In this article am going to look at Ireland and offer my opinion on just what he can offer Newcastle United.
Everyone who follows the Premiership can remember Ireland at Man City where
his performances made him the most exciting young midfielder in the country. He joined the Manchester City as an 18 year old and made his way through the ranks before making his debut in 2005. He ended up playing 138 times for City and scored 16 goals. He really flourished in 2007 when he became the main attacking force in the team lead by Sven and then Mark Hughes at the beginning of the big money revolution at Manchester City.
Following the sacking of Hughes Roberto Mancini arrived at the club and immediately splashed the big bucks on players such as Nigel De Jong, Vincent Kompany and Patrick Viera which would limit Ireland’s opportunities especially as the Italian prefers a more defensive formation and often deploys two holding midfielders.
Ireland fell down the pecking order at City and was eventually moved on to Aston Villa as part of the deal that took James Milner to Man City. Ironically for Ireland he was the victim of managerial changes yet again as Martin O’neill – the man who wanted Ireland at Villa resigned 1 days after the deal was completed. Gerrard Houllier was never a fan of Ireland and again he found himself not wanted at his club.
Irelands arrival at Newcastle almost went unnoticed as the club was still reeling from Andy Carroll’s shock move to Liverpool. Stephen also arrived injured which meant his debut has been delayed until this weekend – the first weekend in March.
Controversy has followed Ireland's career and he has the reputation to be one of footballs ‘Bling boys’ - Pictures of the Pink rims on his Range Rover or his Full size Angel wings tattoo on his back not help him at all.
There was also the incident with the Republic of Ireland squad where Stephen lied about his reasoning to leave the squad. He was proven to had lied to the then Ireland manager Steve Staunton and he is yet to play for Eire since that incident.
However even with all this Stephen is still a quality player who will add a extra dimension to the Newcastle team. He can operate anywhere across the midfield and will most likely start off on the right side if Joey Barton fails to recover from his latest knock. His creativity will blend well with the steel of Tiote and the positional awareness of Nolan.
Stephen has claimed that he and Houllier do not get along due to personal reasons and maybe a change of clubs is just what he needs. Alan Pardew seems like a real man manager who will know that if Ireland is to perform he needs to be loved. Pardew will have no problem with putting a arm around Stephen and telling how much he is wanted at United.
If this can happen then we have a really good player on our hands. This loan deal gives us the opportunity to have Ireland on ‘trail’ and if this works out we should be able to pick him up at a very reasonable price in the summer. He is only 24 fits in with the clubs long term transfer policy. Stephen would easily have been rated at 15m in the current transfer market only if he can show any of that form from just a few seasons ago. The business side of this deal should appeal to Mike Ashley.
I would love to see Ireland play some part this weekend and hope that this
is only the beginning of what will a bright future at the club.
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| Ireland: Great potential at NUFC |
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