Category: Ireland

Stephen Ireland started his football career at Cobh Ramblers in his native Ireland at a tender age. The Irish star joined the Ramblers at the age of eight in 1994 and he was at the club for seven years before being snapped up by Premier League side Manchester City. The Citizens signed Stephen Ireland for their youth team in 2001.

Irishman Stephen Ireland spent four years in the Manchester City youth team before he was promoted to the first team. Ireland was given a spot in the Manchester City first team for the first time in 2005. On the back of his debut for the City first team, Stephen Ireland established himself as a regular. His impressive displays for Manchester City earned him recognition with the Republic of Ireland on the international stage. However, his international career was very brief due to a row with Steve Staunton who was the Republic of Ireland manager at the time. Read More…

Stephen Ireland represented the Republic of Ireland at various youth levels before he made his debut for the senior team in 2006. He played for the Irish team at under-15, under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-21 levels. At the under-18 level, Stephen Ireland had a dispute with coach Brian Kerr after he was left out of the team for a game in his hometown of Cobh. He was told to watch the match from the stands. The game ended in a 4-0 defeat for his team. Afterwards, Kerr said Ireland will be involved in the next match in Cork City.

Ireland was left out of the under-18 team again and he requested to return to his club. As a result, Kerr informed him that he won’t play for the Republic of Ireland as long as he’s the manager. Read More…

Tottenham Hotspur striker Troy Parrott was influential for the Republic of Ireland as they thrashed Scotland in the UEFA Nations League earlier this month. The Republic of Ireland and Scotland are in the same Nations League group alongside Armenia and Ukraine. The four teams are in Group B1 as far as the ongoing UEFA Nations League campaign is concerned.

Spurs attacker Parrott scored once and assisted another for the Republic of Ireland during the 3-0 home win overScotland. Parrott continued his good form this season in the colours of the Irish team having excelled while he was on loan at London club MK Dons as a Tottenham Hotspur player. Parrott was an important player for MK Dons as they reached the League One playoffs. Parrott and MK Dons were eliminated by Wycombe Wanderers in the semifinals.
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Retired Republic of Ireland international Stephen Ireland began his career with Cobh Ramblers in his native Republic of Ireland. Stephen Ireland spent a seven-year period with the Ramblers as a youth team player. He was with the club from 1994 to 2001. Ireland moved to Premier League side Manchester City where he could make his professional debut.

Stephen Ireland signed for Manchester City in 2001 and he spent four more years in the youth team at the club before making his first team debut in September 2005. He was able to establish himself as a first team regular at Manchester City and that gave him recognition in the Republic of Ireland setup. Though it must be said that his international career didn’t last for long due to a row with Steve Staunton in 2010.
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Stephen Ireland was on the payroll at Aston Villa when he left the club to join Newcastle United on loan at the start of 2011. He had to leave Villa for Newcastle on loan after six months at the club. Stephen Ireland had earlier joined Aston Villa from Manchester City in the summer of 2010. His transfer from Villa to City was £8m as part of the deal that saw James Milner move in the other direction on the final day of the 2011 winter transfer window.

Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier fell out with Stephen Ireland and that prompted him to reluctantly leave the club. At the time, the midfielder was told by his manager that he needs to raise his game for more playing time.
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Stephen Ireland has lifted the lid on his time as an Aston Villa player as he  revealed that he didn’t want to sign for the club. Stephen Ireland made this known while he was fielding questions on the kickback with Nedum podcast. According to him, he’s filled with regrets whenever he looks back at his time in theclaret and blue of Villa. Stephen Ireland regrets that he didn’t make any mark under Gerard Houllier, Alex McLeish and Paul Lambert at Villa Park.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini didn’t want Ireland in his title-chasing squad and that prompted him to sign for Aston Villa in 2010. The Republic of Ireland player said he felt forced out of his boyhood club at the time and that didn’t help him during his spell at Villa Park.
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Stephen Ireland tasted action for the first time in the colours of Stoke City during the 2013/14 season. He joined the Potters on loan in September 2013 thanks in part to the influence of Mark Hughes whom he played under at Manchester City. Upon joining Stoke City on a season-long loan deal from Aston Villa, Stephen Ireland revealed that his plan is to resurrect his ailing career.

Ireland joined Stoke City on loan at the age of 27. He talked about his plan to revive his career as a professional footballer in his first interview as a Stoke City player. He had been left frustrated by lack of first team action at Aston Villa. Stephen Ireland said that he has a point to prove at Stoke City as he thanked Mark Hughes for giving him the opportunity to resurrect his career with the Potters. His target is regular playing time at Stoke City. Read More…

Retired Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen Ireland moved to Aston Villa from Manchester City at the start of the 2010/11 season. Stephen Ireland initially asked Manchester City for £2m in compensation for him to leave for Villa on loan with ex-England international James Milner coming in the other director. Ireland didn’t want to leave Manchester City for Aston Villa though he had no choice but to leave with the Citizens keen to welcome Milner from Villa.

The swap deal involving Ireland and Milner was completed on August 17, 2010. Ireland moved to Villa for £8m on a four-year deal as part of the swap transfer with Milner. The controversial Ireland criticised Manchester City heavily on the back of his move to Villa Park.
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Stephen Ireland would have been unbelievable according to his Manchester City teammate Shaun Wright-Phillips.Ex-England national team winger Wright-Phillips told OTB Sports that Stephen Ireland would have been a phenomenal player as he had a similar footballing qualities to Frank Lampard.

Lampard became a club legend at Chelseawinning the league title three times in addition to the Champions League title. He was a key member of the Blues squad that won the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history by beating Bayern Munich on penalties in the 2012 Champions League final. He won two successive league titles under Jose Mourinho between 2004 and 2006 before adding a third league title under Italian tactician Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the 2009/10 campaign.
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Stephen Ireland was one of the most talented in the youth teams at Premier League outfit Manchester City and it’s surprising that he didn’t enjoy a longer career with the Republic of Ireland national team.

He was in the Manchester City youth teams for four years from 2001 to 2005 before he was drafted into the first team squad. In the first team squad, he went on to become an important player. He scored 16 goals in 138 appearances in the colours of Manchester City in the Premier League.
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