Stephen Ireland

[Ordinary Fan]

SI is a moodey plonker who doent deserve all these comments. I think Givens should be sacked as U21 manager both for his selections and tactics (lack of) but I have to agree with him about Ireland who only plays for Ireland when it suits him.
I have never understood why people rave about him as he only appears to play for about 5 minutes in all the Irish games.

[finnpark]

Why aren't the Journos asking Givens how somone with such an abysmall record with the U/21's is
A. Still managing the u/21's
B. The chief amigo involved in selecting our new manager
C. Selecting and picking teams for senior internationals
D. Involved in so many public disputes with Irish players including saying yesterday that Stephen Ireland does not want to wear the Green shirt. This is the same Givens who does not want to manage the senior team FT(and yet somehow will be managing the senior team 'again' on Feb 6th)

Thats a very good question. And why is it the same for almost all other underage managers. How can we expect good underageplayers with managers like that. Obviously he is very good friends with cetain indiduals in the FAI

[Bondvillain]

The comments were tactless, and frankly, Id expect nothing less from a man who sees no wrong in being simultaneously the Irish u21 boss AND kingmaker in chief of the interview board for a new manager.

His u21 record is abysmal, his media ability similarly poor, his communication skills are rotten, & his instincts are dubious:

Why only include 4 strikers in what is fundamentally a preview squad for the new manager when a 5th Irish striker is currently in a rich vein of goalscoring form, unlike at least 2 of the named forwards chosen?

Was the talented but undeniably injured Andy Reid included for givens to make a dogged point about Stephen Ireland? "Id rather have a crocked , one legged sandwich fancier in my midfield than tha ireland lad!"

Buffoonery. The rate things are going, Givens is in line to be the longest serving International manager that nobody ever appointed.

[boovidge]

Givens' comments were unprofessional to say the least. He seems to love the media 'spotlight'.

[irishfan86]

If Given was manager for the WCQ 2002 campaign he would have fallen out with Roy Keane before we'd even started our qualifying campaign.

[SuperDub]

Stephen Ireland may have issues etc but he needs to be the one to make the first move as he has shown no respect for the many irish fans that make many sacrafices to see the team play

[Superhoops]

.....Givens doesn't seem to have a clue about the modern game or how to deal with modern players....
How should modern players be dealt with?

You either want to play for your country or you don't. Last word from SI was he didn't feel ready to play. No doubt when he is he will tell someone. Don't see why Givens or anyone else should go chasing after him or any other prima donna.

[Diarmo]

Did he wait by the phone for Damien Duff to tell him he's fit again, or Steven Reid?
He's the manager (temporary), he should manage. :D

I think the situation with Steven Ireland is a vastly different thing. I don't think the injury thing is comparable at all to be honest. They've never made any noises about not wanting to play for Ireland again, their physical condition made it impossible. With Ireland, he doesn't want to play for us (appearantly). But I hope this is sorted out soon. Hopefully Houllier or whoever convinces Ireland and Finnan to resurrect their International Careers.

[tricky_colour]

It is up to Ireland to decide whether Ireland plays for Ireland.
Ireland will just have to accept Ireland's decision.

That is how I see it anyway, it couldn't be simpler.

[cavan_fan]

Thats a very good question. And why is it the same for almost all other underage managers. How can we expect good underageplayers with managers like that. Obviously he is very good friends with cetain indiduals in the FAI

If only we had a world class underage manager somewhere in the country idling his time. The sort of guy who could win european championship and get to world championship semi finals. Oh wait.....

[Wangball]

If only we had a world class underage manager somewhere in the country idling his time. The sort of guy who could win european championship and get to world championship semi finals. Oh wait.....

I'd love to see someone like Kerr take on the U21's but I doubt it would ever happen.....can't see the FAI asking & can't imagine Kerr accepting

I think someone like Liam Brady or even Steve Heighway would be a brilliant candidate for the U21 job...both have been entrusted with the development of 2 of the biggest teams in Europes youth systems so their qualifications are beyond reproach...question is, would either of them do it?

[irishfan86]

I'd love to see someone like Kerr take on the U21's but I doubt it would ever happen.....can't see the FAI asking & can't imagine Kerr accepting

I think someone like Liam Brady or even Steve Heighway would be a brilliant candidate for the U21 job...both have been entrusted with the development of 2 of the biggest teams in Europes youth systems so their qualifications are beyond reproach...question is, would either of them do it?

Perhaps if they were promised the position of the senior squad if they achieved reasonable success (qualification for major youth tournaments).

[tetsujin1979]

If Kerr were in charge, then Stephen Ireland's mood would be irrelevant. He stated before he would never play for Ireland again if Kerr was the manager

[jmurphyc]

TBH I don't think he's good enough to start in a 4 man midfield for us yet. A 5 man midfield definitely, but if he was starting in the centre of a 4 man midfield the other central midfielder would have his work cut out protecting his defence as Ireland does **** all to help (as was the case in Slovakia when Carsley was doing the work of two players for the whole game).

[irishfan86]

TBH I don't think he's good enough to start in a 4 man midfield for us yet. A 5 man midfield definitely, but if he was starting in the centre of a 4 man midfield the other central midfielder would have his work cut out protecting his defence as Ireland does **** all to help (as was the case in Slovakia when Carsley was doing the work of two players for the whole game).

I think he can work in a 4 man midfield as a wide man, but I'd agree with leaving him out of the centre of the park in a 4 man midfield.

[jmurphyc]

I think he can work in a 4 man midfield as a wide man, but I'd agree with leaving him out of the centre of the park in a 4 man midfield.

I know he plays on the right for City but I don't really like him in that role as he'll drift in a lot and we'll lose our threat down the right. I think the best role for him unless Sven makes him more tactically aware is in the hole behind our striker(s).

[eirebhoy]

He's kinda similar to Kranjnar at Pompey.

[bennocelt]

Did he wait by the phone for Damien Duff to tell him he's fit again, or Steven Reid?
He's the manager (temporary), he should manage.
As I see it the lad has or had problems and after "granny-gate" he felt he wouldn't be right to play for his country. It's all very tragic what happened and his decision should be respected. In the meantime Stan gets sacked, Given steps in for the Wales match and leaves him out without calling him on the basis that he said no to the previous manager.
Then he gives us this crap about giving up your right arm for the jersey (it wouldn't fit properly if you did) and expects us all to put on our best patriotic face and call him a traitor.
As I said earlier, there should be a middle ground. Maybe Bertie could step in and mediate in between tribunal appearances.:D


Yeah agree
I cant stand Givens, and would imagine that if i was a footballer i would rather ignore him than play for him, ala Ireland.
I mean it all goes back to Roy again. Its hard to play for Ireland with the shower thats running it
And i hate all that patriotic rubbish, its about professionalism and proper coaching, and treating player with respect, and not having rants to the press.
Can we really trust Givens to pick irelands next manager?

[Bungle]

Givens has behaved disgracefully. He has made the situation worse than it was and has made the job of the new manager harder.
He has taken on a role of "holder of the torch" for the Irish football pulic and the nation at large.

Ireland desperately need a player like S.Ireland to help us qualify for the World Cup. He is one of the best young players in the Premier League. Much is made of his so called defensive fraities, but against West Ham I thought him to be one of the best tacklers on the pitch.

Givens could have left him out and when asked about his ommission, simply said that he felt the new manager should be the one to decide on his role with Ireland. That way he wouldn't compromise his own beliefs, but woudn't more or less terminate the international career of a young, albeit temperamental young fella

[Wangball]

Maybe the reason we haven't had a managerial appointment yet is that Don is waiting for the applicants to all him....why should he go to them cap in hand asking them if they want to manage Ireland??

said it before and I'll say it again, he's a clown of the highest proportion with a very high opinion of himself

[tetsujin1979]

He's not strictly speaking a right winger at Man City, if you watch him when Elano gets the ball, he starts running down the inside right channel, between the centre half and the full back. I've seen him play through the middle as well.

[Superhoops]

......its about professionalism and proper coaching, and treating player with respect......
What about players showing respect to their team mates, to the fans, to the management and to the privilege of playing for their country. Didn't see much of that from SI not only in Bratislava but also when he walked out on Kerr and his colleagues. What has SI done to deserve anyone's respect?

[geysir]

What should the new manager do?

a. Ignore him until contacted first.
b. Name him in the next squad and wait for a response.
c. Name him in the squad and leave his tel nr with the club with an invitation to call.
d. Meet with him personally and talk about his "state of mind" before naming him in the squad.
e) "broker" a return via his club manager

[Stuttgart88]

e) "broker" a return via his club manager?

[geysir]

Now you can committ yourself Stutts.

[shakermaker1982]

If I was the new manager I'd like to think I'd have a chat in person or on the phone at least with each memeber of my senior squad.

I'd ask Stephen straight out does he want to play for his country? If he says no then fair enough, if he says "maybe in a few months time I'm still unsure" I'd tell him he turns up for the first training squad or he'll never get a game during my reign as manager. If he says yes then I'd welcome him into the squad and reassure him that I'll do everything in my power to help him out so long as he doesn't take the mick - no lies or BS or else he's on the first plane home to Manchester.

[DotTV]

Givens was a silly with his comments yesterday.


“An awful lot of people would give their right arm to pull on that green shirt. He doesn’t want to.”

"I am not going to drive up to Manchester to be humiliated by someone like that."

"I want commitment from the other side."

“This Association bent over backward for him, the previous manager [Stephen Staunton] flew to Manchester to talk to him, and he turned it down.”

All that's doing is annoying Ireland and he may feel it's not worth it.

Givens is damn right and he hits the nail on the head here.Every single person on this forum would give anything to play for Ireland yet young Stephen couldn't give a ****.

[Guts&Glory]

Conpletely agree Doc TV.

This thing was ridicoulous.

One press corp person, from Newstalk106, with his own agenda raised the question and then wouldn't let the issue go, pushing Givens on it.

Now like most, or all, of the previous posts I am no fan of Givens but we have all heard his ramblings before and one thing Givens is not is a calm, composed public speaker.

Most other managers would have answered the first question and then said ' I have no further comment on the Stephen Ireland issue' thats the end of it for then.

His (Givens) comments went a bit OTT, as he shouldnt have said them publicly, but I absolutely agree with him as regards why should he fall over himself trying to get in touch with S Ireland.

Considering whats went before S Ireland is the one that should be crawling over hot coals trying to get in touch with the FAI/Givens, it isnt that hard.

Richie Dunne is in the same dressing room day in day out as him, he can easily pass on word he is ready to come back in, or what about shock horror phoning Don Givens , 'Hi Don Im ready to be considered again if you deem me worthy of a place'. A bit of humility would do wonders.

Stpehen ireland isnt a pre teen child that needs molicoddling he needs to grow up, cop on and get a set of ba**s and come back into the fold the immature idiot.

[Qwerty]

I like the fact that Givens is tough on the players at U21 level, though it should be done in private not through the media.

I remember a few years ago he laid into Keith Foy, who was playing at Forest at the time and had great potential but he didn't take care of his body and his attitude wasn't right, he didn't make it but Givens gave him all the warnings he could have needed.

He also got into Fat Boy Andy Reid and I think it spurred Reid on.

[tetsujin1979]

He also got into Fat Boy Andy Reid and I think it spurred Reid on.
Dunno about that, Reid has often said the youth coach at Forest was a massive influence on him getting his act together, and his girlfriend at home in Ireland was pregnant so he could either come home and work as a labourer or really give the football a go.

[Bondvillain]

what about shock horror phoning Don Givens , 'Hi Don Im ready to be considered again if you deem me worthy of a place'. A bit of humility would do wonders.


Perhaps he doesn't feel the need to display humility to Don Givens. I know I wouldn't.

[micls]

To be perfectly honest I couldn't care less if Stephan Ireland is unhappy or not.

Now if he ends up revising his decision and goes on to play well then I will respect him for that but I will never look at the player in the same way again

[Qwerty]

Dunno about that, Reid has often said the youth coach at Forest was a massive influence on him getting his act together, and his girlfriend at home in Ireland was pregnant so he could either come home and work as a labourer or really give the football a go.

I'm not crediting Givens with Reid's success just that Reid at one point needed a boot in the a$$ and Givens was there to oblige :)

[Paddy Garcia]

I'm not crediting Givens with Reid's success just that Reid at one point needed a boot in the a$$ and Givens was there to oblige :)

I misread the title as Stephen Irelands nappy.

I thought his troubles had moved from his head southward!

[inexile]

that explains why i didnt get the call up, i forgot to ring givens!!

what a muppet

[Bondvillain]

I rang him there a few minutes ago.

Not only am I a late addition to the Squad (I told the mad-as-batshlt caretaker that I'd bring my own gear, and that I thought he was dead right to sicken Clinton's hole by leaving him out when he's in flying form) but I have an Interview for the managers job next Monday.

Result.

[Stuttgart88]

I have to say I'm disappointed in the media for making this an issue. Givens said exactly the same stuff last time around. Why should his views change?

Givens has set out his stall on Ireland, correctly in my opinion. If we were playing Georgia in qulaification next week I'd like to think Givens, if he was still in charge, or somoene in the FAI, maybe even Dunne, would try and have a word with him. But it's 8 months to the first qualifier and we've yet to appoint a manager. Nothing has changed and nobody should have expected anything to have changed. Instead it's the only story about this squad. Ridiculous.

[Bondvillain]

I agree it's a non-story, but in fairness, in Morrisons case, his profile has risen substantially since Staunton's last squad, and if Friendlies are to be for anything, they should be certainly in part to reward in-form players and to increase confidence within the team.

Givens has pretty much done neither so far, and his infamous bad attitude has carried over into a job none of us wanted him to have, meaning his grating personality, personal grudges, and his fractious relationship with the media & certain players has gone a great way to creating this story from nothing.

[Stuttgart88]

What i meant to say BV was that while Stephen Ireland is a non-story, the only story worth commenting on in this squad was really Morrison's omission.

[Bondvillain]

What i meant to say BV was that while Stephen Ireland is a non-story, the only story worth commenting on in this squad was really Morrison's omission.


Duly noted. Apologies for misinterpreting.

Sorry, with so many threads seemingly coming to a "Don Givens hasn't a clue" conclusion right now, it's hard for me to keep track of which of his embarrassing pronouncements & actions goes where...

[Kingdom]

I'd love to see someone like Kerr take on the U21's but I doubt it would ever happen.....can't see the FAI asking & can't imagine Kerr accepting

I think someone like Liam Brady or even Steve Heighway would be a brilliant candidate for the U21 job...both have been entrusted with the development of 2 of the biggest teams in Europes youth systems so their qualifications are beyond reproach...question is, would either of them do it?

I admire Kerr for his underage achievements and while he would undoubtedly be a good amnager at that level, I think it would be a risk. There's nothing to say he would work in harmony with the new senior manager and considering he's recently relieved of the senior job himself, I'd see it as too much of a risk .

Now Steve Heighway is a different kettle of fish and if he was interested I'd snap him up in a heartbeat for the U21 gig.

[Guts&Glory]

Perhaps he doesn't feel the need to display humility to Don Givens. I know I wouldn't.

Whether it be Don Givens, Don Quitoi or Donnie Darko is manager its for
S Ireland to show humility and that he is able to be a man to all of us and get on with it.

As for Givens , he will only be Caretaker for the Brazil game, its to the football fraternity of the country he needs to make things up to and to move on and play some games for ireland.

[Wolfie]

Whose going to accept Stephen Irelands FAI young player of the year award should he win it?

[macdermesser]

One of his grannies?

[Stuttgart88]

Just saw this on YBIG

http://www.setanta.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/01/29/International-Ireland-on-Ireland/

[placid casual]

i think we need ireland back.
he is a good player and we have very very few of those.

oh and don givens is an utter gob****€

[elroy]

Just saw this on YBIG

http://www.setanta.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/01/29/International-Ireland-on-Ireland/

Interesting comments there. I agree with one or two of his comments re Givens. DG is caretaker manager so should have just gone on with the job and said nothing. I for one want Ireland back in this squad well in advance of the qualifiers and am pleased to hear SI appears to be of the same frame of mind. What happened, happened, all very stupid, but its done and dusted. New manager, new start no one wants to drag up whats happened the last two years or so. I look forward to him getting a few goals for us when we need them in the next campaign.

[bellavistaman]

alot of people have said here that they want to hear ireland say he wants to play for the country well now he has, om glad he spoke with a bit of honesty said he knows he owes the fans, but more importantly said don givens is a gob****e, i read the article on the star plus a smaller article inside the pullout the reporter was saying we have to get rid of givens he dealt with the ireland situation terribly and theres another young lad with the 21s who is in the same boat as ireland

[Stuttgart88]

I'm still not convinced we need Ireland or that he's ahead of others like McGeady or Andy Reid. He's a talented boy who is improving but he plays in a very solid Man City team that can compete in their own right. Our team struggles to impose itself on games and hence Ireland's weaknesses can be shown up much more than at club level.

We have an adundance of lightweight creative types. If we play them all we'll be hammered every time.

I think Duff and Hunt should be our two wide men, interchanging if they like.

I don't trust Ireland as an orthodox central midfielder unless we're chasing a game and need to be adventurous.

Tinkering with shape and roles may make room for him but it's a tough one.

[bellavistaman]

I'm still not convinced we need Ireland or that he's ahead of others like McGeady or Andy Reid. He's a talented boy who is improving but he plays in a very solid Man City team that can compete in their own right. Our team struggles to impose itself on games and hence Ireland's weaknesses can be shown up much more than at club level.

We have an adundance of lightweight creative types. If we play them all we'll be hammered every time.

I think Duff and Hunt should be our two wide men, interchanging if they like.

I don't trust Ireland as an orthodox central midfielder unless we're chasing a game and need to be adventurous.

Tinkering with shape and roles may make room for him but it's a tough one.

indeed but whatever about your feelings about him startin surely he has to be called up in the next squad with our new manager(hopefully)