Stephen Ireland

[Ghost of Pongo Waring]

I really want Lambert to succeed but he doesn't half make things difficult for himself, the squad is paper thin, why on earth would he want to ostracise one of the few senior pro's we have? He's not going anywhere till the summer and we are still paying his wages, he may come in useful.

The voice of reason.

If Lambert has made Ireland train with the kids then it wouldn't be just on a whim, there would be a reason why he's done it. If you don't know the reason you can't say he was wrong, or right, to take those steps.

[eastie]

It's funny how all the players that have been given the cold shoulder over the last couple of years are the ones on the most money. Anyone who thinks its nothing more than an amazing coincidence is off their rocker.

Exactly!

I dont really see this as whether playing or not they are still on the wage bill , its not as if  freezing them out is taking them off the wage bill.

[supertom]

I really want Lambert to succeed but he doesn't half make things difficult for himself, the squad is paper thin, why on earth would he want to ostracise one of the few senior pro's we have? He's not going anywhere till the summer and we are still paying his wages, he may come in useful.

Why?  Because he's shit, has taken the piss and we're better off without his attitude disrupting things.

And because of the above, he won't be useful.

Yep. And as N'Zogbia has proved. If you play well and work hard and show a willingness to fight for the Villa cause, you'll get your chance.

Lambert has been more than fair to most of these. Okay, he didn't give Warnock or Hutton a shot, but off the back of last season, you can't blame him there. I recall Warnock was typically bobbins in pre-season too, which had a bearing on how things turned out.

What I will say though, is that freezing players out to force them out the club isn't the best way. I don't think Randy's behind that part persay. He desperately wants to sell these players yes, but I don't see him picking the teams by any stretch. A- Because he's not here and B- He doesn't have a fucking clue about football.
The best way to sell a player is to have them on the pitch doing well. With certain players on our books, that just aint gonna happen.

[Concrete John]

It's funny how all the players that have been given the cold shoulder over the last couple of years are the ones on the most money. Anyone who thinks its nothing more than an amazing coincidence is off their rocker.

It's not that funny when you look at the performances of the players in question and realise they've been awful and the general consensus from the fans was that they should be dropped/sold/used for Findus Lasagne.

Possible exception to that is Bent.

[walsall villain]

It's funny how all the players that have been given the cold shoulder over the last couple of years are the ones on the most money. Anyone who thinks its nothing more than an amazing coincidence is off their rocker.

Just can't agree in the case of Ireland. He seems to have split the fans into two camps. I am in the camp that he is a very poor player. He has had brighter moments but from memory they are often against lower league teams in cups. I haven't forgotten Chelsea away last year but that was a rare day. When he first came I recall that he was close to scoring once or twice, perhaps that's what he needed to do to settle in but it never happened. I also recall him watching the opposition stroll past him from 5 yards away (remember Sasa Curcic? Same vein). He has tried to work harder but he just doesn't deliver for me.
It's all about opinions but I would have paid him off an age back. I know what you are saying about the high earners, point taken, but in his case don't think that's the reason.

Exactly!

[eastie]

It's funny how all the players that have been given the cold shoulder over the last couple of years are the ones on the most money. Anyone who thinks its nothing more than an amazing coincidence is off their rocker.

It's not that funny when you look at the performances of the players in question and realise they've been awful and the general consensus from the fans was that they should be dropped/sold/used for Findus Lasagne.

Possible exception to that is Bent.

Given also should be an exception.

[PeterWithe]

I really want Lambert to succeed but he doesn't half make things difficult for himself, the squad is paper thin, why on earth would he want to ostracise one of the few senior pro's we have? He's not going anywhere till the summer and we are still paying his wages, he may come in useful.

Why?  Because he's shit, has taken the piss and we're better off without his attitude disrupting things.

And because of the above, he won't be useful.

Most of them are shit or that's what they've shown for the bulk of the season. The opportunity to bring in less shit players has been and gone and what we are left with has to keep us up, why reduce that pool of players? Cant he fucking manage people without casting them off to the youth team?

[eastie]

I really want Lambert to succeed but he doesn't half make things difficult for himself, the squad is paper thin, why on earth would he want to ostracise one of the few senior pro's we have? He's not going anywhere till the summer and we are still paying his wages, he may come in useful.

Why?  Because he's shit, has taken the piss and we're better off without his attitude disrupting things.

And because of the above, he won't be useful.

Most of them are shit or that's what they've shown for the bulk of the season. The opportunity to bring in less shit players has been and gone and what we are left with has to keep us up, why reduce that pool of players? Cant he fucking manage people without casting them off to the youth team?

His man management skills do seem questionable.

[Ron Manager]

I really want Lambert to succeed but he doesn't half make things difficult for himself, the squad is paper thin, why on earth would he want to ostracise one of the few senior pro's we have? He's not going anywhere till the summer and we are still paying his wages, he may come in useful.

The voice of reason.

If Lambert has made Ireland train with the kids then it wouldn't be just on a whim, there would be a reason why he's done it. If you don't know the reason you can't say he was wrong, or right, to take those steps.

No we dont know but he should at least be training with the reserves just in case of late injuries. Also Lambert had no complaints about Huttons attitude and dedication to training (he said so) but he still had to train with the youths.

[Fasth56]

It is my opinion that Ireland has had the chance to prove his worth to Villa. Anybody with half a brain cell would have seen the seen the situation as one where he could become the senior player at the club and sit in midfield to work and dictate the play. He would have been the senior professional that we lack in the middle of the park. However at Villa park he was overshadowed by a 36 year old journeyman currently plying his trade in the fourth division who made him look like a Birmingham AFA player. Personally I would offer him a percentage of his remaining obscene salary and feck off to wherever he wants.

[Concrete John]

I really want Lambert to succeed but he doesn't half make things difficult for himself, the squad is paper thin, why on earth would he want to ostracise one of the few senior pro's we have? He's not going anywhere till the summer and we are still paying his wages, he may come in useful.

Why?  Because he's shit, has taken the piss and we're better off without his attitude disrupting things.

And because of the above, he won't be useful.

Most of them are shit or that's what they've shown for the bulk of the season. The opportunity to bring in less shit players has been and gone and what we are left with has to keep us up, why reduce that pool of players? Cant he fucking manage people without casting them off to the youth team?

Shit is one thing, not trying/caring is another.

Yes he can manage players, as has been shown with Charlie, but it does take firstly a little inclination from the player to want it.  Ireland doesn't want it, so the pool becomes stronger for taking the piranha out of it. 

[supertom]

I really want Lambert to succeed but he doesn't half make things difficult for himself, the squad is paper thin, why on earth would he want to ostracise one of the few senior pro's we have? He's not going anywhere till the summer and we are still paying his wages, he may come in useful.

Why?  Because he's shit, has taken the piss and we're better off without his attitude disrupting things.

And because of the above, he won't be useful.

Most of them are shit or that's what they've shown for the bulk of the season. The opportunity to bring in less shit players has been and gone and what we are left with has to keep us up, why reduce that pool of players? Cant he fucking manage people without casting them off to the youth team?

His man management skills do seem questionable.

Who has been cast off in the youth team who we could use? Ireland's a liability. Dunne's injured. Given is on the bench because Guzan is playing very well.

[Greg N'Ash]

It's funny how all the players that have been given the cold shoulder over the last couple of years are the ones on the most money. Anyone who thinks its nothing more than an amazing coincidence is off their rocker.

Riiggghhhtt.....so the club's plan was to lower the wage bill by not using these players and therefore making them virtually unsellable to anyone? They would have been much easier to get off the wage bill if they were playing regularly and attracting interest, rather than moping around with the youth players.

[LeeB]

Apparently Pubehead agreed it before walking out and the club felt honour bound to stick with the deal.

Well Pubehead left 2 weeks before the Milner deal went through - i know you don't like him but lets not blame him for a signing that happened more than 2 weeks after he'd left.  That's totally down to the people in charge of the club.

nothing to do with disliking him. It's what the General said at the time and it makes more sense than the club buying players for a manager who they haven't appointed. My guess is they agreed in principle for Ireland to be part of the Milner deal, but it took a while for Ireland to agree his pay-off with Citeh. hence the delay

Ok well even if your account is correct surely all signings should have been called off, especially those involving player swaps, the second MON flounced out the door.  Tough shit if a deal had been agreed, the bloke who agreed it is gone.

well hindsight is a wonderful thing. From memory with the noticable exception of Chris Smith everyone wanted him. Looking back he deffo had "form" at Citeh for being trouble but most on here were swayed by his performances. Also, how would us pulling out have affected the Milner deal as although the two deals were seperate officially it amounted to Citeh paying less in cash for Milner. Would Milner have come back or would we have been in a situation of a very unhappy player seeing his dream move scuppered?

I didn't want him, and made it clear at the time.

For me, he's lower than Hodge.

[Greg N'Ash]

Apparently Pubehead agreed it before walking out and the club felt honour bound to stick with the deal.

Well Pubehead left 2 weeks before the Milner deal went through - i know you don't like him but lets not blame him for a signing that happened more than 2 weeks after he'd left.  That's totally down to the people in charge of the club.

nothing to do with disliking him. It's what the General said at the time and it makes more sense than the club buying players for a manager who they haven't appointed. My guess is they agreed in principle for Ireland to be part of the Milner deal, but it took a while for Ireland to agree his pay-off with Citeh. hence the delay

Ok well even if your account is correct surely all signings should have been called off, especially those involving player swaps, the second MON flounced out the door.  Tough shit if a deal had been agreed, the bloke who agreed it is gone.

well hindsight is a wonderful thing. From memory with the noticable exception of Chris Smith everyone wanted him. Looking back he deffo had "form" at Citeh for being trouble but most on here were swayed by his performances. Also, how would us pulling out have affected the Milner deal as although the two deals were seperate officially it amounted to Citeh paying less in cash for Milner. Would Milner have come back or would we have been in a situation of a very unhappy player seeing his dream move scuppered?

I didn't want him, and made it clear at the time.

For me, he's lower than Hodge.

apologies lee. i'm sure there were others who weren't keen, but the vast majority wanted him in at the time. I mentioned Chris because at the time he got a lot of stick for saying he didn't want him.