Manuel Almunia for england

atpbx said:
The rules for eligibility cannot be different for any country under FIFA regulations, if its right for Croatia, its right for France and everyone else.
Click to expand...
Well for the UK they are because the UK is totally different to every other single country in the world. There is no other nation that doesn't have it's own national team but instead have teams for it's component parts. If it was a case that having a UK passport meant you could play for England (or for that matter say N. Ireland) why are we restricted to only playing people who have a birth right to play for the individual nation?

This came up in the Ryan Giggs thread, about how he never played in a major tournament finals. Even if he never played for Wales he was never ever elligible to play for England.

Other nations can get away with it as you say because, if you have a nations passport you can play for that nations team, but there's no such thing as an English passport. Everything I've seen about player elligibility for the home nations refers to either being born there, or parents/grandparents being born there.

Jokester
 
nokkonwud said:
The best young keeper is Reina (24 or 25).
Click to expand...

IMO Cech is just as good (they are both 25).

As far as English lads go, here is my verdict:

-Robinson: Has talent, need to see if he can permanently recover his form. Amazing kicking and a decent stopper.
-Carson: Seems good but had a mare against Croatia. Obvious question marks about how he handles pressure.
-Kirkland: Great keeper let down by his injury record. I'd like to see him return to the squad.
-Green: Getting a lot of press but was absolutely shocking on crosses the last full game I watched. Don't be fooled by a few saves for the MOTD cameras. Also seems to have a bit of an ego, mouthing off about how he should be in the squad.
-Foster: His throwing makes Schmeichel look like an 8-stone weakling with cannonballs tied to his arms. Need to see more of him before plunging him in at the deep end.
-James: Has been playing not too bad over the last 18 months for the most part. However, it's David bloody James for crissakes, and as such I can't countenance him being an England regular again.
 
I would say Reina is a better keeper, he's been more consistent over the last 2 years, he distributes better and Liverpool have a better defensive record too.

Cech's a good keeper though.
 
nokkonwud said:
Liverpool have a better defensive record too
Click to expand...

If we are looking at the last couple of years, Chelsea have conceded fewer league goals over the past two seasons. OK so this year they have let more in in the League, but Liverpool have played fewer games. If you add Champions League into the mix, Chelsea have the better overall defensive record this season (I haven't bothered looking at Carling Cup due to the dodgy sides that get put out).

Obviously you may think Reina is better (fair enough), but I think using defensive stats to judge keepers is a bit dodgy
 
rite so, does this mean any player that has been in this country for 5 or more years can play for england.........or is it just for a keeper, im confused
 
AmateurJimmy said:
rite so, does this mean any player that has been in this country for 5 or more years can play for england.........or is it just for a keeper, im confused
Click to expand...

Article 18 of FIFA's Statutes state that: "Any player who is a naturalised citizen of a country in virtue of that country's laws shall be eligible to play for a national or representative team of that country."

The Statutes also say that: "If a player has been included in a national or representative team of a country for which he is eligible to play...., he shall not be permitted to take part in an international match for another country. "Accordingly, any player who is qualified to play for more than one national association (i.e. who has dual nationality) will be deemed to have committed himself to one association only when he plays his first international match in an official competition (at any level) for that association."

http://www.thefa.com/England/SeniorTeam/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2003/02/38978.htm

Quite outdated so rules may have changed
 
They only care about keepers because supposedly that's been England's weakness since Seaman retired.

If you think about it, there's also a MUCH higher chance of quality foreigners not getting capped by their 'real' country if they are a keeper, compared to outfield players. This is because you only get 2-3 keepers in a squad, and generally speaking keepers don't often get subbed. Also because it's a (relatively) non-contact position, they don't get injured or suspended as often as outfield players. So if you are say, the 5th best keeper in your country, it's quite plausible that you won't get capped. Whereas say the 5th best striker or centre mid is almost certain to get a cap sooner or later.
 
hmm i see, dont think keeper is that bad, but it is a problem, just think they need a reet kick up the backside, just wish we never had mclaren as manager :(, thank god they wernt world cup qualifiers he bummed up
 
I've seen two mistakes from him, one a misread of a ball in the air, and the other a fumble.

Keepers have always suffered from being remembered for big mistakes. I'll judge him on how he carries on from them, given that he's clearly been the best Premiership keeper since joining Chelsea.
 
He also went flying out for a cross at the start of the season vs Reading, ended up taking out his own defenders and leaving Bikey (?) with a tap in. Plus the 2 you've mentioned thats 3 huge mistakes which directly led to a goal.

His first season he was possibly the best keeper in the world but his 2nd season was far from amazing, last season he had injury problems and this season as i mention he's made several big mistakes. Since the Everton mistake at the start of last season Reina's been the most consistent keeper in the league imo and is getting better and better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom