Irish fans would relish an entertaining display but Trapattoni is likely to stick to a cautious script, writes Brian Kerr
CONSIDERING SPORT can lift the mood of a nation (the boxers did it for me in 2008) I wonder what sort of performance could lighten the doom and gloom amongst soccer followers during these dark, recessionary times.
Having witnessed GAA fans packing out Croke Park for the recent Dublin and Tyrone game and the massive outpouring of pleasure derived by those who witnessed the Ireland rugby team’s return to form last Saturday to brilliantly beat France, my fear is Mr Trapattoni will dampen any hopes of another pleasure-fest on Jones’ Road tonight.
The will to win was beyond question from the Dublin, Tyrone, Ireland and France teams, but it was the adventurous style of play that spectators relished.
Now it might seem like a strange stance for a former manager, who was criticised for allegedly being overly conservative, to be promoting a more expansive approach by the Republic of Ireland tonight. But let’s examine the reasons why public interest has been so tame in the build-up to tonight’s qualifier against Hector Cuper’s Georgia, a fact best exemplified by the amount of tickets still available.
The overly defensive demands of the Italian have to be considered as a contributing factor. Last November’s 3-2 defeat to Poland was a hugely entertaining game by any standards, while the Poles were clearly better than most teams we’ve faced for some time. Granted, we lost but at least we saw an Ireland team forced to have a go after the concession of early goals in both halves. I understand completely the management’s desire for tight organisation and defensive discipline all over the field, but Trapattoni’s statements at the weekend that we will “remind them of what we did against Cyprus, Montenegro and Georgia”, allied to “these club habits are no good to us”, indicates clear frustration with some of the openness he saw against Poland and from his occasional visits to view Ireland players up close.
There are two main restrictions in place that stymie the Ireland team at present. Our full backs rarely, if ever, join the attack, instead clearly instructed to mind the fort, while neither central midfielder is permitted to get ahead of the ball or support the attack too early. This strait-jacket approach on some naturally attacking players, combined with the huge demands placed upon our wingers and centre forwards, has dampened the ability of Damien Duff and Aiden McGeady to frighten the life out of opposing defenders.
The remarkable work-rate of Kevin Doyle and Robbie Keane has equally led to less effectiveness in their main role as strikers.
Irrespective of the tactics, we should prove too good for Georgia, who have been poor travellers, finishing near the bottom in their last four qualifying groups. Having shamefully taken advantage of Georgia’s problems with former bosses Russia, the FAI with their pals in Fifa gained a huge advantage by playing the away fixture in the German city of Mainz. We exploited Georgia, but how did we get so many games played, both North and South, during The Troubles? Given Cuper has had time to mould the Georgian approach, I would expect a more committed performance than that evident in our 2-1 win in Germany.
On a positive note, all of Trapattoni’s starting line-up are playing regularly for their clubs; John O’Shea and Glenn Whelan benefiting from injuries at Manchester United and Stoke City respectively, while Shay Given, Robbie Keane and Stephen Kelly have changed clubs for wildly different reasons. I’d expect them all to be in a positive mindset this evening as a result.
Kelly has generally performed well in green and his consistency at full back gives him an edge over Paul McShane, regardless of fitness.
Shay may prove a crucial influence in the Stephen Ireland situation, but will certainly help Richard Dunne climb out of his recent slump in form at Manchester City. Recently, Ireland’s warrior centre back has been afflicted by own goals and red cards, but most of the problems can be deflected to events around him, like incompetent and changing defensive partners, inexperienced goalkeepers and a lack of balance in the City midfield.
Sadly, we have seen a return to the poor concentration levels and as a result, ill-timed tackles that proved so costly before his emergence as a reformed, slimmed down, reliable Premiership centre back during the Kevin Keegan era. At international level his developing partnership with O’Shea is vital to our chances of qualification. Current form and lack of game time is worrying but I expect him to pick up where he left off for Ireland tonight.
Richard’s Tallaght mate Robbie Keane has dominated the headlines all season since the big move, failure to settle and subsequent departure from Anfield back to old club Spurs. Like all strikers, Robbie needs the confidence of his manager in order to reach full potential. From the initial stages at Liverpool it was obvious that Rafa Benitez didn’t fancy him.
Being constantly subbed, left out of the starting XI and then the squad would drain the conviction and confidence of any goalscorer. Such treatment seemed totally illogical to me, from a supposedly intelligent manager who agreed to buy him for €22.5 million. The Premiership madness persists, I suppose.
Keane’s return to Spurs may be embarrassing for him after the hype of the initial deal, but Spurs as a club and living in London seems to suit him better. His form will return. For sure, we need his goals on a more regular basis and against better opposition both home and away, which has never been the case.
So what would lift the gloom for those of us who have witnessed the recent collapse of League of Ireland clubs or the supporter marching up to Croke Park tonight?
Well Trap, how about letting Kevin Kilbane and Stephen Kelly off the leash to become raiding full backs in the mould of former stalwarts like Paddy Mulligan and Chris Hughton, who still always minded the house.
And what about freeing one of the central midfielders, Keith Andrews would be ideal, to make some penetrating runs at the heart of the opposition? Maybe even let Doyle and Keane neglect their covering duties to find space for a counter attack when the Georgians are on the ball? This might be pushing it, but how about letting Duffer and McGeady off helping their full backs to retain some energy for some trademark swashbuckling runs?
Okay, sorry, I thought as much. Forget all that entertainment stuff. You’re right, Trap, maybe hard work, good organisation, and a no-frills approach – excluding flair – for three more points on the long road to the promised land of South Africa would suffice.
Maybe that’s all that is required to cheer us up. But maybe some day?
