Manuel Almunia making noises about playing for England

_blank_ · 22-08-2008 12:05pm #1

I know he'll be entitled to, but jaysis sake.

"If this is the only way to have international matches then I will make the decision"

What a bleedin' mercenary.

What if they come up against Spain?

zAbbo · 22-08-2008 12:07pm

Des wrote: »

What if they come up against Spain?

They'll lose and make him a scapegoat

eZe^ · 22-08-2008 12:09pm

Then he'd have the honour of playing on the same pitch as the player who banished him from ever having a hope of playing for his national team. Iker Casillas. He may learn a thing or two iswell, it's a win win for all parties involved.

walrusgumble · 22-08-2008 12:09pm

love to have seen jens lenehman's reaction to this when news broke

SantryRed · 22-08-2008 12:11pm

He's muck anyways.

James is by far and away the better keeper.

event · 22-08-2008 12:21pm

he wouldnt get near the team anyway

monkey9 · 22-08-2008 12:39pm

event wrote: »

he wouldnt get near the team anyway

He shouldn't be getting anywhere near a top four team!!! Can't understand why Wenger doesn't at least attempt to get Given

Smartly Dressed · 22-08-2008 12:41pm

monkey9 wrote: »

He shouldn't be getting anywhere near a top four team!!! Can't understand why Wenger doesn't at least attempt to get Given

Maybe it has something to do with Given declaring several times that he isn't going to leave Newcastle?

Bar James, Almunia is miles better than any other keeper England have.

Xavi6 · 22-08-2008 12:41pm

He's actually a very good keeper playing for one of the top sides in the PL. Also England aren't exactly flush with experienced options when you take a 37 year old James and a terrible Paul Robinson out of the equation.

dubmick · 22-08-2008 12:47pm

The English side doesn't sound like much fun...

A quote from Paul Scholes :

"It wasn't about thinking it was too much or I wasn't capable; it was just that when I was playing I was not enjoying it one little bit. "

SantryRed · 22-08-2008 12:52pm

dubmick wrote: »

The English side doesn't sound like much fun...

A quote from Paul Scholes :

"It wasn't about thinking it was too much or I wasn't capable; it was just that when I was playing I was not enjoying it one little bit. "

With the media they have can you blame them not thinking it's fun?

leninbenjamin · 22-08-2008 1:06pm

Almunia is far better than people seem to realise. he's twice the keeper that arrived 4 years ago to Highbury, and despite his falling out with Lehmann, i think he really learned a lot from him. he's much more aggressive and vocal than he used be. and like most keepers, at 31 he's only entering his prime.

While James on his day is probably the better keeper, i think James is beginning to make more mistakes. he might last the campaign, but i'm beginning to have doubts. for a 39 year old, 2 years is a long time in football.

outside of James, England are fooked; a few promising youngsters with little to no experience (maybe Foster will get a game this season with United, but it's far from certain) and a donkey in Robinson. Aluminia should be the 1st choice backup, as he is head and shoulders above the rest. Great shot stopper, experience at the highest level in the Prem and CL. if i were Capello i'd be sitting on his doorstep come Dec 29.

monkey9 · 22-08-2008 2:00pm

If i were an England fan, i'd prefer Cudicini in goal to Almunia in fairness.

Why can't the English just stick to players who were actually born in England??!!!! I mean, if they go down this road, all countries will be at it!!!!!

yahoo_moe · 22-08-2008 2:03pm

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Almunia is far better than people seem to realise. he's twice the keeper that arrived 4 years ago to Highbury

Definitely - his shot-stopping's improved, as has his decision making so he's cut out a lot of the stupid errors he used to make early on.

Will David James be in goals at the 2010 World Cup if England get there? If I were an England fan, Almunia would be my next preferred option if not.

chopperbyrne · 22-08-2008 2:28pm

monkey9 wrote: »

Why can't the English just stick to players who were actually born in England??!!!! I mean, if they go down this road, all countries will be at it!!!!!

I assume this is tongue firmly in cheek?

monkey9 · 22-08-2008 2:31pm

chopperbyrne wrote: »

I assume this is tongue firmly in cheek?

Cemented

eagle eye · 22-08-2008 2:35pm

They don't need to worry about keepers, Paul Robinson has been smart enough to move to Blackburn. We will do the same for him as we did for Friedel. Remember Brad was considered a joke when he joined us and look at him now, being sold for 2.5 mill at 37 years of age.

DenMan · 22-08-2008 4:06pm

England certainly do not have a worrying amount of goalkeepers at their disposal. Lets look at the last 5+ years and the amount of keepers who were supposed to become the new national number 1 after David Seaman and David James.

1)Paul Robinson
2)Scott Carson
3)Robert Green
4)Chris Kirkland
5)Ben Foster
6)Joe Hart
7)Steven Bywater
8)Stuart Taylor
9)Steve Harper
10)Richard Wright
11)Ian Walker
12)Nicky Weaver

There are plenty of others of course, all good goalkeepers in their own rights who unfortunately due to some bad performances and not being given a good run in the team have missed their opportunities to succeed and as a result James is the main man again. I wouldn't want Almunia to be England's new number 1 because I feel he is in contention with Reina and Canizares as a alternative to Casillas for the Spanish national team. He has the commanding presence now he gained from Lehmann during their rivalry. (Also an Arsenal fan by the way.) If he does decide to play for them then I hope he really does well.

monkey9 · 22-08-2008 4:09pm

DenMan wrote: »

England certainly do not have a worrying amount of goalkeepers at their disposal. Lets look at the last 5+ years and the amount of keepers who were supposed to become the new national number 1 after David Seaman and David James.

1)Paul Robinson
2)Scott Carson
3)Robert Green
4)Chris Kirkland
5)Ben Foster
6)Joe Hart
7)Steven Bywater
8)Stuart Taylor
9)Steve Harper
10)Richard Wright
11)Ian Walker
12)Nicky Weaver

There are plenty of others of course, all good goalkeepers in their own rights who unfortunately due to some bad performances and not being given a good run in the team have missed their opportunities to succeed and as a result James is the main man again. I wouldn't want Almunia to be England's new number 1 because I feel he is in contention with Reina and Canizares as a alternative to Casillas for the Spanish national team. He has the commanding presence now he gained from Lehmann during their rivalry. (Also an Arsenal fan by the way.) If he does decide to play for them then I hope he really does well.

I think out of that lot, Ben Foster looks like the one most likely to step up.

mike65 · 22-08-2008 4:15pm

Pepe Reina FTW (he must be eligible by now)

Mike.

Xavi6 · 22-08-2008 4:17pm

mike65 wrote: »

Pepe Reina FTW (he must be eligible by now)

Mike.

If only he didn't have those Spanish caps.......

event · 22-08-2008 4:19pm

well bar the spanish caps you mean?

mike65 · 22-08-2008 4:23pm

Dang! Cup tied thats stupid, what if he changes nationality properly?

Mike.

Xavi6 · 22-08-2008 4:26pm

No difference. He's played for Spain as recently as during the Euros. The days of your Di Stefanos are long gone.

Galvasean · 22-08-2008 4:29pm

DenMan wrote: »

1)Paul Robinson
2)Scott Carson
3)Robert Green
4)Chris Kirkland
5)Ben Foster
6)Joe Hart
7)Steven Bywater
8)Stuart Taylor
9)Steve Harper
10)Richard Wright
11)Ian Walker
12)Nicky Weaver
.

Except Almunia is better than all of those keepers. The only two with potential to be better than him are Foster and possibly Hart.

leninbenjamin · 22-08-2008 5:03pm

Gaviscon wrote: »

Except Almunia is better than all of those keepers. The only two with potential to be better than him are Foster and possibly Hart.

in fairness, i think you're being harsh on the others. in particular i think Green (he's still only 28, he can still improve) and Carson (still only 22, he's far from the finished article) could possibly step up in the coming years.

England's problem is that they put an awful lot of pressure on keepers. commentators these days seem to find fault with every single thing they do these days, and imo the pressure placed on them hampers their development. it's funny, but some of the best keepers in recent years in England have been the ones where much wasn't expected of them, like James at Portsmouth, VDS at United (most people thought he was long past it when he was with Fulham), Almunia at Arsenal (who despite what people may think here, has done more than enough to warrant a starting place there) etc.

herbieflowers · 22-08-2008 5:06pm

It comes down to pressure, really. A striker needs one chance to have a good game, the rest of it he could have been utter cac. A goalie needs to play well the whole game, one tiny mistake and the game is lost / goal conceded etc.

leninbenjamin · 22-08-2008 5:18pm

herbieflowers wrote: »

It comes down to pressure, really. A striker needs one chance to have a good game, the rest of it he could have been utter cac. A goalie needs to play well the whole game, one tiny mistake and the game is lost / goal conceded etc.

true, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be given time to develop. but what i'm finding these days, is that even where defenders make faults the Keeper will almost invariable end up with some of the blame, not communicating, should have been expecting it blah blah. it's relentless, they can't get a break.

remember, Schmeichel early on in his United career made quite a few high profile gafs. these days managers mightn't be so forgiving. i don't think it's any surprise that these days the best goalkeepers are coming from foreign leagues, Reina, VDS, Cech, Almunia, Gomes, Friedel.

herbieflowers · 22-08-2008 5:42pm

leninbenjamin wrote: »

true, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be given time to develop. but what i'm finding these days, is that even where defenders make faults the Keeper will almost invariable end up with some of the blame, not communicating, should have been expecting it blah blah. it's relentless, they can't get a break.

remember, Schmeichel early on in his United career made quite a few high profile gafs. these days managers mightn't be so forgiving. i don't think it's any surprise that these days the best goalkeepers are coming from foreign leagues, Reina, VDS, Cech, Almunia, Gomes, Friedel.

oh I totally agree. Goalies are easy targets. Every goalie has made some errors - even Cech, who had a very poor Euros (though it's arguable whether it's the same Cech after the Hunt incident)

OPENROAD · 22-08-2008 7:11pm

Des wrote: »

I know he'll be entitled to, but jaysis sake.

"If this is the only way to have international matches then I will make the decision"

What a bleedin' mercenary.

What if they come up against Spain?

Are the players who declared for ireland who had no hope of playing for England mercenary also?

ziggy · 22-08-2008 7:25pm

This post has been deleted.

_blank_ · 22-08-2008 11:07pm

OPENROAD wrote: »

Are the players who declared for ireland who had no hope of playing for England mercenary also?

Yes, I do believe they are.

Slightly different in that them lads have a claim to be at least part Irish via a grandparent or whatever, this Almunia thing just stinks though.

DSB · 22-08-2008 11:15pm

I also believe they are.

cson · 23-08-2008 2:16am

I wouldn't agree with it either tbh.

You're English or you're not.

Imo, the whole international scene is rotten with the granny rule and such. I think, you're born and reared in England, you play for England only, even if the 3 generations of your family above you are from Mayo.

happydayz182 · 23-08-2008 2:26am

ah but in fairnes i think a bloke hu both his parents are irish and tey moved to england to raise a family has every right to play fr ireland...

Bounty Hunter · 23-08-2008 5:23am

to be honest after spending several years in Luton in England at University and knowing many Irish families, all of whom's kids were raised in England I have a different view on these "Plastic Paddies". They (the children of said families)would never choose to play for england if they were good enough because in their opinion they are Irish 100%. Persons who dont know people like this might never understand/agree but they deserve IMO to repressent the country that they were raised as being from, that they have an affinity for and that they represent and support at every given opportunity. Not all Irish players have fallen into this catagory but people are far too quick to judge people they dont know...

then again this thread is about Almunia, Who is not English in any sense IMO but when eligable will probably atleast be the 2nd best available keeper to Capello and will most likely get into the England squad.

OPENROAD · 23-08-2008 3:22pm

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

then again this thread is about Almunia, Who is not English in any sense IMO but when eligable will probably atleast be the 2nd best available keeper to Capello and will most likely get into the England squad.

Very true, but he lives in England and maybe if you live in a country for x number of years then maybe you should be able to represent that country ie John Barnes was not born in England but imo is English in that he has lived most of his life in England. The grandparent rule is one that I am not 100% sure about ie you are born in x country, lived all your life there,work there,your parents were born there but one grandparent was born somewhere else and you play for that country. Having said all that I can fully understand that if Almunia was to play for England that he would be seen by many as a mercenary. Then again if he gives 100% and he does live there then maybe he should be allowed play for them.

Guy:Incognito · 23-08-2008 3:30pm

Des wrote: »

Yes, I do believe they are.

Slightly different in that them lads have a claim to be at least part Irish via a grandparent or whatever, this Almunia thing just stinks though.

But Almunia has at least llived in England.

happydayz182 · 23-08-2008 5:19pm

senna for spain was born in brazil and only qualifies through living in spain i believe.....he gave it socks fr them in the euros aswell

Coillte_Bhoy · 24-08-2008 1:58am

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

to be honest after spending several years in Luton in England at University and knowing many Irish families, all of whom's kids were raised in England I have a different view on these "Plastic Paddies". They (the children of said families)would never choose to play for england if they were good enough because in their opinion they are Irish 100%. Persons who dont know people like this might never understand/agree but they deserve IMO to repressent the country that they were raised as being from, that they have an affinity for and that they represent and support at every given opportunity. Not all Irish players have fallen into this catagory but people are far too quick to judge people they dont know...

then again this thread is about Almunia, Who is not English in any sense IMO but when eligable will probably atleast be the 2nd best available keeper to Capello and will most likely get into the England squad.

Well said! Comparing Almunia to some of our ex pats is ludicrous. Sure, the likes of Townsed, Cascarino et al would never have even thought of us if they were good enough to play for England but please don't include the likes of Grealish, Kilbane, MacGeady, etc with that bunch. Having said that, no one can ever question the committment that Townsend and Cas gave to Ireland. Anone care to name any 'Granny Rule' players that never gave 110% for Ireland and i dont mean one cap wonders??

OPENROAD · 24-08-2008 2:19am

Coillte_Bhoy wrote: »

Having said that, no one can ever question the committment that Townsend and Cas gave to Ireland.

And Almunia would probably give the same committment for England.

DeadSkin · 24-08-2008 2:27am

Whatever opportunity comes your way, take it.

Manuel Almunia making noises about playing for England

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