Stephen Ireland - Who is he better than?

Not as good as :

Barton, Tiote, Nolan.

Better than:

Guthrie, Gutierrrez, Smith, Guthrie.

However, this is IF he's in form.

No, he is not better than Nolan, and as much people say Nolan lacks agility in pace, which in my opinion he doesn't really, he has scored alot of vital golas, and is our captain, so we should never drop him, unless we get someone in that will score the same amount.

I personally think in form, he's better than Gutierrez, but could he play left midfield? We need pace on atleast one of the wings, and dropping Gutierrez wouldn't help with that. So where is he going to fit in?

Is it worth paying high wages for another squad player? The only reason i could think he'd be usefull, is when Tiote gets banned for two more games, but that's it.

Why are we paying high wages for a covering player? We should have just kept Routledge, he was a good enough player to cover certain areas. To be honest, Routledge has looked good in his last few games for us, can't see why we lent him out on loan, but it's only fair for him, he's a cracking player and deserves game.

 

" We should have just kept Routledge, he was a good enough player to cover certain areas. To be honest, Routledge has looked good in his last few games for us, can't see why we lent him out on loan, but it's only fair for him, he's a cracking player and deserves game. "

 

I agree on where you're slotting him into the depth -- Nolan's done too much to lose his spot this year.
Do we really know what kind of wages we'll be on the hook for? If/when we hear about his wages, then we can talk about that. But I won't assume the worst, especially considering we've been holding out on giving high wages all window.

 

Routledge is a void player like Robert Earnshaw, Darren Huckerby and Nathan Ellington have all been at various times in the past ten years, where he's a top player in the Championship but left lacking in the top division. Letting him go isn't really a strange decision, as with Ben Arfa returning and us out of both cups he'd be unlikely to make many appearances, plus QPR can afford to pay money for him so there's sale potential. The loan is a good move.

As for Ireland, I believe he'd be playing behind Carroll if he moves, or alongside Tiote with Nolan beside Carroll. We already play 4-5-1 often enough, and while we started the season with Gutierrez and Routledge in that formation, I'd say that he and Ben Arfa would be taking those positions.

So he does improve the team if he works out, but it's not a necessary purchase.

 

To be honest Ireland is more TECHNICALLY gifted than Nolan but still can't compare with him in terms of being a ''proper'' pro with a great attitude, a leader on and off the pitch, is a true fighter, his goals ratio is excellent for a midfielder and we seem to play worst(most of the times) without him, so he's REALLY crucial to the team and is our captain fantastic without a doubt.

Don't mind Ireland but wouldn't replace him with anyone in the current starting line up(unless he does a ''Barton'' and plays LM or something like that)... a quality player on his day but unfortunately it hasn't worked out for him City but check this out for skill and technical ability :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmOKva_tBKQ

 

Surely this has been discussed in the thread directly below this.

 

you could have just added your comments to one of the two existing ireland threads, instead of making a new article

 

i didnt realise we had the guthrie brothers here, and what about gosling.

id rather have him in the middle when barton nolan or tiote are out that guthrie

 

I very much agree with this. Stupid in my opinion. Hope he gets games next season.

 

I think Routledge probably asked for the move, and rather than make a big thing of it, we let him go and that's why the replacement just has to be as good (if we get one).

 

I rate Ireland a lot, he was a smashing player for City until they were bankrolled.

At AV, he wasnt loved and obviously needs a move.

Its a shame you haven't signed him up, swapsies for Henderson? Anyone? I'll pick Ireland up and drop Henderson off?

 

Henderson? The guy Tiote had in his back pocket without even trying? No thanks

 

Ben Arfa tiote irland barton

noland carrol

to me thats ag good line up only got passers workers flair pace leaders winners what more do we neeed

 

I think our midfield selection and strength in depth with the addition of ireland is awesome, it doesn't hurt to have competition for places and ireland will give us something different. If he goes on like an idiot and doesn't pull his weight we can send him back. If he gets stuck in and regains his form we have a very good creative midfielder in our team.

 

We didn't even need Tiote the last time...

 

People seem to be questioning where Ireland will fit into our first team. I for one don't think he should/would walk into our first team, but we've got a high calibre player who only a couple seasons ago was man city's top performer. Sure he's lost his way a bit, and seems low on confidence/correct attitude, but surely the same could be said about HBA when he initially came or joey barton of old. This is a decent player we've got on our hands, and if his attitude stinks or doesnt perform, we simply wont get him on a permanent. However, he could play well and would be a welcome addition to our paper thin squad. Our first XI can certainly challenge against any of the top teams, but our squad depth thin (Perch playing DM against spurs!!)

IMO this is a decent bit of business, which could potentially be a great bit of business!

HWTL