TWEETS: Reaction to Jack Grealish decision to play for England

So Jack Grealish has made his mind up and is going to declare for England at senior international level.

Mon, 28 Sep, 2015 - 16:14

Grainne McGuinness

So Jack Grealish has made his mind up and is going to declare for England at senior international level.

Finally - one way or the other - a decision.

The news was first by his club Aston Villa and followed up by a statement from Grealish himself.

pic.twitter.com/j601R8kjmU
— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish) September 28, 2015

Grealish’s decision can’t have come as a huge shock to anyone - after months of dithering it was increasingly obvious he was going to choose England.

That didn’t stop people keen to remind him of previous expressions of loyalty to the Republic of Ireland………

@JackGrealish1 nice one pic.twitter.com/AbbgshaQMZ
— Eoin (@whatsuppal) September 28, 2015

@JackGrealish1 not "give" the word is "change",best of luck
— Gl3nN (@Gl3nnC77) September 28, 2015

while others had fun guessing/estimating the number of English caps he was likely to get.

Can't wait for Jack Grealish's 4 caps for England, in qualifiers against San Marino, Macedonia, Lithuania and Cyprus
— David. (@DavidD_73) September 28, 2015

@JackGrealish1 enjoy pic.twitter.com/3MXb2CgJ8S
— Rob Creevey (@Robc789) September 28, 2015

I see Jack Grealish has retired from international football.
— Aidan Clifford (@AidanCliff1989) September 28, 2015

Of course, there is no reason why Grealish shouldn’t play for England, he was born there after all. Wasn’t he?

@JackGrealish1 god dam twitter lol #jackgrealish. . pic.twitter.com/nanWrJDfoi
— silverter (@silverter40) September 28, 2015

Some people seemed to be taking the whole thing waaaayyy too seriously.

The Great Football Talent Famine of 2015 made worse by England raiding our land for underage star Jack Grealish. #1845alloveragain
— Kieran Dineen (@KieranDineen) September 28, 2015

A significant minority were, of course, unprintable - prompting Ken Early to make a decidedly sarcastic observation and the increased warmth on English-Irish relations.

jack grealish choosing england touchingly illustrates how the love between our two great nations has grown #integration #friendship 🍀💗🌹
— Ken Early (@kenearlys) September 28, 2015

Shay Given and some Ireland fans took the high moral ground and wished him well….

Sad to see @JackGrealish1 has chosen to play for England and not us @FAIreland Wish him well for the future #BigTalent
— Shay Given (@No1shaygiven) September 28, 2015

Best of luck to young @JackGrealish1 not an easy decision I'm sure. Good kid & the potential to be a class player.
— Pilib De Brún (Phil Brown) (@Malachians) September 28, 2015

….while others came up with tongue-in-cheek reasons why it wouldn’t have worked out anyway.

And quite a number of people thought long and hard about the issue and decided that, on balance, they really weren’t that bothered either way.