Jack Grealish

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I understand I rub some people the wrong way about this and I may take it too far in the heat of the moment but the lad said what he said. I didn't put the words in his mouth or deliberately take them out of context.

Besides, himself and his brother have made similar statements every time they open their mouths on the subject.

And every other Ireland related article about Grealish seems to involve Noel King massaging his feet or giving him a back rub to make sure he is happy and sate his ego. I just find it all a bit bizarre.

[paul_oshea]

Grealish has clearly stated he is happy playing with Ireland.he has also tied that conditions, the conditions in this case that he wants to play at the highest level and playing u21 is better than u19. There is very little to read into. Its all about playing at the highest level. And the highest level is the England international team, not ours.

Towk your general point is pretty spot on.

[Charlie Darwin]

Grealish has clearly stated he is happy playing with Ireland.he has also tied that conditions, the conditions in this case that he wants to play at the highest level and playing u21 is better than u19. There is very little to read into. Its all about playing at the highest level. And the highest level is the England international team, not ours.

Towk your general point is pretty spot on.

I think you're taking things to their logical conclusion a bit too much there. His comments suggest that he wants to continue to progress and play at higher levels, and currently the FAI offer him that ladder of progression and his talent justifies it. I don't think it follows that he'll jump ship on Ireland if an England cap is on the horizon - I think he just wants to keep progressing and if a senior cap is offered to him he'll be delighted to take it. The point is that he should only be offered it if he warrants it.

[paul_oshea]

That's generally what I do...take things to their logical conclusion.

I hope youre right but its not what he is suggesting at all. He wants to play at the highest level why else wouldn't he have just come out and said what the england irish mercenaries say but juxtaposed, I want to play for ireland( but if I'm not good enough I'll play for england....)why even mention england in the first place.if he had his heart set on ireland he would do a kilbane.he doesnt and that's why he is leaving the door open,perhaps its his head and not his heart which is set.

I dont understand how ye can take things out of context and apply it to whatever argument of the day. I'd love it to be that way mind you.

[CraftyToePoke]

The point is that he should only be offered it if he warrants it.

So you see no value in calling him out on it nice & early with a senior call up, if even to an end of season, big squad affair. Just to see the colour of his intentions ? Even if just to clear a space mid term for someone fully committed. (Not saying he isn't but there is a bit more smoke than is ideal here)

[Charlie Darwin]

That's generally what I do...take things to their logical conclusion.

I hope youre right but its not what he is suggesting at all. He wants to play at the highest level why else wouldn't he have just come out and said what the england irish mercenaries say but juxtaposed, I want to play for ireland( but if I'm not good enough I'll play for england....)why even mention england in the first place.if he had his heart set on ireland he would do a kilbane.he doesnt and that's why he is leaving the door open,perhaps its his head and not his heart which is set.

I dont understand how ye can take things out of context and apply it to whatever argument of the day. I'd love it to be that way mind you.

He's saying, as far as I can see, that's he happy within the Ireland set-up as long as he's been offered a clear path of progression. If England came in and offered him a similar path of progression, he's not ruling out that he'd look at it, but that doesn't mean he'd take up the option. That's what I mean by logical conclusion - you're assuming he's willing to take it to the very extreme, when life as you know is more often dealt with in shades of grey. Since you're always reminding us about your life experience

So you see no value in calling him out on it nice & early with a senior call up, if even to an end of season, big squad affair. Just to see the colour of his intentions ? Even if just to clear a space mid term for someone fully committed. (Not saying he isn't but there is a bit more smoke than is ideal here)

If he warrants being called up to a year-end camp, by all means. Conor Clifford was fast-tracked to the senior set-up based on his promise - it didn't work out, but it could have. If the management feel Grealish would similarly benefit, then they should think about a call-up. But they shouldn't call somebody up just to keep him happy.

[geysir]

That's generally what I do...take things to their logical conclusion.

I hope youre right but its not what he is suggesting at all. He wants to play at the highest level why else wouldn't he have just come out and said what the england irish mercenaries say but juxtaposed, I want to play for ireland( but if I'm not good enough I'll play for england....)why even mention england in the first place.if he had his heart set on ireland he would do a kilbane.he doesnt and that's why he is leaving the door open,perhaps its his head and not his heart which is set.

I dont understand how ye can take things out of context and apply it to whatever argument of the day. I'd love it to be that way mind you.

Whenever you start, take your time though, to take responsibility for rearing children in a dual nationality set up/culture, you might begin to have a more rational understanding of their ways, their expressions and their sentiments, and his lad is 3rd generation Irish. I could explain my interpretation of what he said, which I regard as very 'normal' for a young lad in his situation, but you just would not understand it, intellectualising about what this lad was quoted as saying does not help to make sense out of it. You have to go with his overriding decision.

[DannyInvincible]

the england irish mercenaries

Just because someone born outside of Ireland might have some Irish blood in them, it doesn't mean they'll automatically identify with Ireland primarily and accord their Irish heritage cultural precedence. It might indeed be hard for those of us who are blessed with our such amazing, pure and full-blown Irishness to fathom, but, for some people, their inherited Irishness may even be an identity that follows as secondary to their born-and-bred Englishness. It doesn't mean they're mercenary or plastic; it just means they're dual nationals or of mixed heritage.

why even mention england in the first place.if he had his heart set on ireland he would do a kilbane.he doesnt and that's why he is leaving the door open,perhaps its his head and not his heart which is set.

Maybe because he is English too? There may be an element of politeness or realpolitik, so to speak, in his comments. Say, if Ireland doesn't work out for him, for whatever reason, why would he cut all possible or potential ties with England? It would be a naive career-move to limit his options at the age of 18. That's just a reality, and a seemingly hard one for some to accept. He's a dual national, so it's only reasonable that his commitment to us might not be at a level of one hundred per cent just yet. He's still demonstrated greater commitment to us than he has to England throughout his young career, mind, in spite of being born and raised in England. Surely that's a good sign.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Just because someone born outside of Ireland might have some Irish blood in them, it doesn't mean they'll automatically identify with Ireland primarily and accord their Irish heritage cultural precedence. It might indeed be hard for those of us who are blessed with our such amazing, pure and full-blown Irishness to fathom, but, for some people, their inherited Irishness may even be an identity that follows as secondary to their born-and-bred Englishness. It doesn't mean they're mercenary or plastic; it just means they're dual nationals or of mixed heritage.



Maybe because he is English too? There may be an element of politeness or realpolitik, so to speak, in his comments. Say, if Ireland doesn't work out for him, for whatever reason, why would he cut all possible or potential ties with England? It would be a naive career-move to limit his options at the age of 18. That's just a reality, and a seemingly hard one for some to accept. He's a dual national, so it's only reasonable that his commitment to us might not be at a level of one hundred per cent just yet. He's still demonstrated greater commitment to us than he has to England throughout his young career, mind, in spite of being born and raised in England. Surely that's a good sign.

Why wouldn't Ireland work out? And if, for whatever reason, we decided that we had/have better options, would England even be an option for him?

[DannyInvincible]

Why wouldn't Ireland work out?

I don't know what might happen. A fall-out, a disagreement, a stubborn manager/Trap-like figure over-looking him... Who knows? However, he has said he'll continue playing with us and won't be pressured into playing for England so long as he's happy.

And if, for whatever reason, we decided that we had/have better options, would England even be an option for him?

I'm not sure what you mean exactly. If he decided or we decided? Regardless, I don't think it's fair to assume his personal thoughts on matters based on selected ambiguous statements and the decisions of previous England internationals of Irish heritage.

Edit: Sorry, having re-read what you'd written, I understand what you mean now. If we decided we had better options as in preferred players over him?...

Possibly, he wouldn't be a preferred option for England in that case - can't say for sure - but I'd hope it wouldn't come to that so long as he's happy playing for us. As I mentioned, I suppose there are other possible ways that a player could become unhappy or disillusioned with a certain regime or association.

[paul_oshea]

There is no ambiguity in the word England and using it in a sentence.

Why not just say I have my heart set on playing for Ireland, if it doesnt work out then so be it. Because he doesn't have his heart set on playing for ireland. We are going round the houses here, but whatever the argument for hte lad being "confused" because of his dual nationality, he certainly isn't a kilbane, he certainly isn't a sure fire for ireland in the future, cap him take the decision out of his hands.

[Bungle]

No need to panic

http://www.herald.ie/sport/soccer/gr...-30074752.html

[SkStu]

"Long-term, the aim is to do well with Ireland and Villa. It was very flattering to hear Martin O'Neill speak about me recently and that's a sign that I am doing something right. It was good to hear he knows who I am, Martin was first-team manager at Villa when I was on the books there, but there's no way he would have known who I was.

"I was a season ticket holder when I was four and then I joined Villa when I was six and have been there all along," he added.

"I would love to play for the senior team and with all the games they have lined up for the summer it could happen, but for now I am just enjoying every game and every cap with the U21s."

Such latent ambiguity.

[Charlie Darwin]

Apparently he played for Warwickshire in Croker but he didn't rule out playing for Roscommon if they'd offered him a minor cap.

[Crosby87]

His last name sounds like a swear word. Oh, Grealish. I've dropped the eggs again.

[gastric]

This is turning into the new James McCarthy thread- 'will he or won't he?' For peace sake, I hope he gets a run in the summer friendlies, scores goals and does not become the new Terry Dixon/Joe Lapira cursed player.

[Charlie Darwin]

This is turning into the new James McCarthy thread- 'will he or won't he?' For peace sake, I hope he gets a run in the summer friendlies, scores goals and does not become the new Terry Dixon/Joe Lapira cursed player.

Nice one, Captain Jinx.

[Crosby87]

Maybe they will bring him here. If Liam Neeson wins this battle with the mayor, Jack will still be able to get a carriage ride.

[tetsujin1979]

Such latent ambiguity.

It's only obvious if you really want to see it

[Stuttgart88]

No need to panic

http://www.herald.ie/sport/soccer/gr...-30074752.html

Shamelessly embarking on a self-promotion campaign. He must use Richard Keogh's publicist. Grealish issues call me up threat to O'Neill. His words were clear to me. "I played GAA a few times. Me must be Irish" patronising rubbish.

And what does "long term" mean? His failure to define long term is disgraceful.