I'm in a bit of a pickle here because it was the latter but by answering I'm showing I clearly haven't had the moral courage to follow through.
Because it's all about meeeeeee...
http://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2016/0614/795416-stephen-ireland/
http://www.independent.ie/style/weddings/inside-stephen-ireland-and-jessica-lawlors-lavish-weddingincluding-a-cake-taller-than-the-two-of-them-34799183.html
Sad that the only way he gets press coverage during a major tournament is in the gossip pages. Time to stfu and stop annoying us?
Last edited by Eminence Grise; 14/06/2016 at 7:44 AM.
Hello, hello? What's going on? What's all this shouting, we'll have no trouble here!
- E Tattsyrup.
Rewarded a short term contract to help him recover from injury:
http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/stoke...ail/story.html
Interviewed in the Times at the weekend, but it's behind a paywall: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/i...game-rwhkgqdgl
Last edited by tetsujin1979; 20/08/2017 at 10:10 PM.
http://m.independent.ie/sport/soccer...-36049867.html
Snippet from the interview in the above. I find it hard to believe anything this lad says, for obvious reasons. I would imagine, particularly given the sensitivities, MON would be more measured in his interactions with him.
Everything he says appears to me like a desperate effort to save face. The reality is that the guy will never have a legacy. Not with City, Villa, Newcastle or Stoke. Most importantly, from my perspective, he will never enjoy a legacy amongst his countrymen, the Ireland supporters. He was/is incredibly gifted. James McClean, for instance, is not. But James is a sporting icon in his own country that will be remembered for generations. Stephen Ireland will be the butt of a funny story about grannies.
Maybe I'm a bit harsh. He played over 100 games for City and had some good seasons but the influx of wealth has ensured that they have a new and more successful history to refer to. That said, I'm sure he won't ever enjoy the legacy of someone like Shaun Goater that would pre-date that.
I hope he gets back to a level to go and play in the championship and play 10or 15 games in a row at that level and then he should ring up Martin o Neill and say please consider me for a friendly in March. He might still have 2 campaigns in him to help us in a creative sense at times in games but it would be one hell of a resurrection
It's not so much that anything is factually incorrect - it's the way he interprets and rationalises events to make him seem that he's the reasonable party - for example when he talks about how MON had said he might try to meet him when he was in the Manchester area (note, without a definite commitment) but didn't, for whatever reason, make it. Then he talks about missing a call from MON but not calling him back because O'Neill had already reached his agent and the call was to tell him he wasn't in that squad, after which he complains that people thought he was being diva-ish. Well...he kinda was - for whatever reason (reliability perhaps), O'Neill had decided to go a different way and had done him the courtesy of reaching out to let him know personally. And the grown-up, professional thing for Ireland to do, given the circumstances, would have been to call him back, thank O'Neill for his consideration and for taking the time make the personal call, and reiterate his desire to play for Ireland in the future. O'Neill seems like the kind of guy who's willing to be patient and reasonable but doesn't want to be given the runaround (as I think the successful recruitment of Scott Hogan has shown)
Herself was watching an episode of Homes Under The Hammer yesterday, co-presented by none other than Dion Dublin. I asked if Dublin is actually presenting this show on a regular basis or if it's just a one-off kind of thing. She informed me that it's a regular thing. Anyway, I said I always thought Dublin comes across very well, to which she replied, "yeah, he does, but it's a pity he's such a liar". I was a bit baffled by this so asked what she means... The thread I'm posting this on probably ruins the ending but she answered back, "wasn't he the guy that lied about his granny dying?".
He let his country down and has went on to blame everybody, apart from himself
Delusions of self importance still abound I see, 5-10 years later and still looking for the management to go running after him asking him to come back. Well, tough luck Stephen, we moved on a long time ago while you and your career stood still and there's about 10 other lads ahead of you in the pecking order even if you did come crawling back. Could have been a very good player but his career has just passed him by down to his own issues and lack of determination/ work ethic etc, a pity but all of his own making. Stoke only extended his contract until January this year as he had the break, he'll be looking for another club come the new year/ end of the season and will be lucky to get one given he hasn't kicked a ball for the guts of 2 years.
Now this is the player we really should be chasing to play for Ireland. A 31 year old journeyman whose best days are far behind him. Martin fly over to his house immediately and do whatever it takes to get him back on board. If you're thinking of a bribe I believe he needs a new black land rover with pink rims.
Last edited by youngirish; 21/08/2017 at 7:51 PM.
He might offer something we don't have, player wise, in the set up worth the chat anyway with him.
Thats a gag right?
Just a comma in the wrong place, hardly worth a laugh.
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