Stephen Ireland

[Fergie's Son]

is there such thing as wanting to play but not being available.its complicated but so is he

No, it really isn't. He either wants to play or he doesn't. If he does not then he is no longer part of the Irish set-up. As such, I personally wish him no harm but I could care less about him or his career.

[Superhoops]

I don't think it should entirely be left to him. A comforting arm around the shoulder and ruffle of the hair (well, maybe not the hair) by the new manager is what needs to happen.

Ireland is such a complex character that even a simple well meaning gesture like that that might be considered as pressure. Don't make a fuss of him, let him work it out himself.

[SuperDave]

Agree with that Bondvillain.

I don't think we can afford to have a 'stuff him' attitude to Stephen Ireland. From what I've seen of him he has more football in his boots than many a man to wear the green in recent years. Importantly, he appears to be a fairly consitent goal threat from midfield, something we havent seen from our midfielders since.......eh.........

He's one of our countries top performers in club football at the moment ( I certainly didnt expect him to be a regular in citys' side, given Svens rep) and one of the first players whose performance I find myself checking out these last few weekends.

I'm excited by the lad and look forward to supporting him when he finally gets back in an Irish shirt.

ray houghton?

[drinkfeckarse]

They absolutely worship him and they all seem to rate him a few notches higher than the rest. As long as they're Irish I couldn't care. It doesn't matter to me which players are from Dublin.

It's a kinda community thing with Cobh and then Cork which Dublin doesn't really have due to size etc. It's a bit like the Keane saying..."Irish by birth, Cork by the grace of God"

[lionelhutz]

The looper society threw him out for being an extremist. We still need him mind. Interesting comment from Sven on playing Ireland up front "He was like a second striker near the end. Maybe that is his best position. Stephen is young, talented and has a long career in front of him."

I've thought this all along. He's an excellent and always gets in great positions to score. I don't think he'll ever be a complete midfielder as he drifts in and out of games. But his touch, vision and shooting are sublime

[lionelhutz]

exactly i see him as a lampard style playeri dont think he can boss the game or control the tempo but is amazing arriving from deep into the box

Oh god no!

Please don't compare to that arrogant, self serving, fat lump

[lionelhutz]

yeah as much as I was annoyed at some of his decisions lately and seeming lack of interest in playing for us I think he should be given the benefit of the doubt and be allowed to return to the squad when he feels ready. Although I think he's far from the finished product and IMO is arguably a bit too raw to be an automatic first choice for us yet he has a massive amount of potential and I look forward to seeing him in an Ireland shirt again. FFS if he was English I can't imagine how much he'd be raved about as being the next Rooney or even Maradona . There seem to be a fair few young Irish midfielders who have bags of potential at the moment. Let's hope some of them can fulfill it.

Ya because the likes of Kilbane, O'Shea, McGeady, Keogh - these are all the finished article.......

[Stuttgart88]

exactly i see him as a lampard style player

I've called him Lampard-lite in the past. Agree with you completely in the context you proposed. Can't influence midfield without support but his timing arriving into the box is excellent and he has the execution to match.

[Flawless]

Ya because the likes of Kilbane, O'Shea, McGeady, Keogh - these are all the finished article.......

Beat me to it!

However i do have alot of time for McGeady!

[eekers]

we almost need to play a 5 man midfield to fit him in then

[drinkfeckarse]

At the moment that is true although he is an option on the right hand side. I'm sure as his game develops he'll be more than capable of playing centre midfield in a 4 at international level.

[as_i_say]

lads theres nothing wrong with Irelands mental state. a miscarriage (sad, yes) and a few lies, and then chickened out of the next squad. I would have him back and let bygones be bygones because he is turning into a top player, but this mental stuff is just cr ap.

Look at what he does for city. he just needs to cop on.

He would not have mentioned his great moments for ireland in his interview for BBC if he was not interested in coming back.

[tricky_colour]

Stephen ireland just got sent off aganst Spurs.
Definately a red card
Worth seeing again.

[eirebhoy]

http://letsprove.tv/video/Sports_jvs3cmdgyr1197218708

[shakermaker1982]

God what was he thinking??!!

[Adrianovic]

To be fair to the lad, he didn't complain and apologised as he went off.

Not his finest hour, but by no means deliberate.

[Paddy Garcia]

To be fair to the lad, he didn't complain and apologised as he went off.

Not his finest hour, but by no means deliberate.

Very lucky he did not break his leg. Appalling tackle.

[bellavistaman]

no where near bad as hunt two weeks ago, one more and the irish will get a terrible name over there

[Paddy Garcia]

Well Keane's was pretty innocuous. The other two could have broken a leg very easily, shameful.

[carloz]

Foolish tackle but i think it was over eager than venemus. At least he appologised to the player and took the refs decision. He didnt bitch about in the refs face like so many do nowadays