Villaboy69 Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Was he any good last night? No - totally in effective with questionable effort Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danwichmann Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Was he any good last night? IMO he was equally mediocre to everyone else in the team. Wasn't horrendous, but didn't show a great deal to impress either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggyrichard Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Right my take on it, i think that AM likes him as a player, and desperatly wants to use him in his team and find that player we all know is in there somewhere. AM is using every opportunity to give him minutes on the pitch, regardless of how he plays, he just needs as much game time as possible before the season starts. Stephen Ireland himself said all that he needs is minutes on the pitch and a run of games, which AM is giving him. He hasnt really kicked a ball in anger for the last 12 months and is understandably rusty. Like AM said in his post match interview, its not the result thats important, its the fitness levels. I think we will see AM play his strongest possible team against Braga, and i full expect Ireland to feature. You may well see a different player when he is amongst our best 11. For what its worth, i think AM is doing the same thing with Fabian Delph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villaboy69 Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Wiggy - I think your right - AM will play him and I see him playing in the middle of the 3 in a 4 2 3 1 formation. Unfortunately I think that tells you everything you need to know about our squad at the moment. imo it ain't good enough. I just don't see anything in Ireland that leads me to believe that he will ever re discover the 6 months of decent form that he had with Man C. Both in terms of ability or desire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morales Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I think Ireland will play good in a attacking side. I thought when Houllier first came in, he was cautious, shown by the game against Chelsea and Birmingham and only start attacking when he had all those injuries and played the youngster. McLeish is a defensive coach by nature. Wouldn't be suprise to see him playing 2 sitting midfielder and expect Ireland, NZogbia, Albrighton and Bent to attack. In that case Ireland will struggle. I think if Villa were to play with some flair, we see the best of him, but it hasn't been Villa style for a long time and coaching setup indicate it won't happen this season as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I think he is using Ireland because he has been told he has to personally, he can't put him in reserves or anything due to wages, he is one of our higher earners I think so we have to use him.. I don't see him coming good nor staying fit throughout the season either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggyrichard Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I think he is using Ireland because he has been told he has to personally, he can't put him in reserves or anything due to wages, he is one of our higher earners I think so we have to use him.. I don't see him coming good nor staying fit throughout the season either. With the character that AM has shown, what with moving accross the city and the stick he has took, you really think AM is a 'yes' man!?!? There is no way on this earth AM will be told who to pick in his teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 With the character that AM has shown, what with moving accross the city and the stick he has took, you really think AM is a 'yes' man!?!? There is no way on this earth AM will be told who to pick in his teams. no offence but he relegated them to the championship, Lerner came to him (a premier league club) and took him on.. he must've been pinching himself let's be honest, I think conditions were put in place that he had to work with he had and the other choice he had was to stay in championship with Birmingham.. Granted AM seems like a nice bloke though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggyrichard Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 With the character that AM has shown, what with moving accross the city and the stick he has took, you really think AM is a 'yes' man!?!? There is no way on this earth AM will be told who to pick in his teams. no offence but he relegated them to the championship, Lerner came to him (a premier league club) and took him on.. he must've been pinching himself let's be honest, I think conditions were put in place that he had to work with he had and the other choice he had was to stay in championship with Birmingham.. Granted AM seems like a nice bloke though. Thats not what i asked you, i asked you if you thought he was a 'yes' man? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 for those reasons above I do think he is a yes man.. what other choices does he have? stay in championship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 The sooner Big Eck's honeymoon period with the players is over the better, he needs to be putting a rocket up the arse of the Stephen Irelands / Habib Beyes of this world. No more Mr Nice Guy, Big Eck's biggest attribute IMO is his tough, no nonsense approach and getting a bit of fear amongst the squad. See SAF as a great example of how to manage footballers - with an iron fist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwpzxjor1 Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I doubt Eck is actually having a 'honeymoon perioid' to be honest. He's a firey Scot who probably would have started laying into the players for their mistakes in the first training session. Seeing as Ireland excelled under Mark Hughes, who has a similar mentality, but failed miserably under Mancini and Houlier, suggests this is the way he needs to be managed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Hasn't Eck also continued the GED stance of telling players like Ireland, Warnock, Dunne etc that they have to move house to the Mids area ? Wonder how progress has been on this front ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggyrichard Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Ireland has moved down here, i think i remember Gazton saying so, might be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotaxMax125 Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Ireland has moved down here, i think i remember Gazton saying so, might be wrong. Didn't he say last year that the Midlands was s**t place to live. Made himself look like a idiot now. I think that is the ultimate kick in the teeth for us fans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted August 4, 2011 Moderator Share Posted August 4, 2011 I think people need to lighten up a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbojames Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Ireland has moved down here, i think i remember Gazton saying so, might be wrong. Didn't he say last year that the Midlands was s**t place to live. Made himself look like a idiot now. I think that is the ultimate kick in the teeth for us fans To be fair he's said worse about his grandmother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 4, 2011 Author Share Posted August 4, 2011 I do not think Mcleish is a yes man and equally I do not believe he has been told who to pick in the team specificallly. What I believe he has been told is to work with what he has. In that respect he must think it is better to try and get something out of Ireland than leave him on the bench doing jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwpzxjor1 Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Could he sign someone who'd progress us for the money he'd currently get for Stephen Ireland (about 3 million tops) ? Probably not. Can Stephen Ireland potentially be a good player again? Yes. I think he's hedging his bets on a 50% chance of success rather than a 5% chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieB Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 IIRC McLeish has comprimised with all of the NW Villains. You don't need to relocate your families - you just need to get a flat to live in near BMH when you're on duty. That was reason GH fell out with Warnock from what I gather and one or two others along with some of the squad objecting to some of his more petty rules. Overall the dressing room is said to be a much happier place this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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