Shay Given has backed the FAI's policy of recruiting players born in the North of Ireland who are willing to commit their international future to the Ireland team.
And the Donegal man, who revealed that he was eligible to play for Northern Ireland as his late mother was born in the six counties, says that players should be allowed to make up their own minds on their international futures without being forced into a decision by officials from the IFA. Click to continue reading...

The man who will neutralize Cesc Fabregas today, Javier Mascherano
Butt's Brain this week from around the footie world wide web:

• Exceptional goals of the year so far [A Football Report]

• Very interesting theory - is Shay Given NOT a good goalkeeper? [Football Corner]

• Valencia defender Miguel mocks his coach from the bench [Off the Post]

• Wigan have a new midfield star, and he's only 4.

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Wayne Rooney headed an injury time goal to put Manchester United in the finals of the Carling Cup and settle scores with rivals City. The aggregate read 4-3 in favour of United after they lost to City last week at Eastlands 2-1. But second half strikes from Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick sent shivers down [. Click to continue reading...

Everybody want to look like City boss Manchester City keeper Shay Given gives his own Donegal twist to the Roberto Mancini scarf craze that is sweeping the blue half of Manchester.

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According to his column in the Mail on Sunday, Gary Lineker reckons Newcastle's very own Steve Harper can be the next Steve Bull. Well not quite, but he does believe that Fabio Capello should cast an eye to the Championship doldrums, if he's worried about his World Cup custodian as he faces a dearth in [. Click to continue reading...

For me, there is only one English goalkeeper that can be England's number one for South Africa next summer and that man is Paul Robinson. After being so badly treated at Tottenham under Juande Ramos and unfairly blamed for giving away a soft goal for England against Croatia, Robinson has finally got back to his best.

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So what makes a great goal? I know it seems a easy question but honestly, what makes a goal truly great? Is it the goal that keeps a side up or a lob from the half way line? The goal that drags a side back in to a game when they're 2-0 or a last minute winner in injury time? Everyone has a different variation on what they judge to be a great goal or what the ingredients are that makes some goals stand out above all others.

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Roberto Mancini couldn't have asked for more when he signed to become the manager of Manchester City. Manchester City's win on Saturday helped the manager make an impact on his very first outing. Manchester city fans have already given him the title of the perfect replacement for Mark Hughes. Manchester City's 2-0 win over Stoke City [. Click to continue reading...

So it's official now, Manchester City's owners have shown there true colours with yesterdays sacking of Mark Hughes and replacing him with Roberto Mancini. Rumours had been circling Hughes since Saturday morning, with several British papers stating that the game against Sunderland was to be his last.

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Manchester City took the game to Chelsea, increased the pace, steadied the momentum and won the match to win every City heart at the City of Manchester Stadium in Eastland's. City did answer back at every critic and showed the world that they can raise their game against the best opponents and came up with [. Click to continue reading...

With the game level at 2-2, Spurs won a penalty vs Everton in stoppage time. And so it was Jermain Defoe of England taking the penalty vs Tim Howard of the USA. Defoe put it straight down the middle and the American keeper saved with his feet. Not a great start to the England vs USA buildup.

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Shay Given has spoken for the first time about The France v Ireland World Cup play-off game and called the result and referee decision an 'injustice'.
Speaking to the Daily Mail Given said ‘Had the tables been turned and it'd happened to France I'd love to have seen the outcome. Click to continue reading...

The balls have barely been pulled out of the glass bowls... but we're already delivering some immediate reaction from today's star-studded draw in Cape Town for the 2010 World Cup.  Sepp Blatter and football fans alike should be very pleased: there are going to be some mouth-watering encounters at next summer's tournament – England v USA, Brazil v Ivory Coast and Germany v Ghana to name a few.

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Following FIFA's refusal to grant Ireland an unprecedented 33rd spot at next year's World Cup in South Africa, ITV have revealed that the FAI have now sensationally requested that Jedward be reinstated into the occasional singing contest X Factor.

Simon Cowell appeared at a press conference yesterday to read out a prepared statement in between bouts of laughing into his hand.

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Below is a list of teams with some quality players which will unfortunately miss the World Cup next summer:

Ireland- The Irish team may not be the most talented to miss out on qualification but certainly was unjustly eliminated by France. The Ireland squad is not as deep as other but has talented players such as Aiden McGeady who plays as a winger and/or forward for Celtic.

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The appetite for commentary on the farce in Paris still seems strong, and I thought Arsene Wenger had a very wise take on the entire situation today. Wenger is, obviously, a French supporter and very close with Henry. In fairness to the Irish fans, the world football community, and for the sake of Henry, he called for the game to be replayed.

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Without getting into a great deal of opinion, or any at all for that matter there's surely plenty of that floating about it would probably be prudent to look into the words on each side of the divide from those who were there, at the game and directly impacted. (What with it being one of the most controversial games in World Cup Qualifying history and all.

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"I'd love to finish my career here," he declared. "I haven't been here long, but I already feel at home and love the club.

"I grew up a Celtic supporter and they have a big place in my heart, but I really hope I can finish my career here. You can never say never, but I'd like to think I will.

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Not yet, Trapa. Hope is alive and well. The Republic of Ireland and France will face each other in the first leg of their competition for a place in South Africa in 2010 tomorrow at Croke Park in Dublin. Being that it's my birthday and I'm Irish by heritage, I think it's only fitting that fate allows [. Click to continue reading...

The Republic of Ireland will take on France in the World Cup play-offs which commence next weekend in what will be an intriguing clash between the shrewd Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni and the much-maligned French national team coach Raymond Domenech.

Trapattoni's record speaks for itself with successful spells almost everywhere he coached yet his most notable job prior to taking over Ireland ended in miserable failure with the Azzurri.

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Steve Harper has been a top player for Newcastle this season, and he's certainly taken the chance offered to him, when Shay Given left Tyneside for Manchester City last January. Steve Harper - in great form this season And of course the other motivating factor for Steve  is certain Ditch youngster, Tim Krul, who will no doubt become [. Click to continue reading...

Are we the only ones who now find it hard to watch somebody like Newcastle legend, Shay Given, when he plays for Manchester City? Shay Given another world class display yesterday Every time we watch the Premier League now we think of how things were. And to see Shay Given give a world class display yesterday against [. Click to continue reading...

Shay Given came to the rescue of a 10-man Manchester City and helped Mark Hughes' men to secure a point against Wigan at the DW Stadium. Final minutes of the game saw Given made an excellent save, as he didn't allow the home side to win the game, which they deserved from the Kick Off. Charles N'Zogbia [. Click to continue reading...

Speaking about the key presence that Given has become since his signing from Newcastle last January:

"Shay's been more than I could have hoped for in terms of his presence on the field.
"He's got a calming influence on the back four. That's made a marked difference to the way the guys in front of him have been able to defend.

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Shay Given will captain Ireland in Wednesday night's final World Cup qualifier against Montenegro as he wins his 100th senior international cap.
Manager Giovanni Trapattoni has handed the 33-year-old Donegal man the captain's armband as he and full-back Kevin Kilbane each complete a century to leave themselves only two adrift of Steve Staunton, Ireland's most-capped player. Click to continue reading...

Shay Given is desperate to give the Irish nation a chance to dance in the streets as he once did by securing another trip to the World Cup finals.
The Irish keeper was a teenager back in 1994 when Ray Houghton's strike at Giants Stadium in New York saw off the mighty Italy and sparked one of the most memorable nights in Ireland's football history. Click to continue reading...

Shay Given ,who left Newcastle last January, because he just couldn't stand the stupid antics of owner Mike Ashley is pleased to see his former club of 11 years at the top of the Championship. Shay Given - when at Newcastle Shay talked today about how pleased he is to see Newcastle doing so well [. Click to continue reading...

Which one of these people will be at Thomond Park, Limerick, tonight? Someone in the FAI marketing team has been watching re-runs of Bullseye because *clears throat* this is what you could have won... if you had bought tickets to a World Cup qualifier instead of a friendly. Republic of Ireland fans who print off the FAI's [. Click to continue reading...

1. Everton must be getting to the stage now where they would consider paying Joleon Lescott to leave and get back to some sort of normality. 2. Another convincing Arsenal win seems to have announced their return as a major title race contender. Roll on next week when we see how they cope with the reigning [. Click to continue reading...

European champions Barcelona ended their dominant pre-season with a frustrating 1-0 defeat at the hands of a defiant Manchester City side in front of around 90,000 fans at Catalonia's huge Camp Nou Stadium. While I will stay consistent with one of my previous articles by conceding that pre-season results carry little materiality, tonight's game should go a long way in demonstrating just how foolish it is to write off Mark Hughes' flamboyant, new-look Sky Blues.

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1. Arsene Wenger definitely saw that! 2. Some beautiful goals to ring in the new season. Take a bow Hugo Rodallega, Denilson, Didier Drogba and Mark Noble. 3. Didier Drogba's last-gasp winner for Chelsea against Hull put paid to any musings on whether Stephen Hunt likes kicking Chelsea when they are down. Click to continue reading...

For as many times as Richard Dunne and Shay Given collided today, you might have guessed that they had never played together before in their lives.

Dunne's defensive woes today nearly overshadowed the lightning-quick start to Manchester City's season. In the third minute, Emmanuel Adebayor served up a through ball from the center circle that released Shawn Wright-Phillips far down the right wing.

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Thomond Park hosted Ireland and the Socceroos last night in a game that Ireland should have taken in their stride. Cahill got the Aussies in front after 38 mins. Giovanni Trapattoni had obviously given a good pre match speech because Ireland did give it all they had , but with so many premiership players on the pitch it was definitely a night of "Could have done better".

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It's not often that another team in England, let alone in Manchester, hogs the headlines more than Manchester United. But it's not often that a British team gets bought over by an Abu Dhabi investment group, although football clubs are starting to replace private islands and super-yachts as the new playthings for the filthy rich.

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If I was an Arsenal fan, I'd be fed up already listening to people saying that Manchester City were obviously going to usurp them as one of the "Big Four" sides. It's amazing what spending money does to peoples judgement when it comes to football and Manchester City have certainly caught more than their fair share of attention over the summer.

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Ireland manager, Giovanni Trapattoni, has named a 24- man squad to face Australia in Thomond Park on Wednesday, 12 August
Goalkeepers
Shay Given Manchester City
Kieren Westwood Coventry City
Joe Murphy Scunthorpe United
Defenders
John O'Shea Manchester United
Kevin Foley Wolves
Richard Dunne Manchester City
Stephen Kelly Fullham
Kevin Kilbane Hull City
Eddie Nolan Preston North End
Sean St. Click to continue reading...

Shay Given, our great ex-goalkeeper, has given a few statements on the current state of the club-a club he still has affection for. Shay Given-Would still be at Newcastle if not for Ashley Shay Given commented on current state of Newcastle United, "I know the players are determined to get back [. Click to continue reading...

Shay Given is yet another former great player at the Newcastle club, who has today urged Mike Ashley sort out the complete mess he has made at Newcastle United. Shay Given sell the club and then install Shearer as manager And the first thing he tells the People is that the very first thing any new [. Click to continue reading...

When Mark Hughes agreed to replace Sven Goran Eriksson last summer, no doubt he knew things would be interesting at Manchester City, it very rarely isn't in the sky blue half of Manchester, but I doubt he'd have expected anything like the events that ultimately played out. What with the takeover and the crazy final day of the summer transfer window, with City making 10 bids of over £15 million for players, it was probably the maddest 24 hours the City faithful could remember in years.

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Man United and Man City met at Old Trafford today in what was a clash of two in-form sides. It was expected to be a fairly tight, hotly contested affair with little margin for error. It turned out quite different, in a match in which Carlos Tevez made a huge statement towards Alex Ferguson regarding his future at the club.

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