- surely we're not this hard up for a strike partner for robbie? King wants Irish chance – report Gillingham’s controversial striker Marlon King wants a chance to show his talents with Ireland, providing he can prove his eligibility to turn out for the Emerald Isle. King, who was sentenced to 18 months in jail last year for driving a stolen car, and who possesses convictions for a range of petty offences, is eligible to play for Jamaica, England and the USA, but, according to a report in the Sun, insisted that he sees his future with Ireland, the birth-place of his maternal grandmother. The striker, who has netted seven times in twelve games since his early release from prison in October, said: “I have my hopes set on playing for Ireland. They have shown in the past that they don’t just pick players from the Premiership. If a player outside the top flight is good enough, they will be selected. “They had a great World Cup. I would love to have been part of that, but I’m still young so it could happen.” Whether the vast majority of Irish supporters would be happy to see such the green shirt adorning such a controversial figure remains a grave doubt at this stage.
I knew about his Irishness a few years back, tbh he looks a class player and I know McCarthy personally held talks with him before he left. Competition is never a bad thing, can't see a problem with it myself.
King seems like a damn good prospect, and we cant afford to be choosy with our attacking options. Apparently Spurs have been linked with him before and after his prison stint, for about £5mil. From what i read about his conviction, it seems he was very unlucky. I heard he bought a flashy 2nd hand car, in good faith, which turned out to have been stolen, and the judge threw the book at him, despite Marlon's valid protestations. Lets stake a claim for him, before someone else does (look what happened to Liam Coyle, the greatest striker in Irish History, who ended up playin for Norn Iron)
Completley agree, you can't hane too many options, ever. Competition is a good thing and if he takes his chances then he could hold down a regular place, he could also be the next Paul Butler but either way we lose nothing. He was a class act before he got thrown in the slammer hopefully he's hasn't lost too much while he was away, his current record suggests he hasn't, you'd expect him to be a bit rusty but he seems well on form for someone who hadn't kicked a ball for 18 crucial months.
so i guess it's just me that wouldn't have him. i'd hate to think that an irish player would loose his place in the team/squad to somebody who's only interested in raising their profile so they could get a wage rise or move to a bigger club. i've no issue with non-irish players opting to play for ireland, i.e. o'brien, connolly, dealp etc, primarily because their parents are irish and they would have a strong irish ethos. i'm well aware of the importance british players played in our success over the years (for which they have my eternal gratitude!) but i though those days were behind us. and before anybody mentions morrison, people should remember he only opted for ireland AFTER sven goran eriksson told him in no uncertain terms to get lost.
Marlon king is about as irish as clinton morrison... How the hell can you play for the team of your maternal grandmother??? if he gets picked ,it'll be more proof that you'll pick any mercenary who comes along and calls himself irish. I bet king has never set foot in ireland in his entire life.
Re: Re: Marlon King Owen Hargreaves, Michael Owen, John Barnes ect ect ect do we even need to go over this any more?
Ireland play by the rules. If he is eligible, good enough and wants to play for Ireland then I see no problem. In this case the question seems to be is he good enough?.
Hold on...a year or so back Ian Evans set off in chase if King and because they could not find the historical documenation he was ruled out for the republic....a few weeks later he was arrested....Im 90% sure of this... closey
Exactly, very well said, and I guess time will be the only thing that will answer the last question. If his club form warrents it, give him chances in friendlys and see what happens from there.
Ah, well, I'm kind of stuck in the middle as usual. I don't mind English/anywhere else-born players playing for us as long as they genuinely want to and regard themselves as Irish - people like Breen and Delap. I was a wee bit concerned with the whole calling-Morrison-up situation at the start, coming as it did after he waited for a callup from England (which is understandable, him living there all his life). He does seem to have gotten into the spirit of things though (memories of Gaelic in Saipan ), and he seems as committed as anyone else. Marlon King seems to be something along the same lines - if he's genuinely interested, and is prepared to assimilate as well as Morrision has done, then he's worth considering at least. I'm not interested in anyone using us as a career move though - we're not that hard up yet, and it couldn't be good for morale to have one black sheep.
Re: Re: Marlon King Most players usually do play for the country of their maternal grandmother. Fu cking troll
Its just that I have to listen to my mates come out with that cack non stop. Apparently he would have been a combination of Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Van Basten and Baggio if it wasn't for his dodgy knee hehe.
....And Franz Beckenbauer....I think i saw Liam tackle someone once as well! (i'll bet he's pretty handy between the sticks too, given half a chance)