So....Stephen Ireland......

shane86

Ive asked this before in the odd thread but never got a response.

Aside from the whole grannygate thing, as we know there was word of the whole thing being caused by what he perceived as bullying over, a...ha...haha.... an alledged hair transplant. Anyone any knowledge of whether he has, if at all, interacted with any of his fellow Irish EPL players since September. From the papers Ive only heard any type of word from

Duff: only in passing, but he said back in his day the younger players wouldnt have said boo to a goose, but from what he said Ireland sounded like he had balls like boulders in dealing with the older players and management.

Hunt: if I recall correctly he said he wasnt aware of any massive amount of bullying, but if he had got some stick he should get over himself and realise thats what lads do (he also mentioned that if it had been hair related he should grow up, as Hunt himself mentioned he gets no end of stick from the lads over his own hairdo Which Id well imagine, after nothing but blade 2s from age 12 or so I decided to let her grow from about Jan to April 07 no cuts. The lads took the piss, I scored like a mutha****a )

Talk about peer pressure, I went back to blade 2s after two incidents of skangers roaring "get a ****in hair cut" from cars twice last summer. And when she saw photos of me the current bird says I looked woeful with it Ah well)

Givens: ah.....who cares.....we all know

Both Sven and Stan seemed to largely stick up for him.

So, post Man U v Man C did him and John O Shea interact? Reading v Man C did he shake hands and chat with An Tri Muscatiri? Him and Shay chat post Newky? Anyone know if he still has any type of rapport/contact with the players?

Bounty Hunter

well he obviously does with his club captain Richard Dunne, who writes an article for some newspaper maybe NOTW and iirc Dunne has said that he wants him back playing for Ireland, has said this to Stephen and hopes the next coach will approach him immediatley about it. dont think many of the others have spoke out about the subject though

PHB

Surely Dunne as his captain must be an influence over him. I think he'll come back.

estebancambias

I'm convinced if Trappa is announced as manager, we will get Finnan and Ireland back.

shane86

PHB wrote: »

Surely Dunne as his captain must be an influence over him. I think he'll come back.

*slaps head*

All my "does he shake hands with Given/McShane/the Reading 3/O`Shea" post match and I forget he plays with Dunne

re what esteban said, do yis reckon Finnans retirement was more of a threat, a kick up the arse to the FAI to do things right by previously one of our strongest and most commited players? That he will come back?

Bounty Hunter

I would doubt it was a threat but often players are convinced to make a U-turn on international retirement and prehaps soeone like Trapa could convince Finnan that it would be worth his while.

doubt it personally but i do think that S.Ireland will play under the next Gaffer

Xavi6

Stevie Ireland lookalike...

scruff321

fair balls to stephen ireland for sortin out that mop (or lack of) woulda done the same.id say he will come back we need all the quality players we can get, stevy finnan wont come back imo no chance

whatawaster

We need him. I thought he was superb against United.

Fratton Fred

I haven't been following this too closely, other than the whole granny/girlfriend thing, which in my mind is a case of some things being more important than football, but other than that, what is it he has done wrong? I read in the Metro that Givens is waiting for him to contact him, but surely it is up to the manager to contact players he wants in the squad?

_blank_

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I haven't been following this too closely, other than the whole granny/girlfriend thing, which in my mind is a case of some things being more important than football, but other than that, what is it he has done wrong?

Some people think he shouldn't have lied about hi grannies dying.

Some people don't think the miscarriage story is true.

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I read in the Metro that Givens is waiting for him to contact him, but surely it is up to the manager to contact players he wants in the squad?

Manager should be naming the squad, and contacting the players before, I agree with this alright.

I mean, if everyone who wanted a game for Ireland had to contact Givens, I'd be on the phone to him tomorrow ffs.

Mr Alan

but didnt Ireland withdraw from selection after the whole grannygat/lying thing?

if he withdrew (which i think he did), he shoudl let someone know he is available for selection again.

he is a class player, but we shouldnt be hounding anyone to play for their country. they either want to, or they can piss off.

Roy keane wasnt bigger than his country, and he was 1000 times the player ireland is, Ireland is just a young upstart, with a dodgy barnet. if he wants to play, i'm sure a word with Richard Dunne to pass on that sentiment is all it would take. but the ball is in his court

_blank_

Mr Alan wrote: »

if he withdrew (which i think he did), he shoudl let someone know he is available for selection again.

he is a class player, but we shouldnt be hounding anyone to play for their country. they either want to, or they can piss off.

The (caretaker) manager should ring him before every squad.

That isn't hounding. That is man-management.

Mr Alan wrote: »

Roy keane wasnt bigger than his country, and he was 1000 times the player ireland is, Ireland is just a young upstart, with a dodgy barnet. if he wants to play, i'm sure a word with Richard Dunne to pass on that sentiment is all it would take. but the ball is in his court

The ball is in the new manager's court tbh.

Bad hair? So bleedin' what?

estebancambias

If natural talent exists, I'm sure Ireland has more of it than Roy Keane had.

Kimbot

Also remember when Keane came back it was the manager that contacted him to get him back not the other way around as far as I know.

Mr Alan

DesF wrote: »

The (caretaker) manager should ring him before every squad.

That isn't hounding. That is man-management.

no he shouldnt. not when Ireland had withdrawn in the first place.

if someone said they didnt wanna play for Bordeaux anymore, for watever personal reason mental issues etc etc, would you continue to ring them before every game to see if they fancied returning to the fold? doubt it.

DesF wrote: »

The ball is in the new manager's court tbh.

Bad hair? So bleedin' what?

Hair is very important when it comes to footballers.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40972000/jpg/_40972848_lg_pa.jpg

http://www.liverpoolpies.tv/torres%20(2).jpg

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42269000/jpg/_42269704_gerrardtintin203.jpg

:cool::cool::cool::cool:

thats just how i roll.

CrowdedHouse

.... but I have to say the commentary(particularly on radio) is less confusing when he's not playing

super_furry

Don Givens couldn't manage a team of under-fives, nevermind the Irish national team. The list of players that he's fallen out with is huge and I certainly wouldn't blame Ireland for what happened.

Dubit10

We shouldnt go asking him to play for Ireland.It's his country. If he doesnt want to play for us then he can **** off.It should be a privelage for him:mad: Dont believe his miscarrige story neither

estebancambias

To a point I agree, playing for your country should be important and be a privelage to him, but I believe it is.

However he pulled out of the squad, he like any other player should expect a call.

LuckyLloyd

I'm in the "**** anyone who doesn't want to play for Ireland" camp. When he wants to, he should announce his availability for selection. Then he should not be selected for at least one squad after that happens.

It is one thing when Steve Finnan (+50 caps, honest service) announces retirement with a couple of years left on the clock. Quite another when you have young players like Ireland and Richie Foran (lol) exhibiting delusions of grandeur.

Mr Alan

Mr Alan wrote: »

no he shouldnt. not when Ireland had withdrawn in the first place.

if someone said they didnt wanna play for Bordeaux anymore, for watever personal reason mental issues etc etc, would you continue to ring them before every game to see if they fancied returning to the fold? doubt it.

Des.........

_blank_

Mr Alan wrote: »

Des.........

Yes.

I've done it.

A player left for a season, and I asked him to come back.

He came back.

Mr Alan

did he leave due to physcological reasons?

_blank_

Mr Alan wrote: »

did he leave due to physcological reasons?

Erm...I don't think so.

He is a bit of a nutball though.

But.

If it WAS psychological reasons, is that even more of a reason for the manager to call him?

Mr Alan

NO! thats all the reason in the world to give him space till he is ready to come back. Not to pressure him. BUT when he wants to come back he has to ask. as i said, ball is very firmly in his court.

although with the new manager situation, it makes it a little easier to sort, he can call him once, see if he is ready to come back, if he is not, then leave him alone till he is ready.

Pigman II

I'd feel a bit weird cheering Ireland in the green again now that I know he wears a crown-topper.

It'd be like we had 12 players out on the pitch there (Ten men, one boy and a wookie). It's just not fair to the opposition.

Andy Townsends contact lenses popping out during that 0-0 with Liechtenstein was bad enough but what would happen if Stevies "hair" blew off with 5 mins to go in a tough away game Montenegro? Would he 'wig out' again and go chasing his furry friend around the pitch instead of the ball?

The boy's not right!

Peyton Manning

Off topic, I drew a nice little MS Paint comic today involving Stephen Ireland's sudden growth of hair and Cesc Fabregas's rumoured £3,000 leaser chest hair removal. Wont post it up here, PM if you want a link

BaZmO*

Ireland stated at the time that he wanted to take a break from International football, and as we all know it was a very public announcement. I don't see why someone like Givens needs to ring him up every time he's picking a team especially considering that he's only a caretaker manager. I also don't think he should have made the comments about Ireland, when asked, Givens should have just said we all know what the situation is.

However, I think that a new manager would be mad not to contact Ireland to see if he was available for selection. It'd be silly just to wait for the player to declare his availability.

Pigman II wrote: »

...but what would happen if Stevies "hair" blew off...

I was actually genuinely wondering about this the other day. How is the thing attached?

LuckyLloyd

I know that Ireland gets a kind of free pass around here because people are sympathetic with regards to his personal problems. But remember that this is the player who declared that he would not play for Ireland so long as Brian Kerr was manager.

He might just be more trouble than he is worth.

Pigman II

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

He might just be more trouble than he is worth.

Much like his new barnet.

Xavi6

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I know that Ireland gets a kind of free pass around here because people are sympathetic with regards to his personal problems. But remember that this is the player who declared that he would not play for Ireland so long as Brian Kerr was manager.

He might just be more trouble than he is worth.

Or maybe he just has strong principles.

Either way he's our best young prospect.

LuckyLloyd

Xavi6 wrote: »

Or maybe he just has strong principals.

Either way he's our best young prospect.

I don't care about his talent or potential to be honest. Principals? Not playing for the best coach the country ever produced? Where was the principal in that? Why was that?

Pigman II

I think Kerr called him baldy once.

BaZmO*

Xavi6 wrote: »

Or maybe he just has strong principles.

Principles? Ha! You're having a laugh!

Strong willed maybe but telling your employers that both your Grannies have died when you're going to be found out eventually doesn't lead one to believe that Mr. Ireland has principles at all never mind strong ones.

ditpoker

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I don't care about his talent or potential to be honest. Principals? Not playing for the best coach the country ever produced? Where was the principal in that? Why was that?

as far as i know this goes back to kerr's u18 days and picking stephen ireland for a game in his home town in cork, stephen ireland invited all the family and friends and so on and so on and then "something" happened and kerr dropped him on match day and didnt play, so ireland basically told kerr to go f**K himself and then wehn kerr got the first team job ireland refused to u-turn...

I THINK.

monkey9

The whole thing is a mess because he is quality and we need him. Sure, all this 'should Givens had called him or not' talk doesn't matter because i'm sure Trappatoni will call him up. He won't care what's happened in the past and everyone will start with a clean slate (cliche alert).
If S. Ireland refuses again, then he really can f"ck off. I think he would have had sympathy from most people after the Slovakia match, but i think since then, sympathy would have turned to annoyance. He seems to be extremely arrogant and i read in a paper the other week Richard Dunne saying that he (S. Ireland) doesn't want to play for Ireland again and so everyone should just lay him off and leave him alone I'm sure there's a few twists and turns to go before the qualifers get under way.

redspider

I'm playing catch-up and only just watched the FAI awards ceremony - I didnt realise that Stephen Ireland won the Young International Player of the Year award. He wasnt at the ceremony, although RTE did have a very brief snippet from him when accepting the award back in Manchester, and he said something along the lines of "I hope to see you soon". Whether this means anything or not who can tell.

What was notable was that the award was not presented by Richard Dunne, but by Micah Richards! Has Richard given up on him? Perhaps just parked it.

I think its notable that the FAI did give him the award, given the shenanigans that have gone on in terms of his willingness to play for the country. It clearly shows they are tying to keep him in the fold. I was surprised that he was even nominated given the situation.

I'm sure the new manager will contact him (or Liam Brady will more likely) but if he doesnt come into the fold I cant see Trapattoni hanging on the phone each time there is a match coming up. Trapattoni doesnt take fools gladly and will give him short shrift over non-serious matters.

I think McGeady was dissapointed he didnt get it, given his current form and that latterly in 2007.

Redspider

Xavi6

BaZmO* wrote: »

Principles? Ha! You're having a laugh!

Strong willed maybe but telling your employers that both your Grannies have died when you're going to be found out eventually doesn't lead one to believe that Mr. Ireland has principles at all never mind strong ones.

He certainly had principles when it came to telling Kerr to go f*ck himself for not playing him when he'd been promised a game and had his family all down. He stuck to them and wouldn't play for Kerr.

Xavi6

redspider wrote: »

What was notable was that the award was not presented by Richard Dunne, but by Micah Richards! Has Richard given up on him? Perhaps just parked it.

Was Dunne not in Dublin on that day to get his own award? I didn't see the awards but that's what I'd presume.

monkey9

redspider wrote: »

I'm playing catch-up and only just watched the FAI awards ceremony - I didnt realise that Stephen Ireland won the Young International Player of the Year award. He wasnt at the ceremony, although RTE did have a very brief snippet from him when accepting the award back in Manchester, and he said something along the lines of "I hope to see you soon". Whether this means anything or not who can tell.

What was notable was that the award was not presented by Richard Dunne, but by Micah Richards! Has Richard given up on him? Perhaps just parked it.

I think its notable that the FAI did give him the award, given the shenanigans that have gone on in terms of his willingness to play for the country. It clearly shows they are tying to keep him in the fold. I was even surprised thaht he was nominated given the situation.

I'm sure the new manager will contact him (or Liam Brady will more likely) but if he doesnt come into the fold I cant see Trapattoni hanging on the phone each time there is a match coming up. Trapattoni doesnt take fools gladly and will give him short shrift over non-serious matters.

I think McGeady was dissapointed he didnt get it, given his current form and that latterly in 2007.

Redspider

McGeady? Are you having a laugh. He had his first ever decent game for Ireland against Brazil. Hopefully he'll come good and become an important member of the team for years to come, but up until now, he has been truly awful. Consistently one of our worst players

LuckyLloyd

Xavi6 wrote: »

He certainly had principles when it came to telling Kerr to go f*ck himself for not playing him when he'd been promised a game and had his family all down. He stuck to them and wouldn't play for Kerr.

Did you ever think that some 'principles' aren't particularly admirable? Sounds like a spoilt twat tbh.

eirebhoy

redspider wrote: »

I'm playing catch-up and only just watched the FAI awards ceremony - I didnt realise that Stephen Ireland won the Young International Player of the Year award. He wasnt at the ceremony, although RTE did have a very brief snippet from him when accepting the award back in Manchester, and he said something along the lines of "I hope to see you soon". Whether this means anything or not who can tell.

More quotes from him in an interview with Setanta.

"I have always enjoyed playing for my country and that has never been in doubt in my mind.

"I have always enjoyed my time playing for Ireland and trying to get us qualified for the big tournaments.

"Pulling on the green jersey is something that is very close to my heart. I want nothing more in my career than to go on and score more goals and perform to the best of my ability to make sure we do qualify for tournaments.

"Ever since I was a kid I have wanted to play for Ireland in big games."


On Givens:
"I was shocked to be honest, to hear the things Don Givens was saying about me, but you can't really do anything about it.

"I think it was harsh, because he knows from his position that I went through a hard time and he has used it to get personal.

"He doesn't like something about me as if I have an ego and want to be chased, but that could not be further from the truth, as anybody who knows me will tell you.

"It is disappointing because to me he is just on a power trip as the caretaker boss at the moment and he is using his personal feelings on something that was supposed to be resolved, against me.

"I have never got a call off him asking about my situation or given any indication that I wanted to be begged back, so why is he saying that?"

OhNoYouDidn't

ditpoker wrote: »

as far as i know this goes back to kerr's u18 days and picking stephen ireland for a game in his home town in cork, stephen ireland invited all the family and friends and so on and so on and then "something" happened and kerr dropped him on match day and didnt play, so ireland basically told kerr to go f**K himself and then wehn kerr got the first team job ireland refused to u-turn...

I THINK.

basically correct. it was a comeptitive game and kerr wouldnt pick him because his (wait for it) granny was there, so he went off in a huff.

thats not principle. thats primadonna.

BaZmO*

Eirebhoy, you missed a couple....


"My Granny just died"

"No not that one, the other one"

"LOOK! Superman Boxers!!!"

"Yeah I'll have it in any colour other than Blonde or Ginger"

Xavi6

BaZmO* wrote: »

Eirebhoy, you missed a couple....


"My Granny just died"

"No not that one, the other one"

"LOOK! Superman Boxers!!!"

"Yeah I'll have it in any colour other than Blonde or Ginger"

All this slagging is great but it really all boils down to one question - Do you want him to play for Ireland again? I'd find it ridiculous for people to say no.

BaZmO*

Xavi6 wrote: »

All this slagging is great but it really all boils down to one question - Do you want him to play for Ireland again? I'd find it ridiculous for people to say no.

Ah I was only taking the p1ss, but yeah I 100% want the best players available at any given time to play for Ireland. However, once the next Manager is in place (hopefully Trapattoni!) I think that he should only have to ask each player once and if after that the player isn't interested we just have to draw a line under it.

OhNoYouDidn't

Xavi6 wrote: »

All this slagging is great but it really all boils down to one question - Do you want him to play for Ireland again? I'd find it ridiculous for people to say no.

No its not.

At this moment in time he is too disruptive an element versus what he brings to the pitch.

He needs to seriously sort himslef out before he can be a part of that dressing room again. If he does, excellent, if he doesnt, file under 'never achieved potential'.

Mitch Connor

Xavi6 wrote: »

All this slagging is great but it really all boils down to one question - Do you want him to play for Ireland again? I'd find it ridiculous for people to say no.

I seem to remeber your views on Roy Keane and his walk about being COMPLETELY different.

Personally I have more respect for someone who walks out as the standards expected and delivered aren't up to it, as opposed to someone who walks out because he didn't get picked in front of his family, or cause some lads slagged him over getting a rug.

zAbbo

If we can put out with Paul McGraths boozing, surely we can put up with Stephen Irelands issues.

He's an amazing talent and someone we need to get back in the squad asap.

Trappers will be able to sort him out, as there'll be none of this stubborn thick Irishman routine with the last 3 managers (Kerr/Givens/Stan)

~Rebel~

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

No its not.

At this moment in time he is too disruptive an element versus what he brings to the pitch.

He needs to seriously sort himslef out before he can be a part of that dressing room again. If he does, excellent, if he doesnt, file under 'never achieved potential'.

He seems to have no problem with Man City, not a disruption, bar wearing superman boxers.

Dont quite see what needs to be seriously sorted out.

He had his issues, he took his time out, if he's willing to come back and put it behind him, thats the end of it for me.