My mole in the FAI swears to me that Grealish thinks Ireland is part of the UK and no one, not even Bobby Sands Junior, can convince him otherwise.
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
Maybe it's me, but I'm more concerned by the fact that aside from Hendrick and Brady, very few young lads from Southern Ireland are making any kind of an impression in the top two tiers of English football. An increasing amount of our talent is from the North like Gibson, Wilson, McClean, Duffy etc and there is an ever increasing reliance on 2nd/3rd generation lads like McCarthy, Grealish, Carruthers and Murray.
If I remember correctly we pale badly compared to the other home countries like Northern Ireland for having UEFA registered coaches, let alone the continentals. Is it any wonder that our best young hopes are coming from Derry, or the British mainland. We seem to be living on a prayer waiting for the world class talent to come good like a Jack Byrne or a Noe Baba so we can say that all is good with the schoolboy system in the Republic. Hell we might get lucky and have two break through around the one time.
Was talking with a friend who is sitting the Uefa pro badge which I think is the top uefa badge and he was saying that it's ridiculously expensive. He's the only person in his club that has any kind of UEFA badge because of the cost to the club. We might always be a feeder to the British teams, but lets ensure that we at least regain our position as a top class breeding ground of young talent by giving our lads the best coaching they could get. There will be a positive knockon effect for the domestic league, whether it be the guys that don't make it in Britain or the better talent that is around the place. The FAI need to be ensuring that all clubs in the country have coaches with uefa badges, not just the lads at St Kevin's or Crumlin. A good start would be for the, to reduce the costs.
Me too.so do we believe the herald article at all.if the argument was the other way we would be dismissing that article mainly cos it was the herald but also because of misinformation and lazy journalism.
I'm sure I've never seen anyone claim his father was born in Ireland, and I'm almost sure his father Kevin is a Birmingham boy. I think the Herald writer probably just assumed or misremembered, lazy either way.
It is the Herald though, Danny.
As previously mentioned, Jack's big brother is a regular poster on VillaTalk. Here is his opinion on Jack's International prospects..
"So.. he comes back to Villa, has a great season with us in 14/15 and gets a call up to the England first team. Would he do it Kev? Belated birthday wishes too mate!"
"I think it would depend on his situation with ireland. If he wasn't enjoying his time at ireland and/or they didnt want to call him up for their first team then yeah he would. But a first team call up for any international side next year is wishful thinking ! And cheers mate haha"
http://www.villatalk.com/index.php/t...ealish/page-94
That would suggest we're his clear priority, no?
In the past, the brother has always indicated Jack is keen on Ireland. Not to say he might not change his mind but still.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
I think the brother is just parroting what Jack says.
Didn't start today but is involved now.
Alan Sheehan from Athlone scored again for Notts County though, left footed free kick guru that he is. Now there's a man who might have played much higher up if the old red cards and red mist had been fewer, I remember tales of scouts from Old Trafford and Celtic Park being in Leicester regularly when he won academy player of the season there nearly ten years ago now. Leicester legend has it that in one of his earliest games he decided in the dressing room at half time that the player in front of him, was taking up the wrong positions, so he told him so, in very definite vocabulary, this was referred to captain to have a word, one Dion Dublin, who was playing CB next to Sheehan that day, and he was duly told to go and have sex with himself also. All this I don't know to be fact. But early in the second half, right in front of me, he went through the back of a Crew Alex player, closer to waist than knee high, out near half way, and duly walked.
Lower leagues beckonedand yet, still, when Leicester were shopping for a LB of late, and eventually brought Konchesky in, there were many on the boards in favour of a return for Sheehan to the club, as on his good days he was very very good ...
Hey lads, here is a recent article I did about Jack! It highlights his career so far and looks at his international future:
http://www.talkingsport.org/#!ybigfootballshow/cfvg
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