To be honest, after recent events, we're not entirely sure who is and who isn't eligible to play for the Republic any more. We never had any doubts about Bolton's young midfielder Kevin Nolan, though, because his Ma and Da were born here, but last week he opted to play for England, after being selected for their under-18 squad (a month after appearing in Brian Kerr's Irish equivalent). Confused? Us too. End result? We've had to TippEx him from our McCarthy's Men In Britain list. Oh well.

Unless Kilnamanagh actually belongs to Bulgaria there's no doubting the Irish credentials of Arsenal's Graham Barrett, nor is there any doubting it was a half decent week for the 19-year-old Dubliner who was given a first team run-out against Ipswich in the League Cup and has been promised a part in Tuesday's Champions' League game against Shakhtar Dontesk. Player of the week, though, is Plymouth's Sean McCarthy, purely and simply because he needs all the cheering up he can get right now. On Saturday he earned his team a point against Torquay with his sixth goal of the season and then broke his arm in a collision with a beefy defender. Get well soon.