Ireland must be ready to make an impact as climax draws near

Over a dozen goals and God knows how many assists last season earned a certain young midfielder plaudits from fans of clubs across the country. This year hasn't quite gone to plan for him and for whatever reason the sparkle has gone from the eye of the boy who carried the hopes of an entire club and its support almost exclusively on his shoulders.

I still believe that Ireland is the most natural talent to emerge from our academy since its formation, and possesses a footballing brain as sharp as that of any other professional on the books. If rumours that he'll be looking to move on in the summer are true then it would be a sad, sad day for the club. I can't imagine a single Blue would like to see him plying his trade elsewhere, but there doesn't appear to have been much of a knuckling down, and when given games (twenty-nine so far) he's rarely, if at all, performed to the levels of last season.

The main obstacle in his progress this year is widely accepted as having been the arrival of Carlos Tevez. Whilst there are vast differences in many aspects of the two player's games, both are undeniably at their best playing in between the midfield and attack, and both excel as the main ball player. Fitting the two into the same side isn't really the problem, getting the most from both in their strongest roles, however, is.

Another blow to Stevie would have certainly been the injuries, poor form and eventual departure of his partner in crime last season, occasional world-beater Robinho. The two forged an immediate understanding, and were both at their devastating best when working in tandem. Just a few short months back it would have been impossible to imagine our first team without both.

Other issues for the Eire absentee have included a string of niggling injuries. Since the end of last season he's suffered with knee, ankle, hamstring and more recently shin problems. The knee has been troublesome for some time and is often heavily bandaged. Knocks to the knee and hamstring were picked up or at least aggravated in the victories over Arsenal and Wolves, respectively, and the shin during the recent home defeat by Everton.

Those rivalling him for a regular starting place in the centre have also had up-and-down seasons. Nigel de Jong tends to shine when called upon for the big occasion or against sides who line-up in a system which enables him to cling to an advanced midfielder, especially at home. Against sides who bypass the central midfield with long passes, either centrally or diagonally, he can begin to have less effect, and whilst i'm a fan of the player i see him more as an asset that can be employed when games suit than a must against all opposition.

Gareth Barry's form declined steadily over the middle months of the season. Initially looking like a deep role alongside de Jong might see him excel, he's gone on to do only an occasionally steady job in neither a holding nor box-to-box role. For City he often looks to lack both the mobility and physical presence to carry out the former of those two jobs well, though for England he's proved a vital cog in the role under Fabio Capello.

In theory the return to 4-4-2 may hinder a player such as Ireland even further, with the discipline needed to hold together the midfield as one of a two another excuse used for his dip in form earlier in the season. A side does need balance, and very few nowadays, Spurs being a notable example, succeed in playing an offensive midfielder centrally as well as widemen and more than the now customary lone forward.

Pat Vieira's initial performances in a blue shirt have also met mixed reviews, but in Ireland's absence he's certainly the closest thing we've got to a box-to-box midfielder, and though he at times appears leggy and off the pace, and he's struggled to find his passing range, you can see what he's trying to do, and i don't think it's any coincidence that our two better performances of late - Burnley and Fulham, have involved him taking a driving role.

The fact that we're beginning to rely on a battle-weary veteran such as Vieira perhaps makes the decreased gametime for Ireland even more galling. Criticism of the manager for using him sparingly, however, isn't really fair. It's up to the player to force his way into his plans and he's so far shown few signs, a couple of great assists aside, that he's up for that battle.

Should Mancini remain at the helm beyond this season, as is looking more and more likely, then midfield reinforcements will almost certainly be his first concern of the summer. In effect, Ireland has half-a-dozen games to prove to the Italian that he can play a vital part long-term. Yes, he's young, and the niggling injuries, squad rotation and change in systems are all valid points, but in proving himself as a player capable of making a significant impact in the Premier League he's been rewarded in terms of a vastly-improved contract, and as such i think we should rightly expect a bit more magic from the boy many still consider to be as good as we've got.