Stephen Ireland Interview

pwd

Stephen Ireland interview after leaving City:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/aug/20/manchester-city-stephen-ireland

Guardian wrote:

Stephen Ireland last night lifted the lid on life at Manchester City with an astonishing attack on his former club. Ireland, who joined Aston Villa this week as part of the deal that took James Milner in the opposite direction, tore into everyone, from the manager Roberto Mancini to the club's "money-obsessed" young players, as he revealed the full extent of his anger at the way he has been treated.

The Irishman was prevented from discussing the details of the financial pay-off he received from City because of a confidentiality agreement he has signed – he is believed to have picked up a little more than half the £2m he was demanding – but every other subject was considered fair game as he reeled off a list of complaints that painted a bleak picture of his final 12 months at City. Ireland's tirade included:

• Warning James Milner he will get a shock if he thinks the grass is greener at City

• Claiming Mancini has no relationship with any of the players

• Insisting he is as good as if not better than any of the new signings

• Accusing City's young players of wearing £10,000 watches and believing they are Premier League stars

• Describing City as a club where loyalty is no longer recognised

• Branding Mancini's criticism of his attitude unfair because he was the "best player in training"

It was a remarkable assault on City and will make for uncomfortable reading when the club's officials, players and supporters wade though Ireland's diatribe. The midfielder, who is expected to make his Villa debut at Newcastle on Sunday on his 24th birthday, spoke about City as if they were a club he could not wait to leave. "I think Aston Villa got a really good deal," he said. "I guess James Milner must think the grass is greener on the other side. He's going to get a shock soon because it's definitely not that way.

"I've really landed on my feet here. I think it's a family club and one that will get the best out of me. I am actually shocked at how good it is. I've settled in so well, so fast. Even the young lads are so polite. I'm actually quite shocked with that. At City they're not like that. They're coming in with £10,000 watches on their wrists and walking around as if they have played 200 Premier League games."

Ireland, who has a reputation for spending his own money quite lavishly, came through City's youth system and spent nine years at the club, but he felt as though the service he gave them counted for nothing in the end.

"I don't think loyalty is much in anyone's mind at Manchester City," he said. "I felt like I would be next [to leave]. A lot of players felt like that as well – the homegrown guys."

The former City trainee said he had not spoken a word to Mancini before he left although he suggested there is little communication between the manager and his former team-mates full stop. "He doesn't really build relationships with players," said Ireland. "He brought Patrick Vieira in and when I spoke to him about his relationship [with Mancini], he said he doesn't really have one, and he's worked for him for years. I think that's the way he is."

Ireland won the player of the year award at City in 2009 but he was a peripheral figure last season, in particular after Mancini replaced Mark Hughes in December. When asked about Ireland's lack of action last season, the Italian implied the midfielder had an attitude problem, when he claimed he needed to "change his head". Ireland remains deeply upset with those comments.

"I think that was really unfair, all the players know I was the first player into training and the last to leave," he said. "I worked the hardest. With all the heart-rate monitors and tests, I was always No1, far ahead of everyone. You see the performance in training and I was practically always the best player in training. If [Mancini's] standing there watching that, I don't know how he doesn't see that."

Another wave of big names have arrived at Eastlands this summer but Ireland claimed he is as good as any of them. "I'm not really a highly-self-confident person," he said, with no hint of what was to come. "But I can honestly say Manchester City have tried to replace me for the last three or four seasons and it's never happened. I can easily say I've got, if not more ability, as much ability as any player they have signed this year."

Ireland described the way his time with City ended as "heartbreaking" but he is adamant he is heading in the right direction. "I can understand why James Milner has gone there but I can tell him that I'm very happy to leave there and come here," he said. "Some people have used the phrase that I've been forced out. I couldn't be more happy to be forced to come here, to a club like Aston Villa."

His criticism sounds quite fair, even if they do make him sound like a total goon in the article.

everdead.ie

Ah well I think the troubling thing is it echos some of Bellamy's comments doesn't it

dreamers75

This the lad with the pink rover kitted out for a few grand?

Least Xavi6 can hate him now too

pwd

Someone edited my thread title from "Fuck you, I don't have an attitude problem, I'm better than every one of you."

Collie D

He really doesn't do himself any favours every time he opens his mouth.

parker kent

Collie D wrote: »

He really doesn't do himself any favours every time he opens his mouth.

Even a self-obsessed loon can speak the truth though. He is right, City have no plan and no sense of how to build a good team. Lots more will think like he is and will leave. What happens next Summer when they buy 6 or 7 more?

Collie D

parker kent wrote: »

Even a self-obsessed loon can speak the truth though. He is right, City have no plan and no sense of how to build a good team. Lots more will think like he is and will leave. What happens next Summer when they buy 6 or 7 more?

I'd be delighted to see it all blow up in their faces but I find someone who allegedly held out for a signing-off fee giving out about money-hungry players a bit hard to swallow.

JPA

When you actually watch the video it doesn't seem bad at all compared to the sensationalist media spin

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/8932946.stm.

PaddyBomb

I feel sorry for the youth squad at City if they just plan on spending millions to make a team.

Cunningham looks a good player, I hope Mancini still trusts him like he did a few times last season. Otherwise, he'll have to further is career somewhere else.

JJJJNR

Is the door open then.

Mister men

Stephen Ireland. Does anyone even care what he thinks.

judas101

I hope he does well at Villa.

Massive lack of loyalty and respect shown towards Ireland who, like him or not, is a hard worker and a good player.

Villa got a good deal.

population

Give him a break. His granny died

KittyeeTrix

Brilliant this............I wonder if there will be as many mocking posts about him now that he has been treated unfairly by City, I doubt it:D

Carlos_Ray

PaddyBomb wrote: »

I feel sorry for the youth squad at City if they just plan on spending millions to make a team.

Cunningham looks a good player, I hope Mancini still trusts him like he did a few times last season. Otherwise, he'll have to further is career somewhere else.

Sadly there's not a hope in hell that players like Cunningham will get a luck in at city. IMO He'll be gone within a year. I hope he makes a move sooner rather than later, he's ready for first team football now.

karma_

Carlos_Ray wrote: »

Sadly there's not a hope in hell that players like Cunningham will get a luck in at city. IMO He'll be gone within a year. I hope he makes a move sooner rather than later, he's ready for first team football now.

Just signed a new 4 year contract last week.

Carlos_Ray

karma_ wrote: »

Just signed a new 4 year contract last week.

Its the same old story. Sign a contract, go out on loan to various clubs for a couple of years and then sign for one of those clubs on a permanent deal. He'll be lucky to play 20 full games for city.

nullzero

I'm not a big fan of Stephen Ireland the person, but he's not saying anything untrue, at least it would appear what he's saying is honest.
City have sold out, any club in their position would have done the same, it's just a pity that they're giving the two fingers to players that had served them so well before they were bought by rich people.

Carlos_Ray

nullzero wrote: »

I'm not a big fan of Stephen Ireland the person, but he's not saying anything untrue, at least it would appear what he's saying is honest.
City have sold out, any club in their position would have done the same, it's just a pity that they're giving the two fingers to players that had served them so well before they were bought by rich people.

Its not that what he's saying is wrong, its that he's saying it. He is regarded as the figure head for overpaid and lavish young footballers. His ridiculous cars and his plans to build a shark tank under his kitchen, are a little bit more outlandish than €10,000 watches ( which im sure he also has.)

Mentally, he is messed up. He can't see the level of hypocrisy he dishes out. He also went on about "loyalty" LOL. Give me a break, he wouldn't know loyalty from a set of pink alloys..

Villain

Carlos_Ray wrote: »

Its not that what he's saying is wrong, its that he's saying it. He is regarded as the figure head for overpaid and lavish young footballers. His ridiculous cars and his plans to build a shark tank under his kitchen, are a little bit more outlandish than €10,000 watches ( which im sure he also has.)

Mentally, he is messed up. He can't see the level of hypocrisy he dishes out. He also went on about "loyalty" LOL. Give me a break, he wouldn't know loyalty from a set of pink alloys..

You know I have to laugh at how people read a tabloid story and take it as gospel, if you believe everything you read in the Mirror I think you are leaving yourself open to believe anything.

Ireland commented on that story btw:

“Apparently I’m digging up my kitchen to put in a shark tank! I honestly can’t believe the rubbish people write about me sometimes.

“My kitchen is very much as it was and I’ve no plans to put a shark tank in or anything else for that matter. I don’t know where the story comes from but it’s completely ridiculous and I’ve had enough of it.”

nullzero

Carlos_Ray wrote: »

Its not that what he's saying is wrong, its that he's saying it. He is regarded as the figure head for overpaid and lavish young footballers. His ridiculous cars and his plans to build a shark tank under his kitchen, are a little bit more outlandish than €10,000 watches ( which im sure he also has.)

Mentally, he is messed up. He can't see the level of hypocrisy he dishes out. He also went on about "loyalty" LOL. Give me a break, he wouldn't know loyalty from a set of pink alloys..

I agree with you, I usually wouldn't advocate a player having a parting shot at their old club, but City have screwed so many of their top players over they deserve everything they get.
Ireland is a strange person, a spoilt brat with an awful attitude, but so are most top players these days.

Carlos_Ray

Villain wrote: »

You know I have to laugh at how people read a tabloid story and take it as gospel, if you believe everything you read in the Mirror I think you are leaving yourself open to believe anything.

Ireland commented on that story btw:

This is all the evidence I need. After seeing this, a shark tank isn't so unbelievable.

greendom

A good player who really should let his feet do the talking. Every time he opens his mouth he generally comes across as a fool. In particular his comments about Milner should not have been said. He may be right but he really should keep it to himself.

Villain

LOL based on that I'd say there quite a few players in the PL who have shark tanks!.

I think what Ireland was saying is youth players are getting ahead of themselves, Ireland is an odd guy with some strange taste but he was a top Premier League player not some youth player who may or may not make the grade.

A lot of what is said about Ireland is tabloid crap, he certainly is an odd guy but I think if his charity actions got as much attention as his cars people might have a different view

greendom

Carlos_Ray wrote: »

This is all the evidence I need. After seeing this, a shark tank isn't so unbelievable.

His wife and home were on Celebrity Come Dine with Me and both did nothing to help his reputation.

kraggy

Carlos_Ray wrote: »

This is all the evidence I need. After seeing this, a shark tank isn't so unbelievable.

Didn't it come out that that's actually his girlfriend's car and that he just drove it in that day because his own wasn't available or something?

Carlos_Ray

kraggy wrote: »

Didn't it come out that that's actually his girlfriend's car and that he just drove it in that day because his own wasn't available or something?

His other car


His girlfriends car


She likes red... "daddy dick" goes for pink. Classy or what

nullzero

Carlos_Ray wrote: »

His other car


His girlfriends car


She likes red... "daddy dick" goes for pink. Classy or what

How can they take two good cars and makes them look like a pair of runners?

Carlos_Ray

nullzero wrote: »

How can they take two good cars and makes them look like a pair of runners?

He reminds me of rappers on cribs that buy diamond swans and put them in their living room beside a gold plasma screen TV. More money than sense or style.

Regardless of whether he or his girlfriend drives these cars, I think they highlight how NOT in a position he is to comment on other young players spending money on lavish items.

Mister men

nullzero wrote: »

I'm not a big fan of Stephen Ireland the person, but he's not saying anything untrue, at least it would appear what he's saying is honest.
City have sold out, any club in their position would have done the same, it's just a pity that they're giving the two fingers to players that had served them so well before they were bought by rich people.

Yeah because he's got a great history with telling the truth

I suppose he knows a far fetched story when he sees one giving that he has more then an average amount of grannies

OPENROAD

greendom wrote: »

A good player who really should let his feet do the talking. Every time he opens his mouth he generally comes across as a fool. In particular his comments about Milner should not have been said. He may be right but he really should keep it to himself.

Think that is all he is at the moment, a lot of hype about him over here imo, he needs to step up to the mark now with Villa and do his talking on the pitch. Doesn't do himself any favours with this interview

eagle eye

Well I gotta say I was pleasantly surprised by his interview. He came across very well, seemed very candid and overall I liked him after the interview.

irishh_bob

nullzero wrote: »

How can they take two good cars and makes them look like a pair of runners?

pair of runners - pair of chavs

glanman

Collie D wrote: »

I'd be delighted to see it all blow up in their faces but I find someone who allegedly held out for a signing-off fee giving out about money-hungry players a bit hard to swallow.

He didn't ask for a transfer and it is a standard part of transfer deals when a player leave that they get this. When a player signs a new contract, they dont get their £X million signing on bonus up front, it is spread evenly over the Y number of years of the contract. So that is what he was waiting for an fully entitled to.

monkey9

Football is ridiculous. I include myself in this. It's hilarious that all of a sudden, Aston Villa fans are now, suddenly, defending Stephen Ireland against any accusation that come his way.

Yet, if the same accusations came his way as a player of any other club, they may well be joining in on those taunts.

If he signed for Liverpool, maybe i would be taking a Villa like stance.

Every football fan eventually must become a scizho!!

Villain

monkey9 wrote: »

Football is ridiculous. I include myself in this. It's hilarious that all of a sudden, Aston Villa fans are now, suddenly, defending Stephen Ireland against any accusation that come his way.

Yet, if the same accusations came his way as a player of any other club, they may well be joining in on those taunts.

If he signed for Liverpool, maybe i would be taking a Villa like stance.

Every football fan eventually must become a scizho!!

Not everyone and what you say is true in reverse also, many fans didn't care about him when he wasn't playing for Man City but now that he is going to be playing again they roll out the shark tank crap that some tabloid journo made up.

monkey9

Villain wrote: »

Not everyone and what you say is true in reverse also, many fans didn't care about him when he wasn't playing for Man City but now that he is going to be playing again they roll out the shark tank crap that some tabloid journo made up.

But i'd say whoever rolls out the fish tank stuff (which i never heard off, i must admit) are Ireland fans. Not Villa/Man City fans.

Villain

The Sunday papers are leading with strong headlines about him tomorrow, mainly based on an interview he did Friday I think. The UK's Independent has the story below:

What is it with Stephen Ireland and Italian managers?

Neither Giovanni Trapattoni, with the Republic of Ireland, nor Roberto Mancini, at Manchester City, appears to rate him highly. Fortunately for the midfielder, his new, albeit temporary manager at Aston Villa, Kevin MacDonald, is a staunch admirer and is poised to give him a debut on his 24th birthday at Newcastle today.

MacDonald, who continues to hold the top job at Villa in what increasingly resembles an audition for a permanent role, worked with Ireland as a senior coach to Steve Staunton during the player's brief international career. It ended in a flurry of poison-pen letters three years ago after Ireland was given compassionate leave from the Republic camp before a Euro 2008 qualifier against the Czech Republic after the supposed death of his grandmother. He changed his story twice, lying each time, before admitting he had gone to his native Cork where his girlfriend had suffered a miscarriage.

Ireland, who completed his protracted move to Villa as an £8 million makeweight in the £26m transfer of James Milner to City, regrets his immaturity. However, he does not view his escape from Mancini's bench as an opportunity to return to the Irish fold. "It didn't end the nicest way for me with Ireland, and if I could go back of course I'd change it," he said after training with Villa for the first time on Friday. "But it's been three years now.

"It was a difficult time for me and my family. I had a lot of bad press and hate mail, personal and family stuff. That's my own fault, of course. I've brought some of the negative publicity on myself but I'm here now and it's a fresh start. It never did really affect my football. I always took that seriously."

Ireland met Trapattoni soon after the veteran coach succeeded Staunton, although Ireland recalls the exchanges as "bizarre". He added: "I'm not sure he's too keen on me or knows much about me as a player. The situation's not his fault. It's no one's but my own. As time's gone by he seems a bit more desperate to get me back than when we met. He's said the door's open."

What about when the Republic played France in the World Cup play-off match now notorious for Thierry Henry's handball – didn't he feel he was missing out? "I sometimes think that I would have done a pass differently. I loved the buzz of the games. It's just the whole nine or 10-day build-up before matches I didn't enjoy. After my first game I just thought it wasn't for me. I've only played six times.

"I've been out so long I'm not even answering the question 'yes' or 'no' as to whether I'll go back. I think it would be easier for me if Kevin and Steve Staunton were still there, but they changed managers and that's another part of the situation. At the moment it's important for me to concentrate on Villa and get back on track. Nothing against Trapattoni whatsoever, or the next guy that comes in, but I'm happier playing in the Premier League."

His first priority is to establish himself in a Villa side that started the season with a victory over West Ham and a useful draw at Rapid Vienna in the Europa League. Ireland, with his shaved head, earrings and flamboyant style, may appear cocky yet he confesses he is looking to MacDonald to help rediscover his swagger.

"People have judged me but I haven't actually got much confidence or self-belief. That's something I need to build up here. But even in my first training session at Villa, I could feel it coming back. I'm looking forward to playing with a smile on my face. Kevin is someone who could bring it out. I've certainly got confidence in him as a coach to get the best out of me."

And as a long-term successor to Martin O'Neill? "Definitely. He's such a good man-manager; he's been good for the development of lots of players. I know now I have to have four or five years at the top of my game, so when I retire I've got no regrets."

pwd

JPA wrote: »

When you actually watch the video it doesn't seem bad at all compared to the sensationalist media spin

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/8932946.stm.

Yes. The video doesn't show all of the comments quoted in the article, however it's plain from what it does show, that the article is intentionally misrepresentative.

Example:

The midfielder...spoke about City as if they were a club he could not wait to leave. "I think Aston Villa got a really good deal," he said. "I guess James Milner must think the grass is greener on the other side. He's going to get a shock soon because it's definitely not that way.

In the video, you see the context of these remarks. He said them in response to the interviewer asking him about Man City's payment to him, and their publicisation of his demands. It was a way of dodging a question he was legally obliged not to answer. The way the article presents it is misrepresentative. They make it sound like he just said this out of the blue as a way of boasting and attacking Man City.

LuckyLloyd

greendom wrote: »

His wife and home were on Celebrity Come Dine with Me and both did nothing to help his reputation.

It was truly cringe worthy to be honest.

Boskowski

The media in general but the print media in particular want to take a long hard look at themselves and general conduct in their business.
These days they're just short of assembling 'sensational' statements from interview snippets altogether. I wouldn't believe anything these days unless I read the full unedited interview. Likewise if I was a person of public interest I'd insist on unedited interviews or at least personal approval on the final version.
These days you could come out of an interview thinking my manager would be proud of me next morning you read you hate his guts and want out.

Mister men

monkey9 wrote: »

Football is ridiculous. I include myself in this. It's hilarious that all of a sudden, Aston Villa fans are now, suddenly, defending Stephen Ireland against any accusation that come his way.

Yet, if the same accusations came his way as a player of any other club, they may well be joining in on those taunts.

If he signed for Liverpool, maybe i would be taking a Villa like stance.

Every football fan eventually must become a scizho!!

So bloody true.