Dia dhuit everyone, it’s been the better part of a week or so since we (for we, read Denis O’Brien) installed Traps as manager, but I’ve been thinking over the week about what Trapattoni needs to do in order to bring the good times back, and one thing sticks out like a sore thumb, which must be dealt with before anything else. It’s not the solution to all out problems by any stretch of the imagination, but Traps needs to pack his English dictionary and head over to Steve Finnan’s house, because we need him back before the start of the qualifying campaign.

Finnan announced his retirement from the international stage about a fortnight before Trapattoni was installed as the new gaffer, leaving our options short, very short at right back. Now, you might wonder how bringing back Finnan is suddenly going to resolve all the Republic’s issues and guarantee us a place at the World Cup? Simple fact, it’s not, but it’s going to help no end. Finnan made 50 appearances for the Republic since his debut in 2002, and you’ll be hard pushed to find one out of that half-century which was a genuine stinker, where he let the country down. Finnan is unnoticed for club and country, but 99 times out of 100 he always puts in solid, realiable if unspectacular performance. In all fairness, that’s all you’d want from your right-back, especially now given that what we need right now if a period of consistency, particularly in defence.

In order for Trapattoni to make his new system work, revolving around a solid defence and a midfield who will track back and help out in defensive duties, he needs his best, most dependable players. In that case, he needs Richard Dunne and Paul McShane in the centre-back roles, perhaps John O’Shea in the left back position (In all fairness, that’s our weakest position in the whole squad, so it’s a bit of a paradox, I agree), with at least one worker in the centre of midfield, so that will be Lee Carsley. Which leaves the right-back slot. Let’s be honest, Stephen Kelly isn’t up to this level, and up against a decent left-winger, such as Martin Petrov or whoever the Italians put over on that side, (I’m gonna be frank, I haven’t been clued up on the Italian side for a long time, these days I haven’t the foggiest who Donadoni employs on the wings) he’s going to get a good gubbing, and we’re going to start leaking goals from that side.

With a player of Finnan’s guile and ability to read the game, it improves our chances of shoring up at the back no end, which is exactly what we need right now. His experience will help the rest of the side no end as well, and McShane in particular could continue to learn his trade from the likes of Finnan and Dunne. Hopefully he does continue to learn from some of the best himself, as McShane could well be one of the top defenders for his country in a long time, but he needs guidance after a pretty horrible season in the Premiership thus far. So, in truth, for at least the next two years, we need Finnan in the side to ensure that we start on the right tracks under Trapattoni and continue along them, hopefully en route to a place at the World Cup.

If we don’t get Finnan back, it’s not the be all and end all of everything, but it makes the situation difficult, as when you get beyond Kelly, things get really tricky after that. I personally rate Joey O’Brien, but he’s not ready for the top level yet, and needs more games at Bolton in order to play against the best there is to offer. Maybe in time to come, but he’s not ready yet. Sean St Ledger? He could be a good player, but if he was as good as he has been biulled to be by some people, why haven’t a Premiership club come in and taken a risk on him, as seems to be de riguer with some of the bottom half clubs in the league in recent years. His temper also lets him down no end at times, and before anyone would consider buying him, they would have to factor in the attitude problem that comes with St. Ledger, and would you be willing to break up any form of stability in a side for a troublemaker such as that? Otherwise, it’s the likes of Alan Maybury, and that’s a definate no-no. So the case for Finnan is championed even further, when you look at the dearth of options beyond himself.

Like it’s been said before, Finnan is not the answer to all our problems, but bringing him back into the fold will be an instant fillip for the side, and one that’s required at the moment, just to boost morale and bring a familiar face back into the surroundings. We won’t be able to rely on him forever, and by the time he would retire after the World Cup campaign, you would hope that someone else would have broken through the ranks (O’Brien, or someone from the youth squad, noises have been made about Leeds youngster Simon Madden). However, for now what the side needs is stability and consistency, Finnan provides both those qualities, whilst nicely slipping under the radar. If Trapattoni could lure him back for one more crack at international football, then it would be a very positive start to what will hopefully be a productive tenure as manager. Here’s hoping anyways.

I’ll leave it at that for today, all, doubtless you got the message anyways, I’ll report back later in the week with something else that catches the eye hopefully. We’ll see what crops up in the week anyhow, talk later everyone.

Slainte Chugat
Eugene

Dia dhuit everyone, I’ll try to keep this short and sweet, and maybe lob up another update over the next few days, not quite sure what on, but there will be something relevant to talk about, given the upheaval of the last week. The pleasant upheaval of the last week.

I would presume the majority of you know the details of the deal by now, as filled in a few days ago by Daryl separately, but in case you’re an amnesiac, or had absolutely no interest in the Ireland job and ignored everything relating to it, I’ll drum it in. Giovanni Trapattoni is the new Republic of Ireland manager, on a two-year contract, earning the better part of £1 million a year, (Or 1.4 million Euros, but my laptop doesn’t have the damn Euros sign /o\) who has stated his intention to take the team to South Africa in 2010, believing we can finish above his native Italians en route to world domination. His English is worse than Ronaldo’s knee, his temper is as short as Gianfranco Zola and his style of football is known best for the way that the Lisbon Lions destroyed it over 40 years ago, paving the way for sides like Brazil in 1970, but irrespective of all that, he’s the right man for the job, certainly in comparison with the recent incumbants in the role and the other names lined up to take over.

Most people have come out in support of Trap so far, certainly that can be said of the gutter press in the country, most of whom bizarrely vouched for Dagenham Dave (It’s a vague reference, so fair play if you get it) to get the job. I think the media know full well along with the fans and everyone else involved in Irish football that this is a coup, made possible by the altruism of a man who failed Maths twice at secondary school, yet made hundreds of million from telecommunications, amongst other things. But the media also know about Trapattoni’s reputation. He doesn’t suffer fools, and he certainly doesn’t suffer the media, never has. If they manage to piss him off, he could turn and walk, it’s not necessarily a recurring theme in his career, bu you think a man of 68 needs to be hassled by guttersnipe journalists from shite newspapaers who know a shred of what he’s forgotten about football? Forget it, everyone knows the record that Trapattoni brings with him, and if he’s left to his devices, it should mean success. So hopefully the appointment will have the knock on effect of shutting up the likes of Eamon Dunphy for a while, along with the other pundits knocking around over there.

I am by my nature a cynic, there’s always a negative with our lot, doesn’t matter if we’ve just beat the Dutch 1-0 to knock them out of the World Cup while we go into the play-offs, I’ll just say that we have the play-off to come. It’s largely the same here, and I do have my reservations about the appointment, two in particular. Firstly, what Trapattoni said on Friday, that the deal was too good to turn down. Woah, hang on a second, what does that mean? First off the bat, the deal is too good to turn down, not that he’s relishing the challenge of taking the country to the World Cup (It came in the end, but only after a bit of prodding). Now, I know I shouldn’t be a hyprocrite and criticise the man, but I’m going to be. Does this mean that Trapattoni is in for one last big paycheck, with the focus being on how much he’s taking away a year, rather than how the team is doing in terms of qualification? I just hope this doesn’t amount to mixed up priorities on his behalf, but I’m slightly concerned at the moment. Secondly, it has to be the style of football. Trap has employed a style based around the catennacio techniqued mastered by Inter Milan on the way to two European Cups in the 60’s. It’s worked for him down the years, no debating that, but there was one place where it didn’t work on a big scale, on the international level. Under his tutelage, Italy comfortably made it out of fairly easy qualifying groups for the World Cup in 2002 and for Euro 2004 without too much fuss, other than a 2-1 reverse in Cardiff early in the latter group. But, when it came to the big stage, they only won two games out of seven, and that was their opening match in Japan against a hopelessley out of depth Ecuador side, followed by a last gasp 2-1 win against a Bulgaria side in 2004 generally percieved to be the worst in the competition, at a point where it didn’t matter anyways, as they were out at the groups. Otherwise, there were defeats against Croatia and South Korea (Yes, I know about the controversy, still didn’t play well enough however), along with struggling draws against Mexico and Denmark, whilst failing to held on against Sweden. Italy’s style was found out and found out fairly quickly by decent sides or teams in form. Now, consider that was with the likes of Maldini, Buffon, Nesta, Totti, Gattuso, Vieri et al in the side. We haven’t got that talent in the side, so what does that mean for us. As was noted, Trapattoni will stop the dehabilitating 5-2 reversals in European outposts, but will it guarantee what we actually want, qualification for the World Cup. Hold that thought…

All things accounted for though, it’s a good appointment, on the basis of the track record that the man brings with him, his passion for the game even at his age, and the fact that it’s not Terry Venables. Trap has won more trophies then I even care to list throughout his career, so we’re dealing with a man who knows his stuff in any case. We’re also dealing with a man who is not afraid to speak his mind, and tell the players what he thinks of them, all for their own benefit in the long run, and we also have to remember, that this is not Terry Venables. That in itself makes it a great appointment. So after the debacle of getting to this point, we can afford a certain modicum of optimism over where we’re going now. It’s over to Trap to deliver the goods and get us back to a major competition for the first time in nearly a decade. Of all the men mooted for the role, you’d trust him above almost all of them to get the side there.

I await the Serbia match with interest, to see how he intends to go about things, with any hope it’ll be the first step towards glorious qualification for South Africa, followed by the defeat of Brazil, Argentina, Holland (again), Spain, Germany, France and England en route to being declared the greatest side in the world, even though most of us already knew that. Bet we still get beaten by Cyprus though.

That’ll do for now, went on for a bit longer then I anticipated, but next time out I’ll try to make it shorter. No guarantees though, knowing what I’m like…

Sliante Chugat everyone
Eugene

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

Dia dhuit once again everyone, plenty of news coming out from our place this week, particularly regarding the saga of who’s getting the managerial post, while our fixtures for the upcoming campaign were announced earlier today, so it’s probably best to have a look at where it’ll all fall down once again. Anyhow, onwards and upwards….

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The fixtures. Sorted out today in Bulgaria, and to be honest, we’ve got a fairly good deal out of it, certainly it could have been a hell of a lot worse if the right man was given the chance to make a mess of it.

Here’s the list in full

Sep 6 v Georgia (a)
Sep 10 v Montenegro (a)
Oct 15 v Cyprus (h)
Feb 11 v Georgia (h)
Mar 28 v Bulgaria (h)
Apr 1 v Italy (a)
Jun 6 v Bulgaria (a)
Sep 5 v Cyprus (a)
Oct 10 v Italy (h)
Oct 14 v Montenegro (h)

The start is being called difficult by the BBC, tricky by RTE and doubtless everyone will be prophesising the end before those two matches even start. Simply put, that’s a definate 4 points, and it should be 6, if we get our act together. Yeah, Georgia is a tricky place at the best of times (Ask Scotland) and Montenegro are to an extent the unknown quantity. But the squad has enough talent within it to win those first two, and the next three while we’re at it, given that after that we have the Cypriots, Georgians and Bulgarians at home. That could well be 15 points there and then. If we play to the standard that the players can, it should be 15 points, no joke. No, in fact, it needs to be 15 points, because after that it actually does begin to get nasty.
Those four games afterwards, with three away games in a row, in Rome/Milan, Nicosia and Sofia look a bit daunting, but that’s what distinguishes the qualifiers from the also-rans. If we can get 5 points from those three games, and then pick up at least three more at home in our final two games, then we’ll make the play-offs, no sweat. But that’s asking a hell of a lot, because it entails an unbeaten campaign for a side in with the World Champions and with an away record that rivals a few of the poorer sides around the continent, (Our last away win against decent opposition in World Cup Qualifying? We’ve been waiting for the first one for the last 80 years, dammit) so perhaps it’s best that I don’t get ahead of myself. However, if we appoint a decent manager who knows how to grind out results when it matters, then there’s no reason why we can’t get through, what is actually a pretty poor group in terms of ability, removing Italy from the picture. Play-offs should be the minimum at least. If we can’t make some inroads in this group, then we might as well not bother…

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The trauma of finding a new manager remains a hot topic at the moment, with a few new twists in the last fortnight. Sam Allardyce was shown the door at Newcastle, and will probably be contacted by the FAI at some point, although the liklihood is he’ll have a good chuckle before putting the phone down. More realistically, Lawrie Sanchez has also heard from the two men (And Ray Houghton) left to find the new gaffer for the national side. Sanchez will sit down with the two (And Ray Houghton) at some point later on, be it towards the end of this week or the start of next for a formal interview. The only other man up to this point who has confirmed that he was interviewed for the post was Roy Hodgson, but fortunately he decided to try and save the sinking ship that is Fulham.
As far as Sanchez goes….I’m not totally opposed to it. Yeah, he had a frankly dreadful few months at Fulham, and probably deserved his P45 for all the money he spent, and all the points his side frittered away, but Sanchez knows what he’s doing at international level. He was the catalyst for Norn Iron’s turnaround in fortunes, and it remains to be seen whether Nigel Worthington will be able to continue the good work done by his predecessor, (Don’t hold your breath) but in any case the plateau for a strong Northern Irish side was set up by Sanchez, and he could do a similar job with a better set of players. It’s a bit of a gamble on a man whose repuation took a pretty bad beating in the last few months, but it’s what he knows, and it might well be what we need. I’m still not totally convinced, but I can think of a hell of a lot worse right now to replace Stan than Lawrie. This one could run and run…

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Meanwhile, at the start of the year, IFA chief Howard wells rejected the proposals within certain newspapers that a unified league between North and South would start later in the year. In fact, the matter was pretty much rejected out of hand by Wells for the time being, but not totally dismissed, with the Norn Iron chief exec saying that informal discussions had taken place between a few people, but that did not constitute an All-Ireland league any time soon. I suppose this should be taken as a sign of optimism in some respects from my side, given my own opposition to the concept of a unified league, but the more I think about it, the more inevitable it may well be, given the relative success of the Scandinavian League over the last few years as a side competition within the Nordic countries, and considering how much sense it would make financially for two leagues who struggle for revenue at the best of times.
Chances are Delaney and Wells will sit down before too long and come to an understanding over a league of some sort to begin at a later date, whenever that is, I’m not sure, provided they can get the backing of the necessary groups in order to proceed with the move. It will need he support of the League of Ireland clubs along with Irish League clubs from the North, with the structure in place for a long-term, financially suitable TV deal from either RTE, BBC or Setanta, with all the other parameters which need to be fufilled met by the correct bodies. If this can be arranged, then expect to see a league begin at some point. Might be in a years’ time, might be in 10 years’ time, but the liklihood is that it will happen. Problem is, I think this falls down on two accounts from our side. Firstly, it renders the decision to go through the entire process of devising a new league structure within the Republic totally pointless, because it will be the sides that are in place to inaugurate the league who will stand to benefit, who will make the money, and who may well breakaway from the national structure if it eventually makes sense for them to do so. The rich get rich and the poor are left behind, where have I heard that before?
Secondly, it would probably mean that our clubs would have to switch back to a winter schedule, despite having just acclimatised to the concept of a summer league, with the benefits being reaped to a certain degree in European results recently. It’s still not great, the best claim to fame thus far from any League of Ireland side would probably be Drogheda’s win over Djurdgarden’s in the UEFA Cup preliminaries, that or Derry City shutting Brooks Mileson and Gretna up good and proper, but that’s really about it. However, with the notable exception of Shelbourne’s run to the third qualifying round and being 0-0 in the Riazor with 40 minutes left in the tie, that’s about it. The signs are that this record could improve though. With a more competitive league in recent times (Three different winners in the last three seasons, although put that down to Shelbourne’s heavy points deduction last season if you wish) and a new schedule which seems to suit all, the league could well continue to progress in leaps and bounds in years to come. Making the decision to abandom all of this and start up a new league sounds like folly, but if it makes money, then it’ll be enforced before the three-year plan to reformat the League of Ireland is through. Much like the saga of the gaffer, this could run and run…

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In other brief news, we have another friendly in the pipelines, it’s in Oslo against Norway on August 20th. Again, another chance for the new manager to have a look at a few players before the campaign gets underway soon afterwards. Norway themselves are getting back to some form of old, and they have a strong base of players, so it should at least be a decent standard of a game, but on that same vein, it will only be a friendly…

Otherwise, it’s been a quiet enough week. Expect an announcement on the identity of the manager either late next week or early the week after, because if Delaney actually wants someone in charge for the Alamo job against Brazil, then he’s going to have to get the two men (and Ray Houghton) in charge of finding their man to get their act together and appoint someone. To be frank, I just want to see someone in the job now, and end this whole sorry affair before it drags on any further. Find someone, talk to them, appoint them, as long as it’s not Terry Venables. Or Howard Kendall. Or John Aldridge. Or Liam Brady. Or….

I’ll leave it at that for now. Expect another update sometime over the next few days, but until then, have a good weekend everyone. Talk to you again soon.

Slainte Chugat.
Eugene

Dia dhuit to one and all once again, unfortunately I feel that I must start on a sad note this time around, in the aftermath of the death of Motherwell captain Phil O’Donnell on Boxing Day. I can’t talk about Phil O’Donnell as a player, I can’t talk about Phil O’Donnell as a person, but I can offer my condolences, as I’m sure we all can, in a situation such as this. I’ll leave it to the people who knew Phil O’Donnell to eulogise, but I extend my sympathies to fans of Motherwell who may be reading this. In the aftermath of Antonio Puerta’s death earlier in 2007, along with other tragic incidents involving footballers worldwide throughout the year, it is unfortunately another sad note on which the year ended. Here’s to hoping 2008 is not darkened by the same horrible stories.

Onto business, however, and I feel as if I need to get something off my chest, as this has been irritating me over the last few weeks. Stephen Hunt has emerged as an integral part of the Reading side in the Premiership who have more than enough quality within their squad to avoid relegation this season (Off the top of my head, I can think of five sides within the division who are significantly worse than the Royals), even though Kevin Doyle’s shooting boots have gone AWOL this year. Hunt is admittedly having a decent season for the club, and deserves recognition at least for his performances thus far, but why the sudden clamour and appraisal of a player whose ability can be best described as average? The BBC reported earlier in the week that Reading director Nick Hammond has ruled out a January sale of Hunt to Sunderland, with figures ranging from £2.5 million to £5 million, depending on who you believe. Now, I can’t speak for anyone else, but if I was in Nick Hammond’s position, and I was being offered anything upwards of £3 million for Stephen Hunt, I’m taking the money and running. Hunt is a one-track player with minute levels of skill, who can take a decent penalty. It baffles me every week how he manages to run such distances with the ball, when his approach is so basic, he doesn’t do anything special with the ball, he doesn’t bamboozle and befuddle in the way that Cristiano Ronaldo, Aaron Lennon or Martin Petrov may do from the wing, and if he was being properly tracked by the full-back, chances are he wouldn;t have so many opportunities as he is being afforded at the moment.
It sounds awful paradoxical, given the examples that I’ve just presented, but Stephen Hunt is not a good player, heaven knows he’s not a £5 million player, and his performances for country thus far have been ‘highlighted’ by putting us out of our collective misery on a pretty bad night in Prague by sliding in rashly and getting himself sent off, ending any pretensions about making it to Euro 2008. Anything between £3-5 million, combined with John Madjeski’s Auto Trader fortune will buy Reading a considerably more able winger, while I fully expect Damien Duff to reassume his position on the left flank for the Irish if he ends his pertinent run of injuries, hell, perhaps even Andy Keogh or Alan O’Brien may present a more dangerous threat for some top-class full-backs on the big stage, because let’s face it, up against a world-class right-back, Stephen Hunt is causing no threat of any type. I hope that it won’t be too long before people actually begin to appreciate how limited a footballer Hunt is, especially the next national coach.

Which brings me nicely onto my next topic, the never-ending tale of who the next Ireland manager will be. I gave this brief mention last week, attempting it would seem in vain, to entice Fabio Capello into ditching his £4.5 million a year salary (after tax, thank you) with England and hopping over the Irish Sea to take the job at Abbotstown and return us to past glories. Realistically, it’s probably just a case of when Terry Venables is going to turn Bulgaria down and be sitting down in a press conference in Dublin, wondering how much money he can pilfer out of another backward footballing organisation, before cutting his losses and running. Granted, Venables was successful at the start of his career, from QPR, to the La Liga title with Barcelona, probably culminating with England’s semi-final finish at Euro ‘96. But from there it goes downhill, in a hurry.
He almost bankrupted both Portsmouth and Crystal Palace, with ultimately disastrous tenures with Australia and Leeds United ending in his dismissal mixed in, the nadir probably coming with the defeat to Croatia at Wembley and his sacking by the FA as Steve McLaren’s number two, his reputation in England damaged severely by the experience. Venables and his system was successful 15 to 20 years ago, with a plethora of good players surrounding him at clubs with such magnitude as Barcelona and Tottenham. Combine a somewhat limited squad with an archaic approach which will be exposed by the good and the not-so good, and we will be made to look even more stupid than on some of the darker nights in European qualifying. The only thing that Terry Venables is trading on now is past glories, and you cannot tell me that he is the answer to a side who is in dire need of some new approaches, a side who is in need of a fresh start and an injection of impetus if we are to make it to South Africa in 2010.
I always backed the idea of Paul Jewell for the job, but he plumped for relegation and Championship mediocrity with Derby instead, so perhaps the best idea on a short-term basis may have been the ‘fixer’ qualities of an experienced international coach like Phillipe Troussier, who always stated his ambitions for the role (Until he took up the post at FC Ryukyu), but it’s not a popular option, and certainly not one that would be considered by the ‘Dream Team’ of consultants employed by the FAI to find the next manager. Really it’s now down to discussing terms with Venables, unless David O’Leary pops up out of nowhere to state his desire for the position, but don’t hold your breath. He’s angling for a Premiership job which he won’t get, and the liklihood is that Delaney and the rest of the board would baulk at his probable yearly wage demands.
I suppose the point I’m trying to make is that the perpetual delay in deciding the next manager is really just a frustrating formality, and when Venables is seen grinning from ear to ear, shaking Delaney’s hand between now and February, no-one should be surprised. However, it’s a bad indication of the state of Irish football if we feel that a managerial dinosaur with a questionable track record on and off the field is the best option to lead a team who could go one way or another in the next four years or so.

Finally, I feel that a brief retrospective on our year is probably in place for this blog, but it will be brief for a reason, mostly because 2007 was not a year to remember for the Irish, certainly not South of the border. The key games in qualifying highlighted how far we have fallen back in recent times, showing an alarming incapability against a Czech Republic side in September, before putting in a better performance at home to Germany, but still not doing enough, with the final nail in the coffin for Euro 2008, and Steve Staunton’s reign, coming with a draw at home to Cyprus which should have been a defeat. The highlights of the year? Taking four points off Wales is always nice, because it reminds me that no matter what, there is always one team from the region that is worse than us, while a home win against Slovakia three days later gave us false hope for the run-in of our campaign. The lowlight? The San Marino game, beyond a shadow of a doubt. It was simply embarassing beyond all belief, and it really sent home a message to a lot of people of our standing in the world game. It’s never nice to see a legend such as Steve Staunton be unceremoniously dumped in the manner that he was, but in truth, I suppose the FAI had no other real alternative, now that I reflect on the matter a little more. 2008 needs to be a year of stability for the country, and we must, must get off to a good start in World Cup qualifying, whoever we are pitted against. Stability means a promising managerial appointment (unlikely), a few good friendly results to build up momentum (We’re playing Brazil soon, for heaven’s sake) and that all essential positive start to qualifying (Not Cyprus away, not Cyprus away…). If we get that, I’m quietly hopeful, if we don’t get that, we’ll be worse than Wales, and that’s not on.
Credit to Drogheda United for taking their chance in the league this season and winning their first ever title, a richly deserved prize, here’s to a successful campaign in the Champions’ League in July and August, while credit must also, grudgingly, go to Northern Ireland for their bid to make Euro 2008. The fact that they only narrowly missed out in a group containing Spain, Sweden and Demark is to be admired, but I’m stopping there, before I grind my teeth down to the gums. Here’s to hoping we see the development of some new young blood, the return to form of some old stars and the dawn of a new era for Irish football in 2008, otherwise you people will be getting plenty more cynical, sarcastic blog posts off me.

I think that’s enough for me for another week though, normal service should resume with the blog from this week onwards. I would also like to take this opportunity to wish you all a belated Happy Christmas and New Year, I hope you enjoyed your celebrations. For now though, I shall leave it at that. Have a good week everybody. Again, if you have any feedback, leave a comment, and I’ll answer your questions as best as possible

Slainte Chugat.

Eugene

Dia dhuit to one and all again. A few matters cropped up this week, some straddling the border with our Northern friends/rivals/counterparts, depending on how you view the relationship between the pair of us. So I’ll probably be covering a fair portion of Norn Iron’s news for the week as well, that way it gives you a better scope of what the news is from the Republic this week. Anyways, onto the news…

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I was scanning through the RTE website a little while ago, when I came across this article. Now in some respects, I can understand the concerns of Edwin Poots and Jim Shannon, but I do believe that they are arguing the matter on the wrong point. This rule, whereby players can switch alleigance from the North to the Republic, and vice versa, is stupid. If you were born in the country, or your parents were born in the country, then fair enough, because there may well have been mitigating circumstances with your birth, or whatever the story is. This affair of being able to play for another country because of a grandparent of a passport is ludicrous and thick.
However, politicians won’t make the matter any better by bringing the black stain of sectarianism into the matter. The issue should be seen in terms of how it affects Northern Ireland in footballing terms, not how it makes a difference politically, and the fact that people are still thinking in this way, while not necessarily surprising, is quite disappointing, because it shows that we haven’t left the past where it belongs. Is it a matter of importance? Yes, of course. Northern Ireland don’t want to see their home-grown stars, who have come through their national system, jump ship and join the Republic squad (To be frank, why would they want to at the minute), but I severely doubt that nationalism or unionism is the fundamental factor behind their thinking, more it’s for footballing reasons. That’s how the IFA should be approaching the matter, because to dredge up old skeletons that belong in the past of both countries is bound to just cause enmity. Let sleeping dogs lie…

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Noises were also made by certain media outlets in the week conerning the potential for an all-Ireland league, a story first mentioned by the Irish Independant, which the BBC then picked up and gave a brief mention. It may well all be mere speculation, but if it did come to pass, I’ve got to say that I’d be quite sceptical about it, and I’m unsure that it would benefit any of our sides, much in the same way it probably wouldn’t help the IFA teams involved. The incentive of the Setanta cup is already in place, so to try and bring together a league between the two countries, be it on a permanent basis or not, would just smack of money-grabbing from both FA’s, whilst in the process probably also weakening two pretty soft leagues further.
I would like to think that the cup is enough of a lure for sides to try and perform to a certain standard, in order to gain the greater exposure. If you had a breakaway league of some sort, it would leave certain clubs on a plateau, with no real apparent route into European football, without it being complicated and messy, while the rest are left behind to straggle along in a desperately poor league which just gives a bad impression. My fear is that this will probably come to some sort of fruition in the not-so-distant future, but for the sake of both leagues, I hope we maintain our own competitions, whilst enhancing the reputation of the Setanta cup.

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Stephen Ireland managed to get in the headlines again last weekend, unfortunately for the wrong reasons once again, with a rash, reckless two footed lunge on Lee-Young Pyo for Man City at White Hart Lane. Stephen Ireland is a talented player, his performances over the last 18 months for club and country have proven that, but he does need to calm down and find some semblance of normality within his life and his career. It may well be best to write off this season as a bit of of an anomaly, because of the trauma that has engulfed his private life and the embarassment for both club and country as lies and damned lies unravelled in the glare of the media, no matter what else he does this term, his 2007 will be remebered purely for that incident. If he does find that level within his personal life, then he could be City’s star turn for this and many a year, as well as being the crux of the Ireland team.
I hope that he will learn from events like those of last Sunday and move on, because he’s got the potential to be one of the key Irish players, along with the likes of Robbie Keane, Damien Duff and Paul McShane for years and years to come. If he doesn’t settle down hoever, he could end up like Liam Miller, in footballing terms at least, a youngster who promised so much, but ultimately delievered so little. Ireland’s in the right hands, at the right club, with bags of ability, it’s just that he needs to prove that he’s not a one-season wonder, I hope he proves all the doubters wrong spectacularly.

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Other news from the week saw the Republic announce a friendly with Serbia at Croker for the 24th May. Fairly run of the mill stuff I suppose. If anything, it will be a test against a side of similar capabilities to ourselves, whilst also providing a guide for how the new manager plans to shape the team and the subsequent players for the start of 2010 World cup qualifiers a few months on from that game. Otherwise though, it’s a friendly to boost the coffers of the FAI, and the chances are it will be a dull affair and a nothing result, so ho-hum.

Speaking of the new manager, all has gone quiet on the Western front this week. With the FAI setting up in Abbotstown over the last few weeks, I suppose things must be allowed to settle down, but I look at the example of England, who appointed Fabio Capello yesterday evening, and the delay does concern me somewhat. It’s now been the better part of two months since we sacked Stan, and in that time the FA have managed to fire McLaren and hire Capello, a manager with an undisputable track record and fantastic footballing brain. Of course, we’re not going to attract the likes of Capello and Mourinho to the Ireland job, but if we had acted as quickly in searching out the best candidates and head-hunting them, perhaps we may well have found up with Paul Jewell or someone of a similar ability as a coach, rather than probably being lumbered with the disastrous option of Terry Venables, with Howard Kendall ready to step in if El Tel thinks there’s not enough money within the FAI to leech out. Some of the sceptics within the English media may well criticse the failure of Barwick and co. to allure Mourinho to the job, but hell, if they want to be in our position, they can bloody well take it, we’ll have Mr Capello, thank you very much. I’m sure I’ll have far more to say on the matter next week.

I’ll leave it at that for the week though, if you have any comments to make, positive or negative, feel free to leave me a line below, and I’ll answer any questions next week, or fire back at anyone who thinks I’m a rambling plurk.

Stainte chugat, everyone.

Eugene

Dia dhuit, as we would say from the home country, but for the rest of you, that’s probably a hello.

A little bit about myself before I move onto the interesting stuff. My name is Eugene, I’m still relatively new to the blogging experience, with a few articles on Soccerlens underneath my belt, so taking up control of a separate blog is all fresh ground to me, it will be a learning experience along the way, but I it will be of some worth to one and all. I’ve followed the national side for the better part of 10 years now (It took me until the age of eight to realise that international sides didn’t have a transfer market, so I’m a bit of a slow starter) and there have been plenty of ups and downs along the way, from the unbeaten campaign and elimination of Holland to get to Japan and Korea in 2002, to the last 11 seconds in Macedonia two years earlier which ultimately cost us a place at Euro 2000.

Right now we find ourselves at a bit of a juncture, in that we’ve failed to qualify for the European Championships once again, our World Cup group looks tricky, but not impossible, we have no manager (And every interested party is either a footballing dinosaur, useless or a handy combination of the pair), and our well of young talent that has kept the side ticking over nicely over the last few years appears to be drying up, even though the current crop of players still have enough ability amongst their ranks to encourage. So a hell of a lot could rest on whether the Irish qualify for the next World Cup or not on a number of different levels.

Through this blog, I hope to keep the readers up to date with how the key players are faring, what new talent may be breaking through the ranks and give a general outlook on how football in Ireland is faring, from grassroots level, all the way to the head offices at Merrion Square. Along the way, there will probably be plenty of complaints, plenty of praise and all too many rants, especially if we make a mess of things in Nicosia once again. But hopefully the blog will provide some entertainment for all, as the Irish set off around Europe again, trying to qualify for the big one in South Africa.

So if any of you have some suggestions for the blog or questions about any aspects of our team, the possible new manager or anything else, then feel free to send them this way, and I’ll try to write something that will hopefully answer whatever queries they are.

Slainte chugat.

Eugene