Step with me, if you will, through a worm-hole, back to 1982. #NornIron have qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 24 years, but misfortune hits on the Airplane flight...
#GAWA
The entire squad eats the fish, contracting food poisoning and are ruled out for the duration of the tournament. Danny Blanchflower, in Spain reporting for the Express newspaper, agrees to step in as temporary #NornIron manager, just three years after leaving the post.
Frantic phone calls to Joao Havelange in Zurich allowed Blanchflower to select a replacement 22 man squad, allowing selections beyond the provisional 40-man panel Billy Bingham had selected. So who are the new #GAWA 22?
1. GK. Eric McManus (Stoke City). Perhaps "unlucky" to miss the flight, McManus has had a long career in England with Coventry and Notts Co., but has spent the past few seasons as back-up at Stoke. A former Amateur cap, he was Jim Platt's back-up for the 1980 Home Nations win.
2. RB. Pat Rice (Watford). Veteran right-back, with 49 caps, Rice has been in international exile under Billy Bingham. After a successful decade with Arsenal, in the season just past he captained Watford to promotion from Division Two.
3. LB. Sean O'Neill (Chesterfield). Also uncapped, O'Neill started his career under Don Revie at Leeds and has since spent 8 years with Division 3 Chesterfield, playing across defence.
4. MD. Vic Moreland (Tulsa Roughnecks). 6 caps. Combative midfielder who played for #NornIron under Blanchflower in the late-70s. Previously with Glentoran and Derby, he is now in the NASL with Tulsa Roughnecks.
5. CB. Gerry McElhinney (Bolton Wanderers). Tough tackling defender, the uncapped McElhinney was on the bench the night qualification was achieved against Israel. Previously a Gaelic All-Star and belt winning boxer he has previously played with Celtic, Finn Harps and Distillery.
6. CB. Allan Hunter (Colchester United). 53 caps. Former #NornIron captain, Hunter has recently been appointed player-manager at Colchester, but hasn't enjoyed much game time over the past few years. Could bring some valuable experience to an otherwise inexperienced squad.
7. MD. George Best (San Jose Earthquakes). 37 caps. A superstar of the world game over the past few decades, Best has been playing in the US in recent seasons, but hasn't played regularly since the winter indoor season. Still, it should be amazing to see him on the biggest stage!
8. MD. Bryan Hamilton (Tranmere Rovers). 50 caps. Vastly experienced veteran midfielder, now taking the field regularly as player-manager of Tranmere after a long career with Linfield, Ipswich and Everton.
9. FW. Derek Spence (Southend United). 29 caps. Spence was devastated to miss out on the squad after being a regular since 1975. Vastly experienced, he has previously played for Crusaders, Blackpool, and in Greece for Olympiakos.
10. FW. Trevor Anderson (Linfield). 22 caps. After spending much of the 1970s in England with Manchester United, Swindon and Peterborough, Anderson's good form with Linfield brought him back into the #NornIron squad over the past few years. Capable on the wing or leading the line
11. MD/FW. Ian Stewart (QPR). 1 cap. Capped for the first time recently against France, Stewart is on the periphery of the QPR team and at 20 a bright future is expected.
12. DF. Jim Hagan (Coventry City). Uncapped. Previously with Larne, Hagan has been with Coventry for the 5 years, though has played just a handful of games. Also been on loan with Torquay, Detroit Express (USA), and Seiko (Hong Kong). Blanchflower did call him up in the late-70s.
13. MD. Billy Caskey (Tulsa Roughnecks). 7 caps. Although he's been playing in the US for the past few years, Caskey has remained in consideration for #NornIron selection. Usually a combative midfielder, he also has experience leading the line. Previously with Glentoran and Derby
14. MD. Chris McGrath (Tulsa Roughnecks). 21 caps. A real favourite of Blanchflower's. He impressed as a youngster with Tottenham and also played for Manchester United but hadn't played much in recent seasons prior to last year's move to the NASL.
15. FM/MD. Tom Sloan (Manchester United). 3 caps. An under-21 international from his days with Ballymena, Sloan has been with Manchester United for the past four seasons during which time he has played a dozen games. Despite his slight frame he can be a creative attacking force.
16. GK. Bill Irwin (Portland Timbers). With no capped goalkeepers still actively playing, Blanchflower has looked to the USA to former Amateur international, Bill Irwin. He won honours with Bangor, 2 Welsh Cups with Cardiff and an NASL All-Star Honourable mention in 1978.
17. GK. Alan Paterson (Glentoran). Another ex-Amateur international, Paterson was called-up by Blanchflower in the late-70s and has represented the League of Ireland and Irish League.
18. DF. Roy Walsh (Linfield). Recently returned to the Irish League with Linfield from Swindon.
19. DF. Nigel Worthington (Notts Co.). Former Youth & Irish League cap, was 1981 Ulster Young Player of the Year before joining Notts Co. Made his Div 1 debut in March.
20. MD. Paul Ramsey (Leicester). Versatile Schools international. Recently broke into the Leicester firstteam.
21. MD. Jim Harvey (Hereford U). Former Glenavon & Arsenal midfielder and Under 21 cap. Has dropped to Div 4 for regular games.
22. FW. Gerry Mullan (Glentoran). Also on the bench against Israel, was a big-money signing for Glentoran from Everton.
So how would this 22 do? Surely they can't fare much worse than the #NornIron squad Billy Bingham originally picked and would surely (don't call me Shirley!) have been humiliated by Yugoslavia, Spain et al! 😉
#GAWA
Other players considered:
GK: Roy McDonald (Crues), Bobby Carlisle, Brian Johnston (both Cliftonville), Mickey Keenan (Portadown)
DF: Peter Scott (Aldershot), Tom Connell (Man U), Hugh Dowd (Doncaster), Paul Dixon (Burnley)
MD: Ronnie Blair (Blackpool), Brian Quinn (Montreal)...
...Peter Dornan,Lindsay McKeown,Stevie McKee (Linfield), Martin Donnelly(SanDiego), John Sloan(B'mena), Bertie McMinn(Distillery), Robbie Dennison(Glenavon), Dave Stewart(Sc'thorpe)
FW: Gary Blackledge(Glens), Colin Clarke(Peterbro), Paul Ferris(N'castle), Billy Murray (L'field)
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