the nature of the Premiership, most of our future players are going to play in lower divisions and hopefully make it to the Premiership, as Buckley seems ready to do.
So I hope O'Neill and Roy continue to look for players who can make a valuable contribution now and in the future.
It's hard to make a balanced approach to this issue for the management team because pro-active approaches can be deemed poaching and then you must take into account the variables involved due to each personal circumstance i.e. how motivated is the player to play for Ireland and what is motivating them (career or patriotism/cultural identity).
We're well stocked in terms of wingers, I agree, and these are wingers who have been with us a long time (Pilkington, of course, lined out for an under-21 cap). I've never seen Buckley play to know whether he is better than those at our disposal, but those at our disposal all have PL experience which Buckley doesn't. Should we be pro-actively chasing him? Or should he be more pro-active? He doesn't exactly wrap the tri-colour around himself in those quotes the Herald had in October.
I sincerely don't believe there are many Granny rule players out there that are worthy of a place in the squad, let alone first team.
If it were up to me, I would call up Joe Mason because of the position he plays, his goalscoring record and from what I have seen of him. Apart from that though.....
Samir Carruthers, Jack Grealish and Sean Murray are other players who could play for Ireland in the future but are nowhere near ready for it.
I think people underestimate the pool of talent we currently have. Either way, minnow or no minnow, Adam Hammill, Will Buckley and Luke Chambers aren't going to make a dent in our fortunes.
A Gary Cahill or an Aaron Lennon declaring would be a cause for excitement but in the words of a Beach Boys song, "I'm Waiting For The Day".
But the reality is England now realise that they have to be proactive with young players as their player pool continues to diminish in the Premiership, and this has a knock on effect on us, Crowley and Mahoney being examples. I welcome Buckley and if he becomes the next Stephen Hunt, a late developer who gave his all for us, I would be happy with this.
But why do they have to wrap themselves in the tricolour or such like? Clinton Morrison made it clear when he was asked to join us that he was holding out for an England call up. When he realised it wasn't to be, he came on board and while limited in some ways, he was always passionate, committed and a good team player. That is all I ask of players and I wish there were a few Clintons around now who would be happy to come on board.
I fully agree.
And Adam Hammill is mentioned above. He'd be close to the squad if he was asked. He's a great talent. Love the lad.
Is this the lad that was at Wolves? I think there are several better options playing in the PL and with PL and International experience alone.
Because it devalues International football. It's ridiculous the amount of countries Alex Bruce and Alex Pearce have played for.
How the hell does it devalue international football? Do you really sit there watching Alex Pearce thinking to yourself it's ridiculous that he has represented two countries? Personally, I hope he continues to develop and offer us an alternative to Dunne and O'Shea as their retirement looms. It seems you will only welcome world class footballers who are Irish qualified, when you find them please let us know!
Has International Football be ruined or devalued because Puskas played for Poland and Spain, or Di Stefano playing for Argentina, Columbia and Spain?
We have a small population in this country but a massive Irish Diaspora spread throughout the world which we should be taking advantage of. We dont have a strong enough league to take advantage of the residency rules like some countries so we need to take any advantage while we can. But even the residency rule has not destroyed or devalued International Football. If Spain win the World cup this year no body will be saying its devalued because they had Diego Costa playing for them. If Ireland win the 6 Nations in Rugby this year I wont cheer any less because Richardt Strauss was playing.
Im going to be making a move to the US soon and I would hate to think that if I had kids out there that they would not be able to play international football for Ireland if they were good enough
Its really not that complicated!!!
You had me puzzled (not ruined) there for a minute.
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