Stephen Ireland speaks out

[Monksie]

So let’s respond, shall we? <takes deep breath>

Pink wheels.
That fucking fish tank.
Bling car for girlfriend.
Leaving your iPod - complete with emabarrassing 'content' - in a Manchester clothes shop cubicle.
A dead granny - who wasn’t. And then another.
Yer bling watch.
Bitching out of representing your country. They’ve now (rightly) written you off.
Underpants.
The Marx Brothers hair weave.
One good season. And even then you weren’t the fans’ player of the year.

A few retorts to your ill-formed opinions, Stephen:

“The family club I grew up in exists no more”
Yep, that’s the same family club that’s failed to win anything for three-and-a-half decades, Stephen. Look at all those world famous clubs, from Milan to Munich to Man United, from Liverpool to Barcelona to Real Madrid, even Juventus, Chelsea and Arsenal. They’ve all got one thing in common dear Stevie: you could never, ever call any of them a ‘family club’. Do you see?

“'What happens when Mancini goes? He takes his 50 recruits with him? The club's lost it's soul. And City matches are boring.'”
You said that after leaving, but kept schtum while you were here. And you know what? I could never be bored watching City stuff the hot shit out of whichever substandard outfit is loony enough to sign you up, Stevie. Ever.
Oh, and as for when Mancini goes, I don’t think anyone need worry about that for a very, very long time. Name me a single area - on or off the pitch - in which the club has not been improved. We are at least 30% stronger now than we were a year ago Steven. It would appear that “He got rid of everyone, even the cook left” is Irelandese for “he cleared out the deadwood with a vicious fervour and now the club works properly from top to bottom”. And that includes you, sonny Jim so don’t woman about it; just be a man and look to repair your own fading career and lifestyle, eh?

“I had contacts with #mufc, #lfc. #mcfc vetoed. I had to join a weaker team”
Oh boo-hoo: nasty, evil Siddy wouldn’t let lickle Stevie play for ‘Nytid or Liddypuwell. Strange however isn’t it that neither of your first loves came chasing you when Villa decided you were surplus, eh?

 

[jamiegrimble]

Same old agent spin....................
History..................
I 'snt it easy to blame everyone else?
The guy Wouldnt even make a championship first team now..........

 

[macmanson]

These "tweets" are actually quotes from an interview with French footy mag So Foot.

Hou wasted me at Villa

By STEVE BRENNER

Published: Today
Add a comment (0) STEPHEN IRELAND last night tore into Gerard Houllier, blasting: You wasted my time at Villa.
And Ireland also reckons Birmingham is a "rubbish" place to live and he could not wait to get away.

He was poised to make his Newcastle debut tomorrow against Everton after recovering from a knee injury that had kept him out since his January loan switch.

But, yesterday, the midfielder suffered a setback when he hurt his hip in training.

Ireland's rejection by Houllier still burns deep.

He made just six starts at Villa Park after his £8million move from Manchester City and said: "I expected to have Martin O'Neill as manager but he resigned the day after I arrived.

"So just like at City I found myself in a squad where the coach hadn't chosen me. After 15 matches on the bench Houllier told me to stay at home.

"One of the few times I played was in August, and I was man of the match against Chelsea, but that didn't seem to matter to him.

"Then again, I have nothing against Houllier. After all, he wasn't the one who chose me.

"One day though, Houllier asked me to come and live in Birmingham. I live in Manchester, and it took me an hour and a quarter to get to training.

"Birmingham is a rubbish town as it is, but on top of that I wasn't playing, so I wasn't going to make that effort."

Ireland, 24, is desperate to get settled at St James' Park but is also bitter at the way Roberto Mancini kicked him out of Eastlands.

He added: "I could easily have stayed with City for life.

"I wanted to become a hero there. Even Sheikh Mansour said I was his favourite player.

"Mancini never liked me. He wanted his own players, not Mark Hughes'.

"But he's got rid of everyone - even the cook left.

"The family club I spent nine years with does not exist any more. The club has lost its soul. The investors are playing a dangerous game, what with spending crazy amounts on average players.

"When you see Yaya Toure's wages. The next guy who comes along will never want to sign for £70k a week if the others are all on £200k.

"I saw Shay Given the other day, Arsenal want him but he can't go as City don't want to strengthen a rival.

"It was the same with me, I had contacts with Manchester United and Liverpool but City vetoed it."

Ireland cannot wait to get cracking under Alan Pardew on Tyneside.

Speaking to French footy mag So Foot, Ireland said: "All I really want is to play and for once I now have a coach who really wants me.

"But when I get back in there will only be about 10 games left this season.

"Right now I have no idea which team I will be playing for next season."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...rs-into-Aston-Villa-boss-Gerard-Houllier.html

Sounds like a pretty jaded guy. I hope he's able to find a team to get back to playing regularly.

-- Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:24 pm --

The other article that his "tweets" came from:

Reports Ireland goes on the attack

Stephen Ireland: not shy about leaving his mark. Photograph: Joern Pollex/ Bongarts/Getty ImagesIn this section »
MATT SPIRO

SOCCER: STEPHEN IRELAND has launched an astonishing attack on the Republic of Ireland, Giovanni Trapattoni and his hometown Cork in an explosive interview with a French magazine.

The Newcastle midfielder, who last represented Ireland in September 2007, said he had “better things to do” than play for Ireland, labelled Trapattoni “the most arrogant man” he has met, and added he would rather shoot himself than live in Cork.

Ireland has not played international soccer since he famously pulled out of an important Euro 2008 qualifier against the Czech Republic having made incorrect claims about the death of his grandmother(s). Although that sorry episode is in the past, the 24-year-old insists there is no chance of him wearing the green shirt again.

“I won’t come back,” Ireland told So Foot magazine. “I feel nothing for the national team. I don’t feel at all guilty when they lose and when they win I never say ‘oh dear, I could have been there’.

“Even if Ireland had qualified for the World Cup I wouldn’t have gone. People are calling for me to return, but I only ever played five games guys!”

Having turned out for Ireland at various youth levels, the former Manchester City playmaker made an immediate impact in the senior side, scoring four goals in six appearances. However, he said he rarely enjoyed the international experience and suggested the fall-out from the Czech match was merely “a good excuse” to retire.

“International soccer doesn’t interest me,” he said. “Going away for three days to play in Andorra – I’ve got better things to do.

“Also, when you’re Irish you know you’ll never win the World Cup. Even when I played for the youth teams, I got fed up at having to go away. Everyone else was from Dublin and I came from Cork. I had to get the train on my own, pay for a taxi, there was no hotel, no food. The organisation was amateurish.”

There seemed to be a possibility of Ireland returning when he was called in for talks with Trapattoni, yet the player was none too impressed by the meeting. “I’ve never seen anyone so arrogant,” Ireland scorned. “I met him once. He was taking calls every two minutes and made me hang around for 15 minutes in his office.

“In the end, he said, ‘if you want to play then come, if not, it’s no problem’. He did that mainly so the press would leave him in peace.

“Foreign coaches, they’re no good,” Ireland added.

The midfielder did not restrict his tirade to the national team. He also expressed strong views on Ireland’s economic crisis and laughed off suggestions he may one day return to live in Cork.

“Ireland is reaping what it sowed,” he said. “We built blocks of flats just for the sake of it and now there’s no one inside them. It cost huge amounts of money and nobody is in a position to pay. But I don’t care about Ireland. I don’t know if I’ll go back one day. Live in Cork? I might as well shoot myself. I prefer Los Angeles.”

Ireland’s club career has been faltering. He left City for Aston Villa last year but was sold on by Gérard Houllier in January after just 10 matches. In line to make his Newcastle debut against Everton tomorrow, Ireland will be looking to prove a point to the City manager Roberto Mancini.

“Mancini never liked me. He’s doing everything wrong. He got rid of everyone at the club – even the cook left. The family club I spent nine years with exists no more. What happens when Mancini goes? He takes his 50 recruits with him. Also, since he’s been there City matches are incredibly dull.”

So Foot is a respected monthly French soccer magazine renowned for taking an alternative look at the sport. The Ireland interview is in today’s edition.

TALKING HEAD: A case study

“I’ve never seen anyone so arrogant. I met him once. He was taking calls every two minutes and made me hang around for 15 minutes in his office.”

– Ireland on Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni

“Mancini never liked me. He’s doing everything wrong. He got rid of everyone at the club – even the cook left. The family club I spent nine years with exists no more.”

– Ireland on City manager Roberto Mancini

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2011/0304/1224291281248.html

It would be interesting to see what the entire article french magazine article looked like.

-- Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:33 pm --

3rd interpretation of the french article, with the quotes slightly altered. Sounds like there has been some interpretation from the french mag article.

STEPHEN IRELAND: MY ASTON VILLA HORROR

Stephen Ireland claims he was unfairly booted out by Villa manager Gerard Houllier
Friday March 4,2011
By David Barnes Have your say(0)

STEPHEN IRELAND has revved up for a possible loan debut for Newcastle tomorrow with a blast at his club Aston Villa and his country.

Ireland, who is rated a 50-50 chance to face Everton at St James’ Park, claims he was unfairly booted out by Villa manager Gerard Houllier.

He even says he had to pay for medical treatment from his own pocket during his spell there and that he was the best player during training despite being told to stay at home on match days.

Ireland said: “After 15 matches on the bench Houllier told me to stay at home. I trained during the week and on Fridays he told me, ‘no point your coming, you are not in the team’.

“Yet I was the best player in training. It was my team that won in every session. One of the few times he played me, we drew 0-0 at Chelsea and I ended up man of the match.

“Apparently that didn’t matter to him. I was stuck with being paid for doing nothing at all. I was left to myself. I had to pay out of my own pocket for medical treatment. Can you believe that?”

Ireland says he was also unhappy at being singled out over requests to move house from Manchester.

“Houllier asked me to come and live in Birmingham because it was taking me 75 minutes to come to training. But there were 15 players in the same position as me. Some came from London and took more than two hours, but he only asked me to move.

“For a start, Birmingham is a c**p city and I wasn’t going to make the effort, especially as I wasn’t playing. Might as well be in Manchester if I had to stay home on match days.

“I don’t bear Houllier any grudges, it wasn’t him who chose me after all.”

Ireland, who made his remarks to French magazine So Foot, is desperate for action. He last played for Villa against Liverpool in December.

He added: “I just want to play and have a manager who really wants me for once. I have no idea at the moment who I will be playing for next season. My future is unclear.”

He also claims he would rather shoot himself than return to his native Cork.

Ireland, who turned his back on the Republic’s team four years ago, has even suggested the country deserves the economic chaos into which it has plunged.

“Ireland is only reaping what it has sown,” he said. “They have put buildings up just for the sake of it and, in the end, no one lives inside them. That has cost a huge amount of money.

“But I don’t give a damn for Ireland. Live in Cork? Rather shoot myself. I prefer Los Angeles.” And he made crystal clear his determination to never wear his country’s shirt again. “Even at youth level, it p****d me off to go there,” he said. “Everyone came from Dublin. I was the only guy from Cork. I had to take the train on my own, pay for a taxi, there was no hotel, no grub. It was handled so amateurishly.

“National teams don’t interest me. I have more to do than go off for three days to play Andorra. And when you are Irish, you are well aware you’ll never win the World Cup.

“I feel nothing for the team. I absolutely don’t feel guilty when they lose and, when they win, at no time do I think I could have been there.

“Even if Ireland had qualified for the World Cup, I wouldn’t have gone. People call for my return, but I have only played five times for them. The national team and me are ancient history.”

Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/232528Stephen-Ireland-My-Aston-Villa-horror#ixzz1FaetNei3

<br /><br />-- Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:36 pm --<br /><br />and a 4th interpretation:

Ireland: I’d rather shoot myself than live in Cork
By Ben Lyttleton

Friday, March 04, 2011

STEPHEN IRELAND is at the centre of another controversy today after allegedly declaring he would rather "shoot himself" than return and live in his native Cork.

In another no-holds-barred interview, this time for a French magazine, the Newcastle player hasalso ruled out a return to the Irish national set-up, declaring the Ireland set-up as "amateurish" and Giovanni Trapattoni as "arrogant".

The midfielder, who has just moved on loan to Newcastle, also hit out Roberto Mancini, Manchester City and Gerard Houllier in the interview, published in So Foot magazine in France today. Ireland revisited the lies he told about his grandmothers having died back in September 2007 and claimed they were "a pretext".

"International teams don’t interest me. As it is, a season lasts more than 60 matches, so to go off for three days for a game against Andorra, I’ve got better things to do," he said.

"When you’re Irish, you know very well that you’re never going to win the World Cup, and even when I was in the youth teams, it used to piss me off to have to go. Everyone came from Dublin and I was the only one from Cork. I had to take the train on my own, pay for a taxi, there was no hotel, no food, and it was run in a very amateurish way.

"Ireland just reaps what it has sown. We’ve built buildings just for the sake of it, and at the end of the day no-one lives inside them. It costs a huge amount of money and no-one can pay it back. But I don’t care about Ireland. I really don’t know whether I will ever go back there one day. I’d rather shoot myself than live in Cork. I prefer Los Angeles."

Ireland also laid into coach Trapattoni, saying: "I have never seen anyone so arrogant. I met him once, he was on the phone every two minutes and he left me hanging around in this office for a quarter of an hour.

"In the end, he said, ‘If you want to come and play, fine, if you don’t, no problem’. He did that in reality just so the media would leave him alone."

Ireland, who met with a journalist from So Foot magazine, then turned his anger on City and the manner in which he was pushed out of the club. "Mancini never liked me, he wanted his own players, and that’s fair enough. But he’s gone too far, he’s got rid of everyone, even the cook left. The family club I spent nine years with does not exist any more. What’s going to happen when Mancini leaves? Will he take the 50 people he brought in with him? And ever since he’s been there, City’s matches have become as boring as hell. The club has lost its soul."

Last summer, Ireland moved to Aston Villa — only because City stopped him talking to Manchester United and Liverpool, he claimed — but one day after he signed, coach Martin O’Neill resigned from his position, leaving Ireland with a coach, Houllier, who had not chosen him.

"After 15 matches on the bench, Houllier told me to stay at home," he explained. "I would train all week and on Friday he would say, ‘It’s not worth coming, you’re not in the team’. That’s even though I was best player in training, that didn’t seem to matter to him. But I have nothing against Houllier, after all, he wasn’t the one who chose me."

Ireland has moved to Newcastle for the rest of the season but his comeback from injury this weekend could be put on hold after Magpies boss Alan Pardew yesterday confirmed Ireland was suffering from a thigh strain.

"We’re a little concerned about him," Pardew said. "You get that when you come back from lay-offs, it’s something we’ll police between now and Saturday."

Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/home/i...f-than-live-in-cork-147145.html#ixzz1FafXgdUm

Sounds like quite a jaded fella in all those though.

 

[LongsightM13]

Jeez, he really comes across as a deluded, ignorant, arrogant prick in those extracts. What an absolute tool. He has not an ounce of self awareness. I honestly think he has mental health issues.

 

[pominoz]

I think he should get someone to read this to him

 

[bluethai]

ha ha ha such a deluded nutter...

 

[Sigh]

"Sheikh Mansour said I was his favourite player."

Delusional.

By the time he's fifty he'll be wandering around Bredbury making seagull noises, clicking his fingers at strangers,
and telling people to have nothing to do with yellow shoes as yellow shoes hear everything.

 

[Spiros]

"But he's got rid of everyone - even the cook left.

Joe Hart
Shay Given
Vincent Kompany
Micah Richards
Kolo Toure
Dedryck Boyata
Pablo Zabaleta
Joleon Lescott
Nigel De Jong
SWP
Gareth Barry
Carlos Tevez
Ahem.....Jo

SO yeah, he really 'got rid of everyone' didn't he?<br /><br />-- Fri Mar 04, 2011 4:56 am --<br /><br />By the way, massive hahas at Sigh's post from above! HAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[edgecroft]

So to summarize, no team he has ever played for is any good and nobody has ever given him a proper chance.

If it wasn't for City killing the deal, he'd be playing for the team of his dreams, Manchester United. Whoever killed the deal was insane, we'd be much closer to the top right now. Subtraction by addition.

 

[mcfc4title]

He's a JERK enough said! We've moved on.