Stephen Ireland

[tomd2103]

Yesterday was his best game in a villa shirt IMHO. He's done precious little for us in 3 years so I'm far from convinced at this stage.

I remember him having a really good game against Chelsea at home early on in Houllier's reign.  He played in that role just behind the striker and was superb. 

[PaulTheVillan]

Yesterday was his best game in a villa shirt IMHO. He's done precious little for us in 3 years so I'm far from convinced at this stage.

I remember him having a really good game against Chelsea at home early on in Houllier's reign.  He played in that role just behind the striker and was superb. 

he got MOTM in the 0-0 draw, should have scored a couple of minutes in.

Houllier never played him again

[Dave Javu]

He's playing better, but still not good enough (where are the goals?) - and I still think it will all end in tears.

[silhillvilla]

It will end in tears when he doesnt get his £3.5m per annum contract renewed.

[PeterWithesShin]

Be interesting what we do with him in the summer as iirc his contract will be up in the summer of 2014. Will we give him a new one or sell him while we can still get some ££ for him?

[eastie]

Be interesting what we do with him in the summer as iirc his contract will be up in the summer of 2014. Will we give him a new one or sell him while we can still get some ££ for him?

A lot will depend on how he performs the rest of the season , if he can rediscover his best form then he can be a top player here still but time is running out for him and if he wishes to get a new deal  then it's a big 6 months needed from him.

[john e]

Be interesting what we do with him in the summer as iirc his contract will be up in the summer of 2014. Will we give him a new one or sell him while we can still get some ££ for him?

he cost us 8 million quid or there abouts and is on big wages,
 but the question is who else would be buy for that sort of money who would be better than Ireland,
 obviously if he carries on and keeps improving his form so far this season i cant see us getting anyone much better, unless we go gambling on a younger up and comer and then your back in the 'lack of experience' argument.

Ireland for me is doing the bussiness, he's good, maybe not great but certainly making things tick at the heart of an attacking midfield, i cant see the point in letting one of our best players go (again)

i think he's turned his game round since he first game and is applying himself well,

 the player i would be more frustrated with is N'Zogbia,
 now there you have someone who cost more money, is on high wages and has done sweet FA since he arrived, i personaly think he's been dog shit, yet its always Ireland who 'has to prove himself' whereas N'Zogbia gets the 'there is a good player in there' treatment, well i'm not seing it,

he's the one to get rid of and not offer any further contract to, not Ireland

[tomd2103]

Be interesting what we do with him in the summer as iirc his contract will be up in the summer of 2014. Will we give him a new one or sell him while we can still get some ££ for him?

he cost us 8 million quid or there abouts and is on big wages,
 but the question is who else would be buy for that sort of money who would be better than Ireland,
 obviously if he carries on and keeps improving his form so far this season i cant see us getting anyone much better, unless we go gambling on a younger up and comer and then your back in the 'lack of experience' argument.

Ireland for me is doing the bussiness, he's good, maybe not great but certainly making things tick at the heart of an attacking midfield, i cant see the point in letting one of our best players go (again)

i think he's turned his game round since he first game and is applying himself well,

 the player i would be more frustrated with is N'Zogbia,
 now there you have someone who cost more money, is on high wages and has done sweet FA since he arrived, i personaly think he's been dog shit, yet its always Ireland who 'has to prove himself' whereas N'Zogbia gets the 'there is a good player in there' treatment, well i'm not seing it,

he's the one to get rid of and not offer any further contract to, not Ireland

I personally think both Ireland and N'Zogbia could be replaced with better and cheaper options.  When a player like Michu only cost Swansea £2m and is probably on nowhere near the money Ireland is on then it is clear that the quality is out there.   

[DrGonzo]

Well we got Benteke for £7m, none of us had a scooby who he was, what is to say there isn't the equivalent out there that we also don't know about.  For the money we have jizzed on Ireland's wages in the last 2 and a bit years we should expect him to be more than just starting to look like a player.  For me he's had every chance in the last year and still doesn't look that interested, if we can find adequate cover I'd say get him gone.

[Mazrim]

He hounded Scholes for most of the match on Saturday. He ran his arse off and tried to be involved all over the pitch. He was involved in one of the goals.
He looked pretty interested to me.

[QBVILLA]

He hounded Scholes for most of the match on Saturday. He ran his arse off and tried to be involved all over the pitch. He was involved in one of the goals.
He looked pretty interested to me.

Same here. Ireland has taken a lot of stick in his time at Villa, a lot of it justifiably so but credit where crdit is due. He's playing well and we are a better side with him in it.

[Matt Collins]

His performance at Stamford bridge last season was the best / classiest of any villa player all season. We're definitely a better side with him in it at the moment, because the formation we're playing suits him and us

[QBVILLA]

I think the difference between the Norwich and United games was our midfield line ups. Against Norwich Ireland and Bannan were both sat on the bench and we created hardly anything in the middle of the park. I don't think either KEA or Delph would have played that seemingly simple ball out to Agbonlahor which led to the second goal. Certainly not first time into his path which gave him that all important first yard.

[john e]

Be interesting what we do with him in the summer as iirc his contract will be up in the summer of 2014. Will we give him a new one or sell him while we can still get some ££ for him?

he cost us 8 million quid or there abouts and is on big wages,
 but the question is who else would be buy for that sort of money who would be better than Ireland,
 obviously if he carries on and keeps improving his form so far this season i cant see us getting anyone much better, unless we go gambling on a younger up and comer and then your back in the 'lack of experience' argument.

Ireland for me is doing the bussiness, he's good, maybe not great but certainly making things tick at the heart of an attacking midfield, i cant see the point in letting one of our best players go (again)

i think he's turned his game round since he first game and is applying himself well,

 the player i would be more frustrated with is N'Zogbia,
 now there you have someone who cost more money, is on high wages and has done sweet FA since he arrived, i personaly think he's been dog shit, yet its always Ireland who 'has to prove himself' whereas N'Zogbia gets the 'there is a good player in there' treatment, well i'm not seing it,

he's the one to get rid of and not offer any further contract to, not Ireland

I personally think both Ireland and N'Zogbia could be replaced with better and cheaper options.  When a player like Michu only cost Swansea £2m and is probably on nowhere near the money Ireland is on then it is clear that the quality is out there.   

its alright picking out the few succsses players that have joined the prem, but there are hundreds who have shown early promise and faded, like our own N'Zog who people were pleading for at the time, Hoillet who's now at QPR is another one who people raved about, havent heard much since.
Michu might well be the new best thing but time will tell, and for every Michu there are 3 or 4 failures

in Ireland we have a player who is regulary getting MOTM performances, playing his best football for us since he came, having an impact on the performances and generally starting to do the job for which he was bought,
 and people still think its best to show him the door and take a punt on another unknown in the hope he becomes better than Ireland, which i think the odds would be against

[supertommykN'iba]

Ireland may not have covered himself in glory when he first came here, but under Lambert I feel he's really starting to shine. How people can say he doesn't look interested is absolutely beyond me. He's absolutely loving it.

And for those people who say he doesn't close down enough, he isn't the best of tacklers... Do you really think Lambert is sending him out there telling him to close the man down at every opportunity? (Apart from against Scholes)

If he keeps improving like he has done, he will be a very good player for us and will deserve a contract renewal, whether it's costing us £60-80k a week or not. Just let him get there first.