Stephen Ireland

[Crosby87]

I wonder if Given will urge him on or if its not polite for him to talk about it. I think Dunne's quit trying.

[tricky_colour]

He's not bothered and we don't need him.
That's the way I see it.
I think we are doing fine without him, there is no guarantee we would get better results if he returned, we might welll get worse.

[DeLorean]

I wonder if Given will urge him on or if its not polite for him to talk about it. I think Dunne's quit trying.

I was wondering this myself. Dunne and Given shouldn't be too worried if it's polite or not the lad needs a kick up the arse or at least be pointed in the right direction. Maybe they don't want him back?

[tetsujin1979]

Pretty sure I read before that Richard Dunne wants nothing to do with talking to Stephen Ireland to return, maybe around the time he was promoting FIFA 2009?

[jbyrne]

only saw highlights of last nights game but he was at the ctre of everything city did well. quality player we could do with for sure

[DeLorean]

Pretty sure I read before that Richard Dunne wants nothing to do with talking to Stephen Ireland to return, maybe around the time he was promoting FIFA 2009?

Interesting. I always thought Dunne would have been more suited to the captaincy than Keane but I would have definitely expected him to give a lash at trying to persude Ireland. Having said that who knows what's gone on behind the scenes, Ireland might be completely inapproachable or something.

[tetsujin1979]

Actually I might have phrased that badly, it was more along the lines of he had spoken to Stephen about it, but now he was letting him make his own decisions, and Dunne wasn't going to force the issue

[geysir]

It's not Dunne's job to force the issue anyway.
Dunne looked more than a bit exasperated when talking about SI not being able make a phone call.
With Given now in the City team there should not be a problem with communicating any message straight to the attention of SI.
He can't be 'arsed playing which puts him way way down the list of players who have been capped for Ireland, lower than Paul Butler, he might even be lower down the scale than Vinny Jones.

[tricky_colour]

He's not coming back - get over it.

[The Legend]

Lads, this guy has obviously zero interest in playing for his country and probably doesnt even identify with Ireland anymore (in spite of his name).

I would be absolutely shocked if he ever came back.

[Irish_Praha]

Lads, this guy has obviously zero interest in playing for his country and probably doesnt even identify with Ireland anymore (in spite of his name).

I would be absolutely shocked if he ever came back.

Gawd, this thread could run for the next ten years if he continues to play well and doesn't come out and make a statement ruling himself out forever.
Could be the first thread to reach 10,000 posts :D

However, if some of the younger lads step up to the plate in near future this thread could become a lot less frequently visited.

[The Fly]

Lads, this guy has obviously zero interest in playing for his country and probably doesnt even identify with Ireland anymore (in spite of his name).


In fairness, I think that is taking it too far. To say that he may no longer identify with the Irish nation is not right. That would be an analysis devoid of context.

[Stuttgart88]

Stephen Ireland is a class act, no doubt, but I still can't help thinking he's very much a "final third" player. Unfortunately, what we really need is a "second third" player of equal class.

There's no way Duff, McGeady, Keane, Doyle and Ireland can be accomodated without leaving ourselves physically weak in my opinion. Even Spain for all their elegant tica taca had a superb presence in Senna anchoring the whole thing.

I'm not saying he wouldn't make our first XI, in fact I'm sure he would, I'm merely saying it poses an interesting question on how best to accomodate him.

[ken foree]

..with s. reid behind him i'd imagine. ahem! but these are two imponderables right now. and we might never see it sadly.

[livehead1]

Stephen Ireland is a class act, no doubt, but I still can't help thinking he's very much a "final third" player. Unfortunately, what we really need is a "second third" player of equal class.

There's no way Duff, McGeady, Keane, Doyle and Ireland can be accomodated without leaving ourselves physically weak in my opinion. Even Spain for all their elegant tica taca had a superb presence in Senna anchoring the whole thing.

I'm not saying he wouldn't make our first XI, in fact I'm sure he would, I'm merely saying it poses an interesting question on how best to accomodate him.

If we are talking simply player wise I would happily see Duff or McGeady left out to accomodate Ireland.

[The Fly]

Stephen Ireland is a class act, no doubt, but I still can't help thinking he's very much a "final third" player. Unfortunately, what we really need is a "second third" player of equal class.

There's no way Duff, McGeady, Keane, Doyle and Ireland can be accomodated without leaving ourselves physically weak in my opinion. Even Spain for all their elegant tica taca had a superb presence in Senna anchoring the whole thing.

I'm not saying he wouldn't make our first XI, in fact I'm sure he would, I'm merely saying it poses an interesting question on how best to accomodate him.

I know what you mean but I do think there has been sufficient improvement in him as an all-round package to suggest that he could operate in a central midfield 2 in the future. A 3 man centre midfield is, I feel, outdated and outmoded. It leaves a team inherently unbalanced and weak imo.

Stephen Ireland has, as I said, certainly improved as a player, crucially in the physical aspect of his game. Obviously I hope he comes back to play for the national team in the future and.......here's a thought........I have wondered that whenever Scholes eventually retires, would Manchester United be cheeky and put in a bid for what is becoming the most obvious ready made replacement. Imagine Ireland and hopefully Gibson in a central midfield 2. Good for MUFC but infinitely more important - effing fantastic for us.
.............Hmmmmmmmmmmm...............(oh yeah! forgot about James McCarthy)...............Hmmmmmmmmmmm

[irishultra]

stephen ireland is a machine. he would easily get into real madrids midfield no doubt...will be top class player

[tricky_colour]

He's doing a good job for Italy at the moment. ;)
No chance of him ever returning, get over it - I have.
I would not take him back for this campaign now even if he offered to return as he was eligible to play for Italy and given his past
that makes him untrustworty.
I will say it now he will not play during this campaign, we cannot afford the risk.

[tetsujin1979]

I have wondered that whenever Scholes eventually retires, would Manchester United be cheeky and put in a bid for what is becoming the most obvious ready made replacement.
Cheeky or not, City have enough money now that they never have to sell any player if they don't want to, it's not like when Chelsea offered enough to wipe out a decent chunk of City's debt in exchange for SWP. And they definitely don't want to sell Stephen Ireland.

[Fizzer]

I found this quote from the Star from February 08, not sure if anyone posted it at the time (they probably did) but I think it's a good indication of the fact that not even this guy knows what he's going to do.

'Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen Ireland has confirmed that he wants to play for his country again and will make himself available for selection by new manager Gionvanni Trapattoni.

Ireland has not played for the Republic since his infamous withdrawal from the squad in September when he lied about the death of his two grandmothers.

However, the Manchester City player told The Star: 'I'm available for selection, very much available. We need someone like him (Trapattoni) hopefully to bring it out of us and get us playing.


Ireland revealed that his club manager Sven Goran Eriksson had a major influence on his decision to make himself available to Trapattoni.

'When Sven heard that he was announced, he said it was a great opportunity for me to go back now because he is a very good coach and I will learn a lot.

'This did have an effect on my decision to return. I trust Sven you know. Whatever he says is good advice and he means well.

'I think there is a lot of talent in the squad and we can actually qualify for the big tournaments.'


He's a fantastic player, could be potentially one of the greatest midfielders we'll ever produce, but his utterly childish and immature behaviour should not be accepted once it begins to devalue the Irish shirt. It's a privilege to be called up to play for your country, sure people can have personal issues from time to time and a legitimate reason not to want to play over relatively short periods of time, but this guy is actually taking the mick at this stage. The issue could potentially go on for years because he's so young but I think that the FAI should tell this guy definitively, that now is the time to sh1t or get off the toilet, and if he doesn't make himself available now, ban any future management team from selecting him. One player doesn't make a team, the rest of the squad pulled together in 2002 and did us proud after another baby took his ball and went home, let the lads who want to play, get on with it and stop pandering to the whims of a fella who doesn't appear to give a toss about playing for his country.

[Den Perry]

Stephen Ireland looks to me like he could turn out to be one of the greatest Irish players I ever saw. I would love to have him back and think "granny gate" should be forgotten about. In addition, the likes of Stephen Hunt should keep their mouth shut about him(I rem an article he wrote stating Ireland should be a man and ignore the slagging etc - Hunt not fit to lace SI's boots in my opinion).

That said, granny gate does seem to have died down and the management have said they'd welcome him back so i cannot understand why at this stage he won't return - unless he's just not interested

[OwenGoal]

Presumably if he doesn't appear in the squad for Bulgaria/Italy that's it for this campaign. Doesn't seem likely at this stage. But then wtf do I know?

[youngirish]

I'd much rather have someone like Kilbane who possesses little natural ability but is 100% dedicated to the cause than an immature, childish idiot like Ireland back in the squad. Do we really need a partially committed Ireland prancing around the midfield when our backs are to the wall in Bari next month while we are desperately trying to hang on for a point?

If anyone thinks he has matured considerably over the past 18 months then they need to take a look at the photo of his new Audi.

It would demean our jersey, team and country if he was allowed to waltz right back into the squad when he decided it suited him to do so at the expense of another player who has consistently made himself available for selection. I personally couldn't care less how talented he is, Manchester City haven't pulled up any trees in the Premiership irrespective of how many goals or assists he provides and for now we seem to be doing fine without him so I'm happy enough to let bygones be bygones and leave him be. He's not going to be the difference between us winning the World Cup or not. To be honest I have my doubts that he'd even make any noticeable difference to our qualification prospects (for the record I don't see us qualifying with or without Stephen Ireland).

Hopefully when his career is over he'll look back over his years as a professional footballer and deeply regret he never took the opportunity to play the game at the highest level in an International tournament. Then maybe just maybe he will realise how much of a tit he is before deciding to hang himself from an old pair of blue superman underpants.

P.S. Shouldn't this thread be moved into World Football or alternatively Rubbish?

[OwenGoal]

YoungIrish, you don't think we'll qualify but you say were doing fine??? This isn't an argument for or against the bald prodigal, btw.

[SkStu]

Stephen Ireland looks to me like he could turn out to be one of the greatest Irish players I ever saw. I would love to have him back and think "granny gate" should be forgotten about. In addition, the likes of Stephen Hunt should keep their mouth shut about him(I rem an article he wrote stating Ireland should be a man and ignore the slagging etc - Hunt not fit to lace SI's boots in my opinion).

That said, granny gate does seem to have died down and the management have said they'd welcome him back so i cannot understand why at this stage he won't return - unless he's just not interested

agree with all this.

[seanfhear]

Its probably too late for this campaign and if we do qualify for the world cup Stephen Ireland can hardly say "I bags a place on the plane to South Africa"

We should just forget about him until european qualification comes around the next time.

[Fizzer]

Yeah, I dunno, if he turns around and wants to play in the Euro qualifiers should we just pick him? Qualifiers will start around August/September 2010, I think that's over two and a half years since he walked. Can you let players opt out of entire qualification campaigns for no good reason and then come back? What if he decides that he wants to wait till the next world cup qualifiers? And if he comes back are we not just going to be waiting for him to walk away again at some point, thus devaluing the green jersey further. Playing for his country obviously doesn't mean as much to him as it should.

[Stuttgart88]

I think Trap is right. Time is running out fast for him to declare a hand in this campaign - despite the treacherous Irish media (or sub editors') take "Trap Bans Ireland From World Cup". What happens after that is all negotiable. A young world class but fcuked up / thick Irish player should never be discounted. I'd say on purely moral grounds though that Trap is right - he can't just decide he fancies a WC Cup Finals if we manage to get there without him.

[shakermaker1982]

The cut off point surely has to be the two games at the end of the month? I thought the Georgia game was an ideal time for him to come back but it wasn't to be. I'd like to see him back in the mix but if he doesn't sign up to the cause over the next couple of weeks then he should not be asked back for the rest of the campaign (which hopefully has an appearance at the WC Finals next year). It's really up to him. I'm sure the management team are busy behind the scenes trying to accomodate him so it's now down to the player. Under no circumstances should they beg him back.

If he does come back I'm sure he'd expect a starting place. I cannot see the Trap ditching his system and wouldn't imagine our brilliant manager risking him in the centre of midfield so it would have to be at the expense of one of our wingers. Tad harsh on McGeady/Duff.

[aidz1]

if he is not involved for the qualifiers at the end of the month, then reckon he'll not be involved at all in the SA 2010 qualifications at all.
if he did come back, i reckon it'll be at the expense of duff.
I persoanlly would find it hard to accept that.

[Crosby87]

The point is, in my opinion, if he does NOT want to play he should just SAY that. Im starting to think he is just a Paris Hilton, looking for attention. The only reason we all keep talking about it is, we assume he might come back.
It would all end very simply if he would just say he is out. Although I suppose we will know in the next 3 weeks.
It's just funny how, professional athletes get more lee-way than children. He's an adult. Why can't he just decide if he is in or out? It's ridiculous. How do you not know if you want to play in the World Cup? I mean it's comical. And although Trap is in a tough spot b/c he wants the lad to play, to a certain extent he is feeding the monster here. I mean they already gave him a "deadline." Now its the same stuff. If he is just going to be a weirdo and not play than lets agree on it and move on, no?
Sorry, this is the most common conversation here in NYC between Irish Soccer fans these days. Frankly, I am sick of having it. I want to spend my time talking about guys who WANT to be here.

[Razors left peg]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1161824/STEPHEN-IRELAND-EXCLUSIVE-Dead-grandmothers-Daddy-Dick-pink-wheels--A-stories-look-ridiculous-Ive-change-that.html

very good interview with him here, although it still looks like he is as far as ever away from a return to international football:(

[eirebhoy]

'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.’

It seems to me that if Trap made the first move Ireland would come back but as Brady says, pride for your country is more important. And S.Ireland is always going to have to make first contact.

[elroy]

'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.’

It seems to me that if Trap made the first move Ireland would come back but as Brady says, pride for your country is more important. And S.Ireland is always going to have to make first contact.

Whether they did contact him or not is not an issue. Trap tried to get Ireland back when he initially took over, Ireland declined but the door was left open.......It is SI's choice if he wants to return clearly he doesnt. He is consistently vague in his interviews......
"That’s all I can say. Never say never, though"
like what exactly does this mean???

The one thing that i think we can draw from these comments is that SI will not be a factor in the 2010 WC campaign. Pity, but give me a player with the attitude of Kilbane who treasures playing for his country in our starting XI over Ireland anyday.

[kingdomkerry]

Go **** yourself Mr Manchester!

[SUB of the day]

Living in Cobh as I do, I sense the locals are very proud of Stephen, but at the same time frustrated by the attitude to the Green jersey.My son is seven, and to play for Ireland would be the ultimate dream.Ireland claims to be patriotic,but is happy to see his National team field an eleven, that is not their best.I would love my kids to experience the euphoria World Cup qualification brings, especially now.If we fail to qualify with our best team available, so be it, but if we miss out narrowly, with our best player in Manchester........

[Crosby87]

When you go on stephenIreland.com, and click on "news" he has it so the site just picks up links with the word "Ireland" which as one may expect usually does not have anything to do with him....
I think he might be a very strange man......

[third policeman]

Whether they did contact him or not is not an issue


I think it is an issue. Obviously Ireland finds it extremely hard to make the first move, and it is equally obvious that the whole Grannygate saga continues to dominate his thinking about a return to international football. I might agree with you that he is wrong to feel this way, and that he should be mature enough to simply get over it and declare himself available for international football, but alas he is not mature enough and seemingly cannot sort this out for himself. In these circumstances I think Trapp and Brady have a professional duty to go the extra mile, even if they dont have a moral one. We are not paying them for their principles, we are paying them to get results and the fact that they have done nothing to build bridges with Ireland is in my view unbelievable.

[Lionel Ritchie]

TP -they've said they want him back.
They asked him to come back and he wasn't ready.
They then said the door was always open for him and he just had to let them know he was available -they've restated this numerous times at numerous press conferences.

They've attempted to remove all and any obstacles in his path and he responds, indirectly and ususally through the media, with obfusticative smoke and mirrors.

What more can they reasonably be expected to do? Are they to telephone him in the run up to every squad selection to see is he ready to come back yet?

Even aside from any question of whether that's a reasonable expectation is there then not the real risk that diddums will say he's being harassed if they were to do so?

Look, I want to see a happy, well adjusted Stephen Ireland back in the Irish squad but it appears he either doesn't want it or doesn't want it enough.

If he can't or won't communicate his availability -however circuitously, in this day and age and through all the channels available to him, which includes having the two defacto captains of the Irish squad for team-mates ...then f**k him.
:ball:

[NeilMcD]

When you go on stephenIreland.com, and click on "news" he has it so the site just picks up links with the word "Ireland" which as one may expect usually does not have anything to do with him....
I think he might be a very strange man......

Are you sure that it is his official site or just some guy who bought the domain. Just checked it out there yeah it does say its official.

[Superhoops]

.......that he should be mature enough to simply get over it and declare himself available for international football, but alas he is not mature enough and seemingly cannot sort this out for himself... .
What? he cannot pick up a phone and utter those four little words 'I want to play' :confused:


....I think Trapp and Brady have a professional duty to go the extra mile, even if they dont have a moral one. We are not paying them for their principles, we are paying them to get results and the fact that they have done nothing to build bridges with Ireland is in my view unbelievable.

Like
- beg him to play?
- guarantee him a starting place?
- tell him 'your country needs you'?
- we will make sure the lads dont take the **** and upset your fragile state of mind
- we will make sure the fans to a man will welcome you back
- we will make sure there will be no mention of your granny

What they have a professional duty to do is to respond professionally when he says he is ready to come back and wants to play.

Forgive the pun, but it's Ireland's call. Dreadful song, dreadful individual.

[kingdomkerry]

What? he cannot pick up a phone and utter those four little words 'I want to play' :confused:



Like
- beg him to play?
- guarantee him a starting place?
- tell him 'your country needs you'?
- we will make sure the lads dont take the **** and upset your fragile state of mind
- we will make sure the fans to a man will welcome you back
- we will make sure there will be no mention of your granny

What they have a professional duty to do is to respond professionally when he says he is ready to come back and wants to play.

Forgive the pun, but it's Ireland's call. Dreadful song, dreadful individual.

Well said!

[amaccann]

There is a third factor in this equation people should remember, aside from Stephen himself & the management; the other players. Maybe they don't want him back. I can't honestly imagine many of the players would be too enamored with Ireland's behavior.

Bringing back Stephen Ireland into the squad could be a major unsettling factor in the harmony of the squad, something that Trap seems to be keen on building. So for SI to be made a special case to be begged into returning could seriously upset all the good vibes Trap has been trying to inject into the team.

[Lionel Ritchie]

There is a third factor in this equation people should remember, aside from Stephen himself & the management; the other players. Maybe they don't want him back. I can't honestly imagine many of the players would be too enamored with Ireland's behavior.

Bringing back Stephen Ireland into the squad could be a major unsettling factor in the harmony of the squad, something that Trap seems to be keen on building. So for SI to be made a special case to be begged into returning could seriously upset all the good vibes Trap has been trying to inject into the team.

Hmmm ...not buying it Amaccann. Players don't have to like each other. Yeah it'd be nice if they all did but if Trap was all that concerned about how his selections affected morale in the group he'd do nothing else beyond second guess himself all the time. For example, Andy Reid is probably a very popular guy in the group but Trap has no compunction about leaving him out -and reading between the lines might be doing so because he considers Andy Reid a bit of a messer and a bad influence on the squad.

If Stephen Ireland ever does come back Trap will likely expect the other players to be good pros, get their heads down and get on with it.

[eirebhoy]

I'd love to know what Ireland means by this quote:
"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."

Is he talking about recently or ever?

S.Ireland, February 2008:
"I'm available for selection, very much available. We need someone like Trapattoni hopefully to bring it out of us and get us playing. When Sven heard that Trap was appointed, he said it was a great opportunity for me to go back now because he is a very good coach and I will learn a lot. This did have an effect on my decision to return. I trust Sven you know. Whatever he says is good advice and he means well. I think there is a lot of talent in the squad and we can actually qualify for the big tournaments."

Ireland, April 2008:
"I have never told anybody that I am not going to play for my country and I have an open mind going into my meeting with Mr Trapattoni. Obviously, because I am meeting with the new Irish manager I cannot say a lot, but I am looking forward to sitting down with him. Personally, I will be happy to resolve the matter as soon as I have met with the manager and we have both discussed our situations."

Trap, May 2008:
"I had very good meetings with all three players. The discussions I have had with them have been very positive and I am confident there is a very good possibility that they will return to play for their country."

Trap, May 2008:
"The moment I left him, I told him, 'I will wait for you', and he said to me, 'okay'. I understood Stephen. I understand he is young. I have children, I have a son and I understand him. I am confident, I trust he will come back. I spoke with him and normally when I speak with a player, I look the player in the eyes. The eyes never lie. I have trust he will come back.'

[NeilMcD]

Well done Eirebhoy. Well put together.

[eirebhoy]

It's interesting that most of the quotes from Ireland are from the Irish Star. The chap in the Star is definitely close to the family.

[NeilMcD]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/furious-trap-gives-up-on-ireland-1673443.html

It seems to me that Stephen Ireland has no interest in playing for Ireland again but he is doing a PR campaign trying to restore his name.

[Irish_Praha]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/furious-trap-gives-up-on-ireland-1673443.html

It seems to me that Stephen Ireland has no interest in playing for Ireland again but he is doing a PR campaign trying to restore his name.

You could be right or else he is trying to restore his name before he comes back so that he won't be subjected to as much abuse as if he returned now.
I don't think he even knows himself to be honest :P

However, for those who want him to return, maybe it's best for him to do it in his own way so that he feels as comfortable as possible with it or else his feebel ego might not be able to handle the abuse and he would run away with his tail between his legs again. For this very reason I would prefer him to return in a friendly where he can't harm our chances of qualification or progressing in a tournament. If all goes well then he could play a competitive game.

[SUB of the day]

Interesting to see Trap at Stamford Bridge today, does he really need to see Given and Dunne?......my hunch is that Ireland is going to be asked for a final decision.