Cathal Sheehan wrote: How does a guy like Stephen Ireland manage to get a girl like that!

"So tell me...what attracted you to the multi millionaire ?"

It's good to see Stephen and Anthony Stokes back at the top of the agenda for footballing reasons.  I'm looking forward to seeing both of them in the squad for France.

Bob Hoskins wrote: One of the laziest attempts at fishing I've read in a long time.

but still you answered .  My admiration for Stephen is well known. 

Poor lad wouldn't wish that on anyone,hope he make a full recovery

A few unsavoury types sl*gged his hair once and he was never the same.

ErsatzThistle wrote: Just where did it go wrong for this guy ?  During the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons he was one of the best players in the Premier League.

Football

Aug 20, 2017
By Gavin Cooney

Stephen Ireland Reveals Martin O'Neill's 'Strange' Approach Over Possible Irish Return

It will soon be ten years since one of the most infamous Irish sporting sagas of modern time, in which a player named after this country did his best not to play for it. September 14th will mark the tenth anniversary of Stephen Ireland walking out on the Irish camp to be with his grieving girlfriend, having initially lied about the death of each of his grandmothers in order to extricate himself from Steve Staunton's underperforming and directionless squad.

Ireland has not played international football since, although he had hoped to return under Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane. The latter hinted at his return, as he had bumped into the first grandmother Ireland had killed off on a flight to Ireland. She beseeched Keane to add her grandson to the international fold, to which Keane responded that he had a chance if he was playing well, adding that it was understanding that O'Neill had already spoken to Ireland about a potential return.

That never materialised for Ireland, who is currently working his way back to full fitness at Stoke City following a hideous leg break in training, which has forced him to miss 16 months of action.

Ireland spoke today to Paul Rowan of The Sunday Times as he nears a return - ironically around the anniversary of his Ireland exit - and he revealed the details of that call with Martin O'Neill.

It did happen, says Ireland, although he found it "a bit strange".

Martin called me one day out of the blue and we had a good conversation over the phone. I was excited, I thought 'this is it now, I am back'. He was due to see me within a couple of days at my house in Manchester. He said 'I will call you when I am on my way'. I said 'no problem'. He never turned up.

Then I had a missed call of him the day of the last game of the season. I was going to ring him back after the game but then I found out he had spoken to my agent. He was literally ringing me to tell me he wasn't picking me for a squad. I thought that was a bit strange. About three days later there was a report comparing me to Mariah Carey because I was a diva for not actually answering his call. And that is the last contact I had with him.

Poor Stiofan

All you have to do is read that article to see what a me feiner he is. Anything that happened in the past doesn't matter now (no repsonsibility there) and he did it his way in which he's delighted with himself. He would be absolute poison in the Irish squad. O'Neill and Trappatoni were 100% right and could see he was a waste of time. 

Edited by irishmufc - 20 Aug 2017 at 1:04pm

The O'Shea wrote: He must be feeling a bit starved of attention, it's a few years since he's come out with the "maybe I could be convinced" line...