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World Cup 2022

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Drico said:
They're all mercenaries, Dave. It really doesn't matter. We had players who played brilliantly for us...mainly because England wouldn't pick them. We had people like Tony Cascarino with an iffy Irish passport despite having next to no Irish blood in him. Didn't stop him being heroic for us. We had pure blood Irish fenians who weren't arsed performing for us... It's all smoke and mirrors. And career moves. It's professional football, not the Corinthian spirit of yore.
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Well, it looks like O'Neill would have been pushing at an open door getting players to take full caps who were already in the Irish set up.

I cant imagine Jack Charlton advising them to consider their options for their careers sake.
 
Billy Dean said:
I'd agree I think even international football is a head over heart decision these days in most cases. For Grealish and Rice choosing England over Ireland guarantees them regular tournament football and all the exposure that brings. Musiala was a head over heart decision too most probably: be the centre piece of the German team for the next 10 years, or compete with about 15 more or less equally talented players for a place in the England team.
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Ha ha, my God. Seriously? It was Germany (4 times World Cup winners, 4 times runners-up, 3 times European champions, 3 times runners-up) or England (1966 World Cup winners). The Germans might be in a trough right now, but their record dwarfs England's. Don't fool yourself. The Krauts will be back strong long before Musiala calls it a day. You can bet his advisers knew their history...
 
davek said:
Well, it looks like O'Neill would have been pushing at an open door getting players to take full caps who were already in the Irish set up.

I cant imagine Jack Charlton advising them to consider their options for their careers sake.
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If you had heard the interview, he met with both the lads parents, and liked them all. He was asked what would be best for their kids, if they proved good enough to play for England. He gave an honest answer. To para phrase, "they will both play for ROI, for sure. The England option is down to them as players".

As for Charlton, not a chance he would have played Grealish anyrate. Route one. Dropped Bradey ffs.
 
davek said:
Well, it looks like O'Neill would have been pushing at an open door getting players to take full caps who were already in the Irish set up.

I cant imagine Jack Charlton advising them to consider their options for their careers sake.
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O'Neill should have punted them as soon as he asked them "Do you want to play for Ireland?" and found an equivocation in their answers. THAT was his blunder. He let them string him along...
 
Drico said:
Ha ha, my God. Seriously? It was Germany (4 times World Cup winners, 4 times runners-up, 3 times European champions, 3 times runners-up) or England (1966 World Cup winners). The Germans might be in a trough right now, but their record dwarfs England's. Don't fool yourself. The Krauts will be back strong long before Musiala calls it a day. You can bet his advisers knew their history...
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Well it's not only about history, it's also about the future, mainly the next 10 years of Musiala's career. Comparing what is coming through for both countries in his position he's likely going to have much less competition for a place in the Germany team. That was all I was saying. He pretty much said this himself at the time.
 

Billy Dean said:
Well it's not only about history, it's also about the future, mainly the next 10 years of Musiala's career. Comparing what is coming through for both countries in his position he's likely going to have much less competition for a place in the Germany team. That was all I was saying. He pretty much said this himself at the time.
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If he said that, I suspect he was trying not to hurt feelings. It was a classy thing to say to disappointed admirers. To any objective observer, he didn't have a difficult choice to make. If he wants to win international titles, he is much more likely to do that with Germany over almost any ten year period - as history shows - than he is with England. One or two decent showings from England in recent years doesn't change that overall reality. A defeat on Saturday night and, well, England's "future" starts to look a lot less rosy than it might do right now... Mind you, in the interests of fairness, if England do go on to win this World Cup, his decision will look a lot less calculated than it clearly was at the time.

That said, there's actually no guarantee Musiala plays another World Cup. He got plaudits for his energy and ball control - hugely impressive at 19 - but a lot of smart observers have rightly pointed out that there was zero end product. That will need to change before this lad can dream of winning titles with any country...
 
Drico said:
If he said that, I suspect he was trying not to hurt feelings. It was a classy thing to say to disappointed admirers. To any objective observer, he didn't have a difficult choice to make. If he wants to win international titles, he is much more likely to do that with Germany over almost any ten year period - as history shows - than he is with England. One or two decent showings from England in recent years doesn't change that overall reality. A defeat on Saturday night and, well, England's "future" starts to look a lot less rosy than it might do right now... Mind you, in the interests of fairness, if England do go on to win this World Cup, his decision will look a lot less calculated than it clearly was at the time.

That said, there's actually no guarantee Musiala plays another World Cup. He got plaudits for his energy and ball control - hugely impressive at 19 - but a lot of smart observers have rightly pointed out that there was zero end product. That will need to change before this lad can dream of winning titles with any country...
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Yes maybe he was just trying not to hurt feelings. I guess we'll never know and I guess only time will tell how the next 10 years will look. He's not going to get dropped from the Germany squad any time soon I would've thought, unless he completely drops off a cliff. He's their great hope.
 
roydo said:
If you had heard the interview, he met with both the lads parents, and liked them all. He was asked what would be best for their kids, if they proved good enough to play for England. He gave an honest answer. To para phrase, "they will both play for ROI, for sure. The England option is down to them as players".

As for Charlton, not a chance he would have played Grealish anyrate. Route one. Dropped Bradey ffs.
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His answer to that should have been: "We're not running a clearing house here for players who want to hedge their bets. Either play for us or adios".

I mean, what on earth did their parents expect for their kids - they allowed those kids (presumably because of ties to Ireland they wanted them to play for that country?) - when the Irish Association approached them? The world on a stick?

This is all about O'Neill fending off any criticism he might get for allowing those two players to pull on an Irish shirt and then throw it down at their own convenience.
 


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