Damn Stupid Games!

[First Wizard 0]

Whilst its good that up to 6 of our lads could be on International duty next week, this surely could not have come at a worst time for City.

These games are all pointless and a sheer waste of time, with fatigue from travelling, increase risk of injuries to our key players and all in the most important month of the clubs history for many years.

In Francis''s case the travelling distance involved is ludicrous, and all for a friendly which means absolutly nothing. Can you you see ''Fergie'' allowing this?, of course not!. Then nor should Worthy, if this cause''s our promotion run to falter do you think the various bodies will give two hoots?, of course not!. Very worrying.

[Barclay Boy 0]

I agree entirely. Very worrying indeed. 9,000 mile round trip to play a friendly + jet lag?! No way! This means Francis, probably Mullers and Macca, and possibly Holt and Malky away on international duty. Extra travelling, an extra game, and the risk of injury -- we don''t need this right now. I don''t like it. Sorry, but I put Club before country every time. The Club should not allow it.

[DumbleDelia is Magic 0]

I agree that this is very frustrating Wiz, but I don''t think we should dictate whether Francis plays for his country or not. Representing your country would be the highest honour for any player, and I think we can let Francis have one game off, considering how well he has done for us this season.

[Creative Midfielder 1,985]

100% right.

I''m very much against managers trying to withdraw their players from proper internationals but the situation with these international friendlies is getting ridiculous. They are a complete waste of time for everyone concerned.

[Archie 0]

I have always been of the view that if you buy foreign players then it is something that comes with the player. By making it compulsory to release players managers would be less inclined to buy foreign players and our younger players would have a very good chance of getting regular first team football. at the same time i dont think scottish,welsh and northern irish games should be in the middle of our season at a pivotal time.
what fifa really needs to do is say that managers HAVE to release players- the EU means that we cannot limit the number of foreign players, but this would help

[First Wizard 0]

The thing with Damian Frances''s case that really worries me is the mere fact that its against Uruquay. I don''t believe that this bunch of thugs could spell ''Friendly'' let alone understand the TRUE meaning of the word!.

I''m very concerned about this game in paticular.

[Barclay Boy 0]

''Representing your country would be the highest honour for any player'' -- try telling that to a Norwich player at the end of the season if we miss out on promotion! "Oh, it doesn''t matter! The main thing was I played for Jamaica in a friendly against Uruguay, and that makes it all worth while." Per-lease, give me a break.

[Tacklebury 0]

The thing is, international squads have the final word on a player, like it or not. If, for exampe, we claim a player is injured, the FA of that country is entitled to call-up the player anyway to double-check that there''s no way the player could play. The only reason I don''t think it happens more often than not is that international bosses like to keep on good terms with club bosses, and that if a player really is injured, they''d be wasting a squad space just for the sake of being petty. So, now matter how much we might not like it, the FA can call up players if they want and the club can do nothing. I agree that friendlies at this point in time are a bit pointless, and I believe I heard somewhere that Sven was going to try and keep meaningless friendlies to a minimum, especially at this time of the season. Let''s hope the rest of the world follows suit.

Having said that, if all the players come through ok, the honour of playing for their country may inspire them to play out of their skins for the rest of the year!

[DumbleDelia is Magic 0]

I''m sorry if you disagree with me barclay boy but I gaurantee we will not miss out on promotion just because Francis misses the West Ham game. Looking back at his career, Francis will look at the highlights. Yes helping Norwich get promoted will definitely be up there, but so will reprsenting his country. I just think it would be a bit harsh to deny him this oppertunity

[ca 1]

Wizard,
This is a difficult one! We want whats best for our club and dont want anything to get in the way of our success but Francis sees this match as a warm-up for the qualifiers later in the year and as Jamica are hoping to qualify for the next world cup he wants the opportunity to play for his family''s country.Can see both points of view but will sit on the fence and say, guess he has made his decision and Worthy has backed him and we must accept thats what he wants to do.But as you say they are damm stupid friendly games and very inconvenient for us, luckily we have Mullers who will play alongside Holt against West Ham and do a great job for us.

[Tilt 12]

Having said that he''s been great for us this season and I don''t begrudge him seizing the opportunity to play on a larger stage. He deserves it. If any of us had a chance we''d leap to play at an International level. I agree it is annoying but I don''t blame Francis...

[Mook 0]

But Cityangel, surely Mullers will be playing for N Ireland? Or is he out of that one?

I hate to say it, but I feel an Easton moment coming on....

[Loughborough Canary 0]

Heres another angle. Maybe the players will benefit from the experience, assuming they come back injury free. Its surely got to be a boost to their confidence to be selected for their countries.

[Anderz 0]

My only concern is that when Francis jets out to play in the friendly, he must be given a chance to play. It''d be a bit galling to have him go out there and sit on the subs bench and not get a game. Apart from that, I''m all for him going to play for Jamaica, I think Francis definately deserves his chance to represent his country. Good luck to him.

[DumbleDelia is Magic 0]

I know this thread was started a while ago but I thought I''d resurrect it in the light of Francis not going to Jamaica. From the article in the EDP I can''t quite work out if Francis didn''t want to flog all the way to Jamaica to get half a game, or if Worthy twisted his arm in the light of the importance of the Hammers game. Nige may have had a quiet word with Francis stressing the importance of the game and how he will be missed if he goes to Jamaica? Either way it looks like we''ve got a full squad next week with Mullers and McVeigh back on Thursday after going to N Ireland

[First Wizard 0]

If this is true DD, I can''t seem to find it, its b***dy great news. I''m sure his time will come again, no doubt of it. I trust you don''t object to me calling you DD, if you like just call me W, I don''t really care about such matters.

[DumbleDelia is Magic 0]

I don''t mind at all being called DD Wiz. I know DumbleDelia is a bit of a chore to write! I only came by the story by fluke. It''s on www.edp24.co.uk in the sport section but doesn''t appear to be anywhere else. Although i had no objection to Francis getting his chance, I agree that it will be nice to have a full squad to choose from for West Ham.