Republic of Ireland Team 2023/24 [old thread]

I heard a lot of Cannon's Irish family turned up for U21 match in Cork to see him play - maybe it's a case that it's something he wanted to do but feels future is with England.

I think that we have Ferguson will soften the blow

You would nearly forget there is a game on Friday. Very low key. Maybe its end of season syndrome

Have one ticket in Block 114 for Monday for €30.

PM if interested.

And if we don’t do it Friday I’d say it’s a stat that’s safe another 2-3 years.

That is a bit of an over simplification of Liverpool's relationship within the UK. Robbie Fowler and Wayne Rooney had Irish roots - both Liverpool born. But they were never going to chose Ireland. 1) Because they were good enough to play for England 2) They are proud Englishmen.

If they were not good enough to play for England it might have been a different story.

Possibly given our form in away qualifiers. Close to 29 years without a win against a team in the top 50 away from home which still doesn't change if we win on Friday. Estonia in the play offs is the next highest in rankings (59th) that we've won away to in Euro qualifiers.

Funnily enough the one qualifier where we were actually very very good away from home, WC 2018, we ended up throwing away qualification with our poor home results. Took 7/9 away from home against the top three seeds but only took 2/9 at home.

Agreed. Using Ireland as an 'audition' so if they are very good at the international level they get picked up by England, if not they have the Ireland safety net so it is a win, win, for them. Exactly what Declan Rice did.

If I remember correctly in the few International matches he played for Ireland senior 'uncompetitively' there were a few pundits/former players who immediately were calling him a future Irish captain, composure beyond his years etc. So it definitely helped put Rice in the spotlight more so than if he had had to wait for his chance that bit longer at West Ham.

I don't really know how you stop it because there is no sincerity to it. Practically and economically most are going to pick the larger nation, even if it just gets them a few proper caps.

Maybe we shouldnt pick the English players until they are over 21. Its not like playing them underage makes them loyal to us anyway so why waste the spot of an Irish born lad? Michael Keane is another guy who used us to get picked for the England team.

While the change in rules meant players like Johansson could now play for us, the rule that made him ineligible didn't fully go away. Unless an English born player is second generation then they'll likely become ineligible for us if they play for England at any level after the age of 21. Though one or two sites say it's when the player turns 21 regardless of whether they play a game or not.

So Delap for example, unless he's sorted out his Irish passport before he turns 21 may become ineligible for us next year. So FAI will likely have to get third generation players involved in the set up before they turn 21 or at least identify players and sort out their passports for them in case they wanna switch later on.

You know the new rule, where you could have a guy play for England at 21, then he doesnt get picked for 5 years, and so he can change national team. is that just if he isnt selected by england after his first few caps at 21? or could he call in sick any time he is called up and change national teams a few years later?

If you've played in no more than three competitive games at senior level (though games at tournaments automatically tie you down) before you're 21st birthday then you're entitled to switch but must wait three years after your last cap.

Players who played for their home country but not at senior level, who were under 21 at the time and have since lived in a new country for five years or more can apply for a switch to represent their new place of residence. This also applies to players that began living on the territory before the age of 10 for at least three years.

So think what some have said might catch third generation players is the living in a new country for five years . Because third generation players aren't automatically given citizenship at birth but only entitled to it and need to register their births first if it's done after they're 21 it might not satisfy FIFA's criteria for switching. They may have to claim their Irish citizenship before they turn 21.

I think its a bit sly of the FAI selling tickets for 2 games together. I could pay 150 but on principle I wont buy them. Also I usually would buy 2 tickets, 1 for me and 1 for a friend, I did it for Ireland v Serbia, I think they were 100 euro for the 2 tickets, but if I did that now its 300 euro for 2 tickets 🤨

Were Austria not ranked in top 50 when we beat them in Vienna in 2016? I remember it being some kind of long term hoodoo being broken. Higher seeded team maybe.

Grim enough stat either way.

beating them and wales happened but it was a World Cup qualifier.

obafemi opted out of press duties yesterday so a reasonable likelihood is he’s having a sulk after being told he won’t start.

george Baldock being in a Greek player was news that passed me by

Ah, I completely missed the Euros bit. And even worse, I forgot the Wales game and I was there.

That’s not really the point. Someone has to do media duties. Troy Parrott stepped into the breach. So it’s just not being a good team player. It’s strange maybe they put up a player 2 days before the game who was not being selected. This could all be an incorrect assumption by me of course.

if you think Dan McDonnell is the type of journo to intentionally dirty the rep of a player then I will make conclusions about how clued in you are from that.

dan McDonnell could cover the entire Irish international setup by himself and we wouldn’t lose a whole lot by losing every other journalist on the Irish beat. He’s far ahead of them and should be listened to on a weekly basis by anyone with an interest in the Irish international team

Well maybe he should actually find out the reason/story behind things (like real journalists) before vomitting up speculation. There is very little to report of interest on the Irish team before a game so he has to justify his job and generate clicks somehow I suppose.

Okay. That's kind of my point that he would have little reason to mention it unless to stir up a story. In my opinion journalists shouldn't try to instigate a story like that. They should do a bit of research, but I suppose that's the environment he is working in where he feels he has to put it out there and see if it creates a interest.

If he said it/posted it as part of a news summary then it's not that bad but if it was in isolation then the agenda is more clear.

He mentioned it in regards to Troy Parrott doing the presser. Didn’t dwell on it and most listeners wouldn’t have dwelled on it either.