Last week there were suggestions going around that Joe Garner, Preston's top scorer, was on the FAI's radar after it was learned that he may be eligible to play for Ireland through relatives in Galway.
And that's all well and good. Like it or not, the FAI are always on the look out for potential Ireland internationals. Harry Arter was playing in the League One a couple of years ago and now he's potentially on his way to the Premier League as well as a regular spot in the Ireland squad.
However, Garner's link was met with some, understandable, criticism given that he's still behind Eoin Doyle in the League 1 scoring charts. Doyle hasn't played in League 1 for two and a half months and he seems no closer to an Ireland call up when you consider he can't get past the likes of Simon Cox in O'Neill's mammoth provisional squads.
Preston boss Simon Grayson was asked about whether his star striker would be playing for Ireland soon and Grayson wasn't exactly in favour of the idea.
I thought April Fools’ Day was the other week. It is something that I will ask Joe about but maybe it is one or two people clutching for a good striker, in form, to play for their country.
The April Fools part sounds bad but it's not really, it's more the second part of that quote that is rather embarrassing. Grayson is making it sound as if we've been shopping around the upper echelons of League 1 looking for anyone to play for us.
There's always been criticism from certain parts regarding Ireland's willingness to be a bit creative with the eligibility rules. While that criticism is often misdirected, you'd have to say that it does make us sound very desperate if it's put in the language that Grayson has.
