YoG no. 28 – Well, What Have We Learned?

1.  Glenn Whelan has been a good servant. As Roy Keane so eloquently put it, he always shows up. His statement reminded me of a Billy Connolly sketch about his school report, which read “Billy is always punctual”. It’s what they don’t say that matters and when your assistant manager neglects to talk about your ability to play the game you’re playing, well forget it. It’s time Ireland moved on, but moved on with nothing but gratitude. He has 277 Premier League appearances for a reason. He does the dirty things well apparently, but as we saw on Tuesday, we have others who can do that and do it better. And we’ve had one of them for a long, long time…
2. Wes. I don’t care if, when he turns 40 in 2022, we’re dragging him to Qatar to play for only the last 20 minutes in the final group game where we need a win, he has to be on that plane. He was simply superb in the first half and against 90% of teams, his contribution would’ve been enough to help us into a decent lead. And this is the biggest lesson for me from the 2 games and something I’ve been on about a few times in the Beggar’s Bush after a few – Wes does the dirty things better than Glenn Whelan, PLUS he follows it up with something beautiful almost every time. He won the ball back from the Serbians several times in the first half and then made something of it. He was immense and he made everyone else look better. He needs to start every single game for the rest of his Ireland career and only be taken off when he’s absolutely banjaxed. And by the way, Robbie Savage you silly tart, his omission at Norwich says more about them and the lumpen English football culture that Wes, and almost all Irish players, find themselves in, than it does about this little dancer.
3. Serbia are fairly handy. We played well but the way Kolarov took that goal; the way they defended; and the cynical time-wasting all point to a well-organised group who seem ready to finally push on and do something in a World Cup. Worthy winners of the group and certainly a notch above the rest of us, Wales included.
4. God we really missed Séamus Coleman. I was extremely miffed to hear and overhear many people on Tuesday night laud Cyrus Christie’s performance. He offered a bit in defence, but several dangerous plays still came down his side – can’t really blame him for the goal however even though it was on our right. But it was in his attack where he was getting the credit. Why? His delivery was shite, his decision-making in the last 20 minutes brutal, and his overall quality on the ball was just ok. But it was Coleman’s leadership that was most notable by its absence. There’ll be many scapegoats if, as is likely, we fail to qualify, but Neil Taylor will be near the top of my list. 
5. James McClean. What the fuck does he actually achieve? People love him. They adore him. They cheer mindless cheers at every mindless tackle. This isn’t the 1970’s. No one gets anything in modern football without calmness, composure and thoughtfulness. You don’t even have to look to another team or back into the annals of history to see the contrast in what we desperately needed on Tuesday and what we got. Just think of Lille last year. Desperate for a win, Wes missed a sitter. Within a couple of minutes, he looked for the ball, received it,  looked up, composed himself and put it on Brady’s head. McClean would’ve probably hit my head, behind the goal above the corner flag. It’s too late for him to grow up. He’s got his uses, and his goal in Austria should still be counting towards a first place finish, but I’m sick to death of his mindlessness. The booking was inevitable and it even looked like a red could happen. He’s worth a starting place, but only just. And I do hope he scores 4 in the next 2 and I’m back on here in October writing a humble apology to you all! Because I’m not a miserable bastard and I fucking love him too!!
6. We need our manager to cop on. His on-going snottiness to Tony O’Donoghue under innocuous and reasonable questioning has grown very tiring. We were dirt, absolute dirt on Saturday and Martin O’Neill picked the wrong team and failed to make the necessary changes. And Martin, like it or not, you’re answerable to us the fans, and the medium for that exchange is RTÉ. And stop telling us that the team is not that good. I bristled a couple of years back when Dunphy labelled O’Neill as “Trappatoni with a Derry accent”. On Saturday evening, I was tending to agree. By Tuesday night, less so, but remember, remember, we got to Euro 2016 by finishing 3rd in our group, a luxury unavailable to any previous Irish manager, we also got out of the group over there in 3rd place, a luxury only available to Jack Charlton twice and used just once. O’Neill’s Ireland have provided some magnificent moments that will live long in the memory, but let’s not pretend he’s achieved or is achieving much more than his predecessors.
7. It’s time to gamble up front and Sean Maguire has to feature in the last 2 games. Shane Long, like McGeady and McClean, has come to the end of that “promising” part of his career. Germany aside he really hasn’t delivered to the extent required. 17 goals may put him up alongside the likes of Frank Stapleton, Don Givens et al, but he really isn’t and the lack of a killer instinct is now beginning to show. Maguire seems to be blessed with that, and while he’s at it, O’Neill should be willing to give Daryl Horgan time against Moldova. We need a fresh injection of some energy and even some youthful naivete to boost the team and the fans and get us to 2nd place.

So 2nd place, what seemed at the start of the year to be unlikely as we sat on top with 4 points from 6 from the 2 trickiest away games, is now unlikely as we sit in 3rd with 1 from 6 from 2 games we hoped to win. A poxy week for Irish football but as usual the hope is still there, waiting to kick us in the nads next month. Enjoy the FAI Cup games at the weekend and the return of the richest league in the world across the water. Keep an eye out for the bottom 16 and the Championship though to track our lads progress….