Stephen Ireland

[DannyInvincible]

More importantly though...

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/29/article-0-0F4467FD00000578-697_468x286.jpg

That shadow behind his head nearly had me fooled his hair was making a comeback!

[drummerboy]

Unfortunately this stuff is plastered over the internet, one doesn't have to buy a paper or subscribe to sky to see such ****e. Perhaps 30 minutes in a GAA or rugby game would do Stephen the world of good. As regards what sport my kids play, I let them make up their own minds.

[Charlie Darwin]

Ireland's girlfriend posted the picture on twitter. While it was probably indiscreet on her part - and maybe she was showing off - he's hardly the only person who has a picture of himself relaxing with a smoke on the internet. People seem to confuse "being a role model" with "being perfect in every aspect of your life forever." Some of the people condemning Ireland for engaging in a legal activity in his own home will applaud other players for making dangerous tackles or breaking the rules in other ways on the field.

[DannyInvincible]

Some other people relaxing having a smoke on the internet:

http://www.rschindler.com/sartre.jpg

http://www.freetobacco.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Celebrity-Smokers.jpg

http://euro2008.worldcupblog.org/files/2008/05/bilic-names-squad.jpg

Do these men have no shame? Obama has even undone his top button. Who knows? Maybe even top two!

[Stuttgart88]

Doesn't mean Stephen Ireland's not a nob though!

All sports have their nobs. GAA and rugby aren't immune.

[Charlie Darwin]

Some other people relaxing having a smoke on the internet:

http://www.rschindler.com/sartre.jpg

http://www.freetobacco.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Celebrity-Smokers.jpg

http://euro2008.worldcupblog.org/files/2008/05/bilic-names-squad.jpg

Do these men have no shame? Obama has even undone his top button. Who knows? Maybe even top two!
This man is clearly not fit to be the leader of the free world. Sartre and Obama have a lot to answer for too.

[bennocelt]

Danny, as someone who has kids and has been involved in kids football I see the influence professional footballers have on youngsters. Go to a football game now and you will see kids diving around the place aping the antics of the players they see on Sky. No matter how much you point out to kids how stupid his actions are, some kids will still think its cool. If you can't see anything wrong with Ireland's actions, thats fair enough. But his manager doesn't seem too enthusiastic about it. I can see why so many parents are steering their kids towards rugby and GAA with the antics of such knobs.

here is the perfect radio show for you
http://www.rte.ie/radio1/liveline/joe.html
(http://www.rte.ie/radio1/liveline/joe.html) enjoy

[Crosby87]

Ireland's girlfriend posted the picture on twitter.

Girlfriend? Didn't he have like 3 kids by age 23? Well, I guess he could always play in the NFL with that CV if he needs extra cash.
And honestly people on his or her twitter account need to move out of their parents basement and get some more things to do in life.

[BonnieShels]

Nonsense.

He's clearly a turd sandwich.

I resisted this. BAH!

[TrapAPony]

Scored v Chelsea
Stephen Ireland fires in a goal from inside the six-yard box to the bottom left corner of the goal. Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa.

[Sullivinho]

Well I s'pose those of us who consider him a beacon of knobishness, (and that includes me) can put that in our pipes and smoke it.

[Stuttgart88]

He made Bent's goal too. Looks a tidy enough player again. Still a nob though.

[drummerboy]

He seems to have put in a decent performance. Hopefully we won't hear anyone calling from him to be reinstated in the Euro squad.

[Colbert Report]

I think we should have him in the squad for the Euros.

[Murfinator]

My word what a performance, best player on the pitch with a world class showing. The lad has frightening talent when he plays like that. If can do that regularly he'll most certainly be back.

Possibly the standout performance of the season that, going to stamford bridge and tearing Chelsea apart single handidly just doesn't happen.

[Closed Account]

Ireland for Ireland!

[Paddy Garcia]

According to his manager "Ireland was unbelievable".

He means from a positive perspective this time.

[tricky_colour]

Ha ha great result for Villa, who would have thunked it?
And also Blackburn beating Man U, even unlikelier.

It's funny I was chatting to a guy on line when watching a match on-line mid-week, and he seemed
to be betting mad. Anyway I told him to always back the bottom team to beat the top team.
Although Man U were technically 2nd, I wonder if he bothered to do it, I wish I had!!

[tricky_colour]

According to his manager "Ireland was unbelievable".

He means from a positive perspective this time.

Ah so he wasn't referring to his Grannies this time?

[SkStu]

My word what a performance, best player on the pitch with a world class showing. The lad has frightening talent when he plays like that. If can do that regularly he'll most certainly be back.

Possibly the standout performance of the season that, going to stamford bridge and tearing Chelsea apart single handidly just doesn't happen.

exaggerate much?

I watched the game and he played very, very well but he didnt tear Chelsea apart single handedly. Villa were on the back foot for most of the match in all honesty. His work rate was what impressed me more than anything. An excellent performance but id wait until he does it more than once in a season before handing out any awards.

[Stuttgart88]

How did Dunne & Clark do?

I hear Dunne gave away a rash penno, but also read that Clark played the pass that Petrov scored from.

[tetsujin1979]

According to the Sky Sports text commentary, Dunne headed clear late on for "the umpteenth time"

[Murfinator]

Some comments from Villatalk on him today


He fits our passing game perfectly! Especially his linking up with N'zogbia. Great game for the whole team, but shame Gabby didn't convert his 1v1 chance and Dunne gave away that silly penalty. More games like this please, win lose or draw!


I've always had faith in Ireland. I knew it'd just take a bit of confidence and he'd pull something out the bag.

If some of our other players can get onto his wavelength, we'll have an excellent player on our hands. The amount of little one-touch passes and flair moves he does, really goes unnoticed.


Phenomenal performance, hopefully it's not a one off. Today he produced something that we have missed for years and something we paid for 18 months ago.


Never doubted his quality. World class.


Wow he was fantastic today, Ive had a sniff of humble pie, but there is a long way to go.

Their MoM poll has him at 89%: http://www.villatalk.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=71470&start=0

Amazing how one performance can change supporters views from spitting bile at you to wanting to build your team around you. It's good news for Clark as well, Ireland nailing himself on as a starter means in all liklihood McLeish will use 2 defensive midfielders to accommodate him. Clark is the 2nd DM in the team behind petrov so gives him a great chance for a run in the first team.

Goal and ESPN both gave him an 8.5 along with man of the match.
http://www.espnstar.com/editorial/news/detail/item729327/Chelsea-vs-Aston-Villa-Player-Ratings/
http://www.goal.com/en/match/60383/chelsea-fc-vs-aston-villa/player-ratings


Roaming in between Chelsea's midfield and defence, Ireland used the freedom he was given well and looked alert all the time, launching counter-attacks for his side and calmly coordinating his side's play with sharp passing.


Headline-writing performance, done. Composure in the box ensured that the under-fire midfielder tucked in after Terry’s clearance. Was given a free role and epitomized everything that was good about Villa on the day, totally vindicating McLeish’s faith.

[geysir]

Irrelevant for our team how Ireland performs for Villa. He has exercised his prerogative to withdraw from international football.

Maybe he has been saved and born again, that's good news for the Villa team & fans.

[mark12345]

If current form is maintained on a semi-consistent basis for the remainder of the season, the positons of Whelan and Andrews in the national team have to be under threat.

Ireland may be irrelevant and he doesn't deserve to be called up again after his antics, but Trap likes him we all know, and if he's on fire come May and issues an apology, it may be hard to ignore him.

Also with Ciaran Clark getting a good run in the Villa team and James McCarthy back to form, the two incumbents can't expect automatic status anymore.

[Murfinator]

Andrews is in great form in fairness. Didn't think McCarthy was doing well, last I heard was the Wigan fans wanted him dropped and felt he was like a shadow of himself last season.

[tetsujin1979]

Andrews is in great form in fairness. Didn't think McCarthy was doing well, last I heard was the Wigan fans wanted him dropped and felt he was like a shadow of himself last season.McCarthy was excellent against Liverpool and Chelsea. Didn't see the United game, but the result can hardly be blamed on him,

[Crosby87]

Worst post of 2012.
1. Why would Whelan or Andy be threatened for their spot on the Nat'l team by a person who does not play for the Nat'l team and
2. Why do you think that Trap "likes him as we all know"?

[geysir]

Murfinator doesn't watch games in order to form an opinion about a player, he'll just surmise what the club fans are saying. McCarthy was also excellent against Chelsea at Stamford rd, is developing all-round solid midfield skills and he's a viable squad member.
Ireland could score 3 hat-tricks in a row, rip a trail through every defense in the EPL, between now until the end of the season, but it means nothing to us. Any talk of him taking the first step to redeem himself to the Irish team is most probably fantasy conjecture and any talk of us needing him is utter bull. I would be perfectly content if Trap never gave him a moment's thought in future.
Ireland has one bright game and he's endowed a 'saviour in exile' status :rolleyes:

[mark12345]

Why would Whelan or Andrews be threatened? I dunno, maybe because Whelan has lead in his boots and can't run. Andrews isn't bad, but still not international class. In fairness he's doing quite well right now, is Andrews, but there are alternatives.

That's the point I'm making - there are alternatives. Ireland is not my cup of tea as a person, but Trap does like him. Why do I think that? Probably because Trap tried to get him to play quite a few times in the past.

[Stuttgart88]

Funny thing is, I don't think he did that well for Bent's goal, in the sense that he gave Cech every chance. He gave Bent plenty to do still and he could have drawn Cech better.

His self-imposed exile is one thing, but again it's got to be said that he's a final third player and would have no place in Trap's thinking as a central midfielder in a 4-4-2.

4-4-1-1 maybe, but quite frankly I'd prefer to see Hoolahan in that role. He too can pass well and is very busy, probably better at dictating the tempo than Ireland. Ireland is a decent player who arrives late, but without the rest of the package that Scholes was able to bring.

[geysir]

From what i've seen of Ireland, he's definitely more mobile than Hoolahan, he may well do his best work in the opposition half but he does cover, whereas Hoolahan rarely moves into his own half of the pitch. He does most of his game around the D. Then again, I have only seen Hoolahan against Tottenham, a quite ineffective role on the day.
Just on football ability alone, Ireland would have a much better chance to get into our team.

mark12345

That's the point I'm making - there are alternatives. Ireland is not my cup of tea as a person, but Trap does like him.
Ireland is not an available alternative. He is the one to get his game together consistently and then step forward to make amends in regards to his international future. As it stands now, the chances of that happening are zero.

[Charlie Darwin]

If current form is maintained on a semi-consistent basis for the remainder of the season, the positons of Whelan and Andrews in the national team have to be under threat.
He's played one game. One game isn't "form".

[mark12345]

Agreed, one game doesn't make it form.

Lads, take out a gun and shoot me why don't ya. All I'm saying is there are alternatives to our present midfield duo. As Stuttgart quite rightly points out, Hoolahan would also be a good option. So there's another one, making it Hoolahan, McCarthy, (I won't even mention Ireland at this point) and Ciaran Clark, and let's not forget Robbie as a creative midfielder, as options to the Whelan and Andrews. Whelan and Andrews should not be guaranteed places at this point. And for those who keep talking about people fitting into schemes, how can you say this player or that won't work in a scheme if he is never tried?

[Charlie Darwin]

Andrews is essential for our midfield - he's the best Irish midfielder by a long way this season. His partner is up for debate. I'd love to see Ireland, Gibson and McCarthy competing to be his partner, but at the moment McCarthy is the only one putting his hand up. Whelan is playing well enough to keep his place.

[tricky_colour]

http://watchhighlightsonline.blogspot.com/2011/12/video-ireland-goal-vs-chelsea-stephen.html

Ireland goal if you missed it.

[Murfinator]

In the bbc team of the week


Scored his first goal in two years and unselfishly laid on Villa's third for Darren Bent in an outstanding individual display by the Irishman. He exposed David Luiz's defensive frailties and made Chelsea look pedestrian at times.

[Murfinator]

let's not forget Robbie as a creative midfielder,

I rather would forget it, its a total myth that he can play that role. :p

[mark12345]

I rather would forget it, its a total myth that he can play that role. :p

Myth?

He and Duffer (before McGeady came along) were the only two players who, for ten years after Roy Keane, could take possession of the ball in the opposition half, control it, and make things happen. Fact is Robbie has always been creative with his movement and passing so it's a perfect fit for me. Plus he's lost that yard of pace he needs to be chasing balls into the box. Robbie playing behind the front two of Long and Walters (or Doyle) and feeding them through balls, works for me.

[tetsujin1979]

Myth?

He and Duffer (before McGeady came along) were the only two players who, for ten years after Roy Keane, could take possession of the ball in the opposition half, control it, and make things happen. Fact is Robbie has always been creative with his movement and passing so it's a perfect fit for me. Plus he's lost that yard of pace he needs to be chasing balls into the box. Robbie playing behind the front two of Long and Walters (or Doyle) and feeding them through balls, works for me.Andy Reid?

[Murfinator]

https://rapidshare.com/#!download|164tl|825632260|ireland3.wmv|145724|R~7 47E3B0FBB6CEB24B4882B66D56DE7D7|0|0 (https://rapidshare.com/#%21download%7C164tl%7C825632260%7Cireland3.wmv%7C 145724%7CR%7E747E3B0FBB6CEB24B4882B66D56DE7D7%7C0% 7C0)

Video download of his play against Chelsea. His flicks and interplay was on a different planet, even his tracking back and defensive work was fantastic.

[drummerboy]

One swallow doesn't make a summer. This certainly applies to SI.

[amaccann]

Any other player I'd suggest we keep an eye on him, in case he'd be a good choice for the Tournament squad.

Stephen Ireland? Given how much Trap stresses the importance of team unity & a happy camp, I can't see how including someone as notorious & potentially unpopular as him would be a good move. To abandon his country's team in the way that he did, and then to be rewarded with a spot on the plane, this would be bound to have a negative effect on the squad.

Keep him out of the Ireland squad until he grows up a little. We don't need another tournament with ructions in the camp.

[tricky_colour]

https://rapidshare.com/#!download|164tl|825632260|ireland3.wmv|145724|R~7 47E3B0FBB6CEB24B4882B66D56DE7D7|0|0 (https://rapidshare.com/#%21download%7C164tl%7C825632260%7Cireland3.wmv%7C 145724%7CR%7E747E3B0FBB6CEB24B4882B66D56DE7D7%7C0% 7C0)

Video download of his play against Chelsea. His flicks and interplay was on a different planet, even his tracking back and defensive work was fantastic.

file not found

[geysir]

Surly not an actual dead link?

[tricky_colour]

Surly not an actual dead link?

Actually It does seem to work if you copy the text.
But clicking the link would not work in my browser.

This one might though.

https://rapidshare.com/#!download|164tl|825632260|ireland3.wmv|145724|R~7 47E3B0FBB6CEB24B4882B66D56DE7D7|0|0

and indeed it does.

[geysir]

That would be in line with the many previous false alarms over dead links to SI.

[mark12345]

Yeah Andy was good, no doubt about. Pity about his limited opportunities.

[SkStu]

That would be in line with the many previous false alarms over dead links to SI.

if its any consolation Geysir, i got it the first time... :D

[SkStu]

was subbed on 68 today for Marc "Headless Chicken" Albrighton.

I hope his impressive run of form starts again sometime...