Perhaps a difficult one to justify, admittedly, but Stephen Ireland proved last weekend with a brilliant cameo performance off the bench for Stoke City - when he played a part in both their goals against Tottenham Hotspur - that, when he is at his best, he really is a decent Premier League midfielder. Having impressed at Manchester City, where he came up through the youth ranks, the former Republic of Ireland international moved to Aston Villa in 2010. Just six months later though, Newcastle took the attacking-midfielder on loan to St James' Park. Due to injury and lack of form, Ireland made just two appearances for the Magpies before returning to Villa Park - and he has since found his way to the Britannia Stadium. Although a controversial character who is frustratingly inconsistent, Ireland is still only 28 and could have been an additional option for Newcastle United. It could, and probably would, still have ended in tears if he had stayed on Tyneside for longer, but the Magpies decided too quickly that they did not want to keep Ireland.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
