Ireland

[TonyM]

Ireland was a great player 2 seasons ago. No two players are identical but both Silva and Ireland have qualities that could be comparable and if he stayed I'm convinced that he'd have been a better player having Silva besides him. Or in other words he would learn more and be more effective with Silva than with Elano or Robinho.

I'd bet (ridiculous as it can't be known but) that had he stayed Silva would enjoy playing with him ... above say... Barry or Milner. Ireland has vision and Silva needs more than 1 player with vision to be effective. In fact I'd say that if Tezev was gone and we had a more traditional main striker, Silva would prefer to play with Ireland than Tevez. Tevez (like Bellamy) is a heads down player. Ireland (like Elano) is a heads up player.

He should have been our Iniesta. :-)

 

[Cheesy]

Ireland was a great player 2 seasons ago. No two players are identical but both Silva and Ireland have qualities that could be comparable and if he stayed I'm convinced that he'd have been a better player having Silva besides him. Or in other words he would learn more and be more effective with Silva than with Elano or Robinho.

I'd bet (ridiculous as it can't be known but) that had he stayed Silva would enjoy playing with him ... above say... Barry or Milner. Ireland has vision and Silva needs more than 1 player with vision to be effective. In fact I'd say that if Tezev was gone and we had a more traditional main striker, Silva would prefer to play with Ireland than Tevez. Tevez (like Bellamy) is a heads down player. Ireland (like Elano) is a heads up player.

He should have been our Iniesta. :-)

I was never really convinced by Stevie and I can't help but think that if he hadn't come through the ranks at our club people wouldn't rate him half as much as they do.

Think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one :-)

 

[Blue Haze]

I'm so fucking glad we got rid of him. The folks at Villa are horrified to find that the victimized refugee of Moneybags City is in fact a lazy tosser. They complain about his abysmal workrate, his inconsistency (he's been consistently awful for them), his nonchalant attitude, and the appearance that he wants to put in his 90 minutes go home.

Wish him the best luck in the world resurrecting his career. It's not going to happen unless he finds a passion for the game that he appears to completely lack. More likely, he's headed to the Championship because that's the caliber of player he is now.

 

[Dubai Blue]

The fact that Mancini couldn't "man-manage" Ireland and Robinho was a major disappointment for me.

Two players who constantly need cuddles and reassurances of how absolutely amazingly brilliant they are. It simply isn't Mancini's way, and why should it be? In Silva, he's brought in a player who is infinitely better than Ireland will ever be and at least on a par with Robinho on a good day.

And crucially, he doesn't seem to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown every other week and doesn't carry an ego the size of the moon around with him. Why put up with all the bullshit that comes with those two when there is someone better who will get on with his job without the need for constant attention?

I'll admit that I'm not sure where Balotelli fits into all this!!