Ahead of the most important week in Irish soccer for many a year, we take a look at some of the dilemmas confronting Irish manager Giovanni Trapattoni over the coming days.
The back four
With miracle man Richard Dunne absent after picking up a totally unwarranted yellow card on THAT night in Moscow, Trapattoni will be forced into a reshuffle at the back for the trip to the mighty Andorrans on Friday night.
Big Ron favourite Sean St. Ledger is available again after suspension, so could slot in alongside Darren O’Dea in the centre of defence. Although both have done well in a green jersey on an individual basis of late, a pairing with not one Premier League appearance between them doesn’t exactly breed confidence.
As a result, Long John O’Shea could be shifted into the centre to add some experience, with Kevin Foley or Stephen Kelly covering at right back before Dunne returns and the status quo is maintained for the visit of Armenia next week. In truth, any back four should cope against Andorra; if they can’t, we don’t deserve to qualify.
Central midfield
Ah, the eternal dilemma with this Irish team – are we happy to persist with two willing but limited grafters in the centre of the park, or do we try and inject even a smidgen of creativity in a week where we’ll need plenty of goals to have any chance of qualification?
In the last double header, Glenn Whelan and Keith Andrews were chosen pretty much by default. Darron Gibson and Keith Fahey were injured, and James McCarthy was hardly going to play having been called up so late, as a matter of necessity as much as anything else.
This time around, though, McCarthy and Faw-hee have been around the camp from the start and whispers from the training ground suggest that the Birmingham man could be involved from the start against Andorra.
With McCarthy, we know he has the potential, but have yet to see it on international stage. At least with Fahey, we know he’s proven. Indeed, he was the man responsible for securing our narrow escape in Armenia last September, a result that looks a whole lot better now given what has happened subsequently in the group.
He deserves his chance.
Long or Doyle, or both?
Trapattoni said that the decision to go with Long ahead of Doyle for the Slovakia game last month was due to Doyle’s lack of match fitness. After Long’s withdrawal, it didn’t matter anyway, but the team selection for the next two games will indicate whether Trap’s reasons were genuine or whether he was merely using Doyle’s condition as a smokescreen to protect a man that has served him so well in a green jersey.
Time to give these two a go up front?
Both players are fit and playing well and one could argue that Long deserves another chance after his spectacular start to life in the Premier League with West Brom. It would be a bold move, but now is not the time for conservatism.
Alternatively, why not play both? Sacreligious and all as it may seem to drop Robbie Keane, Doyle and Long are both first-team regulars in a league where no team saw fit to take a chance on the Irish captain.
In any case, at least all of our options in this position are of the highest quality, which unfortunately cannot be said for all areas of the pitch.
The stadium
Although Ireland will have nothing to worry about when tackling Armenia in the state of the art Aviva Stadium next Tuesday, the same cannot be said for the tiny Estadi Comunal in Andorra on Friday night.
The tiny venue can play host to approximately 850 supporters, around 200 of which will be loyal Irish followers. If the prospect of performing in front of such a paltry crowd fails to motivate the pampered Ireland squad, they will be further put off by what is thought to be a less than pristine playing surface and potentially muggy conditions.
Ireland are professional enough to avoid such pitfalls, but then we’ve often struggled against minnows – the horrors of Liechtenstein in 1996 and San Marino in 2007 come racing to mind. Another shock like that and it’s curtains for the Irish boss.
Approach
Given his present contract situation, it looks as if Trapattoni’s future could live or die on Ireland’s performances over the next two games. Qualify for Euro 2012, and that lucrative, vastly over-inflated new deal is his. Crash at the group stage or in the play-offs, and the game could well be up for Old Man Trap and Marco Tardelli, who seems to be sniffing around for the permanent gig once his compatriot calls it a day.
At this stage, we know well what Trap brings to the table. For all his faults, he has brought a solidity and organisation to the party that Ireland haven’t possessed in quite a long time. What we don’t know is if he has a Plan B, an ability to throw caution to the wind if required. Sure we did it in Paris two years back, but a feeling lingers that that revolution was player, rather than manager led.
With so much at stake, it’s time to throw off the shackles. As Jack might say, give it a lash. What have you got to lose?
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