Stephen Ireland

[elroy]

Well said Ciaran. This is why I save my most intense frustration for Trapp, Brady and the FAI. It's obvious we are dealing with an immature indivudual who is having difficulty dealing with the fall-out from a deeply regrettable and idiotic lapse of judgement. Yet they dont give any impression that they actually understand the issue or are equiped to deal with him. I have said it before, and I know there are very few who sympathise with this sentiment, but we are paying these people to manage, and that goes beyond tactics and training. It also involves managing people and being able to deal with the sort of personnel issues that middle managers in companies up and down this country face day in day out. Saying "its up to him" and admitting that the only direct commuincation with Ireland was via a fax on Xmas day is pitiful.

OH FFS................the new management team when appointed expressed their desire for him to return, then meet with the lad personally to discuss his issues and to outline their visions for the team. Following this meeting, the management team outlined their hopes that he would return.
Next SI declares he is not yet making himself available, the mgmt team respect his decision but have reiterated on numerous occasions that the door remains open for him at any stage and all he has to do is pick up the phone. That remains the management's stance.
What possibly more could they do..................at the end of the day they have 22 + players who WANT to play for Ireland and are happy to play for Ireland, that is the most important thing.

Just because SI has not come out and said I do not want to play for Ireland you somehow feel that the management still have not done enough. I will not insult the guy because at the end of the day it is his decision but I think I speak for most of the contributors on this site when I say that our main grievance with the lad is his abject lack of clarity and consistency in what he has said. It is clear to me that he does not want to play for Ireland for at least the foreseeable future, well then why does he not come out and say that and let us all move on instead of his vague mannerisms and responses such as "never say never"

[Manblue]

OH FFS................the new management team when appointed expressed their desire for him to return, then meet with the lad personally to discuss his issues and to outline their visions for the team. Following this meeting, the management team outlined their hopes that he would return.
Next SI declares he is not yet making himself available, the mgmt team respect his decision but have reiterated on numerous occasions that the door remains open for him at any stage and all he has to do is pick up the phone. That remains the management's stance.
What possibly more could they do..................at the end of the day they have 22 + players who WANT to play for Ireland and are happy to play for Ireland, that is the most important thing.

Just because SI has not come out and said I do not want to play for Ireland you somehow feel that the management still have not done enough. I will not insult the guy because at the end of the day it is his decision but I think I speak for most of the contributors on this site when I say that our main grievance with the lad is his abject lack of clarity and consistency in what he has said. It is clear to me that he does not want to play for Ireland for at least the foreseeable future, well then why does he not come out and say that and let us all move on instead of his vague mannerisms and responses such as "never say never"

Doesnt never say never imply that he will at some stage just not at the moment which is what your asking him to clarify.... or is it just me?

[SUB of the day]

I think the time has come for Trap to close the door, and say Ireland is retired as long as he is in charge,thus ending the speculation.Irelands dirtiest town, with the second highest public order offences station in the state ,could do without a native son giving the finger to the National team and fans.I hope he enjoys the praise from some Man City fans for "tellin' the Irish to sod off".

[Manblue]

I think the time has come for Trap to close the door, and say Ireland is retired as long as he is in charge,thus ending the speculation.Irelands dirtiest town, with the second highest public order offences station in the state ,could do without a native son giving the finger to the National team and fans.I hope he enjoys the praise from some Man City fans for "tellin' the Irish to sod off".

If he is as immature as ye all say he is do ye not think trap should of played a bigger part then trying to get him back, meeting him in a hotel room without even a desk or chairs is hardly professional, and he is as stubborn as Ireland if ya ask me. and i seriously doubt any city fans even care enough about our national side to warrant praising him.

[SUB of the day]

In fairness how relevant is that?.....The door is open, he turned his back,simple really.

[elroy]

Doesnt never say never imply that he will at some stage just not at the moment which is what your asking him to clarify.... or is it just me?

'It's not that I am not patriotic and I know much of this is my fault. But it's sad the way some people still want to criticise me. I know the Irish thing will take longer to fix. I just think I am quite happy as I am right now.

'I read in the press that (Giovanni) Trapattoni and Liam Brady have said they have contacted me. Well, they haven't. That's all I can say. Never say never, though.'

The lack of clarity clearly arises from the fact that he has never outlined his reason(s) for not wanting to return to the Irish team............. as an Ireland supporter all I want from SI is the reason why he doesnt want to play for us. As outlined above, I respect his decision not to return and will not insult him for it, but i think its only fair the Irish supporters know his reason why. At no point does he address his reasons for not returning.

SI states above that the Irish thing will take longer to fix..........why? SI please clarify


He states he is happy as he is right now...............fine, but the same question, why does he not want to play for Ireland?

He states that Trap and Brady havent contacted him, although this is contrary to what they have said........for one did they not sit down with the lad and ask him return?? Given this guy's record with telling the truth i wonder who we should believe. How many approaches does he require from the management team?

[Denis The Red]

Didn't Shay have a good game tonight?

[Razors left peg]

Is it really fair for someone who has chosen to live in Canada to criticize another for lack of commitment to Ireland?

I really hope u are only havin a laugh with that comment because if not it has to be one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read on this website

[Wolfie]

Well said Ciaran. This is why I save my most intense frustration for Trapp, Brady and the FAI. It's obvious we are dealing with an immature indivudual who is having difficulty dealing with the fall-out from a deeply regrettable and idiotic lapse of judgement. Yet they dont give any impression that they actually understand the issue or are equiped to deal with him. I have said it before, and I know there are very few who sympathise with this sentiment, but we are paying these people to manage, and that goes beyond tactics and training. It also involves managing people and being able to deal with the sort of personnel issues that middle managers in companies up and down this country face day in day out. Saying "its up to him" and admitting that the only direct commuincation with Ireland was via a fax on Xmas day is pitiful.

I understand that modern football management requires a variety of attributes to carry out the job successfully - eg, people skills, man mangement etc etc.

That said, I'd imagine a hypothetical job description for the Ireland football job would not seek a candidate with a Clinical Psychology background and Social Work Experience as essential - with possibly a smattering of football knowledge thrown in.

Stephen Ireland's "personal issues" requires a case manager and a database at this stage.

This issue has dominated this campaign far too much.

Only Stephen Ireland can resolve this definitively.

To be of any value to the team he should be available for the next two games - which he won't be.

[ken foree]

He states that Trap and Brady havent contacted him, although this is contrary to what they have said........for one did they not sit down with the lad and ask him return?? Given this guy's record with telling the truth i wonder who we should believe.

no no it was the other management team that contacted him. no wait it was actually the other one, on his mother's side part of me would be very interested in his reasoning elroy but for now i would take a clarification rather than all this never-say-never implying.

manblue, i think the point people are making is that he shouldn't be implying, he should simply state something to the effect of "time's not right at this moment, i hope to be back for the next campaign."

i mean what if we qualify? and on the eve of the world cup he declares himself available, very publicly? even his most ardent supporters would be sick to the gills if he did that. i would and i have a lot of time for the guy.

[OwlsFan]

It also involves managing people and being able to deal with the sort of personnel issues that middle managers in companies up and down this country face day in day out.

Middle managers up and down the country deal with the issue of people who don't want to work for a company by telling them to f*** off and to seek a job elsewhere.

[Drumcondra 69er]

It's frustrating for everyone else because how good he is but lets not forget Paddy Kenny did the exact same thing because of his personal problems, but nobody apparently cares since he's not a top class player.

Save your traitorous insults for Andy O Brien or Stephen Carr, I don't think SI deserves them.

You're excelling yourself on this thread Ciaran, for a start Paddy Kenny has declared himself available since then and just hasn't been picked, comparing the 2 is laughable.

[geysir]

Soon we will need a book and a play to document this saga.

But it will still be a hard job following the plot.
Amongst the many storylines that don't make sense is the incident when Kerr allegedly (and most probably) banished SI from the youth set up after a bust up in Cork.
Yet in later years in his IT column, Kerr blasts Brady's bullheaded approach as the cause of SI's continued exile

[noby]

Act I

Opening scene.

A door is left open.
Inside, an old man stands, pretending not to peer out the door to a strange character in the corridor.
There are no chairs or desk in the room...

[third policeman]

Middle managers up and down the country deal with the issue of people who don't want to work for a company by telling them to f*** off and to seek a job elsewhere.

As opposed to sending them a fax on Xmas day telling them to drop me a line when you next fancy coming in

[third policeman]

Act I

Opening scene.

A door is left open.
Inside, an old man stands, pretending not to peer out the door to a strange character in the corridor.
There are no chairs or desk in the room...

I have long suspected that the FAI was following a script penned by Beckett. Precious. I take my hat off. I wish I had written it myself.

[OwlsFan]

Act I

Opening scene.

A door is left open.
Inside, an old man stands, pretending not to peer out the door to a strange character in the corridor.
There are no chairs or desk in the room...

The strange character looks like a balding leprechaun who is moaning softly over the death of his leprechaun granny. The old man decides to approach the leprechaun and.....

[OwlsFan]

commiserates with the bald leprechaun over the death of his granny. "No, no" says Baldy, "it's my hamster called Hammy not my granny who has died". The old man is confused but he...

[geysir]

commiserates with the bald leprechaun over the death of his granny. "No, no" says Baldy, "it's my hamster called Hammy not my granny who has died". The old man is confused but he...

was stunned even more when the bald leprechaun burst out "I didn't mean to make trouble, I was only trying to help".
The old man had heard those words before, indeed he had spoken those words before, only the night before, when he was reading a bed time story to his grandchildren about a mischievous clumsy young bear called Teddy.
"How did that story end?" the old man wondered, grasping for some clue on how to connect with the world bald leprechaun inhabits, when ....

[OwlsFan]

...the Leprechaun stated: "To be honest, it wasn't Hammy the Hamster who died but Horney, my favourite pet Hornet". The old man was really confused now and said "Mama mia. It's a only a hornet. Whasa matter with you, whya you looka so sad" to which the Leprechaun replied "Ah, get out of my face!"

"Senda me the faxa if you wanta to talk" replied the old man and closed the door behind him. The Leprechaun smirked and threw his green top in the bin. "Won't be needing that again for a while" he thought as he put on a sky blue pullover and readied himself for a night out on the town. "I really don't have any interest in this Irish Leprechaun thing" he mused as the chauffeur driven car arrived at his plush mansion with his two grannies waving at him from the back.