fran_villa Posted October 20, 2010 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.anyway,the likes of Green are better :? .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted October 20, 2010 Moderator Share Posted October 20, 2010 anyway,the likes of Green are better I'll put it mildly and say I respectfully disagree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedster Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Green is beyond poo. I'll take it you were joking Fran. Ireland have no creativity in the center and I can't stress no highly enough so having stevie back would at least give us the option to try and play football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted October 20, 2010 Moderator Share Posted October 20, 2010 And it's not like he even has any hair to pull out these days. I don't know what's stopping him meself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theunderstudy Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Doesn't Ireland have a pretty good scoring record for Ireland in the sparse games he's played? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_D Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Selection headache. At Villa. Noooo way. O....we do. Brilliant Ireland didn't have the greatest game against Chelsea. He drifted in and out of the action. I was pleased though with what I saw. He has good potential and needs to be played behind the striker. Saying that, he had a free role at Citeh and popped up on the wing and in the centre. With Ash, DJ and Ireland as a 3 they should all be able to work out for themselves that they are interchangeable. --------NRC---Petrov--- Downing Ireland Young -----------Gabby-------- Albrighton for me atm has huge potential but burns out of game. His energy and pace can be used when were resting players, covering injured players or we need something different in the last part of the game. I have been very impressed with him so far though. NRC to do all the donkey work he has been doing since he got back in the team. Tackle, simple pass, huge engine. Petrov to be box-to-box and then subbed when tired replaced by Sidwell and when fit Delph. Ireland will be a star at Villa this season given the chance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 To be fair Houllier was going to play him in the carling cup but he had a dead leg, he was happy with his performance at Chelsea and said that role suited him (behind the striker) so i think we'll see more of that.. and Ireland said himself he'll try and prove himself to get in to the first team, just needs a run of games to get his match fitness upto scratch, I for one am excited. Houllier will also give him more games too i reckon, that burnley carling cup match would be ideal for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted October 20, 2010 Moderator Share Posted October 20, 2010 It is a selection dilemma. The only reason Ireland played was because Albrighton was ill, so Young reverted to the wing. Ordinarily you couldn't play Ireland and Young in the hole unless they were 2 of a 3 man strikeforce behind a target man and, frankly, I don't think our midfield is dominant enough to donate 2 players to the strikers' cause. If you accept, as has been shown so far, that Albrighton is first choice and that Ireland can not play a typical central role in a 4 man midfield then it will have to be the rotation that Houllier has alluded to as being Ireland's main route into the side. But then that in it's very nature isn't conducive to what I would call 'regular' appearances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Unless we're able to bring in a defensive midfielder in Jan/ Summer to play alongside Ireland in a central-midfield 2? I know this has been dismissed previously, along with the Newcastle result, but I still think that he could play in that position with a commanding defensive midfielder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Absolutely not, in my opinion. He just doesn't know what he's doing in that position. He needs a free role and one man doing two jobs just isn't going to work unless you have Stamina McBeastly-Pace in the DM role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry'sboots Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Selection headache. At Villa. Noooo way. O....we do. Brilliant Ireland didn't have the greatest game against Chelsea. He drifted in and out of the action. I was pleased though with what I saw. He has good potential and needs to be played behind the striker. Saying that, he had a free role at Citeh and popped up on the wing and in the centre. With Ash, DJ and Ireland as a 3 they should all be able to work out for themselves that they are interchangeable. --------NRC---Petrov--- Downing Ireland Young -----------Gabby-------- Albrighton for me atm has huge potential but burns out of game. His energy and pace can be used when were resting players, covering injured players or we need something different in the last part of the game. I have been very impressed with him so far though. NRC to do all the donkey work he has been doing since he got back in the team. Tackle, simple pass, huge engine. Petrov to be box-to-box and then subbed when tired replaced by Sidwell and when fit Delph. Ireland will be a star at Villa this season given the chance I agree wholeheartedly with this. I didn't see the Chelski game - first home game missed in years due to wedding of close friends - but I imagine that part of the reason we had the first half and they had the second was Stan's running out of steam. I would sub him between 45 and 60 and I also think that this would make him more energetic when he is playing. I might also look to try Heskey up front with Gabby out right and Ash out left but encourage them both to come in off the wing a lot more and link up with Heskey/Ireland/each other. This would also mean DJ could come on later, possibly as a replacement for Stan, and be a little deeper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Absolutely not, in my opinion. He just doesn't know what he's doing in that position. He needs a free role and one man doing two jobs just isn't going to work unless you have Stamina McBeastly-Pace in the DM role. That was my point.. with a huge, battling, energetic DM he could play in a central 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted October 20, 2010 Moderator Share Posted October 20, 2010 A friend of mine has just pointed out that Stephen Ireland's missus was on a Saturday night talkshow over here last weekend. Now she's not exactly an A-lister so it does seem a rather random guest to have on. Almost as if it's the first step towards getting him back into our consciousness over here. With Houllier now coming out saying he'd like to see SI back in the Ireland team I just wonder how choreographed it all is. None of this tends to happen for no reason. Very much a 'watch this space' I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry'sboots Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Absolutely not, in my opinion. He just doesn't know what he's doing in that position. He needs a free role and one man doing two jobs just isn't going to work unless you have Stamina McBeastly-Pace in the DM role. That was my point.. with a huge, battling, energetic DM he could play in a central 2. Don't understand why people are so keen to get us playing with a 2? We are the only Top 8 club from last season playing this as even Redknob now is playing with a sole striker with VdV off him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bannedfromHandV Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Still not overly impressed with him. He also started in this fabled 'in behind the striker which will bring the best out of him' position on Saturday and still wasn't impressive. Good run but a poor finish early on and other than a few flicks here and there did not a lot else. I'm all up for SI becoming a top player (obviously), I just don't think it'll do anyone, the club, him or us any good for him to be put on this pedestal before he's achieved anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted October 20, 2010 Moderator Share Posted October 20, 2010 90-0-0-71-0-10-83 /\ The minutes he has played since coming here. A player, particularly one new to a team, needs to be at least playing somewhat regularly to a) find his feet and get some kind of form going. I thought he was actually pretty good against Chelsea as was everyone, even Beye!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ads Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 He played for 80 minutes in his favoured position, for the first time this season and after only playing a smattering of games through injury, against the best side in the country and you’re chastising him for not being excellent straight away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Absolutely not, in my opinion. He just doesn't know what he's doing in that position. He needs a free role and one man doing two jobs just isn't going to work unless you have Stamina McBeastly-Pace in the DM role. That was my point.. with a huge, battling, energetic DM he could play in a central 2. Don't understand why people are so keen to get us playing with a 2? We are the only Top 8 club from last season playing this as even Redknob now is playing with a sole striker with VdV off him. You've lost me... I don't mean play a 4-4-2. The reason I'd like to see Ireland in a central midfield 2 is so that we could play Downing on the left wing, Ash behind a striker and Albrighton on the right wing. As it is, we have 4 options for 3 positions (Ash, Downing, Ireland and Albrighton) and as I think they're all great players deserving a place in our squad! (Obviously Albrighton is still young so this would add to our rotation options, but ideally I'd like all 4 to be in our starting 11) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisNichollsToe Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Absolutely not, in my opinion. He just doesn't know what he's doing in that position. He needs a free role and one man doing two jobs just isn't going to work unless you have Stamina McBeastly-Pace in the DM role. That was my point.. with a huge, battling, energetic DM he could play in a central 2. Don't understand why people are so keen to get us playing with a 2? We are the only Top 8 club from last season playing this as even Redknob now is playing with a sole striker with VdV off him. You've lost me... I don't mean play a 4-4-2. The reason I'd like to see Ireland in a central midfield 2 is so that we could play Downing on the left wing, Ash behind a striker and Albrighton on the right wing. As it is, we have 4 options for 3 positions (Ash, Downing, Ireland and Albrighton) and as I think they're all great players deserving a place in our squad! (Obviously Albrighton is still young so this would add to our rotation options, but ideally I'd like all 4 to be in our starting 11) Totally agree with you Rob, but do we have the right midfielders behind him at the moment, that can bring out the best in him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Absolutely not, in my opinion. He just doesn't know what he's doing in that position. He needs a free role and one man doing two jobs just isn't going to work unless you have Stamina McBeastly-Pace in the DM role. That was my point.. with a huge, battling, energetic DM he could play in a central 2. The only person I can think of in the world who I would play him with in a 4-4-2 would be Essien and even then, I'd much prefer to play him in a 5. I just think it's a waste of what he can offer us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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