Stephen Ireland to Return

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"Stephen Ireland’s father has revealed his son intends to end his self-imposed international exile and make himself available to Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni in 2009.

The Manchester City midfielder, who has been hugely impressive so far this season, is believed to be ready to return to the fold after deciding to opt out of the international scene after the 2-2 draw away to Slovakia in September 2007.

Ireland’s father Michael, himself a former Irish U-21 player with 16 caps, believes his talented son is ready to play for Ireland again as the country bids to land a spot at the 2010 World Cup.

Speaking in today’s Irish Daily Star Sunday, the 39-year-old revealed: ‘The country needs him, he’s a good player and he’ll go back in his own time. He’s just focusing on his family right now and Man City. He’s keeping his head down, but he’ll be back hopefully next year.’

He added: ‘I would never put pressure on him but I’d love to see him at the next World Cup.’

Asked if he is considering a return himself, the Cobh-born 22-year-old added: ‘Yeah, yeah, but I’m trying to keep the head down at the moment.’

Ireland brought unwanted attention on himself when he asked to return home early after the trip to Slovakia and the Czech Republic after revealing to the media his granny had died.

However, it later transpired that he lied about his granny’s death because his partner had miscarried, and the subsequent media backlash resulted in him making himself unavailable for international selection.

His performances this season have earned him rave reviews and made him a candidate for the Young Player of the Year award and it is believed his creativity and quality in the final third could be the crucial ingredient as Trapattoni looks to guide his adopted country to the finals in South Africa. "

Someone needs to tell this cunt to fook off.

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The grandmother story was particularly implausible given she is probably only in her mid 50s seeing as his old man is only 39.

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For the sake of team spirit, Trap should ignore him, it would invoke an extremely tight trust between Trap and the squad.

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They weren’t great believers in contraception were they?

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His grandmother must have a real chance of becoming a great, great grandmother before she passes on. This time for real.

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In in the interest of pragmatism, I think he’ll be back and it doesn’t particular bother me, even though I don’t like him. International football means very little to most top pros nowadays, so it’s just another example of it really.

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To be honest we need him back in the set up if we are to qualify for South Africa…If we could get him and a fit and injury free Steven Reid back in the team we would a decent enough side…

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I’d agree with that. And I don’t really care much about international football so I personally don’t give a shit if he comes back or not either.

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People should also remember that just because he’s playing well for City dosn’t necessarily mean he’ll turn us into worldbeaters. In international football, there is no shortage of examples of players who’ve failed to turn club form into international form, and a couple are close to home for us.

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Agreed but he would surely be an improvement on the likes of Whelan, Potter, Gibson, Miller etc…

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In his spell with us under Staunton I thought he was excellent and is undoubtedly a very good player.

Where would Trap play him though? Probably on the wing?

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[quote=“farmerinthecity”]In his spell with us under Staunton I thought he was excellent and is undoubtedly a very good player.

Where would Trap play him though? Probably on the wing?[/quote]

If he were to return I’d like to see him play centrally as we are clearly far weaker there than we are outwide. McGeady and Duff are our two most creative players at the moment and we shouldn’t drop either of them. We have looked very uncreative in the middle. Don’t watch much EPL does Ireland tackle and track back or is he purely an offensive type player?

Personally don’t understand the level of apathy towards international football by posters on here. Matter of interest Sledge, Bandage etc did yee feel the same way when yee were younger like during USA 94 or Italia 90 or is your lack of giving a shit a more recent occurence?

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You misread me, I just don’t think top players feel much of a gr for international football these days, but I certainly do myself. Just not as much as I used to though (for various different reasons). I’ve only stopped going to home and away internationals in the past 6 months, and mainly for financial reasons.

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[quote=“larryduff”]If he were to return I’d like to see him play centrally as we are clearly far weaker there than we are outwide. McGeady and Duff are our two most creative players at the moment and we shouldn’t drop either of them. We have looked very uncreative in the middle. Don’t watch much EPL does Ireland tackle and track back or is he purely an offensive type player?
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Having seen Ireland a few times this season he would definately be an addition…Normally plays in a three man midfield for city with licence to get forward as the likes of Kompany or Hamann sit and hold the middle…He can cover the ground and likes a tackle, he wouldn’t be lazy in that regard but I don’t think he would suit Traps centre midfield type player…

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[QUOTE=Jugs;103820Asked if he is considering a return himself, the Cobh-born 22-year-old added: ‘Yeah, yeah, but I’m trying to keep the head down at the moment.’

I don’t profess to know much about this chap, but aren’t most of his issues either with his fuckin’ head or in his fuckin’ head.

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I enjoyed those World Cups larry and watch Irish games but I think more and more professional football players are placing far greater emphasis on club football and sometimes go through the motions in the international arena. That’s not to mention early retirements and withdrawals from squads due to phantom injuries so I find it hard to give a shit.

That said, I wouldn’t have really shed any tears over Irish defeats/draws in the past, even games like the injury time concession in Skopje. I think club sides playing way more often allows you to build up a real affinity with them. For me, international football’s just something to watch when there’s no club football on.

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Bandage you seem a little confused with regards to the 26 county representative side that you claim not to support. On other threads you refer to the Irish side as we, our etc.

I love international football. For me its the purest form of football. Its real kind of turn up and play mentality bit like school. It can take some of the closeted multi millionares out of their comfort zones and its always interesting to see how they get on. The atmosphere at a lot of the games is brilliant too. Nothing beats a feud at international level. They are always far more bitter.

Also international football is far from predictable. It can actually be pretty difficult to qualify for major tournaments. The championships themselves are always great occasions. The last European championships produced one of the best winners in recent memory. The great French side saw Zidane at probably his peak. I always put a great value in how good a player is depending on how he plays in a different environment. The successful international sides always have a fantastic team spirit better than anything at club level. In a money game those intangibles make watching football worthwhile. Zidane, Roy Keane, Figo, Ronaldo were all oustanding players for their country aswell. That for me is what made them truly great.

The World Cup and European championships are still the pinnacle of any player’s career. The quality in those competitions is and always will be better than anything at club level. The CL and Uefa Cup have been nothing short of Charity Shield esque in competitiveness so far. I for one go into a cocoon for the month that the championships are on. For all those who talk shite about international football, nothing can beat following your national side at a World Cup. If Ireland qualify for 2010 expect an exodus to South Africa.

I’ll ask anyone on here whats your favourite memory following football? If everyone is true to themselves it will one of Ray Houghton’s goals or McGrath v Italy.

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To be honest, KIB Man, I disagree with nearly all of that. Your heart is in the right place, to a certain extent, but the utopia you describe is so out of touch with the realities of the filthy business that is modern day football, it’s nearly worthy of a December nomination.

I wish things were like you say in that post, but the simple fact is, they’re not. Lifting the Champions League is the pinnacle of a players career at the moment. Top players, that is. I suppose the players who still care the most about international football are the ones who are playing for clubs unlikely to challenge for major trophies. And fans who care most about international football the most are the ones who’s clubs are not likely to challenge for major trophies either. Or, uniquely in Ireland, fans who care most about international football, by and large, are the ones whose concept of following a club involves jersies and big screens in pubs, rather than actually attending football matches.

As for feuds being more bitter - you are probably going to start waffling away about El Salvador or something - get over it, it happens about twice a century. If you want a feud, try looking over your shoulder everytime you walk into a pub in certain areas of your own city. Put it like this: “feuds” aren’t just for misty-eyed oul romantics and statto wannabe football geeks - some of us live through them day in day out, some of us are out making headlines while you’re in reading the paper.

If I’m “true to myself”, watching a Scot score for Ireland against England on TV doesn’t even come close to the buzz of the moments you have following your club around the country for a season. So until you have experienced both, don’t come on claiming to talk for everyone when you say that something you saw on TV as a nipper is your greatest memory while “following football”. What part of the country are you from?

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don’t think that has anything to do with quality or standard…a lot depends on your age…if you were a kid around the hype of euro '88 then yes houghton’s goal would be an abiding memory…but if you had a more of a developed mind back then and were say in your 20’s you could argue that watching the way Ireland played football back then could easily have turned you off the game…as far as quality goes Italia 90 group games v Holland and Eygpt, Norway in USA '94 would be very hard to sit through now…

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[quote=“Sledgehammer”] Put it like this: “feuds” aren’t just for misty-eyed oul romantics and statto wannabe football geeks - some of us live through them day in day out, some of us are out making headlines while you’re in reading the paper.

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Dear lord.