So who wants Stephen Ireland? Arsenal? Chelsea? Liverpool? Man United? Spurs? Villa?
Posted by Cathal Breathnach on February 11, 2010 | 23 Comments
Over the past four or five years, Stephen Ireland has, without a doubt, become one of the finest midfield talents in the Premier League.
The 23-year old played so well last season, he was nominated for the PFA’s Young Player of the Year award.
Despite not winning the award, Ireland was voted Manchester City’s Player of the Year ahead of the likes of Robinho and Richard Dunne.
This season things have certainly changed for the former Cobh Ramblers man. Since the arrival of Roberto Mancini at Eastlands back in December, Ireland is no longer a first-team regular. He has had to make do with sitting on the bench most weekends and I know the majority of you will agree with me when I say that Ireland is no bench-warmer.
A whole host of clubs have been linked with Ireland over the past 18 months including the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Chelsea. Many have commented that Ireland would fit perfectly into the Arsenal way of playing, however I personally believe he could fit into any team, he is that good.
I would be surprised if Ireland remained a City player beyond the summer, given the fact that Mancini seems to prefer the likes of Nigel de Jong, Patrick Vieira and Gareth Barry for the central midfield positions.
I have always been a big fan of Ireland’s and despite the fact I am a City fan, I really believe a move away from the club would do him the world of good. It’s never nice to see a player of such talent sitting on the bench most weekends so I think a move may be the best option.
What do you think? Where do you think Stephen will be playing his football next season? Comments below please.
Tags: Aston Villa > Chelsea > Liverpool > Manchester City > Manchester United > Stephen Ireland > Tottenham
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23 Responses to “So who wants Stephen Ireland? Arsenal? Chelsea? Liverpool? Man United? Spurs? Villa?”
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February 11th, 2010 @ 11:31 AM
You sure you’re a City fan?
Last two City articles I’ve seen on here are Shay Given is rubbish and sell Steven Ireland.
If you are a City fan then you need to get back on your pills.
February 11th, 2010 @ 11:33 AM
I am a City fan, I’ve been for years.
Also, I never said Given was rubbish, I said he wasn’t that good and also I didn’t say sell Stephen Ireland, I just said that I think the club will sell him.
Get your facts right Bluenose
February 11th, 2010 @ 11:35 AM
I think you will see Stephen at City for another season at least. We need options and the ability to be able to change games depending on whether we are winning and losing.
Ireland can change a game but he can go missing if not in his preferred position (attacking midfielder).
I would play him nearly every week at the moment but then all mancini needs this seasons are wins regardless of performance.
City will always score a goal or two so Mancini keeping it so tight this season is probably to ensure he is still there next season.
If he is, i think the pressure will be off a little more and we can open up again.
February 11th, 2010 @ 11:36 AM
Spot on Andy, I do think we should keep Ireland as long as we can because there is no doubting his ability, however I can see Ireland getting a bit fed up if things don’t change in the coming months.
February 11th, 2010 @ 11:53 AM
i think ireland will want first team football he isn’t going to sit on the bench when a whole bunch of top teams want him. it makes no sense to me why city signed vieria he’s been past it for years but if mancini doesn’t think ireland is good enough to play he’ll be gone
February 11th, 2010 @ 12:09 PM
how long do you think viera will last in the prem? your views on stephen ireland are way off the mark, as soon as he recaptures the form what got him player of the year at city he will be a regular. put your brain in gear before engaging mouth, repeat a few times and it will stick in there!!!!!!!!!
February 11th, 2010 @ 12:36 PM
we city fans will never want to see a prodigee like Ireland leave. he has been there since the academy and no city fan would let him go and if he is good for all the other top teams why isnt he good for man city
February 11th, 2010 @ 1:06 PM
I agree with you David, however I am saying that he might want to leave the club if he is forced to sit on the bench for the rest of the season.
Also, Wayne, I agree with you aswell. The Vieira signing was a bit strange in my opinion. We already have a wealth of midfield options at the club.
And Dessie 123, is your comment directed at me or Wayne?
Keep the comments coming
February 11th, 2010 @ 1:21 PM
[...] Ryan wrote an interesting post today on  Here’s a quick excerpt  Over the past four or five years, Stephen Ireland has, without a doubt, become one of the finest midfield talents in the Premier League. The 23-year old. [...]
February 11th, 2010 @ 1:22 PM
cathal i was wondering that aswell i wasn’t sure anything in my comments that would warrant such an attack by dessie 123 i would pick ireland over vieria 100% of the time,i’m wondering if theres a problem between them maybe ireland is upset over the hughes sacking.
February 11th, 2010 @ 1:46 PM
Horses for courses. There are some games in the PL that are just not suited to Ireland. Against Chelsea, United, Arsenal, Villa yes. True footballing teams. But when you bring on the cloggers, Bolton, Wigan, Everton at times, Hull and a few others, then Ireland goes missing.
We will keep Ireland because we are no longer a selling club. Tell me, how are the Rags, or Arsenal or Villa going to afford the price tag of over £20. Short answer. They can’t.
February 11th, 2010 @ 2:01 PM
[...] So who wants Stephen Ireland? Arsenal? Chelsea? Liverpool? Man … Share and [...]
February 11th, 2010 @ 2:14 PM
[...] Here is the original post: So who wants Stephen Ireland? Arsenal? Chelsea? Liverpool? Man … [...]
February 11th, 2010 @ 2:32 PM
@dave i have to disagree both teams haved showed they’ll spend money i don’t think 20 mill is out of the reach of either then you have other bigs clubs that are interested,i think the rumors about fabregas going to barcelona are true arsenal will have a big transfer kitty with the need of a midfielder.alot of great players that will go missing but one flash of brillance turns games.in de jong and barry both defensive minded midfielders you need that creative midfield link man.i think mancini is making a bad decision in this and it has to be a personel problem between them
February 11th, 2010 @ 2:36 PM
am surprised about the club’s attitude to ireland he is our best player by a country mile. why we haven’t built the team around is a mystery? he is a consumate playmaker, who can finish and isn’t afraid to tackle. players of his quality are few and far between. city need to wary of the interest from other clubs, he would make a great replacement for fabregas or scholes when either leaves / retires. and we don’t want to sell our best player to reinforce other clubs competing for champs league places.
February 11th, 2010 @ 2:36 PM
Ireland is just 23, give him one more season to show his skills for mancini and he will play first team football for a long time.
He has not improved in training i think
February 11th, 2010 @ 2:39 PM
Wayne, the point I am trying to make is that City are no longer a selling club. Ireland against the right teams is our creative midfielder. Against the likes of Bolton etc, you need the strong midfielders who will put their foot in and not shirk it. Ireland has been known to do this.
United are not going to buy him, they are skint. We will also not sell him to them or only as a package involving Rooney, (at a guess). Too much bad blood with Arsenal and Liverpool are on their last legs. Field is narrowing.
February 11th, 2010 @ 2:47 PM
@dave but if he’s unhappy and wants out then what would be the point of keeping him under hughes he was a regular,mancini a bench warmer and why bring in vieria something doesn’t add up here everyone knows how good he is and still young but i’m sure he wants to be a regular 11 pick.
February 11th, 2010 @ 3:57 PM
Wayne. My view is that there are very few players in our squad who command an automatic first team place. Tevez, yes, De Jong, yes, Bellamy, yes, then I get a little bit stuck Ireland is a super player when the game is played on the floor. Once it starts bouncing around, he’s a liability, just like Zabaletta around the penalty box. So, if “The Project” is to be as successful as we all hope, there will be plenty of games for him to play in the Champions League, against the likes of the Italian and Spanish teams, who all keep it on the deck. Why would he want to leave. When it comes to matches in the League and FA Cup against hackers like Stoke and Bolton, leave it to the hard nuts. Finally, I do not believe for a second that Ireland wants to leave, I think you will find it’s just another one of those stories we have seen all to often this season, spread a little muck, see what pops up.
February 11th, 2010 @ 7:01 PM
Here is a post I just put on the Shay Given thread, explaining why I think his preference for the long ball is adversely affecting the rest of the team, and why we need to play so many defensive midfielders to recover possession of the ball – to the detriment of SI amongst others.
“For me the real reason I’m on a downer with Shay, is that he gives away our possession of the ball far too cheaply, the issue with crosses is still important, but not as big an impact on the whole team and style/tactics as his preference for the long ball.
My benchmark for how I want us to play is the Barca way, which involves playing the ball swiftly from back to front, via midfield, and staying up top until we’ve scored, or come close.
Shay bypasses our defence and midfield, and in recent times, we’ve had no-one to effectively play the long ball game, not least because we’ve only had a lone striker up top, never mind the fact they’re usually small in size!
A whole host of strikers have come and failed in this system, and before Shay was here, Dunney was booting the ball up the pitch willy-nilly (and yes I blame him too for our lack of flowing play when he was here).
Sven couldn’t get the team to stop hoofing the ball, and neither could MH. The answer is to replace ALL the long ball merchants, or retrain them.
Our defence is constantly in danger of attack, there is no respite when we lose possession, and when we do get it, and pass back to Shay, he punts it again. This is bad for morale, unless you are the one who looks good from making last ditch tackles or spectacular saves, which needn’t have happened in the first place – then you get to be Captain, man of the match or player of the season – you sure as hell aren’t going to win any of these awards if you’re a midfielder or a striker who never sees the bloody ball unless it’s coming down out of the sky with icicles on it!
Our wingers suffer from the lack of opportunity from a quick break from a ball thrown quickly down the wing – SWP is most effective when he has momentum going – from a standstill facing an already organised defence he struggles, and I’m sure Robinho, for all his faults, could have done with better service than he got.
We have to have two or three defensive minded midfielders to win the ball back, when we lose possession, and so again the forward line suffers from lack of support, and they have to put a shift in too – thank God Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy put in the workrate of two players each, and are true world class players, without them we’d be fighting relegation again I fear.
So to sum up, a keeper can affect the entire team adversely if he is not proficient in all his duties, and this is why I would replace Shay Given at the first opportunity, until he has improved all his game to the level required for a top European team.
February 11th, 2010 @ 9:18 PM
A great player without a doubt. Just a pity he wouldn’t play for Ireland.
maybe he’ll come back playing for Ireland to try and force his way into the City side?
Either was, serious player. True talent.
February 21st, 2010 @ 6:43 PM
Stephen Ireland was the best player for city last season, this season he has failed to impress me and i seriously think he either needs to shape up or ship out. today against liverpool he couldnt make one decent pass! girly flicks after girly flicks, its all he ever did, it was like he had a bet with his mates to see if he could get on soccer am’s showbaot. he was dreadfull and finally came off to a much more appreciated player bellamy after 66 minutes. many of the fans around me were are so dissappointed with ireland when he plays, hes a shadow of his former self!
March 4th, 2010 @ 4:28 AM
Contrary to reports Rafa will be given £30million to spend this summer and his number 1 target Stephen Ireland will be moving to Anfield in a £16million move during the summer ,in a deal that could see Yossi Benayoun mive the other way, he will be the perfect replacement for Alonso,the player Aqualani was supposed to be ,I know he could still come good but Ireland would be perfect as he reminds me of Fabregas not as good but when he is playing well he can rip teams up and like Alonso he is a good playmaker who can also make a tackle and he could cover for Gerrard if he got Injured other Liverpool moves this Summer will be ins- Simon Kjaer £7million/Carlton Cole £11.5million/Leighton Baines £6million/Ashley Young £18million/ Joe Cole free/outs-Fabio Aurelio free-Valencia/ Ryan Babel £9.5million-Ajax/Alberto Aquilani £13million-Juventus/Phillip Degen £2.5million-Bayern Leverkusen/Yossi Benayoun £10million-Manchester City