Like the family and ancestors of numerous people on Tyneside many footballers have also crossed the Straits of Moyle, via Belfast or Larne, to pull on the Tony Higgins Black & White striped shirt of Newcastle United. Follow @Higgins1892
GEORDIES HERE, GEORDIES THERE... Northern Ireland 2 Norway 0 Sunday 26th March 2017 ,7:45pm, Windsor Park, Belfast (Att: 18,161) In 1921 Ireland was politically split into the 26 counties Free State and the 6 counties state of Northern Ireland but before then there was only one Irish football team, in which a few United players, like Belfast born Bill McCracken, represented. McCracken was a bit of a footballing maverick and played for United for almost twenty years, he is legendary for perfecting the off-side game so well that the football powers-that-be were compelled to change the offside rule in 1925. Down the years many
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others have worn the green of Northern Ireland, in fact three United players represented them in perhaps their most successful team ever. In 1958 Alf McMichael, Tommy Casey and Dick Keith were all part of their World Cup squad in Sweden. Only Portsmouth, who also had 3 players in Sweden, had as many representatives in that squad. The Northern Irish pulled off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup Finals history by qualifying for the quarter-finals, drawing with the World Champions, West Germany, along the way. They eventually went
out 4-0 to France. Since then, a succession of United players have been capped for Northern Ireland, among them 1969 Fairs Cup winners Ian McFaul and David Craig, later came Tommy Cassidy, David McCreery, Ian Stewart, Tommy Wright, Keith Gillespie, Michael O’Neill, Aaron Hughes and Shane Ferguson. The last three in that list are still involved with the team, O’Neill is the manager, veteran Hughes is the second highest capped player and Ferguson is a regular in the starting eleven. The history of international football on the island of Ireland is quite a
Since then, a succession of United players have been capped for Northern Ireland, among them 1969 Fairs Cup winners Ian McFaul and David Craig, later came Tommy Cassidy, David McCreery, Ian Stewart, Tommy Wright, Keith Gillespie, Michael O’Neill, Aaron Hughes and Shane Ferguson
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