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Stephen Ireland


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I do feel Houllier's treatment of him when he joined is part of the reason why he hasn't performed very well for us though

Eh??

What I said. Houllier publically slated Ireland, and I think that is part of the reason why Ireland has failed to perform for us.

He had a couple of quiet performances before Houllier came, but the whole team was in turmoil remember, and he wasn't anywhere near the only one playing badly then. I think he just needed a run of a few games in the team to find his feet and an arm around his shoulder. Circumstances, and then Houllier's outburst, left him little chance of succeeding. I wish him luck wherever he goes.

Poor poor Ireland , Jesus christ he's a man and a profesional , If I got a bollocking for not doing my job ( which Im not at the moment :-) ) and then kept on not doing it because my feelings were hurt because of the bollocking , I would be **** sacked !!!!! Get some nuts Ireland , Ghey boy !!!!!

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We know stuff has gone on between Ireland and Houllier, but we don't know the ins and outs or where to apportion blame. Whether it's Houllier or Ireland, there has been a falling out. Probably. It looks likely he'll be gone in the summer.

It's disappointing, although I don't rate him as a midfielder, I've a feeling he'd be an excellent forward.

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If he's fit I'd play him in the FA cup next to Makoun.

Bit of Fabien next to Makoun, Ireland in the hole...just to look into the 'future'...

Or even next to Makoun in that 'Pirlo' role. It would be his final chance to impress IMO. Then again, maybe behind Bent he'd play better due to the clever movement.
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We know stuff has gone on between Ireland and Houllier, but we don't know the ins and outs or where to apportion blame. Whether it's Houllier or Ireland, there has been a falling out. Probably. It looks likely he'll be gone in the summer.

It's disappointing, although I don't rate him as a midfielder, I've a feeling he'd be an excellent forward.

I have thought this for a while , I think he would make a good CF.

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If he's fit I'd play him in the FA cup next to Makoun.

Bit of Fabien next to Makoun, Ireland in the hole...just to look into the 'future'...

Or even next to Makoun in that 'Pirlo' role. It would be his final chance to impress IMO. Then again, maybe behind Bent he'd play better due to the clever movement.

Bent will be cup tied, though i see your point in general

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What I said. Houllier publically slated Ireland, and I think that is part of the reason why Ireland has failed to perform for us.

What a load of baloney. Gerard only said he needed to buck his ideas up AFTER he'd playe dhim. It's Irelands fault he's never took a chance to shine

You have to remember, Houllier, MaCallister and Sid see him EVERY day in training. If he's not doing the business there then they're not going to play him are they ?

Especially after he's wasted the chances he HAS had.

He's a useless clearing in the woods.

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What I said. Houllier publically slated Ireland, and I think that is part of the reason why Ireland has failed to perform for us.

What a load of baloney. Gerard only said he needed to buck his ideas up AFTER he'd playe dhim. It's Irelands fault he's never took a chance to shine

You have to remember, Houllier, MaCallister and Sid see him EVERY day in training. If he's not doing the business there then they're not going to play him are they ?

Especially after he's wasted the chances he HAS had.

He's a useless clearing in the woods.

Right so he's given one match and has to play well or he's publically slated? Like to see that repeated for the rest of the squad this season. Nice to see players allowed time to settle in, as ever.

Ireland clearly has mental issues. Personally I'm sympathetic to that kind of thing. But even if you're not, you should recognise that slagging off a player like Ireland in the press when they are lacking confidence is a bloody stupid thing to do, is never going to result in better performances and (if we have to resort to finances) is going to cost the club money, as well as the services of what could have been a very good player had they been handled better.

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What I said. Houllier publically slated Ireland, and I think that is part of the reason why Ireland has failed to perform for us.

What a load of baloney. Gerard only said he needed to buck his ideas up AFTER he'd playe dhim. It's Irelands fault he's never took a chance to shine

You have to remember, Houllier, MaCallister and Sid see him EVERY day in training. If he's not doing the business there then they're not going to play him are they ?

Especially after he's wasted the chances he HAS had.

He's a useless clearing in the woods.

Right so he's given one match and has to play well or he's publically slated? Like to see that repeated for the rest of the squad this season. Nice to see players allowed time to settle in, as ever.

Ireland clearly has mental issues. Personally I'm sympathetic to that kind of thing. But even if you're not, you should recognise that slagging off a player like Ireland in the press when they are lacking confidence is a bloody stupid thing to do, is never going to result in better performances and (if we have to resort to finances) is going to cost the club money, as well as the services of what could have been a very good player had they been handled better.

Great post.
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In Irelands defence, he joined when we were in turmoil. KM must have had his doubts because he only had a couple of cameo appearances (I know he wasnt fit), but the team just hasn't been settled at all, so its difficult to see where he would be a natural fit. I would honestly rather see Downing leave (or drop out of the 1st 11), Young move back to the left and Ireland find his feet 'in the hole' in a 4-5-1 or a 4-3-3. Whilst Downing is a decent player, and been one of our best this season, his purchase was always strange to me, Young hasn't really been the same since - surely if it ain't broke, don't fix it?

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Guest villantoby
May be a very good signing for us if he gets a run of games

Absolutely but is now the time? We need 11 players on the pitch doing their upmost to win games- Ireland has gone missing in several games for us! If we can win a few games back to back then hopefully if he is still here (which looks unlikely) then we can give him some games!

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In Irelands defence, he joined when we were in turmoil. KM must have had his doubts because he only had a couple of cameo appearances (I know he wasnt fit), but the team just hasn't been settled at all, so its difficult to see where he would be a natural fit. I would honestly rather see Downing leave (or drop out of the 1st 11), Young move back to the left and Ireland find his feet 'in the hole' in a 4-5-1 or a 4-3-3. Whilst Downing is a decent player, and been one of our best this season, his purchase was always strange to me, Young hasn't really been the same since - surely if it ain't broke, don't fix it?

This would make sense if there wasn't 2 very very big assumptions being made.

Firstly, for me, the assumption that Ashley Young intends to hang around here for more than 6 months is a huge one and one that we simply can't ignore. This to me would mean potentially flogging Downing and then involuntarily losing Young - leaving us up shit creek.

The 2nd big assumption is that Ireland will ever find his feet here. He got off to a bad start yes, circumstances that were not ideal. He has since had a bad middle and has shown zero signs that he is going to get back into the side in the short to medium term.

So to put the future of our midfield in the hands of people who could be a) off in 6 months and B) have shown zero desire to do anything other than pick up his cheque - is to me negligent footballing suicide.

The fact that we would be selling our player of the season in order to make this happen only makes a very dangerous idea even more so.

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My opinion on Ireland change day to day. I'd love him to click here and the signings of Bent and Makoun might give him a boost - good players and also new faces that might help him settle a bit more (I don't know). Then again, he's been poor and even though he hasn't been given a run of games to settle, I don't think he's deserved one from what I've seen on the pitch. His body language said he didn't want to be here.

I'd written him off, but maybe he'll start gelling now, one things for sure, he'll be more on Makouns and Bents wavelength then the majority of Villa's players.

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For me, unless we get offered 8m I wouldn't let him go not even on loan. He can do a job here for us from the bench in place of pires and prove himself if he doesn't then re-evaluate in the summer.

He needs to be given a proper chance not 5/6 games scattered around. He has been poor so far but the same can be said of many this season.

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Right so he's given one match and has to play well or he's publically slated? Like to see that repeated for the rest of the squad this season. Nice to see players allowed time to settle in, as ever.

ONE MATCH ?, He's made more than one appearance mate, and he's been **** useless in every single one of them. Are you suggesting that the staff should ignore his complete lack of effort and keep him in the side at the expense of another player who's willing to bust a gut for the shirt?. If so i'm glad you aren't our manager. You earn your place in a team, your transfer fee and 5 great months in your past career don't.

Ireland clearly has mental issues.

Then he should be seeking help with them and not conning a football club out of 70k a week as an alleged professional footballer.

Personally I'm sympathetic to that kind of thing. But even if you're not, you should recognise that slagging off a player like Ireland in the press when they are lacking confidence is a bloody stupid thing to do, is never going to result in better performances and (if we have to resort to finances) is going to cost the club money, as well as the services of what could have been a very good player had they been handled better.

Oh diddums. We all have to face criticism in our daily lives, its part of life and being an adult with responsibilities. He's no different to you or me in that sense. He's just a pampered baby who thinks he doesn't have to earn his keep. I'd prefer Houllier to give him the cane than talk about him personally. That may wake the feckless prima donna up.

Until he earns the right to wear the shirt again he can rot for all I care.

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