Everything is in place — manager, backroom staff, and fixtures — but now comes the hard work of discovering Ireland’s creative spark.
Long before Stephen Kenny’s era was on borrowed time, the gaping deficit in his team was clear and costly.
Tweaks of formations can only yield so much in the absence of a central midfielder capable of producing a match-winning contribution. Gilesy’s long lament on that as a prerequisite isn’t obsolete.
When new boss Heimir Hallgrimsson seeks a solution from the Premier League ranks, he’ll have limited scope during the opening weekend.
It’s either a trip to Newcastle United on Saturday to observe Will Smallbone feature for Southampton or the earlier lunchtime fixture at Portman Road to hopefully catch uncapped Jack Taylor in the Ipswich Town side that hosts Liverpool.
That both teams are newly-promoted illustrates the profile which the Icelander is assessing. He’s assumed control of a squad distorted in positional departments.
Goalkeepers? All three will grace the Premier League this term.
Centre-backs? Everton recruit Jake O’Brien swells the cohort.
Strikers? A fully-fit Evan Ferguson should suffice but Tom Cannon is also back at the top table.
It’s within the engine room that Ireland are abundantly lacking. That much was apparent in the last campaign not only against the elite class of France and Netherlands, but when Greece dominated the exchanges in both of the victories for the fourth seeds.
Two berths, at a minimum, are essential to fill that midfield third of the pitch.
That pair became known in the fashionable era of 4-2-3-1 structure as pivots, the duo tasked with the dual purpose of shielding the defensive unit and linking the play to those advanced. It was a formation which began the Kenny tenure in 2020.
Sense eventually prevailed following the addition of coach Anthony Barry to utilise Ireland’s components by switching to three centre-backs, but it didn’t alter the responsibilities of the midfield combo.
“There’s a lot of competition throughout the squad but it is very prominent in midfield,” declared Kenny in advance of his debut game against Bulgaria.
He was including in that rationale an upbeat outlook on James McCarthy and Harry Arter, despite the pair’s patchy previous record for their country. McCarthy wasn’t seen again after the Euro playoff loss to Slovakia and Arter made one start, hampered by hanging around idle at Nottingham Forest.
Club crusades are crucial, evidenced further by the graduates he’d in mind from his U21 team.
Jayson Molumby was his captain and midfield lynchpin, a player Brighton handed a three-year contract extension and Premier League debut to, yet struggled to cut at senior international level.
His partner Conor Coventry was similarly hyped, alarmingly as the heir to Declan Rice for West Ham and, erm, Ireland. Lots of senior call-ups ensued without a debut being granted.
Kenny did shadow Martin O’Neill’s Euro 2016 midfield of Robbie Brady and Jeff Hendrick in the early throes but injuries meant that only the latter would prolong as a fixture.
Jack Byrne and Alan Browne were exposed too, but it was the third element of that former Ireland U21 trio who’d emerge and develop staying power like no other.
A brave decision to leave the goldfish bowl of the UK scene behind facilitated Josh Cullen blossoming into one of the Belgian league’s foremost Stars.
Following Vincent Kompany from Anderlecht to Burnley retained his status as first-choice for Ireland and that won’t change just because of their relegation.
Cullen solves half of Hallgrimsson’s puzzle — sourcing the other part is integral to the prospects of his mission of leaving Ireland in a better place.
Smallbone is the man in possession, albeit a short tenancy. He flanked Cullen in three of the four friendlies played in March and June and joined him as a sub for the last half hour of the other against Switzerland. What counts against Smallbone long-term is his reputation as an attacker. It was in his role within the 3-4-1-2 set-up against Greece that he flopped on his first competitive start.
Similarly, another one to excite through the U21 ranks, Andy Moran, is considered optimised at club level in an advanced role.
He’s poised for another loan season away from Brighton and it will be interesting to see where he’s deployed on the pitch and how frequently.
There has been great hope placed too in the ability of Joe Hodge to provide the missing link. A traditional box-to-box player, swapping Manchester City for Wolves was initially vindicated by Premier League elevation but the managerial instability conspired against him.
Hodge, Ireland’s current U21 captain, found himself marooned on the wing at QPR last season and the wish is that the next temporary owner maximises his strengths. A candidate ideally positioned to profit from the cavity is Bosun Lawal.
Celtic’s dilemma of balancing the books against the risk of regret convinced them to push for a buy-back clause when selling the defensive midfielder to Stoke City this week for an initial £2m.
He earned his first call-up for the June friendlies and can expect to be retained when Hallgrímsson unveils his first squad soon for the Uefa Nations League home games against England and Greece on September 7 and 10.
New Sunderland recruit Browne, having missed the summer gathering, should get a recall too but heading towards his 30th birthday, quality successors are a must to offer both a challenge and alternative to the incumbents of Cullen and Smallbone.
While the cases of Andy Townsend, Matt Holland and Mark Kinsella — all 25-year-old debutants who went on to captain Ireland — are heartening for late bloomers like Coventry, the waiting can only last so long.
How we could do with an illuminating presence in the most important of areas to brighten the winter.
Anyone interpreting the Sports Minister’s vow last Sunday to “do something” for the nascent academy system as a panacea is sadly mistaken.
Politicians are gearing up for General Election charm offensives, dropping gesture hints at every opportunity, but all the soundbites indicate a seven-figure pot will be assigned before the public cast their votes, likely early in 2025.
A conversative estimate puts the gap in funding between what the FAI, Uefa and clubs fork out annually and a fit-for-purpose system at around €6m.
Realistically, less than half that amount is envisioned to come from the exchequer purse, with a rigid application process coordinated by Sport Ireland the backbone. Other codes responsible for developing professional athletes are to be included.
Elsewhere in State handouts, up first in the sequence of announcements are the Sports Capital Programme grants in mid-September. Projects up to €400,000 were eligible to apply, revolving centrally around pitch improvements, all-weather surfaces and floodlights.
Where the high-profile photo opportunities for those seeking to keep office arise are the awards from the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF) shortly after the October budget.
Thomas Byrne made reference to this scheme in the musings and his local Drogheda United club are among seven LOI clubs who applied – their venture a brand-new 4,500-capacity arena adjacent to the Port Access Northern Cross Route (PANCR).
Dalymount Park and Sligo’s Showgrounds will be the major winners from the allocations, derived from an overall round deservedly due to rise above the measly €120m originally set.
Rematches tend to enthuse football fans and there’s an off-field version looming to decide on who represents the national league on the powerful FAI board.
Niamh O’Mahony has been in residence since November 2022, staving off competition from Caroline Rhatigan to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Dick Shakespeare.
He made way to assist the FAI achieve the 40% gender balance requirement set by the Government to ensure state funding wasn’t compromised but, ironically, his club UCD later queried governance around the voting system.
As with that shootout, the sequel between the pair next Monday will be held remotely on Teams.
Eligible to vote are members of the FAI’s 145-strong General Assembly, part of the professional chamber.
The vast bulk are League of Ireland clubs, those in the Premier Division or First Division clubs with a women’s team having two votes.
It’s completed by a pair apiece assigned to the supporters partnership, players’ union and the four non-LOI national league clubs.
Former Cork City director O’Mahony was initially proposed through the fans’ constituency whereas Rhatigan is still linked to Longford Town. She has returned to the National League Executive since her defeat.
Given the last election ended 21-18, and the electioneering is in overdrive, another close contest is anticipated.
