Noddy

Weir still playing international football at 40. Does that show you Scotland's lack of centre-backs, or his sheer brilliance?

Ha, what's that supposed to mean? I'm actually impressed by your research. If only some media outlets would have done the same. Or perhaps I'm being naive - maybe they knew, but ran the stories regardless, knowing that it would sell a few papers. Hmm, I'm not quite sure what you mean here. Players born in NI are eligible to play for the IFA and the FAI due to their automatic dual nationality (British and Irish). They'd be able to play for any British association as long as they satisfied any of the criteria (birth, ancestry, education) Irish players born down South are not eligible for the IFA unless they acquire British citizenship, in which case they'd have to meet the criteria. Education is a strange requirement to have, if you ask me.

Thankfully the FA understand the rules. And finally there is a media outlet who's daring enough to report it! "The little known Article 18.1.a within the FIFA statutes outlines that any player who has represented their country in an official competition, at whatever level, would at that time need to have held a passport for the country they later wish to play for in order to be permitted to make the switch." Little known? Seriously? The rules are readily available online from FIFA's website. All it requires is some time and to type 'FIFA Statutes' into any decent search engine.

As long as Bailey had British nationality and satisfied the eligibility requirements, is there really a problem? I think that FIFA's statutes governing international football team eligibility are fair and reasonable. Wouldn't you agree? The title is false and misleading. There are a number of reasons why Arteta can't play for England. Most importantly, he doesn't satisfy FIFA's statutes. Even if he did, he wouldn't be deemed eligible in the eyes of the 4 British Associations, who have a Gentleman's Agreement prohibiting Arteta from playing. Your man Gordon is obviously just saying that he won't have a problem with 'foreign' players like Arteta qualifying and playing for England. The guys interviewing him seem a bit thick to be honest. "We're an island, we're not Europe...". Not sure if that was being facetious, but

I really don't think he's eligible.

Did any of you get tonight's programme?

I won't disagree with your analysis that Keane's personality is unusual. However, I wouldn't brand him psychotic or anything along those lines. He's a tenacious, vociferous character, there's no doubt about it, but he's not irrational (his signing of Paul McShane excepted!). He expects the best from himself and others around him. The problem, it seems, is that Keane's expectations of other individuals may be simply too high. The incident in Saipan was the result of many factors, not just Keane's outrage over the preparation (which was diabolical). Himself and Mick McCarthy had, to put it mildly, a history of disagreement and among other things, Keane deemed it an affront when McCarthy questioned his passion for Ireland. On one occasion, it's said that McCarthy even accused him of feigning injury to avoid playing. The affair was an absolute mess and it's hard to know the exact story, but from my understanding of it all, Keane's gripe was legitimate. It didn't help matters when McCarthy ostracised him. Of course, I would have preferred if Keane had persevered in spite of it all as he would have undoubtedly improved our chances (I think we would have beaten Spain with him in the team), but I won't fault him for demanding the best.

I'm in the Keane camp on the Saipan incident. There is no question over Keane's passion to play for Ireland, that's why he was captain. He dragged us to the World Cup in 2002. It's the FAI that Keane has a problem with. I enjoy his comments here: I'm not sure about his comments on the 'passion' of players becoming eligible through residence, although I've heard some people, including many on here advocating the same view.

I understand your point, but I can't say I agree with you. As it stands, FIFA has decreed that national team eligibility is defined by nationality, something which is not necessarily dependent on birth in a nation and I agree with that principle. If players like Arteta* satisfy FIFA's current statutes, then I can't say I have a problem. *I am not entirely sure about Arteta's actual eligibility for England.

Like you, I too have only heard of this idea [Arteta for England] being entertained in the media and it could very well be another case of "chinese whispers" and lazy journalism. Interestingly, the news story was also published on FIFA's website, but I doubt this is an indication of official advocation. The "A" international in an official competition refers to senior caps in competitions such as the World Cup and European Championships (along with their respective qualification rounds). I suspect that, unlike Arteta, the likes of Castillo and Jones had held dual nationality prior to their first appearances for their original FAs. I remember reading an interview with Castillo, who talked of attending American training camps when he was younger and waited for the call up. When one was not forthcoming he decided to throw his lot in with Mexico, but mentioned that, despite wearing the green of Mexico several times in friendly games, he felt it was 'right' for him to play for the USA.

Again, is Arteta actually eligible per FIFA's statutes governing eligibility? Article 18, dealing with change of association states: The bit I've emboldened seems to suggest that in order to be eligible, Arteta must have held the relevant nationality (in this case British) when he appeared for the Spanish FA underage teams and I can't imagine that that was the case.

Well said!

Are you sure he's eligible? Here's an interesting post on foot.ie about Arteta: Link

Normally when a player changes association, it is expected to take a few weeks or months, due to normal administrative delays and such when adjudging eligibility, but Shane's switch was also held up because the IFA took the FAI and FIFA to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over the subject of eligibility as defined in FIFA's statutes. Once the case was over and done with (the IFA lost its appeal), the association change happened within weeks.

Short bit on Shane's comeback on UTV Live Here

I posted a short summary of the game on the match thread. It's brilliant to see him back playing. Miraculous stuff.

It was just a cameo performance from Coleman. He's got a game for Ireland U21s on Tuesday too and I think Moyes wants him to stay sharp and avoid letting him burn himself out before the season starts. The reserves didn't make many chances from play and Sligo dominated a lot of the game in midfield. The players in the reserve team look like they can keep the ball well, but they found it hard to carve out any real chances (to be fair to them, Sligo are a decent side and were very well organised). I liked the look of Forshaw, but he was subbed towards the end, so maybe Stubbs and Holden don't rate him that highly. Mustafi was excellent tonight too, very assured. He and Shane seem to have a great partnership at the back. Delighted that Shane played the whole game. Thought he played fairly well considering it was his first full game since the injury. He made some crucial blocks and almost scored twice from headers. He even got involved in a bit of a bust up when a Sligo player came running up to him and pushed him after a tackle. Shane, in turn showing the fighting Irish spirit, shoved the guy with so much force that the guy went flying and hit the ground. He wasn't expecting that from Big Duffs! Both of them probably would have been sent off in a competitive game though!

Some supporter you Ah, I know what you mean. It's a fairly expensive trek indeed. On the game itself, is Coleman likely to play? I mean, he'll be away with the U21s for their game on August 10th versus Estonia in Tallaght.

How much do you think tickets will be? Couldn't you get a cheap bus return from GoBus or CityLink into Galway then make your way to Sligo?

It really is fantastic to read all the well-wishes. Thanks everyone! Hopefully Shane will be back soon enough (I always knew we were descended from Cú Chulainn!).

I wasn't at the game on Tuesday, but I'm heading to the game on Friday. Here's an article on Shane from the Herald: Irish unearth a gem in Duffy

Had a good solid game in a 1-0 victory tonight. Stokes scored the winner.

It would. I'd be on the edge of my seat with my heart in my mouth again, like in the Athens game... I hope you're wrong! He's captain of the reserves too (and top goalscorer I think ). It's really hard to believe how much he's come along since moving over 2 years ago. He's made tremendous progress especially when you consider that most of the other academy lads have been at the club from a very young age.

Ah, I'll have to work on that next year

I resent my ommission from the poll... OK, maybe I'm a very single-issue poster, but I try to contribute!