Building Blocks For The Future, The Way Forward

So as another campaign winds down and with Ireland very much on the outside looking in, we must ask ourselves where did it all go wrong?
And, in the big scheme of things - is it even worth the Irish squad in it's current form qualifying for World Cup 2018?
Sure it would be a great summer to look forward to, but many out there will be asking what's the point, based on the evidence of the last few months.
We would surely be on a hiding to nothing against some of the teams in Russia.
There are others among us who will say we've punched above our weight for far too long, and have finally been found out.
It's a legitimate argument as we haven't carried a serious goal threat since Robbie Keane retired and we're almost guaranteed to give up a goal each game, to even the lowest of opposition.
And then of course there's the mindset that's reared its head for campaign after campaign - that being the propensity to invite other teams upon us after taking a lead.

It is high time to look forward to the future of Irish football. Where does one begin?
Well, in a week when it was revealed on this very forum, that Irish coaches are still instructing their U-12 players to play eleven-a-side on full sized pitches, that alone should set the alarm bells ringing.
It probably explains the lack of technical ability in the current squad.

Looking through the prism of finely constructed teams you have to begin with the defence and build from there
There are some building blocks in the current Irish squad but there are an awful lot who are weak.

I would think that John Walters, Daryl Murphy, Wes Hoolahan, Glen Whelan (and maybe even Aiden McGeady) would all announce their retirement on October 10th next, unless Ireland somehow, some way manage to get to the playoffs.

Who should step into their shoes?
Rather than replacing body with body, there has to be an effort to retool the midfield with a view to playing creative football.

Shane Duffy and Ciaran Clark appear to be good for another campaign and Seamus Coleman will be back some time soon, hopefully. But there are questions at left back.
There are also questions in the final third. Where are the goals going to come from and how do we supply the forwards with chances?

More questions than answers.
I would like to hear the views of folks on here about the way forward for Irish football.

McGeady's only 31. I definitely don't see him retiring at the end of this campaign. I'd be very surprised if he did.

Stephen Ward has done OK at left-back and I feel he's a much more composed player than he was when Trap managed us, but we also need to give opportunites to Matt Doherty and Greg Cunningham. Both of them play or can play on the left of defence, although Doherty plays mostly on the right.

Generally-speaking, investing more in the development of the League of Ireland would help. If young Irish players could stay at home and gain senior experience here - in a stronger league - rather than having to uproot themselves and enter a completely new and unfamiliar environment in England or wherever at a time in their lives when they still haven't fully matured, I think it'd be a help. Ensuring a connection between youth football in Ireland and the league is also crucial but that's an area in which we have seen positive development in recent times.

Ensuring kids are training in smaller teams on smaller pitches and with smaller balls would help too, obviously.

There's actually a thread here on the future of youth development in Irish football. I posted an interesting article by Marcus Christenson in it a while back on how Swedish clubs are tackling the detrimental impact that pushy parents can unwittingly have upon their kids when watching their kids football matches. Maybe something worth considering in the piece.

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Originally Posted by Marcus Christenson

It transpired [from a survey conducted by the three main Stockholm clubs] that one in three children had considered quitting the game because of what the survey called “over-engaged” parents. Of the 1,016 adults who answered the survey, 83% said they had seen parents who were pushing their children too much or criticised young referees and officials loudly.

The three Stockholm clubs – Djurgarden, AIK and Hammarby, who had commissioned the survey together with Volkswagen – were appalled by the numbers and decided to act. The clubs do not always see eye to eye (or at least their fans don’t) but they immediately joined forces to launch an initiative to combat the problem. They sat down together and came up with a short yet encompassing “football code” that they hope will lead to a change in behaviour by adults watching youth football.

The code reads as follows: “I, as a parent, will do everything I can to support my child, other children, club staff, referees and parents in training and at games – through a positive involvement.” The response has been incredible. More than 1,600 parents have signed up to the code and more are doing so by the day. Parents have also asked the clubs to print the code on T-shirts so that the message can be shared more widely. Other top-flight clubs in Sweden have expressed an interest in joining the initiative.

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Likely retirees would be O'Shea, Walters, Whelan, Murphy, Hoolahan and Doyle. In the short-term, at the back Shane Duffy will hopefully improve as he gets more experience against top strikers week in, week out which is important because, while I think he's a good defender, he has seemed prone to costly lapses. The emergence of Kevin Long as an option will help also. And Declan Rice's emergence as a Premier League defender is excellent news and we should see him in the senior squad sooner rather than later. And if Conor Shaughnessy can continue his progress at Leeds, he will give us more depth

In midfield, we will still have the bulk of the current midfield available (McCarthy, Hendrick, Brady, McClean, McGeady, Meyler, Arter) and we do have some potential replacements for Hoolahan and Whelan: Liam Kelly's progress is very promising; The other Irish Messi (Alan Judge) will be back from injury soon; Conor Hourihane seems to be finding his form again; Josh Cullen seems to have made the step up to Championship football OK and should be an option; We've also got a few midfielders who are close but need to show more regularly at their respective clubs this season if they want to be considered seriously for the next qualifiers, namely Horgan, Browne, Ronan, O'Kane and Manning.

Or biggest hole will be up front, with three potential retirements. Scott Hogan's decision to pledge his allegiance to us will be a big help, assuming he starts to rediscover his Brentford form at Villa. David McGoldrick, with most Championship experience and a few caps under his belt would currently be most likely take one of the other places - luckily he has also started this season well. That would leave one place up for grabs between Maguire, O'Brien, Sheridan, Rooney, Keane and Mason, who will all be playing at comparable levels - while a couple of those might raise a snigger or two amongst some of the Footerati, they all should be considered as in with a shout right now and it should be a straight matter of "most goals wins". Wildcard possibilities: Reece Grego-Cox and Gerry McDonagh who are both within sight of their respective first teams.

Possible medium-term options (i.e not likely before the start of the next qualifying campaign but possibly within a year of that): At the back, Conor Masterson; in midfield Harry Charsley, Jake Doyle-Hayes, Jack Byrne, a couple of lads at Brighton; and up front we have by my count ten strikers under the age of 20 who are showing serious potential. And of course a couple of LOI players might start to impress and get a chance at a higher level

Quote:

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Originally Posted by samhaydenjr

Possible medium-term options (i.e not likely before the start of the next qualifying campaign but possibly within a year of that): At the back, Conor Masterson; in midfield Harry Charsley, Jake Doyle-Hayes, Jack Byrne, a couple of lads at Brighton; and up front we have by my count ten strikers under the age of 20 who are showing serious potential. And of course a couple of LOI players might start to impress and get a chance at a higher level

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I have high hopes for Paddy McEleney at Dundalk. He's still only 24, but he's like a magician on the ball with strength and composure to match the skill and finesse. Stephen Kenny rates him as the most gifted and natural footballer in the league since Paddy McCourt. Perhaps he could eventually fill the void left by Hoolahan in the international set-up once the latter retires. The only concern is McEleney's injury-proneness, but he'll go far in the game if he's fortunate and can stay fit.

Graham Burke at Rovers (formerly of Aston Villa) has bags of ability and, at 23, may well get a move back to a higher level abroad at some point, although he'll miss the rest of the current LOI season due to injury, unfortunately. Trevor Clarke, also at Rovers, looks to have great promise; he's only 19.

Ronan Curtis at Derry City has also shown terrific form this season; he's 21 and has represented our under-21s internationally. He was one of Derry's few performers in the tie against Midtjylland in Europa League qualifying last June. A recent proposed move to Östersunds FK in Sweden's top division fell through after Curtis failed to agree personal terms with the Swedish club. He'd travelled to Sweden and everything, but bids from England are likely in the near future.

Would like to see McEleney in a green shirt. He has been very exciting any time I have seen him play.
I think he could do a job in the Irish midfield right now, but as we all know his chances of doing so would greatly increase were he to get hitched across the water.

This article on The42.ie picks out five Irish players to keep an eye on for the future: http://www.the42.ie/5-young-irish-fo...96458-Sep2017/

The author focuses on Declan Rice (West Ham), Jayson Molumby (Brighton), Conor Masterson (Liverpool), Aaron Connolly (Brighton) and Trevor Clarke (Shamrock Rovers).