Just edited that to clarify. Zamora played at under-21 level for England on six occasions. He was called into their 2002 European Under-21 Championship squad so presumably at least one of those would have been competitive.
http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2012/0104/oneillm.html
There is a bit above about Martin O Neil's determination to get players born in the North to play for the North.
We need to be careful he does not persuade James to stay with the north, as he is still eligible for both as I understand it.
I don't think this has been posted yet?
O'Neill opens door to defected players
Wednesday, 4 January 2012 15:54
New Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill has vowed to give every eligible player a fresh start, including those who have already switched allegiance to the Republic of Ireland.
O'Neill, who starts his two-year tenure on 1 February, was unveiled at the Irish Football Association's headquarters at Windsor Avenue today and immediately set about making his intentions clear.
While it is accepted that Northern Ireland will never have the largest player pool in the world, O'Neill believes he can add to the group that finished fifth in Euro 2012 qualifying under predecessor Nigel Worthington.
The former Shamrock Rovers boss, 42, confirmed he would ask the likes of former captain Aaron Hughes to reconsider their international retirements and cast his eye over those who were out of favour under Worthington.
And, most importantly, he pledged to address the talent drain to the Republic of Ireland.
FIFA rules allow anyone born in Northern Ireland to declare for the Football Association of Ireland, with a series of players doing just that in the last couple of years.
Many have yet to realise their stated ambition of representing the Republic and O'Neill is set to offer those who remain available for his side a return to the fold.
"The vision for me is that we need a bigger pool of players available," he said. "That's no secret. I've never hidden the fact I think it (players switching allegiance) is wrong.
"I think the ruling itself is particularly unfair. What I would say to any young player is think long hard about that decision because, of the players who have made it to date, only Darron Gibson has played a competitive international for the Republic.
"You have to understand where your long-term future is. For players born in Northern Ireland, I think maybe they should aspire to long and distinguished careers for Northern Ireland rather than sitting on the periphery of the [Republic] squad."
One high-profile example is Sunderland's James McClean, who represented the IFA at age-group levels before rejecting Worthington's call-up to the senior side and declaring for the Republic.
That created significant disappointment at the time, but O'Neill is happy to wipe the slate clean for the benefit of the team.
"James McClean is eligible for Northern Ireland so of course he's on my radar," he said.
"Whilst respecting the wishes of the players, I'll be doing everything in my power and my remit to emphasise to them that their long-term futures lie with the Northern Ireland national team.
"Any player who is still eligible for Northern Ireland will come under consideration."
O'Neill, who won 31 caps for his country, also intends on seeing just how certain the likes of Hughes, West Ham's George McCartney and Motherwell's Stephen Craigan are about their retirements.
Fulham defender Hughes, in particular, would be a major boost to the team he led with distinction until his retirement at the end of the previous campaign.
His return would also be welcomed by the Green and White Army, who were denied the chance to say goodbye to Hughes after injury kept him out of a Windsor Park farewell.
"I'll be speaking to all the senior players who have been involved in recent years and Aaron Hughes was a fantastic servant," O'Neill said.
"Would I love to have Aaron available for a squad? Of course I would. Would I love to have George McCartney available? Of course I would. Would I like Stephen Craigan? Yes.
"All these conversations will be had. They'll be done in private and their wishes will be respected, but if they felt they had something to add to the international set-up I'd be delighted to welcome them back."
The final batch of players who can expect to be affected by O'Neill's open-door policy are those who did not feature regularly under Worthington.
"I'll consider everyone that's playing at a good level; look at Dean Shiels at Kilmarnock, Martin Paterson at Burnley, Martin Duff at Burnley," O'Neill added.
"There are a lot of players who haven't been in squads in recent times and they'll all be considered and monitored."
O'Neill's first match in charge comes in a home friendly against Norway on 29 February, by which time he hopes to have his full backroom team in place.
Just edited that to clarify. Zamora played at under-21 level for England on six occasions. He was called into their 2002 European Under-21 Championship squad so presumably at least one of those would have been competitive.
This whole gambit of Gibson being the only "success story" is balls; pure scaremongering. He's clutching at straws. Wilson has represented his country and Kearns and Duffy are regular U21s, for example.
And aside from that, no career is guaranteed by any association. These people continue to brush over the importance of national identity and the affinity with the Irish national team and instead try to paint every northerner who opts for the FAI as a mercenary.
End Apartheid Now! One Team in Ireland!
Just to be sure, Martin O'Neill has said nothing of trying to persuade McClean to return to the IFA.
He is still eligible for both. If he wants to return, that's his prerogative. I can't see it though given what he's said about his future ambitions. And as far as NI fans are concerned, he'd have to bear worse fire than that dished out upon Alex Bruce. Not all that tempting...
They're all young and switched association on the understanding that they were never going to walk straight into our squad like they might have walked into the NI squad had they stayed with the IFA; anything but mercenary. I often see expressions of satisfaction on OWC when some see the likes of Paul George once again "failing" to make our senior squad. The lad's 17; maybe good enough for NI senior squads but he didn't switch association expecting to play at Euro 2012, for God's sake. Likewise, I'm sure Wilson cherishes his senior cap, maybe more so than he might have cherished ten or twenty of the same by now in a NI shirt.
Off the top of my head so feel free to double check the facts...Zamora got those caps as you said in the early 2000's. He was then inquired about by T&T's then coach Leo Beenhakker in the run up the 2006 World Cup but said something to the effect of "Trinidad is my father's country and it would be an honor but..." he'd rather play for England or something. Then in the latter part of 2009 as T&T were in the late stages of the final round of CONCACAF WC2010 qualifying, Zamora and Jlloyd Samuel (who had also played for England at U21, but was born in T&T) both attempted to get their T&T passports. Samuel did and earned something like 2 caps (could've been more, and still could be, but thats a whole different story). I don't remember the reason but Zamora pulled out and then went on to win two caps for England. However, both those caps have been in friendlies so, were he not to get anymore, he could stil switch back to T&T (though that seems unlikely as the next chance they will have to play in a World Cup would be 2018).
Last edited by theworm2345; 04/01/2012 at 3:50 PM.
My Guarantee
Am looking for old Irish matches on VHS, PM me if you have some and I'll upload them here
Was in a bar in central Belfast last night watching the highlights and when his goal was showed there were a couple of Norn Ironers behind me going on about how he was born and raised in NI and was a turncoat for declaring for what he feels is his country. Mind you others on ILS seem to reckon that hes still theirs and O'Neill should have a word.
Last edited by SolitudeRed; 04/01/2012 at 3:54 PM.
Well he has..""James McClean is eligible for Northern Ireland so of course he's on my radar," he said. And by making
that statement he is.
However I don't think Martin will have an success, but we need to get a cap on him ASAP just to prevent
speculation and to clear the matter up.
I can't see him returning either, he sounds 100% committed to us.
In the time-honored tradition of internet forum speculation, I've taken existing quotes from the relevant parties and extrapolated how such a conversation might transpire:Originally Posted by SolitudeRed
Originally Posted by Michael O'NeillOriginally Posted by James McCleanOriginally Posted by Michael O'NeillOriginally Posted by James McClean
Ahhhhhhhhhh!! the penny has dropped, I wondered what all the fuss was about, I never saw Micheal at all, my brain read it as Martin,
I thought "The Fly" was complaining I had left out the apostrophe after the 'O' when I wrote "Martin O Neil', he is a bit pedantic I thought!!
the fact that the players concerned would risk losing out on international football by declaring for us when they would probably win a load of caps for the north says it all really about the unattractiveness of the norths set-up and what it represents to manyFor players born in Northern Ireland, I think maybe they should aspire to long and distinguished careers for Northern Ireland rather than sitting on the periphery of the [Republic] squad.
I should apologise for all the trouble I have caused, I just googled news for James McClean
and got this article "O'Neill opens door to defected players"
I only skimmed it and thought it was Martin O'Neil. My bad.
I was worried because I realise Martin was in a position where he could put immense
pressure on James ie "if you don't play for the North you won't get a game here either"
hence I kind of posted in a panic with out reading it properly. Martin would never do anything like that anyway.
Last edited by tricky_colour; 04/01/2012 at 4:38 PM.
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