claret75 Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Reminds me a lot of when Petrov first arrived. What he does, he does well; he just doesnt do enough of it. I'm sure his form will come, but it'll probably be another Young / Milner / Downing / Petrov episode where he will play well below par for the first season, achieving the coveted "scapegoat status" award as he does so. I'm not sure how you can say he doesn't do enough of it, he's only been here 5 minutes and can't be match fit. He's a quality player, if he's happy here, I can see him linking up well with Young especially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 After watching Ireland play in the hole on Saturday, I think the need for a new striker is even greater! He needs to play alongside someone who is quick, clever and has an eye for goal. Heskey is clever and brings other players into the game but he doesn't score often enough is nearing the end of his career. Gabby is fast, will score 20/30% of goalscoring opportunities but doesn't have the best footballing brain and his movement reduces the actual chances that he gets. Carew has an eye for a goal and can occasionally be fast but he is rarely on his toes and, as we all know too well, his 'off days' are far too frequent. I'd like to think that Gabby could improve his movement off the ball but for now, in my opinion, Heskey is our best option up front and we could really do with bringing in a new striker in the Summer, at the latest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shillzz Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Reminds me a lot of when Petrov first arrived. What he does, he does well; he just doesnt do enough of it. I'm sure his form will come, but it'll probably be another Young / Milner / Downing / Petrov episode where he will play well below par for the first season, achieving the coveted "scapegoat status" award as he does so. I'm not sure how you can say he doesn't do enough of it, he's only been here 5 minutes and can't be match fit. He's a quality player, if he's happy here, I can see him linking up well with Young especially. I just dont think he gets involved enough in the game. I'm sure it will come, but I distinctly remember Petrov turning in similar performances in his first season when he was deployed as the attacking element in a 3 man midfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alienvillan Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 After watching Ireland play in the hole on Saturday, I think the need for a new striker is even greater! He needs to play alongside someone who is quick, clever and has an eye for goal. Heskey is clever and brings other players into the game but he doesn't score often enough is nearing the end of his career. Gabby is fast, will score 20/30% of goalscoring opportunities but doesn't have the best footballing brain and his movement reduces the actual chances that he gets. Carew has an eye for a goal and can occasionally be fast but he is rarely on his toes and, as we all know too well, his 'off days' are far too frequent. I'd like to think that Gabby could improve his movement off the ball but for now, in my opinion, Heskey is our best option up front and we could really do with bringing in a new striker in the Summer, at the latest! I agree with this (observation). But it's awkward. The player in the hole should be the clever one with an eye for goal (Bergkamp). I don't think that's Ireland's best position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Aston Villa midfielder Stephen Ireland is hoping his starring role against Chelsea will see him keep his place in the side. Ireland made his first start under new boss Gerard Houllier against Chelsea at the weekend after Marc Albrighton pulled out of the game through illness. The former Manchester City star admits to being disappointed by his lack of starts since moving to Villa Park and he is keen to face Sunderland at the weekend. Frustrating "It has been frustrating but I am part of a team here so I am just waiting to be called on," said Ireland. "I didn't know until an hour before the game that I was going to play. "If I am called on then I need to be ready to go in and if someone else is playing instead of me that is fine because I am part of the team. But hopefully I can play next week and keep building on that. "Coming in at the last minute is different. Sometimes it is nice to work on it all week and know that you are starting and sometimes it is nice to be sprung on you as well. "But I always prepare well anyway so it was ok to be told I was playing." http://tinyurl.com/2w5k8k2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted October 19, 2010 Moderator Share Posted October 19, 2010 Aston Villa midfielder Stephen Ireland is hoping his starring role against Chelsea will see him keep his place in the side. That bit there, is a real failure of journalism and frankly it is insulting to Downing, Warnock, Petrov, Clark, Collins and Friedel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 The former Manchester City star admits to being disappointed by his lack of starts since moving to Villa Park and he is keen to face Sunderland at the weekend. Thought he was injured for some of the time so this is perhaps presented more negatively than it really is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 its just media trying to stir as usual... just shocking its SSN really. I'm happy with Ireland so far.. yes he missed that chance but his passing has been spot on and give him more games he'll give more input and hopefully get some goals too. Ireland + the Fonz will do really well if given the chance i reckon. (i dont mean partnership btw although who knows) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claret75 Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Reminds me a lot of when Petrov first arrived. What he does, he does well; he just doesnt do enough of it. I'm sure his form will come, but it'll probably be another Young / Milner / Downing / Petrov episode where he will play well below par for the first season, achieving the coveted "scapegoat status" award as he does so. I'm not sure how you can say he doesn't do enough of it, he's only been here 5 minutes and can't be match fit. He's a quality player, if he's happy here, I can see him linking up well with Young especially. I just dont think he gets involved enough in the game. I'm sure it will come, but I distinctly remember Petrov turning in similar performances in his first season when he was deployed as the attacking element in a 3 man midfield. I think Ireland was dropped too deep to be effective in the Chelsea game. From what I've seen of him, he needs to play further forward to be at his best. I know he didn't get into the game much Saturday, but it was a tough game for him and tbf, when he did get the ball he showed good vision, something we lack. I agree that it should start to click for him with a couple of games under his belt. If we see the best of him, I think he can be a 'big' player for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC-Prideofbrum Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Ireland needs someone who can actually play upfront and hold a ball up and actually make clever runs. Pairs up with Emile, he'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AValon Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Ireland needs someone who can actually play upfront and hold a ball up and actually make clever runs. Pairs up with Emile, he'll be fine. This. Heskey is actually the perfect foil for him and holds the ball up very well for the lad to feed off. The boy needs a goal......then we might see quite a different player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claret75 Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Ireland needs someone who can actually play upfront and hold a ball up and actually make clever runs. Pairs up with Emile, he'll be fine. I think Heskey might turn out to be a better partner for Ireland than Gabby, he might be a bit more on Ireland's wavelength. I like Gabby, but being more straightforward than Heskey, I'm not sure that he'd read Ireland like Heskey would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC-Prideofbrum Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Milner our most intelligent and creative player through the middle last year set up a few goals for Heskey with clever through balls, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Blackburn. I really like Gabby but I don't think he is the most intelligent in his runs. Hopefully he'll improve like he always has in areas of his game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonno_2004 Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 If Gabby can improve his movement, it would be one hell of a front two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooJung Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Problem is that Ireland and Young play at their best in the same position: Behind the main striker. And Young is frankly better. I don't dislike Ireland, but it was not the player we needed to buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I think they could both play behind the striker but we'd lose the width, is it worth it? -------------Heskey ------Young--------Ireland Downing---Petrov----Reo-Coker And of course we'd lose Albrighton as well, he wouldn't be ideal in that three man pairing (tbh I wouldn't have Petrov if we had a better choice) looking at it again, after all this writing, I am not sure it would work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legov Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Problem is that Ireland and Young play at their best in the same position: Behind the main striker. And Young is frankly better. Actually I think Young is better on the wing but we already have Albrighton and a revived Downing there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Selection headache. Love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 GERARD HOULLIER wants Stephen Ireland to play international football again. The Aston Villa midfielder has not represented the Republic of Ireland since 2007 - when he lied about his grandmother dying to cover up his girlfriend's miscarriage. Ireland, 24, has since resisted pleas to return. But his Villa boss wants him to reconsider. Houllier said: "That was his decision and he took it before he came here. "As a former national coach I was surprised. "I prefer it when my players go away for internationals - they have to play at a certain level." http://tinyurl.com/2wutq7r Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted October 20, 2010 Moderator Share Posted October 20, 2010 That'll go down well I can see Ireland reading that, banging his head with his hand. Kind of a cross between Rainman and Adrien Brody in The Village. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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