What Was Wrong With Stevie Tonight?

[Im_Spartacus]

Clearly the new manager has yet to build a system to suit him.

Are you suggesting he should?

I dunno if you've read this thread or not: viewtopic.php?f=119&t=29036

If you have and you're being funny then you've fooled me : / If not then you'll see I was having a little joke

Aye, sorry not been around as much as usual over recent days.....have to agree with your points on that thread 100%

[Ted Hughes]

Didn't have a good game tonight but still made some great runs. He had a hamstring problem and had been trying to stretch it out before he was taken off.

Ah well if he's got a hamstring problem, perhaps it's been bothering him on & off for a while.

Scandalous ! This is Superman you two are talking about. Mr Fitness himself...............

Can't you just accept tat he had a bad game tonight ?

I said I thought he had a bad game, Doug says he's got a hamstring problem so I believe him. Neither of us have an agenda but I'm not so sure about you, judging by that comment.

[Im_Spartacus]

Didn't have a good game tonight but still made some great runs. He had a hamstring problem and had been trying to stretch it out before he was taken off.

Ah well if he's got a hamstring problem, perhaps it's been bothering him on & off for a while.

Scandalous ! This is Superman you two are talking about. Mr Fitness himself...............

Can't you just accept tat he had a bad game tonight ?

I said I thought he had a bad game, Doug says he's got a hamstring problem so I believe him. Neither of us have an agenda but I'm not so sure about you, judging by that comment.

Would the manager have played Ireland in midfield ahead of other fit options - I am not sure. If he was injured at outset, its worrying that we dont believe we have fit players in the squad who are better than an unfit Ireland.

If true, chequebook will soon sort that

[carl_feedthegoat]

Didn't have a good game tonight but still made some great runs. He had a hamstring problem and had been trying to stretch it out before he was taken off.

Ah well if he's got a hamstring problem, perhaps it's been bothering him on & off for a while.

Scandalous ! This is Superman you two are talking about. Mr Fitness himself...............

Can't you just accept tat he had a bad game tonight ?

I said I thought he had a bad game, Doug says he's got a hamstring problem so I believe him. Neither of us have an agenda but I'm not so sure about you, judging by that comment.

I RATE IRELAND HIGHLY BUT HE,S BEEN HAVING MORE BAD DAYS THAN GOOD LATELY...........WHY IS IT WHEN A PLAYER PLAYS BADLY HE IMMEDIATLEY HAS AN INJURY PROBLEM WHICH IS THE REASON WHY?????

BARRY PLAYED WELL TODAY - HE PLAYED SHITE FOR MOST OF THE SEASON BUT WAS PLAYING WITH A GROIN INJURY......APPARENTLY........THAT INJURY SEEMED TO GO AWAY TONIGHT AS HE PLAYED REALLY WELL.

DOUG - HOW DO YOU KNOW STEVE HAS A HAMSTRING INJURY? DID THEY MENTION IT AFTER OR DURING THE GAME?

[Ted Hughes]

Didn't have a good game tonight but still made some great runs. He had a hamstring problem and had been trying to stretch it out before he was taken off.

Ah well if he's got a hamstring problem, perhaps it's been bothering him on & off for a while.

Scandalous ! This is Superman you two are talking about. Mr Fitness himself...............

Can't you just accept tat he had a bad game tonight ?

I said I thought he had a bad game, Doug says he's got a hamstring problem so I believe him. Neither of us have an agenda but I'm not so sure about you, judging by that comment.

Would the manager have played Ireland in midfield ahead of other fit options - I am not sure. If he was injured at outset, its worrying that we dont believe we have fit players in the squad who are better than an unfit Ireland.

If true, chequebook will soon sort that

Probably felt ok before kick off. SWP will be challenging for the right side again soon & VK + Zabba are also options for midfield. Depends what Henry thinks is his best formation.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

The word from fans at the match was that he had been stretching his hamstring for a while and they expected him to be taken off. And yes it was mentioned at the time on the tv coverage. I don't really think that was why he didn't play well though but he wasn't at his best.

Still though he made some great runs yet again but wasnt found. Even on the first goal as ever its Stevie running in to knock in any loose ball .

[Im_Spartacus]

Probably felt ok before kick off. SWP will be challenging for the right side again soon & VK + Zabba are also options for midfield. Depends what Henry thinks is his best formation.

Realistically with Jonno out again tho, we dont have any option for Stevie. We have nobody in the team with any creativity who can also put a shift in CM. VK and Zabba are not options for that spot. VK, as much as I love him is not a playmaker, and Zabba plays too much of a NDJ role.

Chequebook...................Stevie HAS been shite all season, lets not let tonights injury take away from the fact that he has been a fucking backyard off the pace all year, with or without Hughes

[Ted Hughes]

Probably felt ok before kick off. SWP will be challenging for the right side again soon & VK + Zabba are also options for midfield. Depends what Henry thinks is his best formation.

Realistically with Jonno out again tho, we dont have any option for Stevie. We have nobody in the team with any creativity who can also put a shift in CM. VK and Zabba are not options for that spot. VK, as much as I love him is not a playmaker, and Zabba plays too much of a NDJ role.

Chequebook...................Stevie HAS been shite all season, lets not let tonights injury take away from the fact that he has been a fucking backyard off the pace all year, with or without Hughes

I think we may cause problems for ourselves if we buy another central playmaker. If he's any good, he'll want to play & that leaves Ireland with very few opportunities because some games we won't want a central playmaker at all & both would end up on the bench. Then a load of people will start moaning & we're back to the usual devisive City shit & people slagging the manager.

I'm happy to leave the job with Stevie & if he's struggling, rely on the other forwards to create. We're fucking great going forward whether Ireland plays or not so why mess with it?

[zuricity]

Didn't have a good game tonight but still made some great runs. He had a hamstring problem and had been trying to stretch it out before he was taken off.

Ah well if he's got a hamstring problem, perhaps it's been bothering him on & off for a while.

Scandalous ! This is Superman you two are talking about. Mr Fitness himself...............

Can't you just accept tat he had a bad game tonight ?

I said I thought he had a bad game, Doug says he's got a hamstring problem so I believe him. Neither of us have an agenda but I'm not so sure about you, judging by that comment.

No, I was trying to be a little bit funny, it didn't work though did it ?

[Nick]

Something is not right with him. Its not just his anonymous form, its the fact that hes no longer chasing down players and sprinted for lost causes like he did last season. He has been like this under hughes, so unless he knew hughes was going for ages, theres no explanation.

Although he did make a few great runs last night and knowing was picking him up. It seem like after 30 mins people had stopped passing to him as they had forgotton he was on the pitch.

[the_georgian_genius]

Is he ill or something? He certainly wasn't anywhere near as sharp as he usually is.

No one found him on at least 3 occasions. He's making all the right runs just not getting the ball. If Hannamen would of got a touch on Tevez's shot for his goal yesterday, Ireland would of tapped it in.

[Slim]

Is he ill or something? He certainly wasn't anywhere near as sharp as he usually is.

No one found him on at least 3 occasions. He's making all the right runs just not getting the ball. If Hannamen would of got a touch on Tevez's shot for his goal yesterday, Ireland would of tapped it in.

And the right sided run he made when he was completely alone 40 yards from goal and Tevez elected to go back to Bellamy instead of setting him through.

[kinkylola]

i thought it was bellamy played to tevez instead of ireland when he was 40 yards open on the right, could be wrong ... not important though because either way you're right, stevie had made a great run and it's like he wasn't even a thought for anyone else. Though it's been strange watching stevie this year, when he's got himself into great positions to have a go at goal ... he tries an overly complicated pass. Hope he sorts himself out ... but I'm sure Mancini sees stevie's talent and will be working to get the best out of him.

[Original Dub]

Clearly the new manager has yet to build a system to suit him.

Are you trying to be a smart cunt?

If so, it doesn't suit you, if not I apologise.

I think Ireland had a shitty performance last night, but it was confirmed he had a hamstring problem. I also think he was excellent against Stoke, once he was moved into the middle.

We have a few injuries at the moment so he has started on the right a couple of times... once SWP is back, it should be a battle for the middle with Ireland, Barry and De Jong and depending on the most consistant system Mancini decides upon, he will either be mainly a bencher or a starter - I can't see him being a 50/50 player.

I'd love if he could adapt easier to being moved around or asked to play a different role, but at the moment its clear as day that he should be played as an out and out playmaker, or not played at all. As has been pointed out by quite a few pundits, Ireland is a real "Arsenal type" player and would fit in to their style of play no problem. I agree completely with this, just like I think he may struggle in the Chelsea side. He couls be a very important piece of the jigsaw, but not if he can't fit in with the rest of the pieces.

Same applies to the "Is Mancini the man" thread and "Zonal Marking"..... its all very new now and there's no way we can say he is the man... there's no way we can possibly say we have learned zonal marking in a week... and there's no way if we can tell that Ireland will be a central piece of our team.

Time will tell on all fronts.

[Vhero]

I love the whole Stevie and Robbie thing on this board. Ireland plays bad he's ill. Robbie plays bad he's gone shit and we need to get rid.. Not that I got a problem with Stevie I reckon we will see the best of him again very soon but looking at this topic and looking at the Robinho topic it's amazing how much different the thought about them are yet they were both our best players last season and possibly our worst this.

[Slim]

I love the whole Stevie and Robbie thing on this board. Ireland plays bad he's ill. Robbie plays bad he's gone shit and we need to get rid.. Not that I got a problem with Stevie I reckon we will see the best of him again very soon but looking at this topic and looking at the Robinho topic it's amazing how much different the thought about them are yet they were both our best players last season and possibly our worst this.

Should we pull the threads out from last year?

[The Man In Blue]

I love the whole Stevie and Robbie thing on this board. Ireland plays bad he's ill. Robbie plays bad he's gone shit and we need to get rid.. Not that I got a problem with Stevie I reckon we will see the best of him again very soon but looking at this topic and looking at the Robinho topic it's amazing how much different the thought about them are yet they were both our best players last season and possibly our worst this.

right.

one of these players has been with us since his early teens, which one?
one of these players cost us a nominal fee, one cost the current british transfer record. which is which?
one of these players has flirted quite openly with barca, one has never shown anything other than total commitment to the blues. which is which?
one has flouted club discipline on numerous occasions, culminating with actually pissing off to brazil mid-season - one has been nothing but a role model for both our current academy boys and any kid looking to make it as a footy player. which is which?

making a bit more sense now?

[The Man In Blue]

double post.

[King Kev]

I love the whole Stevie and Robbie thing on this board. Ireland plays bad he's ill. Robbie plays bad he's gone shit and we need to get rid.. Not that I got a problem with Stevie I reckon we will see the best of him again very soon but looking at this topic and looking at the Robinho topic it's amazing how much different the thought about them are yet they were both our best players last season and possibly our worst this.

Turns out that Stevie was injured and has had a scan on his hamstring.

[urlnp=http://www.mcfc.co.uk/News/Team-news/2009/December/Stephen-Ireland-injury-being-assessed]LINK[/urlnp]

[john@staustell]

I dont think we need to worry about Stevie's future, even if a new star is purchased in midfield.

Our bench the other night suggests that, when injuries and suspensions and African cups start to bite, our squad ain't that strong yet and there's plenty of room for all!

If we're gonna sweep all before us we need him and others yet.