http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/socc...uded-1.2219440
Included in Englands u-21 championship squad.
You've lost me now.
http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/socc...uded-1.2219440
Included in Englands u-21 championship squad.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
Well behind in the senior squad though with Rooney, Welbeck, Sturridge, Kane, Berahino, Ings, Sterling, Walcott, Carroll, Rodriguez, Vardy, Austin etc. ahead of him. All fairly young too.
Last edited by TrapAPony; 22/05/2015 at 11:45 AM.
"We lost because we didn't win"- Ronaldo
Just to keep this probably slightly delusional speculative thread going, guess who was cut from the final England squad for the European U-21 championships? http://www.theguardian.com/football/...-championships - get in there, relatives of Mrs. Bamford.
Excluded due to fitness concerns.
Speculative more than delusional to be fair. Unlike a certain other case, Bamford has openly revealed his number one choice but has also said recently that he wouldn't rule anything out. I get the impression that he'd be delighted to play for us if and when he thinks an England senior call up is out of his reach and, who knows, that might not be as far off in the distance as we think. That would provoke the obvious sloppy seconds attitude amongst some but personally I'd be glad to welcome him on board. He feels more English but he has enough Irish in him that he'd still be representing us for the right reasons I think, subject to passing the Stutts gut test, obviously.
If we had Bamford's best interests at heart we would want him to make the most of his talents and fulfill his desires by playing for the country of his choice, England. If Bamford plays for Ireland, then he hasn't made the most of his talents. I always find that a bit weird when you really think about it. We want a player to not be good enough to play for Chelsea, more than likely not be good enough to stay in the Premier League and to end up having a mediocre club career. Maybe it's just me. Robbie Keane is turning 35 and we have to find a way to replace a player who has 65 goals. I can understand the psychology behind it!
Bamford is still only 21. Even if he does play for Ireland it's not a decision that is going to be made before the 2018 World Cup. Look at Danny Ings, Charlie Austin, Rickie Lambert. Look at the amount of players older than him that came up through The Championship and relative obscurity to play for England. Harry Kane is the biggest example. Bamford has a good profile at the moment and is owned by the biggest Premier League club. Why would he declare? He has ample time.
He's a smart lad though keeping his options open if it goes t*ts up for him in the future. Robbie Keane turning 35. We are all thinking about our temporality here. Just a pity we have nobody obvious coming through at underage level and have to pine hopes on people like Callum Wilson & Patrick Bamford.
Last edited by TheOneWhoKnocks; 03/06/2015 at 12:13 PM.
I think many of us are interested in what is best for Irish football and both Bamford and Wilson would be very welcome additions.
Haha!
I actually remembered that as soon I had deleted it. Got caught by Dahamsta once before!
Whoops, I really should read the articles I link to a little more carefully - sorry if I got people's hopes up too much
You're probably right about us being a little selfish in our hopes for Bamford not quite cutting it at England level, although I don't think it would necessarily would mean he hasn't made the most of his talents. It is a little weird I know, but I guess the ideal situation for us is that one or more of the 6th to 10th best English-born strikers qualify for us and that group of 10 are closely matched. But when you consider the emergence of Sturridge, Kane, Berahino, Ings, etc, Bamford and Callum Wilson (and possibly even Will Keane) could fit that bill exactly in coming years. Although, I will concede that it's not likely to happen before the World Cup 2018 - as you said, he's young so it'll be a couple of years before it's clear whether or not he'll be integral to future England squads.
As regards young talent coming through, we do seem a little thin on the ground up front, however the recent promotion of Reece Grego-Cox to the QPR first team is a positive development, so let's hope he can cement his place next year and bang in a few goals. Also Michael Drennan's excellent form for Shamrock Rovers might lead to him becoming a factor in coming years. That said, it would still be great to be able to call on someone like Bamford or Wilson in the future.
I know what you're saying but I'd look at it differently. Firstly, I don't have Bamford's interests at heart, just our own. That's not to say I wouldn't wish the guy well if he turns out to be good enough for England.
You're commenting on the assumption that he actually does possess enough talent to play for England. I'm simply recognising the fact that this may not be the case, and there's no shame in that. "Making the most of his talents" might well be having a proper international career with us, instead of a scattered or non existent one with England.
You could very well be right but for some reason I'm not so sure. I think next season could tell a lot. Like you say,
he's a smart lad, he might just weigh up the likelihood of future England recognition against a ready made career waiting for him with us.
Sorry to be badgering on but why was it locked in the first place? Did somebody overstep the mark?
Linked with a permanent move to Sunderland over the weekend.
Newcastle and West Brom as well. Chelsea want £10m apparently if you can actually believe anything you read.
For those of you who must have been in a coma like me, Bamford has gone on loan to Crystal Palace for the season. It will be interesting to see how he gets on in the Premier League.
He scored a hat-trick within twenty minutes in a pre-season game yesterday.
Hopefully his form can dip somewhat and we might have a better chance of getting him.
Available for £6m on Fantasy Football. Bargain. I've a feeling he'll be in the England squad before season's end. Note how Jamie Vardy got a call.
It looks as though Palace are paying £8m to Sunderland for (the also eligible) Conor Wickham. Can see him playing for Northern Ireland before long but Palace must see some potential in him to pay that much for a player with 20 league goals in 4 years at Sunderland.
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