Liverpool FC Forum

by **tubby** » Fri May 01, 2009 4:02 pm

Wenger says he should.

Discuss.......

by **Madmax** » Fri May 01, 2009 4:49 pm

I think to consider a player to play for england he has to be english! His parents born here or the individual. In almunias situation his only been here not for long so should'nt be considered even though he may have a british passport.

If ones parents are born here or the individual be him jamaican, asian, french etc than one should be considered because that individual has a british status speaks the language fluently and is english is some sense.

by **JC_81** » Fri May 01, 2009 5:38 pm

Not that different from John Barnes playing for England when he is Jamaican is it? Apart from the fact Almunia has left it until he's 31 to decide he's English :laugh:

I don't think it will happen. Di Canio and Cudicini have been in similar situations in the past but England never approached them, so I can't see it happening now. On top of that, is Almunia really a better keeper than what they have? I don't think so. If Almunia was a top rate keeper then England might do well to consider it, because their keepers are average at best, but imo so is Almunia.

by **Fowler_E7** » Fri May 01, 2009 10:40 pm

john craig wrote:Not that different from John Barnes playing for England when he is Jamaican is it? Apart from the fact Almunia has left it until he's 31 to decide he's English

I don't think it will happen. Di Canio and Cudicini have been in similar situations in the past but England never approached them, so I can't see it happening now. On top of that, is Almunia really a better keeper than what they have? I don't think so. If Almunia was a top rate keeper then England might do well to consider it, because their keepers are average at best, but imo so is Almunia.

A bit diffrent than Barnes situation, i would say. Jamaica is a comenwealth nation for a start, and John Barnes moved to England as a teenager so has a bit more conection to being English. Almunia on the other hand is only in England because of football, and wants to play for them for proffesional glory, he has no connection to the nation what so ever. If his kids are born here and want to play for the national team fair enough but Almunia is about as English as Fabregas or Hyypia!

by **JC_81** » Fri May 01, 2009 10:50 pm

Fowler_E7 wrote:
john craig wrote:Not that different from John Barnes playing for England when he is Jamaican is it? Apart from the fact Almunia has left it until he's 31 to decide he's English

I don't think it will happen. Di Canio and Cudicini have been in similar situations in the past but England never approached them, so I can't see it happening now. On top of that, is Almunia really a better keeper than what they have? I don't think so. If Almunia was a top rate keeper then England might do well to consider it, because their keepers are average at best, but imo so is Almunia.

A bit diffrent than Barnes situation, i would say. Jamaica is a comenwealth nation for a start, and John Barnes moved to England as a teenager so has a bit more conection to being English. Almunia on the other hand is only in England because of football, and wants to play for them for proffesional glory, he has no connection to the nation what so ever. If his kids are born here and want to play for the national team fair enough but Almunia is about as English as Fabregas or Hyypia!

Of course it's not the same situation, hence the use of :laugh:

in my previous post.

It's a bit of a joke if Almunia plays for England imo.

by **dawson99** » Fri May 01, 2009 11:03 pm

Zidanes Algerian...

Who cares, it's only England

by **JoeTerp** » Sat May 02, 2009 7:18 am

I would say Almunia is more English that most of the people that play for England. He chooses to live in England. Most people are only English because their parents are English or they were born in England, neither of which do you have a choice over. Almunia didn't have to come to Arsenal, he doesn't have to become a naturalized citizen, and he doesn't have to choose to represent England. But if he does make all of those choices, they will all be conscious, adult decisions.

by **Sabre** » Sat May 02, 2009 8:32 am

But English is a proud football nation and they wouldn't include a keeper that wouldn't be one of the Spanish top 6.

If it had been Torres though, they would have changed the surname to Towers and give him the shirt right away!

by **JC_81** » Sat May 02, 2009 8:37 am

JoeTerp wrote:I would say Almunia is more English that most of the people that play for England. He chooses to live in England. Most people are only English because their parents are English or they were born in England, neither of which do you have a choice over. Almunia didn't have to come to Arsenal, he doesn't have to become a naturalized citizen, and he doesn't have to choose to represent England. But if he does make all of those choices, they will all be conscious, adult decisions.

... but he would rather play for Spain if he was good enough to be picked. Hardly 'choosing' to be English is it?

by **JoeTerp** » Sat May 02, 2009 10:09 am

Sabre wrote:But English is a proud football nation and they wouldn't include a keeper that wouldn't be one of the Spanish top 6.

If it had been Torres though, they would have changed the surname to Towers and give him the shirt right away!

that isn't logical. Capello should simply look at the list of available players and choose the best players. Should he not play Owen Hargreaves as much because he was born in Canada and grew up in Canada and Germany? And still is choosing because he could have decided to go and play in France or Italy or Germany or any number of countries. He also could have chosen to leave or not to become a citizen or to simply not play international football. If Almunia wanted to serve his new country in another capacity like the military, I am sure that nobody would be complaining.

by **SouthCoastShankly** » Sat May 02, 2009 11:08 am

JoeTerp wrote:
Sabre wrote:But English is a proud football nation and they wouldn't include a keeper that wouldn't be one of the Spanish top 6.

If it had been Torres though, they would have changed the surname to Towers and give him the shirt right away!

that isn't logical. Capello should simply look at the list of available players and choose the best players. Should he not play Owen Hargreaves as much because he was born in Canada and grew up in Canada and Germany? And still is choosing because he could have decided to go and play in France or Italy or Germany or any number of countries. He also could have chosen to leave or not to become a citizen or to simply not play international football. If Almunia wanted to serve his new country in another capacity like the military, I am sure that nobody would be complaining.

The difference is one of Owen Hargreaves parents is English.

My rule is simple. Would they choose to play for England, if their home nation called them up to the squad?

by **JoeTerp** » Sat May 02, 2009 12:12 pm

I think one possible unintended side affect of the 6+5 (which doesn't look like it is going to be legal anyway) would be lots of players (especially ones from poor countries) trying to come over to the rich football nations and naturalizing themselves so that they would become more valuable domestic players in leagues that pay more money.

by **Fowler_E7** » Sat May 02, 2009 4:05 pm

Sabre wrote:But English is a proud football nation and they wouldn't include a keeper that wouldn't be one of the Spanish top 6.

If it had been Torres though, they would have changed the surname to Towers and give him the shirt right away!

So true!

by **dawson99** » Mon May 04, 2009 12:57 am

Ask him this question:

If England and Spain both came for you at the same time, which would you rather play for?

by **tubby** » Mon May 04, 2009 8:37 pm

The only time he will ever get a game for Spain is if Cassilas and Reina are both injured. He may as well play for England. It's not like something like this never happened before. Senna for Spain. And Rooney should have been really playing for Ireland too.

At the end of the day if he was good enough he would be 1st choice for Spain.

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