Found it here from 2:54 onwards: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15935932.stm
Transcribed the interview below.
Not a bad interview. I'll be honest; I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be actively seeking out eligible Irish nationals everywhere, irrespective of where they were born on the island of Ireland or around the world, especially given the IFA's severe breach of the accord agreed between Jim Boyce and Bernard O'Byrne in 1999 by dragging Daniel Kearns off to CAS. Still, we don't want to be coercing players into playing for us; we want players who want to play for us and if that's the official rationale, I won't make too big a deal out of it. It's a confident and secure approach and makes the IFA's current approach appear rather insecure and desperate in comparison. Interesting to hear Delaney's thoughts on the matter and the direction in which Carruthers takes the interview inadvertently turns the tables on the IFA in a way, which is somewhat amusing given the accusations they and NI fans have been flinging at the FAI of late. One thing though, is Delaney correct in asserting that the FAI don't actively recruit any dual nationals? At least, that appears to be what he's saying when he mentions their approach applying across Europe, or did I pick him up incorrectly?Mark Carruthers: "The issue of new players is an interesting one and you'll be aware of the fact that there'll be many people in NI who think that, perhaps, you've got your eye down there on too many players who could play for NI. The IFA, of course, has got Gerry Armstrong seeking to persuade young players in NI to stay and play for the NI team. How much of a hot potato do you think that issue is?"
John Delaney: "Well, first of all, I want to say we've got a very good relationship with the IFA. There is, of course, the issue of eligibility which only comes up when we meet. My own view and the FAI's view is that it's really up to the player; whoever the player wants to play for, we've got to respect his or her choice."
MC: "Yeah, but you are overtly trying to persuade players to play for the Republic, are you?"
JD: "Oh, I wouldn't agree with that at all. I would not agree with that at all. I think if a player makes it known to us that he wants to play for the Republic, then we'll look at him, but we're certainly not on a recruitment campaign."
MC: "Yeah, well, why not, John? Of course, there are some people who support the Republic of Ireland who would live in NI and they would say that's precisely what you should be doing!"
JD: "No, I think it's up to the player. The player decides that he wants to play for the Republic or the IFA. Then, it's a matter for the association to get involved but only at that stage. I don't think any player should be pressurised into playing for either country or whoever it is. This applies across Europe for different countries as well. It's up to the player."
MC: "But the IFA is aggressively going out - I'm sure Gerry Armstrong wouldn't use the word "aggressively" - but is in an up-front fashion going out there and targeting players who could play for either team saying, 'We want you to play for NI.' You're saying, you're sitting back and waiting until the player makes a decision and then falling into line; different approach..."
JD: "Yeah, different approach, but it's up to the IFA, and I respect the IFA if they want to appoint Gerry Armstrong if they want to do that. That's a matter for themselves. Our approach is quite simple. What you want is, you want the players who want to play for you, Mark. You don't want to coerce them or make them play for us. That's our approach and our approach is very simple; if a player declares for the Republic of Ireland, then we'll assess them and bring them into the squad if he's up to sufficient quality but we're certainly not going out, 'We want you to come and play for us.' It's a matter for the player to make his or her decision and at that stage then, we'll take it from there."
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 29/11/2011 at 11:37 AM.
Yeah, that seems to be what Delaney is insisting and I think there may be a few cases still active where this would see an interesting application. For instance, Tierney and Pilkington at Norwich. Tardelli quite openly states the interest he has in the two players, one of whom has never appeared for Ireland prior to this and the other who appeared for the under 21's, with speculation that he was unaware of his eligibility. The question would be has Tierney expressed an interest to someone in the FAI that he would be willing to appear for the Republic? Or are the FAI pursuing him?
I suppose in the instance of players such as Tierney, O'Hara and Noble where the players have seemingly improbable chances of England call-ups, the distinction between the FAI every attempting to pursue these players and players who have represented the North couldn't be clearer.
Also, there are examples of English-born players eligibility or interest in playing for the Republic being expressed by way of an intermediary, such as Kevin Doyle, Mick McCarthy and Shane Long in recent times in relation to Stearman and Alex Pearce. Perhaps the reason why players like Stearman haven't received a call-up when Ireland became aware of his eligibility long ago is because the FAI don't throw the passport at him and tell Trap 'Call him up!' and perhaps do wait for the player to pro-actively show interest and/or committment.
Somewhat speculative because I don't know what goes on behind closed door, only what is reported.
Gerry Armstrong encourages debate over anthem.
At least someone at the IFA isn't take the usual dismissive line and recognises there's a need for debate - know that's Gerry's job at this point but still. He does say he doesn't see why it's an issue - really? - but at least he's listening to what people are telling him.
However the pars in the middle of the article appear to be when the eligibility row finally tumbled into the parody void:
"Armstrong has held informal discussions with Snow Patrol songwriter and Northern Ireland fan Gary Lightbody about the anthem issue. "I know Gary Lightbody and it was a possible way out in terms of what we could do. We looked at the Scottish solutions and the Welsh situations where they have their own national anthems."
Never mind nationalists, will anyone declare if having to listen to Lightbody's moist middle rock before a game?
Last edited by SwanVsDalton; 29/11/2011 at 12:56 PM.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
Perhaps they should think about changing their colours to beige to go with it. Green being a nationalist colour and all.
Exactly. If the likes of Jack Charlton didn't take the '''We want you to come and play for us'' attitude we wouldn't be heard or tell of now and certainly wouldn't have qualified for any tournament - IMO. Don't see why Trapattoni can't go on a mini recruitment drive to get the best squad he possibly can.Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
"We lost because we didn't win"- Ronaldo
I don't think it's the same thing. We're attracting players from NI at underage level, but any English-born players we bring in will probably be older and more likely to win a place in the squad for the finals. Any NI-born player who fits the profile of Tierney/Pilkington/O'Hara would have played for their full team by now.
I just read what you quoted, Carruthers turned the table on purpose, a standard ploy to extract some ambivalence on Delaney's position.
In general, JD gives a good interview and a good account of himself, as he should do. On the eligibility issue, he has always been sound and diplomatic, at least what I have heard from him.
I'd have full confidence that he'd wipe the floor in any BBC Ni debate with the IFA mopes.
He would, easy. It's been said a few times around here, but, despite some big problems with his regime (particularly regarding LOI), I'm glad he's on our side. Smooth operator, just a touch of the machiavellian.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
The article starts with
Gerry Armstrong believes the Irish FA should consider whether finding a new national anthem to replace God Save the Queen would encourage more nationalists to play for Northern Ireland.
If the IFA want to change the football anthem then they should do so for reasons such as respect etc.
Somehow, seeing as how they have dismissed/procrastinated on this obvious issue for years, it seems to me that the horse has bolted a long time ago.
And now that expressed motivation for change (to stop the exodus), at this stage just sounds cynical.
I think any sentiment beyond the usual 'problem? what problem?!' is good to hear.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
Cheers Danny for transcribing the interview. Have to say, I'm a little bit miffed that Delaney gave any sort of airtime and credence to the 'issue'. From our perspective, its not broken, so don't fix it. He's now acknowledged their whinging and made a 'pledge' of sorts that the FAI won't actively recruit northern-born Irish nationals - a pledge that I don't think he needed to make. Don't see why we can't co on a recruitment drive/set up camps etc in the north.
And the fact that he has possibly contradicted himself in that of course it is policy for the FAI to seek to recruit eligible players outside of the FAI jurisdiction - its called 'scouting' and every country does it. In any case, the last thing we should be doing is trying to 'ease the fears' of the IFA. They made their bed over the years....
Last edited by Scooby Doo; 29/11/2011 at 2:15 PM.
Is it any different in principle though? It's difficult (impossible?) to quantify a player's potential future value to any association. What does age matter? The progression, development and success of our under-age squads are also vital aspects of the FAI's commitment to football in Ireland, just as the success of the senior team is.
Keith Andrews made his debut for us at the age of 28 and has since won 26 senior caps, becoming a mainstay in our central midfield partnership. (I'm ignoring the debate as to whether his place is actually justified for now and looking at this in a functional or utilitarian sense for the sake of argument.) At the age of 25 or 26, whilst playing with MK Dons, many might well have said there was little chance of him ever making our senior squad at all, never mind carving out what has become a very meaningful international career. Say, he'd also been eligible to play for another association and decided to declare for them at that point, I think it would be fair to say we'd have lost out on someone who has become a crucial player for us in hindsight. Of course, any decision he would have made then would all have been within the rules as they currently stand. The same applies to the likes of Alex Bruce. Who knows when he might have come in handy as a future option for us, or as back-up at least? Or the likes of Lee Camp. England have long had trouble in the goalkeeping position and who's to know when a "crisis" might have forced England to look further down the pecking order?
In that sense and in principle, I don't think the FAI contacting the likes of Marc Tierney would be any different from them contacting the likes of Shane Ferguson. It's all above board and within the remit accorded to us by the regulations currently in place. Plus, it's not as if the IFA have been unwilling to select players like Ryan Brobbel, Caolan Lavery and Johnny Gorman (none of them yet 20 years of age) who have also been part of the youth selections of other associations. Johnny Gorman, for example, played for our under-16s before representing the IFA at the same level.
JD isn't 100% honest as the FAI did approach Shane Ferguson through Mick Martin. Mick Martin played with and coached at Newcastle United so how "active" and "official" the approach was is open to interpretation.
Mick Martin is hired by the FAI to scout. Approaching a player to find out the story and trying to persuade a player to switch/declare are 2 different things.
Delaney said the FAI don't try and persuade or coerce players to change allegiance.
The main thrust of what he's saying though is that contrary to Gerry Armstrong and IFA fans' scaremongering, the FAI is not aggressively pursuing players (nets optional). They have always respected the players' choices, rather than hounding them in the way that the IFA has.
End Apartheid Now! One Team in Ireland!
The first two and a half minutes were actually devoted to discussing Trap's new contract. The eligibility issue seemed to arise as a secondary issue, although it was clearly something still very much on Carruthers' agenda for the interview, so presumably Delaney knew it would rear its head. I've no major issue really with what he said as hounding down players isn't the way to go about it. Delaney gave a good account of the FAI's approach and it's difficult for someone on the IFA's side to complain about that. If northern-born players support us and want to play for us, they know what to do. They won't need any cajoling or recruitment drive to convince them of where their heart is already. It's the IFA who obviously feel the need to be initiating PR campaigns; see the recent visits of Nigel "North of Ireland" Worthington and Gerry Armstrong to St. Columb's College in Derry and the latest brouhaha about changing the anthem so as to potentially deter nationalists from declaring for the FAI in future.
Delaney gives mention to the fact that relations with the IFA are cordial and that's obviously something at the forefront of his mind in his dealings with them. Complaining over such a reasonable policy as was outlined by him in the interview would only make one look like an intransigent stuck-in-the-mud out to curb the individual rights of dual national players. It also means the FAI cannot be accused of "poaching" or acting "unfairly" and in a "predatory" fashion, even if I do think such accusations are way wide of the mark myself. I do think it would be helpful if such loaded, insulting and misguided nomenclature could be removed from the debate entirely as it only enables certain individuals to frame the FAI as something they are not. This interview goes some way towards aiding that. The ball is now in the court of detractors of the FAI to desist from engaging in insincerity.
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 29/11/2011 at 2:33 PM.
Is this where our Predator got his name from?
No, but that was transposed onto me during my stint over on OWC where I was (get this) accused of being an FAI employee, logging on to check their forum for "Catholic-sounding" names (whatever that is).
End Apartheid Now! One Team in Ireland!
I think that's quite a good distinction. I'm very much in favour of the FAI keeping an eye out on eligible players, ensuring the player is aware of their options and finding out their potential interest to play for us, but if they then appear ambivalent or indifferent to the idea, it would only look desperate trying to hound them into playing for us. That includes the likes of Shane Ferguson and Jamie O'Hara so I can see where Delaney is coming from when he makes the reference to Europe.
Excellent post DI. Although I'm inclined to think that it is a 'debate' that we should ignore. I'm loath to speak so crassly about something that many people on here (not to mention measured and informed NI posters here such as NB and GR) feel so strongly does warrent discussion and reconcilliation, but as far as I'm concerned, the IFA and the OWC brigade can go f***. They've tried to fabricate that the freedom of choice of young Irish men and women is something negative that exists because of some loophole. Something that I find reprehensible.
Good on 'Gerry the Catholic' if he had no problem singing GSTQ or whistling the Sash or standing to attention to the Union Jack or playing his football in a stadium and an atmosphere that has for decades epitomised the staunchest and ugliest uber-Loyalist and anti-Irish nationalist settlement - but don't try and dress that up now with a big 'Football for All' banner and a clever little ditty by Gary Lightbody and suggest that nationalists should cast aside their natural alliegence totheir country and nation.
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