Wilshere......spot on?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24455721

How on earth can this young whipper snapper at the Rags be eligible to play for upto 5 countries (ours in 5yrs time), it's all a load of bollocks.

What's the betting that Wilsheres comments will be taken out of contex and opens up a whole can of worms. I personally couldn't agree more with him and this line just about sums it up:

 "If you live in England for five years it doesn't make you English".

Well done Jack!

He's eligible in the same way most of Jackie Charlton's Republic of Ireland squad were.  I remember all the jokes about his selection criteria:  Got an Irish grandfather?  You're in.  Your brother owns an Irish wolfhound?  You're in.  You once had a pint of Guinness?  You're in.  Your name is Dion Dublin?  Let me know if you can't get a game for England.

Zanzibar qualifies because of his mixed parentage and was born in a different country to where any of his family were from.  It's the same technicality that allowed Zola Budd to run for England in the Olympics, or for Martina Navratilova to play tennis for the Americans.

Technically, Jack is right about this 5 year rule.  However, if Januzaj decides to wait in order to play for England, it kind of suggests he wants to, which will automatically make him better than almost all of the others, who appear to have this idea that it's their god given right.

He's qualified for 8 or 9 countries (all the former Yugoslavia countries), Albania, Turkey, Belgium and Kosovo (if it ever enters a team)

It's still bollocks

Of course it is.  All it does is mask our ability to produce our own world-class players.  And given we've got the second largest population in Europe, we should at least be able to create as many top notch players as Spain.

It's a nonsense, however, it's not just as simple as saying - "if you're not born here, you don't qualify".

Imagine going on holiday with your wife to Dubai. Your wife's pregnant and goes into early labour and your son is born in a Dubai hospital.

Or, your father is a British diplomat who travels the world. You were born in Hong Kong, have lived in 4 or 5 countries over 10 years, but for the past 5 years you have lived back in the UK and play for Man City's EDS team, both parents are English......do you qualify?

Are you English?

shakencity wrote:It's still bollocks

Exactly I'm scottish, have lived in England for 44 years (out of 45) and I would still NEVER play for England.   What is he thinking ...



I'll get my coat

It's a bit like my great nephew.  He was born in Scotland, so technically he's Scottish.  However, his mum was born in Malaysia and is half Malay, half Chinese.  His dad was born in Brunei, the son of an English woman and a Bruneian father, who was half Indian.  So what the hell is he?

I'll tell you.  He's a massive City fan.  Good lad 

Leo,
You great nephew's Scottish....end of.

Blue,
exceptional circumstance can be excused but this lad stayed in Belgium until he was atleast 16. Now he's moved to England all of a sudden he seems to have forgotten where his loyalties lie.

If I were the Belgium FA i'd tell him to piss off and go and play for Serbia, Kosovo, Albania and the like.

With this kid, I totally agree Shaken....that's why i'm saying, it's really difficult and needs rewriting and rethinking.

I remember there was talk a few years ago of changing it so that if someone spent five years or more in the education system, then they can be considered. This way of doing it though, I think Wilshere is right, I don't like it and the home nations have always had additional criteria to other countries to stop it from happening.

If you move as a child and go to school here for five years, then I think that is very different to this case where you move here at 16 effectively to work.

Thing is Glyn, as a lad growing up playing football, surely your dream is to make it as a professional and maybe just maybe if you're very lucky pull on your countries jersey.

I can't help but wonder at what stage in this lads head, did this dream you have as a growing child change?

How can you ever contemplate representing another country? Truely baffling!

I agree completely Den, the one thing I would say with the Januzaj thing is has he actually ever said he was contemplating England himself?

If you think of someone like Farah or Sterling, then they moved to Britain at a young age and went through the education here so I completely get how they would feel British.

Someone moving here at 16 or 18 purely for work though, I don't get and I don't think Janujaz would either in all honesty!

I don't think we'd all be debating this if Kosovo had a team.

The fact that his home country has no team, his parents are from different countries and he was forced to flee Kosovo may mean he has to look at other countries at International level....but which one do you choose?

If England didn't have a national team, you were a professional footballer living in another country......and they offered you the chance, would you say "no", England or nothing?

True blueboy.

For me, the biggest thing missing so far is Januzaj's opinion himself, for all we know (and I think most likely), he doesn't want to play for England anyway, I would imagine it would be between Albania and Belgium.

Totally agree...all he's said is won't decide right now.

I was born and raised by 2 Manc parents who grew up not far from the Etihad, my grandparents are buried in Phillips Park cemetary and i consider myself to be a Manc (although my parents moved us to Langley near Middleton after i was born, it was a new overspill estate for Manchester at the time but later was stuck under Rochdale council) .
I myself moved to Scotland in 1978 and my kids rightly consider themselves Scottish albeit with mixed parentage. They could represent England or Scotland at sports (although its unlikey as they inherited my lack of sporting prowess). Similar to Shaken even though i would qualify under the residency rule i would never, ever play for Scotland.   
In an ideal world we would only permit people that were born in England to English parents that have never lived anywhere else to represent England but that is unrealistic in our multi cultural society and perhaps a bit jingoistic and parochial.
Many people move to England or other parts of the UK from all around the world to make their home here why should they be excluded from representing their adopted country because of narrow minded attitudes like "you can't play for us you're not proper English, Welsh, Scottish etc"