Bruce eyes Ireland

[Dazzacity]

Gettin a £6 ,000,000 bid from shite like Sunderland might actually make him realise how lucky he is at City and might give him the kick up the arse that he needs.. Id personally fook him off and get a replacement that will put in consistant good seasons. We cant afford to feild players that only play when it suits them. He was given enough chances and didnt impress at all...

Do NOT tempt the fate. Stevie seems like someone who doesn't do things as you'd expect. I think he would actually take up that offer. He'd be a star and a real playmaker in Sunderland and that might well be what he is looking for.

Personally I don't think Ireland is kind of player who needs kick up the arse. More like arm around his shoulders. We are all different and different methods work for different players.

Yeah, but I just think we can now just dip into the market and get a better replacement that also doesnt need all this tender lovin care and confidence boostin. Ireland, has actually really pissed me off this season with his guttless displays. Id personally like to give him til xmas to see if he can find the will to start performin. I just think things will only get tougher for him once we start buyin more players.Imo, he's a goner.

[Slim]

Bruce eyes Ireland

...from across the dancefloor?

[Fish111]

I think Ireland has one more chance at City and time is running out for him, he needs to get his head down and graft before he gets left behind by the rest of the squad. How a player can go from player of the year one season to a very average looking player the next is unbelievable. If he starts next season as he has this then i can see him going in January never mind waiting til the summer.

[john@staustell]

As we've just learnt from Dunne's season at Villa, players have off seasons. If we sell Ireland this summer we're going to really regret it. The guy needs a pre-season to get his shit together, get fully fit and be ready to fight for his place next season. He's got all the natural ability in the world and i'd be gutted to watch him become the world class midfielder he can become at another club.

We aint got time to indulge these people Goaty. They either play well or they ship out. It's not a social work centre, it's a top football club aiming to win the league.

As for Dunne I'm sorry but everytime I watch Villa I see the same player, most recently against us, who just misses own goals (or scores them in our case), passes the ball fully into touch and looks like a chicken holding a red-hot potato when he has the ball at his feet. Didn't he give away a cup final goal too? Sure there's the same old last-ditch defending that people love and give him awards for, but it's funny how the press give him much better praise now he's at Villa. Cos he sure aint changed!

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

As we've just learnt from Dunne's season at Villa, players have off seasons. If we sell Ireland this summer we're going to really regret it. The guy needs a pre-season to get his shit together, get fully fit and be ready to fight for his place next season. He's got all the natural ability in the world and i'd be gutted to watch him become the world class midfielder he can become at another club.

We aint got time to indulge these people Goaty. They either play well or they ship out. It's not a social work centre, it's a top football club aiming to win the league.

As for Dunne I'm sorry but everytime I watch Villa I see the same player, most recently against us, who just misses own goals (or scores them in our case), passes the ball fully into touch and looks like a chicken holding a red-hot potato when he has the ball at his feet. Didn't he give away a cup final goal too? Sure there's the same old last-ditch defending that people love and give him awards for, but it's funny how the press give him much better praise now he's at Villa. Cos he sure aint changed!

I agree regarding Dunne. Whenever I watched them he was exactly the same as he was for us. Especially second part of the season. Also, Dunne had poor two and half seasons for us.

[Ted Hughes]

As we've just learnt from Dunne's season at Villa, players have off seasons. If we sell Ireland this summer we're going to really regret it. The guy needs a pre-season to get his shit together, get fully fit and be ready to fight for his place next season. He's got all the natural ability in the world and i'd be gutted to watch him become the world class midfielder he can become at another club.

We aint got time to indulge these people Goaty. They either play well or they ship out. It's not a social work centre, it's a top football club aiming to win the league.

As for Dunne I'm sorry but everytime I watch Villa I see the same player, most recently against us, who just misses own goals (or scores them in our case), passes the ball fully into touch and looks like a chicken holding a red-hot potato when he has the ball at his feet. Didn't he give away a cup final goal too? Sure there's the same old last-ditch defending that people love and give him awards for, but it's funny how the press give him much better praise now he's at Villa. Cos he sure aint changed!

I agree regarding Dunne. Whenever I watched them he was exactly the same as he was for us. Especially second part of the season. Also, Dunne had poor two and half seasons for us.

Absolutely agree, no different whatsoever & a disaster in most big games. Also the passing game our defenders are learning to play was being ruined by Dunne & would never have got any better. That's as much a reason for his sale as anything & people tend to ignore it.

As for Ireland; he needs to shape up or go. I'd give him one more chance but it's up to Mancini. If he sells him then so be it. If that means he becomes good somewhere else; that's life. We can't have every player in the world succeeding at City, some will do better elsewhere. It will happen more & more as our staff improves; more good players will move on & some will do well. We can't worry about that, we just worry about what they do for us.

[brite blu sky]

personally i dont have too many problems with us shifting players along. However simply buying players isn't the way to go about building a very strong commited team. Mancini knows this and has hinted the same.
He has also said very clearly that Ireland is an important player for City and part of his plans for the future. He said that at a time when Stevie was out due to a slight injury and there was speculation. I rekon Bobby knows he has had a troubled season and will look to get him back and into the side, Mancini knows the potential that Ireland has and will want that potential to make a difference to the team in a sustained way. The way he said what he said about Ireland implied that Mancini was well aware that Ireland was struggling and wouldn't get on top of his game this season.
You can be cynical about what managers and players say at times i know, it is possible he was trying to be diplomatic to Irelands loyal admirers, but he didnt have to choose the words he did in order to do that.

i am fairly convinced that Mancini sees Ireland as a potential superstar at City and will try his best to engineer that happening.