Potentially eligible players thread

[SkStu]

Jacob Slater - English born, Irish U21 international is on the bench for B&HA this evening. Played for us earlier in November. Left Back...

[~YTM~]

It's a pity Bradley ended up playing for the 6 counties. Could have sorted our RB issues for ten plus years at least.

[The Fly]

What you need to "get" is that for the present generation of youngsters, the likes of Sean Moore or Kone Doherty are the exception not the rule, the default position being that they play for NI.

The default for the present generation of talented youngsters from a CNR background certainly isn’t a desire to play for NI. One swallow doesn’t make a summer EG.

[Eirambler]

No, but once they go into that system it's hard to get them out again. We should be much more proactive in terms of identifying and targeting players from the north at a younger age. It would ruffle a few feathers but so be it.

The best age to bring lads from the north into our setup is before Under 17s, because then it's a free hit for the player, they can always switch to the north down the line if they end up not being good enough for us. Whereas once they've played competitive Under 17 international football it's harder to convince players to switch because that is then tying them to Ireland, and the reality is that most won't be good enough.

[seanfhear]

No, but once they go into that system it's hard to get them out again. We should be much more proactive in terms of identifying and targeting players from the north at a younger age. It would ruffle a few feathers but so be it.

The best age to bring lads from the north into our setup is before Under 17s, because then it's a free hit for the player, they can always switch to the north down the line if they end up not being good enough for us. Whereas once they've played competitive Under 17 international football it's harder to convince players to switch because that is then tying them to Ireland, and the reality is that most won't be good enough.

Well thought out ~ The way to go alright.

[Predator]

Jim Crawford said that the FAI was talking to "third parties" about Conor Bradley and then he was called up to the Norn senior team. If anything, it illustrates the need for more urgency on the part of the FAI and Ireland coaches. When you consider the IFA's 'Club NI' programme, which brings kids into their orbit at 11/12 and how hard the English FA has been working to keep multi-eligible players (and entice them - Grealish/Rice), how can we afford to be blasé about potentially eligible players?