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Post by heworksardtho on May 27, 2018 9:03:33 GMT
You should give your head a wobble , and go visit the war cemetery’s then you might change your opinion Why visit a war cemetery? The reason a war was fought was to prevent a dictator and let freedom of thought prevail. You don’t say
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Post by supersimonstainrod on May 27, 2018 9:03:43 GMT
I hope we don’t sign him because I don’t rate the bloke. One player id bite your hand off for from the baggies is rondon Lessons have been learned this season apparently,then we go in for McClean and not Matt Phillips.....
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Post by samba :) on May 27, 2018 9:03:59 GMT
Oh and we arent actually linked with him, this has only come from hitc
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Post by bayernoatcake on May 27, 2018 9:04:03 GMT
I'm all for youth development. I wonder why they didn't give him any game time? Attitude? Injury? Not as good as we think? I find it difficult to work out why a club that struggles for goals wouldn't pick a young lad with uber talent that can create, when they themselves ripped us a new one with their reserve side in Pre Season? www.bild.de/sport/fussball/st-pauli/pauli-verlinden-geht-als-null-minuten-leihe-55720196.bild.html"Thibaud still has deficits in the physical and tactical field." The physical thing alarms me, what were they expecting! He's a fast winger who is slight of build. That's his game, to beat a man with pace! 😂
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Post by heworksardtho on May 27, 2018 9:06:31 GMT
I don’t want that little cunt anywhere near my football club. Hey a cunts useful 😂
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Post by FullerMagic on May 27, 2018 9:10:57 GMT
Oh and we arent actually linked with him, this has only come from hitc It was in today's People too, written as an 'exclusive' from their 'chief football writer' Neil Moxley www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/transfer-news-live-manchester-liverpool-12593372Gary Rowett's first transfer target at Stoke Gary Rowett wants to make James McClean his first signing at Stoke City. The new Potters chief has tabled a bid for the controversial Ireland international – but it appears that West Brom are playing hardball over the valuation. Rowett, who joined Stoke earlier this week after leaving Derby County, is understood to have offered over £4m for the 29-year-old winger. But the Baggies’ value the industrious former Derry City flyer at nearer £6m – meaning that there is still plenty of work to do.
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Post by GeneralFaye on May 27, 2018 9:12:11 GMT
He's 29?! Jesus, thought he was younger than that.
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Post by neckender78 on May 27, 2018 9:13:00 GMT
NO NO NO He would get no support from me or anyone I know. All the points have already been Made, every person in the world is entitled to their beliefs no question but the issue is he has crossed the line. He hates British forces and the establishment but is happy to cream extortionate wages of the British pound with the queens head on. For such a seemingly moral principle individual surely he should be playing in league of Ireland on a pittance or get his dream move to the anti British vermin at parkhead.
Not welcome at Stoke City, please take note of the supporters feelings Mr Coates.
Plus he is an absolutely shit footballer.
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Post by sheikhmomo on May 27, 2018 9:13:37 GMT
What is the big deal? Wearing a poppy is a choice, not an obligation. He doesn't wear it, and has his reasons for doing so. It doesn't mean he disrespects this country at all. Doesn't forcing it upon people kind of defeat the object of what the poppy represents? Fighting for freedom. On another note, I wouldn't be against signing him, but his arrival wouldn't exactly get me excited. Not good enough if we are pushing for promotion. You should give your head a wobble , and go visit the war cemetery’s then you might change your opinion Would going to an Iraqi cemetery which is home to the half a million innocent civilians killed since 2003 influence me as well?
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2018 9:14:06 GMT
Dear Mr Whelan I wanted to write to you before talking about this face to face and explain my reasons for not wearing a poppy on my shirt for the game at Bolton. I have complete respect for those who fought and died in both World Wars - many I know were Irish-born. I have been told that your own Grandfather Paddy Whelan, from Tipperary, was one of those. I mourn their deaths like every other decent person and if the Poppy was a symbol only for the lost souls of World War I and II I would wear one. I want to make that 100% clear .You must understand this. But the Poppy is used to remember victims of other conflicts since 1945 and this is where the problem starts for me. For people from the North of Ireland such as myself, and specifically those in Derry, scene of the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre, the poppy has come to mean something very different. Please understand, Mr Whelan, that when you come from Creggan like myself or the Bogside, Brandywell or the majority of places in Derry, every person still lives in the shadow of one of the darkest days in Ireland’s history – even if like me you were born nearly 20 years after the event. It is just a part of who we are, ingrained into us from birth. Mr Whelan, for me to wear a poppy would be as much a gesture of disrespect for the innocent people who lost their lives in the Troubles – and Bloody Sunday especially - as I have in the past been accused of disrespecting the victims of WWI and WWII. It would be seen as an act of disrespect to those people; to my people. I am not a war monger, or anti-British, or a terrorist or any of the accusations levelled at me in the past. I am a peaceful guy, I believe everyone should live side by side, whatever their religious or political beliefs which I respect and ask for people to respect mine in return. Since last year, I am a father and I want my daughter to grow up in a peaceful world, like any parent. I am very proud of where I come from and I just cannot do something that I believe is wrong. In life, if you’re a man you should stand up for what you believe in. I know you may not agree with my feelings but I hope very much that you understand my reasons. As the owner of the club I am proud to play for, I believe I owe both you and the club’s supporters this explanation. Yours sincerely, James McClean My interpretation: Dear Mr Whelan I won't wear the poppy due to the poppy representing the violence done to my people by an occupying army. I have no intention of betraying my people due to my loyalty to them I also have family still in the area who are allergic to firebombs and have a healthy attachment to their knee caps, as do I, and wish to preserve, hence my decision 😬 Personally, my grandfather signed up before WwII and was part of the BEF at Dunkirk. He also fought Rommel in North Africa at El Alamein. My uncle was a Chindit Bandit in Malaya and became a Japanese prisoner of war and then again in Korea when he was called up and fought at the battle of Injin River and again subsequently captured As they are now dead I have no idea what they would think but I do know they fought Hitler's fascism, Japanese imperialistic fascism and the fascism of all out communism A free society allows free speech, particularly that which offends us and our beliefs The most shocking aspect of all this is that in this day and age there are actually top flight, highly paid footballers with any sense of morality driven by the needs of the people he comes from I don't hear of Berahino giving money away to fellow refugees and immigrants (unless these call girls for the bill) If he does join us I'll judge him on what he does on field and off field if he breaks the law
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2018 9:15:24 GMT
He's 29?! Jesus, thought he was younger than that. That's my biggest concern!
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Post by RAF on May 27, 2018 9:22:44 GMT
If he signs for us I will boo him for 90 minutes.
H
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Post by nigerianstokie on May 27, 2018 9:23:14 GMT
What is the big deal? Wearing a poppy is a choice, not an obligation. He doesn't wear it, and has his reasons for doing so. It doesn't mean he disrespects this country at all. Doesn't forcing it upon people kind of defeat the object of what the poppy represents? Fighting for freedom. On another note, I wouldn't be against signing him, but his arrival wouldn't exactly get me excited. Not good enough if we are pushing for promotion. You should give your head a wobble , and go visit the war cemetery’s then you might change your opinion I have been to plenty of war cemetery's thank you.
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Post by scfcno1fan on May 27, 2018 9:33:12 GMT
For purely footballing reasons then no.
Not good enough for me.
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Post by johnnysoul60 on May 27, 2018 9:34:07 GMT
Dear Mr Whelan I wanted to write to you before talking about this face to face and explain my reasons for not wearing a poppy on my shirt for the game at Bolton. I have complete respect for those who fought and died in both World Wars - many I know were Irish-born. I have been told that your own Grandfather Paddy Whelan, from Tipperary, was one of those. I mourn their deaths like every other decent person and if the Poppy was a symbol only for the lost souls of World War I and II I would wear one. I want to make that 100% clear .You must understand this. But the Poppy is used to remember victims of other conflicts since 1945 and this is where the problem starts for me. For people from the North of Ireland such as myself, and specifically those in Derry, scene of the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre, the poppy has come to mean something very different. Please understand, Mr Whelan, that when you come from Creggan like myself or the Bogside, Brandywell or the majority of places in Derry, every person still lives in the shadow of one of the darkest days in Ireland’s history – even if like me you were born nearly 20 years after the event. It is just a part of who we are, ingrained into us from birth. Mr Whelan, for me to wear a poppy would be as much a gesture of disrespect for the innocent people who lost their lives in the Troubles – and Bloody Sunday especially - as I have in the past been accused of disrespecting the victims of WWI and WWII. It would be seen as an act of disrespect to those people; to my people. I am not a war monger, or anti-British, or a terrorist or any of the accusations levelled at me in the past. I am a peaceful guy, I believe everyone should live side by side, whatever their religious or political beliefs which I respect and ask for people to respect mine in return. Since last year, I am a father and I want my daughter to grow up in a peaceful world, like any parent. I am very proud of where I come from and I just cannot do something that I believe is wrong. In life, if you’re a man you should stand up for what you believe in. I know you may not agree with my feelings but I hope very much that you understand my reasons. As the owner of the club I am proud to play for, I believe I owe both you and the club’s supporters this explanation. Yours sincerely, James McClean If any of the Stoke fans who hate him had been born on the Catholic side of Derry they would feel the same . Pathetic .
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Post by samba :) on May 27, 2018 9:39:34 GMT
He should be playing for northern ireland, hes northern irish? having researched this he definitely shouldnt be able to play for the republic
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Post by RAF on May 27, 2018 9:42:04 GMT
Even if you take wearing the poppy out of the equation which is his right, it's the turning his back on the English and Union Flags whilst our National anthem was being played whilst representing and getting handsomely paid by an English Club, well three of them actually which is more of an issue to me. His so called principles don't stop him drawing a wage from these English Clubs in an English League. He's a fucking disrespectful hypocrite.
H
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Post by rorystowel on May 27, 2018 9:42:32 GMT
Over priced, over rated (by SCFC) and old. He’s always struck me as a dirty nasty bastard too. I would hate to see him at our club, regardless of his shady political stance.
I agree with the poster who said Matt Phillips would be a much better option - he has pace, power, passion and skill, and none of the baggage that McLean carries.
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Post by banksisgod on May 27, 2018 9:42:51 GMT
It really is interesting and informative to read this thread from the beginning, and see which side of the debate is making the most reasoned and considered argument.
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Post by stokiebis on May 27, 2018 9:48:21 GMT
Geoff Cameron publicly supported Trump's racist Muslim travel ban. What shall we do with him? Lol it wasn't a Muslim travel ban the 5 countries banned were not releasing information about ppl
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Post by Smudge_SCFC on May 27, 2018 9:49:43 GMT
This is a complex issue, with no easy answers and one which is bound to illicit ill-informed opinions from those both opposed and in favour of signing James McClean.
One thing we really should take on board here, before anybody goes sticking the boot into Stoke fans, is to accept that there has never been any issues with Irish players at our club.
Just off the top of my head I can think of Terry Conroy, Brendan O’Callaghan, Graham Kavanagh, Clive Clarke, James O’Connor, Rory Delap, Marc Wilson, Stephen Ireland, Shay Given, Jon Walters, Liam Lawrence and, of course, Glenn Whelan as being Irish players, or players who chose to represent the Republic of Ireland, and who were judged solely by 99.9% of our supporters on their efforts for Stoke City.
On the issue of wearing the poppy, James McClean is perfectly entitled not to wear one. The freedom our serviceman have fought to preserve down the years includes the freedom not to wear a poppy - something which is soundly endorsed by the Royal British Legion and which somebody else has more thoroughly quoted earlier on in this thread.
As a former serviceman I wear a poppy for several weeks every year but I notice that at about 65%-75% of the people around me, at work and elsewhere, including Stoke games, do not. I do not judge them any more than I would judge James McClean.
As for any support he may have for Irish Republican causes and groups? Well I know other Stoke fans who hold those exact same views. I don’t agree with them but they’re entitled to hold them.
If one thing which did irk me about McClean it would be the thing he did at that West Brom game, where he turned away from the playing of the National Anthem. That suggests deeper rooted issues than just wearing a poppy. I think most people can observe a national anthem without turning it into an overtly political gesture, as he clearly did on that occasion. He vehemently claims not to be “anti-British” but that act is hard to reconcile with such a claim.
All in all I just don’t think McClean is a good enough player to make it worth us signing him and arousing all of the issues he undoubtedly brings with him. And at £6m he’s not worth the trouble.
If we did sign him though I would do my very best to judge him on his efforts for our club and for no other reasons.
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Post by stokiebis on May 27, 2018 9:51:36 GMT
You should give your head a wobble , and go visit the war cemetery’s then you might change your opinion Would going to an Iraqi cemetery which is home to the half a million innocent civilians killed since 2003 influence me as well? Killed mainly by there own kind ieds n suicide bombers n u forgot the 2 million Iraqis killed by Saddam before the war next question
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Post by stokiebis on May 27, 2018 9:55:57 GMT
Dear Mr Whelan I wanted to write to you before talking about this face to face and explain my reasons for not wearing a poppy on my shirt for the game at Bolton. I have complete respect for those who fought and died in both World Wars - many I know were Irish-born. I have been told that your own Grandfather Paddy Whelan, from Tipperary, was one of those. I mourn their deaths like every other decent person and if the Poppy was a symbol only for the lost souls of World War I and II I would wear one. I want to make that 100% clear .You must understand this. But the Poppy is used to remember victims of other conflicts since 1945 and this is where the problem starts for me. For people from the North of Ireland such as myself, and specifically those in Derry, scene of the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre, the poppy has come to mean something very different. Please understand, Mr Whelan, that when you come from Creggan like myself or the Bogside, Brandywell or the majority of places in Derry, every person still lives in the shadow of one of the darkest days in Ireland’s history – even if like me you were born nearly 20 years after the event. It is just a part of who we are, ingrained into us from birth. Mr Whelan, for me to wear a poppy would be as much a gesture of disrespect for the innocent people who lost their lives in the Troubles – and Bloody Sunday especially - as I have in the past been accused of disrespecting the victims of WWI and WWII. It would be seen as an act of disrespect to those people; to my people. I am not a war monger, or anti-British, or a terrorist or any of the accusations levelled at me in the past. I am a peaceful guy, I believe everyone should live side by side, whatever their religious or political beliefs which I respect and ask for people to respect mine in return. Since last year, I am a father and I want my daughter to grow up in a peaceful world, like any parent. I am very proud of where I come from and I just cannot do something that I believe is wrong. In life, if you’re a man you should stand up for what you believe in. I know you may not agree with my feelings but I hope very much that you understand my reasons. As the owner of the club I am proud to play for, I believe I owe both you and the club’s supporters this explanation. Yours sincerely, James McClean If any of the Stoke fans who hate him had been born on the Catholic side of Derry they would feel the same . Pathetic . The Catholics who originally invited us over to protect them from being murdered . McLean has being pictured many times with Adams n mcguinessn turns his back on the national anthem but happy to get his 50000 queens head a week.the ira were not freedom fighters they were hamsters making a fortune out of fun running n drug smuggling
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2018 9:58:25 GMT
Even if you take wearing the poppy out of the equation which is his right, it's the turning his back on the English and Union Flags whilst our National anthem was being played whilst representing and getting handsomely paid by an English Club, well three of them actually which is more of an issue to me. His so called principles don't stop him drawing a wage from these English Clubs in an English League. He's a fucking disrespectful hypocrite. H This 100%. The poppy decision I can accept, disrespecting the National Anthem shows him for what he really is. Oh, and he’s not good enough either!
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Post by Pugsley on May 27, 2018 9:58:55 GMT
Is this the new Rowett regime? Signing shit players with baggage?
I'm so disillusioned with Stoke City. Even when we were proper shit I never felt like this.
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Post by sheikhmomo on May 27, 2018 10:00:11 GMT
Would going to an Iraqi cemetery which is home to the half a million innocent civilians killed since 2003 influence me as well? Killed mainly by there own kind ieds n suicide bombers n u forgot the 2 million Iraqis killed by Saddam before the war next question 'There (sic) own kind?!?!'
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Post by alster on May 27, 2018 10:05:23 GMT
Even if you take wearing the poppy out of the equation which is his right, it's the turning his back on the English and Union Flags whilst our National anthem was being played whilst representing and getting handsomely paid by an English Club, well three of them actually which is more of an issue to me. His so called principles don't stop him drawing a wage from these English Clubs in an English League. He's a fucking disrespectful hypocrite. H What fucking drivel. I’m a long standing republican and anti monarchist yet spent most of my working life in a HM post. In my view I was a public servant not some subservient in the pay and working to benefit the monarchy. I’m a proud and patriotic Englishman but have always refused to sing the current national anthem for the same reasons. I’ve no problem with his political or historical view even though I don’t share them. As for football he’s not exactly a player to set the pulse racing but I’m sure if they put his views to one side many of our fans would appreciate him. Trying hard with limited ability seems to be their preference. Personally think he’s a bit shit.
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Post by salopstick on May 27, 2018 10:06:50 GMT
(If he signs)
Will the club give him the week off in November when they have that forces appreciation day at the club?
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Post by juiceandbits on May 27, 2018 10:07:05 GMT
This isn’t the kind of bumper signing you want to make to start off your reign - it’s going to piss off a good amount of fans atraight off.
I’ve honestly never seen him play but it doesn’t bode well for players like Bojan who could actually allow us to play our way out of this league.
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Post by realstokebloke on May 27, 2018 10:07:43 GMT
No.
Just no.
He's shit.
And he is a shit.
Moreover, if we pay anything near approaching £6m for him, then we are as shit as ever at this transfer mularky and don't appear to have learned a thing.
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