redandyellowallover Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 It's in the papers today that he will not change his mind and he will remain with Ireland. Good luck to the lad. Scotland had their chance and they blew it big style. I hope he goes on to have a fantastic career at both club and international level. No they didn't. He has never wanted to represent Scotland, he wanted to represent Ireland due to his grandfather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Stronach Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 He has never wanted to represent Scotland Yes he did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Incredible Adam Spark Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Yes he did. Morning Tom. So...that Harry Roberts avatar. You can pm me the answer if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennythistle Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 No they didn't. He has never wanted to represent Scotland, he wanted to represent Ireland due to his grandfather. I thought there was all sorts of a carry on at School boy level when he was all but ignored by scots and the Irish saw an opportunity and took it. If I'm wrong , then fair enough but I always thought the lad did want to play for scotland but we didn't show the right attitude towards him, where the Irish did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Incredible Adam Spark Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 (edited) To keep my posts on track... They are giddy times but the story has an added twist. He may be Glasgow born and bred in but the photos on the wall make it clear where his international allegiances lie. Fittingly, the postman drops by with a delivery of custom made football boots from Nike for his elder brother Paul. At the heel, the chosen emblem is the familiar tricolour of green white and gold. McCarthy has declared for Ireland and is not for turning on the matter. Independent article from 2007 I thought it was always McCarthy's wish to play for ROI given the influence his grandfather had on his life. Pointing the finger of blame at the SFA always seemed a convenient smokescreen, to me. Edited February 11, 2011 by The Incredible Adam Spark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CUMBERNAULD JAG Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Morning Tom. So...that Harry Roberts avatar. You can pm me the answer if you want. Your like a dog with a bone mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Incredible Adam Spark Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 (edited) Your like a dog with a bone mate If the boy's gonna brand people "horrible" and "loathsome" and have a pop at offensive songs then he can explain why he's chosen a murderer, and the subject of a highly distasteful ditty at that, as his avatar. Edited February 11, 2011 by The Incredible Adam Spark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennythistle Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 If the boy's gonna brand people "horrible" and "loathsome" and have a pop at offensive songs then he can explain why he's chosen a murderer, and the subject of a highly distasteful ditty at that, as his avatar. "horrible" and "loathsome".....................you forgot to mention shit stirrer ! (LOL). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Incredible Adam Spark Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 (edited) "horrible" and "loathsome".....................you forgot to mention shit stirrer ! (LOL). I don't think I'd have the brass neck to accuse anyone of that. Tom's would buff up quite nicely, though. Edited February 11, 2011 by The Incredible Adam Spark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uberteeb Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 It would be a bit odd for him to switch now. Nothing against him choosing ROI in the first place, obviously with it being ROI as opposed to another nationality people jump to certain conclusions about 'leanings'. I was born and raised in Glasgow but would have played for Wales had I been good enough at any sport. Had the circumstances that make me want to play for Wales been the same but with the ROI I can only imagine the assumptions that would be made about me had I chosen to play for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter of '63 Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 I distinctly remember Billy Reid bemoaning the fact that Old Firm youngsters were given preference for Scotland squads and that despite his recommendations they wouldn't even look at James McCarthy - this was around the time that McCarthy had become a first team regular at 16...maybe they just didn't think he was as good as Stevie Lennon I'm pretty sure that it was only because he was being overlooked by Scotland that McCarthy decided to go with Ireland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redandyellowallover Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 (edited) Yes he did. I thought there was all sorts of a carry on at School boy level when he was all but ignored by scots and the Irish saw an opportunity and took it. If I'm wrong , then fair enough but I always thought the lad did want to play for scotland but we didn't show the right attitude towards him, where the Irish did. To keep my posts on track... Independent article from 2007 I thought it was always McCarthy's wish to play for ROI given the influence his grandfather had on his life. Pointing the finger of blame at the SFA always seemed a convenient smokescreen, to me. Whilst it is indeed true that he was never invited to play for Scotland at youth level, he had indictaed his desire to play for Ireland anyway. He had made it pretty clear he wanted to play for them and that Scotland was not really an option. See these pretty clear and direct comments from the man himself making it pretty clear what his intentions were. Edited to add; I think the whole issue with trying to blame the SFA was to try and take some of the pressure off the lad. He was getting a lot of abuse at various grounds all over the country and getting a lot of grief from Rangers fans. Edited February 11, 2011 by redandyellowallover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackpool Jags Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 They say it's all about opinions and feelings etc: my own (highly subjective) feeling is that if he, at some point, declared that it really was Ireland that he aspired to play for and not us, then he can simply go and fcuk himself. That is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggy1967 Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 (edited) They say it's all about opinions and feelings etc: my own (highly subjective) feeling is that if he, at some point, declared that it really was Ireland that he aspired to play for and not us, then he can simply go and fcuk himself. That is all. Totally agree. Typical of the west of Scotland east end connection. Why are they still here again? with there flags ? And, before I, get dissed for my sins I actually employ one of said characters lol ! Just hate the thought of our local lad's enjoying all that our good land can give them ... then playin this ROI pish ! Is there no academy's over by for them ? I am embarressed that Scotland may seem so deperate to have him to be honest. Edited February 12, 2011 by Jaggy1967 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggy Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 They say it's all about opinions and feelings etc: my own (highly subjective) feeling is that if he, at some point, declared that it really was Ireland that he aspired to play for and not us, then he can simply go and fcuk himself. That is all. agreed ps are they still waving Palestine flags now that their latest midfield star is Israeli???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BermondseyBoy Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 If the boy's gonna brand people "horrible" and "loathsome" and have a pop at offensive songs then he can explain why he's chosen a murderer, and the subject of a highly distasteful ditty at that, as his avatar. Harry roberts is our friend... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_mm_ Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 i have always failed to see the issue in all of this. he picked a country he was eligible for. so what? we've benefitted from the same. if he changes his mind, great...more options for scotland. if he doesn't...no loss. and frankly, if there is a talented scottish player who opts for another country, so long as it is one of the 207 that aren't england, i couldn't care less. failing that, i'll start an anti-stuart holden thread. wee turncoat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afghan Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Harry roberts is our friend... I'm as curious as Adam Spark and Crazy Davie on this one. Why is this bloke being lionised? Why are Bermondsey Boy and Tom Stronach so keen on him? I've read about him and there doesn't seem much to commend. I understand his upbringing was difficult, but that is true for many people. I have no agenda on this, and have no desire to be critical or enter into an argument: I just wonder why people are keen to align themselves with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Incognito Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 I thought there was all sorts of a carry on at School boy level when he was all but ignored by scots and the Irish saw an opportunity and took it. If I'm wrong , then fair enough but I always thought the lad did want to play for scotland but we didn't show the right attitude towards him, where the Irish did. The trouble is, McCarthy sends out mixed messages. The first is the one you have just mentioned. The other is that it is because he wanted to fulfil his dear old Granda's dying wish. Which is it James? In actual fact, he wasn't continually overlooked by Scotland. I'm fairly sure he was even included in an under-19s squad but then pulled out and played for the Irish instead. Totally agree. Typical of the west of Scotland east end connection. Why are they still here again? with there flags ? And, before I, get dissed for my sins I actually employ one of said characters lol ! Just hate the thought of our local lad's enjoying all that our good land can give them ... then playin this ROI pish ! Is there no academy's over by for them ? I am embarressed that Scotland seem so deperate to sign him to be honest. Well put mate. The Irish youth academy system seems to consist of genealogists scouring the family trees of half decent players from the west of Scotland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redandyellowallover Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 The trouble is, McCarthy sends out mixed messages. The first is the one you have just mentioned. The other is that it is because he wanted to fulfil his dear old Granda's dying wish. Which is it James? In actual fact, he wasn't continually overlooked by Scotland. I'm fairly sure he was even included in an under-19s squad but then pulled out and played for the Irish instead. Well put mate. The Irish youth academy system seems to consist of genealogists scouring the family trees of half decent players from the west of Scotland. Ross Mathie approached Accies and McCarthy with a view to calling him up and he was told that he wanted to represent ROI. The SFA then respected his wishes and made no further move to cap him. As i said previously, the whole blaming the SFA thing was to try and take the pressure off him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trotter Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Fletcher, Dorrans, Morrison, Brown, Adam, McCarthur, McCulloch there just now as centre midfielders. Add young boy Ness at Rangers, who I reckon is going to be a good player, and Bryson at Killie then don't really think it matters either way who who decides he's palying for. If he was a centre half then maybe it'd be different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_mm_ Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Well put mate. The Irish youth academy system seems to consist of genealogists scouring the family trees of half decent players from the west of Scotland. bruce rioch, andy goram, neil sullivan, stuart mccall, richard gough, nigel quashie, paul devlin, scott dobie, james morrison, kris common, phil bardsley, jamie mackie, matt gilks. this and our attempts to lure gabriel agbonlahor and andy carrol into the fold. (and let's not even get into the ill advised attempts to get david johnson - jamaican born, but adopted in the uk - to represent scotland) pot, kettle, black and all that i don't remember this much harumphing when dominic matteo decided that he wanted to be scottish again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redandyellowallover Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 bruce rioch, andy goram, neil sullivan, stuart mccall, richard gough, nigel quashie, paul devlin, scott dobie, james morrison, kris common, phil bardsley, jamie mackie, matt gilks. this and our attempts to lure gabriel agbonlahor and andy carrol into the fold. (and let's not even get into the ill advised attempts to get david johnson - jamaican born, but adopted in the uk - to represent scotland) pot, kettle, black and all that i don't remember this much harumphing when dominic matteo decided that he wanted to be scottish again. The only ones that you can genuinely compare from your list is Carroll and Agbonlahor. They were at the same stage of their careers as McGeady and McCarthy when Scotland approached them. The rest of them were obviously not going to be picked for their country of birth, so i believe that is slightly different. I want people playing for Scotland that consider themselves Scottish and actually want to play for the team. As such, the likes of McGeady and McCarthy are no great loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrantB Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 The only ones that you can genuinely compare from your list is Carroll and Agbonlahor. They were at the same stage of their careers as McGeady and McCarthy when Scotland approached them. The rest of them were obviously not going to be picked for their country of birth, so i believe that is slightly different. I want people playing for Scotland that consider themselves Scottish and actually want to play for the team. As such, the likes of McGeady and McCarthy are no great loss. At least Abgonlahor has a Scottish mother. A bit closer than McCarthy who has one Irish grandparent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Incognito Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 bruce rioch, andy goram, neil sullivan, stuart mccall, richard gough, nigel quashie, paul devlin, scott dobie, james morrison, kris common, phil bardsley, jamie mackie, matt gilks. this and our attempts to lure gabriel agbonlahor and andy carrol into the fold. (and let's not even get into the ill advised attempts to get david johnson - jamaican born, but adopted in the uk - to represent scotland) pot, kettle, black and all that i don't remember this much harumphing when dominic matteo decided that he wanted to be scottish again. The players in bold all had Scottish parents, making their links to Scotland much closer than McCarthy and McGeady's to Ireland (the former qualifies to play for ROI thanks to a grandfather who spent the vast majority of his adult life in Scotland and the latter courtesy of a granny who left Ireland when she was 3). The others would almost certainly never, with the possible exception of Neil Sullivan at the height of his career, have been called up by England, so they don't stand comparison either with McCarthy and McGeady, who are and were very much wanted. England is also a much bigger country than Scotland population-wise, so can afford to take the occasional hit (in a manner of speaking). Dominic Matteo is Scottish and by all accounts always want to play for us. However, he was overlooked (this was at a time when Scotland had plenty of good defenders - oh to have such problems again!) I take your point about us exploiting the rules though and I was being a wee bit flippant in my previous post. I think, being a country with a long history of emigration (like Ireland), we would be foolish not to. I think what upsets me is that we have had a problem for a long time in producing players of genuine class and now that we look like we have started to find the knack again, we lose two of the best to another country. However, at least we are well covered now in the midfield area - it would be worse if we had lost a couple of top class forwards or centre halves! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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