Geoff claims to have little interest in football and is a cricket man but he obsesses over football, notably Chelsea.
1 Like
Well it certainly isnât âground football â Eire are playing .
1 Like
they kick for touch more than the rugby team
2 Likes
They hit a couple of garryowens against Denmark that Conor Murray would have been proud of
1 Like
might as well go all in and see if they can get Devin Toner up front to horse a few lads out of it
1 Like
DECLAN RICE INTERVIEW
Declan Rice: It is one of the hardest decisions I will have to make
Declan Rice tells Gary Jacob about being released by Chelsea, getting advice from John Terry and why he is no closer to picking Ireland or England
exclusive
Gary Jacob
November 9 2018, 12:01am, The Times
Rice has won three caps for Ireland but all of them came in friendliesLASZLO GECZO/INPHO
Share
Save
Geography or biology? Nature or nurture? Are you English or Irish? Not a straightforward question for anyone born in England of Irish heritage, but for a 19-year-old to make up his mind while thousands of fans await your answer, it is a tough test. It is not one Declan Rice takes lightly.
âWithout a doubt it is not an easy decision,â Rice says. âIt is one of the hardest decisions I will have to make in my career. Martin [OâNeill] was excellent when he came to my house and Gareth [Southgate] was excellent with me and they both understand the position I am in.
âI said I just need some time as if I am going to be playing for the rest of my career I need to make the right decision, what is best for me and my family. They were both great to be fair. I told both managers that I am just focusing on playing for West Ham at the moment as that was on the back of a good last season. Being 19 and playing as many games as I have, I never thought I would be in a position to make such a hard decision.â
It is easy to see why the countries are fighting for him. Rice was Irelandâs standout player in each of the friendlies from his debut at centre back against Turkey in March to his holding midfield role in the other friendlies with France and the United States. OâNeill has been working on the belief that were Rice to change allegiances, international clearance would still take about six months. While that is true for senior football, Rice could play for the England under-21s immediately should he so choose.
Rice has not been short of advice and opinion. He was told to follow his heart by Manuel Pellegrini, his West Ham manager, and that he could walk in the footsteps of Bobby Moore and become the England captain by David Gold, his club co-chairman. Sean, his father, has his Ireland caps framed and displayed on the walls at home. England took little notice of him when he was young and Ireland invited him at 15 to play in a friendly game against Reading, where he created a goal. He proudly handed his first under-16 cap to Jack and Margaret, his grandparents, who came from Douglas in Cork, and where some family still live. Not long after they died within a fortnight of each other.
Rice sat his maths GCSE on the morning of Jackâs funeral in Kingston-upon-Thames. âI had a car waiting to shoot straight over to Kingston and it was really sad,â he says. âThey were great people. My dadâs side of the family are great and we still have cousins in Ireland that we speak to regularly. One of my aunts got in touch recently through Facebook, sending me pictures of my grandad. It was surreal because she ended up on the phone to my dad for ages.â
Rice earns ÂŁ3,000 a week on his contract which runs until 2021 and West Ham have been keen to reward his rise with a deal with incentives worth a basic ÂŁ21,000 a week plus a similar sum for a league start and an increase of ÂŁ5,000 a week in time. There has been an impasse in the talks but he says he wants to commit. âI want to sign for West Ham and I think it is going to happen,â he says. âIt is like what the manager said that I am still young and playing every week is what is best for me at the moment and hopefully the contract can come soon.â
Rice had an unusual start to his career as he never played for a serious youth side and earned a trial at Chelsea through his cousin, whose son was in the academy. He was a midfielder who idolised Joe Cole and John Terry â wearing shirts with their names â and when he moved into defence, he studied clips of the Chelsea captain and Sergio Ramos. Terry took a close interest in Chelseaâs youngsters and would watch academy games while he walked his dog. Rice got to know Terry as he lived nearby and they would bump into each other in the street in Kingston.
âJohn would speak to the parents and take his time to get to know the young players and families, and for a club captain to do that is quality,â he says âI based my whole game on John when I was younger. When I was released by Chelsea he called for 45 minutes and I remember I was sat in my room next to my dad, âIt was John Terryâ. I could not believe it. He handed over all his experience and advice. He said to never stop, always keep working hard and give everything you have. It stayed in my head and look where I am now. Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy were released. No dream is far away. I last met John for a two-hour breakfast with my cousin around six months ago. Sometimes I text him like when he retired and he said âThanks mate, it is your time nowâ. It is good to have messages like that and it is good to have someone I can speak to.â
Rice, who helped launch West Hamâs âPlayerâs Projectâ scheme, has been a regular in midfield this seasonARFA GRIFFITHS/WEST HAM UNITED VIA GETTY IMAGES
Rice would dovetail his footballing education at Chelsea with being a ball boy and was sat mostly behind the goal at Stamford Bridge. âI have seen myself when they show recaps of games in the 2011 and 2012,â he says. âYou can see me celebrating goals. It is crazy. I remember when Frank Lampard scored against Aston Villa and when Juan Mata scored a free kick against Manchester United. I used to have them recorded and saved.â
Chelsea played him in a variety of positions and he was tried at centre back in the game when West Ham decided whether to hand him a scholarship. Stephanie, his mother, later told him that she used to cry a lot because her youngest son lived away from the family home in club accommodation in east London.
Rice mostly played in defence last season, when he made costly mistakes against Newcastle United and Arsenal but Pellegrini asked him to play as a holding midfielder on the opening day at Anfield. He struggled and was taken off at the break in a 4-0 defeat and dropped for the following game against Bournemouth. He returned a month later and shone in the 3-1 win away to Everton and sees himself as a midfielder. âI really like midfield,â he says. âYou can go forward with the ball a lot more and get more involved. Donât get me wrong, I love centre half, but I think as a youngster there is not as much pressure on your shoulders as when you are the last line of defence when you are at centre half. I made mistakes last season and people on social media hammer you. I have always been mentally strong and I have always taken it and I have known I can recover. It is like after Liverpool I had to come back, do better and get back in the side.â
This week Rice helped West Ham to launch its âPlayersâ Projectâ a scheme to educate and inspire people in the local community. The club have committed up to ÂŁ10million over three years. Rice has a particular interest as he has friends whose family members have disabilities and as a child he would use the facilities at Dickerage Sports and Community Centre, a youth club and adventure playground which runs schemes for disabled children. âI know people who do amazing things for the community,â he says.
He is close to a half-century of appearances for West Ham and is still relatively unidentifiable. Last month his car was in for a repair and he repeated the route he made as a scholar and hopped on the train to Waterloo, underground to Liverpool Street, another train and finally a 103 bus from Romford to the clubâs training ground. âI live too far away to get a cab and it would be aggravation,â he says. âThere were fans waiting outside the training ground and they said, âWhy have you just got off the bus?â I said âMy car is in for repairâ. They started laughing. I donât mind doing that. I had my headphones on. Two people spotted me at the bus stop but I put my hood up after that.â
Who will replace Noel King. Surely some âfriend of the faiâ in for a nice payday
Stephen Reid has thrown his name in the hat for that gig.
1 Like
May the Lord guide his thoughts
JT is salt of the earth.
Mr Chelsea.
1 Like
No surprise to see the omerta on here about a volunteer referee getting seven bells kicked out of himself whilst refereeing a Sunday league game this morning by players and fans.
Ye need to face up to the problems gents or ye will never fix them.
For.
Shame.
Rugby has a lot to admire. Respect for the referees, a general sportsmanlike spirit to how the game is played.
Itâs a pity this respect doesnât extend from its supporters to other sports, youâd expect the general superiority to allow a possible guffaw at the occasional story from other sports.
The rugby fraternity would be outraged at the carry on of @gilgamboa here. Most unbecoming of one of the cork set of the clan
1 Like
Sweep sweep deflection sweep sweep
2 Likes
youâve received one too many kicks to the head mate.
There isnât a person here who isnât disgusted that a referee got hammered.
What do you want us to do. Publicly flog ourselves for your amusement.
You really do let the rugby set down with your carry on. Theyâd be ashamed of you
1 Like
Are you up to speed on how this site works? Itâs like you expect different or that thereâd be no reaction if it happened to a rugby ref
Yes
The one armed waiters are out in force
Not a word said on here, unrale
Iâd expect the rugby set to be too haughty to lower themselves to such behavior. As theyâd say themselves itâs like carry on youâd expect from the âscummy soccerâ crowd.
Theyâd laugh him out of D4 or Cork Con for his carry on.
Who needs to carry the can for this one?
The silence is deafening
1 Like