Stephen Ireland

**French Toasht** · 30/12/2011, 5:34 PM

Originally Posted by The Legend

Alright Stephen, welcome to the board? how's is your head after all the partying? still an obnixous w**ker that deserves all the schadenfraude a person can get!

I'm struggling to see how my post could be perceived as me masquerading as Stephen Ireland in disguise.

I called the story how I saw it, a non event. Yet its the classic non event that the SI dissenters will use to jump on the bandwagon to vent and rant about him.

What car he drives or whether he smokes shisha (which again I re-iterate is a perfectly legal exploit, yet the dissenters here would have you believe it's class A) is none of my concern.

He played for us for 6 games. I thought on the whole he did very well in those 6 games. He doesn't play for us anymore. His decision and that's fair enough, I accept that, there was no contract binding him to play for Ireland. I think people need to realise this and get over it, he certainly has.

**theworm2345** · 30/12/2011, 5:42 PM

Perhaps I should clarify that the post I made wasn't trying to point out that in the picture he was doing something illegal (or even unsightly in the public eye) just that it reinforces the already clear picture of him as a giant douche.

**DannyInvincible** · 30/12/2011, 6:08 PM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

He's in the public eye, courts publicity and regularly looks like a jerk, therefore it's fine for people here to say he looks like a jerk.

That's fair enough, but I think it's somewhat different to drummerboy's message. He does appear to be a bit of a jerk, but if he wants to appear as a jerk to the public, that's his own business. The public are as free to ignore him as they are free to think of him as an eejit. To say he should or shouldn't be doing this and that, or to expect him to behave as we want (for the good of our kids?

), however, is a bit too dictatorial for my liking. It's selfish on our parts. Our kids are our responsibility and the responsibility of those entrusted with their care as a public duty; they're not Stephen Ireland's responsibility. Nobody is forced to follow him on Twitter nor is anyone forced to read the rags disguising as newspapers that document the minute and inconsequential details of footballers' private lives on a daily basis. He isn't doing anything illegal/immoral, nor does he owe kids up and down the country some sort of moral guidance or whatever it is certain people think footballers owe us as our apparent role models. He's just being a narcissistic eejit; big deal... Who cares?

**Charlie Darwin** · 30/12/2011, 6:17 PM

Originally Posted by theworm2345

Perhaps I should clarify that the post I made wasn't trying to point out that in the picture he was doing something illegal (or even unsightly in the public eye) just that it reinforces the already clear picture of him as a giant douche.

Nonsense.

He's clearly a turd sandwich.

**drummerboy** · 30/12/2011, 6:25 PM

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.

**SwanVsDalton** · 30/12/2011, 7:08 PM

Is it too much to ask he wears a shirt? Forget the smoking, that's why I hate SI.

**youngirish** · 30/12/2011, 9:06 PM

I agree that footballers shouldn't be expected to be role models. Let's be honest kicking a pigs bladder around a field is not a characteristic that I'd personally suggest is a suitable means to identify the cream of society.

However as for wishing Stephen Ireland the best I couldn't disagree more. When future historians look back at this period I'm fairly sure Stephen Ireland will be quite rightly looked at in the same vein as Hitler,Stalin and Pol Pot as one of the vilest individuals of the past century. At least Hitler loved his dog, Stalin loved his daughter and Pol Pot never put pink rims on his Range Rover.

Hopefully his career keeps on sliding down into that pit called obscurity and we hear less and less of him in the coming seasons. I hope that humble pie tastes good Stephen.

**French Toasht** · 30/12/2011, 9:16 PM

Originally Posted by drummerboy

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.

Yeah because the 30 man brawls in GAA every weekend up and down the country are a perfect example for children as to how to conduct themselves.

Your post refers to player's on field actions, of which SI has not been guilty of any particularly scandalous behaviour. Give over will you, you described him smoking shisha as "disgraceful", please tell me whats disgraceful about a grown man smoking shisha? You like so many others take minor indescretions, and blow them way out of proportion, as a means of having a go at the guy purely because he doesn't want to play for his country.

**French Toasht** · 30/12/2011, 9:18 PM

Originally Posted by youngirish

When future historians look back at this period I'm fairly sure Stephen Ireland will be quite rightly looked at in the same vein as Hitler,Stalin and Pol Pot as one of the vilest individuals of the past century. At least Hitler loved his dog, Stalin loved his daughter and Pol Pot never put pink rims on his Range Rover.

Oh dear God, I despair.

**DannyInvincible** · 30/12/2011, 10:09 PM

Originally Posted by drummerboy

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.

I don't have children, so I was more speaking generally, but I'm not sure as to when the supposed point is that exposure by an infatuated and insatiably voyeuristic media a particular private citizen* becomes obliged to bear an extra responsibility in the form of moral guide to the nation's children. It's not Stephen Ireland's fault the Daily Mail gives coverage to these types of (completely legal) non-events whilst also blowing the barely-related responses of individuals like McLeish completely out of proportion. Stephen Ireland "warned"?... There was no indication of anything of the sort, nor was McLeish specifically questioning the player's commitment due to his conduct on Twitter, as the headline sought to insinuate: "Tweet turns sour for Ireland as Villa boss McLeish questions midfielder's commitment". McLeish stated he had to do more in training; what he did on Twitter bore no relationship to that.

Likewise, we have to take responsibility for buying/reading the Daily Mail or paying for our subscription to Sky Sports or whatever. It's not Stephen Ireland's fault we pay for this stuff. We know what we're getting when we buy up. We know when we purchase that incidents we view in a negative light morally may be broadcast and that a commentator's voice-over will tell us ad nauseam that "these are exactly the types of things nobody wants to see in the game" whilst simultaneously replaying clips over and over again of these things nobody apparently wants to see. But we're all still lapping them up even after the tenth viewing. I genuinely don't mean this in a cheeky or disrespectful way in the slightest - there are all sorts of unsavoury things in the world that have the potential to influence children in ways we'd rather could be avoided - but if you feel football is sending out the wrong messages to your children, maybe it's not the sport to which you should be exposing them? We all have a choice here. If we don't like the often-crude messages sent out by the modern-day footballer, we can always ignore them, or - better yet - stop paying for their opulent and self-indulgent lifestyles.

*It doesn't matter whether he's a footballer, a rugby player, a rock star or Joe Soap. He's not a politician entrusted with a public mandate or duty.

**DannyInvincible** · 30/12/2011, 10:10 PM

More importantly though...

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

**drummerboy** · 30/12/2011, 10:27 PM

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** · 30/12/2011, 10:45 PM

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** · 30/12/2011, 11:13 PM

Some other people relaxing having a smoke on the internet:

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

**Stuttgart88** · 30/12/2011, 11:20 PM

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

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

**Charlie Darwin** · 30/12/2011, 11:22 PM

Originally Posted by DannyInvincible

Some other people relaxing having a smoke on the internet:

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** · 31/12/2011, 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by drummerboy

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
enjoy

**Crosby87** · 31/12/2011, 1:51 PM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

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.