As an Irishman I always get exciited to see the emergence of a young Irishman in any form of the game. James McClean is particularly exciting as he is making big waves for Sunderland since the arrival of Martin O'Neill and could soon be involved in the national team. James McClean was born on the 22 April 1989 in Derry Northern Ireland and started with Institute in Derry before moving to Derry City where he made 73 appearances and scoring 18 goals. He was born in Derry. So naturally you would therefore say he would play for the country of his birth but it would appear he withdrew from a squad in July 2011 to play the Faroe Islands deciding instead to await selection for the Republic. This appears to mirror the circumstances of Darron Gibson who again was born in Derry but decided to opt for the Republic over playing for the country of his birth. Apparently FIFA looked into the Gibson situation and as a result this was their rulling. 'Due to the constitutional position of Northern Ireland, following the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, citizenship of the Republic of Ireland is the undisputed 'birthright' of every person born on the island of Ireland if they so wish.' Just where does that leave Northern Ireland when picking a squad of players? This needs to be revisited surely by FIFA to ensure that all their members have the opportunity to pick those born within the country without players making decisions based upon their own perference? It doesn't seem right that an individual born in Derry would play for the Republic. Needless to say I am a Northern Irishman but have an eye on both Irish teams when they are playing. Is it finally time to form one team? Do the rules need to be revisited? Should McClean be allowed to play for the Republic? It is a real shame because Northern Ireland is such a small country and simply can't compete even with the Republic in the international game due to such a small pool to pick from. This is not improved by such ridiculous FIFA rules which appear political? I wonder what Martin O'Neill has to say on the matter. Add to that list Shane Duffy born, you guessed it in Derry and Marc Wilson born Aghagallon Northern Ireland.
Forget international I'd take him to anfield, reminds me of Milner. Always felt we missed a good chance to sign him
to be honest i think the reason why alot of nother irish born players opt for the republic is because of the way the N.I. set up is. windsor park not very welcoming to catholics from what i have seen plus the national anthem being god save... can see why catholics would rather play for the republic. not too sure how fair it is on northern ireland as they have much less resources.. that said if fifa brought in a ruling to stop this dual passport situation applying to football youd presume that most players would have some close relations born in the republic so it would still go on to an extent. just my pennys worth
I must say he has looked like a real quality player and a real find for Martin O'Neill who gave him his debut despite not buying him. I think we have missed out so often in the past with a glut of young talented players. We were linked with Adam Johnson, James Milner, Aaron Lennon, Phil Jones, Oxlade Chamberlain and many more and didn't take the plunge. I just think it's a real shame that Northern Irish born players are being tapped up and playing international football for the Republic over the country of their birth. Good luck to them all but it would appear that the two countries will compete now for players and with the Republic being bigger they will get the greater share and better players.
I studied this topic as part of a couple of my final year essays in college. Every individual case differs but it boils down for the most part to ones self identity and whether you are a republican or unionist. If you are a republican its hard to identify with Northern Ireland seen as you would have to stand to god save the queen before every game and chances are you grew up supporting ROI. Also you saw how players some catholic players such as Neil Lennon were treated. Added to that if you believe in Ireland being all 32 counties then it would be a bit hypocritical playing for NI. If NI want things to improve then they should start by changing the national anthem to something more neutral like the Irish ruggers did. As for McClean, after the first day I seen him in action with Derry, you could tell he was a bit special. It was only a matter of time before he made it at the top level, I'm just surprised it was this soon. He definitely merits a pop at a chance at the squad on form. Might be a bit late in the day for him for the Euros though plus we are well stocked on wide men, Trap likes the tried and tested recipe, plenty of time for James in the future though.
On the first part it is sickening to have missed out on that many quality wide men especially Johnson and Chamberlain who we were in for. But you cant compete with Citehs millions and Arsenal have a good record giving youngsters a chance more so than us. On the second part, I don't know if that is true. It is the players decision at the end of the day and boils down to more than just a footballing decision.
Shaneo as much as i don't like it I fear you are right. The national anthem of Northern Ireland is 'God save the Queen' who cares and lets be honest who sings it. I just think it needs to be a case of born in Northern Ireland play for them or noone. There was a very high profile case with Neil Lennon, with loads of hatred daubbed on walls in Belfast of a sectarian nature which lead to him quitting the national team. Anton Rogan was another player who took some stick and I can only imagine it was their Celtic connection. That said Nial McGinn and Paddy McCourt both play for Celtic and have not been targeted to the same extent. It is fair to say the likes of Steve Davis and Kyle Rafferty have cult status again I would imagine to connections with Rangers but I honestly feel that this sort of sectarian nonsense connected with the game in Northern Ireland is mainly gone. I'm sure the majority of people from Northern Ireland like me who love football don't care or consider religion when picking your best 11. However maybe others have loyalties to the south for those reason. An interesting case, I see brought up by Gerry Armstrong who accused the IFA of tapping up young Northern Irish talent. I certainly don't what to strike up any political arguments on this great footie site but was interested to hear what others, most of us Irish, Northern and Southern, thought about the topic.
The reasons that players are allowed to declare for either/or is much bigger than football. I wouldn't say anyone was thinking about these things when they were hammering out the Good Friday Agreement. I sympathise with northern ireland in situations like this but as shaneo says,Windsor park can be a less than welcoming place for catholics. Look at Neil Lennons treatment. It's only fair that someone born on the island and considers themselves Irish,has the right to play for Ireland. Maybe a compromise could be reached though,where if a player has been brought through the underage ranks by the north,maybe some sort of compensation should be paid by the fai. Probably a hard thing to sort out though
To be fair, I haven't seen much of him but from what I have he fits the sabre metric player we'd be looking at. Looks to have bags of quality, young and athletic
Hope he is in the squad for the Euros. He is quality. Think Dalglish will look at him aswell as he is favouring English speaking young players.
hasnt a hope for the euros as trap has his squad and i dont think he will be bringing any no capped players to poland
It would be unfair on the other lads to bring him id have him as a standby replacement if any injurys appear in the euros
It wouldnt be unfair to pick him, if he's one of the on form players then he should be picked. Should Paul Green be brought instead just because he's got a few caps??
If memory serves me right and it dorsnt always ... Alan Kernaghan deferred from playing for NI and played the majority of games in the campaign for USA 94 - then Jack didn't put him in the squad for the WC, opting for Phil Babb who had zero caps in the campaign.
He should be on the plane on current form. Unfair my arse. We aren't the best of teams in it. You bring your best squad. Hopefully he keeps going the way he is.