Ireland vs Georgia

Should try and convince Kevin Nolan to declare for us.

 

i thought he had england under 21 caps, does that make ineligible?

 

he had to have declared before he turned 25 and he was holding out for england

 

All I know is he's eligible. Unless he had to declare before he was 25 as according to the above poster, although I must admit I've heard nothing about this rule.

 

if he is still eligible you think he'd have changed his mind by now, dont see him getting a game for england or maybe he's n ot fussed on international football? shame we never got scholes back in the day! looked like it was gonna happen at one stage

 

kevin nolan is 100% not eligible team news in midfield of duff mcgeady whelan and andrews i like the sound of that, still think duff needs to step up to the mark

 

thought duffers done well so far in qualifying. never gonna be as good as 5 years ago but he's got some form back. still a buzz when he gets the ball

 

Team:

Shay Given - Manchester City
Paul McShane - Sunderland or Stephen Kelly - Stoke City
John O'Shea - Manchester United
Richard Dunne - Manchester City
Kevin Kilbane - Hull City
Aiden McGeady - Glasgow Celtic
Glenn Whelan - Stoke City
Keith Andrews - Blackburn Rovers
Damien Duff - Newcastle United
Kevin Doyle - Reading
Robbie Keane – Tottenham Hotspurs

Kelly >>> McShame
Centre of midfield looks * without Ireland or Stevie Reid
Finnan injured which is a shame

 

I never heard of that rule before either. Having said that Nolan was asked plenty of times and he obviously considers himself English so he should never play for Ireland. I have no problem with players born outside the 32 counties playing for Ireland. In fact I think in a way it represents the true Ireland with our large diaspora. But no way do I want us playing people who are clearly not Irish like Kevin Nolan.

 

do the 2 points i higlighted not contradict each other mate?

 

Along with Keane and Doyle up front. Shay Given, the best keeper in the world maybe with the exception ofCasillas.

 

i'd say shay's one of the best alright. hopefully the honey monster gets some form back, him and o shea have looked solid at the back. i really think we're gonna qualify, haven't been this excited about the national team in years

 

ya , his family is hardly mongolian with a name like that

 

Its gonna be a hard one. If we beat Italy when we play them then i think we will qualify.

 

it wont be easy, italy are unbeaten in 31 games but someones gotta beat them and it may as well be us. i think we'll get 4 points of them, feeling very optimistic about it

 

Whats the script with stephen ireland not playing for ireland ?

 

one time at a trining camp when ireland wore his wig the other players held him down and ripped it off, he's been too embarressed i think to go back. the whole stuff about his granny dying etc was just an excuse

 

Not a bad team in my opinion. Let's face it, players like Ireland do not want to participate and are unavailable for selection. From the players available, I quite like the starting 11.

 

To me that's Trap's biggest mistake... that and the fact that he doesn't travel to watch upcoming opponents play.

 

No they don't as my post clearly says due to Irelands very large dispora relative to our size of country there are many people born outside of Ireland who are Irish and would give their right leg to play for their country. Phil Babb would be an example he grew up in England in an Irish family as an Irish person always dreaming of playing for his country although he was born in England.

Certainly Nolan's name can easily be Irish. But he was appraoched numerous times about playing for Irealnd and always said no hoping for an England call up. Hence he feels he is English and I would not want someone like that playing for Ireland. I have no problem with Nolan. I wish he felt differently as he would be a good player for us. But that isn't the case the guy is English.