Stephen Ireland

[Newryrep]

Can this not be locked until something significant happens ?

It has got to the stage where we are embarassing ourselves as a country if we continue to pine after him, mention how well he is playing etc, mentioned at press conferences . when he doesnt want to play for us.

Its like the girlfriend who dumps you and you just dont accept it and hope she will change her mind and mention to your friends how well she is looking.

Doesnt change the fact that she has rejected you.

Your friends eventually tell you to get a ****** life.

He has rejected us can we not move on. ?*

*my opinion has shifted from
1.back after an apology
to
2.wouldnt have him anywhere near a green shirt.

[Neish]

Not sure if it been mentioned here yet(don't have time to search though 60+ pages)But what get me so much about the Stephen Ireland situation is the way everyone bitched and moaned for years about Roy Keane walking out, but Ireland seem not half as much the villan.

Yes Keane did leave at one of the worst time possible but he left as a matter of principal and he may of been wrong to walk out but the principal was right. Where as IMO Ireland couldn't be bothered playing because it doesn't really pay him to

[Morbo]

I don't buy the "he walked out on principle" argument, Keane often missed games for Ireland and played a few days later for MU and before he left 'on principle' he told McCarthy that wanted to go home for 'personal reasons' and concerns over his troublesome knee, can't believe so many people buy into Keanes excuse, don't want to start a whole new Saipan argument but it just bugs me when Keane is painted as an honourable man sticking to his principles. Yes I agree Stephen Ireland's actions were a lot more despicable but the reason I believe Keane was more vilified is because he walked out at a more crucial time and he was a more important player

[eirebhoy]

Can this not be locked until something significant happens ?

It has got to the stage where we are embarassing ourselves as a country if we continue to pine after him, mention how well he is playing etc, mentioned at press conferences . when he doesnt want to play for us.

He's Irish though and for me he'll always be representing Ireland while playing abroad.

[ken foree]

lock this thread?! are you mad. a man who fakes the death of his two grannies, professes a love for the saw movies, drives a jeep with pink rims, has fake hair implanted into his head, drops his shorts after a goal, refuses to play for ireland.. ok maybe you've convinced me, but i confess i find this character stephen ireland utterly compelling. you couldn't make it up. and what really p!sses me off is he's a fantastic player. godamn.

[gwhite]

Check this story out. He denies he ever mentioned that his Granny died. Interesting article...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/mancity/3496981/Manchester-City-midfielder-Stephen-Ireland-mixes-talent-with-tenacity-to-reap-rewards-Football.html

[co. down green]

I'm totally fed up with the whole Stephen Ireland saga.

The bottom line is, he does not want to play for Ireland. Trapatonni went and spoke to him, gave him the whole, new team, new management, new team unity speech, said he would be welcome back into the squad, and he replied by saying he did not wish to play for his country.

End of story, and i agree with what Brady said last week, “We’ve been to see the boy, we’ve asked him to come back. What do you want us to do? Go over every week?"

Move on.

[Dr. Ogba]

Check this story out. He denies he ever mentioned that his Granny died. Interesting article...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/mancity/3496981/Manchester-City-midfielder-Stephen-Ireland-mixes-talent-with-tenacity-to-reap-rewards-Football.html

good article to be fair....sounds like he might be growing up and copping himself on a bit...

[tetsujin1979]

Check this story out. He denies he ever mentioned that his Granny died. Interesting article...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/mancity/3496981/Manchester-City-midfielder-Stephen-Ireland-mixes-talent-with-tenacity-to-reap-rewards-Football.html


But I feel it is maybe time to say something because I'm getting a very bad press in Ireland, with hate mail being sent here to the training ground."
Who the hell would do something like that?? Idiots

[SUB of the day]

Its taken this much time to formulate this version, give me a break.The article was self indulgent garbage.The weasel is obviously now trying to shine a positive light on himself, in a fashion a 5 year old pr guru might advise.Nauseating!

[bellavistaman]

Its taken this much time to formulate this version, give me a break.The article was self indulgent garbage.The weasel is obviously now trying to shine a positive light on himself, in a fashion a 5 year old pr guru might advise.Nauseating!

Gorw up man anything the boy says will be snuffed at by the likes of you. We all havew our problems, imagine if the worst thing you went through was watched and publicised out to the world.

Agree with tetsujin, the ahte mail would only make me sick hearing it. Idiots ir right!!!

[Noelys Guitar]

I would like to see him back playing for Ireland. He is one of the best players in the Premiership.

[DmanDmythDledge]

Check this story out. He denies he ever mentioned that his Granny died. Interesting article...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/mancity/3496981/Manchester-City-midfielder-Stephen-Ireland-mixes-talent-with-tenacity-to-reap-rewards-Football.html
He never denied anything. The version of events he said are what was reported a year ago.

[co. down green]

I would like to see him back playing for Ireland. He is one of the best players in the Premiership.

I agree, but ultimately only Stephen Ireland can make that decision.

It's up to Stephen Ireland to declare his willingness and commitment to playing for Ireland.

My concern is that he will do it for his own reasons, rather than a commitment to the green shirt.

But perhaps i'm being unfair to Stephen.

This sums it up fro me:

With fine economy, the Manchester City man (Richard Dunne) spoke of the weariness he felt at constantly being asked about the possible return of a player who had, for his own reasons, quit the colours. Dunne didn't further muddy the water, he didn't speak of any disgust at the manner of Ireland's abdication, the lies that accompanied it, but he did raise the most pertinent point of all. What if Ireland built on their promising start in qualifying, what if they marched on South Africa 2010, what, quite, would the re-appearance of Stephen Ireland say to the foot soldiers who had made it happen?

It would declare that you could treat the whole process with contempt, you could luxuriate in the rewards and the celebrity of the Premiership without irksome diversions in places like Georgia and Cyprus, and then, if the mood took you, if a little career-enhancing glory might just be involved, you might just change your mind.

[SUB of the day]

Gorw up man anything the boy says will be snuffed at by the likes of you. We all havew our problems, imagine if the worst thing you went through was watched and publicised out to the world.

Agree with tetsujin, the ahte mail would only make me sick hearing it. Idiots ir right!!!
And being from Cobh doesn't colour your opinion at all.The man is a genuinely good player,we need him in our National team, but he doesn't give a toss for his country, which in my book makes him a langer.

[francesco_1]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/ireland-the-centre-of-attention-1549265.html

Grannygate was caused as a kneejerk reaction to an upset girlfriend and wanting to keep his privacy on the matter. He admits he was immature and at the age of 20 I think anyone would the slightest bit of decency should let it go.

More interestingly is what he does with the jerseys he gets at the end of matches, gets the player to sign them and auctions them for the hospice charity, also signalling his intention to have a similiar service in Cork. How many 22 year olds would be so thoughtful?

Though of more relevance is his increasing willingness to bring these things out in the air and talk about them, pleading with the public that mistakes were made that he regrets. Step 1 to making himself available I believe. If I was a betting man I'd say that he'll be available for our next match in Feburary, I think he's starting to lean that way.


I think trapp should lean half way catch him by the scruff of the neck and drag him back,as we head into the big matches he would be welcomed back by 95% of fans the other 5% will learn to love him again after he plays a major part in our games

[Morbo]

Jesus tap dancing christ not another Daddy Dick thread, seriously Ciaran your obsession with the guy is starting to freak me out, did this really deserve a new thread isn't there already 2 or 3 threads devoted to him?

[tricky_colour]

He's just scored for man city v arsenal :ball:

[bellavistaman]

And being from Cobh doesn't colour your opinion at all.The man is a genuinely good player,we need him in our National team, but he doesn't give a toss for his country, which in my book makes him a langer.

It does, prob eans i know more info on the lads career than others on here. Also watch him closely for years.

Superb player, a football genius with the ball at his feet.

[Noelys Guitar]

According to reports on the city board Ireland has been superb in the first half.

[tommy_c12000]

Another exquisite finish. He's really rubbing his talent in all our faces!

[carloz]

I seriosly think there is a possiblity of getting him back in the squad of Trap, Brady and co put a little bit more effort in. His comments today again proved to me anyhow that he wont return because of embarressment over what happened with grannygate. Stephen Ireland isn't a bad guy and im sure deep down he does want to play for us. He has to be in the top 5 players of the year in the premiership so far and it actually hurts to see him play so well when we cant see him in an Irish shirt for no good reason

[Maroon 7]

I seriosly think there is a possiblity of getting him back in the squad of Trap, Brady and co put a little bit more effort in. His comments today again proved to me anyhow that he wont return because of embarressment over what happened with grannygate. Stephen Ireland isn't a bad guy and im sure deep down he does want to play for us. He has to be in the top 5 players of the year in the premiership so far and it actually hurts to see him play so well when we cant see him in an Irish shirt for no good reason

It's up to himself. He shouldn't have to be begged.

[carloz]

It's up to himself. He shouldn't have to be begged.

Going by his comments today though, i doubt he thinks he did anything wrong. If its left up to him he might not be coming home any time soon:(.

[gustavo]

Then so be it

[tricky_colour]

Jesus tap dancing christ not another Daddy Dick thread, seriously Ciaran your obsession with the guy is starting to freak me out, did this really deserve a new thread isn't there already 2 or 3 threads devoted to him?

When you start a new thread it has a title so you can see what is about so you have an idea of whether you want to read it or not, without
actually having to open the thread and read it.

For example, most people won't have wanted to read the crap I have just posted in the thread, however as it is, they don't really have much choice do they?

They don't know it contains nothing about Stephen Ireland untill they get to this full stop --------------->.


Or maybe this one --------------------->.

[tommy_c12000]

I reckon he will ultimately come back to the fold but I'm not sure when. There has been a marked change in him in recent times - along with developing as a footballer he also has appeared to have matured as a human being. In the past there was a definite sense of mentally unstability about him. He was shy, had only given one proper interview in his career and had done a number of childish things in the Irish set-up culminating in the Grannygate debacle. Now he is buzzing with confidence, throwing out interviews to beat the band and appears to be really enjoying his football. His mental instability issues look to be a thing of the past, touch wood. So from my reckoning he is a lot more prepared now for a return to the international fold in comparison to a few months back when he was highly volatile. You never know what changes might take place in the next few months over winter

[Wheels]

Seems to me that he is making some overtures towards the fans... trying to explain 'grannygate', info about his charity work coming out, etc...

He mentioned though that he still gets hate-mail from Ireland delivered at the training-ground. Maybe if that stopped he'd feel that he'd be welcomed back by the fans.

It seems to me that there is a growing number of 'fans' who hate one player or another... that makes no sense to me. They all try. Some have more ability, some have more heart, but none of them travel to the international set-up with the intention of sabotaging the team. One might not rate a certain player (there are certainly a few that I would rather not play) but hating them on a personal level seems a strange jump for me.

If he keeps playing this well, the hate mail might die down... if that happens, I think we could see him announcing his willingness to play early in the new year.

[kingdomkerry]

I seriosly think there is a possiblity of getting him back in the squad of Trap, Brady and co put a little bit more effort in. His comments today again proved to me anyhow that he wont return because of embarressment over what happened with grannygate. Stephen Ireland isn't a bad guy and im sure deep down he does want to play for us. He has to be in the top 5 players of the year in the premiership so far and it actually hurts to see him play so well when we cant see him in an Irish shirt for no good reason

What comments did he make today?

[tricky_colour]

I seriosly think there is a possiblity of getting him back in the squad of Trap, Brady and co put a little bit more effort in. His comments today again proved to me anyhow that he wont return because of embarressment over what happened with grannygate. Stephen Ireland isn't a bad guy and im sure deep down he does want to play for us. He has to be in the top 5 players of the year in the premiership so far and it actually hurts to see him play so well when we cant see him in an Irish shirt for no good reason

He is currently at number 6 in the Actim index, but I think that excludes todays game, it give a time of 11:00 which I assume is 11AM not 11PM.

Rated 2nd highest midfielder behind Lampard, but ahead of Ronaldo :rolleyes:

Could end up world player of the year at this rate!!:eek:

Personally I am not bothered whether he plays for Ireland or not, one player does not make a team and never has done, there are numerous examples of that.

Ireland can get to the finals without Ireland, but Ireland can't get to the finals without Ireland, if you see what I mean ;)

Does that make sense!!

[irishfan86]

I think if he came back I'd be inclined to start him in the middle behind Doyle, and push Keane out to the right.

Hope he comes back to give us more options.

[Scram]

Ireland can get to the finals without Ireland, but Ireland can't get to the finals without Ireland, if you see what I mean

Does that make sense!!

NO! :D

;)

Ireland has been in England long enough to elect to play for England ;) so Ireland could get to the World Cup with England and Ireland could even end up playing for England against Ireland without Ireland, if Ireland make it to the World Cup without Ireland.

Would Ireland without Ireland have much of a chance against England with Ireland? Would Ireland's supporters be able to support Ireland playing for England, surely they would have to support Ireland without Ireland and not support Ireland?

I would of course prefer to see Ireland with Ireland against England without Ireland!

[ofjames]

NO! :D

;)

Ireland has been in England long enough to elect to play for England ;) so Ireland could get to the World Cup with England and Ireland could even end up playing for England against Ireland without Ireland, if Ireland make it to the World Cup without Ireland.

Would Ireland without Ireland have much of a chance against England with Ireland? Would Ireland's supporters be able to support Ireland playing for England, surely they would have to supoort Ireland without Ireland and not support Ireland?

I would of course prefer to see Ireland with Ireland against England without Ireland!

post of the year

[third policeman]

I also think that he is trying to build bridges. It's actually a lot harder than people imagine for him to announce that he's changed his mind. For one thing there are clearly a lot of fans who still feel antagonistic and bitter towards him, it would also involve him having to explain his change of mind, and that would mean addressing a whole lot of quite sensitive and murky goings on. Resolving this problem requires diplomatic and PR skills that are probably beyond the capability of the FAI, Trap and Ireland himself. I have said this before but there is probably a need for some third party mediation to find a resolution but also map out a PR route that enables Ireland to rejoin the squad without anyone losing face or a further round of recriminations, accusations and media post mortems.

He is the best Irish outfield player in the Premiership by some margin at the moment, and his recent comments do indicate a desire to come in from the cold. If we doint get Ireland back playing for us before the next round of qualifying games then I would regard that as a failure of management.

[eirebhoy]

When he won the player of the year award he said he hoped to be playing for us at some stage in the future. I think we're probably best to leave it until after this qualification period. If we get to the world cup I'm sure he'll be back with us after that. I don't think he'd be foolish enough to declare his availability after qualifying for the world cup unless there's a Henrik Larsson sized petition to get him back.

[Morbo]

If we doint get Ireland back playing for us before the next round of qualifying games then I would regard that as a failure of management.
So regardless of the circumstances you are just going to blame the management. Did the possibility ever occur to you that maybe he just doesn’t care about international football and no amount of persuasion will bring him back?

[third policeman]

So regardless of the circumstances you are just going to blame the management. Did the possibility ever occur to you that maybe he just doesn’t care about international football and no amount of persuasion will bring him back?


If that were the case then he would never have played for Ireland, and its not how I interpret the comments in the latest interview. It's an opinion, but its also supported by a fair degree of evidence. The fact is that none of us know for sure what Ireland thinks and feels, but that sounds like a pretty good reason for establishing some dialogue and finding out. I think our management team have a duty to get the best possible results for Ireland and that means making every effort to get the best players into the squad, even if that means charm, persuasion, diplomacy, flattery etc.

[bwagner]

Lads i would rather talk about Kevin Nolan that this ass

[bellavistaman]

Lads i would rather talk about Kevin Nolan that this ass

easy answer dont go into to this thread, dont read any of the posts, and certainly dont type a comment.

I usually charge €50 for every advice session but ill do this one for free.

[as_i_say]

Yeah anyone notice the big waving Tricolour in the front of crowd when he went running over after scoring?. What goes through his mind when he sees this? Does anything go through his mind? Is there one chimp picking fleas off anothers back, perhaps a tumbleweed?

I dunno.

[DeLorean]

Yeah anyone notice the big waving Tricolour in the front of crowd when he went running over after scoring?. What goes through his mind when he sees this? Does anything go through his mind? Is there one chimp picking fleas off anothers back, perhaps a tumbleweed?

I dunno.

Ya I noticed that alright I thought he was gonna run straight to it!!! nah I reckon unless he's a complete robot (which is a possibility) he must want to come back. Any soccer fan would want to play in a World Cup so surely he can't be any different. The problem is he'll probably need to be asked again and I can't see Trapp doing that. Next campaign I'd imagine which is a shame.

[dr_peepee]

He is the best Irish outfield player in the Premiership by some margin at the moment, and his recent comments do indicate a desire to come in from the cold.


what recent comments??

[ken foree]

what recent comments??

try here peepee

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/mancity/3496981/Manchester-City-midfielder-Stephen-Ireland-mixes-talent-with-tenacity-to-reap-rewards-Football.html

[Morbo]

How exactly do those comments indicate a desire to come in from the cold? I think thats just wishful thinking on some peoples part. If he really wanted to return he would of done so already, sure he would probably get a slagging on his return but thats to be expected and would quickly pass, I think its just a convenient excuse not to have to return myself but even if it was true that the reason he didn't want to return was because of the whole embarrassment of Grannygate then wouldn't that show that his desire to play for Ireland wasn't that great in the first place?

[dr_peepee]

try here peepee

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/mancity/3496981/Manchester-City-midfielder-Stephen-Ireland-mixes-talent-with-tenacity-to-reap-rewards-Football.html


Cheers Ken....

Third Policeman... I don't think that expands on anything we didn't already know... The dude knows were we are if he wants to play. If anything it re-affirms my belief he hasn't got the mental strength of someone like Lampard... He's a talented player but he's gonna be worse off for missing out on international football in the long run.

[paul_oshea]

is his fiancé irish or english?

[carloz]

is his fiancé irish or english?
Irish as far as i know, and from Cork as well

[bellavistaman]

is his fiancé irish or english?

how in the name of **** is that question anyway related to the footbasll being played by stephen ireland

[as_i_say]

Uh oh an enraged Cobh Man. Run for the hills:eek:

[tricky_colour]

Just scored for man city, clever play
http://www.justin.tv/psnk4

(keeper jumped expecting a lob, Ireland slotted it under him)