It just keeps getting worse for the (Jamaican born) Sterling, even his own team captain, Wayne Rooney, has publicly derided him, the other day.
"I'm a firm believer that the country you are born in is who you should play for"
Ryan Bertrand was asked a couple of cringey questions by Tony O'D yesterday - firstly about his own Irish connection, which is a grandparent from Crumlin (iirc), and he was trying to be polite/diplomatic:Originally Posted by geysir
'Ah, yeah,...got a grandfather from Crumlin....but ah...ah...England born and bred really.
'So how about Jack Grealish, he has a big decision to make?'
'Ah...yeah...ah...a big decision.'
Tony waited for more, but there was no more.
That's gas, but seeing as he is already affectionately referred to as "The Man With The Golden Flute",
what possible honour could out-endow that one?
Came across this very interesting "cutting" on Twitter earlier:
It's from a 1969 edition of Goal, but, as Crerrand and Byrne were each first selected by Scotland and England respectively in 1961, they must be referring to the 1962 change agreed at the 33rd FIFA Congress in Santiago, which introduced the following rule:
“Any player who is a naturalised citizen of a country in virtue of that country’s laws shall be eligible to play for a national or representative team of that country.”
That rule remained in place until 2004 and was the one under which players like Alan Kernaghan, Ger Crossley and Mark McKeever qualified to play for us.
It was also the same rule that was in place when Jimmy McGeough was infamously restricted from playing for us by Harry Cavan in 1969, so why was McGeough treated differently from the former three? Interestingly, the article above spoke of the association of a player's birth-country having to give the green light first before another association for whom the player was also eligible could take advantage. Was this something in the general rules, I wonder? When did this "convention" cease to be? Perhaps this is what the modern IFA think was the discredited "gentlemen's agreement between the IFA and the FAI". Of course, in the end, despite Cavan claiming NI couldn't afford to be letting "their" players play for Ireland, Jimmy was never given international recognition by the IFA either.
I actually spoke to Jimmy over the phone a few months ago and it's an open book, as far as he's concerned. He was very critical of Cavan. His son in the US was happy to give me his number for a chat after exchanging a few emails. Ended up chatting away for about three quarters of an hour. I was then in touch with Peter Sherrard at the FAI and he was to have someone look over minutes from around 1969 for me for further info, but I haven't heard anything back since despite a few emails so will give him another call soon. Was hoping to get the FAI's official version of events - why they asked Jimmy to seek permission from FIFA (not the IFA, importantly; according to Jimmy) when the rule at the time would suggest he was fully within his rights to play for Ireland - and maybe then do a write-up on that and the "interview" for someone to publish.
Here's a bit of what was said:
Me: “Do you think Harry Cavan might have wielded some sort of undue influence due to his role at FIFA?”
Jimmy: “No question. He was a big hand within FIFA at the time. He was the vice-president at that moment in time of FIFA. He was in that category that he pulled a lot of strings for some people and not for others.
Me: “And that would be your suspicion or you’d be fairly sure of that?”
Jimmy: “Well, there’s no confirmation to be sure of it, but I know deep down inside that’s what happened, and the answer I got was, ‘Northern Ireland don’t have enough players that we can let you play for the South’…. I had thought the reason behind it was sinister. It might have been a religious thing; I dunno.”
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 10/06/2015 at 7:18 AM.
This explains the mystery of what Crerand is ranting in/ about in punditry interviews. I was pretty sure it couldn't be English.
Not unlike a certain rotund man specialising in WD...
Even when Paddy is on the bender of all rants he speaks a lot more sense than that round lad.
Michael O'Neill finds a sympathetic ear in Ewan Murray for his latest sob story.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/...016-qualifying
The role has been made tougher still by regulations that state any player born in Northern Ireland is eligible to play for the Republic, a route accepted by Darron Gibson, James McClean and others albeit none, pertinently, under O’Neill’s watch.
“The rule is very unfair,” he insists. “It is grossly unfair for us to develop young players, train them, take them to tournaments and then if the option comes up for them to play for the Republic of Ireland, there is nothing to stop them doing it. I have no problem if there is a bloodline there; that is the same as any other country.
“I think the associations should be able to come to an agreement on it. My understanding is we have tried to do that and they have said ‘the rules are the rules and we are allowed to do it’. It is pretty hard for a country of our population, with so few players.”
Then what is he complaining about?!
What is he complaining about? Michael O'Neill denies, contrary to evolution, intl government treaties and state constitutions, that irish nationality is a birthright, that players born in the 6 counties are born as dual nationals and can choose whatever national identity their blood shall have. Michael is a creationist, perhaps he's under the illusion that NI is an actual country created in a figment of his imagination, instead of what it is (whatever it is). Or he's just getting in his excuses early, playing upon the evident paranoia of owc fans who just gobble up nonsense like that and install it seamlessly into their default belief system.
Maybe it's all part of his jealousy of never getting to play for the "true" country of his birth/bloodline as opposed to the jurisdictional anomaly in which he was birthed. And therefore he has to wage this petty war with the dastardly FAI.
It's mad that as mental and annoying and downright [insert insult] Nigel W was, he never went on or bleated as much shoite about eligibility as Mícheal Uí Néill.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
Didn't this odious individual kick up a stink when Shane Duffy had the temerity to declare for us? Then why is he contradicting himself? Duffy's father is from Donegal.
Someone would really want to pull this creep up on his tiresome nonsense.
Duffy's father's provenance is irrelevant. Shane Duffy is an Irishman who decided to declare for his country. That he is also eligible for the IFA's representative team is irrelevant.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
Don't think Mick O'Neill made any comment on Duffy. He might have later grouped him with the others out of ignorance, as many do.
Michael O'Neill is Art Garfunkel to Martin O'Neill's Paul Simon.
The sound of silence is the only sound I want to hear coming from Michael O'Neill. He should build a bridge... over troubled water.
Perhaps the FAI will pay him 5 million to shut up.
F*ck sake, TOWK, if you keep posting like you have been on this matter of late, you're going to leave me with no other option but to warm to you!
I see Stutts cleared up the misleading suggestion that the IFA suffer at the hands of some unique ruling, but naturally had to offer a response myself: http://www.theguardian.com/football/...mment-53644086
To be fair, I still think Worthnothing was worse. He was always, always, always bleating on about it. Michael O'Neill appears only to have started within the past fortnight after having initially made promising, forward-thinking and self-responsible noises.
Mikey clearly fancies himself as a sort of discount Mourinho. He talks nonsense about bloodlines, thus distracting attention from the players who are then free to give Janos Hungarian* and Yianni Greek* good solid beatings
* top seeded oppo, for you youngsters who can't remember as far back as 2001
Some other S & G hits for Knocker to cover
The only living geriatric striker in LA
59th FIFA ranking place song (feeling dreamy)
Disgraceland
I am a Rock of Gibraltar (no easy games internationally)
The Boxer goes to Stuttgart (possibly not via anywhere in france)
Last edited by Gather round; 11/06/2015 at 3:26 PM.
I usually look forward to your posts and tolerate any partisanship, but the above was truly sad.
Maybe because it was a Unionist bleating, I therefore expected it, so I blanked it out.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
Posting Permissions
Quote
Bookmarks