Interesting to see that Irish Mancunian Morrissey has donated 20,000 pounds to help restore Salford Lads Club. You will recall that The Smiths posed outside the club for the inside cover of the 1986 album The Queen is Dead. Clearly Morrissey's roots mean a great deal to him. You'd never think so if you'd read a recent piece on Guardian Unlimited which bizarrely suggested that Morrissey should be the new England soccer manager. Believe it or not the argument ran that, though Irish, Morrissey is so English he should be given the manager's job.

This is a syndrome that any Irish person born in Britain will be very familiar with. Through creative pieces like Irish Blood, English Heart, could Morrissey have made it any plainer that his Irish identity really matters to him? Not withstanding this commentaters stubbornly persist in describing him as 'quintessentialy' English.

Why do the English have such a problem accepting and recognising the Irish identity of people born on this side of the water? Could it be a symptom of a colonial mindset? Other minorities in this country crave acceptance as English if they are born here. When the English are in a magnanimous mood this wish is generally granted. If you believe you are the best in the world it's easy to understand why others would wish to embrace your identity. It is however hard to make sense of people who could opt for an English identity but choose an Irish one instead.