Originally Posted by
Paul Rowan
Keep an eye on Patrick McEleney in today’s FAI Ford Cup final at the Aviva stadium and enjoy the experience, because you may not see him there again.
McEleney, 20, is considered a real talent who has already had a spell at Sunderland which didn’t work out, but could well be returning across the water shortly if his performances for Derry City are anything to go by.
The other reason why he mightn’t be making the trip down to Dublin as often as he used to is that he has abandoned a promising international career with the Republic of Ireland to throw his lot in with Northern Ireland instead.
He has been capped at Under-19 level with the Republic and was about to join the Under-21s.
He is following his brother Shane McEleney, who also plays for Derry City and has chosen to play for the North, but nonetheless it is an unusual course of action for a lad from Derry to pursue in the present climate.
For a few years now, the traffic has been coming the other way from the banks of the Foyle.
Darron Gibson was the most famous case, until the recent and rather spectacular defection from the Northern Ireland ranks by their Under-21 player James McClean, who ruffled many feathers with his comments about Catholics feeling more comfortable playing for the Republic.
Patrick McEleney himself was originally chosen for Northern Ireland underage squads back in 2009, but snubbed the North, declaring at the time: “I was with Northern Ireland and then I decided to go down south and play for Republic. The set-up down south is better. The players, the coaching staff and the facilities are far better than up north.”
Now he has changed his mind, though Derry City were keeping him under wraps last week to prevent any distractions caused by him explaining why he had done so.
If anything, facilities down south have only improved since then, which McEleney will realise when he looks around Lansdowne Road today. And he would have been working with an excellent coach at Under-21 level in Noel King.
Others who have made the switch to Northern Ireland haven’t been missed. The departure of the senior international Alex Bruce earlier this year prompted the response “Bruce Who?” from the Republic’s fans.
However, in McEleney’s case, given his promise, it has hurt King and is a blow to the Republic.
Though we don’t know for certain, it probably could have been avoided had the senior management team paid more heed to his achievements.
And it is a clear sign that the recently appointed Northern Ireland manager, Michael O’Neill, has been addressing this issue with some success.
O’Neill’s predecessor, Nigel Worthington, was a stranger to the Brandywell in Derry, but O’Neill has been getting about, not just in Northern Ireland, but in Britain as well.
What has emerged is that Patrick McEleney talked to the former Derry player and Northern Ireland international Paddy McCourt and, crucially, to O’Neill himself. And the Northern Ireland manager has made it clear he is just getting started.
O’Neill recently moved back to his house in Edinburgh and has been using the long fallow periods which international managers enjoy away from day-to-day tasks to his advantage.
For one thing, he has successfully courted the Newcastle United wing-back Shane Ferguson, who is also from Derry and looked for a while as if he was about to make the jump to the Republic.
He is on the hunt for others, not just players born in Northern Ireland who are thinking of exercising their right under the Good Friday Agreement to play for the Republic, but the legion of players in Britain and elsewhere who could play for any number of countries, including the two Irelands.
For a while there it looked like Northern Ireland might be turning into the Ireland B team, no matter how cruel that may sound.
There is no doubt their international side has been seriously weakened by the Republic’s claim over players born in the North and it’s fair to say that if they hadn’t lost the likes of Gibson, McClean and Marc Wilson they might actually be stronger than the Republic now.
The chant of “there’s only one team in Ireland” has been heard at Lansdowne Road before, but how Giovanni Trapattoni would like to have in his squad the Northern Ireland defenders Jonny Evans and the excellent Gareth McAuley of West Bromwich Albion, while Steve Davis would also have a role to play, as would Ferguson.
In time, Patrick McEleney will probably come to be missed. Picking an all-Ireland XI now is an interesting challenge, albeit one that remains well in the realm of fantasy.
In saying all this, it’s impossible to avoid the conclusion that the Republic are missing a trick here. A powerful network of informants, snitches, tippers-off and assorted other busybodies and do-gooders has been built up over the years.
They would be on the phone to the coaching staff at the drop of a hat with news of a new player. Rightly or wrongly, that player might often be fast-tracked if he was eligible to play for another country as well.
Journalists, such as the late Bob Hennessy, were another valuable source, who could be counted on to direct a player a certain way.
Well-connected individuals, such as the former senior managers Brian Kerr and Eoin Hand or the former Under-19s’ manager Sean McCaffrey, were quick to act on such nuggets, but they are no longer viewed as important by the current regime.
The system has fallen into a state of neglect, the weeds are growing and it’s Northern Ireland who are now making hay. Wave Patrick McEleney away today and wish him well.
Quote
Bookmarks