Thursday, 13 March 2008

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #53

Spot The Irishman
13 Places Where Players From The 1994 Republic of Ireland World Cup Squad Were Born

1. Preston, England (Alan Kelly)
2. Ealing, England (Paul McGrath)
3. Maidstone, England (Andy Townsend)
4. Glasgow, Scotland (Ray Houghton)
5. Liverpool, England (John Aldridge)
6. Otley, England (Alan Kernaghan)
7. Lambeth, England (Phil Babb)
8. Govan, Scotland (Tommy Coyne)
9. St. Paul's Cray, England (Tony Cascarino)
10. Islington, England (Eddie McGoldrick)
11. Birmingham, England (David Kelly)
12. Birkenhead, England (Jason McAteer)
13. Manchester, England (Terry Phelan, Alan McLoughlin and John Sheridan)

8 comments:

  1. Really? Not a single one born in Ireland?

    That's fairly amusing.

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  2. shame England didn't pick this squad- they might have qualified.

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  3. And don't forget of course that Tony Cascarino wasn't actually eligible to be an Irish international in the first place.

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  4. Ray Haughton and Tommy Coyne: Two guys that couldnae get a game for Scotland ..wonder how Scotland did at that World Cup?

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  5. Well to be honest, Adam, that's not the entire squad but the list you see accounts for two-thirds of it. I thought I'd make my point in a more punchy way by leaving the few real Irishmen out... :)

    I make you right, chris c paul. Actually, I wonder how many Irishmen have claimed they were English to get in the England team...

    So what's the story with Tony Cascarino, thegreatdandini?

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  6. That's a fair point, keving - how come Houghton and Coyne didn't end up playing for Scotland?

    Strange to see Scots on that list...

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  7. I stand corrected. He was eligible. From Wikipedia

    "Cascarino was born in England but represented the Republic of Ireland, qualifying through his Irish grandfather. However, he later revealed that his mother told him in 1996 that she was adopted and therefore no blood relative to the grandfather. Cascarino said in his autobiography: "I didn't qualify for Ireland. I was a fraud. A fake Irishman". However, through the adoption his mother gained the right to Irish citizenship and therefore he was indeed eligible."

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  8. Chris o- your guess is as good as mines. Haughton maybe dipped under the radar as he was plying his trade earlier in his career in the lower English Leagues but Tommy Coyne in the 87/88 season scored over 35 goals in the Scottish League for Dundee and still never got anywhere near a cap.

    I could maybe say- much is the paranoia of a Celtic fan and this will tickle thegreatdanini- that they were ignored because of their Irish Catholic background and Celtic leanings…..

    But, that’s me being paranoid and just taking ma anti-SFA agenda too far maybe?

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