Stephen Ireland

[Razors left peg]

Tardelli doesnt know why he is refusing to return...
http://sports.setanta.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/08/31/Inter-Tardelli-on-Ireland/?facets/sport-space/football/ireland-locale/

[Plastic Paddy]

Maybe he's holding out for his father's country? ;) :rolleyes:

What a ****.

:ball: PP

[irishultra]

he said he could have played for italy? can somebody tell me if this is true or just his usual ****e?

[FarBeag]

Why cant they just give up on this bloke, he does not want to play for us and that's it.I have never seen so much effort by top fai people trying to convince someone into doing something he clearly does not want to do. Why can’t they just call up players like Lawrence and St Ledger? These guys would jump at the chance to represent their country and would play with their hearts on their sleeves.

[DeNiro]

Starting on the left today VS Sunderland, with SWP on the right. Surprised to see Petrov dropped for him to be honest

I think Petrov is injured. It will be interesting to see how Hughes arranges that midfield with SWP the most likely candidate for right midfield. I make a 5 man midfield of SWP-Elano-Johnson-Kompany-Petrov as the most likely line-up. Can't see where Ireland is going to fit in.

[irishultra]

Elano will be on the bench a lot...probably Ireland and Elano rotating a lot.

[Wexford Delboy]

some game again today

[DmanDmythDledge]

Elano will be on the bench a lot...probably Ireland and Elano rotating a lot.
Doubt it very much. Elano is a class or two above Ireland.

[Reality Bites]

Excellent again on Sunday, A real instinctive strike in the Box too, shame he isn't playing next saturday

[FarBeag]

Excellent again on Sunday, A real instinctive strike in the Box too, shame he isn't playing next saturday


Who cares if he bangs in three goals a game? It won’t do the country he deserted or his loyal colleagues who want to play for their country any good. This bloke has given up on Ireland and its supporters. Why can some of ye just let him go?

[Allstar]

Maybe he's holding out for his father's country? ;) :rolleyes:

What a ****.

:ball: PP

His father's irish and he has repsented ireland at underage levels so I dont know where you are getting that from???????

[Dodge]

Doubt it very much. Elano is a class or two above Ireland.

Yep, but he's ridiculously inconsistent. Ended up playing full back last year.

For the record I agree with PP. Time to move on

[geysir]

For the record I agree with PP. Time to move on
That just doesn't sound like PP's record.

[Dodge]

Sorry, should have read

For the record I agree with PP above.


Time to move on

[L37Ultra]

We have an extremely important World Cup qualifier game on Saturday. Ireland does not want to play with his country (for whatever reason?) :o

Lets concentrate on the game versus Georgia on Saturday. In my opinion Ireland wouldn't even start for us anyways. As above posts said, lets move on because i'm sure he is just loving the attention.

[on_me_head_son]

Reluctant as I am to resurrect this thread, as I know the the topic polarises opinion on these boards, I just feel I have to comment on S. Irelands fantastic performance against Portsmouth yesterday. His tenacity, movement and expansive passing was simply awesome. In my humble opinion this was the best performance from an Irish midfielder since Roy Keane in his pomp. It says it all that Sparky substituted him simply so he would get a standing ovation.

I understand that a lot of people on this forum don't want to see him in the Irish shirt again, but I for one am hoping that Hughs and Trap can persuade him to return to the fold. He can offer options no other Irish player can at the moment. Forgive and forget for the greater good I say.

[shakermaker1982]

He looked awesome yesterday......just a pity he doesn't want to play for us.

[Reality Bites]

Reluctant as I am to resurrect this thread, as I know the the topic polarises opinion on these boards, I just feel I have to comment on S. Irelands fantastic performance against Portsmouth yesterday. His tenacity, movement and expansive passing was simply awesome. In my humble opinion this was the best performance from an Irish midfielder since Roy Keane in his pomp. It says it all that Sparky substituted him simply so he would get a standing ovation.

I understand that a lot of people on this forum don't want to see him in the Irish shirt again, but I for one am hoping that Hughs and Trap can persuade him to return to the fold. He can offer options no other Irish player can at the moment. Forgive and forget for the greater good I say.

Yes I agree, I think its safe to say he is the best Irish Prospect since Roy Keane (unfortunately they have more than brillance in common) I think his range of passing is better than Keanes, his awareness yesterday was in a word awesome, we haven't seen an Irish player like this since Giles and Brady, to say he isn't welcome back or we don't need him is folly..Someone needs to get hold of this kid and get him back

[eirebhoy]

9/10 in the Times ratings:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article4799360.ece

Hughes:
"Stephen Ireland was exceptional once again and has been for many weeks, He’s on a run of form that we hope he can sustain.”

[Reality Bites]

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan picked the wrong day to inject realism into his £200m takeover of Manchester City. "We are building a structure for the future, not just a team of all-stars," said the Arab billionaire on completion of the due diligence process yesterday, having heeded the scorn that greeted the transfer wishlist divulged on deadline day. He may be too late, for Mark Hughes' team have already begun to indulge in fantasy.

In contrast to the new owner, City chose the perfect time to impress a gallery with global domination on the mind. Before Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who will become City's new chairman when Sheikh Mansour's takeover is formally concluded tomorrow, and Thaksin Shinawatra, the outgoing owner who will stay on as honorary president, Hughes' team excelled against Portsmouth to record their biggest Premier League win. The men from Abu Dhabi hope to establish a gulf between their new investment and the rest in years to come. But one was very evident here.

Whether it was City's magnificence or Portsmouth's appalling display that produced this mauling divided the respective managers as deeply as the goal count. "That was the best performance I've managed by a country mile," said Hughes. "We were poor. Our defensive play was abysmal," said a shell-shocked Harry Redknapp. The truth, as always, is somewhere in between and yet there was no mistaking the potent cocktail of City's Brazilian technique and home-grown strength and spirit. The result was unbridled joy for the City faithful as Robinho illuminated their afternoon with a performance of technique and no little effort, and Hughes substituted the British record signing, his compatriot Jo and the outstanding Stephen Ireland simply so all three could enjoy standing ovations.

"If ever there was a day to impress people this was the one," remarked the City manager. "We did that and more. From start to finish the desire and determination in our play, the ability to pick the right pass and to create chances was evident. It was a fantastic team performance, with some brilliant individual displays from Stephen Ireland, Robinho, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Vincent Kompany. We have set a high standard with this performance and the aim is to strive to even greater heights." Talk of Champions League qualification will not sound so fanciful if they do.

Portsmouth were 3-0 victors at Everton on their last away trip but were made to look a shambles as City comprehensively clicked for the first time since Abu Dhabi money transformed their bank balance and ambitions. Hughes's side were superior in every department, their defence immune to the errors that swiftly undermined Portsmouth's game plan, the midfield blessed with greater understanding and invention and, as befitted their billing, the Brazilian strike force of Jo and Robinho leading the visitors' rearguard on an irrepressible dance. For David James, Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin this was 90 minutes on the rack.

Robinho instigated the rout with a delightful pass that released Jo behind the visiting defence, took him around James and saw him convert into an empty net. The England goalkeeper's afternoon plummeted thereafter. James's failure to deal with an Elano corner to his near post enabled Richard Dunne to bundle in a second and the game was effectively up after only 20 minutes. The first "Olés" were heard five minutes later. Portsmouth had their chances either side of the interval, Jermain Defoe squandering a glorious invitation seconds after the restart, but they did not get the run of the ball or display any resilience. City's movement and work ethic produced an exhibition.

Ireland's tenacity and then vision produced Robinho's second successive goal at home for his new club, via Jo, before the midfielder's measured pass enabled Wright-Phillips to beat James at his near post. A backheel from Wright-Phillips gave the young substitute Ched Evans his first goal for the club and the England winger was heavily involved in City's sixth when he challenged James for Javier Garrido's left-wing cross and Gelson Fernandes converted the loose ball. The only problem for Hughes is having to tell his new employers that not every day is like this at City, although Sheikh Mansour appears to be learning fast after announcing to the world that Cristiano Ronaldo et al would be on their way in January.

The sheikh added: "We are ambitious for the club, like you, but not unreasonably so and we understand it takes time to build a team capable of sustaining a presence in the top four of the Premier League and winning European honours." It is performances and victories such as this that bring clarity to such lofty ambitions.

Man of the match Stephen Ireland
City's stand-out summer signings, the Brazilian Robinho and Shaun Wright-Phillips, again impressed but it was the unsung Ireland who dictated the flow of the game with a committed and inventive display

Best moment The Republic of Ireland midfielder's threaded pass that enabled Wright-Phillips to score City's fourth goal

The Gaurdian

[cavan_fan]

IF he did come back, where do you think he would play. would he be competing for Whelan's place or on the right??

[NeilMcD]

Should this not be in world forum..

[Reality Bites]

Should this not be in world forum..

Neither Constructive or Helpful!

[ifk101]

Stephen Ireland has through his actions made it clear he does not want to play for Ireland.

I'd rather have 11 100% committed Leinster Senior League players playing for Ireland than that sploit brat.

[NeilMcD]

Neither Constructive or Helpful!

Sorry, nothing that is said in the Ireland forum is constructive or helpful, it is opinion and hot air. That is fine and it has a place but do not think that any of the opinons expressed here ( I include my own) are nothing other than hot air.

The only things that are constructive and helpful are some of the stuff in Fans Forum etc and a few other threads. Nothing on this particular thread has been constructive or helpful.

[OwlsFan]

Yep, every time there is a good performance by Ireland, he is mentioned here.

He doesn't want to play for us so whether he is the best player ever since Pele, it is irrelevant to Ireland (the country).

[Newryrep]

Stephen Ireland has through his actions made it clear he does not want to play for Ireland.

I'd rather have 11 100% committed Leinster Senior League players playing for Ireland than that sploit brat.

I would agree with the above, we are in danger of protituting ourselves by constantly begging/asking him to come back, have we no pride ?.

I would of had him back after Slovakia following an a apology and was happy to leave it to Trap to make the decision, but I think the time has now passed, does anybody seriously think he would still consider returning if we were beat in the first 2 games ?

[youngirish]

I would agree with the above, we are in danger of protituting ourselves by constantly begging/asking him to come back, have we no pride ?.

I would of had him back after Slovakia following an a apology and was happy to leave it to Trap to make the decision, but I think the time has now passed, does anybody seriously think he would still consider returning if we were beat in the first 2 games ?

I wonder what people would think if he decided to come back only after we qualified for the World Cup. If at that stage he had been outstanding for city for the previous two seasons would people be happy to have him back?

[ifk101]

I wonder what people would think if he decided to come back only after we qualified for the World Cup. If at that stage he had been outstanding for city for the previous two seasons would people be happy to have him back?

No. The decision would ultimately be Trapattoni's but Stephen Ireland has a history of walking out on Irish setups? Do we want another Saipon?

[ruben_sosa]

I wonder what people would think if he decided to come back only after we qualified for the World Cup. If at that stage he had been outstanding for city for the previous two seasons would people be happy to have him back?

He wouldn't get a look in, it would destroy the team morale - Trap isn't stupid. If we did qualify it would prove that we don't need him in the squad anyway. If he has shown no interest in playing world cup qualifiers, then he has no interest in playing in the world cup either. I think he'll come back sooner rather than later, perhaps when his club form takes a dip and he's on the bench and needs a convenient shop window like Finnan. It's only a matter of time before he gets on the wrong side of Hughes and is shown the door.

[Reality Bites]

He wouldn't get a look in, it would destroy the team morale - Trap isn't stupid. If we did qualify it would prove that we don't need him in the squad anyway. If he has shown no interest in playing world cup qualifiers, then he has no interest in playing in the world cup either. I think he'll come back sooner rather than later, perhaps when his club form takes a dip and he's on the bench and needs a convenient shop window like Finnan. It's only a matter of time before he gets on the wrong side of Hughes and is shown the door.

A reasonable thread till laughable laugh sentance, pure pub talk after 8 pints.

[ruben_sosa]

A reasonable thread till laughable laugh sentance, pure pub talk after 8 pints.

laughable laugh sentance. indeed.

[NeilMcD]

A reasonable thread till laughable laugh sentance, pure pub talk after 8 pints.

Neither contructive or helpful.:)-

[EAFC_rdfl]

Neither contructive or helpful.-
haha brilliant!!!!! :D:D:D

[third policeman]

I think this "he doesn't want to play for us so f**k him attitude" is a bit glib and a ridiculous over-simplifaction of what must be a very complex and sensitive set of personal circumstances. Ireland is a complex personality and, these very complexities are in all probably intrinsically connected to his unique footballing gifts (a la Best, Gascoigne and numerous other talented enigmas).

Clearly he does want to play international football or he would not have turned out for us in the past, but for a whole host of "reasons" which we cannot quite fathom he does not feel able to play for us at the moment. It seems to me that the one way that we can ensure that he will never return is to criticise and villify him in the terms that are all too common on this site. I am pretty much convinced that it is by making a return easier, and convincing him that he is both needed and wanted that he will ultimately change his mind. This is probably a task for a diplomat or a psychologist rather than a football coach with limited grasp of the English language. It clearly wont happen if we take the view that its purely up to him to get in touch when he's come to his senses. The longer he remains out of the set-up the harder and harder it will become for Ireland to make that move. If the FAI cannot deliver the olive branch in an appropiate and sensitive way (which I doubt), or find the right mediator then they are probably as much to blame as Ireland. He is not a sporting automaton with an absolute duty to put on a green shirt to order. He is a human being with flaws and frailties (maybe more than his fair share) who needs to be understood, motivated and hopefuly persuaded.

[ifk101]

I think this "he doesn't want to play for us so f**k him attitude" is a bit glib and a ridiculous over-simplifaction of what must be a very complex and sensitive set of personal circumstances.....

Yes - Stephen Ireland does have a very complex and special personality.

Why did he fall-out with Kerr and state that he would never play for Ireland if Kerr was in charge? Simple - the lad's ego needs to be the centre of attention or otherwise he'll storm off in a huff.

Again forward on a few years, his ego gets hurt and he invents all sorts of stories to massage his bruised ego.

I think the FAI have already bent over backwards more than enough for this little sploit brat.

[third policeman]

Yes - Stephen Ireland does have a very complex and special personality.

Why did he fall-out with Kerr and state that he would never play for Ireland if Kerr was in charge? Simple - the lad's ego needs to be the centre of attention or otherwise he'll storm off in a huff.

Again forward on a few years, his ego gets hurt and he invents all sorts of stories to massage his bruised ego.

I think the FAI have already bent over backwards more than enough for this little sploit brat.


This rudimentary analysis of the situation doesn't quite explain why Ireland is such a seemingly content and productive conributor to Man City's on field successes. Maybe he has got a big ego and a flawed temperament, but such are the challenges of management. Man City seem capable of managing Ireland and we quite obviously cant.

[Seagull-4-life]

Going by what EVERY pundit/journalist etc. said yesterday he was outstanding...only seen the highlights but he's top quality

[ifk101]

This rudimentary analysis of the situation doesn't quite explain why Ireland is such a seemingly content and productive conributor to Man City's on field successes. Maybe he has got a big ego and a flawed temperament, but such are the challenges of management. Man City seem capable of managing Ireland and we quite obviously cant.

Man City pay him.


Going by what EVERY pundit/journalist etc. said yesterday he was outstanding...only seen the highlights but he's top quality

I also think he's a very talented footballer but he doesn't want to play for us so it's pretty much irrelevant what he does in Man City's colours.

[Seagull-4-life]

Ye but he probably will eventually come back and I know he won't he reading this but people bashing him is prob why he's reluctant

[TheBoss]

People should start being against him, for him to turn down playing for Ireland, is a disgrace and I do not care if he was the best player in the world, players like that should not decide when they are ready to play for the country, The Irish National Team is far more important than that.

[Reality Bites]

Ye but he probably will eventually come back and I know he won't he reading this but people bashing him is prob why he's reluctant

I think he'll come back too

[NeilMcD]

Allegedly he said as long as Hunt and Keane are in the squad he is not going to return.

[lionelhutz]

Allegedly he said as long as Hunt and Keane are in the squad he is not going to return.

Where did you hear/see this Neil??

[NeilMcD]

It is not in print but like Marvin Gaye I heard it through the Grapevine, and grape being the opperative word.

[lionelhutz]

It is not in print but like Marvin Gaye I heard it through the Grapevine, and grap being the opperative word.

Reliable source then...

[third policeman]

Ye but he probably will eventually come back and I know he won't he reading this but people bashing him is prob why he's reluctant


Totally agree. It's easy for people on this forum to say that "playing for your country is a duty and an honour etc etc" when they will never know what its actually like. Ireland was slated for pulling out of the squad over the "granny" affair when he was clearly dealing with a massively difficult and sensitive personal issue. I am preyty certain that its not the shirt (or the absence of a large pay cheque) that is ultimately at the root of Ireland's thinking, its the media, teamates, relationships, the public, the crowd, the history and all the other pressures and stresses that playing for Man City does not heep on his shoulders. And every time he reads the kind of sentiments expressed on this site, the more convinced he will be that he does not need or want this kind of pressure and hostility.

Contrary to what we might imagine Stephen Ireland is under no obligation or duty to play for Ireland. It would be great if he did becasue he is a wonderfully gifted player who would make a real difference to our qualification prospects. I hope that someone in the FAI can persuade him that it would be good for him, his career and his sens of well-being and fulfillment if he did.

[NeilMcD]

Have you thought of the impact it may have on the other players in the squad and the impact it may have on team morale. Compare Stephen Ireland to Kevin Kilbane and their attitude. I think the supporters know the difference.

[Reality Bites]

Allegedly he said as long as Hunt and Keane are in the squad he is not going to return.

Brillant scouting work! I was curious for a long time who had slagged Ireland and offended his delicate temperment, at last I have the image to satisfy the curiousity - Picture it now if you can Robbie Keane the older kid with his Knee on Irelands Back pinning him to the ground while hairy hunt in his waterford twang mockingly pulls at Ireland hair piece! therein is the crux of the matter!!

[Lionel Ritchie]

I'd like to see a happily reconciled Stephen Ireland back in a green shirt but I only see 3 sets of circumstances in which it'd happen and only one of those would show true character on his part.

Scenario one- Your country needs you: A midfield injury crisis during the current campaign blights the squad and Trap is forced to go back and beg him ...but can at least assure him he'll get a game. Christ, there was I thinking this was the meritorious route back. Well it's as close as it gets with this wee knob anyway.

Scenario two -You need your country: We qualify for South Africa and at some point in the next seven months between qualifiers and finals Stiofán realises he wants to play for his country after all. I'd nearly get a fiver on the spineless little so and so for this route now.

Scenario three -You really, really need your country: A dip in form for Man City, compounded by Middle Eastlands buying someone younger, faster and more exotically monikered who doesn't get blown off the ball by windswept tayto bags gets him thinking. When some one of the conspiratorial bast@rds he has to share the world with programme directions to Turf Moor on the sat nav in his pink-hubcapped knobwagon he knows the game is up and he'd better do something to raise his profile again.