Stephen Ireland

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Originally Posted by Greenforever

Very touching but not very believeable, and as much as it would be great to have SI playing for us, I honestly believe he is likely to walk out again (if he ever does come back) and cause another Saipan type divide and do serious damage to our chances at a later date.

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You're right, before we call up any player in future we should have everyone analyised by a psychiatrist to assess the chances that at some stage in the future he might possibly, maybe cause problems.
Come on for christ sake. Yes he has been an idiot in the past, but are u honestly saying that you have never made stupid mistakes in your late teens to early 20s?
If he does return to play for us I would have him back in a heartbeat and let what happens in the future happen.Yes he might cause problems in future or he might go on to score the goals that qualify us for major Championships.Personally Im think hes good enough that hes worth the risk. We are not overflowing with world class footballers and he is well on his way to being regarded in that light

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Originally Posted by Ciaran

Made the Goal team of the season so far.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/edi...-season-so-far

Described as

Stephen Ireland (Manchester City)
Put quite simply, he is one of, if not the best, player of the season thus far. He has pushed on and stepped his game up a further notch this season by producing some scintillating pass-and-move football, providing his goal-scoring team-mates with some on-a-plate assists, and has even netted some memorable strikes of his own. Has surely done enough to convince both the management and the owners, that he does not need replacing with a mega-money alternative. Is finding the target with worrying regularity for his opposition, and is one strike - and one game - short of recording a one in three record for the season.


Rory Delap made the reserve team. Ironic neither of them are on the Irish squad.

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Couldnt really argue much with it in fairness, although i think Delap is having less of an influence for Stoke as the season goes on and as teams are learning how to counteract his throw ins......take away that and he is only an average player at best.

Wouldnt have Ronaldo in any team of the season so far (first or reserve)

i'm a fan of s. ireland and want to see him return but the cynic in me wonders if his remarkable improvement is totally down to natural causes? almost hate to bring this up but i can't shake the feeling.

weird theory... i mean he actually could be Superman!

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Originally Posted by ken foree

i'm a fan of s. ireland and want to see him return but the cynic in me wonders if his remarkable improvement is totally down to natural causes? almost hate to bring this up but i can't shake the feeling.

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Well you can never rule out drug taking by any sportsman and their are plenty who have been caught before, including Olympic champions.
I suppose you could throw in odd behaviour and missing matches (where you might get tested??) but obviously that's just the wildest speculation.
Maybe Gerrard was on them when it got involved in some sort of affray?
All just wild speculation of course, there is no real evidence to support any of it.

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Originally Posted by SkStu

weird theory... i mean he actually could be Superman!

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No Superman is not follically challenged.

Maybe he sold his follicles to the devil to become a footballing genius.

If there's a drug that can give me Stephen Ireland's technique, vision and footballing brain I'll have some now.

There's no drug in the wide world that will give you the football brain that God has gifted this lad with.

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Originally Posted by ken foree

i'm a fan of s. ireland and want to see him return but the cynic in me wonders if his remarkable improvement is totally down to natural causes? almost hate to bring this up but i can't shake the feeling.

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What a totally unfounded, utterly moronic statment.

unfounded? well yea if stating the obvious was a pre-requisite for moronic efforts you'd have a pretty good pedigree yourself there mate. of course it's unfounded! it's a bloody hunch, as stated above, chr!st.

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Originally Posted by ken foree

unfounded? well yea if stating the obvious was a pre-requisite for moronic efforts you'd have a pretty good pedigree yourself there mate. of course it's unfounded! it's a bloody hunch, as stated above, chr!st.

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Tell us then, what kind of drugs can you take that will give you the passing vision and forward thinking ability that Stephen Ireland has? Fitness is one thing. Ireland is certainly not slight but I highly doubt he's on any steroids.

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

Tell us then, what kind of drugs can you take that will give you the passing vision and forward thinking ability that Stephen Ireland has? Fitness is one thing. Ireland is certainly not slight but I highly doubt he's on any steroids.

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plenty of drugs improve mental acuity. move on, i shouldn't have brought it up.

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Originally Posted by ken foree

plenty of drugs improve mental acuity. move on, i shouldn't have brought it up.

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What drugs specifically? Please name them.

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

What drugs specifically? Please name them.

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The old coffee and cocaine combo does wonders for me, and I'd presume the same would be true for Stephen. :eek::D

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Originally Posted by irishfan86

The old coffee and cocaine combo does wonders for me, and I'd presume the same would be true for Stephen. :eek::D

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I assume football players are drug tested frequently? Didn't Rio Ferdinand get suspended for eight months for missing, not failing, a drug test? I thought the Premier League took that kind of thing quite seriously.

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

I assume football players are drug tested frequently? Didn't Rio Ferdinand get suspended for eight months for missing, not failing, a drug test? I thought the Premier League took that kind of thing quite seriously.

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Yeah I was just joking around. Here is an article from a couple of months ago about Premier League drug testing policy. I personally think "reporting whereabouts" once a day is ridiculous and would fight that legally if I was a player:

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England footballers and other Premier League players face a raft of extra drug tests under a new crackdown being planned by the sport's authorities, it was reported today.

According to The Sun, 30 of the top-flight's players will be checked five times a year in addition to existing post-match tests. The players will also be forced to provide details of their whereabouts for one hour every day, including end-of-season holidays.

The moves are part of efforts by sporting chiefs to bring football's anti-drugs controls and procedures more in line with sports like athletics and cycling. UK Sport and Football Association officials will meet in the next couple of months to draw up the players' register, according to the report.

Andy Parkinson, UK Sport's head of operations for a drug-free sport, said he was not setting out to make life difficult for footballers but trying to "protect their sport". He told the paper that athletics and cycling have both been badly tainted by doping scandals.

"The last thing we want is for football to be in that position where it doesn't focus enough - doesn't put controls in place - and suddenly finds itself a sport with a fantastic profile in a crisis," he said. "The identity of the players on the list will be decided by UK Sport and the FA. We'll take into account behaviour of athletes in the past, long-term injuries where maybe they disappeared to Eastern Europe for six months to get an injury sorted - or if they have had a doping violation."

Drug testers currently pick two players at random for a urine sample after every match.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...gue-drug-tests

Pretty ludicrous accusations, even by the standards of internet idiocy tbh; as it has already been mentioned, steroids to increase physical prowess is one thing, but to increase that nebulous of qualities, talent, is quite another thing. Some people watch too many movies :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

What drugs specifically? Please name them.

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Im a genius down the pub after 6 pints :D

well ye still might get chance to see how keane/Ireland combo works as it appears both Arsenal and now liverpool are interested in him.....

Good for him

I can't see 'money bags' Man City selling their best player when they are looking to strengthen their squad.