John Fallon: Jake Clarke-Slater's plea a tired, well-worn path
HEDGING HIS BETS: Jake Clarke-Slater in action for England in the Toulon tournament in 2018. Pic: Paul Devlin/SNS Group via Getty Images.
Familiar names like Jermaine Pennant, Jamie O'Hara or Kevin Nolan have been guilty as charged in the past at veering into Plastic Paddy territory but a hardly recognisable one in Jake Clarke-Slater has reignited the debate by proclaiming his international dilemma.
The phenomenon of English players deciding they're Irish as a flag of convenience stretches back 50 years to the famous case of Terry Mancini. He lamented the protracted song that preceded his debut against Poland, unaware that Amhrán na bhFiann was indeed the national anthem of the team he'd declared for.
Mick McCarthy was well attuned to his Irish roots when becoming the latest second-generation to feature 11 years later in what was considered by then the annual duel with the Poles but grew suspicious of opportunists after leading the country to the promised land in 2002.
"There must be a World Cup finals around the corner," he jested. "Not alone are the injured making speedy recoveries ahead of next month's friendly with Russia but so are Irish grannies making miraculous appearances up and down Britain."
It's the subsequent success of England, not Ireland, that explains the allegiance contortions attached to a select few, most recently Clarke-Salter.
Tipped by John Terry himself as the legend's successor at Chelsea, all milestones for club and country were met and surpassed till his late teens.
The FAI, while aware of his eligibility, didn't even attempt to entice a player from an England set-up he was central to, winning the U20 World Cup in 2017 and graduating to U21 captain.
Five loan spells of mixed outcomes ensued until he was recently released by Chelsea with just his Premier League debut from 2017 to show from all that promise.
Queen's Park Rangers in the Championship is his new permanent destination, a career change deemed timely to revisit his international future.
"My grandma was born in Ireland and all those on my mum's side are pretty much Irish so I qualify for Ireland as well," he revealed to The Athletic last week.
"I haven't told anyone in the game that before. I would be open to it, yes. It is international football so I want to play.
"I just have to keep doing my thing on the pitch and if Ireland come calling, then me and my family will have to have a conversation. They have always supported me when I've played for the younger England age groups but they encourage me to play for Ireland now too.
"When you're a kid, you dream of playing in a European Championships or a World Cup. I've done it at youth level so it is only natural for me to want to do it at senior level as well."
Sounding like a free agent seeking suitors was bound to invite pelters. David Meyler led the outrage, the 26-times capped Corkman ventilating his stance on Twitter. "He is open to playing? This isn't club football. Do me a favour".
Clarke-Salter is only the latest Englander confronted by the Britannia bottleneck. He's aged 24, just a year older than Callum Robinson when he plotted an alternative route. Likewise, Will Keane emerged through the Manchester United and English FA ranks armed with ambitions of full honours.
Whereas his twin brother Michael first represented the birthplace of Dad Aidan at 16, Will was 28 when he appeared in his first Ireland squad.
Keane, in fairness, didn't try deviate from a backstory that could only leave him open to allegations of sloppy seconds.Â
"I was living in England and playing for their underage teams seemed to be the thing to do at the time," he stated at his first Ireland call-up last November.
Negotiating the system isn't confined to the men's game. Lucy Quinn lined out for Great Britain's beach volley team before switching to Ireland last year and the latest English-born recruit, goalkeeper Megan Walsh, never camouflaged her dream of full caps. She reached U23 level with England.
Unless an x-ray machine delving into the soul of a player is invented, assessing dual-eligible talent's commitment to the cause continues to be arbitrary. Flashbacks to a love by Declan Rice for the anthem and badge will only engender wistfulness.
The fact remains that few players with a realistic chance of making the England cut defect.
Ciarán Clark in 2010 was probably the last genuine case – his status as a Premier League regular just turned 21 justifying the quandary he faced.Â
"It never felt right to me when I was playing for England," he said of his first international foray up to U20 captain. "I was raised in an Irish background and spent most of my summer holidays there as a kid. I loved my time in Leitrim and Donegal and it has always felt like home to me in many ways."
Clarke-Salter doesn't inhabit the same category as his near namesake.
His England ship long ago sailed away into the distance, as it had for Robinson and Keane.
They didn't face a backlash from Ireland team-mates or fans so nor will he if he elbows new clubmate Jimmy Dunne off the pedestal as the next centre-back in-waiting.
U21 international Mark McGuinness, a loyal Englishman who opted in from 15, would also feel the squeeze of another acquisition.
How they arrive has never been an issue for the public. Moralising about the flirtations now and forgetting it on the jolly days for the Green Army should be.
Remember Aidan Horan? Well, the author of the FAI's infamous governance review of three years ago is back on the scene tasked with bringing the schoolboys' game into the modern age.
The presence of Horan from the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) amidst the financial malaise at the FAI was the first clue of the Government stepping in to wrest control of an organisation pacing towards the abyss.
Sport Ireland engaged the governance specialist to chair an overhaul of the FAI's antiquated structures, furnishing recommendations underpinned by independent directors and gender balance.
Something similar is expected to emerge from the FAI-funded exercise he's conducting alongside colleague John Moriarty which got underway this week. The Schoolboys' FAI (SFAI) is by far the largest affiliate, expanded further by subsuming the underage girls sector, and has always been the most challenging to keep onside.Â
Draft terms of reference encompass three areas: roles and responsibilities of executive/council, processes relating to meetings/decision-making and stakeholder communications.
Despite the exercise receiving a lukewarm reception at Saturday's SFAI AGM, the hierarchy are playing ball. There's no mention, however, of any findings being binding. At a time when the lack of funding from the mothership is a sore point, a health warning should accompany the FAI's next moves.
As evident by Sunday night's acerbic statement around the U14 national league start date as a "flawed process to give the pre-determined decision legitimacy", the SFAI aren't slow to flex their numerical muscle.
Marc Bircham's short stint in the League of Ireland left an imprint and he's exporting a sprinkling of talent to his latest project in Italy.
The ex-QPR and Canada player renowned for his colourful hair injected his own dose of brightness into his role at Waterford boss, reaching the FAI Cup semi-final and almost completing a relegation rescue act. He bowed out ablaze too, reacting to his sacking on social media by mingling with the Waterford crowd for the relegation play-off five days later.
That defeat to UCD was the second time in two months Bircham saw first-hand the capability of Liam Kerrigan.
The mental note was logged, for the Ireland U21 striker is heading to Serie B outfit Como 1907 where Bircham himself has recently joined the staff for the start of pre-season training at altitude.
His long-standing links to fellow Londoner Dennis Wise opened the door to his latest globe-trotting stopover that has included America and the Bahamas.
Bircham had plenty to say during his south-east sojourn, including an insistence that referee standards were an impediment, yet his admiration for uncut gems was absolute.
That will see him keep the gaze on Ireland, with Adam O'Reilly the latest target. The Cork youngster worked under Bircham at Waterford and his latest loan from Preston North End, to St Patrick's Athletic, is up for renewal in three weeks. Don't rule out an Italian job entering the equation.
