According to yesterday's paper (think it was the "Irish" Star) the boy Marney at Spurs qualifies for Ireland through his grandparents, and hasn't been approached by the England set up yet and could be declaring for Ireland in time for the next U-21 international. With the Irish contingent at Spurs (Keane, Kelly, Yeates and Hughton) he'd have plenty to convince him to do it.
Oh, oh. Here we go again...
No, this fella is a really decent prospect, I doubt there'll be anywhere near the amount of people that slated Macken for his decision...Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Oh, oh. Here we go again...
I was just anticipating another umpteen pages of diverging opinions on the eligibility issue.
I saw him on MOTD against Everton and he looks pretty good alright. No harm in picking him for an U21 game and seeing what he wants to do.
That only seems to be the case for the older, less gifted players. There's plenty of players at underage level that wouldn't regard themselves as Irish that nobody has a problem with.
Is this true that he is being picked for an under-21 squad? This guy is a class act. We are short on right-sided midfielders and this lad could certainly be a great aquisition.
"Love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe." Dillo
Yeah, saw that aswell when MOTD pundits were raving about him.
Hoped there was an Irish connection but just assumed it was wishful thinking, assumed there'd be a lot of English interest.
As far as I know he only has Irish great-grandparents so I'd be surprised to see him in the green. Good player though,strong with quick feet, we can but hope.
And you ask me to help you??!! Man is evil!!!! Capable of nothing but destruction!
Nope, he ain't. He was on Newstalk's Off The Ball tonight denying the rumour.
He does have an Irish great-grandfather alright.
Stephen Kelly has been talking to him about it and even said he'd bring in the press clippings
What I do find promising is that, as he tells it himself, the Irish camp approached Spurs over a year ago, enquiring about his Irishness.
Before even thinking about his nationality qualification, let's not get carried away here. After wondershow less than a week ago, was benched on Saturday. We've seen too many 'boy wonders' over the years onlyfor them to end up in disappointment.
Honest! I am not a secret Tim nor a closet Sham - I really am a Seagull.
The last boy wonder at Spurs with Irish 'connections' was Andy Turner, Charlton and Taylor went to war over him and Turner then just went on a brief downward spiral before disappearing off the radar.
Are we so desperate? Marney is not a very Irish name anyhow, it is English in origin
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Nationalism is an infantile disease, the measles of mankind
And I suppose Cascarino and Townsend are Irish names? How about Eamon Zayed, not very Irish is it? Even though he is Irish. Point being, who cares where his NAME originates from.
Would be great if we could get Marney, but only if he wants to play for us.
and only if he proves to be good enough!
Honest! I am not a secret Tim nor a closet Sham - I really am a Seagull.
I simply pointed out that Marney is actually an English name, others had suggested it was Irish or suggested an Irish link. His surname could be 4tothefloor for all I care, what is interesting is that a few week ago I posted a question on Keith Andrews which elicited zero comment, Andrews is 100% Irish but my gawd some English kid plays a few minutes of Premership football and we want to snap him up and embrace him in our shamrocky bosom...I really think some people on this board would love to see 11 Brits play in the green.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Nationalism is an infantile disease, the measles of mankind
He looks a fairly decent prospect. If we can we should put him in the full squad for the next appropriate friendly, even if he only plays a couple of mins it will mean he's marked down as one of ours and then we can drop him or stick him in the u21s (is he u21?) and then see how committed he is to playing for us and look to see if he develops well at Spurs without having to worry about him being tapped up by another country.
No, people just want the best available players qualified to represent Ireland. It's that simple.
Oh, and as for Keith Andrews? Not good enough as it stands, I'm afraid. Unlucky with injury a year or so ago with Wolves when a sustained run of games in the Premiership would have been ideal. Unfortunately for Andrews and for us, that's football.
Semper in faecibus sole profundum variat
On Newstalk this morning that Marney has confirmed to them he doesn't qualify - great grandparent connection only.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
Does my memory play tricks on me or did John Aldridge play for Ireland despite having only a fourth-level connection with the auld sod?I also seem to remember that Michael Robinson's connection was tenuous at best. I'm sure there are ways around it if the boy wanted to play for Ireland, but that might mean coming to play in the eL for a few years first...
PP
Semper in faecibus sole profundum variat
I think they tightened up the rules since those days. I actually think I remember British TV making a big deal of it affecting Ireland.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
Parents or Grandparents are the only acceptable link. As Marney said himself this doesn't apply to him & he is ineligible to play for Ireland.
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