He's declared and primed for an under-21 call-up apparently.
MLS watchers, what do we know about him?
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
Was just about to make a thread on him.
Did a little bit of research on him:
http://greenscene.me/2012/05/ny-red-...s-for-ireland/
He's NY's first choice, so that can't be a bad thing.
He was drafted 31st this year. Kept his first clean sheet of the seson this week. Played 8 gaem in his pro career so far. Hard for anyone to judge on that
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
---
New blog if anyone's interested - http://loihistory.wordpress.com/
LOI section on balls.ie - http://balls.ie/league-of-ireland/
It's funny, we have an American in Meara declaring for Ireland while an Irish 'keeper (Darren Randolph) is considering declaring for the USA thanks to his American father.
I'd only pick him if he pronounces his surname the Irish way.
Fair play to him, very positive.Ryan has made contact and wants to play for us.
He was already an Irish citizen and it was just a matter of getting his passport which he has now.
6ft. 4, U-21, first-team regular. A reason other than Robbie to watch MLS.
Interesting and promising development. I wonder what influenced his decision. Could Robbie's move to the MLS have contributed in raising our profile over there? Maybe we'll see more Irish Americans declaring in future. Would be a fantastic source of potential; not to release the FAI of their responsibilities at home, of course.
Some interesting comments on the MLS post about him:
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/articl...future-ireland
Sorry, not trying to ruin the joke, but how else can you pronounce me-ra? With no prefixed O' it can't be pronounced mara....even if the yanks just cut it off anyway.Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
irishFan86 writes for that sometimes, perhaps he can shed some more light on his quality?
Last edited by paul_oshea; 01/05/2012 at 3:07 PM.
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
Or will being Irish as opposed to Irish American smooth a path for a move to Europe at all ? Don't US players still hit work permit issues sometimes? I could be very wrong on this and concede in advance if so. Welcome aboard Ryan, great to see and hopefully Robbie was a factor also.
Oh eff off Paul. Mara or Meera. Duh. It doesn't need an "O".
God, to think the football gods decided to award you a ticket.
Anyway, I think I'd have made all those saves that Sully linked above. Seriously.
Good point that. I reckon it had something to do with it. He probably also sees playing for Ireland as a better chance to get a move to England/Scotland.
Stutts are you still looking for a ticket?
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
Once he has an Irish passport, whether he plays for Ireland, the US or anyone else wouldn't matter. He'd be a citizen of the EU and entitled to work where he liked (Several brazilian internationals have Portuguese passports, Argentinians with Italian passports etc etc). All treated exactly the same way as if born in Ireland
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
---
New blog if anyone's interested - http://loihistory.wordpress.com/
LOI section on balls.ie - http://balls.ie/league-of-ireland/
He wouldn't necessarily have had to declare for Ireland in order to claim his entitlement to Irish/EU citizenship by virtue of his Irish grandparents.
This could well be it. A move to Europe would be more likely if he's in the Ireland squad.
However, maybe he's just very Irish. There's loads of Americans for whom "heritage" is the most important thing.
Given that many Irish-Americans seem to attach a lot of pride to their Irish heritage, it's quite surprising at this stage that more (other than Joe Lapira) haven't declared at this stage.
I think the point about Robbie is a valid one. He's the first Irish international to play in the MLS, while Ronnie O'Brien was seemingly in fine form for Dallas and didn't play for Ireland during this period. With Robbie there the door has been opened perhaps.
If this had been explored in the past who knows what players would have declared for Ireland. Names such as Clint Dempsey, John O'Brien, Brian McBride, Brek Shea and Michael Bradley spring to mind immediately, whether or not they are even eligible. I remember reading Landon Donovan isn't eligible on the basis that his father is Canadian (unsure of his ancestry after that).
Considering he is just out of college, he has made an impressive start to his career. NY was on the fence about getting a new goalkeeper after Frank Rost retired last year and even after they picked Meara in the draft, the expectation was that they would still go and get a more established goalkeeper. But I guess he impressed the coaches in preseason and they decided to stick with him. The team has let in a bunch of goals so far but that is more due to their porous defense than Meara. In fact he's kept the team in a number of close games with his play.
He still has a lot to learn but he's good on crosses and seems to be fearless.
"Jacques Santini...will be greeted in every dugout of the country by "one-nil, one-nil" - Clive Tyldsley, 89th minute of France-England June 13, 2004.
"Ooooohhhh Nooooooo" Bobby Robson 91st minute.
I can see him getting a half against the Danes and that'll be it. McLoughlin has been the first choice 'keeper for King despite competition from (initially) Branagan and Quirke, and later McCarey.
Of course, I could be horribly wrong.
End Apartheid Now! One Team in Ireland!
Apparently not....
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/articl...qualifier-call“I got called in for the U-21s, but the Red Bulls would rather me stay here and focus on continuing to win games here,” Meara told MLSsoccer.com following Tuesday's training. “My main focus is here as well. We have a great team and I think the goal is the MLS Cup, so that’s all I’m focusing on.”
The camp and games fall during the international break at the end of May and beginning of June, but FIFA regulations do not require the Red Bulls to let Meara go since he is being summoned for a youth team competition.
That, however, does not mean the 21-year-old has no interest in international soccer.
“Any player wants to push themselves and see how far they can go,” said Meara, who is eligible to represent Ireland through his grandparents. “It’s an honor to be considered for Ireland, but like I said, right now, I am focused on what’s going on here with the Red Bulls.”
Fresh off recording his first clean sheet as a professional this past weekend, Meara revealed Ireland first touched base with him during the preseason, and that he has not had any contact with anyone in the US Soccer organization.
Born in Yonkers, N.Y., Meara is eligible to represent the United States, and he has previously expressed an admiration for US men’s national team goalkeeper Tim Howard. Still, he was noncommittal when asked if he would play for the US.
“Every player wants to play international soccer,” said Meara. “But for me, I’ll cross that bridge when that comes.”
"Jacques Santini...will be greeted in every dugout of the country by "one-nil, one-nil" - Clive Tyldsley, 89th minute of France-England June 13, 2004.
"Ooooohhhh Nooooooo" Bobby Robson 91st minute.
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