It's very well siting here and saying that I won't play for another country if given a chance. However if you're a footballer and if that's your shot of playing international footy then most will deflect to the other nation. I'm sure Philliips will have his reasons.
Matt Phillips
- Thread starter GledTheRed
- Start date
For what it's worth, I'm Northern Irish, and would play for them and them only if I was good enough to represent them at any sport, but I understand why players would choose to play for a country other than that of their birth if they felt strongly enough about that country. The only issue I would ever have is with the specific FA's taking a player who has been raised in the youth set-ups of other countries, but that's an issue with the FA's and not the respective players themselves. Gibson for example, I was annoyed when the ROI pinched him off us, but understood Gibson's decision to play there.
Scotland have recently lost McGeady and McCarthy to Ireland despite both being Scottish (not just born but parents too) and it is worse for us because we don't have a great depth of talented players. England have depth so losing one player who may or may not have played for them is not exactly a terrible thing.
If he's half as good as some people have stated already then he'll certainly improve us and good luck to him.
Works both ways though, both those players have their reasons for choosing Ireland. Like I said in another post, if i was to be annoyed at anyone (which i'm not particularly anyway) it would be the respective FA's for poaching players who have already represented their country and youth level football, or more so, the governing bodies for allowing the rules. Once the footballers have the option of playing for a nationality other than their nationality of birth, then the decision is theirs to make, and if they make it for just reasons that make sense to them then all power to them.
To be honest it's nothing we can really comment on, like Londonred said in this thread he feels Irish despite to all purposes being English, I was born down South but have lived near or in Manchester since I was four, I totally feel Northern, I consider myself Northern and feel no connection at all to where I was born. My friends who have all lived in the same town their whole lives never agree with me on this, simply because they haven't ever moved around like that and don't understand why I would think like that.
Fair enough, i don't really like it. I mean nations like Scotland and Ireland have to cast their net wide, we don't have the talent pool to be choosey about who does or doesnt play and that's the way it is in modern times. I can't bring myself to respect McGeady or McCarthy because i know they are less Irish than me and would have strolled into the Scotland team. A player like Philips has no idea if he would make it for England, he could wait around his whole career to play international football and never get the chance.
The FAs do what's best for them, but they can turn a young man, a 15/16 year old and i don't think that's too great. But anyway it's the charm of the Irish. Whilst in most cases players born and raised play for that country (if good enough like Poles playing for Germany, Ibrahimovic (croatian mother, serbian father?) playing for Sweden etc the Irish or bit part Irish, barely Irish born and raised in other countries often choose to represent Ireland. The irish FA are outstanding in this regard.
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They could have done. They obviously felt more Irish than Scottish mind. As I said I've never lived in Ireland and was born in England. The England shirt would mean feck all to me. The Ireland shirt would mean everything.
This is probably the first time anyone has said those words in that order, ever...!
I don't understand the reasoning behind wanting to play for the International team that is more likely to get you fame or trophies, or the one that will allow you to pick up more caps. You should play for the country that you feel most connection for. It should be as simple as that.
in terms of identifying players who can turn out for the green, identifying talent etc i would say they do pretty well! If they didnt effectively get these lads in so early they might have ended up playing for scotland.
i can understand you totally, you're parents are irish. The thing that gets my goat with McGeady and McCarthy is that their parents are scottish, it is only through a grandparent (one or two i'm not sure) that they qualify for Ireland.
Also i am happy for players to play for a country not of their birth etc if the country of their birth is beyond them. In cases as a few of the english born scottish international players but when your own country would make great use of you yet you choose another it's a bit dissapointing to me.
If a player like Zlatan Ibrahimovic can have a serbian father, a croation mother and a childhood of being a bit of an outcast for not being typically "swedish" yet turn out and maintain that he is born and raised and 100% swedish in this regard now then surely a guy with a grandparent from another nation who was otherwise completely born into and raised in the culture of this nation, educated both in terms of football and schooling would have some sort of bond and desire to represent that country?
That's my main gripe and i think it shows a general problem with society in this country rather than an individuals wishes. I'm not trying to start an arguement about it either, like i said if i was in the position to play International football i could turn out for Ireland or Scotland. As could Darren Fletcher, Roy Keane tried to get him to play for Ireland too but it's probably a Glasgow problem, fletch being from edinburgh might have played a part.
Fair gripe I'd say.
Other than "your" two, a lot of our other players did so out of family royalties etc rather than the FAI chasing them down. The last one we did do v well to get was Clark off Villa and by accounts that was Richie Dunne rather than the FAI. We'll probably have to wait for our new manager for him to get a call up but thats life I suppose!
Personally Im divided on the whole thing....I can see and mostly agree with your stand point .