I've written before about how good an interview Stephen Ireland is, always providing a great insight into situations with an honesty rarely offered by footballers.
There are a couple of features today in The Telegraph and The Guardian in which Ireland discusses - on the eve of Ireland's World Cup play-off with France - his continued absence from the international scene, and despite reports that have hinted at a return he firmly closes the door on a potential return:
But while admitting he will watch Giovanni Trapattoni's team tackle the French when he returns to Manchester, Ireland has emphatically ruled out the possibility of an about-turn on his international retirement and insisted that the hate mail does not concern him.
"I've left my country now, and obviously left under the wrong terms, but it's happened and, since then my life has gone really nicely. Even if they get to the World Cup, there's not a part of me that will think, 'That could have been me, I could have been there'."
The unpredictable world of Stephen Ireland could take another twist after it emerged that the most complex Irish footballer since Roy Keane is giving strong consideration to retiring from international football at the age of 21. Giovanni Trapattoni, the incoming Republic manager, intends to visit the player to try to talk him into changing his mind. Sven-Goran Eriksson, his Manchester City manager, has also made strenuous efforts, but the player is said to be underwhelmed by his inclusion in Trapattoni's provisional 40-man squad for a training camp in Portugal next month.
Fears were growing last night that Stephen Ireland, the troubled Manchester City midfield player, will give up international football at the tender age of 21.
The player is already on temporary “leave”, having withdrawn from Ireland’s squad for the European Championship qualifying matches at home to Germany and Cyprus, after missing the previous international week amid sensational developments in which he misled his club and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) about the reason behind his unavailability.
He claimed that a grandmother had died before finally admitting that he had withdrawn from the squad because his girlfriend had suffered a miscarriage. Although still playing for City, he is receiving counselling for his problems and his club have enlisted specialist help from the United States.
Newspaper reports in Dublin at the weekend claimed that the reason that Ireland put his international career on hold was that he had been mocked by his Ireland colleagues over an alleged hair transplant or his wearing of a hairpiece.
This taunting, it was said, degenerated into two teammates pinning him to the floor and attempting to remove the “evidence”. It is understood that Ireland’s distress at the reports could shatter his recovery. “If this goes on, there’s now a great fear that Stephen will retire from Ireland for good,” a source said. Another source told The Times that it was “more basic ribbing but he took it really badly”. The FAI denied that any bullying took place.
A bit of a turn up this one. Is the real reason for Ireland's recent problems then more to do a bout of schoolyard-style bullying than the previous reason(s) Ireland offered?
Whilst support for Ireland came from Stuart Pearce, who also praised the club in how they handle players, if the reports are true then it surely must rank as one of the most bizarre explanations for making yourself unavailable for a game. It is almost hard not to laugh in a way, but for it to get to the level it has done it is obviously a serious issue for Ireland, and whilst dressing room banter is a time honoured facet in all sports you have to question how some of the quoted incidents can occur in a (professional) international football environment - and certainly did transcend mere ribbing.
Whilst not quite a change of Elton John proportions, it must be said though that Ireland's locks certainly look far fuller and volumous this season - after previously looking pretty thin on top from a lad barely into his twenties.
We know where all eyes will be anyway the next time Ireland steps out on a football field, and perhaps MoTD will have a guest celebrity hairdresser in the studio to try and clarify matters.
One thing is for sure in all of this, whatever the truth, it is unlikely Ireland will have heard the last of this from fans (and opposition players) around the Premier League and if he is unable to cope mentally he will be in for some tough times ahead.
Judge for yourself from this Stephen Ireland interview from youtube.
Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland has withdrawn from the Republic of Ireland squad for the upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers because he "would not do his country or himself justice".
The news comes as a further blow for manager Steve Staunton for the Group D meetings at Croke Park with Germany on Saturday and Cyprus four days later following full-back Stephen Carr's withdrawal earlier today with a hamstring problem. -independent.ie
It did appear as though Ireland had put the previous incident behind him, and his form has been excellent since being restored to the line-up following his ommission against Aston Villa - and Sven-Goran Eriksson was praising him only today in the MEN.
Still, it is difficult to gage a persons mind and Ireland clearly did not feel he could either himself or the Irish team justice for their upcoming double-header against Germany and Cyprus. Although both games are at home, perhaps there is an issue with Ireland being away from home for a period of time - something experienced (although on a far larger scale) by cricketer Marcus Trescothick:
"I have thought long and hard about whether I would do my country and myself justice if I joined up with the squad," said Ireland. "Unfortunately, I don't believe I would on this occasion. The support I have received from [the Republic of Ireland manager Steve] Staunton and the FAI has been excellent and everybody at Manchester City has also been superb. However, I do not believe I can make a positive contribution to our efforts to qualify."
All we can hope from this issue is that Ireland manages to resolve whatever issues he does have and manages to continue both his club and international career.
