Should a Big Four Club Put In a Bid For Stephen Ireland Pre Season?

Bounty Hunter

green123 wrote: »

what ?

if anyone is a basket case , then it's ireland.
he has proved this many times over the last few years.
for example not being able to take a slagging from his team mates over his hair, the pink trim on his range rover, the granny lies.
he is quite clearly nuts and hasn't got two brain cells to rub together.

tbh its been quite a while since any of those things, maybe he has calmed/settled down and started to focus on his football 100% and hense the rewards were seing this season. Remember he is still very young and his dedication right now can make or break his career.

Compare him to Micheal Johnson at City who was rated by City fans just as highly but all i ever here about Johnson these days are he may be moving/he has a phantom injury/He is a piss-head - Hopefully my inclining is right but i think Ireland has settled down and became a proper pro this year and is reaping the benefits.

Hopefully at some point down the line Ireland (the country) will see these benefits too with the man returning to the fold.

edit

bounty is right, we need pics, here you go
http://laughlinmoore.blogspot.com/2008/07/wtf.html

was wondering if without a smiley anoyone would note the sarcasm

green123

yes bounty, it was pretty obvious you were being sarcastic

Boggles

You can't make teenagers millionaires and introduce them to a life of admiration without creating a basket case or 2.

but thats a different debate.

Could Ireland make it at a top 4 club? Fúck Knows. The likes of Veron was an infinately better footballer and he couldn't for one reason or another.

Has he a shot at making it into the premier league 11 this year?, certainly.

anonymous_joe

Boggles wrote: »

You can't make teenagers millionaires and introduce them to a life of admiration without creating a basket case or 2.

but thats a different debate.

Could Ireland make it at a top 4 club? Fúck Knows. The likes of Veron was an infinately better footballer and he couldn't for one reason or another.

Has he a shot at making it into the premier league 11 this year?, certainly.

Read in a book once that Brazilian footballers as a group/entitiy have one of the highest rates of mental illness in the world. Mainly depression, actually.

I think modern football's going to have odd effects on some players, but I think Stephen Ireland's issues are more likely those of a very young guy who was shaken badly by his treatment by his friends. Everyone has one mate who you know doesn't take a joke as well as the others, or can't. He's that one bloke.

I don't see Man City selling one of their best players especially one so young. I see them going one of two ways anyway - keep Mark Hughes and do an Aston Villa, sign young talent for a fair whack of cash (the next Ashley Young etc) and build organically, or parachute a 'top class' manager in and buy a team. Both would offer space for Ireland, who ignoring any biases we as Irish people have is a very good young midfielder.

PHB

I think most people who've watched him reguarly throughout a game rather than just highlights would see that Ireland isn't just a Kaka type player, he really has developed into a box to box style midfield, getting stuck into midfield aswell. Just like the best creative midfielders though, he could play on the wings or off the front man if he wanted.

I love that people say that Robinho or SWP could make it at big clubs while Ireland couldn't, even though they couldn't make it at big clubs and had to leave for whatever reasons.

Any good player that City have will only be let go for huge money, which is why the big four wont put in bids for them. But I think he may well let his contract expire.

eirebhoy

PHB wrote: »

I think most people who've watched him reguarly throughout a game rather than just highlights would see that Ireland isn't just a Kaka type player, he really has developed into a box to box style midfield, getting stuck into midfield aswell.

That's the British influence though. If Ireland was brought through at a Spanis or Italian club he'd be a pure attacking midfielder like Kaka. His instincts are still attacking and he's best in the final 3rd. Compared to another Irishman Andy Reid who's a natural deep lying player imo.

So if he was to join Liverpool it's not a case of getting Masch, Alonso and Gerrard out of the team. He'd take up the role Benayoun plays (whenever he does play). Or at Man Utd he's not going to be competing with Carrick and Hargreaves for a spot.

Just because he's getting stuck in it doesn't make him a central midfielder. Ask Tevez.

redout

green123 wrote: »

what ?

if anyone is a basket case , then it's ireland.
he has proved this many times over the last few years.
for example not being able to take a slagging from his team mates over his hair, the pink trim on his range rover, the granny lies.
he is quite clearly nuts and hasn't got two brain cells to rub together.

Robbie Keane cant play ball without being told he is important. Hence why, Jol, Redknapp and Trapp always/Always did talk him up and say how good he was. Every time there is an Ireland match Trapp cant do an interview without talking the chap up. Why does he do this ? because the guy needs it and its obvious! He was dropped by Pool and said he was never dropped in his career. The fool should have just put his head down, kept quite and tried harder to change his game if Pool were not going to change for him. He went to Pool and didnt get that same support from Rafa who was more of he can/must play better. Rafa got fed up with him after about 20 appearances and changed his tone a bit when talking about him. Once he was in that situation he was fuvked and ran back to Spurs with his tail between his legs after just 6 months. Ireland was in a messed up situation with the girlfriend and made a claims which were not true but the chap was in an awful state with his head in a mess after he found out what happened to his girlfriend. He was young, stupid and paniced. I dont blame him for what happened initially but he could have handled to press's claims his granny was alive by coming clean.

pipeliner

Bubs101 wrote: »

He's not better than Robinho and CHD, surely Essien will replace Ballack in the first team soon

Who is CHD

Bubs101

CHD was the poster who posted about whether he'd get into the Chelsea team

On Ireland, I wonder what value City really place on him though if they're desperate to land Kaka. If they did buy him it'd have been Ireland's place he'd have taken which is a sham

CHD

pipeliner wrote: »

Who is CHD

Your worst nightmare.

bigstar

they can bid all they like, hes going nowhere.

Mr Alan

Not this year unless they need a good squad player. Maybe next year if he continues the form from this year. If he doesn't, he will just be one of many players, who upped their game big time for a period before returning to their actual level.

redout

redout wrote: »

Keane is a basket case who needs to be told he is important and needs to play all the time be it with Ireland/Liverpool/Spurs. Stephen Ireland does not come across like that at all.

redout wrote: »

Robbie Keane cant play ball without being told he is important. Hence why, Jol, Redknapp and Trapp always/Always did talk him up and say how good he was. Every time there is an Ireland match Trapp cant do an interview without talking the chap up. Why does he do this ? because the guy needs it and its obvious! He was dropped by Pool and said he was never dropped in his career. The fool should have just put his head down, kept quite and tried harder to change his game if Pool were not going to change for him. He went to Pool and didnt get that same support from Rafa who was more of he can/must play better. Rafa got fed up with him after about 20 appearances and changed his tone a bit when talking about him. Once he was in that situation he was fuvked and ran back to Spurs with his tail between his legs after just 6 months.

And yet again more loving for Keano from Harry the gaffer from today.

"I make him feel important and I involve him a lot when I talk about how we play," Redknapp revealed.

"I think he appreciates the involvement."

He knows he's important to us and this is where he's at home, where his heart is. For anybody, it doesn't matter what you do, it's good to know you're important.

"You have to feel wanted and appreciated in life and he knows how much I wanted to bring him here. A bit of love, that's what it's all about.

"He's got that little bit of class you're looking for, but I don't want him playing too deep. I want him up there where he'll supply some magic and do some damage.

"That's where he'll score his goals. Robbie Keane's a top player who has slotted in perfectly, but he can do even more."
http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/03/09/1147088/harry-redknapp-showing-robbie-keane-some-love-at-tottenham

Xavi6

/looks thread title

/looks at post above

If you want to talk about Robbie Keane go start a thread. Next OT post like that will be met with an infraction.

pierrot

Back on topic. He is rated by Real Madrid i heard. He'd do a great job there in their inside right forward position. Given his age and potential, i'd value him at 20-30 million pounds. But unless theres a big bust up, City won't sell. Why would they. He'll be their player of the season this season, and many more to come. And its not as if City need the money.
Furthermore, given his apparant fragile mental temperament, i'm not sure a big money move would do him any good at all.
That said, think he'd do a nice job for Barca..

JimiTime

I think he'd push for a place and would not be out of his depth at the big 4. Liverpool would ruin him though I feel. His style of play would be wasted there. I think Arsenal would be best suited tbh.

On seeing him this season, he's top class. If he maintains this level of consistancy, he'll be one of the greats IMO. He's Man City's Fabregas IMO. I am a huge fan on Fabregas, one of my favourite players. I think Ireland has a bit more potentially though. I think he's got a better eye for goal than Cesc. I'd be excited about this if he was playing for Ireland, but it just frustrates and annoys me when I see him play so well now:( Certainly City have a player on their hands there though!

Seaneh

If the question was "is Stephen Ireland good enough to play in the first team of a big 4 club?" the the answer would be a resounding hands down yes, easily one of the best midfeilder sin the premiership this year and is City's best player by a country mile.

However, the question is "should a big 4 club sign him" and the answer for Ireland himself and for any of the clubs mentioned is a resounding no.

At city he has a board, squad and manager who know and understand his "unique" characture and are willing to accomidate it and allow him to recieve the "extra training" he needs and I'm not sure that this would happen at UTD/pool/Chelski maybe at Arsenal but still a risk.

City have built counciling into his training plan and they support him in the ways he needs.

He's in the best place he could be right now and untill he feels able to change that he should stay where he is.

anonymous_joe

Seaneh wrote: »

If the question was "is Stephen Ireland good enough to play in the first team of a big 4 club?" the the answer would be a resounding hands down yes, easily one of the best midfeilder sin the premiership this year and is City's best player by a country mile.

However, the question is "should a big 4 club sign him" and the answer for Ireland himself and for any of the clubs mentioned is a resounding no.

At city he has a board, squad and manager who know and understand his "unique" characture and are willing to accomidate it and allow him to recieve the "extra training" he needs and I'm not sure that this would happen at UTD/pool/Chelski maybe at Arsenal but still a risk.

City have built counciling into his training plan and they support him in the ways he needs.

He's in the best place he could be right now and untill he feels able to change that he should stay where he is.

Really? Is he that bad off?

(Not an attack on him, in case anyone mistakes me, just genuinely curious.)

Seaneh

Yes really.
I dont know how bad he actually is but he's had some issues all along and is only addressing them in the last 2 years.