As a 28-year-old on a whole the last two have been the most disappointing qualifying campaigns I have experienced, especially this one. Yes Euro 92, & 96 under Charlton and the first two with McCarthy had bitter endings but this one was full of disappointment from start to finish and we managed to finish a lowly 4th :o Pathetic is probably the best word to describe it all. So what do we do to improve our situation and move the team forward rather than the backward trend we are seeing at the moment??
The main reasons for our current situation have been discussed to infinitum on here and the main problems seem to be as follows (in no particular order - feel free to add more)
Lack of investment in grass roots and the domestic league and generally a badly organised FA.
Small pool of players and a limited number of world-class or good quality international players.
Lazy and uninterested EPL stars.
We are too reliant on the English league.
We had a poor manager for this campaign with negative tactics and unwilling to give the domestic players a chance.
What can we do to battle these problems?
This is going to be a long post so I’ll avoid the grass roots problem, the poor management and to a certain extent the uninterested players.
To simply summarise my ideas I would say we need to set up some academies and to re-introduce the Ireland B team.
Unfortunately the setting up of academies requires money and there's not a lot to spare now that we haven't qualified for the WC. However, if the money was available I would like to see a least two setup. One in the Dublin area (because that's where most Eircom players are based) and another one somewhere in England (Birmingham would be a good choice). I know an academy in England might appear to increase the likelihood of our players depending too heavily on the English league but that's the way things are at the moment :( This academy would serve as a meeting place for all the Irish underage players or even reserve team players up to the age of 23, mainly as a bonding session and to lend a helping hand to anyone having difficulties with adapting to living in a new country or getting through a difficult time with injuries. A major role would be to get the players familiar with each other by organising games, which could be against Eircom league teams or local English teams. This would be a help if a number of them push on and become full internationals as they will know and have played with each other on numerous occasions. Unlike what we saw in the last two games for Ireland. where they were playing like 11 individuals. Another feature would be to educate the young lads about the other top leagues in Europe and this should include the language and culture. The next step would be for the academy to make itself known to the clubs on the continent. They could have open training sessions and games where scouts from these countries would be invited. Naturally the academy would have strong links with the Eircom league and any player that needs to be sent out on loan would be made aware of the possibilities of returning home for a few months.
As stated the academy in England would be there to support the players who have already moved there. The one in Dublin would be setup to educate the youngsters in the domestic league in a similar way but also to convince them to stay in Ireland a few years longer and give them information on options other than moving to the UK. They should emphasise the importance of the domestic league to the development of Irish football in the future and remind them that in 10 or 15 years if they have had a successful career in the UK or on the continent it would be a good gesture if they would return to the EL for their last few playing years instead of just moving to a lower level in the country where they have moved to. If they were ex internationals this would increase the profile and attendances of the EL.
Next comes the Ireland B team. I admit I’m not an expert on the EL but you have to admit it is very difficult to tell if a player that does well there is quality enough to make it at international level. All our recent international managers have been very reluctant to take the chance even in meaningless friendly games. To make it easier for them I think the Ireland B team should be reactivated and a combination of fringe players from the English leagues and the top players from the EL should be played against other B teams and if possible some half-decent full international sides. This would be the perfect opportunity for the EL players to show what they can do. Then they could even further press for their inclusion the international squad.
Well I’ve written enough on the subject now. What suggestions do you have as experts on the EL and grass-roots Irish football?
