Turning tapas into tablet won't get us to South Africa
They used to mark out borders with stone walls and checkpoints. These days, though, in the world of international football, dividing lines are made of elastic.
Wee Nacho Novo wants to swap paella for pie and chips while Scottish players pledge their hearts to the Republic of Ireland. Worse still, those with peas for brains want them burned at the stake as traitors.
Meanwhile the stirring of England's heart has been motivated by an Italian. This isn't sport: it's a game of pass the passport.
It has all gone stark raving bonkers.
Rangers fans - and a few others - who give young James McCarthy dog's abuse on his decision to play for the Republic rather than the land of his birth will presumably be dead chuffed if Novo achieves his ambition to flee his native Spain for Scotland. Double standards are us.
Of course the Accies teenage sensation isn't the first bloke from these shores to be wooed by the Irish. Aiden McGeady - from Glasgow's south side - and before him Ray Houghton from the city's Castlemilk were embraced by the Republic.
Frankly, as a Scottish supporter, I would rather they played for the old country, but it is their choice. Just as it is with Novo.
Given the current perilous state of our World Cup hopes - and particularly the wee domestic in the striking department - all contributions are gratefully accepted.
But it cannot be as easy as the player saying he wants to pull on the dark blue number nine jersey. For that matter so do I, but there might be another couple of pre-requisites.
Ability for a start. Now just let me make sure that I have this right.
Kris Boyd cannot get a game for George Burley because he hasn't played often enough for Rangers, but suddenly there is a clamour to fire the man behind him in the Ibrox queue into the Scotland team. It's nuts. I told you it was.
And in any case the whole shooting match is flawed from the start. Strict guidelines - or marshmallow guidelines, to be more accurate - surround the players but the manager can be a Martian if you want.
So how does that work? If the idea is to have one nation against another, should the coach not be of the stock of that particular country too?
Or tell you what, why don't we go back to the days of the inter-league fixtures when you picked a team not by nationality but from the players performing in you league. So we could have Artur Boruc, Pedro Mendes, Georgios Samaras and Shinsuke Nakamura. Although I can see the flaw in this.
England - given the riches of their Premiership - would conquer the world in minutes. Imagine, if you will, the finest of Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea bonded together...and then swallow quickly.
So it really doesn't mattter how you slice it, we are still spinning in the jetstream of all around us.
For all that Novo's declaration, as we slip into the emotional year of Homecoming Scotland and the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns is welcome. It really is awful nice of him.
But I am afraid the problems of Scotland and the reaching out for South Africa won't be solved by turning tapas into tablet.
"Tell them who you are and what you are about," they said. To be honest, there are days when I struggle to remember myself. Forty years toiling at the coalface of football journalism does that to you. But I have reason to believe that I have reached the heady heights of the title of Football Correspondent of BBC Scotland which gives me a renown, in Scottish terms, of somewhere between Alex Salmond and the deep fried Mars Bar.
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~03~RS~)
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I don't think Scotland need a new striker, nevermind a foreign one. We just need confidence and a tighter midfield. Thanks for the offer Nacho, but we don't need you!
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yes i think you do need noch i believe placing him just behond your attackers would work a treat plus he wud be the best player on ure teams probley seeing as the rest of the scots aint doing any good haha
c'mon england
england for the world cup !!!
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Really though
i believe tucking nocho
in behind boyd and miller abit like a bergkamp
he would make a great addition you
the scotland squad and plus
he would be there for back up
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This is sensationalism at it's best and journalism at it's worst. Firstly, the novo story is just that. A question from a paper to him about would he play for Scotland and him saying yes. Story ended. Secondly, Chic Young deflects the real story about the racism shown to McGeady & McCarthy along with continued singing of the also racist 'famine song' by Rangers fans. Scotland's Shame.
Young is a featherweight football journo who epitomises what I hate in this country's media.
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This is lazy journalism of the worst kind. Harkening back to the good old "used to" days.
Di Stefano played for three countries. In 1934 Italy won the World Cup on the backs of half a dozen south americans who had played for their native countries in 1930.
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Interesting point, England will be facing a similar decision when Manuel Alumunia (spelling possibly incorrect) qualifies under residency.
You can hardly claim England are blessed with a glut of international quality keepers on the fresher side of 30.
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This is bonkers!
I'm a Rangers fan and as much as I like wee Nacho, he aint a Scot and he will never be a Scot and thusly having him represent Scotland just cos he'll never be at the level to represent Spain is an insult to our own young aspiring internationals.
Have we really sunk so low as a footballing nation that we need to draft in foreign talent just to field a decent 11?
My views on Mcarthy and McGeady are a little different tho, they have Irish heritage and have the right to choose their side. I think if I remember correctly the Scotland set up might have rejected McGeady originally, which was the catalyst for his choice to play for the republic. But hey its not like the SFA to miss talent and potential etc etc.
However, I would say it says something about Scotland as a whole that players would choose to play for another country due to a tenous family link. Ask yourself whether you could see any Irish lads swapping alegience due to a Scottish granny? I don't think so!
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This is a wee bit misleading. The whole Novo for Scotland issue was a paper story dreamt up because he is eligible to apply for a British passport. It was the reporters that asked Novo if he would consider it. I dont think Novo has even thought about it until they asked him. Total nonsense.
And what that has to do with players chosing to play for Ireland rather than the country of their birth i dont know. But that would seem the bigger story here.
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The reason the manager can be of any nationality is simple - it is their job and therefore illegal to discriminate based on nationallity.
For players, it is not their job to play international football, i.e. they do not receive a salary for it, therefore there can be rules restricting players based on nationality.
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9 - then how can Uefa's 6 and 5 leagislation go through as one player will obviously be selected over another of similiar ability if he is from the country the league is in
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Does anyone even edit your blog Chick? That's at least two weeks on the trot it has had spelling and grammar errors. Well done.
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Chick, I've been reading this blog for several weeks and have given you the benefit of the doubt up until now but its just not getting any better.
Take these 2 quotes for example:
"So it really doesn't mattter how you slice it, we are still spinning in the jetstream of all around us."
and:
"But I am afraid the problems of Scotland and the reaching out for South Africa won't be solved by turning tapas into tablet."
Are you using this blog as some sort of notepad where you chuck ideas about for an article that actually makes sense? Are you aware that the public are reading this?
I'm sorry Chick, but the standard of writing on display here is appalling. You don't know how to use paragraphs and the bizarre, made-up analogies are just annoying.
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I'm sorry but players such as McGeady and McCarthy deserve dogs abuse for turning their back on the national team for the country of their grandparents.
It is not a double standard that likes of Tommy Coyne, Owen Coyle and Ray Houghton don't get slated. As for all three players, to the best of my knowledge, only took the opportunity after being ignored by the Scotland set up and not at the ripe old age of just 16, 17 or so. We're talking players well into their career who appeared to have no future in the Scotland set up. I could be wrong about Houghton, he was 24 or so when fist capped I to young at time to know exact circumstances
It is a poor excuse to say Scotland weren't interested and Ireland made them feel more wanted. I respect the players affinity and affection for the land of their ancestors but international football is suposed to about pride of playing for your country. At 16 or 17 you should be far more concerned about working hard and making the breakthrough at club level and if career is going well the international recognition will follow in good time. Many a player has been passed over at young age to go onto full international status.
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There's one story that hasn't been out of the news all season, but it hasn't yet been tackled by this blog. I'd love to know your thoughts on the Famine Song Chick.
PS. Or is it Chuck? Shunsuke? Shinsuke? Disnae really matter, eh?
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I thought He would be in the Spain squad by now?
ALex McLeish can't be wrong?
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Chick Young is a rotten journo.
How many times have I heard him bemoan Aiden McGeady's decision, stating that he is from Glasgow's South Side.
The truth is that Scotland's youth set up wasn't interested while Ireland's pushed the boat out for him. Plus he has Irish family connections.
where his parents live is inconsequential.
Any Scots who are upset at his and James McCarthy's decisions should voice their ire at the Scotland set up and not at two young men who are paying back Ireland for the faith that country has shown in them.
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For Aiden McGeady read Andy Goram
or Don Hutchinson.
It works both ways but it's ignored when people feel like ignoring it.
Oh yeah - Terry Butcher as well.
It seems you CAN "become" Scottish.
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The irony on Saturday at New Douglas Park is that just after the reaRangers fans booed James McCarthy for choosing to play for Ireland, they burst into singing Rule Britannia and waved their Union Jacks and Ulster flags.
Mind you, I don't suppose they'd understand irony.
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They should make it a rule that you play for the country you were born in.Simple as that.I was born in Scotland to an English mother,Scottish father and an Irish grandad.(No this is'nt the start of a joke).I wouldn't have dreamt if i had been given the chance of playing for anyone apart from Scotland.I live in Bolton now and my son who is English says he would never play for Scotland although he does wear the new home top well!
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Yet another deplorable blog from Chick Young. Great to see our license fee is being well spent on sub-standard journalism.
Have to agree with 4 also, Rangers fans abuse young McCarthy because he did not want to play for Scotland? Come on Chick, who are you trying to kid? If McCarthy had chosen to play for a country which was not the Republic of Ireland then he would not have been subjected to any such abuse by the away support at New Douglas Park!
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Personally I don't understand players like McGeady and McCarthy who had never even lived in the country they decided to start representing at international level. I understand they have Irish grandparentage but I have parents who were born in Pakistan and most of my family were born there but I was born in Scotland and couldn't imagine representing any other country, if I was ever good enough!
I'd be interested to know how Irish people feel about two Scottish born players being in their team. I know whenever I return to Pakistan, no one considers me as a Pakistani or as one of their own.
Novo or any other player living and working in Scotland for a long period of time, wanting to play for Scotland would be different in my opinion because at least they have experience of living in that country. As long as they feel a connection with the country they live in, I don't see a problem.
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Firstly I think its important that we look more closely at the complex issue of Nationality. It is not simply the country of your birth nor the birthplace of ones parents but the relationship to a nation that is held through origins, culture or even affiliation or loyalty. It is for this reason, that each choice is a personal one. We know so little about the cultures and traditions people grow up with. If somebody chooses to represent a country of their grandparents birth because of their love for them or the country or because of the pride it affords their parents then that is great.
Don't get me wrong, I completely agree that its wrong for people to base their decision upon the fact that they wish to play International football and fear its too difficult to achieve it with a nation which would otherwise be their first choice. I fear this is the case for both Novo and Almunia, but I don’t think its right to criticise them as I feel either would play with immense pride, however should Spain have approached either before now I think they would be doing the same in a spanish jersey.
As for McGeady and McCarthy, I feel they entitled to play for the Republic based on their grandparents nationality. They will be greatly welcomed by the Irish fans who are quicker to embrace individuals for their love of the country as opposed to whether they normally kit out in hoops or blue.
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I don't think anyone would deny the two Scottish boys right to play for the RoI but you have to bring into question the why.
I was brought up in a catholic school in the west coast of Scotland where many of the pupils had Irish ancestry and even though they where third, fourth or more generations born and bred in Scotland they would still support Ireland over their homeland.
Personally I just can't understand it. I can understand players chosing to pull on the jersey of a foreign nation if they had failed to make it into their own national side but to choose at such a young age strikes me that the decision is not being made for football reasons.
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I am laughing, So the Scottish players who play in the premiership, have kids born in liverpool, like Daglish for example. Where do they play international football? Or if Gordon at Sunderland has a son of an English woman, or a spanish woman.....where will the child play football? Novo is not the same case as the Irish parentage, and it says a lot about Chick Young that his only example of those to back up his case are Irish by name or choice or fact. Hargreaves for England is not such a difficult leap is it? Or was Zidane ( Algerian) for France too much of a football journalists nightmare to refer to? Com'on Chick, get out of the Vallies and into the 21st Century for Crying outloud, or at least write a piece on National Identity that means something.
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21 - The thing is the Republic of Ireland is not part of the union. Where as Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales are. So there is no irony i'm afraid.
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i think the reason mcgeady and mccarthy choose the republic was probably due to the fact they were brought learning about irish culture and as such feel more for a connection with ireland then with thier birth county.
this says a lot about the fact that the irish have not really intergated in scotland and a teenager would rather play for them than the country he was boprn and brought up in.
Also why should they abused for choosing the republic i mean they have the right under the fifa granny rule.
In McCarthy case i think any chance for him changing in mind in future went out the window when the fans started abusing him.
Now he will be dead set against playing for scotland because of the abuse.
if people had been quiet and let him think more about it he could have choosen scotland
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This article is a joke, its a complete non story.
Lets establish the facts.
Novo would be eligible IF he gets a passport.
If eligible he MIGHT play well enough to come under consideration.
Once considered the management MIGHT select him
If selected Novo MIGHt decided he will play.
Then we would have a story. Until then someone as asked him if he would consider playing for Scotland, he has said of course he would consider it. So what.
I think Novo is a cracking wee player but this is just not going to hapen and for this to be your only subject worthy of note then pity help us.
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Chicaside,
For a' that and a' that its comin' yet for a' that that man to amn the world o'er shall brithers be for a' that.
Here's tae us! Wha's like us?
Damn few and they're a' deid!
Homecoming? Aye right.
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ElTEL82 comments spot on.
Novo is a good player but he hasn`t even got a Brit passport (entitled after 5years residency) and the story is just journo-spin (although quite funny ,Chick). Scotland have a reasonable team and some youngsters coming through. Short of changing Ronaldo`s, Kaka`s, Messi`s nationalities, it`s all the rest of us can hope for.
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Can I ask who moderates these sites, is it the blogger or other staff? This is not a complaint or anything like that, just interested to see who reads these. Chick never replies so I assume he doesn't read the posts, if so I'm sorry for him because he does get so much stick. When I first read these blogs, I have to admit I thought I hadn't read so much rubbish in all my life, but I'll admit that in it's own way it is entertaining because of the weekly backlash, so I look forward to it coming out!
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BognorRock - it is also the players' job so surely you wouldn't want to discriminate on that either? The fact is, I actually think in an admittedly confused way, Chick raises an interesting issue here: the nationality of players and managers in international football. It seems a given now that the manager of an international team can be from anywhere, the justification being that the players are, say, Scottish and therefore the integrity of the national team is not compromised. However, it seems to me that the manager is creditted with success and blamed for defeat. The same 11 players can play well for one manager and badly for another. Does this not suggest that the manager is a crucial part of the team? Is he not (at the very least) one of the most important and influential men in the set-up? If this is agreed, then surely that man should be from that particular nation. I say this as an Englishman who is seeing a vast improvement in the England side since Italian Fabio Capello was installed as manager. If we were to win the world cup, would there not be a slice of that pride taken away by the Italians, who will also feel that one of their own has won the cup? I don't believe it is entirely appropriate to have a foreign manager in charge. If a national team is to be called a national team, then everybody who does a job that directly influences results on the field should be from that country. Otherwise, we have slighly national teams and mostly national teams.
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WIll someone please stop letting this guy write articles.
No wonder that MSP crunched you at Lesser Hampden Chick
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Nacho Novo is not the answer for Scotland because he is not good enough. Aiden McGeady is on the other hand, and perhaps also James McCarthy in a few years. So its correct to discuss why these players have chosen to play for Ireland. Would Scottish born players of Pakistani, Italian or Polish grandparents do the same? Or perhaps a more interesting question is would McGeady and McCarthy have played for Scotland if they were not Celtic supporters?
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I don't remember hearing the "Scottish only" brigade who are busy abusing the likes of McGeady and McCarthy giving the same treatment to players like Graham Alexander (born in England); Kristian Commons (England); Steven Fletcher (England); James McEveley (England); James Morrison (England) or Shaun Maloney (Malaysia) for wanting to play for Scotland.
I don't even mind the holier-than-thou England fans not refusing the services of John Barnes (Jamaica), Terry Butcher (Singapore), Owen Hargreaves (Canada)
Graeme Le Saux (Jersey), Matt Le Tissier (Guernsey) or Cyrille Regis (French Guiana).
However, there should be limits to the manipulation of the rules. Just because a player wants to play international football anywhere should not mean he can grab a passport for wherever offers him a place in the squad. This can and has led to manipulation and flagrant disregard for the rules in the past (Tony Cascarino?) .
Nacho Novo is Spanish, he will always be Spanish, when he retires he will, without doubt, live in Spain and so he should play for Spain if he can win a place in their squad. Scotland have better options who have at least a parental link to Scotland and play regular first team football. I hope Burley doesn't even consider Novo whether he has a British passport or not.
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I was born in Scotland, and have lived most of my life here, I support the national team just like any other scot.
However, IF I was a professional footballer, and and getting to the later stages of my career, I would have to seriously consider the offer of playing for another country. My Dad is from Belfast, and so technically I could play for Northern Ireland, or even the Republic I think because i qualify for an Irish Passport. So if i was constantly ignored for selction, and there are opportunites to play against world class players at another level, you have to do what is best for your career. I don't think players can wait around too long for the call, they are professionals and want to achieve things.
The case in my opinion is do Scotland want to put someone in for the future, a young player or go with someone who has helped Rangers qualify for the Uefa Cup final, who MIGHT be able to help give scotland a chance to win now. He may not have Scottish parentage, but has lived here for 8 years, probably understands the culture better than someone with a distant scottish relative who has never lived here. The guy who scored for us at Wembley in 1999 was actually english, lets not forget that...
But This is all irrelevant, in my opinion, if he gives us a better chance to win now, lets go for it. The last time we were at a WC I was in primary school, i'm now 22 and sick of not being at a major championship.
If he doesn't then forget about it, anyway I want what's best for scotland,
by the way, I'm a Hibs fan.
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i think rather than concentrate on booing mcgeady and mccarthy (lets face it, its because they are celtic fans who play for ireland) we should be focusing on why the SFA rejected mccarthy when they went to see him play.
Ireland take advantage of the rules by having contacts in every league in the UK. They know the potential players from a young age, woo them, TREAT THEM RIGHT and why should the players jump ship after an association has taken a chance on them when their own country would rather turn a blind eye?
I think it is indictive of our nations mentality that we scout players who are eligible for scotland when they are in the twilight of their careers - not good enough for their own country, but we are desperate and need ANY new glimmer of hope we can offer so we will give them a cap.
liverpool, celtic ROI - all rated the lad from a young age, how did the SFA not see this when he played?
This is why i will never support any national football team - it kicks up unwarranted hatred from mouthbreathers, casual xenephobia and racism - just what this country (and i have to say this, the majority of these people are 'the peepil').
Scotland is a cesspit of doublestandards - the sooner you all get out of your see you jummy wigs the better.
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To comment 45 -
You've never heard anyone complain about those Scottish players? They're all RUBBISH!!!
To 49 -
Which one of them has been past up "time and again"? Neither is very old - how long do you wait till you give up? Ten minutes?
To 50 -
If this lad is so good why is he playing for Hamilton?
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Hey Artshade, if you mean that by playing for Hamilton he is no good, then what does it say that not many scottish players are playing for Rangers and Celtic or any other teams of supposed note?
Very often teams produce far more than the sum of their parts. Greece for example didn't have the 11 best players in Europe, not even one of them, but they still won the cup. National identity for those of you who know where you came from is these days an excuse. Scots are a mix of any number of other nationalities as are the English the Irish the welsh etc;. No one is breaking the rules in declaring to play for the country of their father or his father. I would imagine a good scottish player coming to play for Scotland who was born in Brazil would be a great thing for you. But the case in point here is Novo will get a British passport, and Britian doesn't have a football team. So why should he play for Scotland and not wales?
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52. At 11:49am on 30 Oct 2008, artshade wrote:
To comment 45 -
You've never heard anyone complain about those Scottish players? They're all RUBBISH!!!
_________________________________
So you only complain about players who are good? What is that? Selective Nationalism? Where were your grandparents parents born? Or that matter your girlfriends ? You can only be scottish if a) your a gifted and b) you must have been born in the country, and lets not forget c) if you are any other nationality and a gifted footballer? come off it.
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what difference does it make who can or cant play for Scotland, Burley like every other Scottish manager (apart from Bertie the destoyer) will pick the same old useless cart horses (Weir, Daily etc) as the plonker before them.
Moaning about the 'turncoats' who go to play for the Irish is pretty pointless as well. We only moan because we haven't got into a player from England etc before they have them tied up. I'd like to hear the same peoples opinion if we had got Owen before the English or Giggs before the Welsh.
It's about time people realised that the problems we have dont stem from the ugly sisters or the turncoats or any other excuse the SFA can come up with, the problem lies with the SFA not putting enough into grass root football to start off with and clubs like Aberdeen, Rangers and Celtic who dont nurture the talent on their own doorstep. Its what happens when your in business, you need instant results and the clubs and country are suffering because of the fans impatience. We need to face facts, the game in Scotland is right royally screwed and there's nowt can be done to fix it until the SFA and the clubs step back from the situation, come up with a serious and viable plan to tackle it and then spend the next 15-20 years following that plan until we start producing players of the same calibre as the Dutch and French do.
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number 52,
i like the way you casually lose the WHOLE POINT of my thread with your comment "if he is that good why does he only play for hamilton"
Most players who go onto become full time pros start at clubs like Hamilton - very few go straight to a liverpool or celtic or rangers (and of those who do less than 1% go on to success at the big club).
My point is that in international football gone are the days where you work your way up from hamilton, to liverpool to the scotland team like the players of old used to.
in the modern game you have to be aware of EVERY player that may go on to make it and include them at levels way below the under 19's as nowadays players have the chance to play for lots of different countries as we are all from mixed heritage these days.
tell me - if scotland watched you twice and never took it any further, but ireland watch you and say 'play for us' what are you going to do?
you rightly point out that this lad plays for hamilton, this could be a career highpoint - or a stalling point - he might never do any better or he might go on to be one of the countrys best players - that is the risk Ireland have been willing to take (and are willing to take with lots of other players in similar situation) but yet Scotland cant even be bothered.
Then you moan when you get novo or imbeguwelo coming to play for scotland, basically like retired old racehorses (in novos case he hasnt been at the races since he was at dundee).
Scotland are a tired nation living in a tired past - and attitudes and comments like the some of the ones above only go to cement my thoughts on this.
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Why shouldn't a player be allowed to play for his/her adopted country?
What is a 'nationality' anyway?
It is, and always should be the, the choice of the individual as to whom they wish to represent. It should be considered a compliment that a player would wish to represent Scotland - or any other nation for that matter - regardless of whether they were born there. No-one gets to choose the country of their birth. You are not born with your nationality, you are given it. As such, it should make no difference to anyone else who you choose to affiliate yourself with.
I'm pretty certain that Nacho Novo - if he actually does choose to pursue this path - would consider it an honour to pull on a Scotland journey.
Having said that, it is still a big 'if' and I do think that Chick Young needs to think more carefully about his choice of subject in the future. Fewer non-stories please Chick.
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voiceofcalminminks
Just a couple if issues with your recent posts:
Iwelumo (to give him due respect and his name the correct spelling) was born in Coatbridge so I'm not sure why you are drawing his name into this debate.
And as for McCarthy and McGeady, if you are upset by them being booed because they "are Celtic fans who have chosen to play for ROI", why are you also able to justify them playing for ROI "because they are Celtic fans"??? If this is the major over-riding reason why they have chosen ROI over Scotland then it's quite right they should be booed, not just by Rangers fans but by fans across Scotland.
By the way, for the record not one of McGeady, McCarthy (yet) or Novo is good enough to command a starting 11 slot in the current Scotland team.
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Well Chick, I'm a Rangers fan and I disagree both with the decisions of McGeady & McCarthy to play for the ROI and calls for Novo to play for Scotland.
As for knee-jerk accusations of "racism" by U11213082, I don't like the so-called famine song but it's not racist. For it's directed not at the famine itself or at Scots of Irish descent as such but at Celtic fans and their maudlin songs - and Celtic fans aren't a race. Nor is it "racism" to boo or mock someone because of their choice of football team.
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lizard king,
i dont know enough about the wolves player to get his name right so apologies for the typo.
you have missed my point though. ive never said that the reason they chose ireland was because they are celtic fans.
i have said this is why they get boo'd.
indeed - what about that motherwell player who is playing for northern ireland? why is he not booed at the grounds?
he chose another country over his native one so why is he not critisised?
i have consistently said in both posts that they chose ireland because they had been approached at a young age and given the chance that scotland wouldnt take with them.
somehow somewhere there are young scots slipping through the net.
"Nor is it "racism" to boo or mock someone because of their choice of football team".
yes it is when it is only irish players with celtic leanings getting the treatment.
i take it that everyone who disagrees with these players choices will be booing maloney at the next game?
and that goram should never have been in goals for us?
or that richard gough fella?
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You're right, it's not racist to attack someone for their choice of football team... it's just juvenile.
No matter which way you look at it football will never, ever be anything more than a game. To explicitly hate someone on the basis of their choice of national team and to abuse them in a way which insinutes that they have made their choice on religious IS racist.
McGeady and MacArthy, I'm sure, did not choose to play for for ROI just to get on Rangers, or Scotland, fans' nerves. They did it because they are entitled to make that choice as people. Get over it.
As regards the 'Famine Song', I don't think it matters whether it's racist or not. It's a disgusting insult to the memory of over a million people who died in appaling circumstances that were not of their own making. If the ridiculous and archaic spectre of sectarianism was removed from Scottish football, then the 'Famine Song', or - any of the Irish Nationalist songs sung by Celtic fans too - would not exist.
Old Firm fans, Grow up and move on!
C'mon the 'Well!
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this is a disgrace.if he's spanish he sould play for spain.players like christophe berra,steven fletcher,stephen hughes,mark reynolds,lee willkie and a lot more players in scotland and even england are playing there hearts out week in week out and not even getting a call up but burley is going to call up a spanish game that does'nt even make the bench at rangers!
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One point:
Neither James McCarthy, his family or Hamilton Accies have complained about any of the stick the young lad has taken.
The permanently offended ones have taken it upon themselves to 'defend' someone who hasnt asked to be defended.
The definition of 'defend' in this case is;
'Use as a tool in their ridiculous attempt to sanitise every football ground to a standard deemed unoffending enough by fans of Two Faced FC, Kerrydale Street, Glasgow'
As for Rangers fans being happy if Novo turned out for Scotland - Not this Rangers fan.
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voiceofcalminminks, I assume you're referring to Stephen Craigan? If so, I'm afraid that you're wrong.
Craigan was born in Newtonards, NI. But despite that, it doesn't really matter where he was born, does it?
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#60,
Scots-born players like Owen Coyle and Tommy Coyne of Celtic played for the ROI and nobody bothered - because they waited till they were about 30 before doing so and clearly weren't wanted by Scotland.
As for players such as Maloney and Gough, it's a bogus comparison. McGeady and McCarthy were born here, have lived all their lives here, so have their parents and some of their grandparents. Do Malaysia even know Maloney exists? Should I care about Malaysia as much as my own team, Scotland?
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Tipical of the driven agenda by journos in this wee country. Novo was asked the question, he gave an honest answer and the media have made an absolute mountain out of it. So flat is our league and teams that this is the type of sports story we now get. Admittidly Chic doesn't go on to say that Novo is chasing the dream but he does take gratitude in mentioning Ranger again whilst mentioning the barracking of James McCarthy, Ibrox or Hamiltons own ground weren't the first place that the lad came in for a bit of terrace banter. Seems strange that Chic should use Rangers as a vehicle of escalating a non story. When all the banter has been driven out of football and the atmosphere is so bad that less and less turn up to watch it what will these same journos do. No doubt blame the demise of Scottish football on the fans whilst exonerating themselves
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Do Rangers and Celtic fans get quite as bored as I do listening to Alistair Bruce Ball telling us that Rangers have scored their fourth goal of the afternoon or that Celtic have scored their fifth? It is entirely the most pointless league in world football. They may as well cut the season down to two do or die Old Firm games on Boxing Day and New Years day save my ears having to listen to them for the whole season.
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Amy facets of this story relative to the player in question aside, this story has raised some issues about Scots in general and their attitudes.
This 'gentlemans agreement' that we have with the home nations. In this age, where the world is getting forever smaller and diverse, is based on discrimination. If a player is eligible to play for any of the home countries and is refused on the basis of said agreement - there is a clear cut case of discrimination and as soon as one player takes this to any kind of court then we have the international 'bosman' rule and the whole of Britain looks to the rest of the progressive world like the backward cousins of a bygone age.
The second issue I find strange about all this hoohah is this. This country (Scotland) has for years prided itself on being a friendly and welcoming country loved in all quarters of the globe. Now it seems to some this is an exclusive privilege and you're only welcome until you want to adopt this country as your own? Not that friendly and welcoming after all it seems.
The world has moved on, areas of water are not the barriers they used to be. For once the people of Scotland should move with it rather than showing the same fear of change which meant we were 15-20 years behind the rest of the world in terms of training and fitness science.
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It would be good for Scotland to have an "enganche" creative midfield type. Otherwise they will continue to rely on flank play - an outdated tactic
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