Ireland

[PeterWithesShin]

I've noticed that he makes runs/plays balls that actually seem too clever for the rest of the team to anticipate. Hopefully they will get on the same wavelength sooner rather than later.

[Matt Collins]

I love the way whenever someone's not playing welll, fans immediately accuse them of not trying. It wasn't lack of application that was the problem, it was lack of confidence and touch

[Bosco81]

The team need to get used to playing with Ireland, he looks like he wants the ball in tight positions but doesn't always get the ball. There were times v Chelsea though when he went missing, he doesn't seem to do much when we haven't got the ball.

It's a bit early to say whether he's the new Sasa Curcic.

[Chris Smith]

He has clearly struggled but it would be daft to write him off after 2 months. He's having to adapt to a new group of players who in turn are having to adapt to a new manager and a new style of play. He was 6 inches away from putting us 1 up yesterday as he was against Chelsea. The biggest problem he's got is that Ashley Young is our best player and currently he is most effective in the area that Ireland wants to play. It's up to the manager to find a way to accommodate them both.

[PaulTheVillan]

Against Chelsea, he was continually getting frustrated at not getting the ball, constantly looking for it, and frequently making use of space to pop up in useful positions.

The problem was that we weren't getting the ball to him anything like enough. When we did, he invariably did something useful with it.

It seems more than a little harsh to write a player off after a handful of games having moved from a club he'd spent his entire career at. If a player consistently doesn't do it for us, then it's fair enough to have a moan at him, but it seems a little bit much to do so when the player has only been here five minutes.

We were doing the same at Downing last season, and - in my opinion - he has been our best player this season so far.

This.

[Salsa Party Animal]

Think Gerard should have a chat with Sven Goran Eriksson or Stuart Pearce to see if they can offer some suggestion to get best out of Stephen Ireland as they used to manage him at Man City.

Is Michael Johnson is the missing link ?

[PeterWithe]

Against Chelsea, he was continually getting frustrated at not getting the ball, constantly looking for it, and frequently making use of space to pop up in useful positions.

The benefit of Ireland doing this and then laying the ball off is that he forces the centre halved to come out of position to prressure him, unfortunately neither Carew or Heskey is mobile enough to take full advantage of this. I think we might not see the best of Ireland until Gabby is back, which in turn is pretty hard on Heskey.

[JUAN PABLO]

Harsh.. Give the player a chance....    hes a good player.

[Pete3206]

When Milner came back from Newcastle, I seem to remember that he struggled for quite a while and got quite a bit of stick. In fact, he never really blossomed at Villa until MON moved him into the middle.

Ireland is a very good player. Give him time.

[N'ZMAV]

A good pre-season is very important. Got a feeling we won't see the best out of Ireland until next season. Bit like Downing this season so far.

[Lambert and Payne]

A good pre-season is very important. Got a feeling we won't see the best out of Ireland until next season. Bit like Downing this season so far.

Never thought of it like that, but Downing came in very late, hopefully Ireland can make an impact in the coming weeks, cus you wont see much more onominus performances!

[Ads]

I think confidence is a factor too. There were two occasions yesterday, one in the first half and one in the second when Heskey had put him through, where he should have taken the shot on, but didn’t.

[Phil from the upper holte]

See Paul Merson, He was the best midfielder we've had in years but he didn't settle in straight away, Neither did Downing or Young or indeed Milner.

Give the bloke a break ffs

[VillaAlways]

See Paul Merson, He was the best midfielder we've had in years but he didn't settle in straight away, Neither did Downing or Young or indeed Milner.

Give the bloke a break ffs

This.I'm absolutely convinced he's going to be fantastic for us

[Matt C]

Didn't have a proper pre-season, didn't play much last season, adapting to new surroundings... He'll come good I'm sure but he'll need time.