QuoteShould have read as "You'd know".
Anyway, away from their media, another punter has chipped in.
http://www.wsc.co.uk/wsc-daily/1165-...sure-yet-again
Maybe GR will object to theauthor's surname...
It was a 'joke' perpetuated by the Russian media. Perhaps they do irony too, GR. As for shouting 'troll', well he'd certainly know...Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
Should have read as "You'd know".
Anyway, away from their media, another punter has chipped in.
http://www.wsc.co.uk/wsc-daily/1165-...sure-yet-again
Maybe GR will object to the
Not strictly eligibility-related, but Grant McCann has become the latest to step down to concentrate on his club career. The difference in this case is that it will free up a spot in the senior side for some eligible young buck.
He's 33 and has already moved into coaching/ management.
And hasn't played in the senior side in a qualifier since October 2011. O'Neill only rates him as a squad player covering Davis, Brunt and Norwood.
Paul Rowan in today's Times mentions that Brendan Rodgers engineered a meeting between Michael O'Neill and Ryan McLaughlin but apparently he just doesn't want to play international football for anyone right now. He also mentions that Anton Rodgers has declared for the IFA while Gerry Armstrong pipes in with some typical ****-stirring about how Northern-born players are always telling him they don't feel welcome down south.
Who would he be referring to?
Very few players have "switched" from the IFA to the FAI and back again to the IFA. I'm not aware of any recently, in fact. Am I overlooking someone? There were the cases of Tony Kane and Michael O'Connor, but I'm not aware that they'd felt unwelcome joining up with FAI teams. They returned to the IFA for pragmatic career reasons, as far as I know.
Of all the other northern-born players to declare for us, none have expressed any sense of regret at the choice; not even Darron Gibson, despite his current self-imposed exile. There's absolutely no indication he'd rather be playing with the IFA than not playing under Trapattoni for personal reasons.
In fact, the welcome James McClean received in Lansdowne on his debut was hair-raising. Shane Duffy was also the beneficiary of exceptional support from the FAI when he suffered his life-threatening laceration.
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 25/08/2013 at 7:18 PM.
Was just reading Anton Rodgers' Wikipedia article and, don't you know it, this line humoured me:
It references a Graham Luney article in the Belfast Telegraph, but it never ceases to astound me the impressive diversity of ignorance and misunderstanding that stubbornly persists to exist in attempts to explain why exactly northern-born Irish nationals (or their immediate offspring) are eligible to play for Ireland.Anton is eligible to play for England through birth, Northern Ireland through parentage, or the Republic of Ireland under EU rulings.
On the subject of a Rodgers, I wonder what impact Brendan Rodgers is having on the international career of Ryan McLaughlin. Apparently, he was unhappy with the decision by McLaughlin to make himself unavailable for selection. He'd surely be even more unhappy if McLaughlin made himself available to the FAI given that he reckons (if my memory serves me correctly on this quote) 'Northern Irish boys should be playing for Northern Ireland.'
The international status of Anton Rodgers also appears to be unknown given the comments made by his father about a year ago. Perhaps the replacement of his cousin Worthington has stalled the move.
EDIT: Just read CD's post.
Last edited by Olé Olé; 25/08/2013 at 8:10 PM.
Relations between himself and his son must have been strained when Anton was lining out for our under-19s...
Well if their relationship can withstand a trial over an orgy then I'm sure it can withstand anything.
He said Brendan told him Anton told him, and that 3 or 4 of the Northern Irelands who went down south said the same thing. Regardless of whether or not it's true, this is the kind of information the IFA are plowing young players with these days - hopefully there are a few lads with enough cop-on to see through it.Who would he be referring to?
Very few players have "switched" from the IFA to the FAI and back again to the IFA. I'm not aware of any recently, in fact. Am I overlooking someone? There were the cases of Tony Kane and Michael O'Connor, but I'm not aware that they'd felt unwelcome joining up with FAI teams. They returned to the IFA for pragmatic career reasons, as far as I know.
Of all the other northern-born players to declare for us, none have expressed any sense of regret at the choice; not even Darron Gibson, despite his current self-imposed exile. There's absolutely no indication he'd rather be playing with the IFA than not playing under Trapattoni for personal reasons.
In fact, the welcome James McClean received in Lansdowne on his debut was hair-raising. Shane Duffy was also the beneficiary of exceptional support from the FAI when he suffered his life-threatening laceration.
I'd imagine Rodgers is more concerned with whether Ryan can get into the Liverpool first team. Rodgers is a Nationalist so maybe his son was treated shabbily or maybe he just wasn't good enough to play with us,like the other northern players. I'm pretty sure I remember Rodgers saying he had two international teams to support as a young lad. Sounds like a bit of a Gerry Armstrong.
Anyhow, I like Rodgers, even if he is an Uncle Tom
Who said Rodgers is a nationalist? He's a Catholic by birth but that doesn't dispose him to any particular political position. His statements with respect to international football would point towards him not being a nationalist.
Sounds like a load of guff, and rather desperate guff at that. Why would the FAI want to make players (they've first gone and selected) feel unwelcome? Is Armstrong referring to players who are currently registered with the FAI then? Why would he be communicating with them or they with him? Or is he referring to players who've switched from the FAI to the IFA? I'm trying to think of specific examples to which he might be referring but I have no idea. Did the McEleneys ever indicate that they felt unwelcome?
Fair point. I made the mistake of thinking a Catholic would be a Nationalist.
I assume he means that the other players see a guy coming down from NI as a bit "different" and that the ROI set-up is perhaps a bit less sophisticated and player-focused. I'd say the most obvious reason they might feel less welcome is because the standard is better so there's more competition. That's the bell O'Neill & Co. have been ringing for a while now - "you're probably not good enough for the ROI side and the nasty manager won't even pick League One players, but you'll be well taken care of here."
That's all speculation, but we still don't have any specific examples. Nor can I think of probable candidates.
Less sophisticated than the IFA set-up? Is the IFA set-up renowned as a bastion of sophistication now? And less player-focused in the sense that the FAI coaches have a wider pool of players from which to select so the building of close personal relationships may be somewhat limited?
The level of coaching in NI is undoubtedly better than it is at FAI level, and I'd wager it is better organisationally too.
Less player-focused in the sense that the likes of Gerry Armstrong are going to do everything they can to make the elite players like McLaughlin feel at home, whereas with ROI they'll be just another player, which is the way it should be in an organisation that has aspirations of competing with the best. In other words, they've made it clear that if you're a really good prospect and thinking of declaring for Ireland, you'll be given special treatment to make sure you stay. This just doesn't happen with the FAI - witness Jack Grealish, Sean McGinty, etc being left out of the squads in spite of the possibility they could throw in their lot with England.
Catholicism/Catholic identity or heritage and unionism aren't necessarily irreconcilable, even in Ireland: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Unionist
Noel King did make efforts to convince McEleney to stick with us - not that that necessarily meant he was to be offered special treatment - but your point generally makes sense.
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