Stephen Ireland

[elroy]

Article by Ken Early (one of our better journalists imo) on the current plight of Stephen. Good read.

http://www.joe.ie/football/football-opinion/ken-early-stephen-ireland-a-flawed-genius-006720-1

[SwanVsDalton]

Good read that. Quite liked the comparison with Schweinsteiger, even if it seems completely out of left field.

[Stuttgart88]

Great article, very well written.

[AlaskaFox]

Good article, but I disagree with his last point. I don't think Ireland is a hard worker. He sometimes switches off completely when playing games - like against Sunderland recently.

[Stuttgart88]

Are Ken Early and Mick wallace related? And the guitarist in Spinal tap for that matter.

[irishultra]

good article but stephen ireland is a good footballer not a genius

[geysir]

FWIW, I think much of the article is the usual constructed nonsense, not unlike the logic that says the team won despite the manager and loses because of him. There is a pretend world that some journalists exist in.
He ends up tying himself up in knots with the last sentence "Some men you just can't reach", probably should have started the article with that line and develop the thought process from that point.

The article reckons Houllier was cráp with players at Liverpool because of examples a b c.
The jist of the rest of the article - Houllier has a dysfunctional talented player in his squad and will not succeed in turning him into a functional player because Houllier has not the language to communicate with/ or the knowledge to guide SI, but Trap could have done that if only SI could've listened to the old maestro coach, ironically - using a support quote from Hamann, a player who Houllier signed for Liverpool.


IMO, Houllier has a dysfunctional talented player, a player who not only did turn his back on Trap, but also acted impudently and insulted Trap (along with every other manager), a player who Bruce and Mancini could not work with and forced out at considerable expense.
If Stephen Ireland can not work with Houllier, it is no reflection on Houllier's competence.

[ken foree]

geysir probably makes much better points than i will - i thought the part with schweinsteiger was interesting, if he's the anti-stephen ireland then ballack must be the bald one's german doppleganger.

point being, that mr. early's contention that s. ireland needs to be "constantly behind the ball" or aware of who's covering his space as he roams forward isn't necessarily correct. it IS, if a team is set up that way - with the intent that every notional midfielder must work his socks off/graft/tackle/track etc. but plenty of teams have allowed gifted players the freedom to purely attack via the central 'half-striker' ("mezzapunta") position. the unfortunate thing is that these players can appear superfluous at the best of times and outright liabilities at the worst, particularly when the flow of the game is going against their team.

ballack seemed to exemplify this with chelsea. i can't stand the player (dire cheat, though he's undoubtedly talented). upon initial impressions he seemed oddly utilized with them. his sole responsibility *appeared* to be waltzing casually about near the opponent's back-line, with the intention of creating the attacking rhythm schweinsteiger spoke about. stephen ireland is similar and i don't really buy ken early's contention that he's all about "hollywood passes and goals". ireland is actually quite zen in his play and, at his best, often finds simple angles that create momentum, rhythm, and dangerous situations for defences ("yeah, his own" i hear you murmur). some of his one-touch play particularly, can be terrific.

unfortunately, like ballack, ireland is also a douchebag and at the present time, i wouldn't sacrifice two holding players to accomodate him in our team.

[Stuttgart88]

I thought this bit was bang on:

Roy Keane was not a great player because when things got hot and heavy he would hit someone like Zinedine Zidane. He was a great player because in any given match he would get on the ball more often and play more passes, more accurately, than anyone else.

The violence and intimidation just added flavour.

The ability to get on the ball again and again to influence the course of a game is not a gift but an art that is developed with time and effort. For all his talent, Ireland has yet to work it out.

The Schweinsteiger quote was interesting - especially if it's finessed like ken foree does. Schweinsteiger was essentially saying that he helps determine the shape and the tempo of his team. Stephen Ireland can only react to it. Stephen Ireland can help a team that's on top of the opposition see off the opposition. But Ireland will never get his team on top of the opposition like a player like Scweinsteiger can. Stephen Ireland is not the missing link for the Irish team for this reason.

[The Fly]

http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/aston-villa-fc/aston-villa-news/2010/11/06/gerard-houllier-insists-stephen-ireland-has-improved-after-stinging-criticism-97319-27610374/

[geysir]

He came on in the last few minutes against Fulham, looked lively and stroked a few nice passes, then Fulham equalised.
I'd say there is a place for him in that team if he is willing to apply himself to what the coach expects.
Opinion based on 3 minutes viewing.

[AlaskaFox]

I like the way national team is underlined in the article. :D

[The Fly]

http://www.givemefootball.com/premier-league/liverpool-an-option-for-irish-midfield-maestro

[CraftyToePoke]

http://www.givemefootball.com/premier-league/liverpool-an-option-for-irish-midfield-maestro

The downward spiral gathers pace, cant see the Liverpool move having any substance, Joe Cole there already and I doubt Ireland would be Hodgsons ''kind of people'' as it were.

Then again, Hodgson may not still be there either, or in charge of transfers even if he is, so you never know.

Such a shame, such a waste of talent, talent we really needed, a Stephen Ireland fulfilling his potential in club and international terms would negate the need to court the likes of Noble and O'Hara.

[theworm2345]

Interesting that Villa have signed Robert Pires, who even at 37 can probably outclass baldy.

[AlaskaFox]

Interesting that Villa have signed Robert Pires, who even at 37 can probably outclass baldy.

More interesting that Pires came on for Ireland today. Ireland started well actually, but then disappeared into the game, but I don't remember a bad pass from him to be honest.

[tricky_colour]

I don't remember a good pass either. ;)

[geysir]

Didn't he get caught out for Blackburn's 2nd goal, giving the ball away.

[rebelmusic]

He got seriously muscled off the ball a couple of times as well. Commentator noted that he's a player to suit systems, and that villa aren't playing one. Point made, and maybe in line with Houllier's comments is that Ireland must start widening his game to avoid the "luxury" tag.

[tetsujin1979]

Zonal Marking did a compare and contrast of Pires' and Ireland's contributions from the game at the weekend using the Guardian's chalkboard feature: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/nov/22/premier-league-chalkboard-analysis?CMP=twt_gu

[Charlie Darwin]

Just stumbled across Stephen's twitter. Last post, on July 30: "staying in manchester!"

Riiight.

[ken foree]

he sprung downing early on with a lovely two touch take/lob - downing was through 1 v. 1 with the keeper and probably should've scored. not much maybe but it's something... :D

[youngirish]

Just stumbled across Stephen's twitter. Last post, on July 30: "staying in manchester!"

Riiight.

Hope he didn't sell his house up that way as the path his career is taking I can see him ending up back there by the end of the next transfer window.

Both Oldham and Rochdale need a new attacking midfielder.

[theworm2345]

Hope he didn't sell his house up that way as the path his career is taking I can see him ending up back there by the end of the next transfer window.

Both Oldham and Rochdale need a new attacking midfielder.
Who would buy that chav's paradise?

[strangeirish]

Who would buy that chav's paradise?http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/07/article-1318489-0B80F023000005DC-372_233x347.jpg

[Colbert Report]

I can seriously see Alex Ferguson taking a chance on him.

[Yard of Pace]

Twitter:

might have to give trap a buzz to get a game!

[tetsujin1979]

Twitter:

might have to give trap a buzz to get a game!
thought you might have been taking the mick, but no, here it is: http://twitter.com/#!/StephenIreland/status/7731599000997888 (http://twitter.com/#%21/StephenIreland/status/7731599000997888)

might have to give trap a buzz to get a game!Although it's quite possible he is?
Check out some of the replies here: http://twitter.com/#!/search/%40StephenIreland (http://twitter.com/#%21/search/%40StephenIreland)

[osarusan]

On that twitter link you posted:


Sorry, that page doesn’t exist!

[tetsujin1979]

On that twitter link you posted:
really? Both of them work fine for me. You might need to be logged in to twitter for the search one though.
Try this one instead: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%40StephenIreland

Here's one of the replies: http://twitter.com/#!/harrymac8/status/7747153866788864 (http://twitter.com/#%21/harrymac8/status/7747153866788864)

@StephenIreland (http://twitter.com/StephenIreland) your alright mate- we' don't need u- anyway- the way your playing at the moment, u wouldn't lace Paul Green's boots

[shakermaker1982]

What a **** if he has posted that.

[geysir]

Some of those twitter links posted here don't work unless you delete %40 from the link.

http://twitter.com/StephenIreland
Looks like he has posted that.

[tetsujin1979]

Some of those twitter links posted here don't work unless you delete %40 from the link.

http://twitter.com/StephenIreland
Looks like he has posted that.
try replacing the %40 with @ - http://search.twitter.com/search?q=@StephenIreland

Officially trending in Ireland now: http://trendsmap.com/local/ireland

[Junior]

Some of those twitter links posted here don't work unless you delete %40 from the link.

http://twitter.com/StephenIreland
Looks like he has posted that.


might have to give trap a buzz to get a game!
9 minutes ago via web When I clicked the link it suggested that the post had been made 9 minutes ago but the original post on here was made a number of hours ago - Is it legit or a humourous hacker?

[twoenz]

When I clicked the link it suggested that the post had been made 9 minutes ago but the original post on here was made a number of hours ago - Is it legit or a humourous hacker?


I think it's legit. If it was a spammer or a humorous tweet it would have been more active recently.

[tetsujin1979]

When I clicked the link it suggested that the post had been made 9 minutes ago but the original post on here was made a number of hours ago - Is it legit or a humourous hacker?
says 3 hours ago for me?

I think it's actually him, but don't think I'd take it too seriously.

slightly off topic, Noel Hunt updates his account regularly enough - http://twitter.com/#!/boyhunt
Talks a lot about I'm a celebrity, shoot me in the head! I mean, get me out of here!

[Crosby87]

Cue: So is he joking or is he really serious?
:poo:

[youngirish]

A modern day prodigal son if Stephen Ireland came crawling back to his country's football team now that his club career has gone tits up.

I never liked the ending of that story the father should have given that scrounger son of his the boot.

Our nation's current plight also reminds me of that story thinking about it.

[tetsujin1979]

more on this
from Sky News' Enda Brady: http://twitter.com/#!/endabrady/status/7830006977794048

Stephen Ireland on twitter this afternoon . . . confirming what I told you all a week ago!

which (to be fair) he did claim about a week ago: http://twitter.com/#!/endabrady/status/6344868334927872

my football prediction for 2011 . . . .Stephen Ireland to play for Ireland again. You heard it here first . . . . .

and finally: http://twitter.com/#!/endabrady/status/7830934917226496

and whatever anyone thinks, I'm told @StephenIreland (http://twitter.com/StephenIreland) will be welcomed back. "Water under the bridge, let's move on", I hear . . .

[Charlie Darwin]

He would be welcomed back, by me at least. He'd be a good alternative to Robbie.

[theworm2345]

more on this
from Sky News' Enda Brady: http://twitter.com/#!/endabrady/status/7830006977794048


which (to be fair) he did claim about a week ago: http://twitter.com/#!/endabrady/status/6344868334927872


and finally: http://twitter.com/#!/endabrady/status/7830934917226496
Let me be the first to say, Stephen, if you're reading this, you're not wanted, **** off.

Shocking that as soon as he realizes he won't be getting a game at club level in the future he comes crawling back on his hands and knees. :rolleyes:

[Crosby87]

Let Enda Brady say what source he is using to say he "is told" SI would be welcomed back. Could have been Yapster.

Even if he came back who among us would be confident he would be there in the following games when we needed him? He could flake out at any moment putting us all through the same bullocks again.

[SkStu]

i knew this cretin would come crawling back when he needed us. F*ck him.

[geysir]

Let Enda Brady say what source he is using to say he "is told" SI would be welcomed back. Could have been Yapster.
Enda's sources would be credible enough but you would imagine that based on past events, (how difficult it was for SI to make the phonecall) that I wonder what happened to cause Enda to write this "Stephen Ireland to play for Ireland again".

[irishfan86]

i knew this cretin would come crawling back when he needed us. F*ck him.

He may need us right now, but I think the argument could be made that we need him as well.

[Junior]

We dont need anyone of that mindset in our squad. His footballing ability is a complete irrelevance to the matter in my opinion.

[gastric]

If this is true, can you imagine the reaction when he plays for Ireland. The booing and verbal abuse from the fans will not help someone with a fickle personality.

[gastric]

This article seems to pour some cold water on the rumours about the Bald One.


http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/ireland-twitter-message-sparks-comeback-rumour-2436702.html

[shakermaker1982]

Why would Manchester City inform UK journalists about whether the account was his? Surely they'd ask Aston Villa?

I could have accepted him back 18 months ago but not now. I wouldn't boo him or anything but I'd feel dirty and rotten inside if he did wear the green jersey again. Talented player but we'd have to drop Keane or Doyle to make way for him and is that fair/right?

[ifk101]

He's pretty much useless in a 4-4-2 formation. That's why he's not in the Villa team. If you want to get the most out of Stephen Ireland, you'd have to build your team around him. But who in their right mind would do that?