Spotlight on BBC 6 Counties tomorrow night

[Evil Genius]

Fearon, it is shocking you are so bigotted you cant see the wood for the trees
Supporting Denmark against NI is no comparison at all with supporting England against NI

Thank you Full Back.

BTW, WTF was Lawro at
When picking the best 11 players on the island he had John O Shea in central midfield

He may have been a fine player in a fine team, but Lawrenson's punditry should always be put in the context that his his most significant non-playing roles in football were as manager of Oxford United (sacked) and defensive coach at Kevin "I'd Love It" Keegan's 10 Man Attackers at Newcastle.

He is also possibly the unfunniest man on TV (after Patrick Kielty), though if the following really is genuine, then he may be the most unintentionally funny man on the planet:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=61670736

[The Watcher Pat]

Also Eamon Mc Cann rightly pointed out that the majority of Northern Nationalists supported England in 2005.

You poor, deluded idiot.

Whether correct or not with his observation (majority of NI Nats supporting England), McCann was using that to illustrate that just as there are bigots on the Unionist side who infect soccer in NI, they also have their exact counterparts on the Nationalist side, who are so prejudiced that they'd sooner support England - their oppressor for 800 years - than lend support to their fellow Irish neighbours.

So what you are trying to say is that northern nationalists who support and follow the republic are bigots? :S

Good grief, you're worse than Fearon!

What I'm saying is that northern Nats who support England, solely because they are playing NI (i.e. their fellow Irishmen) are exhibiting the exact same bigotry as those "Loyalists" [sic] who e.g. booed Lennon for signing for Celtic.

I don't expect every northern Nat to have supported NI when they played England, though if the posters on this Board are indicative, then it is encouraging that a fair a number did.

But support their Saxon Oppressors?

Some Irish Nationalists those are, eh? 

Never heard of freedom of choice? Northern Nationalist's have every right to support England over NI if they choose to...I would support most teams that play against NI not because i'm a bigot.I simply dont like them.....

[Evil Genius]

It was the most patronising and amateurish production I've ever seen on the telly.

For you to complain about being "patronised", after you posted this about Gerry Armstrong takes the biscuit:

"I wouldn't be too hard on this Armstronge fella as I doubt he has had any other option but to nail his colours to the OWC mast. Not only did he not have the choice to play for Ireland when he was starting his soccer career but don't forget he grew up in very different times when the old Stormont regime had done its damndest to suffocate any expression of Irish identity in the six counties.

Belfast in the fifties and sixties didn't have RTE beaming into homes but the clipped Oxbridge accented voices of the BBC. There was no internet but the Belfast Telegraph and don't forget that even the Irish News's extensive coverage of Gaelic games has been a recent enough phenomenon. That's the way it was, and for many especially those in the urban centres away from the border, you didn't have the space to question the status quo.

So in many ways like the lifer 20 years into his sentence is easy to understand how he was 'institutionalised' or 'conditioned' to the extent that opting for the north wasn't so much a choice but something you just did unthinkingly. A bit like those Irish who left for London at the same time and who'd rather live out the rest of their days staring down the bottom of another bottle than come home again, this fella has to stick with OWC – to do anything else would be to admit his life has been a failure"

Mr Kettle, have you met Mr. Pot? 

[Evil Genius]

Never heard of freedom of choice? Northern Nationalist's have every right to support England over NI if they choose to...I would support most teams that play against NI not because i'm a bigot.I simply dont like them.....

Of course people are free to choose who they support - I never denied them their choice.

But equally, the rest of us are free to judge them on their choice, according to their motives.

P.S. You say you would support "most" teams who play NI. Which are the ones who wouldn't command your support?

[The Watcher Pat]

Never heard of freedom of choice? Northern Nationalist's have every right to support England over NI if they choose to...I would support most teams that play against NI not because i'm a bigot.I simply dont like them.....

Of course people are free to choose who they support - I never denied them their choice.

But equally, the rest of us are free to judge them on their choice, according to their motives.

P.S. You say you would support "most" teams who play NI. Which are the ones who wouldn't command your support?

Why should anyone be free to judge me just because i have said I dont like N.I? I have my reasons why I dont like them and it is nothing bigoted....Same way as I have a Intense hatred of Man U...Not being bigoted just dont like or support them...As for the other teams i wouldn't support that's not relevant to the subject...

When I say that I dont support N.I because i dont like them...take it as that..people should not be so hasty to judge any more in to it.....

[saffron sam2]

Lawros team:

Given

Hughes
Finnan
Dunne
Evans

O 'Shea
Carsley

McGeady
Keane
Healy
Duff





I wouldnt have Hughes near that team, move O'shea left back and finna right back. That leaves a spot in centre midfield, possibly Steven or Andy Reid to fill in.

You would have a strong bench with the likes of Doyle and Lafferty.

A silly, silly time filler which only highlighted the weakness of the overall programme.

As for the team itself, I actually would have Hughes on, partnering Dunne at centre-half which I feel is his best position. Given in goals with Finnan and Evans as full-backs.

O'Shea and McGeady can get to feck, Stephen Hunt would come in for McGeady with either Damien Johnston or Steve Davis in for O'Shea (and possibly the other for Carsley). Doyle would be a tad unlucky and Lafferty could maybe make it as a foil for Keane.

Or Healy.

[Evil Genius]

Lawros team:

Given

Hughes
Finnan
Dunne
Evans

O 'Shea
Carsley

McGeady
Keane
Healy
Duff





I wouldnt have Hughes near that team, move O'shea left back and finna right back. That leaves a spot in centre midfield, possibly Steven or Andy Reid to fill in.

You would have a strong bench with the likes of Doyle and Lafferty.

A silly, silly time filler which only highlighted the weakness of the overall programme.

As for the team itself, I actually would have Hughes on, partnering Dunne at centre-half which I feel is his best position. Given in goals with Finnan and Evans as full-backs.

O'Shea and McGeady can get to feck, Stephen Hunt would come in for McGeady with either Damien Johnston or Steve Davis in for O'Shea (and possibly the other for Carsley). Doyle would be a tad unlucky and Lafferty could maybe make it as a foil for Keane.

Or Healy.

Agree, a pointless exercise, but of all the omissions, the one which most puzzles me is that of George McCartney, not only the only recognised Irish Left Back playing in the Premiership, but one of the better ones at that level.

[saffron sam2]

Lawros team:

Given

Hughes
Finnan
Dunne
Evans

O 'Shea
Carsley

McGeady
Keane
Healy
Duff





I wouldnt have Hughes near that team, move O'shea left back and finna right back. That leaves a spot in centre midfield, possibly Steven or Andy Reid to fill in.

You would have a strong bench with the likes of Doyle and Lafferty.

A silly, silly time filler which only highlighted the weakness of the overall programme.

As for the team itself, I actually would have Hughes on, partnering Dunne at centre-half which I feel is his best position. Given in goals with Finnan and Evans as full-backs.

O'Shea and McGeady can get to feck, Stephen Hunt would come in for McGeady with either Damien Johnston or Steve Davis in for O'Shea (and possibly the other for Carsley). Doyle would be a tad unlucky and Lafferty could maybe make it as a foil for Keane.

Or Healy.

Agree, a pointless exercise, but of all the omissions, the one which most puzzles me is that of George McCartney, not only the only recognised Irish Left Back playing in the Premiership, but one of the better ones at that level.

You are correct. Had forgotten about George. Fire him in ahead of Evans, then.

[Evil Genius]

Why should anyone be free to judge me just because i have said I dont like N.I?

We are all free to express out opinions and preferences, in the knowledge that others are free to react accordingly. You can't have one without the other.

I have my reasons why I dont like them and it is nothing bigoted....

Fine. But as an NI fan, I'd be interested to hear them.

As for the other teams i wouldn't support that's not relevant to the subject...

I had no way of knowing whether they were relevant or not when I asked the question, since you hadn't indicated why you dislike NI, never mind why you appear to dislike certain other teams even more. I'm just curious, that's all.

When I say that I dont support N.I because i dont like them...take it as that..people should not be so hasty to judge any more in to it.....

I haven't actually judged you over your dislike of NI, since I don't know your reasons for doing so. It appears that many northern Nationalists dislike the NI team for political reasons which, though I dislike seeing politics intruding unnecessarily in sport, is fair enough, I suppose.

But when certain Nationalists extend their political dislike to the extent that they would even support England, then if they're entitled to hold those opinions (which they are), I'm equally entitled to deplore them for it.

But because I try to avoid stereotyping people, I have not assumed your dislike of the NI team derives from the same motives, which is why I am asking what your reasons are. You can tell me, you know, I'm a big boy, so I doubt I'll be offended or embarrassed by your answer...

[heganboy]

McCann was using that to illustrate that just as there are bigots on the Unionist side who infect soccer in NI, they also have their exact counterparts on the Nationalist side, who are so prejudiced that they'd sooner support England - their oppressor for 800 years - than lend support to their fellow Irish neighbours.

I've got to contradict you there NIFAN, i don't know a single person, with the exception of some very nice english gentlemen I play soccer with that wanted England to win. you can talk all you like about the ABMU crowd but pretty much the rest of the planet is ABE.

[Main Street]

McCann was using that to illustrate that just as there are bigots on the Unionist side who infect soccer in NI, they also have their exact counterparts on the Nationalist side, who are so prejudiced that they'd sooner support England - their oppressor for 800 years - than lend support to their fellow Irish neighbours.

I've got to contradict you there NIFAN, i don't know a single person, with the exception of some very nice english gentlemen I play soccer with that wanted England to win. you can talk all you like about the ABMU crowd but pretty much the rest of the planet is ABE.

I know they all sound the same but Nifan has more sense than to write that type of crap.

[Orior]

It is well documented that a lot of owc in the big stand were wearing england tops that night. Figure that one out.

[Fishbat]

England? would be a fair % of Nationalists supporting them, well supporting would be the wrong word - not supporting NI would be better

Too much water under the bridge

[his holiness nb]

I wouldnt support either side over the other. I wouldnt support England because of the entire British Empires history, especially in Ireland.
NI because politically I dont think they should exist, in conjunction with my dislike of the history of the British empire in Ireland.

Does this make me a bigot? Yes or no?

[gawa316]

It is well documented that a lot of owc in the big stand were wearing england tops that night. Figure that one out.

Where was this documented and by whom?