6 former Irish eligible players never to win an international cap
The Granny Rule has turned sour for Ireland in recent years after years of success stories.
After becoming something of an identity of the Irish team, players such as Ray Haughton, John Aldridge and Andy Townsend to name a few captured the hearts of Irish fans despite being good enough to play for the countries of their birth. Jack Grealish and Declan Rice have shifted the narrative recently with other players such as Patrick Bamford and James Maddison also rejecting Irish involvement making the Granny Rule far less fruitful for Ireland compiled with the English FA’s robust securing of players eligible for other countries.
In the past, a number of excellent players have declared for Ireland only for regulations preventing them from doing so, Frank Queuedrue and Tim Cahill being prime examples. Some have declared but were never given a chance to represent the Boys in Green while some just simply chanced their arms when England constantly overlooked them. We look at 6 talented players who could have played for Ireland but never ended up getting a cap for any country.
Steve Bruce
Manchester United legend Steve Bruce never earned an England cap despite his success at Old Trafford winning 3 Premier League titles and captaining the club. He did win one solitary B cap in 1987 and was lined up by Jack Charlton to play for Ireland in World Cup 94’, only for Sir Alex Ferguson to apparently block the nation. Bruce would have brought United over a quota that was in place at the time restricting the amount of foreign players at English clubs as Bruce explained on Sky Sports in 2016
I had the chance to go to Ireland. Big Jack Charlton rang me before USA ’94 and typical Jack said ‘I’ve just been on a train and the driver tells me your mother is from Ireland.’
“I said ‘Yes Jack.’ And he said ‘Why didn’t you tell me before? I’d love to work with you. We’ve got the World Cup coming up in the USA.’
“But at the time, if you were Irish then you were foreign and by that assimilated rule, I would have been a foreign player playing for Man United.
“So Sir Alex put the boot into that one and said ‘you’re not going to be foreign.’ That was the end of it and I had a few opportunities but it didn’t quite happen.”
Chris Armstrong
Many fans familiar with 90’s Premier League football will remember former Crystal Palace and Spurs striker Chris Armstrong who in some ways was one of Ireland’s first Granny Rule stories not to have a happy ending. Armstrong was eligible for England(Winning 1 B cap), Wales, Nigeria and of course Ireland when Jack Charlton and then his former Millwall boss Mick McCarthy tried to tie him down during their tenures. Similarly to Bruce, a major stumbling block for McCarthy in particular was that Armstrong would have been considered a ‘foreign’ player at Spurs’ thus exceeding their quota. McCarthy tried to entice Armstrong soon after hi appointment in 1996 by claiming he would find it easier to get into the Irish squad.
“There are so many good players available to Terry Venables that it’s never going to be easy to get into the team. That makes Ireland an attractive option’’
“Fortunately or otherwise, he’s having a big season at Tottenham and that, inevitably, will have pushed him into the thoughts of Terry Venables. It’s hard to compete with that, but one thing’s for sure I’ll give it a go’’
-Mick McCarthy interview with the Irish Times
Mark Noble
Well over 500 appearances for West Ham but not one international cap, Mark Noble spent the guts of a decade being linked with a switch to Ireland. The 34 year-old remains eligible for Ireland through his Cork-born grandparents and in mid-2014 was reported to to be ready to declare for manager at the time Martin O’Neill. However, this claim was rejected by Noble who offered a very respectful explanation to The Big Interview Podcast.
“There are young Irish kids playing well that deserve and would appreciate an Irish cap more than I would,”
“For me personally, I always dreamed of playing for England since I was a kid.
Lee Trundle
A cult hero, Lee Trundle made his name with Swansea City in the noughties where he became known for his goal scoring exploits and his unbelievable quick feet and array of skills. The Liverpool native came onto the radar for Ireland under Brian Kerr but like a lot of ‘granny rule’ players during the former Irish managers tenure, was ignored. Trundle was name checked by Steve Staunton upon his appointment in 2007, comparing him to John Aldridge but unfortunately never earned a cap. In an interview with the Irish Times Trundle expressed his desire to represent The Boys in Green.
“I’ve always said that I’ve got the ability to play at the highest level and playing for Ireland would be the next step up.
“I’ve scored goals at every level I’ve played and feel the international stage would perhaps suit me better because the better players have more time on the ball.
Jermaine Pennant
Jermaine Pennant made headlines in 1999 after he became the most expensive trainee ever when Arsenal signed him from Notts County for £2 million. A controversial figure, he enjoyed a decent Premier League career playing for the Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds and Stoke amongst others. In 2011 having just joined the latter, Pennant dropped a bombshell on Irish football by indicating that he was eligible for Giovanni Trapattoni’s side. He was 28 at this stage and many will feel that if he made his intentions known earlier that he may have forged out a decent Ireland career. Pennant made the following comments on BBC following his shock declaration which did not go down well with many Irish fans.
‘I’m 28, I’m not getting any younger and I’d like to play international football, whether it’s with England or Ireland,” he told BBC Radio Stoke.
“I’d love to play for England but it’s just never happened.”
Dave Kitson
Most notable of Reading and Stoke who in more recent times is more known for being the rumoured ‘secret footballer’, Dave Kitson was another striker to be tipped for an Irish call up under Steve Staunton. Kitson was banging in the goals alongside Kevin Doyle as well as being a teammate of Shane Long and Stephen Hunt. He became something of a legend at the Royals but in a similar way to Pennant, didn’t exactly do his popularity with Irish fans any favours when he spoke to the media about the possibility of playing for Ireland.
“If they (Ireland) decide to make a move, I would have to think about it.
“I don’t want to be presumptuous so we will have to see. Until that happens I can’t say one way or the other.
“But if you want to play international football and you’re eligible for two countries you have to have a serious think.
“You have to be pretty outstanding to play for England these days and Ireland to a lesser extent.
“They’ve worked the ‘grandparent rule’ well in the past and it’s certainly helped them. Smaller countries have to explore every avenue but nobody has telephoned me yet and, until that happens, I won’t be thinking about
-Dave Kitson interview with The Irish Examiner
Nick, The Green Machíne Podcast
