On beating Brazil (!), courting Giovanni and In the Valley of Elah.

Dia dhuit one and all, I haven’t updated this for the better part of three weeks now, irrespective of the fact that it will probably be the busiest month or so that we will have all year, certainly until the campaign to make it to South Africa begins. There’s a number of reasons behind it…exams….women….Havant and Waterlooville on the shamelessley addictive FM08….women….ah, I could go on. I won’t though, but I will keep this fairly brief as well, a full update on everything should be up around next weekend, when everything should be finally, mercifully resolved with the identity of our new manager. I’ll probably be best judging once the incumbant is in the hotseat, rather than dealing with more and more rumour and hearsay. I’ll touch on it briefly in the minute, but in the meantime there is the small issue of the five-time world champions being in town tonight.

Brazil are at Croker tonight, Dunga having named a side with intentions to make up the hubris of the team that will go to Beijing in the summer. Kaka won’t be there, Ronaldinho won’t be there (He’s barely able to get a game at Barca these days, never mind the national side), and the exciting Alexandre Pato is also missing, with a somewhat irritating ankle injury. But even without three of the biggest names, there’s still plenty of players that should keep the pulses racing. With the likes of Anderson, Diego, Luis Fabiano and the rejuvenated Robinho all proving the spark up front, there should be enough to keep the viewers interested, while Tim Vickery chose to rave on about the potential of other, somewhat less recognisable names within the squad. Certainly it will be interesting to see whether the likes of Breno, Marcelo and Rafinha do the business if they get any time on the pitch tonight. It’s always going to be talented squad when Brazil are involved, so in some ways it may well be more interesting to see who the future stars will be, although part of me still yearns to see the likes of Kaka and Ronaldinho doing the business, can’t have it all though.

As for our lot, interim coach Don Givens named the starting XI yesterday, with it being more or less our strongest side, perhaps with the exceptions of the injured Stephen Reid and hopelessly out of form Paul McShane. Most interesting will be the performance of Damien Duff, whose form has improved markedly since SuperKev took over at Newcastle (Even if the same cannot be said of the side), with it looking as if the defensive shackles placed under him towards the backend of his time at Chelsea and under Sam Allardyce now removed by Keegan, realising that he is simply not a defensive player in any way, shape or form. Duff may well become the talisman of the side once again along with Robbie Keane if he can get a run of games together and find the form that made him one of the best wingers in the world for a period in and around the World Cup in 2002, so tonight would be an excellent way to start and also to put his name back in the frame. The only slightly depressing fact about tonight is that no-onbe really needs to impress too much, due to the lack of real quality behind the players on show tonight. The only one who may have to show something tonight may be Kevin Doyle, with a few names lurking around for that second slot (Shane Long, Daryl Murphy) along with Keane up front if he fails to impress for too much longer. I’ve always had certain reservations over Doyle as an international standard player, and despite a pretty good showing in Bratislava in September, those doubts persist. He needs to prove that he’s the player that he was hyped up to be in certain sections of the media, and a good showing tonight could seal his place in the starting XI for a time to come. Otherwise though, I would expect this to be much the same team for the first match with the new man in charge, be that the friendly against Serbia or the qualifier in Tblisi towards the end of the year. A prediction for the result tonight? 1-0 Brazil, there’s not a severe gulf in class between the two sides, but I think we might not quite have enough about us up front to do any damage, while they nick the odd one, might well be Luis Fabiano who scores it, given the brilliant form he’s in at the moment for Sevilla. It will be good to play some top quality opponents though, and as long as we don’t make ourselves look amateur, then the result won’t matter too much. Won’t argue with a 2 or 3-0 win though, don’t suppose I’ll have to worry about that though.

Now, as far as the managerial situation goes….at this rate of going they’ll be having Super Tuesday for the 2012 ballot in America before we find out who the new manager is. The word is now that we’re after Giovanni Trappatoni for the position, but Red Bull Salzberg aren’t willing to let him go before the end of the season, while the haunting spectre of El Tel still lurks around the job. To be fair, I never considered Trappatoni for the job, but I would certainly go for it ahead of a number of other candidates who have been put forward. His last few jobs haven’t been roaring successes, and the Salzberg job is a nicely paid post in an upty-mupty league, so you can’t read too much into that, but his track record in the past speaks for itself. The only real concern would be the failings with Italy, and the battering he got in the media for his ultra-defensive tactics, with his own volatile temprament also posing an issue if he’s riled too much by the darker elements of our gutter press. Part of me hopes that we do not become a “soak it up and nick one on the break” side in a similar vein to that of Jack Charlton’s side, but the other half recognises his ability as a manager and his near 40 years of experience, and back the FAI in plumping for him. It’s a double-edged sword in that respect, but give me the choice of him and Venables, and there’s no contest. I’ll probably come to a full judgment in my head when I actually see the man presented at the press conference, whomever it may be. For now I’ll leave it at that, but certainly it’s an interesting, unexpected and in some ways pleasant line to come out from the press this week, a brief bright note in a morass of humilation and embarassment for everyone involved with Irish football, in an episode that needs to end within the week.

The match tonight? Shamefully, I must admit that Wednesday is fast becoming cinema night for me, and tonight’s no different, Brazil or no Brazil. I will with any hope see the match afterwards, although entrusting my dear Dad to tape the thing is like asking Stevie Wonder to pop in the car and head down to the shop for some milk, so fingers crossed on that one. If not, I’ll plunder what I can from Sky’s round the clock highlights, tucked nicely in the corner after the complete breakdown of England’s 2-0 win over Switzerland, and make whatever limited judgments I can from that in order to sound like an expert sometime next week. The film? In the Valley of Elah is the name, I think. Sounds alright anyways, it will want to be good anyways, especially if I miss an Irish victory for it :/

I’ll leave it at that for now though, enjoy whatever mach you lot watch tonight, and I’ll get talking to you in the week, hopefully with a full update, and a bellyache or two over the faults of our new manager. Unless it’s Mourinho….

Slante Chugat
Eugene