Aiden McGeady: Typical Tattie Muncher (R) (Edit) THE FACTS

[Gordon EF]

Yong Celtic player Aiden McGeady says he wants to play for the Republic of Ireland rather than Scotland, even though he is a weedgie! He has already played for RoI schools and under 18s.

What a little b@stard! I hope he gets his legs brocken.

p.s. Hearts have just scored he he he

[markdickson]

Apparently he wants to play for Ireland so that he can win things!!! :(

Hopefully he’ll be persuaded to revert back to Scotland (he’s still eligible for both) otherwise I think the little traitor will get a rough time in Scotland

... and rightly so IMO!

(c'mon the Hearts!!!)

[Parkhead_Faithful]

Again Gordon stuns us with his ignorance.
Gordon mate Im as gutted as you are a promising young player has chose to turn out for another country, but we have missed the boat and its noones fault but our own.
McGeady had no intention of playing for anyone but Scotland until Scotland wouldnt let him play, we didn't pick him because he wasnt in his school team IIRC, thus the ROI stepped in and picked him and he has been considering himself an Ireland player ever since.
Respect the boys decision and grow up a wee bit eh?
This kind of semi-racist very bigoted diatribe is going to follow the boy for years and we have noone to blame but ourselves.
Facts are wonderful things and its good to have them all in your possesion before you make an arse of yerself.

[Gordon EF]

Sorry to disapoint you Parkhead_Faithful but I am in full possession of the facts. I watched lunchtime sportscene too.

Celtic do not let their young players play for their schools. Therefore he could not play for Scotland schoolboys, who only pick boys playing for Scottish schools. Packie Bonnar offered him the chance to play for Ireland schoolboys, which he accepted. And he has been involved with Ireland ever since.

He can still play for Scotland as he has never made a full international appearence. But he has stated that he wants to play for Ireland.

I assume he is not the first player to be denied a game for Scotland schools as a result of not playing for his school.

I think this whole thing stinks and anybody who think there is nothing more to this than Scotland not letting him play are a little bit naive IMO. We all know that a number of Scottish Celtic fans support Ireland and a number of Scottish Rangers fans support England.

If that wee w@nker really wanted to play for Scotland, why would he even accept Ireland's offer? Is schoolboy football so important to him? I doubt it.

However, if he goes back on his decision, I will forgive him.

I don't think I've made an arse of myself thanks and I think Scots have every right to dislike him for his decision, It's hardly surprising that the first person to jump to his defence is a fellow 'Celtic man'.

What's the betting that all the Celtic fans are OK with this and everyone else thinks it stinks?

[Parkhead_Faithful]

II think this whole thing stinks and anybody who think there is nothing more to this than Scotland not letting him play are a little bit naive IMO. We all know that a number of Scottish Celtic fans support Ireland and a number of Scottish Rangers fans support England.

If that wee w@nker really wanted to play for Scotland, why would he even accept Ireland's offer? Is schoolboy football so important to him? I doubt it.

However, if he goes back on his decision, I will forgive him.

I don't think I've made an arse of myself thanks and I think Scots have every right to dislike him for his decision, It's hardly surprising that the first person to jump to his defence is a fellow 'Celtic man'.

What's the betting that all the Celtic fans are OK with this and everyone else thinks it stinks?

Eh I didnt watch lunchtime sportscene for one, I just happen to know a bit about my clubs players, and its because he is one of my clubs players I take offence to you branding him and wishing his legs broken, Im not enamoured with his choice, I think he should be playing for scotland given his background, but I respect his choice as a person to play for the country that gave him a chance, and I can understand why when scotland wont give him a game due to their own stupid beaurocracy he isnt thrilled with coming back when they do decide he is worth tracking.
I actually find it quite insulting that you seem to think because im sticking up for him im fine with his decision and all because its the ROI, if it was England he was playing for Id still respect his decision, you might want to have a look at your own predjudices before giving the spiel about celtic and rangers supporters.
We lost out on a promising talent and have noone to blame but ourselves and our incompetent football association.

[Gordon EF]

I don't think that the SFA's rule about school boys is that great either but it's not as though Scotland rejected him. They told him that you have to play for your school, Celtic said he couldn't. Why did he not just wait to get into the under 18s? (Like all of Celtic's other 'Scottish' players, if they're good enough).

You're insulted? Do you not think that most Celtic fans will share your attitude, whilst the majority of non-Celtic fans will share mine? In fact, I suspect some Celtic fans will be happy with his decision.

My own prejudices? I don't see anything wrong with condemming Scots who want to be Irish or English. And what I said about OF fans is fact, it's not just my opinion. I'm not trying to say it's the majority but there are some.

The SFA must take some of the blame but is plainly obvious that McGeady was never that interested in playing for Scotland.

[Scottish_Morton]

McGeady today said something along the lines of 'my grandparents are irish and my allegance has always been with them. Don't kid yourself parkhead_faithful, it is because of the whole celtic-irish link that he is playing for celtic and ireland. It is a strong link for some people, hence the reason this case is practically unheard of, a young footballer will want to play for the country he and his parents grew up in, but we can all see where the difference is in this case. It's not the fault of the sfa, they have rules in place, albeit some of them dodgy but there is no way it would stop someone playing for the country they love. McGeady is hardly going to hinder his chances of a career by leaving the international football for a couple of years!

[-cman-]

Bah! Glory hunting and/or listening to one's trainers or agents rather than one's conscience... since when is either a crime that makes one guilty of anything other than poor judgement? It's probably not altogether what one would consider "cricket" down south but hell, what are you going to do?

Hmm, I'm a highly regarded young pup who plays for a Scottish side with long Irish influences. Coincidentaly (or not) I have famillial ties to the Auld Sod. I can a) play for Ireland and perhaps actually play in the World Cup and/or European Championships someday or, b) play for Scotland, my actual country of nationality, and in all likelyhood, set myself up for a lifetime of dissapointment and almost-was'. What would you do at 18 with your sports agent whispering in your ear?

It's not like this kind of thing is utterly without precenent or even the worst case of international glory-hunting. Look at Ailton and Dede (Werder Bremen), two decent Brazillian players who can't get on the Brazillian side. They are considering playing for Quatar. (http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/040225/6/qfm.html) At least the boy is actually qualified in the traditional sense to play for the Republic.

I'm murky about two things though. 1) Why was he ineligeble to play for the Scottish youth side because he did not play for his school as opposed to a club academy? 2) WTF is a weedgie anyway?

[Scottish_Morton]

2) WTF is a weedgie anyway?

Edinbugger term for someone from Glasgow (glasWEEGIEn). They usually just call anyone west of them weegies though.

[Parkhead_Faithful]

Hmm, I'm a highly regarded young pup who plays for a Scottish side with long Irish influences. Coincidentaly (or not) I have famillial ties to the Auld Sod. I can a) play for Ireland and perhaps actually play in the World Cup and/or European Championships someday or, b) play for Scotland, my actual country of nationality, and in all likelyhood, set myself up for a lifetime of dissapointment and almost-was'. What would you do at 18 with your sports agent whispering in your ear?


I'm murky about two things though. 1) Why was he ineligeble to play for the Scottish youth side because he did not play for his school as opposed to a club academy? 2) WTF is a weedgie anyway?

Id say in the long term our prospects are better than the republics of qualifying for major tournaments, the irish have always been a team who seem to dissappear from major tournaments for a spell and then appear again and do well, while they do have players like duff and keane(robbie) who IMO are a touch overrated, their u-21's arent great and the lower you go the less they have, we are definately stronger in that respect.

1)Cos the SFA cant see the wood for the trees, scotland was invited 3 times to see McGeady play, they didnt show, paddy bonner saw him play and got him into the irish set up, but listening to the hoards and the way the BBC commentry team treated him yesterday you would think it was all the players fault, turning his back on scotland etc etc, load of crap.

[Scottish_Morton]

1)Cos the SFA cant see the wood for the trees, scotland was invited 3 times to see McGeady play, they didnt show, paddy bonner saw him play and got him into the irish set up, but listening to the hoards and the way the BBC commentry team treated him yesterday you would think it was all the players fault, turning his back on scotland etc etc, load of crap.

I think it is you who is talking crap. As if not getting picked at school boy level would stop you wanting to play for your country. It's the boy's decision, no-one elses!

[Parkhead_Faithful]

I think it is you who is talking crap. As if not getting picked at school boy level would stop you wanting to play for your country. It's the boy's decision, no-one elses!

Yes its the boys decision, but lets look at it like this, you fancy this bird for ages and she wont even look at you, hard as you try not a sniff, this other bird comes along who might no look as good but is interested, so you go with this other bird for a couple of years and eventually the first bird realised youre a wee bit of a catch and comes sniffing round again, meanwhile you are quite happy with the one that was interested in you years before, would you dump her to go with the first?
IMO the boy is doing the honourable thing and if anyone is to blame it is the SFA with its ridiculous rules. Do you think the irish coaches were going to say to him "naw were no picking you son, you play for a professional club set up instead of being coached by a teacher and a janitor in their period off on wednesday afternoons"
Piss off they would, and at a time when were no exactly overrun with talent this kind of stupidity where the SFA thinks it can pick and choose its talent is ridiculous.
The boy should be in the scotland fold, its the SFA's fault that he isnt, end of.

[pmannion]

Id say in the long term our prospects are better than the republics of qualifying for major tournaments, the irish have always been a team who seem to dissappear from major tournaments for a spell and then appear again and do well, while they do have players like duff and keane(robbie) who IMO are a touch overrated, their u-21's arent great and the lower you go the less they have, we are definately stronger in that respect.

I disagree. In my opinion, our youth system is very strong. And we have excellent individual U-21 players, the team's results are poor due to bad management, but even this is improving (the team hasn't lost in a good few matches). We have always has great successs at U-20 level and down, and IMO we have some terrific prospects for the future. I am obviously in no position to say our long terms prospects are better or worse than those of Scotland, because I know nothing of your youth system. But that is clearly a debate for another thread.
All the same, I wish Scotland the best in upcoming campaigns, though I hope McGeady sticks with us!
Cheers

[-cman-]

Morton, Parky aren't you both right? Yeah, it was the kid's decision. I guess he's doing the "honorable" thing by sticking with it. I like Parky's analogy. Good, bad, or indifferent you gotta live with it. BTW, I did a Google search on him this morning and he has featured in the U-21's quite a bit. Seems, Kerr took him under his wing. When Kerr was made manager of the Senior Team the lad decided to stick with him.

Sounds like you guys (Paging Mr. Gordon EF) should focus your ire on the SFA which sort if shrugged him off. Again, Parky's fable seems rather apt. Hey, he's gettin' some on a regular basis. Better the bird in the hand, eh?

[Gordon EF]

Dignity and national pride are qualities in my book, but maybe that's just me.

RoI are better than Scotland at this current time, but who's to say this will be the case in 5 or 10 years time? We're not talking about an Italy, France or even an England here who can all expect to keep at a certain level in international football. Ireland is a small country with a poor league set up who have relied heavily on 'non-Irishmen' in the past. So I just don't buy the glory hunting part. Even if he honestly thought that, what a weak and dishonerable individual he must be. Cman, I can say that, even if I could play for Brazil, I would choose to play for Scotland, I have pride and respect for my country and consider it an honor to represent MY COUNTRY.

The Ailton and Dede example is completey different. These players are in their prime and acknowledge that they will never be good enough to play for Brazil so they were prepared to sell themselves to the highest bidder, a completly different scenario.

Parkhead Faithful, the woman analogy is not a great one here. You can't really compare wanting to play for your country to fancying some bird. Women come and go but to most people, playing for your country is a dream and if you're lucky (and good) enough, an honor.

McGeady should want to play for Scotland and even if Scotland schoolboys didn't break their own rules to get him into the set up, he should just have waited and proved to them that he was good enough.

Cman, here most people are passionate about football and our country, it sickens me to see a little ned like him switch over to Ireland because of some misplaced religious bile which he so obviously beleives in. I do think the SFA's rule needs changing but if McGeady had ever wanted to play for Scotland, he could have.

[Parkhead_Faithful]

.

Cman, here most people are passionate about football and our country, it sickens me to see a little ned like him switch over to Ireland because of some misplaced religious bile which he so obviously beleives in. I do think the SFA's rule needs changing but if McGeady had ever wanted to play for Scotland, he could have.

You know this for a fact do you? That its religious bile making him play for the republic? I havent seen this in any interviews the boy has done with the view or on telly, could it be youre jumping to this conclusion because it fits your perception of old firm supporters as religious bigots? In my experience people that use their own preconceptions of a group to generalise and wish harm upon them are usually the bigots.

Maybe this is McGeady's way of sticking it up the SFA, they wanted nothing to do with him,ireland did, then soon as he shows for celtics u-21's he's full of tricks and can score a goal or two Vogts is meeting with him personally and pleading with him to join the fold, mind you when a player with european experience and european goals behind him like shaun maloney cant get a game for scotland behind kevin kyle, paul dickov,stephen thompson and neil mccann when he is regularly doing the business for the under-21's (was it an 8 game unbeaten run?) I would question my liklihood of getting a game too, especially when the club you play for is actually in scotland as opposed to the english first division and starts with C and ends with eltic.

[Gordon EF]

No, I don't know that for a fact. I don't think the reasons he has given are genuine and my explanation is the one which I think is true. If McGeady was into all that biggotry sh!te then I doubt he would state that in public, don't you?

You and I know that a number of OF fans ARE religious biggots. I'm not calling McGeady a biggot though. There are a lot of OF fans who think they are either Irish or English, hence the number of tricolours and union jacks at OF games. I think McGeady is one of these people.

I think it's a little bit ridiculous to call me a biggot, I'm just pissed off at, mainly OF fans, who do not support our contry and like to pretend they are Irish or English.

It's up to the SFA when they want to cap a player. By all accounts, it was Celtic who did not let him play for his school, which meant he could not play for Scotland school boys. By turning his back on the SFA, he is also turning his back on Scotland, which is unforgivable in my opinion.

What has Shaun Maloney got to do with this? Apparently he was playing well for the u-21s but from what I have personally seen of him, I don't think he's good enough to go on and become a Scotland, never mind Celtic regular. However, at least he is man enough to keep on trying and try and show people what he can do.

Are you suggesting that Celtic players face some sort of bias from the SFA? If you are, I think that's ridiculous. Why would some waster like Crainey get a cap otherwise? Pearson has started to come more into the fold now that he's at Parkhead and John Kenneday got an oppertunity before his unfortunate injury.

[-cman-]

Cman, here most people are passionate about football and our country, it sickens me to see a little ned like him switch over to Ireland because of some misplaced religious bile which he so obviously beleives in. I do think the SFA's rule needs changing but if McGeady had ever wanted to play for Scotland, he could have.

...

No, I don't know that for a fact. I don't think the reasons he has given are genuine and my explanation is the one which I think is true. If McGeady was into all that biggotry sh!te then I doubt he would state that in public, don't you?

...

I think McGeady is one of these people.

I think it's a little bit ridiculous to call me a biggot, I'm just pissed off at, mainly OF fans, who do not support our contry and like to pretend they are Irish or English.

It's up to the SFA when they want to cap a player. By all accounts, it was Celtic who did not let him play for his school, which meant he could not play for Scotland school boys. By turning his back on the SFA, he is also turning his back on Scotland, which is unforgivable in my opinion.

What has Shaun Maloney got to do with this? Apparently he was playing well for the u-21s but from what I have personally seen of him, I don't think he's good enough to go on and become a Scotland, never mind Celtic regular. However, at least he is man enough to keep on trying and try and show people what he can do.

I don't even know where to start here, so I'll just take it by the numbers.

1) You take umbrage at being called a bigot. Yet you persist in ascribing sectarian motivations to a person which you admit you have no proof for. It may not be bigotry but it's damn close, it's called projection, vis seeing your own fears and/or motivations in another's actions. There's this thing called Occam's Razor (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=78192) and also this thing called The Golden Rule (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=76146), neither of which you seem to be applying here. You are engaging in a brilliant display of utterly circular logic along the lines of "I think he's right bastard even though I have no proof, because I think he's a right bastard." Doesn't it make a lot more sense to say, the boy went where the money and/or games were? But I guess that doesn't fit your preconcieved notions, so it's right out.

2) You may have a point regarding national identity, loyalty to same and the teltale signs of honor and character that loyalty to same show. But your specious blatherings about religious zealotry blow away whatever fig leaf of legitimacy they lend the rest of your ramblings.

3) Never try to lecture an American about self-serving, empty patriotic gestures. Talk about preaching to the choir. :rolleyes: Not that I in any way resemble such people--in fact I find such outmoded tribal bulls*it quite tiresome and out of place in our sad, disfunctional global village. But by and large you will find Yanks to be the most pompusly hollow patriots to be found on this big blue marble.

4) Your eye for emerging talent surely belongs on the board of the SFA because if you think Sean Maloney is never going to amount to anything in Scotland or for a major club... well I'd say you'd fit right in with the rest of them.

And, best for last...

5) Specious and empty accusations of religious bigotry pointed anywhere, be they public figures or members of this board are strictly forbidden on bigsoccer.com Bring (actual verifyable) evidence or shut up. This is your one and only warning.

[Gordon EF]

OK, I'm not calling Aiden McGeady a biggot. And, although I accept my rligious bile comment was sailing a little close to the wind, I don't think I've ever accused him of religious biggotry so I think a warning is a bit harsh.

I am assuming that Aiden McGeady is a catholic. It is his name and background which make me think this. And as far as I'm aware, saying this is not out of line.

Now, as a result of years of tension between catholics and prtotestants, which has often manifested itself as rivalry between Rangers Football Club and Celtic Football Club, many Celtic fans identify themselves with Ireland even if they are Scottish. And many Rangers fans identify themselves with England.

I'm am saying that I beleive Aiden McGeady identifies himself as Irish, rather than Scottish as a result of this situation. Obviously I can't state that as fact, but is my opinion. You may not like or agree with it, but there's nothing unaceptable about it. And every action taken by McGeady so far holds with this view.

It annoys me greatly that some Scots give their allegience to other countries in this manner, that is all I have against McGeady. I am not a biggot and do not accuse him of being one.

About Maloney, i suppose you thought Mark Burchill was going to be the next Kenny Dalglish? What I said was that I thought Maloney was not good enough to become a Scotland or Celtic regular. You're not trying to put words in my mouth or "project" your own fears and or motivations onto my words, are you?

Come back with your smart alec comments in 5 years time and we'll see where Maloney is. ;-)

[Holyjoe]

Sorry to disapoint you Parkhead_Faithful but I am in full possession of the facts. I watched lunchtime sportscene too.

Sorry Gordon, but this line just cracked me up.

Reminiscent of an Ebbe Skovdahl quote: "Even if it's in the papers, it could be true!"

;)