You knew it was going to happen: Stephen Ireland finally decides to apply his prodigious gifts, and Villa fans are left slack-jawed.
Ireland plus cash, lots of it, for Milner…”Madness,” some said. And they weren’t City supporters. “James Milner’s worth twice that!” No, he wasn’t. But it looked like we’d been mugged off for the better part of two years.
Then Stephen Ireland put a few games together wherein it looked like Stephen Ireland gave a toss after quite a few where it didn’t. And it was revelatory. He worked hard. Maybe not quite as hard as Milner, but with three or four times the majesty, presence and insight.
Sure, Bristol Rovers…who cares? But Chelsea too? Ireland bossed both games, ran hard, chased things down, created, moved, received, passed, scored. Now it’s just a matter of time before someone big says, “Thanks for sorting Stephen out. How much do you want for him?”
If I were Lerner, I’d say, “It’s not enough. Triple it, and we’re still not talking. He’s actually ‘world-class’. ”
£50m buys you a crocked Spanish striker. £35m buys you Andy Carroll.
What price a Stephen Ireland who wants to play?
Stupid figures aside, he’s worth more than Torres and Carroll put together. He could be better than any British player in the midfield, bar none. Certainly more talented than Milner. Or Young. Or Barry. Or Gerrard and Lampard. The man could actually rate the “world-class” tag.
Am I getting ahead of myself? It all depends on Mr. Ireland. He has the talent…it obviously hasn’t gone anywhere. What does he want to do? Where does he want to go? This is a player with talent to spare, a footballing brain that makes Ashley Young look…well, we saw Ashley’s strengths and limitations. I never saw him run games like I just saw Ireland do. Ashley did all he could, full marks. But he’s not in Ireland’s league.
Has Alex Got It Right?
I loved the Bristol Rovers cup tie because we desperately needed another run-out for the first team, with a proper interval, reinforcing what we’ve seen lately: Pressing, pushing, pressuring, anticipating…Taking the initiative. You’ve seen the names and formations. Is Mr. McLeish a total fool? Would any broken clock have gotten it right at least twice a day? Just because I recognize McLeish isn’t going anywhere doesn’t make me his biggest fan.
it might, however, make me wonder just how much worse things could be if someone else were in charge.
After the Rovers game, as poor as the competition might’ve been, I thought: “This is how it looks when Villa sit back against superior opposition. Why shouldn’t Villa look ascendent if they’re willing to take the game to a lesser team that’s willing to conceded it?”
And there you have Villa’s season to date in a nutshell: Superior will usually trumps timidity.
Yes, Alex McLeish got it right. Petrov, Clark, Ireland, Gabby…great games all. Clark is anchoring Petrov very well, Ireland is shining, Gabby is Gabby, and N’Zogbia? The only player in the side on Ireland’s wavelength.
Which, if you’re keeping score at home, is pretty much the spine of a side. Bristol terrible? Yes, of course. And we dominate proceedings accordingly, without even breaking much of a sweat. Except for Petrov, natch.
The downside? Once again, Bent was a shameless, useless passenger. How long did it take Gabby to play himself into the game and score? Darren? “Paging Mr. Bent. Do something proactive!”
Oh, but we didn’t give him service…like royal table service.
Not only did Darren do his usual nothing defending from the front…He can’t even work with his teammates. It’s all well and good to say, “He’s not getting service!” It’s another thing when he’s not even looking to make an impression and only wants the ball put on a tee for him, despite the fact he’s making shitty runs and doing nothing to help his teammates find him. He was hiding. Gabby was looking to make an impression.
Guess who scored?
Disgraceful. Sell him. Anything over $24m, let him go. We could get two better players in for the combined fee and wages. Like Samba and someone else. Tell me we wouldn’t be better as a result. Six goals in three games, and only one to Bent. Hardly irreplaceable.
So What Am I Saying?
McLeish isn’t the idiot some would say he is. Not saying he’s Einstein or Ferguson, but he’s no idiot. Ireland is coming good, and that would’ve made any manager look good. Apparently O’Neill insisted, Houllier turned up his nose, and McLeish finally got Ireland playing football.
Moreover, the pressing, aggressive style…This is what AM has wanted all along. The players are finally taking it on board. When we play this way, we’re showing the foundations of a decent squad.
As Alex “might” have said to the players at halftime of the QPR game: “I’ve not started Stephen Irleland because I’m looking for negative hoof-ball…”
All this “Negative McLeish” stuff…I don’t know what you’ve been watching, but you don’t bring on Darren Bent as a substitute against Chelsea at 1-1 because you’re a scared, negative manager.
Gary Gardner. Fabian Delph. Chris Herd. Ciaran Clark. Barry Bannan. Marc Albrighton. Andreas Weimann. Nathan Defouneso.
McLeish hates the youth, doesn’t he? He only plays them when senior England players are hurt. Maybe he knows that they’ll play plenty in a 38-game season, however the parameters are defined. So maybe it just seems this way, but there’s no other team in the top flight giving so many youngsters so many regular opportunities.
We’re Fine
Aston Villa are fixing the wages, playing the youth, finding new stars…Isn’t this really enough? No, we’re not going to win the league. We never were. But there are a number of positive things going on, which, when you consider what Matt went to great pains to explain yesterday, mean that all is not lost.
Which is to say: Sign Ireland to an extension, build around him as contracts expire and players are moved on. Buy 3-4 players to beef things up, especially if you can offload Bent and Collins. Bent is two top-class salaries on his own, and he’s not doing anything. Collins? Well, would I rather have Samba?
A small splurge and a new-look side? It might not be as far away as some would’ve thought.
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