Eligibility Rules, Okay

[gastric]

Thank goodness, he's gone now after being up until 3.52 in the morning defending the Empire against nasty Republicans. It's morning here so I am ready and waiting to defend our Taoiseach from this nasty man!

[ArdeeBhoy]

Probably why it got a terse two-line dismissal and one guy commenting on a message board. Who naturally has had no replies from the massed ranks of other readers who ignore non-stories

It's not the story they're concerned about, but the disproportionate failure to accept rational explanation, which as geysir's previous definition showed, highlights a fair degree of exaggerated paranoia*.

You're funny. But not in a good way.

His version was rather more humorous than one which shows all the signs of being, er, peculiar.

I make it 18 actually.

So already 17 too many. Unless of course you were just 'seeking attention' ?

Do you think ex- NI captains or World Cup veterans are immune from talking baloney then?

You go right ahead give it that rational consideration. Once you've finished Pop Psychology for Dummies.

To answer the first point, it would be difficult, be it Best, Dougan or Lennon, to be more irrational...

On the final one, might we suggest tomes for you, that not only deal with the dreaded 'p'-word *, but also that explain irony, not to mention hypocrisy...

[Charlie Darwin]

On the plus side, in light of the IFA's statement and Gather Round's passionate musings on the subject, we can now be sure that there are at least two people on the island of Ireland who take Enda Kenny seriously.

[Gather round]

First, my apologies to Gastric and others for going in two-footed above. Yellow card duly accepted, no hard feelings I hope.

On the plus side, in light of the IFA's statement and Gather Round's passionate musings on the subject, we can now be sure that there are at least two people on the island of Ireland who take Enda Kenny seriously

Aye, it's hard being a voice in the wilderness. Lately I've even been hallucinating that Enda got 36% of the voters to take him seriously in the last election.

Have you been to America recently? [referring baloney and pop psychology]

No, just Bologna and Vienna. The original and best.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Hmm, not what you said about this the other day...
And a different shade of 'yellow' would be rather more apt iterms of cards being played.

Even Enda has a bigger mandate though!

[geysir]

It must be a bi-polar type paranoia, comes on in waves.

[Charlie Darwin]

Aye, it's hard being a voice in the wilderness. Lately I've even been hallucinating that Enda got 36% of the voters to take him seriously in the last election.

Do you have a temperature?

[DannyInvincible]

'All-Ireland soccer team will never happen – Keith Gillespie': http://thescore.thejournal.ie/all-ir...77185-Nov2013/

EX-NORTHERN IRELAND star Keith Gillespie has dismissed hopes of an all-Ireland team being established in the future, suggesting it will “never happen”.

Enda Kenny recently put forward the idea for a team of players from both sides of the border to be established to play charity matches against England, however Gillespie believes this idea is not viable.

The former Man United player, who won 86 caps for his country over the course of a 20-year playing career, believes the situation is too complex politically for a resolution that would see the two sides come together.

“For me, it’ll never happen for political reasons — there’s just too many complications with it,” he told TheScore.ie.

“I was brought up as a Northern Ireland fan. So for me, that’s my country. For people brought up as Republic of Ireland fans, that’s their country.

“I’ve always been a Northern Ireland fan from a young age and used to go and watch them. That’s my identity and I wouldn’t want it changed. But I’m not into the politics of it whatsoever.”

He expresses similar views in his new autobiography, How Not to be a Football Millionaire, in which he claims the longstanding animosity between the team’s sets of fans was never emulated by players from the respective countries.

In the book, he also laments the infamous circumstances that led to Neil Lennon having to quit the Northern Irish team.

“Neil was popular in the group, although he had taken stick from some supporters at Windsor since his move to Celtic. With so many northern Ireland fans having Rangers loyalties, he was never going to be their favourite person but it descended into something far more sinister than that.

“We had our usual nap in the hotel before the game. I popped down to reception after and knew from the looks on people’s faces that something was up. Neil was gone. Death threats had been phoned through via the BBC and, after consulting with police, he would be taking no part in the game. He was so shaken up by the incident that he had quit Northern Ireland completely. Sammy called a meeting to explain the situation and, while we chose to go ahead with the game, I really don’t think anyone was in the mood. It finished 0-0. Fitting, because there were no winners that day.”

Gillespie, whose mother grew up on the same street as Martin O’Neill, backed his fellow countryman to succeed in his new role as Ireland manager.

“It’s a great appointment — a real coup to get someone like Martin O’Neill who has had a lot of success from Wycombe all the way up to Leicester and Celtic. He was a fantastic player who won European trophies, played in the World Cup finals and captained his country.

“He’s a great man to have and I can only see good things happening for the Republic.”

[ArdeeBhoy]

Slow news day for The Journal?

[DannyInvincible]

Probably getting the last bit of mileage out of a dying (dead?) story as part of Gillespie's promotion of his new autobiography. Does that imply he also has an old one? Could Keith Gillespie possibly have enough material to keep the punters buying two autobiographies?

I’ve always been a Northern Ireland fan from a young age and used to go and watch them. That’s my identity and I wouldn’t want it changed. But I’m not into the politics of it whatsoever.

I'm not sure how those statements can be reconciled. Supporting any international side and embracing an identity are inherently political acts, surely? If Gillespie, or anyone else for that matter, was to "admit" that their politics coloured their football-thinking, what'd be the harm in that? Why does "politics" have to be a dirty word, as if this "malign" influence of politics upon our motives renders them impure or something?

[Gather round]

Gillespie's promotion of his new autobiography. Does that imply he also has an old one?

No, it's a sensible of marketing of the book to stress how new it is (in terms of date of issue, rather than content). The latter is the usual, predictable mix of birds, booze and big gambling debts found in most books of its type.

Could Keith Gillespie possibly have enough material to keep the punters buying two autobiographies?

Probably not, he's insufficiently celebrated on the field or badly behaved off it. But nobody's touting volume two, except you.

I'm not sure how those statements can be reconciled. Supporting any international side and embracing an identity are inherently political acts, surely?

Not really. He started supporting NI aged seven or eight, as many of us do, through initial excitement, influence of family and school friends etc. Not because he recognised it as part of the same process as vote transfers in Donaghadee.

If Gillespie, or anyone else for that matter, was to "admit" that their politics coloured their football-thinking, what'd be the harm in that?

From Keef's POV, intent on at least a part-time career in football punditry, it might be thought best not to overdo the party politics. Blandness is safer.

Why does "politics" have to be a dirty word, as if this "malign" influence of politics upon our motives renders them impure or something?

He's not saying it's malign, merely that he's not really interested in it.

[Lionel Ritchie]

I'm not sure how those statements can be reconciled. Supporting any international side and embracing an identity are inherently political acts, surely? If Gillespie, or anyone else for that matter, was to "admit" that their politics coloured their football-thinking, what'd be the harm in that? Why does "politics" have to be a dirty word, as if this "malign" influence of politics upon our motives renders them impure or something?

I dunno Danny, I don't think he's being especially coy here. He may genuinely not give a toss about the politics and yet his "default" disposition is Norn Iron much the same as mine is Ireland. He might not care less if loyal wee Ulster is subsumed and consumed by the potatoe-munching papist Republic tomorrow provided the team he cares about and which, from his perspective, so many love and have shared history with keeps going.

I can relate to that and I guess, in a sense, I agree with his analysis. I don't envisage a time when there'll be a single team representing Ireland -not even in the event of a politically agreed all-island, all-Ireland administrative arrangment (Jesus I nearly said 'Final Solution' there! ). We HAVE an all Ireland team and anyone who wants to from Ireland can play for it. That's enough for me.

By the by, in the equally likely (as far as I can see) event we (grand "we", "royal we" even) rejoin the UK I'd expect to retain our team as well.

[DannyInvincible]

I didn't mean it in the narrow sense of party politics. I meant it in the broader sense of an individual coming under the influence of and supporting a certain social structure or order, if you will, never mind an international football team. That's inherently political to me. "Default" dispositions can be political too. Not wanting his identity changed is an explicitly political stance, no? It's not even a passive stance in that it requires a degree of proactive thought. Not that I'm saying it's a bad thing or anything, nor was I accusing Gillespie of coyness at all. I think he just misuses the term, probably unwittingly, in conforming with the received wisdom. It was just the way he dismissed politics with his concerned clarification that caught my attention, lest anyone might think his motives were tainted, God forbid! If he didn't care about it, he wouldn't have mentioned it. If he said he was a die-hard loyalist and that supporting NI was part of such an identity for him, that'd be nothing to be ashamed of.

I'm just being a pedant.

[DannyInvincible]

I happened to be having a look through the Equatoguinean football team in light of their friendly against Spain last night and found it interesting that only three players of their 25-man squad were actually born in Equatorial Guinea. The remainder of the team hail variously from Spain, Brazil, Colombia and Cameroon with another from Côte d'Ivoire. Those from Spain are generally of Equatoguinean descent whilst the others tend to be naturalised citizens.

I think something might well have been lost in translation here, as the reference is in the Spanish language, but, rather amusingly, the Wikipedia article of one of the Colombian-born players, Jimmy Bermúdez, outlines the following:

In May 2013, Bermúdez was purchased by the Equatoguinean football team, which he will represent and will get € 3,000 for each match played.

[DannyInvincible]

I read TheScore.ie's follow-up piece on Gillespie's autobiography yesterday and he described himself as "very patriotic". That's political, isn't it?

[ifk101]

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/inter...d-new-players/

Might be of interest to some. O'Neill comments on the north's unsuccessful recruitment drive.

[liamoo11]

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/inter...d-new-players/

Might be of interest to some. O'Neill comments on the north's unsuccessful recruitment drive.

so david bell can be added to the group of irish internationals the IFA poached along with scannell, bruce, o gorman

[DannyInvincible]

Scannell hasn't switched, nor has he expressed any present intention to do so, to the best of my knowledge.

The list of players going the other way is lengthy enough. Just off the top of my head, there's been Alex Bruce, Gerard Doherty, Shane McEleney, Paddy McEleney, Johnny Gorman and Ryan Brobbel. Tony Kane and Michael O'Connor also reverted back after joining up with our set-up for a spell each. Am I missing anyone?

Or more importantly, can we howl that the floodgates have opened yet?

[Charlie Darwin]

Hands off our boys!

[NeverFeltBetter]

It's a disgrace Joe.