Well, he does look like the kind of signing we have made down the years following Bobby's reign which saw us slide down the table. The likes of Lee Bowyer, Alan Smith, Geremi, Nicky Butt or Steven Carr for example, who had one wonder season (or were good a while ago), but their stock had fallen so low they were going for pittance and we picked these players up on the cheap hoping that we could bring back their former glory days. We have generally not had much success going down that route. They arrived on big wages and carried on their poor form with us. I can understand why people are wary of buying more of these players, espescially in a position where we already have plenty of players.
Ireland's still only 24 though...