Eligibility Rules, Okay

Probably views it as an audition for us.

Originally Posted by Ryan McLaughlin

I know supporters will be paranoid about it...

Even their own players know their fans are paranoid!

I think it'd be very difficult for him personally to make a switch after those comments. He has more or less promised them his allegiance.

Saw that in the link, his loss...

Originally Posted by DannyInvincible

How strict is this policy? I know, for example, Sean Caffrey point-blank refused to get in touch with an obviously-interested Shane Duffy until Duffy first made the call to the FAI to formally declare interest, but didn't EG once claim that Brian Kerr had contacted Chris Baird years ago? Aren't the FAI OK about approaching players who've played for other associations at youth level though? Presumably, someone's recently spoken to England under-21 Harry Kane about the possibility of representing us if O'Neill has been keeping tabs on him. Why should the FAI treat the IFA with some special deference anyway? This is the organisation that brought the FAI and Daniel Kearns to court in order to try and deprive Irish players of the option of declaring for us.

Afternoon all!

Don't worry, I''ve not decided to declare for "foot.ie" again or anything(!), but when Googling for something else, it brought this Forum up, and searching further for the item, I noticed the above reference to me (in bold).

Anyhow to clarify, I'm pretty certain that some time after the event, Chris Baird disclosed that he had been approached by the FAI soon after he broke into the first team at Soton. Dunno if it was Kerr himself, but this would have been around May 2003 - a few months after Kerr took over the ROI Seniors.

And on the topic generally, Kieran McKenna (Spurs youngster) said the same in his local paper, though it wasn't more widely reported that I saw, and Shane Ferguson was definitely approached by Mick Martin to switch at the time he fell out with Nigel Worthington. (Many mistakenly assumed he had fallen out with NI/IFA).

Meanwhile, in a an article/profile on Paddy McCourt in the Irish Post of 08 February 2014 (never uploaded onto their website), journalist Garry Doyle noted the following:

... there are pockets of Derry where Celtic are hated but Paddy is loved, his allegiance to Northern ireland buying their loyalty. He could have gone elsewhere, having been courted by the Republic of Ireland in 2002, before he quietly rejected the FAI's advances and accepted the invitation from the then Northern Ireland manager, Sammy McIlroy, to join up with his squad for their April 2002 international against Spain.

Interestingly*, the article continues:

Seven years would pass before McCourt would win his second cap - and even though he received a bullet in the post from a Northern Ireland address when he was on Celtic's books - but he has no regrets about the country he chose to play for.
"Northern Ireland's fans have always been superb to me", he says. "And long may that continue. It is the way it should be, because we are playing for our country. People [in Derry] understand why I wanted to play for Northern Ireland. They know it's a sport, that people want to play international football. I play for Northern Ireland and love it. Fans respect that. It's football... [not politics]"

Incidentally, I also noticed the Daily Mail piece on Nigel Worthington and Paddy's fellow Derryman, James McClean.

Whilst it gave interesting background on NW's reasons for calling McClean up etc, it failed to note another aspect of the case.

Which is that McClean - who had played several times for the NI U-21's previously - actually accepted the Senior call-up when it came, as was reported, before then changing his mind 2 or 3 days before the game. (When NW called him up a couple of weeks before the game, there is no way he would have done so on the basis that the player was permitted to wait another 10 or 12 days before saying 'Yes' to the invitation.)

I don't know whether his late change of heart was because he suddenly realised that since the game in question was a World Cup qualifier (vs Faroes, I think), and so would tie him to NI, or because he had heard from the FAI in the meantime, now that they were alerted to the possibility of losing him. Possibly both?

Anyhow, considering his immeasurable quality of causing trouble wherever he goes, and whoever he meets, I don't care whether McClean turns out to be the "Derry Diego" - you're welcome to him!

Meanwhile, I am completely grateful that we got the "Derry Pele" instead.



* - Well to me, at least!

Wowzers, look who's (briefly?) pulled his head out of the sand!

How's about ye, EG? How come you never replied?

Originally Posted by DannyInvincible

Wowzers, look who's (briefly?) pulled his head out of the sand!

How's about ye, EG? How come you never replied?

Hard to believe it was 2011. Time flies eh...

Originally Posted by EalingGreen

He could have gone elsewhere, having been courted by the Republic of Ireland in 2002, before he quietly rejected the FAI's advances and accepted the invitation from the then Northern Ireland manager, Sammy McIlroy, to join up with his squad for their April 2002 international against Spain.[/I]

To put this into perspective, McCourt received his first senior cap with NI as an 18 year old playing for Rochdale (a league 1/ league 2 team at the time, and he didn't receive his next cap until 7 years later .... ). His inclusion in the NI squad, a team ranked 91st in the World by FIFA in April 2002, was noted at the time as a "surprise". At the time of McCourt's first cap, Ireland, a team ranked 19th in the World, were preparing for a WC. But sure maybe the Republik were on the look out for a new left winger - Damien Duff was decidedly average at the time after all.

Originally Posted by EalingGreen

Afternoon all!


Anyhow, considering his immeasurable quality of causing trouble wherever he goes, and whoever he meets, I don't care whether McClean turns out to be the "Derry Diego" - you're welcome to him!

Meanwhile, I am completely grateful that we got the "Derry Pele" instead.

Would this may the same "Derry Pele" about whom you said "Quite simply he is not fit enough or strong enough to play full-time professional football to a decent standard," on the Irish League thread of this forum?

was sure mclaughlin was going to play for us. Pity.. Seamus playing the right back role must have frightened him off!!

Originally Posted by ifk101

To put this into perspective, McCourt received his first senior cap with NI as an 18 year old playing for Rochdale (a league 1/ league 2 team at the time, and he didn't receive his next cap until 7 years later .... ). His inclusion in the NI squad, a team ranked 91st in the World by FIFA in April 2002, was noted at the time as a "surprise". At the time of McCourt's first cap, Ireland, a team ranked 19th in the World, were preparing for a WC. But sure maybe the Republik were on the look out for a new left winger - Damien Duff was decidedly average at the time after all.

All very well, I'm sure, but did ROI not have an U-21 side in those days?

Or U-20's?

U-19's maybe?

(Oh and while Paddy can/has played on the Left, he's equally comfortable on the Right, or in the Centre.)

Originally Posted by third policeman

Would this may the same "Derry Pele" about whom you said "Quite simply he is not fit enough or strong enough to play full-time professional football to a decent standard," on the Irish League thread of this forum?

Yep, I said it at the time, and subsequent events look to have borne it out.

But that wasn't the point I was making, nor does it contradict it.

Which, in case you missed it, was that Paddy's comment rebuts the claims of those who say that the FAI doesn't make the first approach.

That's all, really.

P.S. Fit or unfit, I wouldn't swap one Paddy for two McCleans. Nor, I'm sure, would any other NI fan.

Originally Posted by aidz1

was sure mclaughlin was going to play for us. Pity.. Seamus playing the right back role must have frightened him off!!

Certainly possible (bold).

McLaughlin/Coleman is a much more valid comparison than ifk's McCourt/Duff (above).

Originally Posted by EalingGreen

P.S. Fit or unfit, I wouldn't swap one Paddy for two McCleans. Nor, I'm sure, would any other NI fan.

What a load of sour grapes.

Welcome back EG.

Originally Posted by DannyInvincible

What a load of sour grapes.

Not at all.

For considering McClean's capacity for causing trouble wherever he goes, I am genuinely relieved - pleased, even - that he didn't get tied to us.

Fwiw, I would say the same about eg George McCartney's premature retirement from playing for NI ("Good Riddance"), but not about eg Marc Wilson's decision not to play for NI.

Just as, I imagine, some/many ROI fans feel no loss over Stephen Ireland, fine player though he is.

In the end, NI will never "outskill" (yuck) other teams, therefore it is essential that we maintain a good spirit and sense of unity in our team.

Picking James McClean in the team would be like inviting the Ayatollah Khomeni to your Stag Do...

Originally Posted by The Fly

Welcome back EG.

Thank You Fly, but for reasons of Time and Inclination, I am determined to resist getting drawn back in.

So "Toodle Pip" everybody.

He doesn't seem to have a history of falling out with teammates though does he? He just a bit thick when it comes to social media. He creates baggage for himself more than his team. I don't think ye've lost out on much though because overall he's a fairly average footballer, so far anyway. Jamie Ward, for one, is probably a more intelligent player although I haven't really seen him at international level.

Welcome back, EG, however briefly.

It's been so long, I thought for a fleeting moment somebody had used the foot.ie ouija board to make contact!

If EG is EG, what do we call EG?

It's great you're back EG! But how do you find the time to dissect posts like you do? Are you permanently attached to a laptop?