I think this will be a turning point for the lad. Trap seemed a lot more open to him coming back this evening. I'm going to stick my arm out and say I think we will be seeing him back in an Ireland shirt before the end of the season.
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I think this will be a turning point for the lad. Trap seemed a lot more open to him coming back this evening. I'm going to stick my arm out and say I think we will be seeing him back in an Ireland shirt before the end of the season.
i wouldnt be so sure although id be lying if i said i didnt think a comitted and well behaved SI would add a lot to our teamQuote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
Careful now - sharks in transit.Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
I would hope so. We badly need more quality players in the team/squad.Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
Did he get his £2,000,000?
Lend us a tenner Steve!
Also:-
Stephen Ireland deal pleases Villa boss Kevin MacDonald
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...la/8925046.stm
I agree in general, but Ozil was free to walk at the end of this season. Length remaining in a player's contract is a key factor in transfer value.Quote:
Originally Posted by elroy
Yea if Milner is worth £24 million I'm worth £10 million :)
I misread you there for a minute and thought you said he should be committed. I'd agree with that.Quote:
Originally Posted by jbyrne
Last thing we need at the minute is a disruptive influence with precious little first team football under his belt. If he decides he's interested again, I'd name him in a few training squads to see how he fits in and wouldn't let him near the team until the 2011 games.
But then again, I'd be equally as happy if he wasn't let near Lansdowne Road for the rest of his life.....
Spectacular piece of bridge-burning by Stevie. Not sure where the pot gets off calling the kettle black, but it's an interesting interview nonetheless.
Quote:
"I don't think loyalty is much in anyone's mind at Manchester City," he said. "I felt like I would be next [to leave]. A lot of players felt like that as well – the homegrown guys."
Quote:
"I've really landed on my feet here. I think it's a family club and one that will get the best out of me. I am actually shocked at how good it is. I've settled in so well, so fast. Even the young lads are so polite. I'm actually quite shocked with that. At City they're not like that. They're coming in with £10,000 watches on their wrists and walking around as if they have played 200 Premier League games."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...tephen-irelandQuote:
"I guess James Milner must think the grass is greener on the other side. He's going to get a shock soon because it's definitely not that way."
Maybe a lot of truth in what he says about Man City, however it remains to be seen if
he is as good as he thinks he is, obviously Stephen has not been in favour recently at Man City,
I expect the guys with the £10,000 watches thinks its a lot better than Stephen does.
It will be interesting to see he gets on on Sunday.
I wonder how much Stephen's watch is worth?
http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/bi...-812429543.jpg
Anyone know who is the guy with his back to camera?
http://www.birminghammail.net/birmin...7319-27083537/
That's David Silva if I'm not mistaken.
D SilvaQuote:
Originally Posted by tricky_colour
Its his Grandmother actually, her friends always mistake her for Silva in the bingo parlor.
She lives in B'Ham so they are going to be staying with her while he sorts out getting a new pink house with a million dollar fish tank where his bowling balls will swim.
Also todays article in the Independent, at least online, says "Ireland hints at return." But when you actually read it, despite him saying he would have a conversation with the FAI, it is basically him hinting that he WILL NOT return, i.e "I havent missed it. I only played 6 games for the national team so there is not much to miss." and "My club is the priority."
I will believe he is coming back when a paper says "Ireland never coming back."
Its just not the same anymore Stephen. Not a bit like "back in the day"
If only we could return to the good old days when the clubs and the players had not lost the run of themselves.
Luckily Stephen never did anything daft when he was young and less wise than he is today !
The guardian.
Stephen Ireland last night lifted the lid on life at Manchester City with an astonishing attack on his former club. Ireland, who joined Aston Villa this week as part of the deal that took James Milner in the opposite direction, tore into everyone, from the manager Roberto Mancini to the club's "money-obsessed" young players, as he revealed the full extent of his anger at the way he has been treated.
The Irishman was prevented from discussing the details of the financial pay-off he received from City because of a confidentiality agreement he has signed – he is believed to have picked up a little more than half the £2m he was demanding – but every other subject was considered fair game as he reeled off a list of complaints that painted a bleak picture of his final 12 months at City. Ireland's tirade included:
• Warning James Milner he will get a shock if he thinks the grass is greener at City
• Claiming Mancini has no relationship with any of the players
• Insisting he is as good as if not better than any of the new signings
• Accusing City's young players of wearing £10,000 watches and believing they are Premier League stars
• Describing City as a club where loyalty is no longer recognised
• Branding Mancini's criticism of his attitude unfair because he was the "best player in training"
It was a remarkable assault on City and will make for uncomfortable reading when the club's officials, players and supporters wade though Ireland's diatribe. The midfielder, who is expected to make his Villa debut at Newcastle on Sunday on his 24th birthday, spoke about City as if they were a club he could not wait to leave. "I think Aston Villa got a really good deal," he said. "I guess James Milner must think the grass is greener on the other side. He's going to get a shock soon because it's definitely not that way.
"I've really landed on my feet here. I think it's a family club and one that will get the best out of me. I am actually shocked at how good it is. I've settled in so well, so fast. Even the young lads are so polite. I'm actually quite shocked with that. At City they're not like that. They're coming in with £10,000 watches on their wrists and walking around as if they have played 200 Premier League games."
Ireland, who has a reputation for spending his own money quite lavishly, came through City's youth system and spent nine years at the club, but he felt as though the service he gave them counted for nothing in the end.
"I don't think loyalty is much in anyone's mind at Manchester City," he said. "I felt like I would be next [to leave]. A lot of players felt like that as well – the homegrown guys."
The former City trainee said he had not spoken a word to Mancini before he left although he suggested there is little communication between the manager and his former team-mates full stop. "He doesn't really build relationships with players," said Ireland. "He brought Patrick Vieira in and when I spoke to him about his relationship [with Mancini], he said he doesn't really have one, and he's worked for him for years. I think that's the way he is."
Ireland won the player of the year award at City in 2009 but he was a peripheral figure last season, in particular after Mancini replaced Mark Hughes in December. When asked about Ireland's lack of action last season, the Italian implied the midfielder had an attitude problem, when he claimed he needed to "change his head". Ireland remains deeply upset with those comments.
"I think that was really unfair, all the players know I was the first player into training and the last to leave," he said. "I worked the hardest. With all the heart-rate monitors and tests, I was always No1, far ahead of everyone. You see the performance in training and I was practically always the best player in training. If [Mancini's] standing there watching that, I don't know how he doesn't see that."
Another wave of big names have arrived at Eastlands this summer but Ireland claimed he is as good as any of them. "I'm not really a highly-self-confident person," he said, with no hint of what was to come. "But I can honestly say Manchester City have tried to replace me for the last three or four seasons and it's never happened. I can easily say I've got, if not more ability, as much ability as any player they have signed this year."
Ireland described the way his time with City ended as "heartbreaking" but he is adamant he is heading in the right direction. "I can understand why James Milner has gone there but I can tell him that I'm very happy to leave there and come here," he said. "Some people have used the phrase that I've been forced out. I couldn't be more happy to be forced to come here, to a club like Aston Villa."
I love it - those kids with their 10 grand watches. Pot calling the kettle black?
now burnt bridges with city fans who are far from impressed by his comments
You've got to hand it to Stephen Ireland. He's such a modest, unassuming and genuine character. :bigsmile:
probably going to be slaughtered for this but to be fair, Ireland didn't start showing off his cash until he got a massive pay rise, and started spending it. He's talking about 18/19 year olds blowing their entire wage packet on a watch/car/whatever to the detriment of their football.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tricky_colour
Looks like it's pay day and they are taking home their wages :p
Look out for the papers tomorrow.... No Ireland return EVER!! They just had a preview on Soccer Saturday
You would think Stephen could invest in a decent pair of jeans on his wages :p
The deluded world of a footballer. These clowns actually believe the rubbish the spout. LOYALTY don't make me laugh. The kids are flash? Well driving around in a big pink jeep isn't. I worked the hardest and am better than most of the new signings and players there( well the manager doesnt think), but im not a self confident person. Hes an absolute moron his family and the people around him have a lot to answer for. So full of contradictions its cringeworthy. It should upset genuine football people that we haven't shut the door to him.
most people have, this comes out every time someone puts a microphone in front of him
journalists know it's easy copy
Thank God for that, having that virus in the ROI team would only end in tears.Goodbye and good riddance!Quote:
Originally Posted by JGKyne
Hopefully that will put his international future to bed forever.Quote:
Originally Posted by JGKyne
Agree Drummer. I just want to hear him say it though, not read it. At this point...He is crazy, that is obvious, but I still want to hear it.Quote:
Originally Posted by drummerboy
Its a shame. I was going to say hopefully Dick Dunne talks some sense into him but...what is the point? He already played with Dicky.
Thats why i want all this to end, but again i have to hear it, i swear reading about SI is more confusing than who killed Kennedy. He needs to say on video, I am not coming back ever. Its easy, he is on cam all the time. Thats what we need or else we all know the competitivness in all of us, and the fan in all of us is going to wonder about this stupid mother loving crap he puts out or the papers lie about.
If he really is saying no tomorrow then good, I hope it is Dunne. But please do it on cam so we can all officailly believe it for frucks sake.
I think he simply needs to issue a formal retirement from international football. Am I correct in thinking he's never done that? Look at Scholes for England, he did it years ago and the stories stopped.
I don't know why people are so keen to see shut of him. I'd be delighted if he decided to return.
Nothing for him to gain by doing that. The uncertainty massages his ego.Quote:
Originally Posted by rebelmusic
I used to share that opinion. Heavy emphasis on past tense. From 'grannygate' to the present, this guy has demonstrated the kind of character flaws I wouldn't want anywhere near the vicinity of a group effort. His ability is seductive but his attitude is revolting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
Liam Brady gave a very succint assessment on the box tonight. He described Stephen Ireland as 'bizarre'. Someone completely lacking in passion to play for his country, and a person whose interest and loyalty lies squarely in club football and the personal gains on offer. He formed this opinion having had the pleasure of meeting the guy.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...n-2307197.html
Quote:
The Ireland question
Stephen Ireland isn't pointing fingers, but he seems to have been frequently wronged, writes Dion Fanning.
Stephen Ireland's family were waiting for him at Aston Villa's training ground on Friday and not much else matters to him.
Ireland had met the press. He had been engaging, perceptive and honest. He had condemned Manchester City and their heartless project. He had criticised the FAI and Giovanni Trapattoni, hailed Steve Staunton as his kind of manager and then spent some time saying much of the fault for his problems with Ireland lay with him, not Giovanni Trapattoni.
He said he was open to having a conversation about a return to international football but later said the decision was "out of my hands. My decision has been made".
He sounds quite level-headed in that interview, but next week he'll probably say the exact opposite.
He's obviously a confused and conflicted person. As someone earlier in the thread said, a committed Ireland would be a huge asset to this team.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sullivinho
I am beginning to think that Man City did not think they would be able to afford for the cost of Psychiatric treatment that Stephen is in need of !
Agreed, putting him in a mental institution would put an end to the story for a while and let the team get on with things.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
Scholes had a mic stuck in his face and was asked about a return to international football only a fortnight ago after the Charity Shield match.Quote:
Originally Posted by rebelmusic
If the manager ever chose to have him back that's good enough for me -but I don't see it happening from either side. He doesn't want to play enough for a manager to want him involved. He'd likely be a more destructive, disruptive force off the field than on it.
Ireland has taken a bit of a chance going to Villa when you consider a new manager has yet to be appointed and he could be surplus to requirements before he knows it.
Stephen Ireland displays the diagnostic criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. :bigsmile:
Let's consider some of the criteria for this disorder.
A. "a grandiose sense of self-importance"
Guilty as charged. Considered himself as the best player at City. Plenty of other examples.
B. "is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love"
Guilty as charged. Mentions money and clocks a lot does our Stephen.
C. "believes that he or she is "special" and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)"
Guilty as charged. Only certain people can understand our Stephen. Apparently that rules out all Italians.
4. "requires excessive admiration"
Guilty as charged. It's quite clear that our Stephen needs the love. He'll never close the door on a return to the international scene because he adores the attention not being involved brings.
5. "has a sense of entitlement, ie unreasonable expectations of especially favourable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations"
Guilty as charged. He wanted Trapattoni to bend over, lick his arse and beg for his return.
6. "is interpersonally exploitative, ie takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends"
Guilty as charged. Quite capable of using the media to his own needs.
7. "lacks empathy and is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others"
Guilty as charged. There's only a few that understand our Stephen.
8. "is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her"
Guilty as charged. Micah Richards earns more than our Stephen who's only been on decent pay for a season.
9. "shows arrogant, haughty behaviours or attitudes"
Guilty as charged. Needs no explanation.
Do the findings of his "research" hold up? I know a recent U21 squad contained players from all over. He obviously hasn't been following the FAI / IFA dispute! The way he quoted Keane - who has a notorious anti-FAI agenda - to support this argument irritated me. Are there any stattos out there with team listings from Ireland's time in the underage ranks?
The same FAI he is so quick to criticise for inadequate travel arrangements flew him home at some expense from Slovakia when he made up his granny story.
He also now really likes Stan & Kevin McDonald's man management skills, yet he walked out under these two.
Great impression of the invisible man ATM against Newcastle. Cyprus away anyone.