Are Michael O Neill and Gerry Armstong Off Their Heads??

[Applesisapples]

Scottish fans couldn't have put it better..."are you England in disguise?" etc...etc...

[AQMP]

Players have a choice.
WTF is not progressive about that in a constitutionally recognized dual national statelet?
Accept that the choice is there and it will just become a thing some players will choose.
If it doesn't work out they can always declare for the IFA.
Take away that choice then you are suppressing a natural right.

Anyway the choice is embedded in FIFA regulation, so its not an option to take away the choice, not now and not in this millennium.
That penny might have dropped with the NI fans association who now want a system of compensation for every player who declares for the 'other country' 
As if a player is a possession, as if they don't care about the validity of national identity, as if they don't realize that a northerner is still declaring for the team that represents their nationality. Rather, such players are regarded as defectors. So what we have is that the national identity is being stigmatised unless it conforms to the singular British identity.

MS, I read an article about Armstrong a few months ago and seemingly he is now some player welfare liaison officer or something. He speaks to lads about to take the jump and from what I remember he seemed pragmatic in that a grown man will make his choice and that was fine. What he and the IFA wouldn't stomach is the deliberate tapping up by the FAI of players from a young age, even 12,13 or 14 and the offer of incentives. He also believed FAI were adopting a scorched earth policy of signing up all the eligible players, especially around Derry etc. knowing full well that they'll never make it as an international.

But don't these 12 and 13 year olds have the opportunity to change their allegiance up to the age of 21/23 provided they have not made a full competitive international appearance?

[Fear Bun Na Sceilpe]

McClean has just told the two of them where to go.

Seen that-he has firmly thrown his hat in with the Republic, IFA are finally reaping what they have sown.

[screenexile]

It's got feck all to do with political allegiances. Playing for NI Schoolboys gives young lads a shop window for the bigger Premiership Clubs where they can't get easily recognised by the Free State. Once they are at a decent club and have proven themselves as decent players they will play for whichever team is the more successful at that point in time.

If NI were performing consistently better than the Republic you can bet your ass Gibson and the likes would play for them. If Gibson were good enough to play for England and was qualified for both England and Ireland I would take a fair bet which team he would play for!

[Fear Bun Na Sceilpe]

It's got feck all to do with political allegiances. Playing for NI Schoolboys gives young lads a shop window for the bigger Premiership Clubs where they can't get easily recognised by the Free State. Once they are at a decent club and have proven themselves as decent players they will play for whichever team is the more successful at that point in time.

If NI were performing consistently better than the Republic you can bet your ass Gibson and the likes would play for them. If Gibson were good enough to play for England and was qualified for both England and Ireland I would take a fair bet which team he would play for!

It might be like that in Draperstown but I am sure the boys up in Moneyneany etc would disagree. No seriously I know both lads and they would never play senior for NI.

[nifan]

It might be like that in Draperstown but I am sure the boys up in Moneyneany etc would disagree. No seriously I know both lads and they would never play senior for NI.

Never? Why play all the way up to u21 - has anything changed in the last year.
I understand their pref may be for the ROI, but if McClean thought hed never have a chance for ROI your 100% sure hed not play for NI?

[fitzroyalty]

It might be like that in Draperstown but I am sure the boys up in Moneyneany etc would disagree. No seriously I know both lads and they would never play senior for NI.

Never? Why play all the way up to u21 - has anything changed in the last year.
I understand their pref may be for the ROI, but if McClean thought hed never have a chance for ROI your 100% sure hed not play for NI?

No disrepect but is it not a whole rat-race trying to get the players that do want to play for NI available once qualification chances are finished?

International football with NI has never been glamorous in my view, not the same passion you get with Scotland, Ireland and even England. I wouldn't be surprised if players in such a scenario above just stuck to club football.

As I see it, the majority of the ones that do play have only ever been half-hearted and it was only under Sanchez and for a period under Worthington that there was a realisation that they might actually go somewhere.

After the ROI team's revitalisation under Trap the attraction will always lie with the ROI team.

[Orior]

Hopefully McClean's stance will encourage others to take the same route.

[Rasharkin Gael]

It's got feck all to do with political allegiances. Playing for NI Schoolboys gives young lads a shop window for the bigger Premiership Clubs where they can't get easily recognised by the Free State. Once they are at a decent club and have proven themselves as decent players they will play for whichever team is the more successful at that point in time.

If NI were performing consistently better than the Republic you can bet your ass Gibson and the likes would play for them. If Gibson were good enough to play for England and was qualified for both England and Ireland I would take a fair bet which team he would play for!

Think screen exile has it right. If nireland were more successful more nationalists would declare for them. Michael oneill can only try his best to change how nireland and their supporters are perceived by nationalists, he after all was a fine Gaelic player for all saints, st louis and Antrim minors before heading across the water. Don't fancy his job though, and until nireland more out of Windsor , very few nationalist could feel comfortable supporting let alone playing for them.

[Maguire01]

What about the English?  Watch Braveheart-- hard to like them

I thought that was a classic myself!

[trileacman]

Don't really see Windsor Pk as the main sticking point. The song, flag and "Billy Boys" chanting would be worse IMO.

[Maguire01]

Don't really see Windsor Pk as the main sticking point. The song, flag and "Billy Boys" chanting would be worse IMO.

I still reckon Windsor is a factor, both in terms of location and the fact that it looks like a dump.

[MW]

Don't really see Windsor Pk as the main sticking point. The song, flag and "Billy Boys" chanting would be worse IMO.

The "Billy Boys" would indeed be worse. But if you're suggesting you'd hear that at Windsor if you went to a NI match, you're wide of the mark.

[Fear Bun Na Sceilpe]

Don't really see Windsor Pk as the main sticking point. The song, flag and "Billy Boys" chanting would be worse IMO.

The "Billy Boys" would indeed be worse. But if you're suggesting you'd hear that at Windsor if you went to a NI match, you're wide of the mark.

Things must be rapidly improving if this has changed in the last year. Forget about it lads, just sent in the Poles again and finish this once and for all, they didn't sing much that day. T

[MW]

You'll have to help me here because basically none of that made any sense to me.