Could have played for England? O.T.

[Eam 0]

I see CMS has been called up for Scotland because he has a Scottish grandparent.

I am not suggesting he will ever be good enough to play for England but what others have grabbed a flag of convenience and maybe regretted it later?

I always thought AndyTownesend would have been capped by England if he hadn''t opted early for Ireland and Mark Lawrenson would surely have won plenty of England caps if he hadn''t done the same.

Can anyone think of any more recent examples?

[woody11 0]

ryan giggs

[alysha 0]

Nottingham Forest''s Lee Camp is a very good, fairly young keeper. He is now going to represent Northern Ireland

[norfolkchance1 0]

John Aldridge maybe.

[Canary_on_the Trent 0]

I''m probably taking the bait but Ryan Giggs has never been eligible to play for anything other than England Schoolboys.

[canarydan23 3,611]

He was not eligible to play for England because he had been capped for Wales. He that never have happened, he would have been eligible to play for England.

I believe he was also eligible to play for Sierra Leone as well, had he wished.

[Eam 0]

Aldridge is a good call, but Townsend and him would have missed USA 94 or maybe not if they had played for England!

[paul moy 235]

[quote user="canarydan23"]He was not eligible to play for England because he had been capped for Wales. He that never have happened, he would have been eligible to play for England. I believe he was also eligible to play for Sierra Leone as well, had he wished.[/quote]

Incorrect. Giggs was never eligible to play for England and played for England Schoolboys by virtue of the school that he represented.  This has been explained many times by various people in the media.

[Jacko 0]

He was eligible for either Wales or Sierra Leone I think? Wasnt his father from there?

[johnnyryan1970 0]

ray houghton would surely have played for scotland!!

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,248]

Bobby Zamora accepted a Trinidad & Tobago callup in August 2009, but pulled out because of an injury. Lucky for him, because he would probably have been in the England World Cup squad had he not been injured, and he did end up playing for England eventually.However, I doubt he will play international football again, so maybe he wishes he did choose Trinidad...

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,283]

Andy Townsend opted to play for Ireland in his Norwich days ,when Englands midfield still contained the likes of Bryan Robson.....but by the time he was arguably at the peak of his career at Chelsea/Aston Villa, England were playing the likes of Geoff Thomas and Carlton Palmer in the team.

I firmly believe that had he had held out for a year or two he would have got in the England side during the ''Graham Taylor'' era.

[norfolkbroadslim 223]

Harry Kewell

 

Notable players who just didn''t play for England, not because they played for someone else, just because they were overlooked -

 

Jimmy Case

 

Paul Davis

 

Billy Bonds

 

Steve Bruce

 

 

[BroadstairsR 0]

We should have bent the rules a bit more like the French did on more than one occasion. ZZ, for example.

Jackie Charlton had this wheeze off to a tee as well. As they said, a footballer only had to be seem with a pint of Guiness in his hand to be picked for Ireland.

When Giggs was at his peak England were always weakened by the lack of a decent left-sider.

Dwight Yorke is another who might have got a look in too, although I am unsure of his exact status.

In cricket, being English seems to be a distinct disadvantage when being considered for the international elevens.

 

 

[BroadstairsR 0]

Having just checked, Zidane was actually born in Marseilles shortly after his Algerian parents emigrated to France. Technically he was therefore eligible, although he was not exactly French and that city is Little Tangiers in part.

 

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,064]

Bruce Rioch DID play for England at Under 21 (or similar age group) and went on to captain Scotland. His choice I assume but I think he would have had a decent England career.

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,064]

Actually on reflection I can''t find any reference that Rioch played for England at any level (although somewhere in my dusty brain I thought I recalled him saying he had in an interview) but he was born in England and was eligible. Thought I''d better add this before the Truth Police get me.[:$]

[......and Smith must score. 1,048]

[quote user="Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man"]Bobby Zamora accepted a Trinidad & Tobago callup in August 2009, but pulled out because of an injury. Lucky for him, because he would probably have been in the England World Cup squad had he not been injured, and he did end up playing for England eventually.However, I doubt he will play international football again, so maybe he wishes he did choose Trinidad...[/quote]I sometimes wonder if Dwight Yorke ever regrets pulling on the Trinidad & Tobago shirt.........

[djc 0]

[quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man"]Bobby Zamora accepted a Trinidad & Tobago callup in August 2009, but pulled out because of an injury.

Lucky for him, because he would probably have been in the England World Cup squad had he not been injured, and he did end up playing for England eventually.

However, I doubt he will play international football again, so maybe he wishes he did choose Trinidad...
[/quote]

I sometimes wonder if Dwight Yorke ever regrets pulling on the Trinidad & Tobago shirt.........
[/quote]

... or regrets pulling the old boot!

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,248]

The thing with Dwight Yorke and Harry Kewell is that they were both born and raised in the nation they represented, and would''ve only ever qualified for England through residency. Would either of them have been prepared to turn their back on their home country and play for England?[quote user="BroadstairsR"]Having just checked, Zidane was actually born in Marseilles shortly after his Algerian parents emigrated to France. Technically he was therefore eligible, although he was not exactly French and that city is Little Tangiers in part. [/quote]A ridiculously high number of French players in recent years were either not born in France, or were born to parents who were both foreign nationals.But that works both ways- 17 of Algeria''s 23-man World Cup squad were born in France.

[norfolkbroadslim 223]

[quote user="Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man"]The thing with Dwight Yorke and Harry Kewell is that they were both born and raised in the nation they represented, and would''ve only ever qualified for England through residency. Would either of them have been prepared to turn their back on their home country and play for England?

[quote user="BroadstairsR"]Having just checked, Zidane was actually born in Marseilles shortly after his Algerian parents emigrated to France. Technically he was therefore eligible, although he was not exactly French and that city is Little Tangiers in part. [/quote]

A ridiculously high number of French players in recent years were either not born in France, or were born to parents who were both foreign nationals.

But that works both ways- 17 of Algeria''s 23-man World Cup squad were born in France.
[/quote]

 

Incorrect, Harry Kewell qualified to play for England because his father is English.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,248]

[quote user="norfolkbroadslim"]Incorrect, Harry Kewell qualified to play for England because his father is English.[/quote]Fair enough, but he was still born and raised in Australia.

[BroadstairsR 0]

[quote user="Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man"][quote user="norfolkbroadslim"]Incorrect, Harry Kewell qualified to play for England because his father is English.[/quote]

Fair enough, but he was still born and raised in Australia.
[/quote]

 

So was Dame Edna, but I wouldn''t have wanted her playing for England either.

[O.T.B.C 0]

Harry Kewell would never have been good enough for England.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,248]

[quote user="O.T.B.C"]Harry Kewell would never have been good enough for England.[/quote]I disagree, he would''ve been good enough circa 98-02, particularly at a time when England had no left wingers.

[Yellowbeagle 0]

[quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]Andy Townsend opted to play for Ireland in his Norwich days ,when Englands midfield still contained the likes of Bryan Robson.....but by the time he was arguably at the peak of his career at Chelsea/Aston Villa, England were playing the likes of Geoff Thomas and Carlton Palmer in the team. I firmly believe that had he had held out for a year or two he would have got in the England side during the ''Graham Taylor'' era.[/quote]

To be fair i dont think it''s something he''ll look back on with much regret. England didnt achieve anything more than Ireland, we got to the semi finals in  Italia 90, but didnt even make USA 94, so he might well look back and say i got 2 world cups when i would have got none as he wouldnt have got in the England team ahead of Platt and Gazza in 1990 and i doubt he would have had a suitable impact to have made the difference to get us to USA 94. Of course if he felt proudly English he might have felt different, something tells me he wouldnt though.

[Shack Attack 0]

[quote user="BroadstairsR"]

Having just checked, Zidane was actually born in Marseilles shortly after his Algerian parents emigrated to France. Technically he was therefore eligible, although he was not exactly French and that city is Little Tangiers in part.

 

[/quote]So what you''re saying is that he was born in France. And is therefore French [;)]

[BroadstairsR 0]

[quote user="Shack Attack"][quote user="BroadstairsR"]

Having just checked, Zidane was actually born in Marseilles shortly after his Algerian parents emigrated to France. Technically he was therefore eligible, although he was not exactly French and that city is Little Tangiers in part.

 

[/quote]

So what you''re saying is that he was born in France. And is therefore French [;)]

[/quote]

 

Nothing of the sort, just exemplifying how complicated it has all become.

 

I blame Zola Budd.

[marvin the martian 0]

I''m just pleased this thread is titled could have played for England, and not could of ......

[BroadstairsR 0]

[quote user="marvin the martian"]I''m just pleased this thread is titled could have played for England, and not could of ......[/quote]

 

That''s a pretty good command of English for somebody who speaks Martian.

 

I dislike, "Would of, could of" also but it reflects the way we speak and language constantly evolves.