Stephen Ireland

[Jarpie]

I agree that some fans have unfairly bad mouthed at Ireland, he came into the club which was in more and less chaos and without a manager. I don't think it's very easy to play when there's lots of expectations on him, and he is one of the most paid players in our club so there probably is lots of pressure on him to succeed. Even if they are paid lot of money, it doesn't make them superhuman or grant them sudden willpower and doesn't make them immune to abuse (if stories from the Man City are true) so he probably already came with the 'luggage'.

[chappy]

Some great posts today Gazton, I really hope SI comes back and shows us all what he can really do next season.

[Morales]

I think with all the off field problems that Villa were having when GH came in, must have affected Ireland. No one can doubt his quality, he just seem lost. I thought he looked fragile when he had his first press conference at Villa, thought he would burst into tears, when talking about his time at Man City. He obviously hadn't played alot of football, before he came to Villa, so GH is doing the right thing, by giving him time to get some first team football. I'm afraid its a straight choice between him and Young and there only one winner at the moment.

[Maradona10]

What Stephen Ireland needs is an arm around his shoulder, he needs to be treated differently to the other lads and i think with the situation we found ourselves in GH couldn't afford to do this that's why i think it will be better for him to come back in pre-season and start afresh. People will come on and say he's earning 60 to 70k, every club has different individuals but it's the way you handle them. Alex Ferguson is the master at it.

[Super-Villan]

And like I've said before, even if you want to look at it from a purely mercenary point of view, once we've bought a player with Ireland's problems, it's in our best interests to treat him in a way that gets the best out of him, otherwise we lose money as well as the use of a very talented player.

[Eric]

I agree with most of what you're saying Gaz and remebmer how long it took Stan to settle and I think he has been a great servant to the club. Before I give my final judgement I would like to give hllim a fu pre season and match fitness. And I think all supporters should give him chance if he comes back this summer and wants to fight for as spot in team. And it wouldn't hurt if then gave some kind of statment to the press about how much he wants to be in this great club (and of course meen it).

Sorry guys if my english isn't perfect, I hope you all understand what I am trying to say

[Eric]

What Stephen Ireland needs is an arm around his shoulder, he needs to be treated differently to the other lads and i think with the situation we found ourselves in GH couldn't afford to do this that's why i think it will be better for him to come back in pre-season and start afresh. People will come on and say he's earning 60 to 70k, every club has different individuals but it's the way you handle them. Alex Ferguson is the master at it.

+1

[Cracker1234]

I agree with most of what you're saying Gaz and remebmer how long it took Stan to settle and I think he has been a great servant to the club. Before I give my final judgement I would like to give hllim a fu pre season and match fitness. And I think all supporters should give him chance if he comes back this summer and wants to fight for as spot in team. And it wouldn't hurt if then gave some kind of statment to the press about how much he wants to be in this great club (and of course meen it).

Sorry guys if my english isn't perfect, I hope you all understand what I am trying to say

It's readable

[Bazdavies79]

We should never have gone near this guy, his head is wrong. I said so and he's been absolutely true to form. There's no way back for him now, he's playing for his next move.

[Rob182]

I don't think he warrants sympathy for his performances, I have accepted repeatedly that he has been poor.

He does not, however, deserve to be castigated and have people say he has been taking "the utter piss".

SI is guilty of not being James Milner, IMO.

I agree with a lot of what you say Gaz, except for the bit about him not being James Milner.

He got criticism, imo, for not trying hard enough on the pitch.

You can state occasions when he has tracked back and beaten Clark to the ball.. but when I've watched him, it's been clear that he's not putting his 'all' in. (Unless his 'all' is a casual jog around the pitch with the occasional run)

I'm a fan of SI and I'd like him to come good. But in some games, he would play a decent pass and then stop... As if he thought "that was good, I can rest now". Whereas he should play a good pass and then make a run forward to try and help the team further.

I don't think many people were expecting him to be a James "run all day" Milner. There aren't many players like him around. But he didn't look like he put in 110% once in a Villa shirt, imo.

[jacketspuds]

Hopefully Ireland will come back in the summer and GH, who already seems much calmer and relaxed about things, will integrate back into the team to our benefit.

Sadly I think there had to be a scapegoat to the terrible first few months of GH's reign and Ireland was that man. Easy target I guess.

Wish it was Warnock though, he can just **** off massively.

Nevermind.

[Rob182]

Ireland the scapegoat?!

What about Davies!?

He was loaned to the Championship, left out of the team photo, left off the Team Sheet on the website and it wasn't even on the website that we'd sold him.

Poor Ireland, off to Toon with their £35m..... spare a thought for Curt! Stuck with the scum and their Chinese hairdresser chairman!!!

[beasley14]

Ireland the scapegoat?!

What about Davies!?

He was loaned to the Championship, left out of the team photo, left off the Team Sheet on the website and it wasn't even on the website that we'd sold him.

Poor Ireland, off to Toon with their £35m..... spare a thought for Curt! Stuck with the scum and their Chinese hairdresser chairman!!!

Good summary of Davies year that!

[alienvillan]

What Stephen Ireland needs is an arm around his shoulder...

That won't help if the opponent is Yaya Toure.

[NorthEastVillan]

Interesting stuff on the NUFC site from Stephen. Obviously feels very hard done by. My advice Stephen is to show what you can do on the pitch or leave.

Sorry it's a bit long.

Your loan move until the end of the season was completed on the final day of the transfer window. What are your thoughts on joining Newcastle?

It's a massive relief to be here. For the last 18 months, I haven't felt part of anything. The team spirit, the team itself; I haven't felt like I've belonged to it. I felt a bit like an outcast at times, which was difficult of course for me personally.

It affected my confidence and my fitness. The last time I played 90 minutes must have been months ago, and before that it must have been months again. I haven't had a consistent run so it's been very difficult.

So I came here unsure of what to expect - but within the first 15 or 20 minutes, I knew that I had come to a good club with good morale, a good bunch of lads who are really close and tight together. And already, I feel part of it.

I'm going to the Arsenal game and that's going to progress it further. For me, being part of the squad and being part of what they achieve, will feel good and that's given me confidence instantly.

It must have been tough because you were Manchester City's player of the year the season before last, and then everything changed with the ownership and manager. Then you went to Aston Villa where there was also a new manager almost as soon as you signed...

Yeah, I went from being the player of the year to the new manager getting appointed and me not being part of things, basically. That's what it boiled down to.

Then I went to Aston Villa because I wanted to kickstart my career again and it kind of backfired again for me. It wasn't great. A new manager came in and the same thing happened. I just seemed to be out of favour without actually doing anything wrong on either occasion, so that was difficult.

But I'm thankful I've got the opportunity to come here and kickstart again from here, and I'm ready to do that.

The last time you were at St. James' was probably a day you'd rather forget. It was your Villa debut and you were on the wrong end of a 6-0 defeat. Are you hoping to create some better memories of the stadium?

I've always liked coming here. Two years before, I scored here (for Manchester City) and it was the equaliser in a 2-2 draw, and I was always a fan of the ground; the stadium, the structure of the whole club and the fanbase.

I was a massive fan of all that so for me to come here was a big positive. I'm happy to be here and hopefully there'll be no negatives and we can continue on a good run and finish off the season strongly.

Gerard Houllier has said that the door is still open for you to return to Aston Villa in the summer. What do you hope to gain from this loan move?

I guess only time will tell whether the door is still open for me. I know he has said that, but I don't know if that is the case. I'd been left out of several squads in a row, so I don't know if the door is open.

There were opportunities where I could have been in the squad, on the bench or played, but a regular left-back was preferred in my position so that was strange. But he's welcome to say that and I'm contracted to Aston Villa. As things stand, I will be returning there for pre-season.

If I put myself in the shop window with this opportunity that I have here, be it at Newcastle or somewhere else, I'll see what comes my way. But as far as I know I'll be returning for pre-season with Aston Villa and whatever happens over the summer period, I'll take in my stride when it comes to me.

From what you've just said, though, if there was a chance to move to Newcastle in the summer you would be open to it?

I feel really settled even though it's only been a week. I'm settled in my accomodation, I've been around the city a few times now and Leon Best has taken me out and taken me to his house. I do feel settled.

Obviously being injured at the moment is not good, but when I'm fit I think that will help me settle even more so I'm trying to get back as quickly as I can.

And when you are fit and playing again, what do you think you can bring to the team?

First and foremost I just want to work hard for the team, the squad, fight as hard as I can for the cause and win some matches.

Obviously if assists and good performances and goals come, that would be a bonus, but first and foremost I want to work hard for my team, my team-mates, and for the fans - to show them I can knuckle down and work hard. Hopefully I can bring a bit of flair and a bit of my ability to the team too.

:oops: :oops:

[dudevillaisnice]

I'd been left out of several squads in a row

Yes there is a reason for that Stephen..

[DeepDish]

So I came here unsure of what to expect - but within the first 15 or 20 minutes, I knew that I had come to a good club with good morale, a good bunch of lads who are really close and tight together. And already, I feel part of it.

Sounds like the family club bullshit he said about Aston Villa after escaping City.

[Daholteend]

The proof for Ireland will be in the playing and since he is injured that may not happen straight away.

The man has more doubts about him than Thomas doesn't he? We all know that a confident healthy Ireland can play football. Sadly we haven't seen that for various reasons in two years.

I would love nothing better than have Ireland return to the player he was and come back to Villa and be successful. However, he puts obstacles and doubts in his own way and until he learns to stop doing that I even have my own doubts

[MMFy]

I hope Stephen Ireland rescues his career somewhere, whether it be at Aston Villa next season or elsewhere. The guy has great talent and has proven it in his playing days for Citeh.

I have my doubts though, and feel he could be yet another naturally talented footballer who never applies himself.

Like Luke Moore and Stanley Victor Collymore.

[b6bloke]

From that I see that he does not want to come back, don't want to play for us then play your heart out for a move, get us our money back and **** off! The guy is a liability, he needs constant attention to his ego, esteem and anything else in his messed up head.

Everyone goes through traumas at some point that affect their insecurities later in life but there are ways of dealing with them with help, Stephen in my opinion is one of these guys that would beat himself up all day with mind talk if his wife forgot to tell him she loved him that day. Do you really want that type of person in the team who's performance that game was dependant on compliments he has or has not received that day, a bad write up in the press, a row with his wife or who goes into a downer after a bad performance.

In my opinion too much effort is needed to get the best out of him on a consistent basis and I would rather our coaching staff concentrate their efforts on the entire team rather than one player.

Its no coincidence that Stephen Ireland has played the "i'm a poor victim" story so often

I think if handled right he will have a good 2nd half to the season for them and they will WASTE their money on him but next season may be a different story depending on his frame of mind.