Declan Rice | Switches international allegiance to England four years ago

cyberman

Full Member
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
37,331
Why was he using the N.Ireland youth setup himself then? He's on record himself saying he played for the N.Ireland youth team as it's a step up the ladder for his career. He's a complete hypocrite.

Or is it only bad if you use Ireland as the stepping stone?

Will he be telling Nathon Redmond to feck off if he decides to play for Ireland?
Hypocrite or not there's nothing controversial in his statement.
 

Djemba-Djemba

Full Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2007
Messages
21,157
Location
Manchester
Hypocrite or not there's nothing controversial in his statement.
So even though he's done the exact same thing he's slagging Rice off for there's nothing controversial about it?

The statement itself is fine, him being the one to say it is the issue.
 

Buster15

Go on Didier
Joined
Aug 28, 2018
Messages
13,295
Location
Bristol
Supports
Bristol Rovers
His waistcoats are embarrassing though! :)
Maybe but he sets proper standards not just football but as a leader.

When he speaks it is always well thought out and reasoned.
He is a very clear thinker who knows what he is doing and why he is doing it.
Must be great to play in one of his teams.
 

POF

Full Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2014
Messages
3,795
The Irish should stop supporting English clubs and put more money into their neglected domestic league instead, then they might develop some own talents instead of stealing English ones.
I think you've got that one the wrong way around! Rice, Keane and Grealish came through the Irish underage set up and were "stolen" by England.
 

Classical Mechanic

Full Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2014
Messages
35,216
Location
xG Zombie Nation
I think you've got that one the wrong way around! Rice, Keane and Grealish came through the Irish underage set up and were "stolen" by England.
They're products of English football, spent the vast majority of their football education in England. There's no 'theft' either, the players have agency. Ireland don't have any grounds for grievance in any of those cases.
 

cyberman

Full Member
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
37,331
They're products of English football, spent the vast majority of their football education in England. There's no 'theft' either, the players have agency. Ireland don't have any grounds for grievance in any of those cases.
Thats not how it works. I'm not saying if it's right or wrong but English sides don't coach young players based on eligibility for the national side so this line of thinking doesn't make sense.
Unless you think England have a bigger claim to Pogba than France does?
Rice literally had to change his registration from Ireland to England, of course the English national side took him.
 

cyberman

Full Member
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
37,331
If Rice, Grealish or Keane had never played a single youth international game for any nation, they'd be more or less the same in terms of ability.
I disagree. Englands present generation alone shows how important youth international football is for a players development or mindest at the very least.
 

POF

Full Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2014
Messages
3,795
They're products of English football, spent the vast majority of their football education in England. There's no 'theft' either, the players have agency. Ireland don't have any grounds for grievance in any of those cases.
I'm just pointing out that the comment was incorrect. From the perspective of the national FAs, the FAI had more to do with their development at international level than the FA.

The major grievance should be with the US over Keane since he came through the academy of a US owned club.
 

duffer

Sensible and not a complete jerk like most oppo's
Scout
Joined
Jun 24, 2004
Messages
50,137
Location
Chelsea (the saviours of football) fan.
I disagree. Englands present generation alone shows how important youth international football is for a players development or mindest at the very least.
England's present generation is down to the clubs giving incredible coaching on a day to day basis over many years. Not the few weeks a year they get with the likes of Aidy fecking Boothroyd.
 

acnumber9

Full Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2006
Messages
22,253
I think you've got that one the wrong way around! Rice, Keane and Grealish came through the Irish underage set up and were "stolen" by England.
If there’s one nation that can’t complain of that then it’s the Republic of Ireland.
 

Brophs

The One and Only
Joined
Nov 28, 2006
Messages
50,275
If Rice, Grealish or Keane had never played a single youth international game for any nation, they'd be more or less the same in terms of ability.
I suspect that anyone who has played under Noel King instantly loses at least half of their potential forever.
 

Classical Mechanic

Full Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2014
Messages
35,216
Location
xG Zombie Nation
I disagree. Englands present generation alone shows how important youth international football is for a players development or mindest at the very least.
Maybe if you had something like St George’s park, a world leading setup but you don’t. I’m not saying that Ireland didn’t do anything for the development of the players, they did. Most of their education comes from world class education at English clubs, however.

I'm just pointing out that the comment was incorrect. From the perspective of the national FAs, the FAI had more to do with their development at international level than the FA.

The major grievance should be with the US over Keane since he came through the academy of a US owned club.
His comment was sound. If you want to go after English born kids through their parents you can’t complain when they chose to switch when they’re making their own decisions as adults. It’s a game Ireland want to play so they have no one else but themselves to blame when it back fires.

I don’t have time for the England fans that want to have a pity party when we lose players either. We bring many players with Nigerian heritage in to our setup knowing full well that the Nigerian FA will aggressively pursue them, many of these players have strong links with Nigeria still and we’ve lost a number of them. Ola Aina had 37 caps for England youth whilst Rice, Grealish and Keane had only 43 between the lot of them for Ireland, for example. It’s their choice at the end of the day.
 

Negan

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Aug 30, 2018
Messages
647
I don't go to work for loyalty and all that shit, i go to work to pay the bills and progress my career, as long as thats on the table i'll give it my everything however it all boils down to the benjamins and ensuring my career is going somewhere, why do football players have to be any different?
Chances are, your job doesn’t include representing your country.

Would you ever consider representing another country? Let’s not forget, he chose Ireland over England at one point too. So this whole “I feel English” thing is a load of garbage. If you felt English, you’d never play for Ireland. END OF.
 

FlawlessThaw

most 'know it all' poster
Joined
Oct 26, 2005
Messages
29,599
Chances are, your job doesn’t include representing your country.

Would you ever consider representing another country?
Let’s not forget, he chose Ireland over England at one point too. So this whole “I feel English” thing is a load of garbage. If you felt English, you’d never play for Ireland. END OF.
Might do, if I moved and lived in another country. Happy to represent them in some form.
 

SquishyMcSquish

New Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2018
Messages
8,198
Supports
Tottenham
Chances are, your job doesn’t include representing your country.

Would you ever consider representing another country? Let’s not forget, he chose Ireland over England at one point too. So this whole “I feel English” thing is a load of garbage. If you felt English, you’d never play for Ireland. END OF.

I feel English but have Welsh grandparents, would play for Wales if the opportunity arose.

You can feel both, you don't have to be a die hard nationalist to represent your country in sport.
 

The Brown Bull

It's Coming Home.
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Messages
4,242
Location
Dublin.
Chances are, your job doesn’t include representing your country.

Would you ever consider representing another country? Let’s not forget, he chose Ireland over England at one point too. So this whole “I feel English” thing is a load of garbage. If you felt English, you’d never play for Ireland. END OF.
Bullshit. I am pretty sure the likes of Lawrenson, Townsend , Matt Holland to name but a few felt more English than Irish yet they played very well for Ireland.
 

POF

Full Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2014
Messages
3,795
Maybe if you had something like St George’s park, a world leading setup but you don’t. I’m not saying that Ireland didn’t do anything for the development of the players, they did. Most of their education comes from world class education at English clubs, however.



His comment was sound. If you want to go after English born kids through their parents you can’t complain when they chose to switch when they’re making their own decisions as adults. It’s a game Ireland want to play so they have no one else but themselves to blame when it back fires.

I don’t have time for the England fans that want to have a pity party when we lose players either. We bring many players with Nigerian heritage in to our setup knowing full well that the Nigerian FA will aggressively pursue them, many of these players have strong links with Nigeria still and we’ve lost a number of them. Ola Aina had 37 caps for England youth whilst Rice, Grealish and Keane had only 43 between the lot of them for Ireland, for example. It’s their choice at the end of the day.
As usual, you miss the point by a massive margin. Fact is, Englamd are in line for a long period of success and it's primarily due to overseas investment in English football as the global behemoth it is.

Sancho, Trippier and Hudson-Odoi should credit the UAE & Russia for their development as those $€£€$ funded the youth system they came through.
 
Joined
Feb 12, 2018
Messages
19,776
Should we go for him? Looks like he could be avaible at the right price. We need someone to replace Matic

 

golden_blunder

Site admin. Manchester United fan
Staff
Joined
Jun 1, 2000
Messages
119,437
Location
Dublin, Ireland
I'm just pointing out that the comment was incorrect. From the perspective of the national FAs, the FAI had more to do with their development at international level than the FA.

The major grievance should be with the US over Keane since he came through the academy of a US owned club.
Huh?
 

Classical Mechanic

Full Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2014
Messages
35,216
Location
xG Zombie Nation
As usual, you miss the point by a massive margin. Fact is, Englamd are in line for a long period of success and it's primarily due to overseas investment in English football as the global behemoth it is.

Sancho, Trippier and Hudson-Odoi should credit the UAE & Russia for their development as those $€£€$ funded the youth system they came through.
You initially claimed that England had 'stolen' messrs Rice, Grealish and Keane. Its a spurious point in the extreme, not least because Keane, born and raised in Manchester, played for Ireland youth sides a grand total of 4 times and England youth teams a total of 24 times. Grealish was born and raised in England and qualifies for Ireland through the Grandparent rule. His great grandfather Billy Garraty was English and actually played football for England once. Rice is another player that was born and raised in England and only qualifies for Ireland through the grandparent rule. Ireland pursue these players when they are children through their parent(s) connection to Ireland. Its a risky game to play because one day these players will be adults making their own decisions and it might be that they want to play for England or which ever other nation they qualify for. Maybe it's for their careers, maybe it's because they feel more affinity with the other nation unlike their parents or maybe it's a bit of both. It matters not.

There was no 'theft' and no reason for Ireland to feel aggrieved, dual nationality and multiculturalism is a fact of modern life, here we see it expressed in football. All nations try to get the best players they can, sometimes it works and sometimes it fails.

Why you have gone on some tangent about foreign investment in the Premier League I don't know. Perhaps it is some preemptive strike in order to discredit any future success England might have to make you feel better. There are always easy to define reasons as to why some nations are more successful in international football, it isn't because of some inherent superiority. Nonetheless, I'm enjoying following England more than ever at the moment.
 
Last edited:

kidbob

Full Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2012
Messages
8,068
Location
Ireland
Jesus lads this thread is crazy. It's grand he's playing for England, in fact it's the right choice for him if he can make the squad consistently. No sane Irish person takes the national team seriously. We have 3 sports that come before it does and the GAA sports in particular are a lot more important in terms of 'locality' (try being from Kildare the last bloody 10 years and come back to me) and rivalry. Of course we like watching England lose because it's hilarious but I'd much rather England win a World Cup than Liverpool win the League. Either way we have 2 or 3 Daragh Rice's at every age group coming through anyway.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

'Liverpool are a proper club'
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
10,664
Is he even all that? Certainly looks like his primary role is a stopper, thats not really what Utd should be aspiring for.
 

Stick

Full Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
6,686
Supports
Liverpool
Maybe but he sets proper standards not just football but as a leader.

When he speaks it is always well thought out and reasoned.
He is a very clear thinker who knows what he is doing and why he is doing it.
Must be great to play in one of his teams.
I agree. The FA accidentally struck gold here. Were it not for Big Sam and his pints of wine you may never have found him!
 

Stick

Full Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
6,686
Supports
Liverpool
You initially claimed that England had 'stolen' messrs Rice, Grealish and Keane. Its a spurious point in the extreme, not least because Keane, born and raised in Manchester, played for Ireland youth sides a grand total of 4 times and England youth teams a total of 24 times. Grealish was born and raised in England and qualifies for Ireland through the Grandparent rule. His great grandfather Billy Garraty was English and actually played football for England once. Rice is another player that was born and raised in England and only qualifies for Ireland through the grandparent rule. Ireland pursue these players when they are children through their parent(s) connection to Ireland. Its a risky game to play because one day these players will be adults making their own decisions and it might be that they want to play for England or which ever other nation they qualify for. Maybe it's for their careers, maybe it's because they feel more affinity with the other nation unlike their parents or maybe it's a bit of both. It matters not.

There was no 'theft' and no reason for Ireland to feel aggrieved, dual nationality and multiculturalism is a fact of modern life, here we see it expressed in football. All nations try to get the best players they can, sometimes it works and sometimes it fails.

Why you have gone on some tangent about foreign investment in the Premier League I don't know. Perhaps it is some preemptive strike in order to discredit any future success England might have to make you feel better. There are always easy to define reasons as to why some nations are more successful in international football, it isn't because of some inherent superiority. Nonetheless, I'm enjoying following England more than ever at the moment.
Ye I completely agree. Ireland have really done well from the granny rule for years. It's no harm that it bit us this time because we need to get our shop in order. We need to fix the FAI and look to grow a home league. When you look at what the GAA and the IRFU have done it should inspire the FAI to build strong units of excellence at home and develop a home league that can produce international quality players.
 

Stick

Full Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
6,686
Supports
Liverpool
Jesus lads this thread is crazy. It's grand he's playing for England, in fact it's the right choice for him if he can make the squad consistently. No sane Irish person takes the national team seriously. We have 3 sports that come before it does and the GAA sports in particular are a lot more important in terms of 'locality' (try being from Kildare the last bloody 10 years and come back to me) and rivalry. Of course we like watching England lose because it's hilarious but I'd much rather England win a World Cup than Liverpool win the League. Either way we have 2 or 3 Daragh Rice's at every age group coming through anyway.
What do you make of that Seanie Johnson fella. Traitor! ;)
 

Stick

Full Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
6,686
Supports
Liverpool
Is he even all that? Certainly looks like his primary role is a stopper, thats not really what Utd should be aspiring for.
Every team needs a stopper. The importance of Roy Keane in the United team from 95-04 should tell you that if you have a stopper with good creativity and passing along with drive then you're onto a winner. Rice really impressed me with his simple but accurate passing and eye for the right pass at the right time for one so young. He's improved his positioning and reading of the game this season and introduced consistency. I think one more season at West Ham would be better for him though. They are a yoyo club and if he had a similar year to this in terms of form next year I would certainly see him as good enough to play in the champions league.
 

Classical Mechanic

Full Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2014
Messages
35,216
Location
xG Zombie Nation
Ye I completely agree. Ireland have really done well from the granny rule for years. It's no harm that it bit us this time because we need to get our shop in order. We need to fix the FAI and look to grow a home league. When you look at what the GAA and the IRFU have done it should inspire the FAI to build strong units of excellence at home and develop a home league that can produce international quality players.
Funnily enough England lost Lukas Nmecha to Germany this very international break. He actually made his Germany debut on Tuesday against England u21s! He won 31 youth caps for England and scored the winning goals in the 2017 u19 European Championship semi final and final for England. I don't think he's that good (he came from the bench to score those important goals for England), he couldn't get in the England u21 squad recently but it probably means we'll lose his much more talented younger brother Felix too. It happens. They're both born in Germany to a German mother but brought up mostly in England so its no shock.
 

lsd

The Oracle
Joined
Jun 5, 2016
Messages
10,784
Maybe but he sets proper standards not just football but as a leader.

When he speaks it is always well thought out and reasoned.
He is a very clear thinker who knows what he is doing and why he is doing it.
Must be great to play in one of his teams.

Ha good one funniest thing I've seen on here
 

Buster15

Go on Didier
Joined
Aug 28, 2018
Messages
13,295
Location
Bristol
Supports
Bristol Rovers
I agree. The FA accidentally struck gold here. Were it not for Big Sam and his pints of wine you may never have found him!
And that is a very scary fact. Just imagine what state the English football team would be in.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

'Liverpool are a proper club'
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
10,664
Every team needs a stopper. The importance of Roy Keane in the United team from 95-04 should tell you that if you have a stopper with good creativity and passing along with drive then you're onto a winner. Rice really impressed me with his simple but accurate passing and eye for the right pass at the right time for one so young. He's improved his positioning and reading of the game this season and introduced consistency. I think one more season at West Ham would be better for him though. They are a yoyo club and if he had a similar year to this in terms of form next year I would certainly see him as good enough to play in the champions league.
Sorry I fundamentally disagree. Firstly, you're hugely underrating Keane's ability on the ball which was far better than just 'simple' and 'accurate'. All of the very best teams in the world have a playmaker in midfield, someone to control the tempo, retain possession, switch the play and pick out key passes. Pogba is capable of some of those things, but not all of them and so for me the most important midfielder we can find is someone in the ilk of Modric, Scholes, Pirlo etc etc. For the 'stopper' role, we need someone that can get around the pitch and play with extreme quality ala Carrick. I am just not convinced that Rice has any of those qualities at all, like someone said above he looks more in the mould of Eric Dier who frankly no absolute top team would touch.