David (Junior) Hoilett will he be with our National Team or Jamaica?

[Sam]

Personally, if this theory is on the right track, I don't even want him......because he truly doesn't want us. We don't need to contribute to us (CMNT) being the 2nd choice whore at the party if they strike out with the dime.

I would love a team of players who have the same passion for Canada as Stalteri, but unfortunately thats not realistic. At the moment I don't think our national team is good enough to send away top quality players like Hoilett who may not be as proud to play for Canada as the likes of Stalteri. If Hoilett wants to play now or in 4 years time, I'd take him either way.

[Obinna]

Yep, this is probably spot on.

Probably why Hart isn't optimistic, because he may know that Hoilett won't be playing for Canada throughout the next 2 GC's and WQC 2014. I imagine that's what Hoilett is doing, and if England is still not after him at that point, he'll come to Canada for the 2014-2018 run.

Personally, if this theory is on the right track, I don't even want him......because he truly doesn't want us. We don't need to contribute to us (CMNT) being the 2nd choice whore at the party if they strike out with the dime.

Again, if this theory is the truth, I'd prefer Hart to call him up in the next 3 months, say "look here Junior, club season is ending, you did great, you did what you said you wanted to do - solidfy your spot at the club level. Now it's international time, either you're in NOW, or the door is CLOSED."

I'd be interested to see if he's willing to roll the dice on a future with England.

Canada should stop pandering to wavering players and start respecting our own program, because I take this "on the fence" crap as disrespect.

I like that, force potential players to take the gamble, but consider this situation:

-Hart gives Junior until GC to commit

-Junior declines and is shut out

-Junior develops into a solid EPL attacker

-Junior is still overlooked by England 7 years later

-Canada has a new manager who revokes Junior's ban

Closing the door on players is tricky when managers come and go.

[Footscray]

I think he'll make a declaration before the next WCQ cycle as to his intentions whether explicit or not and Canada seems likely but I won't be surprised one way or another. I think Jamaica is a weaker program than ours in many ways so if he goes there it wouldn't be opportunism in my mind, the kid genuinely feels Jamaican then go I guess as much as it would suck. It's not like Jonathan who is just picking a better program and claiming he feels native.

I can't imagine England is anything more than back of his mind given that his career could potentially take him anywhere - if I was to guess about the delay I think it has more to do with our lack of depth and how much time he will committing once he joins the program. Once he declares it means most international breaks involve consistent lengthy travel where he gets called up every time with no breaks. The top guys in the States are often given spells off in favor of more developmental squads but our top 20 guys pay a heavy price in terms of their family time and travel.

[killgod]

I like that, force potential players to take the gamble, but consider this situation:

-Hart gives Junior until GC to commit

-Junior declines and is shut out

-Junior develops into a solid EPL attacker

-Junior is still overlooked by England 7 years later

-Canada has a new manager who revokes Junior's ban

Closing the door on players is tricky when managers come and go.

Well do it from a CSA standpoint, make that our policy with players.

Either you respect the country that gave you and your family an opportunity for a quality life, or you aren't part of the program.

I'd much rather an example be made out of players like Hoilett now, so that 4-5 years from now, young Canadian born (or raised) players understand the clear cut guidelines. Either you are in, or off taking your chances on getting adopted. Hypothetically....if the CSA took this stance and 4 years from now Hoilett is now closed from Canada and not in England's picture either, how many young Canuck footballers would want to be in his shoes?

It would tough to deny ourselves a quality player that we could certainly use, but it's believed that our next best chance to qualify is 2018, not 2014, so I would believe this would benefit us when we need it to. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though.

[forster01]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/team/_/id/365/blackburn-rovers?cc=5901

Espn shows the picture of Hoillett goal celebration. It is a gang sign. And he makes a C/A with his hands so its pretty obvious he is chossing canada lol

but seriously why what the hell is that supposed to mean?

[JoshieScores]

Check out this report from JamaicaObserver.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/Jamaica-bred-Hoilett-lands-maiden-Premiership-goal_8314069

The title says, "Jamaica-bred Hoilett lands maiden Premiership goal"

"The Canadian striker, whose navel string is buried in Jamaica, struck an early second-half goal to add to an own goal from West Brom defender Gabriel Tamas to rocket Rovers up the table."

I'm not liking this so far... but then

"Born and raised in Canada, Hoilett is also eligible to play for Jamaica through his parents, but media reports indicate that he will stick with the land of his birth."

Whose navel string is buried in Jamaica??? hahahaha

[forster01]

Nice he should play for us

[Moldy9]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/team/_/id/365/blackburn-rovers?cc=5901

Espn shows the picture of Hoillett goal celebration. It is a gang sign. And he makes a C/A with his hands so its pretty obvious he is chossing canada lol

but seriously why what the hell is that supposed to mean?

^ lol! as Ace of Base said "I saw the sign"

[Macksam]

^^ Agreed.

I can't see England as a possibility. By the time he was eligible he'd be too old.

24 too old? Are you kidding me? Van Bommel got his first cap with the netherlands around the same age, and even after that he was on and off and never played in a meaningful tournament until World Cup 2006, when he was like 29.

While I'm inclined to leave him alone and let him concentrate on his club career, he should realize the depth of the England squad and his chances of really riding the pine, let alone seeing the pitch.

Part of me really thinks we should unleash Borjan to kick some sense into him. ;-)

I lol'd.

[Trident]

Not a gangsign, a hand sign.

People should stop confusing the two, especially when you talk about a black dude on the super PC Voyageurs board.

Probably something for a friend or family member.

[forster01]

Not a gangsign, a hand sign.

People should stop confusing the two, especially when you talk about a black dude on the super PC Voyageurs board.

Probably something for a friend or family member.

Dude i called it a gang sign because jason roberts (his teamate) called it that on twitter (see below), it had no rasict meaning to it.

JasonRoberts30

All of the Boys are onto Junior about his HORRIBLE celebrations!! Gang Signs and Brushing his Shoulder off!!! Hahaha!!

5:23 AM Jan 24th via Twitter for BlackBerry®

[TripleA]

(in response to redhat's post) Once again, England are not as deep as people imagine, especially going forward. The list below is the squad that played France in a friendly 2 and a half months ago.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club

1 GK Joe Hart 19 April 1987 (1987-04-19) (age 23) 7 0 Manchester City

12 GK Robert Green 18 January 1980 (1980-01-18) (age 31) 11 0 West Ham United

22 GK Scott Loach 27 May 1988 (1988-05-27) (age 22) 0 0 Watford

GK Ben Foster 3 April 1983 (1983-04-03) (age 27) 5 0 Birmingham City

2 DF Phil Jagielka 17 August 1982 (1982-08-17) (age 28) 7 0 Everton

3 DF Kieran Gibbs 26 September 1989 (1989-09-26) (age 21) 2 0 Arsenal

5 DF Rio Ferdinand 7 November 1978 (1978-11-07) (age 32) 80 3 Manchester United

6 DF Joleon Lescott 16 August 1982 (1982-08-16) (age 28) 12 0 Manchester City

13 DF Micah Richards 24 June 1988 (1988-06-24) (age 22) 12 1 Manchester City

14 DF Stephen Warnock 12 December 1981 (1981-12-12) (age 29) 2 0 Aston Villa

15 DF Chris Smalling 22 November 1989 (1989-11-22) (age 21) 0 0 Manchester United

16 DF Gary Cahill 19 December 1985 (1985-12-19) (age 25) 1 0 Bolton Wanderers

DF Ashley Cole 20 December 1980 (1980-12-20) (age 30) 86 0 Chelsea

DF John Terry 7 December 1980 (1980-12-07) (age 30) 65 6 Chelsea

4 MF Steven Gerrard 30 May 1980 (1980-05-30) (age 30) 89 19 Liverpool

7 MF Theo Walcott 16 March 1989 (1989-03-16) (age 21) 15 3 Arsenal

8 MF Jordan Henderson 17 June 1990 (1990-06-17) (age 20) 1 0 Sunderland

10 MF Gareth Barry 23 February 1981 (1981-02-23) (age 29) 44 2 Manchester City

11 MF James Milner 4 January 1986 (1986-01-04) (age 25) 15 0 Manchester City

18 MF Ashley Young 9 July 1985 (1985-07-09) (age 25) 11 0 Aston Villa

19 MF Adam Johnson 14 July 1987 (1987-07-14) (age 23) 6 2 Manchester City

MF Jack Wilshere 1 January 1992 (1992-01-01) (age 19) 1 0 Arsenal

9 FW Andy Carroll 6 January 1989 (1989-01-06) (age 22) 1 0 Newcastle United

17 FW Carlton Cole 12 November 1983 (1983-11-12) (age 27) 7 0 West Ham United

20 FW Jay Bothroyd 5 May 1982 (1982-05-05) (age 28) 1 0 Cardiff City

21 FW Peter Crouch 30 January 1981 (1981-01-30) (age 29) 42 22 Tottenham Hotspur

23 FW Gabriel Agbonlahor * 13 October 1986 (1986-10-13) (age 24) 3 0 Aston Villa

That could be Junior one day, except Junior is already playing at a higher level at the age of 20. Also pretty coincidental that Bothroyd was 28 when he had his first cap considering the discussion that he would be 28 by the time he could play in the World Cup for England.

Bothroyd and Loach were the only two from nonpremierleague clubs and that was just for a friendly. Definitely not their strongest squad. For forwards you need to add Rooney, Bent, Defoe, Heskey, Zamora, Davies, and Walcott who plays as a striker. Hoilett played 737 minutes from 24 matches while the top forwards of the league have played more than twice that. Capello isn't looking for players who have a strike rate of 1 goal per 737 minutes from Blackburn to lead England to football glory. He's not on their radar and rightly shouldn't be considering their wealth of options up front. For him to even be considered he would need to transfer to a bigger club and score 10+ goals a season. A few years ago Zamoro scored 11 goals for West Ham and wasn't even called up for a friendly. Hoilett plays for a lesser premierleague club and talks of him playing in Europa League next year should be extinguished quickly as Blackburn will soon regain their place at the bottom half of the table where they rightfully belong. He could always transform into a star player but if that happens it's still a few years away and by then his allegiance should already have been decided between Canada and Jamaica .

[Bertuzzi44]

9 FW Andy Carroll 6 January 1989 (1989-01-06) (age 22) 1 0 Newcastle United

17 FW Carlton Cole 12 November 1983 (1983-11-12) (age 27) 7 0 West Ham United

20 FW Jay Bothroyd 5 May 1982 (1982-05-05) (age 28) 1 0 Cardiff City

21 FW Peter Crouch 30 January 1981 (1981-01-30) (age 29) 42 22 Tottenham Hotspur

23 FW Gabriel Agbonlahor * 13 October 1986 (1986-10-13) (age 24) 3 0 Aston Villa

Hoilett should really be compared to players more his age:

Theo Walcott (age 21) (Goals: 6) Arsenal

Andy Carroll (age 22) (Goals: 11) Newcastle Utd.

Freddie Sears (age 21) (Goals: 1) West Ham

Danny Welbeck (age 20) (Goals: 6) Sunderland

Nathan Delfouneso (age 19) (Goals: 1) Aston Villa

Honourable mention:

Gabriel Agbonlahor (age 24) Aston Villa

Wayne Rooney (age 25) Manchester Utd.

Darren Bent (age 26) Aston Villa

Looks a bit more daunting I think. But why are we talking about this? Junior's Canadian!

[villus]

Add to the fact that there will still be a few young dynamos who come through and impress that are younger than Junior and not on the radar just yet.

[Footscray]

Just can't see him being decided on England or even considering it seriously given how many more years of stability he needs that just aren't certain. Especially given all his admirers in Germany and the fact that Blackburn almost got relegated a year and a half ago the kid's best option could be playing for Hamburg in a year or two for all he knows.

England talk seems a bit like paranoia on our parts. Which is I guess fair given the history.

[Trident]

Dude i called it a gang sign because jason roberts (his teamate) called it that on twitter (see below), it had no rasict meaning to it.

JasonRoberts30

All of the Boys are onto Junior about his HORRIBLE celebrations!! Gang Signs and Brushing his Shoulder off!!! Hahaha!!

5:23 AM Jan 24th via Twitter for BlackBerry®

I didn't say you were racist, I was saying watch out, because someone on here would think that.

It's still just a handsign.

[Obinna]

Bothroyd and Loach were the only two from nonpremierleague clubs and that was just for a friendly. Definitely not their strongest squad. For forwards you need to add Rooney, Bent, Defoe, Heskey, Zamora, Davies, and Walcott who plays as a striker. Hoilett played 737 minutes from 24 matches while the top forwards of the league have played more than twice that. Capello isn't looking for players who have a strike rate of 1 goal per 737 minutes from Blackburn to lead England to football glory. He's not on their radar and rightly shouldn't be considering their wealth of options up front. For him to even be considered he would need to transfer to a bigger club and score 10+ goals a season. A few years ago Zamoro scored 11 goals for West Ham and wasn't even called up for a friendly. Hoilett plays for a lesser premierleague club and talks of him playing in Europa League next year should be extinguished quickly as Blackburn will soon regain their place at the bottom half of the table where they rightfully belong. He could always transform into a star player but if that happens it's still a few years away and by then his allegiance should already have been decided between Canada and Jamaica .

He has potential which is the main thing. You are insinuating that he is not good enough for England RIGHT NOW, which I agree with, and most other people would I imagine. But he is not that far off considering he is only 20 years old. I agree with the comment regarding Van Bommel. Who is to say Hoilett won't hold out until he is in his mid twenties, Zamoro did the same thing and never played for T and T. Once again, this is not a Canada vs Jamacia issue, so in a few years from now hes not going to "decide" between Canada and Jamacia. It's Canada or England.

[zeelaw]

If people are talking about him playing for England then honestly let's hope he stops scoring goals...

[killgod]

If people are talking about him playing for England then honestly let's hope he stops scoring goals...

If he's not scoring goals, then he'll be too busy for Canada cause he'll be focusing on his club game!

[Tuscan]

Honestly, one goal and everyone on here thinks that Jr. will suddenly have realized his goal of becoming a permanent on Blackburn's starting XI? This whole thread has devolved into ridiculousness. Until he becomes an expected started for them he won't risk injury in an international, or the jet lag from the travel, that could stop him from his progression with the club. As for all this England BS, if it happens then it happens, if not and he chooses Jamaica we will gain yet another Judas to condemn.

[TFCRegina]

Honestly, one goal and everyone on here thinks that Jr. will suddenly have realized his goal of becoming a permanent on Blackburn's starting XI? This whole thread has devolved into ridiculousness. Until he becomes an expected started for them he won't risk injury in an international, or the jet lag from the travel, that could stop him from his progression with the club. As for all this England BS, if it happens then it happens, if not and he chooses Jamaica we will gain yet another Judas to condemn.

Actually it's two goals I believe. Scored in the FA cup. He's been man of the match twice so far...maybe even three times, not sure.

But he's having some good form.

[kj52]

Honestly, one goal and everyone on here thinks that Jr. will suddenly have realized his goal of becoming a permanent on Blackburn's starting XI? This whole thread has devolved into ridiculousness. Until he becomes an expected started for them he won't risk injury in an international, or the jet lag from the travel, that could stop him from his progression with the club. As for all this England BS, if it happens then it happens, if not and he chooses Jamaica we will gain yet another Judas to condemn.

+1

[mulliganl]

If he's not scoring goals, then he'll be too busy for Canada cause he'll be focusing on his club game!

he should just change his kit number to 22 already...catch my drift?

[JOGAKANATA]

Funny things is! if all these defectors we would have realized by choosing Canada they would of all been playing with each other, we would have been a lot further and probably the strongest team in Concacaf.

[Redcoatsforever]

Funny things is! if all these defectors we would have realized by choosing Canada they would of all been playing with each other, we would have been a lot further and probably the strongest team in Concacaf.

While I see the irony there, and I usually would laugh about something like it, the laughter quickly devolves into sobbing...

...horrible, violent sobs....