Ireland & his shackles

[Goataldo]

Hopefully he'll get a run at it and prove himself.

[btajim]

I haven't seen any highlights of todays Match yet so I'm speaking with a great deal of assumption here. If Ireland was played in a preferred position on the pitch yet he didn't put any effort in then we have a serious problem. He was reasonable under Pearce, quiet under Sven, excellent under Hughes and now quiet under Mancini. Is he unable to motivate himself or deal with change?

[carl_feedthegoat]

Lacks confidence?

Not been given license to 'play' much like he was today, and didn't exactly grasp the nettle. That pass he took in the box and then turned away from goal with, kinda put the stamp on his performance which is a shame, I hope he gets more chances to play in teh avanced role, he has such quality but needs his fragile ego massaging/managing carefully.

Dunno if it's the manager's fault, Ireland's fault, or our maybe our masseur.

How dare you even consider blaming the masseur! :) What struck me was the fact that he hardly ever through the game had the ball at his feet facing the opposition goal. To a degree that's going to happen when you are playing in an advanced role aginst a defensively set up team.But he seems to lack enough awareness of what is around him so that at times where he had a yard or two of space he didn't know and just laid the ball off.

Even when he is marked tight he needs to be able to retain possession with a quick move to the side. Knowing he has a man tight on him he shoudl be able to do that at least every so often but he doesnt seem to try it. Surely it's a confidence thing as if not then he lacks some of the ability which is essential to playing that role. I found it a worrying display today.

HE MAKES NO REAL EFFORT TO TACKLE ANYMORE AND THATS DOWN TO HIM AND HIM ALONE NO MATTER WHERE HE,S PLAYING.

[Kiss_The_Goat]

And that miss, was pathetic and not offside.

[Ted Hughes]

Lacks confidence?

Not been given license to 'play' much like he was today, and didn't exactly grasp the nettle. That pass he took in the box and then turned away from goal with, kinda put the stamp on his performance which is a shame, I hope he gets more chances to play in teh avanced role, he has such quality but needs his fragile ego massaging/managing carefully.

Dunno if it's the manager's fault, Ireland's fault, or our maybe our masseur.

How dare you even consider blaming the masseur! :) What struck me was the fact that he hardly ever through the game had the ball at his feet facing the opposition goal. To a degree that's going to happen when you are playing in an advanced role aginst a defensively set up team.But he seems to lack enough awareness of what is around him so that at times where he had a yard or two of space he didn't know and just laid the ball off.

Even when he is marked tight he needs to be able to retain possession with a quick move to the side. Knowing he has a man tight on him he shoudl be able to do that at least every so often but he doesnt seem to try it. Surely it's a confidence thing as if not then he lacks some of the ability which is essential to playing that role. I found it a worrying display today.

HE MAKES NO REAL EFFORT TO TACKLE ANYMORE AND THATS DOWN TO HIM AND HIM ALONE NO MATTER WHERE HE,S PLAYING.

That's the biggest disappointment. I can put up with anybody having a lapse of form but I can't accept less than 100%. He's not tackling & he's not putting in the extra effort to get himself into the position to tackle. If he was doing that his total lack of effectiveness & willingness to want the ball to create an attacking threat wouldn't have been so bad but the two things combined were quite annoying to watch & everyone at the ground could see it.

[Somerset Blue]

Whilst not great, I honestly thought he played a little better today than he has in a while - got into some good positions but then did nothing with it. But I do miss the old Stevie, who used to break up so much of the opposition play, there seemed a time (previous seasons) when much of our productive play started (and sometimes finished) with him.

[dikdik]

His best touches were one touches. When he dwelt on the ball he seemed to dither. I'm sure it's all a question of confidence.

[Tokyo Blue]

His best touches were one touches. When he dwelt on the ball he seemed to dither. I'm sure it's all a question of confidence.

I am convinced you're right. His actions scream out a lack of confidence.

One good game, maybe even one good pass to make a goal, and he'll be off again. It might even happen on Wednesday night.

[Ted Hughes]

His best touches were one touches. When he dwelt on the ball he seemed to dither. I'm sure it's all a question of confidence.

I am convinced you're right. His actions scream out a lack of confidence.

One good game, maybe even one good pass to make a goal, and he'll be off again. It might even happen on Wednesday night.

Where's the workrate gone though? Last season he was all over the opposition like a rash when we lost the ball & one of the best at winning back posession, today he couldn't be arsed running 10 yards sometimes to close down an opposition player after he'd lost a 50/50 ball. That's not lack of confidence. Elano used to work harder than Stevie did today.

[Pretty Boy Lee]

What annoyed me was the whole throw your arms up in annoyance when the ball was still within 5 yards of him. Chase it FFS.

I also have a tough time accepting his slating of Hughes when ealrier this season and last he said how great it was working with Hughes as opposed to Sven. When Mancini is gone will he slate him as well?

I hate a suck up.

[Dingus McDouchey]

His best touches were one touches. When he dwelt on the ball he seemed to dither. I'm sure it's all a question of confidence.

I am convinced you're right. His actions scream out a lack of confidence.

One good game, maybe even one good pass to make a goal, and he'll be off again. It might even happen on Wednesday night.

Where's the workrate gone though? Last season he was all over the opposition like a rash when we lost the ball & one of the best at winning back posession, today he couldn't be arsed running 10 yards sometimes to close down an opposition player after he'd lost a 50/50 ball. That's not lack of confidence. Elano used to work harder than Stevie did today.

i was noticing quite a few of our players, including superman, who were retreating to a position rather than chasing down opposition with the ball (who were close by). at first it irritated me, but i wondered if it's all part of the mancini tactics. we kept a cleen sheet after all.
i thought ireland was a big part of our best passages of play today. i hope he gets a good run in the side, as he is the player we are missing most at the moment, not tevez.

[Piccsnumberoneblue]

I was surprised and irritated by how little movement there was from him yesterday. I never thought I'd be laying the accusation of 'lazy' at his door, but that's how it looked in parts. I think Douglas is right when he talks of a lack of confidence, his first move with the ball now always seems to be a negative one and it does look like he just doesn't want it.
Interestingly, I met my scouse mate after the game and when I said this to him, he disagreed and reckoned he got in great positions only to be ignored.
Oh and I wish Ade would stop always running so wide, it seems compulsary that we pass the ball to him once he is a maximum of one yard from the touchline. Where exactly are we expecting him to go with it?

[Ted Hughes]

His best touches were one touches. When he dwelt on the ball he seemed to dither. I'm sure it's all a question of confidence.

I am convinced you're right. His actions scream out a lack of confidence.

One good game, maybe even one good pass to make a goal, and he'll be off again. It might even happen on Wednesday night.

Where's the workrate gone though? Last season he was all over the opposition like a rash when we lost the ball & one of the best at winning back posession, today he couldn't be arsed running 10 yards sometimes to close down an opposition player after he'd lost a 50/50 ball. That's not lack of confidence. Elano used to work harder than Stevie did today.

i was noticing quite a few of our players, including superman, who were retreating to a position rather than chasing down opposition with the ball (who were close by). at first it irritated me, but i wondered if it's all part of the mancini tactics. we kept a cleen sheet after all.
i thought ireland was a big part of our best passages of play today. i hope he gets a good run in the side, as he is the player we are missing most at the moment, not tevez.

I thought he couldn't be arsed running ten yards to get goalside of opponents half the time, got rid of the ball as soon as he could when in posession often without looking (sometimes dropping a stationary ball in front of people who were running full tilt thus almost tripping over it) consistantly ran into positions where it was impossible for him to recieve the ball when he could just drop off a few yards & make an angle to recieve a pass & avoided shooting whenever possible. I think he's a mental case.

I think Tevez is as good or better than him at his best but right now he's worth 2 of him.

[MaineRoadMemories]

i was noticing quite a few of our players, including superman, who were retreating to a position rather than chasing down opposition with the ball (who were close by). at first it irritated me, but i wondered if it's all part of the mancini tactics. we kept a cleen sheet after all.

This is exactly the case IMO. I posted last week that the players ar more concerned with their perceived position than they are about playing the game as it develops naturally.

Richards summed it up best against Stoke at home. The ball broke loose around the half way line. He was favourite to get it and start an attack but instead of running towards the ball he ran away from the ball and took up his normal right back position. De Jong was left to try and win the ball in midfield from a worse starting position. He didn't and Stoke went on an attack down the left wing. Richards won the ball down near the corner flag and booted it upfield.

[Ted Hughes]

i was noticing quite a few of our players, including superman, who were retreating to a position rather than chasing down opposition with the ball (who were close by). at first it irritated me, but i wondered if it's all part of the mancini tactics. we kept a cleen sheet after all.

This is exactly the case IMO. I posted last week that the players ar more concerned with their perceived position than they are about playing the game as it develops naturally.

Richards summed it up best against Stoke at home. The ball broke loose around the half way line. He was favourite to get it and start an attack but instead of running towards the ball he ran away from the ball and took up his normal right back position. De Jong was left to try and win the ball in midfield from a worse starting position. He didn't and Stoke went on an attack down the left wing. Richards won the ball down near the corner flag and booted it upfield.

Well if Ireland had a position to run into, he must have been told only to jog.

[Renato_CTID]

Where are you gone, Superman? Please come back again, we need so much your great talent!

[Im_Spartacus]

His best touches were one touches. When he dwelt on the ball he seemed to dither. I'm sure it's all a question of confidence.

I am convinced you're right. His actions scream out a lack of confidence.

One good game, maybe even one good pass to make a goal, and he'll be off again. It might even happen on Wednesday night.

Where's the workrate gone though? Last season he was all over the opposition like a rash when we lost the ball & one of the best at winning back posession, today he couldn't be arsed running 10 yards sometimes to close down an opposition player after he'd lost a 50/50 ball. That's not lack of confidence. Elano used to work harder than Stevie did today.

i was noticing quite a few of our players, including superman, who were retreating to a position rather than chasing down opposition with the ball (who were close by). at first it irritated me, but i wondered if it's all part of the mancini tactics. we kept a cleen sheet after all.
i thought ireland was a big part of our best passages of play today. i hope he gets a good run in the side, as he is the player we are missing most at the moment, not tevez.

I thought he couldn't be arsed running ten yards to get goalside of opponents half the time, got rid of the ball as soon as he could when in posession often without looking (sometimes dropping a stationary ball in front of people who were running full tilt thus almost tripping over it) consistantly ran into positions where it was impossible for him to recieve the ball when he could just drop off a few yards & make an angle to recieve a pass & avoided shooting whenever possible. I think he's a mental case.

I think Tevez is as good or better than him at his best but right now he's worth 2 of him.

I have seen a few city players doing it over the course of this season so i'm not going to pick out Ireland alone. I just dont understand why a player would intentionally move away from the possibility of receiving the ball, unless they were badly out of form and badly lacking confidence.

I didnt notice Ireland do it yesterday but I have seen both Barry and De Jong do it all season long. Ireland played like most of our midfield have all year, with fear of the ball being a hot potato, only playing the 100% ball which usually means back to the player who just gave it to you, and even then frequently messing up the most simple of passes as though he was a bag of nerves.

No idea what the answer is, but we can't afford to let him have more games like this so he can "rediscover" his form, as Liverpool wisely distribution from the wings, so with a struggling Ireland supposed to link midfield to attack (which is exactly what we have been calling for, plaudits to Mancini on that) meant Ade was ploughing a very lonely furrow.

[smith10281980]

His finishing is very poor,not only on yesterday.

[Crossie]

I agree he does get ignore alot,

I dont think Ade rates him, but i doubt Ireland rates Ade tbh. There was abit of hands in the air and "ffs-ing" going on between them.

They need to work together more, especially if Tevez isnt back for a while.

[Ted Hughes]

I have seen a few city players doing it over the course of this season so i'm not going to pick out Ireland alone. I just dont understand why a player would intentionally move away from the possibility of receiving the ball, unless they were badly out of form and badly lacking confidence.

I didnt notice Ireland do it yesterday but I have seen both Barry and De Jong do it all season long. Ireland played like most of our midfield have all year, with fear of the ball being a hot potato, only playing the 100% ball which usually means back to the player who just gave it to you, and even then frequently messing up the most simple of passes as though he was a bag of nerves.

No idea what the answer is, but we can't afford to let him have more games like this so he can "rediscover" his form, as Liverpool wisely distribution from the wings, so with a struggling Ireland supposed to link midfield to attack (which is exactly what we have been calling for, plaudits to Mancini on that) meant Ade was ploughing a very lonely furrow.

Yeah I've seen Barry & DeJong do it too & also be negative for no reason on too many occasions. (Funny yesterday when the crowd as one shouted 'TURN!!' to DeJong after him making about 40 passes back to defenders with no Liverpool players near him. It worked so we did it again!)

BUT Ireland is in the team purely to make things happen. He needs to be on his toes, alert, wanting the ball, aware of his team mates' positions, looking to catch out the opposition & be one step ahead of them. A classic example of how hopelessly lacking he is in that department atm is when Ade chased down the Liverpool defence, the ball went to the keeper, Ade chased him, Ireland left the one Liverpool player who could rescue Reyna, open, because he hadn't seen it. Liverpool fucked up, Ade won the ball gave it Ireland to score, Ireland had no idea where the Liverpool defenders were because he's not alert so turned back. He'd even looked but he didn't see. Gerrard would have known & scored.

With his ability, he should be travelling round the pitch demanding the ball, like Scholes, Fabregas or Eyal Berkovic as well as running in behind. Everyone should be looking to pass to him all the time because he DEMANDS the ball. I still don't know which player is the 'real' Ireland. Hope it's not this one.