Alex Bruce to switch to NI?

Coillte_Bhoy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/13769040.stm

Bodhisopha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgI2ZQVyrBo

Paully D

He really is a shining example of how people that have the right contacts get undeserving chances in the game.

Mr. Guappa

It's becoming a bit of a joke really. He didn't have a hope of getting near the England side so he declares for Ireland. Now he is nowhere near our team so he wants to switch to Northern Ireland.. ridiculous really.

On the plus side it gives us a rebuttal the next time a promising Northern youngster declares for the Republic.. "Yeah, but sure ye stole Alex Bruce from us"

HyperSkypeWiper

i wouldn't lose any sleep over this...he isn't great for leeds....

smokedeels

Until Steve tells him his Granny is from the Faroe Islands.

3hn2givr7mx1sc

Is he not shíte anyway?

nordydan

He's a great replacement for Shane Duffy or Marc Wilson!

Great call for two reasons:

-He's ****e

-It takes away any remaining credibility for the "poaching" argument from the loyalist fans of NI

LeeroyJones

Fair enough. If he wants to play for NI then let him. If NI want him, then let them have him.

However, if NI are serious about still contesting players switching allegiance from North - ROI (which would be in vain anyway if you ask me) then this would seriously undermine their argument.

I hope he goes, it would be a positive move for all parties involved and hopefully will put to bed this switching allegiance argument.

UpTheSlashers

I'd love him to go, hes not good enough for the Republic and it might get that bigot Worthington to shut the fúck up.

Berns

Who? :rolleyes:

bobbysands81

Best of luck Alex if you decide to make the jump to the 06.

Will be very interesting to hear the blazers in the IFA whinge about Irish people (from the 06) playing for Ireland if they persuade a player to go the other way.

Amazing that they spend so much time and energy on the issue of folks from the 06 exercising their birthright to play for the Republic when it's enshrined in law, yet they completely ignore a grubby little deal that they made with all the other British football associations which means that others can't exercise their birthright to play for the 06.

Utter hypocrisy from the IFA.

bonerm

First Eamon Zayed and now this guy? We're losing all our best players! It's like the flight of the Earls.

grenache

Oh the irony. The North are welcome to him. It should shut Worthington up if nothing else.

parker kent

I'd say the North would say they are not hypocrites as he has blood relations from Northern Ireland.

But he is never going to play for us, so I'm not exactly fussed.

ballsymchugh

parker kent wrote: »

I'd say the North would say they are not hypocrites as he has blood relations from Northern Ireland.

But he is never going to play for us, so I'm not exactly fussed.

he already has though. only 2 friendlies afaik

bonerm

This must be how England feel when we nab some of their table-scraps.

parker kent

ballsymchugh wrote: »

he already has though. only 2 friendlies afaik

You know what I mean, he is extremely unlikely to play again. Given the whole nature of the thread (i.e that he is switching), I didn't feel the need to state he had already played in 2 friendlies.

Paul4As

UpTheSlashers wrote: »

I'd love him to go, hes not good enough for the Republic and it might get that bigot Worthington to shut the fúck up.

As a Northern Ireland supporter I don't particularly like Nigel Worthington...but how is he a bigot?

Paul4As

parker kent wrote: »

I'd say the North would say they are not hypocrites as he has blood relations from Northern Ireland.

But he is never going to play for us, so I'm not exactly fussed.

I think you have hit the nail on the head...I think the IFA's issue with player poaching from FAI is the targeting of players from Northern Ireland who have no blood ties with the Republic of Ireland....whether it be parents or grannies.

My own opinion is to forget about appealing to FIFA...do the same as what the FAI are doing...the IFA should target players with British passports from England who won't be selected for the English national team...use the passport rule to their advantage as well.

As for Alex Bruce...we don't need centre-backs...we have Aaron Hughes, Johny Evans, Gareth McAuley and Craig Cathcart. Stephen Craigan will still be around for another 2 years as well.

Paul4As

bobbysands81 wrote: »

Best of luck Alex if you decide to make the jump to the 06.

Will be very interesting to hear the blazers in the IFA whinge about Irish people (from the 06) playing for Ireland if they persuade a player to go the other way.

Amazing that they spend so much time and energy on the issue of folks from the 06 exercising their birthright to play for the Republic when it's enshrined in law, yet they completely ignore a grubby little deal that they made with all the other British football associations which means that others can't exercise their birthright to play for the 06.

Utter hypocrisy from the IFA.

Who is the 06??? Never heard of an international football team called "The 06"??

ColeTrain

Paul4As wrote: »

Who is the 06??? Never heard of an international football team called "The 06"??

Who 'are' the 06 you mean? Well they are Northern Ireland.

parker kent

ColeTrain wrote: »

Who 'are' the 06 you mean? Well they are Northern Ireland.

I imagine he is pointing out the pointlessness of calling them The O6.

bobbysands81

Paul4As wrote: »

I think you have hit the nail on the head...I think the IFA's issue with player poaching from FAI is the targeting of players from Northern Ireland who have no blood ties with the Republic of Ireland....whether it be parents or grannies.

My own opinion is to forget about appealing to FIFA...do the same as what the FAI are doing...the IFA should target players with British passports from England who won't be selected for the English national team...use the passport rule to their advantage as well.

I agree, complete hypocrisy from the IFA.

Will be very interesting to hear the blazers in the IFA whinge about Irish people (from the 06) playing for Ireland if they persuade a player to go the other way.

Amazing that they spend so much time and energy on the issue of folks from the 06 exercising their birthright to play for the Republic when it's enshrined in law, yet they completely ignore a grubby little deal that they made with all the other British football associations which means that others can't exercise their birthright to play for the 06.

If players aren't Irish then they won't play for Ireland. These young nationalists are Irish and thus want to play for us.

When the IFA pander to only one section of society up there is it any surprise that young nationalists want to play for the Republic? Change the ways of the IFA and you'll change the decisions many of them make.

As for the 06... well you're a country within a country so really you're kind of lucky to be allowed play "international" representative soccer in the first place.

I am pie

bobbysands81 wrote: »

I agree, complete hypocrisy from the IFA.

Will be very interesting to hear the blazers in the IFA whinge about Irish people (from the 06) playing for Ireland if they persuade a player to go the other way.

Amazing that they spend so much time and energy on the issue of folks from the 06 exercising their birthright to play for the Republic when it's enshrined in law, yet they completely ignore a grubby little deal that they made with all the other British football associations which means that others can't exercise their birthright to play for the 06.

If players aren't Irish then they won't play for Ireland. These young nationalists are Irish and thus want to play for us.

When the IFA pander to only one section of society up there is it any surprise that young nationalists want to play for the Republic? Change the ways of the IFA and you'll change the decisions many of them make.

As a N.I supporter i would say if these players don't want to play for us, then that's the end of it. It's a shame from our perspective but if they hold irish passports then they are eligible for the Irish (RoI) team. End of.

That said, all this nonsense about the iFA pandering to one side or other is just that, nonsense. Big Nigel is many things (gone stale as a manager, uber cautious, anti-football!) but he is not a bigot. I think you should at least justify that comment (not you bobbysands81, but whoever made it).

The thing that is hard to take from a NI perspective is that these kids go through the youth / U21 set up at considerable expense and then when they blossom they switch sides. I would hope that you can appreciate the disappointment involved in those cases. I don't really see what can be done about it, it would be fairer i suppose if the players would declare their allegiance earlier. I always felt it strange that a player can play to a certain level for international side and the a some point switch allegiances.

Anyway, as I said, if you are entitled to an Irish passport, then you are fully entitled to play for the RoI team. Simple as that. I think that is fair and correct.

I won't be responding to any post involving the usual sectarian mud slinging. No further comment on that.

ColeTrain

parker kent wrote: »

I imagine he is pointing out the pointlessness of calling them The O6.

I imagine he knew and I knew that he knew. Pretty pointless all round.

parker kent

ColeTrain wrote: »

I imagine he knew and I knew that he knew. Pretty pointless all round.

To complete the circle of pointlessness, I was saying he knew. Hence my pointlessness post.

Anyway, like I said earlier the North have complained about us poaching players with no blood ties. Bruce has blood ties to Northern Ireland. So they are not being hypocrites. I can see why some people would feel schadenfreude in future when we poach a player from them due to this, but they are not really being hypocrites.

I am pie

Ps in response to this country within a country business. It's also very simple. The Good Friday Agreement applies to all sides. We can be Irish passport holders or we can be UK passport holders. We've the same right to have a international football team as scotland & wales. End of.

doncarlos

Paul4As wrote: »

I think you have hit the nail on the head...I think the IFA's issue with player poaching from FAI is the targeting of players from Northern Ireland who have no blood ties with the Republic of

Who says they have no blood ties to the Republic of Ireland? The IFA??

If they were born on the Island of Ireland then they have blood ties to the Republic of Ireland.

bobbysands81

I am pie wrote: »

Ps in response to this country within a country business. It's also very simple. The Good Friday Agreement applies to all sides. We can be Irish passport holders or we can be UK passport holders. We've the same right to have a international football team as scotland & wales. End of.

But that's my point too... Scotland and Wales shouldn't have their own teams either, nor England. It's only because of the strength that they have in the international soccer community that allows them to have "international" representative teams.

Why aren't Galicia, Catalonia and the Basque Country (to a slightly lesser degree) allowed to enter teams?

bobbysands81

parker kent wrote: »

To complete the circle of pointlessness, I was saying he knew. Hence my pointlessness post.

Anyway, like I said earlier the North have complained about us poaching players with no blood ties. Bruce has blood ties to Northern Ireland. So they are not being hypocrites. I can see why some people would feel schadenfreude in future when we poach a player from them due to this, but they are not really being hypocrites.

Huh?

Someone born in Belfast or Derry is as "Irish" as someone born in Dublin, Galway or Cork.

doncarlos

I am pie wrote: »

We've the same right to have a international football team as scotland & wales. End of.

I'm sure Catalan, Basque, Palestine would all love their own International sides too.
Northern Ireland (Scotland and Wales) only exist for traditional reasons and the power of the English FA. As world cup 2022 shows the English FA don't have close to the power they used to have and the real power is now with the smaller nations. If the IFA keep pushing and pushing this issue I could see it eventually backfiring and UEFA and FIFA getting pissed off with them I've read in the past about some of the smaller nations especially in Europe seeing three extra qualifying places gone if there was a GB team.

I am pie

Right, your perfectly entitled to your opinion, if you really think Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales have the same footing as Catalunya, Basque country etc that's grand. FIFA don't see it that way and despite your exercise in pipe dreaming, that isn't going to change anytime soon.

The political aspect of this debate has nothing to do with the soccer forum so i won't take any further part.

maximoose

As I said in the Leeds thread:

As a Norn Iron fan, I'm not sure I want Bruce. I remember a few years ago when he chose to play for Ireland he said in the press it was because "they are a better team" or something along those lines.

Plus, the problem with the FAI getting players to swap teams should be stopped, not have the IFA join them in doing the same thing.

kfallon

Good riddance to him, he is useless, wouldn't get a kick in a stampede!

Like father, like son, he defo has his ould lad's loyalty anyway!

doncarlos

I am pie wrote: »

Right, your perfectly entitled to your opinion, if you really think Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales have the same footing as Catalunya, Basque country etc that's grand. FIFA don't see it that way and despite your exercise in pipe dreaming, that isn't going to change anytime soon.

I would agree that they don't have the same footing but only for traditional/historical reasons not for geographical reasons. FIFA also see it that anybody born on the Ireland of Ireland has the right to play for Republic of Ireland so the North should only abide by FIFA's rulings when it suits them?

I am pie wrote: »

The political aspect of this debate has nothing to do with the soccer forum so i won't take any further part.

But that's the problem politics has everything to do with this debate as the situation wouldn't have manifested but for politcs.

I am pie

doncarlos wrote: »

I would agree that they don't have the same footing but only for traditional/historical reasons not for geographical reasons. FIFA also see it that anybody born on the Ireland of Ireland has the right to play for Republic of Ireland so the North should only abide by FIFA's rulings when it suits them?

Maybe you missed the my previous posts where i said I supported the right of anyone born anywhere in Ireland to play for Ireland.

We'll agree to disagree on the Geography. Northern Ireland is a country within the United Kingdom. It's a reasonably unique state of affairs, however for the time being it is a political reality. Good luck trying to convince Scotland they are not a country. I really am ducking out of this aspect of the discussion as it has nowhere to go.

But that's the problem politics has everything to do with this debate as the situation wouldn't have manifested but for politcs.

I think we agree on the rights of Irish players to play for Ireland. Where we possibly differ is that i believe that if they have represented an international side at any level above schoolboy they shouldn't be able to switch allegiance. If these players come from nationalist families they should wear that on their sleeves and play for Ireland (RoI to be clear) from that level on. Appreciate that is complicated and not applicable for schoolboys due to potential travel requirements but beyond that (certainly U-19 and up at least) you should remain with your chosen international side. My understanding is that you can switch so long as you haven't played a full international ?

Is that a fair compromise ?

On the potential dissolution of the IFA / SFA and whatever the Welsh call their crowd. Jim Boyce, former IFA president is now FIFA Vice-President and has wasted no time in calling the English arrogant. Scotland & Wales have followed suit, I'm pretty sure they are 'in' with the FIFA exec. No danger at all of dissolution.

UpTheSlashers

Paul4As wrote: »

As a Northern Ireland supporter I don't particularly like Nigel Worthington...but how is he a bigot?

Referrring to the Good Friday Agreement as a "loophole"?

Paul4As

UpTheSlashers wrote: »

Referrring to the Good Friday Agreement as a "loophole"?

Nigel Worthington has never said that players born in Northern Ireland can not have Irish passports....or British passports...they can have either as agreed by the Good Friday Agreement. I'm sure there are a few current first team players for Northern Ireland who have Irish passports.
You got any evidence of Nigel commenting on denying a Northern Irish player the right to an Irish passport before you call the man a bigot?
By the way I don't think there is any mention in the Good Friday Agreement over player eligibilty for Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland in football!

Beefy78

I am pie wrote: »

On the potential dissolution of the IFA / SFA and whatever the Welsh call their crowd. Jim Boyce, former IFA president is now FIFA Vice-President and has wasted no time in calling the English arrogant. Scotland & Wales have followed suit, I'm pretty sure they are 'in' with the FIFA exec. No danger at all of dissolution.

Source?

Scotland stood with England over the Blatter/election fiasco. Seems a bit odd that they'd turn on the FA now.

There's no danger of FIFA forcing the UK sides together for as long as each 'country' runs its own league systems independent of eachother and for as long as England remains one of the largest television markets and source of adverstising revenue.

I am pie

Maybe Scotland sided with England, i could be wrong there. Wales, FAI & IFA didn't which i guess is more relevant.

Anyway, we agree. There is no danger of IFA, Wales and indeed Scotland being forced out of international competition due to a variety of reasons.

Paul4as - It's as simple as this for me. If you are a passport holder then you are eligible for the team you hold a passport for.

Again, i'm interested in hearing if anyone disagrees with having a rule which states you stick with the country you've played for at u19 or u21 level.

IRISHSPORTSGUY

Not as good as Dunne, Clark and O'Shea and on par with the likes of St Ledger and O'Dea. No loss.

Guy:Incognito

doncarlos wrote: »

I'm sure Catalan, Basque, Palestine would all love their own International sides too. .

This Palestine? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine_national_football_team

The Basques (and the Catalans too iirc) do have an international team that play sometimes.

I am pie

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

This Palestine? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine_national_football_team

The Basques (and the Catalans too iirc) do have an international team that play sometimes.

Neither basque or catalan teams are recognised / affiliated to FIFA or UEFA