
Originally Posted by
NeilMcD
I know I would have presumed that people know better than believe everything from it, I was trying to get someone to confirm the Gazetta Dello Sport bit.
From the Indo.
Ireland need a defensive guru -- not a lecture from the purists
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What are these?
By Daniel McDonnell
Friday February 08 2008
'TIS a crazy world we're living in. On the week that the FAI inducted Jack Charlton into their Hall of Fame, critics of Giovanni Trapattoni warn us that the leading candidate to replace Steve Staunton is too defensive in his outlook.
Suddenly, we are football purists in this country. Never mind the fact that we haven't qualified for six out of the past seven major tournaments. Now we want someone to take us there in style. Words fail at times like this.
Being defensive is something of a taboo word when it comes to analysing coaches. It can be construed as conservatism in the negative sense, or placing a high emphasis on organisation when the glass is half full. And with Trapattoni's CV, then clearly the latter description is more fitting.
You can argue that such a figure is exactly what Ireland need at this moment in time. We have a certain amount of attacking flair in the form of Damien Duff and Aiden McGeady, plus the capable Stephen Hunt, the talented Andy Reid and a good front pair in Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle. Then there's Steven Reid, Shane Long and, whisper it, Stephen Ireland.
In the forward departments, there are options. But look backwards and it's not so pretty. We're short on numbers and short on talent and, in those circumstances, it is arguably someone regarded for their defensive nous that we need to pull our components into a successful, well-drilled unit.
Put simply, if we lose Richard Dunne to injury at any point, then we are in deep, deep trouble. The Irish back four on Wednesday night was built around Dunne with John O'Shea as his partner and Stephen Kelly and Kevin Kilbane as the full-backs.
As it stands, that's probably our best selection with the retirements of Steve Finnan and Andy O'Brien. Paul McShane was left out due to his recent deterioration in form and the jury is out on the Wicklow native right now.
Elsewhere in the squad, back-up came in the form of Kevin Foley who is a tidy player that can provide opposition for Kelly and Alex Bruce who is nothing more than a Championship standard centre-half. Again, it is hardly inspiring. Unfortunately, viewing the U-21 game against England on Tuesday did not provide much hope for the future in that departure. Darren O'Dea is highly regarded but lacks match sharpness and should probably look for time away from Celtic, while Joe O'Cearuill has a long way to go too. Full-backs Eddie Nolan and Stephen O'Halloran suffered against admittedly strong opposition for that level.
Meanwhile, the other options available to the next manager are honest but limited; options such as Alan Bennett, Paddy McCarthy, the enigmatic Sean St Ledger and even Drogheda duo Graham Gartland and Jason Gavin. No doubt the quintet all come under the classification of capable performers but, unfortunately, they fall short of the standard required.
When the new manager takes over, a priority will have to be speaking again with O'Brien and Finnan because they are desperately needed. Then, he will need to find the right role for the talented Joey O'Brien who deputised at centre-half against Germany but can be effective at right back and -- when he gets older -- in the holding midfield role, despite his turbulent experience against Cyprus.
Overall, though, the options are far from plentiful which makes a compelling case for plumping for the manager capable of turning what is there into a well-structured unit. It's an argument which points clearly to Trapattoni. After all, there's nothing more enjoyable than winning.
Ireland's Defenders
The League Table
1 Richard Dunne
2 John O'Shea
3 Joey O'Brien
4 Stephen Kelly
5 Kevin Kilbane
6 Paul McShane
7 Kevin Foley
8 Darren O'Dea
9 Stephen O'Halloran
10 Sean St Ledger
- Daniel McDonnell
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