Elliot Anderson

[Captain_Sensible]

With the rule change for switching nations, even if he had made his debut against Cyprus, he’d still have been able to switch back to England anyway if he wanted to 

[pub car king]

f**k sake what a load of sensationalist bull shit. 

[HuttonDressedAsLahm]

45 minutes ago, Captain_Sensible said:

With the rule change for switching nations, even if he had made his debut against Cyprus, he’d still have been able to switch back to England anyway if he wanted to 

Correct. He has to appear in a 4th competitive match before he turns 21. Presumably ‘friendlies’ have no impact, and playing a competitive game whilst 21 or older ties you to that country.

World Cup Finals or Euro Finals etc lock you to that country irrespective of ages.

As far as I understand it, he turns 21 on the 6th of November and both Georgia and Norway games are after that. Playing in either game would commit him to Scotland.

Edited September 5, 2023 by HuttonDressedAsLahm

[dundeefc1783]

13 minutes ago, HuttonDressedAsLahm said:

Correct. He has to appear in a 4th competitive match before he turns 21. Presumably ‘friendlies’ have no impact, and playing a competitive game whilst 21 or older ties you to that country.

World Cup Finals or Euro Finals etc lock you to that country irrespective of ages.

As far as I understand it, he turns 21 on the 6th of November and both Georgia and Norway games are after that. Playing in either game would commit him to Scotland.

However worth noting if he played for us in an international match I believe he would have to wait 3 years before he could represent England. 

[Savage Henry]

On 05/09/2023 at 19:19, pub car king said:

f**k sake what a load of sensationalist bull shit. 

I’d have said so, too,  but it very much sounds from Clarke’s press conference that he has changed his mind.   Very strange story indeed.  

[The Moonster]

51 minutes ago, Savage Henry said:

I’d have said so, too,  but it very much sounds from Clarke’s press conference that he has changed his mind.   Very strange story indeed.  

What did Clarke say?

[Londonwell]

5 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

What did Clarke say?

I think it's what he didn't say, really. He did mention it wasn't within his control which I think may be the telling bit. Other than that he gave the issue little heed. I think that can be taken two ways - he isn't happy with the press coverage and didn't want to speak to them about it or that Anderson has does a u-turn on his decision. 

[The Moonster]

If Anderson has changed his mind then f**k him. Seems a really terrible way to conduct yourself but we'll see what comes of it.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Not sure if there's a complete transcript/video of this press conference available, but this is how The Scotsman reported Clarke's comments on Anderson:

Quote

Being careful could apply to his approach to the Elliot Anderson question. Clarke is not making any snap judgment on the player’s Scotland prospects after the Newcastle United midfielder pulled out of the squad ahead of the trip to Larnaca. Clarke had named Anderson in his pool for the first time amid reported competition from England for the player, who was born in Whitley Bay but qualifies for Scotland through a grandmother. Clarke stressed that he can only base his assessment on what the player had told him – he picked up a knock in training.

 

Asked if Anderson had enjoyed the couple of days he was with the squad, Clarke said: “I think he did, yes. It was a great experience for a young kid. Fingers crossed that he comes back.” The fear is that he comes back wearing England colours. On the question of whether he suspected the player had been “nobbled” by England, for whom he has made one Under 19 appearance, Clarke was unsure. “I don’t know, is the honest answer,” he said.

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by Kevin Finnerty

[2426255]

Quote

I think he did, yes. It was a great experience for a young kid. Fingers crossed that he comes back. I don’t know, is the honest answer. He (Anderson) felt something in training and he got assessed by the medical staff. We were going to put him on a plane for five hours. You analyse, and was it worth bringing him? No, it was too long. Go back to your club, get yourself ready for your next game. I didn’t feel there was a great conspiracy, no. It didn’t feel that way to me.

Steve Clarke
 

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/steve-clarke-responds-to-temuri-ketsbaia-scotland-claims-and-answers-questions-on-elliot-anderson-being-nobbled-4285069

Quote

No. He just went home. It is not something I can control. There’s not a lot I can do about it.

Obviously (disappointing not to have the chance to work with Elliot), that’s why we brought him into the squad. Disappointing to lose Elliot and Liam (Kelly) on the same day but that’s part and parcel of international football, you deal with it. Obviously we had to replaced Liam because we couldn’t come with two goalkeepers so we brought in young Robby (McCrorie) who has been part of the squad before - he understands. We didn’t need to replace Elliot because we have enough midfielders.

Steve Clarke

https://www.businesslend.com/sports/steve-clarke-did-not-seek-elliot-anderson-assurance-over-scotland-allegiance/

[Savage Henry]

3 hours ago, Kevin Finnerty said:

Not sure if there's a complete transcript/video of this press conference available, but this is how The Scotsman reported Clarke's comments on Anderson:

 

A non-denial denial if ever there was one.   Disappointing.  It’d be easy to put an end to - just have him sit in the stands for the England game in Scotland gear and job’s a good ‘un.   Or the player himself makes a statement.  

Edited September 8, 2023 by Savage Henry

[Self-raising Lazarus]

Clarkes comments hint there's an issue there that isn't necessarily an injury, oh well, not bereft of players in his position.

[microdave]

My view is that it's important for us and him that he plays for the country he really wants to play for. If he's only realised after training with us then that's got to be good for both parties. We don't want a player who doesn't care enough to play for Scotland and he'll be happier if he's playing for someone else. It reminds me of Stuart McCall delaying his sub appearance for England u-21 because it took until then for him to realise he only wanted to play for Scotland.

[BB_Bino]

I really hope that people are reading too much into this with Anderson, but Clarke has not done anything to dampen speculation. If Anderson has performed a u-turn then I'm not too fussy, yes I want him in our squad, but ultimately I want players that want to be a part of the national team and run through brick walls for the country, if he's not up for that then so be it.

[invergowrie arab]

It's not within Clarkes gift to say he definitely isn't at it or considering changing his mind.

He is doing his usual straight bat answer to questions.

[Savage Henry]

The Sun “reporting” that he has, indeed, had second thoughts.  Elliot, we hardly knew ye.  

[Donathan]

It’s quite confusing to me that anyone would feel “uncomfortable” in the Scotland camp as the Sun have suggested. Surely with us playing incredibly well and winning just now, it’s a jovial and supportive atmosphere in there. The players seem to love playing for each other and love playing for Clarke. 

Suppose you’ve got a player who’s completely indifferent from a national identity standpoint (like my best mate who was born in England to a Scottish mother and has lived in England all his life but is fiercely proud of being half Scottish and supports both Scotland and England equally in all sports) and their decision on which country to represent is purely based on career prospects. Logically, a top top level player should choose England to have a better chance of winning major tournaments, whereas a player of the level of Harvey Barnes for example should choose Scotland because it’s better to win dozens of Scotland caps and hopefully play at a few tournaments than maybe make the occasional squad for England.

 

So the question is whether Anderson backs himself to reach the levels of a Saka or Marcus Rashford type player. I’d suggest it’s pretty unlikely he will be that good so logically he should play for Scotland unless he really feels much more strongly about England, but given that he’s represented at under 16, 17, 18 and 21 level with a single England under 19 cap, I’d suggest he’s normally happy enough pulling on the dark blue. 

[Savage Henry]

12 minutes ago, Donathan said:

It’s quite confusing to me that anyone would feel “uncomfortable” in the Scotland camp as the Sun have suggested. Surely with us playing incredibly well and winning just now, it’s a jovial and supportive atmosphere in there. The players seem to love playing for each other and love playing for Clarke. 

Suppose you’ve got a player who’s completely indifferent from a national identity standpoint (like my best mate who was born in England to a Scottish mother and has lived in England all his life but is fiercely proud of being half Scottish and supports both Scotland and England equally in all sports) and their decision on which country to represent is purely based on career prospects. Logically, a top top level player should choose England to have a better chance of winning major tournaments, whereas a player of the level of Harvey Barnes for example should choose Scotland because it’s better to win dozens of Scotland caps and hopefully play at a few tournaments than maybe make the occasional squad for England.

 

So the question is whether Anderson backs himself to reach the levels of a Saka or Marcus Rashford type player. I’d suggest it’s pretty unlikely he will be that good so logically he should play for Scotland unless he really feels much more strongly about England, but given that he’s represented at under 16, 17, 18 and 21 level with a single England under 19 cap, I’d suggest he’s normally happy enough pulling on the dark blue. 

No.  There’s a bit of ambiguity.  It only makes sense if he got a call via his agent to say hold off. 

Edited September 12, 2023 by Savage Henry

[Stevie Kirk]

There’s no quotes in that Sun article so that makes me somewhat sceptical as to how much they really know. It doesn’t factor in that the boy has been in Scotland training camps previously so in that context the “ uncomfortable “ aspect has less credibility.

Maybe he just didn’t fancy playing against England  at this point which I can understand. Having said all that , the fact that neither the boy nor his agent have made any statement to quell the rumours could be an indicator that he is having second thoughts .
 

 

[forameus]

Being blown way out of proportion to give the media something to talk about.  Maybe he said he'd represent us, England got in his ear and he's changed his mind.  Maybe he's got a knock.  Maybe he's just generally changed his mind.  Maybe he couldn't be arsed.  Maybe his agent is a bellend and advised him to invent a knock for this window.  Maybe his club did (wouldn't be the first time) Who really cares ultimately?  The only thing that should matter is ultimately whether he wants to represent us.  Next time he's fit and available, either call him up or don't.  If he rejects it, we move on, if he doesn't, he maybe goes on to be a key player for us.  There just isn't enough to go on to say either way at this stage.