Stephen Ireland

[beautifulrock]

He is playing well, showing a good range of passing and positional awareness. Should have scored as well although City did eventually score from the same move but a good run in to the box in the first instance. However, Petrov will be someone we will need to watch in our games aginst Bulgaria. Great speed of thought and of foot.

[jmurphyc]

He is playing well, showing a good range of passing and positional awareness.

If he's showing positional awareness then that's excellent. That is one thing which he really lacked before; he always seemed to drift out of games largely due to him always being in the wrong position at the wrong time. I really hoped Sven would iron this trait out of him and if Sven does this then maybe in the future he'll have the intelligence to play in a two man central midfield for us.

[eirebhoy]

I just watched 15 minutes of the match during half time of the big match. There's no doubt in my mind Ireland is going to be a fantastic player.

[beautifulrock]

If he's showing positional awareness then that's excellent. That is one thing which he really lacked before; he always seemed to drift out of games largely due to him always being in the wrong position at the wrong time. I really hoped Sven would iron this trait out of him and if Sven does this then maybe in the future he'll have the intelligence to play in a two man central midfield for us.

Yes he certainly is, has overshadowed Scholes, not an easy feat. I will say though that Hamann is the perfect foil for Ireland and we do not have that type of player to pair him with.

[Stuttgart88]

Yes he certainly is, has overshadowed Scholes, not an easy feat. I will say though that Hamann is the perfect foil for Ireland and we do not have that type of player to pair him with.

That's exactly right. Potter plays the same game as Hamann but on a very different level. Steven Reid is more in the Joey Barton mould, and Barton and Ireland did ok. He's a talented player but difficult to accomodate given our other midfielders.

[tetsujin1979]

Ireland and Dunne are running away with the MOTM poll from the Manchester derby on manchestereveningnews.co.uk, their combined total is more than the rest of the team put together: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co....nchester_city/

[OwlsFan]

I wonder will the appointment make any difference to Ireland or will he continue his self-imposed exile. I don't see Trappatoni going on bended knee to him.

[cavan_fan]

I've noticed there have been no quotes from players about the new manager. Interesting, I suspect they are none too happy as the idea fo international week as holiday time in Dublin is coming to an end

[paul_oshea]

hunt made a point on setanta about it.

[tetsujin1979]

I've noticed there have been no quotes from players about the new manager. Interesting, I suspect they are none too happy as the idea fo international week as holiday time in Dublin is coming to an end

Probably more to do with the fact that there's no press conferences on at the moment, due to a lull in Premiership games. With a lot of teams not playing this weekend due to FA Cup games, training is off too, so there's no place for journalists to approach players. Give it a week or so and we'll see the comments come out.

[Seagull-4-life]

I just watched 15 minutes of the match during half time of the big match. There's no doubt in my mind Ireland is going to be a fantastic player.

Ireland's gonna be great and we need him on board.

[RivaldoBabb]

I don't see Trappatoni going on bended knee to him.

I would be disgusted with Trap if he did.

Why the hell anyone, particularly a young talented player would need to be begged to play for Ireland I dont know.

He's got a lot to prove to Ireland fans, the most important thing in an international player is commitment to the cause and stories about a granny that was supposed to be dead but actually turned out to be immortal just doesnt convince me.

Shame, because he is talented, not as good as he is made out to be mind you, I thought he was awfull in the first half of the manchester derby but decent in the second half but didnt deliver anywhere near Richard Dunnes performance.

overrated, not commited

[eirebhoy]

I watched him the last couple of games and he really is a similar player to Seedorf. His passing stats must be excellent. He played a fantastic through pass with the outside of his foot in the first half but Benjani was just offside.

[NeilMcD]

Did he not come out and say he is back playing for us and available for selection. I don't Trap will have do anything other than just pick him.

[Stuttgart88]

I watched him the last couple of games and he really is a similar player to Seedorf.

It's a pity he's not the same athlete. Seedorf, by all accounts, is one of the most extraordinary natural athletes. Ireland is a midget.

[eirebhoy]

Actually, Krajnar of Portsmouth would be a better comparison.

[ramsfan]

great passer of a ball and a very intelligent footballer he just needs to bring a bit of consistancy into his game

[jmurphyc]

It's nice to see him start and score today. I didn't see the game though. Was it a decent goal? Hopefully he can keep up his good form and decides to make himself available for selection (I still don't really know whether he has or not with the differing media quotes I've heard).

[tricky_colour]

It's nice to see him start and score today. I didn't see the game though. Was it a decent goal? Hopefully he can keep up his good form and decides to make himself available for selection (I still don't really know whether he has or not with the differing media quotes I've heard).

Sounded like a good quality tap-in on the radio , if that makes any sense!

[NeilMcD]

A mis-hit tap in and he was offside too, He did is usual performance of a few nice touches and not being in the game for large chunks.