It seems to be the influence of his mother and grandmother that has him declaring for Ireland. His mam is pretty active as an Ireland fan on social media I think.
If he had any interest in Scotland they'd likely have been his first choice since he was born and raised there.
It seems to be the influence of his mother and grandmother that has him declaring for Ireland. His mam is pretty active as an Ireland fan on social media I think.
Let’s see how things unfold, nationality is pretty fluid these days, like everything else…
id imagine their FA have been long aware of vata, isnt the their PM a celtic fan aswell? ball in firmly in irelands court for this one. all talk is that he impressed the manager over winter break, hopefully he can see some minutes in FA cup over the new year, lets hope for some kind draws so he has a better chance of minutes.
is his mother irish or scottish?
This is hilarious given the discussion on the Johnny Kenny thread! Call Vata up to the senior squad as soon as possible. Same with Hodge or any other player in the same boat. They're nowhere near certainties to make it anywhere but we can't afford to take a chance.
Typical... one of the few times I express an opinion in a mildly hyperbolic manner and it immediately gets disproved
We've been down this road enough times already. Should be called up to the next squad and play a part in both games. I don't care if he still has a few milk teeth. If he's good enough he's old enough.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
Stephen Kenny's future is probably back in the LOI. His time with Ireland is coming to an end, probably just a few more months. Getting players like Vata and Hodge involved is far more important. Maybe they won't turn out as good as we hope but we can't afford to risk it, especially in order to save the job of an incompetent manager.
Guarantee if Kenny were to play Hodge and Vata against France, Boom would be the first person critical of the decision. “Trying to use bringing in young players to hide bad results”
Agree es.
Whatever about Hodge (who I think deserves a proper look), the calls for Vata to be called up to the squad and play a part in the upcoming games are a bit bizarre. A call up to the 21’s is surely the right and best next step for him. He’s either ours or he isn’t at some point but there’s no point in making grand gestures that just won’t have any bearing on his decision and also won’t improve our results.
The thing is, if it was a choice between Vata and Hourihane, then why not go with Vata? Same with a any other choice between a player who's had their chance and shown that they're not at this level and young players showing promise.
It might not seem right but players who qualify for other nations need to be prioritised. It's what a country like Wales have done previously. Players may still leave like Rice but we have to give ourselves the best opportunity.
No, but it still sounds like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
If we're looking at capping a 16-year-old who has played six minutes of senior football in a dead game - when capping him wouldn't even tie him down to us - then we're getting a kind of desperate that I had hoped we could avoid.
That's where we are! It mightn't have made a difference but looking back now, I would have called Grealish up to the seniors as soon as it was clear there was big talent there. When he was playing for Notts County. I didn't even say cap him, call him up to the squad. Show him we mean business. If they still go on to declare for someone else then so be it.
Again, these types of players should be replacing the older squad members who've shown what they can do or more to the point, what they can't do.
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