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good luck lad.
and get yersel' kitted up for the obligatory pic in a kilt...
Ah dinnae care how guid you are Morrison. Yer a Sassenach by all accounts wi' nae interest in Scotland other than tae further yer club career. On yer bike, we dinnae need ye. Ah'd rather get beat by the Faroe Islands than field a team with a non-Scot in it even if his name wiz Diego Macadona or Edson Arantes Do Nascimento McPele. Does naebody hae ony pride on either side o' the issue heer? Ah'm gobsmacked. Change the rules or apply some common sense.
What a drab article, talk about pointing out the obvious.
You'll soon be able to play for Scotland if your great great granny read "Greyfriars Bobby" or was partial to shortbread.
I assume the player will be booed and jeered by the Scotland fans at Pittodrie on Wednesday in the same way Aiden McGeady is booed at every other Scottish ground for "turning his back on his country".
Oh wait. McGeady chose to play for Ireland, so he is booed for sectarian reasons, so Morrison doesn't come into that category.
#5 dinnae be silly.
# 5 get a grip.
#2 You need to get a grip too mate
Long gone are the days you dream of, this is the modern world where people have all kinds of mixed up ancestry.
We all know that foreigners play for the Scottish and Welsh rugby teams, the English football team etc. It's no big deal and I don't blame players for pursuing their goals to play for any national team.
Of course we want Scotland to win but the idea that the players somehow represent us is ridiculous
# 8 I think the grandparent rule should be scrapped - parents are as far back as you should be allowed to go. If you don't have Scots playing for Scotland then it no longer becomes our Scottish national side? It's not xenophobic to want a National team to represent people from that nation.
Re. number 5. I don't think that your comment is particularly fair or constructive. It isn't clever that McGeady gets booed, however, I think that if he's as good as Celtic fans think he is, he could probably be playing for Scotland. He has elected to play for Ireland instead. Morrison has elected to play for Scotland, so that he can play at full international level. It seems that this is something that probably wouldn't happen, were he to stick with England. The difference between McGeady and Morrison is therefore that the former has chosen not to play at full international level with Scotland, whereas the latter has simply opted to play at full international level for a team he is eligible to play for. Whether it is fair or not, McGeady is regarded as having rejected Scotland to play for Ireland and because of that he get's stick from opposing fans. Joe Harper got stick for being a little overweight and Davie Dodds got stick for not being particularly handsome. I don't think your suggestion that McGeady is booed for sectarian reasons is really justified.
Which is why he's to get a grip.
An englishman playing for Scotland - wot the feck's going on?!!
Stuart McCall, Andy Goram, Richard Gough, Graham Alexander, Nigel Quashie - I'm not sure how many of them considered themselves "scottish" when they were growing up (some may say that Goram never grew up!).
Dont forget don hutchison, last time i checked gates head was south of the boarder.
Very inadvisable quote from the lad. Describing playing for your country as a career-step is terrible. I hope, like Quashie and Alexander, he feels it a lot more than he's admitted in the interview.
Not a very clever thing to say. Does anyone know if he's any good or not? Graham Alexander is Scottish by the way.
He may consider himself English at the moment(poor sod!) but i'm sure after a couple of big games at Hampden he'll get a feel for being Scottish.
i fully intend to boo him because he shouldn't be playing. exactly the same as i have booed jay mcevely in the past as he only wants to be part of the scotland setup because he can't get in the england team.
as for aiden mcgeady, i don't attend club games but i'd boo him if i saw him. i still don't like davie weir for the fact that he temporarily turned his back on his country too.
boo - hoo!
We'd need a baw counting machine to add up how many englishmen have pulled on the famous dark blue jersey....
IMHO this player should not be selected for Scotland. He has said himself that he isn't Scottish but sees it as a career move. I think for that reason he should not be selected as a major ingredient of a good Scottish international is the passion to perform well for your country. He may qualify technically, maybe even on ability, but he should no more be selected for Scotland than David Beckham.
MacMorrison????
well i guess your average English football player is not going to be to up on Scottish names!!!
If he qualifies through grandparents he is Scottish, end of story.
martin view said"I fully intend to boo him as he shouldn't be playing"
sorry don't want to politicise this but... you sound like a complete unionist bawbag
Come on Aitchie!! A SLIDIN' Baw machine!! Be faithful to the, now legendary, Falkirk fulmination!
Would you chaps have preferred it if Morrison had come out with the usual "badge kissing" BS about "always wanting to play for Scotland". The guy's only being honest. He was ASKED to play for Scotland remember. I'm sure after exposure to the Tartan Army he will get an idea of what an honour (Bertie Vogts era notwithstanding) it is to play for Scotland......I'm in favour of scrapping the Grandparents rule. But you have to work with what you are given.
a good player, the more good players we have in the squad then its all good.
the obligatory moaners are top be expected this is Scotland.
ps, not to fussed about mcgeady any more, look at the state and standard of the Rep of Ireland team now, I don't think he would get a game for Scotland so maybe it was the best thing for him to have done.
This guys hinesty is actually quite refreshing albeit perhaps a little silly as it's bound to get up some of our noses as he's basically admitted that Scotland is a second choice as he cant get a game for England.
Nevertheless if hes good enough and adds some depth to our squad then what's the problem? So long as he gives 100% for us and plays with the passion required to be a Scotland player then I'm quite happy to give him a chance.
I'll also lay money that if he helped us qualify for Euro 2008 or the next world cup then his "Englishness" will be swiftly forgotten.
Good luck to him.
P.S. Will be intersting to see how many line of Flower of Scotland he knows!!!!
I agree with poster #5 - we are often told that Aiden McGeady is boo'd only for the lack of patriotism. Surely this guy will recieve the same treatment here and in Ebgland?
26 , has hit the mail on the head. It makes a mockery of the selection process but its not going to change so we should take advantage of it.
Irish national team has been successful in the past by taking this approach and probably a 3rd of scottish people could trace themselves back to Ireland in the last 150 years.
It's a modern world , most of us are mongrels , get over it.
Dont forget that many of our "bigger" scottish players in recent years chose to concentrate on club football and retired from the national team . Its fine to think with your head rather than your heart.
It is just a game by the way...
#27
ZZZZ
change the record.
McGeady gets booed for his lack of patriotism to Scotland.
No sane Scottish person will boo anyone for showing a lack of patriotism to England!!!
Celtic fans really should get over this, it is most boring and tiresome.
I think the main outcry at the time was that the Scottish team was, well pants. McGeady would have brought optimism.
The way things are just now McGeady wouldn't get his game for scotland as Scotland have better players. Ireland are struggling.
Picking Morrison just show's how poor our domestic game is.
Scotland have always had good youth sides but they have never progressed into a good senior National side. Is that because any decent young player is bought by the Old Firm to warm the bench?
Does anyone agree that it might be time to put a stop to bringing in foreign players to help the Scottish game? It can't get worse if we are picking players that are openly not Scottish.
Re #24 There is a good point in there. If he can't prove his worth and commitment to the cause he WILL be out the door and in the international wilderness for good, so it will pay for him to give his all for Scotland. Having said that it didn't seem to make a difference as far as Garry O'Connor was concerned...
slidin baw machine - I apologise.
Give the wee man a chance.....and I don't think it reflects badly on the domestic scene - I think we've got the best national squad for about 15 years.
Its a joke, the lad is English! Football is becomming farcical.....Good luck to the lad, its not his fault that FIFA are so utterly out of their depth in governing the game.
#2Most of the people in and from Scotland are Sassanachs (including me).
Are you bigotted towards all non-highlanders or an ignorant bigot against non-Scots. Or are you one of those really ignorant bigots who is against the english?
Typical over reaction. Anyone considered that Morrison isn't actually good enough to play for Scotland?
There are loads of better players ahead of him - consider that Burke (injuries notwithstanding) hasn't started in a qualifier yet. Add the options Maloney, Naismith etc give and even someone like Barry Robson offer and Morrison shouldn't be figuring in our main squads.
ray houghton anyone?
scotland lost players because of this rule so we might as well take advantage of it.
france won the world cup and the european cup but i would ask how many of their players at that time came from the colonies? plenty of them.
if he wants to play for scotland then let him, get behind him and free yourselves of this idea that just because he is english he won't do a job. if he wants to progress his career it means he will be trying his bits off and thats more that can be said for some who have pulled on the dark blue in recent times.
we are getting to a stage where we have a settled team, if this can enhance that team then good for us.
a national manager only ever has his countrymen to work with, this is like a new signing for mcliesh and i am sure if he was not good enough then he wouldn't be there.
I tell you, he'd better be damn good after that quote. And from what I've seen of him, he ain't all that...
#42, exactly.
How many of us where moaning about Don Hutchison when he fired the winning goal at Wembley, as I recall he didn't hold back celebrating wildly!!
Of course he should never play for Scotland.
The whole point of international football is that it's all about the country that you're from, a sense of belonging, a bit of patriotism and passion.
If it starts becoming a free-for-all, with 'transfers' (which this essentially is - he can't get a game for one team so he's moving to a slightly less good team), international football just becomes a more restricted and second-rate version of the club variety.
And while I'm on... there is a big difference between this and McGeady. This guy is quite prepared to admit that he's English and would prefer to play for them, but he's turning out for Scotland as he won't get a game for his home country. In other words, he's being pragmatic about it.
McGeady on the other hand would always have been considered for the Scotland team. He is essentially Scottish, but has chosen (for reasons known only to him) to play for a different country. So it's perfectly legitimate to consider him unpatriotic towards Scotland, in my book. He certainly doesn't get booed for sectarian reasons. Whoever suggested that is just being stupid.
#9 I completely disagree, Pig. My mother was English, so I'm technically half-English, but I don't consider myself like that. As far as I'm concerned, I'm Scottish.
My wife is English, meaning that my children are technically only a quarter Scottish, and would have to qualify to play for Scotland through the grandparents rules. However, they never refer to themselves as English - they claim to be British and, if pushed for further details, will say that they're 3Qs English and 1Q Scottish. The Scottish part is very important to them.
My daughter has no interest in sports unless they involve ponies, but my son is a keen footballer and he supports Scotland with gusto (unlike me, he also usually cheers England on, though). He tells me that given the choice, he'd like to play for Scotland. Are you telling me he shouldn't be allowed?
McGeady gets booed because he didn't not switch his allegiance after trying and failing to get into the Scotland side.
What happened is that Scotland were mince at the time and Ireland were doing well. That coupled with the Old scum allegiance of Ireland or England (depending what side of Glasgow your grandfather is apparently from) - thats for Boaby in Aberdeen whos a Rangers fan and Archie from Inverness whos a Celtic fan.
By the way Alexander is Scottish #14 and #16.
45. Okay lets go with your idea , and only field Ginger Haired Greggs Munchers.
According to some of youse numpties.
You can only play for scotland if you have red hair, waer a kilt, have watched braveheart and feast on cullen skink
Gie yersels a shake min
If you are foreign enought yer guid enough!
#MGeady Sympathisers
What the heck has it got to do with that wee tattie muncher, hes irrelevant to the argument
No offense to my irish breveen by the way
#5, Prince Myshkin, Aiden McGeady does not get booed for sectarian reasons, he gets booed because his decision to represent another country over the one that reared him is contemptable and Morrison is no better. I agree with #9, the gradnfather rule should be scrapped. International football should be about playing with pride for your country, and the people that play in the team should ideally be born in that country. There are always going to be cases where for example the player was born while his parents were working abroad or grew up in that country from an early age. The rules were originally intended to allow for these situations not to allow merceneries to further their careers. The SFA should set an example and only field Scottish players, it doesnt have to always be about winning at any cost.
Scottish sports teams should be made up of 1st generation Scottish born people whose parents were also born in Scotland.
Of course Aiden McGeady gets booed for sectarian reasons - the more clumsy attempts at sophistry presented only go to prove the point.
This is a sad, sad, smallminded country.
its a farce
meant to add:
...that has not even the courage to admit its hatreds.
#53 Ricco: McGeady gets booed because the Scottish Football system made him the player he is.
He gets booed for the same reason any turncoat gets booed. Religion has nothing to do with it, and any Celtic fan who is NOT upset with McGeady needs their head read.
The sad thing is that nowadays we have such a dearth of quality Scottish players that we're desperate. Not for the highest quality English Premiership players, but for anyone with a reasonable potential. Good luck to the lad. When he slots the winner in the World Cup Final between the legs of the next Ray Clemence, then I'll be happy!
McGeady is 100% Scots. His father and mother are Scots, he was born in Scotland, educated in Scotland raised in Scotland and plays for a Scottish club....how can anyone justify his decision to play for ROI. Morrison should be booed....but by the English not us.
We should have an honourary enlishman given full scottish status by all the tartan army to show that we have grown up and no longer care if folk are english. Yes we love to beat them cause theyre scummy southerners who in general get better wether and number 10 times us. But we no longer hate them there are too many of them that we love Terry Butcher, Andy Goram, Gazza etc etc on the rangers side and the Thick have erm and ehh. But the guy Id like to be given honourary scotsmanship is Kevin Keegan the guy who as england manager admitted he knew all the words of all the verses of flower of scotland cause he liked it.
I've been away for a couple of weeks and of course nothing changes!
I don't Morrison should be playing for Scotland for the reasons he cites unlike other 'English' Scots who felt they had family reasons - and therefore the passion - to play for us.
More interesting/boring is the ongoing McGeady issue. I'm sure he has his reasons too but I do believe he is booed by non-Rangers fans for being a turncoat and a glory hunter! (Well, at the time anyway)
I'm half Irish but I grew up in Scotland and consider myself Scottish - because I am in every other way!
Do you want to boo me Ricco and Myshkin for turning my back on a country I never grew up in?
How's that for a clumsy attempt at sophistry?
#59, its not about him being English, more the fact that he is not Scottish. Where does this end, when we field 11 foreign players? Whats the point in having a National team if its not?
Its an interesting argument...
Morrison is doing what many a player has done..ie not good enough for the country of his birth, so chooses a country he will get a game for. Some people will boo him..just as some portugese (including figo) are not keen on deco, who took up nationality after realising he was not likely to get in the brazil team...
McGeady is unusual in that he chose another country, when it was pretty obvious he would be good enough to be regular for the country of his birth. I honestly can't think of another player who has ever done that (apart from the young lad James McCarthy at Hamilton who has said he will do the same).
That is why IMO McGeady gets booed at all away grounds.
#57
this is utter tosh.
There are more and more and more Scottish players coming through. The Scottish National team has not had such a strength in depth in a generation.
It serves to show that we still have some real quality despite resting players like Ferguson, Hartley, Weir etc etc.
Take a look down the South Africa team and then compare it to the now Scotland squad, we are far better off than they are and hence I expect a Scots win.
If Morrison scores a hattrick tomorrow then there will be some humble pie to be eaten!
Who gives a monkey's? Don't get yer tartan knicks in a twist! It's not important.
Stating he is english and choosing Scotland to further his career, is a rather stupid way to introduce himself to Scotland fans many of whom will never heard of him before. Not the best way to create a good first impression.
I hope his football ability is a lot greater than his intelligence....
His statements have already formed a negative view with me, as they probably have with many other Scots.
I'll give him a chance, but because of his comments all things being equal I'd rather see someone else pulling on the Scotland jersey than him.
Which is unfortunate, but its all of his own making.
He shouldnt be in the team with that attitude. Give real Scots a chance I say.
I can remember the days when Anglo-Scots were not welcome in the Scotland team because they plied there trade south of the border. This situation deprived the likes of Alan Gilzean, Alan Hansen, Andy Gray from winning as many international honours as they deserved. These days we dish out caps to anyone whose granny once owned an Andy Stewart record!
It works both ways but not that often. I once met Trevor Stevens' mum and wife on holiday in Portugal. Trevor was playing for Everton at the time and was on tour with the England squad. His mum told me that she was horrified when he was chosen to play for England because she considered him to be Scottish. They were from Berwick and his mum spoke with a broad Scottish accent and Trevor's full name is Trevor McGregor Steven. You can't get more Scottish thasn that and yet he played for England! Scandalous!
Could have been worse, we could have got James Blunt instead. Morrison's stuff is much better. Anyway, doesn't his dad sponsor the team?
#62, Now if Deco wanted to become Scottish, I think I might be willing to contradict my earlier protestations about patriotism, passion and so on...
#62 Good Point re. Deco. If it had been someone as good as him saluting the saltire. I think opinion on these posting would be 95% in favour of Granny status counting.
Deco qualifies through playing and living in Portugal for the required time...anyway situation resolved the Englishman has withdrawn...good riddance!
The more English players the better.
In case it's escaped anyones attention, the Scotland team is garbage.
"In case it's escaped anyones attention, the Scotland team is garbage."
Played Points1 France 7 18 2 Italy 7 16 3 Scotland 7 15
Italy, are world champions and France were runners up in the world cup.
Wow, you must have really high standards if you think we are garbage....
In case it escaped your attention here is how England are doing....
Played Points1 Croatia 7 17 2 Israel 8 17 3 Russia 7 15 4 England 7 14
Err...you are playing weaker teams and are doing not better than us (worse many would say)....
Did you check your facts before you opened your mouth?
Or are you just in the habit of making a fool of yourself by opening your mouth when you dont know what you are talking about.....lol
I'm missing something here.
If Morrison's grandparents on his father's side were both Scottish as stated, and spent their lives in Scotland (it appears they were still living in Largs at the time of their deaths), then surely their son, Morrison's dad, was Scottish too?
That would make the player more Scottish than English in my eyes, so what's the issue?
I remember being at Hampden in March 1986, and saw Andy Goram making his Scotland debut against East Germany, and joining in with the Tartan Army singing "You're no(t) English any more".
I also remember the furore with Nigel Spackman in January 1991, when Andy Roxburgh named him in the Scotland squad to play in a friendly against the USSR. I couldn't understand it, as although he was English born, he had a Scottish grandparent. The Irish had revitalised their squad with this rule, why shouldn't we?
It also would have meant Spacks would have then counted as Scottish under the '8 diddies' rule, or '3 foreigners rule' that was in force in UEFA competitions at the time. It also would have meant the estimable Nigel wouldn't have been sold by Walter Smith to Chelsea 18 months later, as Walter needed to up the Scots quotient at the club.
By the way, the Irish are struggling. A 2-5 thumping by these giants of European football, Cyprus, is a good indication of that. The Cypriots have never even beaten Scotland.... That game in Limassol in 1989, when big Goughie headed in a 7th-minute-of-injury-time winner was the closest they ever got to beating us.
well lad thanks for pulling up your lap for your home heritage ,...... declaring morrison declared himself as real bloody fiasco than other debutant him as scottish boy .,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, well the underdog charmy boy realisticaly prove himself as english tide
