Jack Wilshere enters the Januzaj debate: 'Keep England for the English'. [Archive] - AWIMB

Mc Gooner

10-09-2013, 07:02 AM

I think going back to grandparents is defendable but residency should not be one of the criteria imo.

My dad (a Scot) was in the RAF in Kent and I could quite easily have been born in England. Had I joined the Forces too my son (if I had one) could just as easily have been born outside of Scotland as well if the parents were in accommodation linked to the base. Neither parent would have had any say in the postings so giving the child (player) the option of choosing Scotland is perfectly reasonable.

I also have a friend in the RAF who's a very proud Englishman. He has lived with his wife in, among others, Germany and Hong Kong but could have easily have been at Kinloss, Lossiemouth or Leuchars.

Anyway, Junuzaj's mixed bag of parent and grandparent nationality just throws up a multitude of possibilities for him. As I said, the fact he has lived IN England shouldn't allow him to play FOR England. Zola Budd, Allan Lamb, Mike Denness etc etc are you listening? :-)

Letting players who have lived and played in a country be discounted for any 'maximum number of foreign players' quota is a different matter and I agree with that.