Darron Gibson

[Predator]

Wow is young Gibson starting to go bald too?
The Irish Zidane.

[Charlie Darwin]

He's had that bald patch for a few years now.

[Nagger]

Excellent free kick

[Crosby87]

The Irish Zidane.

The Irish Ireland.:D

Never noticed the bald patch. Hope the boys havent been making fun of it in training camp.

[seanfhear]

Young talented Irish player with receding hair at big Manchester club !

What could possibly go wrong ? ? ?

OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.................................. ..................

[tricky_colour]

Looks lilke the defender in the wall might have got a touch on Gibsons free kick, but only from one angle
from other angles I do not see him touching it
Anyway it was a great free kick was going in all the time.

[Colbert Report]

This guy needs to stop hitting up the Chinese buffets with Andy Reid. Christ he looks fat.

[Acornvilla]

don't see the fat myself..

[Predator]

don't see the fat myself..Nor I. Perhaps it's just another reason to have a go at Gibson despite showing some obvious class?

[Charlie Darwin]

If Gibson is fat then Rooney is obese. He's probably just been on the weights over the summer which, frankly, he needed after some of last season's performances.

[aidinho]

Darron's been working on his set pieces.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwOvQ3bWQN8

belter. Is Gibson in the Paddy McCourt brigade? ie. hes a provy who hates the north or is he just picking yous to better his career?

[EastTerracer]

belter. Is Gibson in the Paddy McCourt brigade? ie. hes a provy who hates the north or is he just picking yous to better his career?

Go away Aidinho - you have no clue what you're talking about. Paddy McCourt is a Northern Ireland international (as is Niall McGinn) so how could he possibly be "Provy who hates the north" - clueless!

[The Fly]

Go away Aidinho - you have no clue what you're talking about.


My sentiments exactly.

[Predator]

belter. Is Gibson in the Paddy McCourt brigade? ie. hes a provy who hates the north or is he just picking yous to better his career?Interesting choice of word.

[The Fly]

Interesting snippet from Alex Ferguson's post match press conference at Lansdowne Road.
He feels that Gibson will have a big part to play for United this season, - which can only be good news for the national team!

From 4.04 on...

http://www.extratime.ie/newsdesk/articles/4034/

[dr_peepee]

Interesting assessment of Gibsons attributes by Fergie too. All positive regarding his abilities. I think it's his head that holds him back in terms of pressure/nerves etc.

[tetsujin1979]

Interesting assessment of Gibsons attributes by Fergie too. All positive regarding his abilities. I think it's his head that holds him back in terms of pressure/nerves etc.
It's rare that Ferguson ever puts down one of his own players in public. Once I saw him say that Wes Brown was the best central defender in the country.

[dr_peepee]

I was more talking about the qualified endorsement he gave of Gibson though. "He has the abilities to be a very good player". I was wondering if underneath it Fergie thinks Gibson needs to get his head on a par with those attributes, if you know what I mean. I recall reading another coach with exposure to Gibson utter those sentiments a couple of years ago, and I've definately seen first hand him "hiding" for Ireland. I just hope he gets enough games to bed himself into both teams to get over any hump of nerves or whatever the case may be.

[irishfan86]

I was more talking about the qualified endorsement he gave of Gibson though. "He has the abilities to be a very good player". I was wondering if underneath it Fergie thinks Gibson needs to get his head on a par with those attributes, if you know what I mean. I recall reading another coach with exposure to Gibson utter those sentiments a couple of years ago, and I've definately seen first hand him "hiding" for Ireland. I just hope he gets enough games to bed himself into both teams to get over any hump of nerves or whatever the case may be.

The coach you're thinking of is Ole Gunner Solskjaer, who said, "Darron Gibson is like a Ferrari , but sometimes it's hard to get him out of the garage."

Anyone who's been following Gibson's career knows that Ferguson has basically been spouting the same lines on Gibson for the past few seasons. "He's going to be a great player some day."

We're all just waiting for that time to arrive. Hopefully it's this year, it would be great for Ireland.

[shakermaker1982]

He's only 22. Carrick misses the start of the season because of injury (as does Anderson) so if Gibson gets off to a solid start then he'll be hard to shift. It's a big year for him.

[The Fly]

Gibson fails to make the match-day squad for the community shield game against Chelsea.

John O'Shea starts.

[aidinho]

Go away Aidinho - you have no clue what you're talking about. Paddy McCourt is a Northern Ireland international (as is Niall McGinn) so how could he possibly be "Provy who hates the north" - clueless!

Paddy McCourt is a boyhood Celtic fan as is Lennon and Martin O'Neil and wee Nial McGinn is too but they are from the Celtic half of Belfast, I don't know much about this guy Gibson from Man Utd tbh but apparently he has played for the North throughout his young career through all the levels and now hes playing for the Republic senior squad.

Does this not stink of a guy trying to better his career by playing for yous rather than sticking with Northern Ireland?

[DannyInvincible]

Paddy McCourt is from Derry, Neil Lennon is from Lurgan, Martin O'Neill is from Kilrea and Niall McGinn is from Donaghmore outside Dungannon. None of these places are even in the same county as Belfast.

As for Darron Gibson (from Derry, just so you know), he played in the Northern Ireland set-up at under-16 level and has played with us at every level beyond ever since.

Are you on a wind-up?

[Supreme feet]

Does this not stink of a guy trying to better his career by playing for yous rather than sticking with Northern Ireland?

Nope. As an Irish citizen, he has every right to play for us, and has played with us since switching at Under-17 level - hardly the sign of a 'glory-hunter'. He opted to play for us despite the controversy that went with it, which couldn't have been easy to deal with, particularly in 2007 when he made his senior debut. The easy thing to do would have been to stay with NI, but obviously his heart wasn't in it; he's ours now, and we're happy to have him.

[aidinho]

Paddy McCourt is from Derry, Neil Lennon is from Lurgan, Martin O'Neill is from Kilrea and Niall McGinn is from Donaghmore outside Dungannon. None of these places are even in the same county as Belfast.

As for Darron Gibson (from Derry, just so you know), he played in the Northern Ireland set-up at under-16 level and has played with us at every level beyond ever since.

Are you on a wind-up?

not on the wind up mate but I'm pretty sure that Gibson has always been a Northern Irish player until he chose to play for the Republic at senior level and the the North kicked up hell about it forcing FIFA to make a decision and anybody from the north or south of Ireland can chose which team they want to play for as long as they have not played a full international for either team.

I just hope to eff that Paddy McCourt would have chose the Republic over the north now. plus. plus. the Trap could gee him a wee cigee at half time aswell.

[Charlie Darwin]

Nah he played 3 or 4 games for NI youth teams then switched when he was 16 or 17.

[DannyInvincible]

not on the wind up mate but I'm pretty sure that Gibson has always been a Northern Irish player until he chose to play for the Republic at senior level and the the North kicked up hell about it forcing FIFA to make a decision and anybody from the north or south of Ireland can chose which team they want to play for as long as they have not played a full international for either team.

Well, now you know better. He's played with us from under-17 level. The IFA only kicked up a major fuss about it when Gibson looked set to make his senior debut for us. They wouldn't have given a damn about him had he not played for Manchester United and, instead, played for a club like Derry City. Plenty of players from the north played for FAI teams before Gibson made his move - and even before the GFA, in fact - but the IFA didn't seem too bothered by it all, presumably due to the lesser reputation of these players. In fact, Jim Boyce (former head of the IFA) in 1999, expressly acknowledged the right of the FAI to call up Irish nationals born anywhere on the island of Ireland.

FIFA's rules have always been pretty clear. They weren't forced to make any decision because nothing was ever ambiguous; they merely clarified their statutes to the IFA time and time again because the IFA preferred to view the rules as warped by their own dogmatic prejudices rather than rationally. Despite FIFA's numerous clarifications on what are and always have been a pretty clear set of rules, the IFA took a huff, decided to wilfully ignore these clarifications and inexplicably went off to CAS in an attempt to convince the court that their wild interpretation of FIFA's rules was correct. Inevitably, CAS told them to get lost.

By the way, Paddy McCourt made his Northern Ireland debut in 2002 whilst at Rochdale, to the best of my knowledge. That was before he went on to play for Shamrock Rovers and Derry City. He would obviously have been fairly young then and maybe didn't fancy his chances with Ireland; maybe he wasn't even aware that he was eligible to play for Ireland. Who's to know?

[SkStu]

not on the wind up mate but I'm pretty sure that Gibson has always been a Northern Irish player until he chose to play for the Republic at senior level and the the North kicked up hell about it forcing FIFA to make a decision and anybody from the north or south of Ireland can chose which team they want to play for as long as they have not played a full international for either team..

i think youre thinking of Shane Duffy's recent switch. As posters here have said Gibson switched at U17.

[DannyInvincible]

i think youre thinking of Shane Duffy's recent switch. As posters here have said Gibson switched at U17.

Besides, Duffy might have played for Northern Ireland's under-21 team on a few occasions, but this was as a 17-year-old who had been fast-tracked through their under-age system with the approval of Nigel Worthington for the very reason of either flattering or guilt-tripping him into sticking it out with them despite his well-known intentions to represent Ireland. He made the switch at the age of 17. The whole furore over his switch arose in the media after Worthington called Duffy into a senior squad for a friendly game despite knowing full well that Duffy had no interest in taking his place in the squad. It was a very sly way of drawing publicity to his "defection" and brewing up a storm. Essentially, the IFA used the lad as a media scapegoat upon the back of whom they'd ride into the CAS case. This all was in spite of Duffy having a father from Donegal, but, of course, there's no place for logic in prejudice or moral panic...

[Closed Account]

http://www.stokecity-mad.co.uk/news/tmnw/potters_close_on_red_devils_midfielder_547437/index.shtml

Linked with a 6 month loan to Stoke according to this

The Potters are finalising a deal to bring the 22-year-old to the Britannia Stadium on a six-month loan, with the option of an extension in January should both parties agree. It is believed that the deal will not have a clause for a permanent transfer as Alex Ferguson see's him as a vital part of the future at Old Trafford.

[OneRedArmy]

Paddy McCourt is a boyhood Celtic fan as is Lennon and Martin O'Neil and wee Nial McGinn is too but they are from the Celtic half of Belfast, I don't know much about this guy Gibson from Man Utd tbh but apparently he has played for the North throughout his young career through all the levels and now hes playing for the Republic senior squad.

Does this not stink of a guy trying to better his career by playing for yous rather than sticking with Northern Ireland?What I learned from this post is that there's a Celtic half of Belfast.

Not sure how I managed to get through 33 years of life without realising that.

[Charlie Darwin]

I think it's the same part of Belfast Robbie Keane is from...

Gibson to Stoke is a bit surprising, but I think it makes sense. We all know he's got class on the ball, but his work without it leaves a lot to be desired, and presumably Stoke won't be dominating possession too often this season. Plus it'd do his international chances no harm to be paired up with Whelan week-in week-out.

[boovidge]

What I learned from this post is that there's a Celtic half of Belfast.

Not sure how I managed to get through 33 years of life without realising that.

Have you not heard of the Celtic half of Belfast? Everyone walks around in Celtic shirts blasting out "The Best of The Wolfe Tones" on ghetto blasters. There's also a shop selling leprechaun hats and giant inflatable tricolor hammers on every street corner.

[Charlie Darwin]

Guardian hack says there's nothing in it:

DTguardian (http://twitter.com/DTguardian)
daniel taylor
Nothing in the story of Darron Gibson from #MUFC (http://twitter.com/search?q=%23MUFC) to #Stoke (http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Stoke) . .

[John83]

Have you not heard of the Celtic half of Belfast? Everyone walks around in Celtic shirts blasting out "The Best of The Wolfe Tones" on ghetto blasters. There's also a shop selling leprechaun hats and giant inflatable tricolor hammers on every street corner.
And then I woke up, screaming.

[shaneker]

Anyone seen this yet? http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/gibson-warns-trapattoni-over-united-row-2327457.html

Didn't realise Trap had been talking about this (apologies if I'm having a "Breaking news - Titanic sinks" moment, the article is dated for today) and although I'm his absolute biggest fan and supporter, he probably could have done without this; Darron is probably going to be important for us for many years and keeping him sweet would seem smart.

That said, is he right? Gibson hasn't made the bench for any of United's games this season, although he is in the European squad. I'd like to see him hang around for this season and try to get in for cup games or 'hope' for a few injuries, but if he's still no closer to the first team by next summer, maybe he should look to go somewhere where he will actually play.

[tetsujin1979]

Bit of a storm in a teacup isn't it? Gibson doesn't seem to be too bothered, and Trapattoni's comments aren't exactly inflammatory. No worse than he's said about Keane, Given, etc not getting regular game time at their clubs.

[shaneker]

I totally agree - using the term 'war of words' in the first sentence of the article is total sensationalising by the Indo.

[passinginterest]

Gibson does come across as very arrogant there in dismissing playing for a club like Stoke, why wouldn't he improve and learn playing regular football in a team like that for a season, or even six months? He seems to think takling and hard work are not particularly important parts of the game?

[DannyInvincible]

The opening three paragraphs blow what was said way out of proportion.

This, however...


"I'm just waiting for my chance to get another run in the team. "It would be great for me if I was to play against Albania, it would be another cap and fingers crossed, I'll get the nod.

:confused:

[osarusan]

Gibson does come across as very arrogant there in dismissing playing for a club like Stoke, why wouldn't he improve and learn playing regular football in a team like that for a season, or even six months? He seems to think takling and hard work are not particularly important parts of the game?Agreed. Given he is viewed as a skilled footballer who doesn't always put in a full shift, and seeing as how Trapattoni seems to prefer more-defensively minded ball winners and battlers in midfield, I'd say that Stoke (or any other team that doesn't keep the ball for long) would provide him with a lot of the work that Trapattoni wants to see him get practice with.

[DannyInvincible]

According to a poster going by the name of 'stuartg' on OWC:


Gibson's words to a few RoI fans in a Dublin nightclub on Saturday night regarding not being picked to play against Armenia.

"Paul Green who is he anyway. I don't give a f**k anymore"

Let's just say quite a few of the players have "issues" with Trappatoni.

Could well be hearsay with a hint of bias and exaggeration. Would Gibson even have been in a Dublin nightclub on Saturday night? Who knows? And "quite a few players" have issues? Again, sounds like overblown nonsense.

Anyhow, our very own 'EalingGreen' then pipes up with this absolute cracker:


It would almost be worth getting a banner made up for the next game:

"Paul Green who is he anyway? I don't give a f**k anymore" - Darron Gibson

And underneath, it could add:

"Darron Gibson who is he anyway? We don't give a f**k anymore" - GAWA
:rolleyes:

The only problem with the idea being that 'EG' and his pals obviously do give a huge f*ck about it seeing as it's all they ever bleat on about.

[DannyInvincible]

Trapattoni's opinion on Gibson is obvious from this and I'm sure he has explained his reasoning to him: http://www.tribalfootball.com/trapattoni-explains-freezing-out-man-utd-midfielder-gibson-1096681


"I have no prejudice against any player. You don't need to tell me about Darron's qualities. They are exceptional.

"But he is not playing at the moment and that can affect a player's morale.

"Also, I like my midfielders to be like Gattuso, to be mentally strong and to carry out the little details. I'm not always right but I am happy with how Green played."

[ifk101]

Would Gibson even have been in a Dublin nightclub on Saturday night? Who knows? And "quite a few players" have issues? Again, sounds like overblown nonsense.

What do you think?

[DannyInvincible]

I think it sounds like overblown nonsense. ;)

[ifk101]

I think it sounds like overblown nonsense. ;)

That's because it is. ;)

[dr_peepee]

Bit of a storm in a teacup isn't it? Gibson doesn't seem to be too bothered, and Trapattoni's comments aren't exactly inflammatory. No worse than he's said about Keane, Given, etc not getting regular game time at their clubs.

I dunno. Gibson was quoted as saying
"To be honest, if he's trying to say that I should move somewhere like Stoke City and change my game to winning tackles and not winning games, then he's having a laugh" Not very diplomatic.

Trapp is right though. Gibson's is 23 next month and has a pitifull amount of game time under his belt for that age. I don't believe Gibson is going to do a Darren Fletcher and turn it around at united. He needs to choose his battles, unless he's happy to go the David May route!!!

[geysir]

I dunno. Gibson was quoted as saying
Note that the quotation marks are not completed.

It has all the appearance of the usual manufactured guff from some of the press before an Ireland game.

[Drumcondra 69er]

I totally agree - using the term 'war of words' in the first sentence of the article is total sensationalising by the Indo.

It's an article taken from the Belfast Telegraph. Agenda driven by any chance?

Didn't see it in the print version of the indo this morning.....

[tetsujin1979]

Could well be hearsay with a hint of bias and exaggeration. Would Gibson even have been in a Dublin nightclub on Saturday night? Who knows? And "quite a few players" have issues? Again, sounds like overblown nonsense.to quote Lionel Hutz, attorney at law (also expert show repair)

"We have plenty of hearsay and conjecture. Those are kinds of evidence"
The team flew back into Dublin after the game, and had training sessions on saturday and sunday.
It's possible that Gibson was in a nightclub on saturday night, but if he was, it would have been all over the papers. Remember the photos of Robbie Keane celebrating his birthday a few days before the Russia game?