I know the USA well and they will usually do the correct thing. They may overage him a bit and put him in an age group above but that'll be it if anything. I really doubt that they call him up and start him in an international qualifier. But they get away with it by playing teams like Trinidad and Tobago. I'll be surprised if any USA fans even know who he is.
I beg to differ. It's always been a habit of mine to watch our players sing the national anthem as I watch the other teams as well. Under Hodgson every player has almost always sang the national anthem before any match. I don't think I've ever sung the Star Spangled Banner at any sporting event I've ever been to because it's always done by a singer. If I ever go to a USMNT Match then I'll be tested.
They don't need to start him - Just need to give him 10 seconds at the end of a qualifier or in the Gold Cup.
What ever happened to that one kid from Chelsea who was being looked at by Barca among others 2 years ago. His name was Scott I believe and I think he plays for the USA, qualifies for us and Scotland.
Hodgson on Grealish - "We've been in regular contact with him and his family and his advisers. He's fully aware that if he wants to play for England we'd be very happy to take him," added the England coach. "But he has to 100% be allowed to decide himself and it should not be anyone in particular telling him to change allegiance if that is not what he wants to do." http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32840053
I think the comment about an England call-up being inflammatory at the moment was perhaps the most telling. If he's so far along in his thinking that he's worrying about the atmosphere at the Ireland game then that suggests to me that he's pretty confident about Grealish playing for England. Also from the Guardian: Hodgson said the FA’s technical director, Dan Ashworth, had been in regular contact with the Aston Villa midfielder and his family to make it clear England want him to defect from Ireland. Gareth Southgate, the England Under‑21s manager, and Aidy Boothroyd, for the Under-20s, have also made personal pleas to try to bring Grealish on board while the Solihull-born player is still eligible for both countries. http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/may/21/roy-hodgson-england-jack-grealish
I'm not sure about that because Hodgson rambles on all the time and is always good for a quote that can insinuate towards one thing and mean nothing. Likely to be just talking about how it would have been tough for him to play in that game regardless of whether he wants too or not.
Just thought I'd add this article in here as I thought it was funny. Never realised that Milton Keynes and Southend were considered a part of Nigeria these days! http://africanfootball.com//news/534073/England-U20s-snub-Dele-Alli? These Nigerian articles are really annoying because there so inaccurate!
Interesting quote from Aston Villa's former Academy Director Bryan Jones regarding Grealish (and a good article in general) http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/may/29/jack-grealish-not-overawed-fa-cup-final-arsenal
The situation needs to be resolved at senior level but I think Jack and his father know what they’re going to do. If thats the case and they already know what there going to do, why the delay for committing to Ireland? This could be a sign for the future but you just never know.
sounds about as loyal as Phillips.. gets all mardy if they arent contacted for afew months and switches teams..
Indeed, as a famous philanderer said back in the sixties before being shot by a Left-wing zealot: think not what your country can do for you, you ********, think what you can do for your country.
I'm glad they didn't. From an English perspective, I think it's ridiculous to pin so much importance on him singing an anthem that a lot of English people don't relate to or even care about very much. And on the flip-side, if he had sung it, it would have been pretty ridiculous for Irish fans to have given him a hard time for failing to disown the country that he's lived in for his entire life. In either case, it wouldn't have told us where his footballing future lay, but lots of people would have acted like it did. Still, there's every chance that somebody from the crowd will report back and we'll get a round of pointless speculation regardless.
Is Grealish going to make his decsion pretty soon? He did say that he will make it when the season is over.
He's also said he'd decide in September. I doubt he'll announce anything soon. Maybe wait to see if a call-up for the San Marino game is offered.
It would probably help if Ireland keep losing in the Euro qualifiers. Remember the big seller to Januzaj was a place in the Belgian world cup sqaud. Not saying when we will qualify that there will be a place Grealish. It probably is easier to get into the senior squad than the U21's becasue of politics.
Usually the U21's play in a frendly in August after every tournament (may be in Sept. now). That would be a good time to give him a chance when the squad will be wide open.
With a player of his potential, it might be best to just give him what he wants (e.g. offer him a senior call up rather than the under-21's). Pogba is a good example. He wanted to be starting for Man Utd and basically the old fashioned "you're just an unproven kid so don't make demands etc" attitude meant he ended up going to Juventus and now look at him. Point of the story - we don't want to be like Man Utd and Ireland to be like Juventus. I realise that that will be hard to take for some people who'll say he's not good enough for the senior yet, he isn't, but he will be. EDIT: Decided that he is actually good enough for the seniors, considering we've got Vardy in there.
The way Hodgson was talking about him I got the impression that a senior call-up would be on the table in September for the San Marino game if he wanted it.