Trap Finally Gets Sprung

As the dust settled on the Trapattoni era, it was strange to see that an awful lot of opinions of his time with Ireland seemed to be purely weighted on the, admittedly dark, days of the last 15 months.  While the current qualifying campaign can only be deemed a failure following the double header of defeats and the sort of home record which competed with the worst days of the 70's and early 80's, to call his reign here an 'unmitigated disaster' as Eamon Dunphy laughably did last week is hysterical in the extreme.  Like most managerial reigns it had its good and its bad, and like most managerial reigns it ended badly, but to view it through the prism of the disappointments we've had since Nikita Jelavic contentiously put Croatia 2 - 1 ahead is exceptionally shortsighted.

So, what does Trap have on the credit side of the ledger?  It has to be appreciated just how low we were after the messy and dragged out end of the Staunton era.  Players were low on confidence, the relationship with elements of the media had dropped to a level never seen before in Irish football (Miss Piggy and Kermit the frog at training?) and while we'd had a few reasonable results (Wales at home, Czech Republic at home and Slovakia home and away. Although the last minute concession of an equaliser away made that feel like a defeat), we'd also had some of the most embarrassingly inept performances of our recent history with San Marino away and Cyprus away and home standing out in particular.  We seemed to have no defined game plan and the general shoddiness was summed up by the farcical situation in which the management team put suspended player Shane Long on the bench for the qualifier in Slovakia which could have led to the match being awarded to them had he been brought on.  While many, myself included, have had issues with the rigidity of the game plan Trap introduced, it can't be argued that there was an immediate structure put in place as his starting point.  For right or wrong, there was also an immediate stamping of his authority on the squad much to the detriment of the unfortunate Andy Reid.

Although it ultimately ended in heartbreak, I'd argue that Trap's first campaign was his best.  After settling in with an unbeaten run in his first three friendlies and getting his first win v Colombia in London, the qualifying campaign got off to the best possible start with an away win to Georgia.  This also saw the first stroke of the luck that seemed to become a stick to beat him with when UEFA ordered that the game be played at a neutral venue due to the political unrest in the region at the time.  To me it's facile to blame a manager for being lucky, it's something that's out of his hands and given the amount bad luck or bad decisions we've suffered from in the past, and would do again at the end of the campaign, it can't be used as a factor in a sensible argument.  In fact, in the next game away to a rapidly improving Montenegro, we were only denied a victory by the ref missing a blatant handball when one of their defenders rolled the ball away from Robbie Keane along the ground.  Some ghosts of the Staunton era were then banished with a victory at home over Cyprus.  Although his first defeat came next in a friendly v Poland, the qualification campaign kept moving nicely with draws in a series of 3 games against the top 2 seeds in the group, home and away v Bulgaria in games we conceivably could have won and a memorable draw in Bari v Italy.  Victory away to Cyprus left us still with a chance of topping the group with 2 games to go and that was still the case with 2 minutes to go at home to Italy when Sean St Ledger sent Croke Park into raptures only for Alberto Gilardino to almost immediately deflate what had been an unbelievable atmosphere by equalising in the final minute.  Although this meant Italy could no longer be caught, it did guarantee second place which left the final game v Montengro a dead rubber as evidenced by the uneventful scoreless draw.  And so on to that play off against France of which so much has already been written.  Although not at our best in the home leg, it still took a deflected Nicolas Anelka goal to beat us and it's generally accepted that the second leg was our best performance since World Cup 2002 with the only fault being our inability to take the chances we had to put the game beyond France in normal time which gave them the opportunity for that handball.  It's my opinion that had the game gone to penalties we would have won it, France as a squad were all over the place as proved by their explosion in South Africa that summer, the crowd were on their back and I don't think they'd have been able to handle the pressure.  So although the campaign ultimately ended in failure, it should generally be considered a success.  The errors that cost us points were generally individual errors such as Kevin Kilbane getting caught under the ball v Bulgaria and the team's general brain freeze after going ahead v Italy, those 'little details' that Trap was so fond of mentioning.  Tactically we were sound, if a little staid, and despite what some would have you believe, new players were introduced with Sean St Ledger, Keith Andrews and Liam Lawrence all playing their way into the starting XI over the course of the campaign.  Once the rage had somewhat dissipated after Paris, I was quietly confident going into the Euro qualifiers and happy with the progress under the manager.

Prior to the Euro campaign beginning, word came through from the camp that Liam Brady would be leaving his position within the set up.  Although not much was made out of it at the time, and indeed there were some disparaging remarks made about his role having been little more than that of a glorified translator, I was sorry to see him go and still believe that his departure was to the detriment of the team.  On the pitch the campaign began in similar fashion to the previous one with a gritty away win against a lower ranked team that would cause the other teams in the group problems, Armenia in this case.  This was followed up by an expected, if unconvincing, win against Andorra on our Lansdowne return but the first sign that something may be going amiss came in the next game when a disastrous start saw us ship 3 in the first half at home to Russia before rallying in the second and nearly grabbing an unlikely draw before finally succumbing 3-2.  This was really the first game where you could point at the managers tactics as causing us problems as we were clearly over run in midfield and left it too late to react and change things.  However, the away game against Slovakia the following week was a very creditable performance and we were again only denied all 3 points by an individual error via a very rare Robbie Keane penalty miss.  By the time the group reconvened, we had beaten Wales 3-0 to kick off the Carling Nations Cup and then collected 3 points at home to Macedonia.  We also hit an excellent streak of form when the remaining Carling Nations Cup games were played with a 5-0 trouncing of Northern Ireland, followed by a single goal win over Scotland to claim a trophy to put beside that from the Tri Nations tournament from the beginning of Big Jack's reign. We took that form into the qualifiers with an away victory against Macedonia followed by a friendly victory against Italy and draw with Croatia.  However, issues with our home form were raised again with an insipid scoreless draw v Slovakia followed by that heroic backs to the wall performance to gain a point in Moscow.  Results elsewhere put our fate back in our own hands and we duly obliged with solid, if uninspiring, victories against Andorra and Armenia home and away clinching a second successive play off spot.  Trap's luck may have come into play when we drew Estonia, but you can only beat what's in front of you and the 4-0 victory away was the second best performance of the Trap era.  The one all draw in Dublin can be discounted, with the tie over after the first leg. The atmosphere at Lansdowne that night was special, as qualification for only our 5th major tournament was confirmed.  Some creditable results in friendlies meant that we went into the Euros unbeaten in 14 games and possibly with unrealistic expectations, given how unkind the draw had been.  However, it's at this point that more entries start appearing on the debit side of the ledger.

I'd got together with a number of the lads I knew I'd be travelling to the Euros with in Brogan's on Dame Street on the Friday in December when the draw was being made.  Our hopes were two fold. One, that we'd end up based in Poland and two, that we'd get a group where I felt we could be competitive in.  Given that we were 4th seeds the second of these hopes was going to be difficult but with Sweden and Greece in pot 3, I was hoping for one of those and even England or Russia in pot 2 looked attractive.  Unfortunately, although we got our wish of being based in Poland, the draw itself really couldn't have been harder.  Being drawn with World Champions Spain was initially bad enough, but when Croatia came out next rather than Sweden, I started feeling pretty bad about it and when, given the choice of England or Italy, we got Italy; I felt it would be the greatest achievement in our history to get out of the group.  The previous 2 World Champions, reigning European Champions and all 3 teams ranked in the top 8 of the world.  The only group in any of our previous tournaments comparable was the Euro 88 group of England, Holland and Russia, which, as was to happen this time, contained the eventual 2 finalists.  Without trying to make excuses for what transpired in Poland, I do think that this needs to be mentioned for the sake of context.


That said, I was still hopeful travelling to Poland and I never thought that things would be as bad as they turned out to be on the pitch. The build up was overshadowed by a late change to the squad where doubts over the fitness of Richie Dunne and John O'Shea led to Kevin Foley being sacrificed and Paul McShane, who could cover centre half as well as full back, being brought in.  Foley was understandably devastated and vented his fury by refusing to play again as long as Trapattoni remained in charge. While I had the utmost sympathy for Foley, I feel that finding fault with the manager for making that decision is incorrect.  Jack Charlton had to do the exact same thing for Italia 90 when Gary Waddock, having bravely battled his way back into the squad from a career threatening injury, was axed to allow Alan McLoughlin in to provide cover for Ray Houghton who was carrying a knock at the time.  It's a horrible thing to happen to any player but managers are paid to make those decisions without letting their hearts rule their heads.

I've gone into detail on the finals in previous blogs so I won't repeat myself too much.  I actually thought that, while not playing particularly well against Croatia, on another day we may have squeaked a draw out of the game.  I still contend that their second goal should not have been allowed and that we had a stone wall penalty not given in the second half when Keane was clearly taken out of it in the box.  That said, it was clear that we would struggle to compete in midfield with teams that passed the ball as crisply as Croatia and it was the intransigence and unwillingness to even tweak the system that is one of the major issues on the debit side of Trap's account.  Even the most optimistic of fans had reckoned that our route from the group would be to beat or draw with Croatia before losing to Spain leaving a winner takes all clash v Italy to come.  However, I don't think that any of us expected the defeat to be as bad as it was. Spain really took us to the cleaners and ended our interest after only two games.  The selection of Simon Cox up front to replace Kevin Doyle, while Jon Walters and Shane Long kicked their heels on the bench also saw a large number of fans begin to question the manager's team selections at that stage. The withdrawal of Cox for Walters at half time seemed to back up the theory that the team sent out was the wrong one.  Following that game, I was of the opinion that, as we were out in any case, the Italy game should be used to give some of the other players a game but while Doyle was reintroduced no other changes were made.  This was a mistake and led to serious discontent among those members of the squad who didn't play, with the Darren Gibson fall out symptomatic of this.  That said, there's no excuse for the way Gibson made himself unavailable after the finals. You play for your country, not a manager. The dignity which Stephen Kelly showed after much worse treatment is the manner in which these issues should be handled.  Indeed, a number of players that didn't even make the squad have knuckled down and are now fixtures in the team. I've no doubt that had Gibson not spat the dummy he'd have been a starter by now.  While the Euros were undoubtedly a massive low point, it must be pointed out that nearly every goal we conceded was down to an individual error and poor errors at that.  On the other hand, it was patently obvious to me that a number of senior players such as Given, Dunne and O'Shea were unfit and consistently picking these players out of loyalty during the finals was a major black mark on the manager.

Having been given a contract extension off the back of qualification and the 14 game unbeaten run in advance of the finals, we now found ourselves in the situation of having a team beginning a qualifying campaign who's belief had taken a serious beating with a manager who's stock had taken a similar beating.  I can understand the logic in offering a contract extension prior to a tournament once the manager has qualified for it. It's a bit of a no win situation for the FAI, if they don't offer a contract and we go on to have a good tournament then there's a big chance that the manager might get a better offer and the organisation will get criticism for not nailing the manager down in advance of it.  So I didn't have an issue with starting the Euro qualifiers under Trap and was of the belief that, having delivered consecutive 2nd place finishes, he deserved to start this campaign despite the disappointment of the finals.  That said, my patience was tested to the extreme following the first two games where a lucky win away to Kazakhstan was followed by an absolute humiliation at home to Germany.  With the calls for Trap's head gaining volume we needed a win away to the Faroes and this was duly delivered, leaving us on 6 points from 3 games which is the most anyone expected to be fair.  The difference in this campaign was, that the solidity we'd shown in previous qualifiers seemed to be deserting us and we were relying on Trap's famous luck more and more.  Despite the noises emanating from the media, and allegedly from loose lipped FAI officials, I didn't expect a sacking at that stage given the cash strapped state of the FAI.  I also wasn't prepared to give up on the campaign at that time given that Sweden and Austria also seemed to be struggling for results.  Trap also, finally, seemed to get his finger out and began attending more games leading to call ups for the likes of Wes Hoolahan, who'd had a huge clamour for his inclusion after his belated rise from League One to the Premier League and for the likes of Conor Sammon who, being honest, hadn't.  Hoolahan duly impressed with a goal in a friendly v Poland which was followed by a cameo in a very creditable draw away to Sweden which left us well in contention in the group. Unfortunately, the next qualifier was to end in heartbreak when, having responded exceptionally well to going behind early on by going 2-1 up via 2 Jon Walters goals, under clear instruction from the manager we sat back from 70 minutes and conceded a stoppage time equaliser. Although a draw was pretty much a standard result at home for us by then, it was the tactics employed late on and the complete unwillingness to utilise the bench in a manner that might have relieved the building pressure that manufactured the strait jacket that the team now seemed to be trussed up in.  While we were still level with Sweden and Austria, it had the feel of the leads we squandered in Brian Kerr's second campaign in both the Israel games and felt like a hammer blow to our hopes and to the Trap era.

A creditable draw in Wembley with big wins against Georgia and in the return game v the Faroes kept the bandwagon rolling and gave us some belief going into the double header v Sweden and Austria that would decide our fate. We all know what happened next as, following a very encouraging start where we went ahead against Sweden, we retreated back into our shell after 30 minutes and conceded two goals.  Once again in the second half Trap's lack of vision in even attempting a Plan B was glaringly obvious and we went down to a second home defeat in a campaign for the first time in 42 years.  The same shortcomings were visible in Vienna where the only subs made were like for like and the longer the game went on, the more we looked like conceding.  Sure enough, another late goal led to the first competitive away defeat of his reign and drove the final nail into the coffin of Trap's relationship with Ireland.  Although before the game I'd expected him to see the campaign out, as I'd expected a draw, I had come round to believing it was time to go at full time and was glad to see it finish in a dignified manner on both sides the following day.

Overall, how would one judge the 5 years the Italian was in charge?  For me it has to be judged a success, albeit not an unqualified one. People seem to forget that until 25 years ago we had never qualified for a major tournament and that qualification for Euro 88 remains the only occasion we have topped a qualifying group.  Seven consecutive 2nd places (leading to three qualifications) were followed by a 3rd, 4th and 3rd during the Kerr and Staunton years before Trap stopped the rot.  In that context, two 2nd places and one qualification have to be judged a success for the first two campaigns.  Added to that, he gave the travelling support some great results with Bari, Skopje, Tallinn and even Paris (bar the handball) being personal highlights.  The Euros themselves have to be considered a failure as does the current campaign.  There are also issues outside of the results themselves to be considered on the debit side.  His attitude towards certain players left a lot to be desired. Andy Reid warranted another chance and his comments on Stephen Reid's injury and the Stephen Kelly issue were unwarranted and counter productive.  I maintain that, had Liam Brady remained in the set up some of these issues could have been avoided.  Regardless of his tactical input, he was an ideal buffer between the manager and the players given that he was respected by both and a lot of the communication issues that became more prevalent could have been avoided. Yet it has to be said that many of the players, even a couple who had become cause celebre's with certain journalists, such as Long and McCarthy due to their alleged mis-treatment at his hands, came out with heartfelt tributes following his departure.  It should be noted that he's not the first Irish manager to fall out with players, with Jack having arguments with Liam Brady, Ronnie Whelan and, in particular, Dave O'Leary, none of whom refused to play when called upon again.  And I won't mention Saipan!  His preference for workhorses rather than players with an inkling of creativity was frustrating, as was his stifling of the creativity of the players he did pick, with his insistence on sticking with the system.  But it's rare that I've agreed with every decision any manager has made at whatever level I've watched football, that's the essence of the game.  It's a results business and things were good while he delivered results and once they dried up he went.  That's football.

It's a nonsense to suggest that he's set the game in Ireland back years as I've seen mentioned in some articles.  For right or wrong, the Senior International Team exists in it's own sphere and there's no reason to think that a new manager can't turn things around relatively quickly.  While I agree that it would be immensely beneficial to see a proper structure introduced all the way through the grassroots of Irish football similar to what Michel Sablon with Belgium has introduced in the last 10 years or so, it will be the minimum of a decade once those structures are in place before the Senior team would even begin to benefit.  Hopefully, with the recent appointment of the brilliantly named Dutchman, Ruud Dokter, as High Performance Director with the FAI, we might begin to see some of those structures implemented. In the meantime, there are still tournaments to try to qualify for, meaning the right appointment is essential.

At present, Martin O'Neill is the clear frontrunner at nearly unbackable odds.  There can be no questioning his achievements with Leicester and Celtic (he was my first choice to replace Brain Kerr) but there are questions which could be asked of his more recent managerial career and of his preferred style of play which isn't a million miles away from the long ball tactics we've been used to under Trap, and indeed for most of the last 27 years.  For all that, I saw a very good point made on the YBIG forum which stated that while both managers play direct football to a degree, the difference is that O'Neill does so in a more positive manner with the team pushing further up the pitch and pressurising the opposition more than we saw under Trap.  Plus, his man management skills have always seemed second to none, so the fall outs with players that characterised the Trap reign should no longer be an issue.  If O'Neill is to take over (and I believe the job is his if he wants it), I think it's essential that we move heaven and earth to get John Robertson in as his number 2.  It's my belief that the main reason for O'Neill's failure at Sunderland was the absence of the man who'd been his number 2 at every successful job he'd had.  It's said that Robertson didn't want to move again having settled back in the midlands during their term at Aston Villa.  It was also reported that he was sick of dealing with modern footballers.  In the main, Irish players don't tend to conform to the stereotype of their English or Continental colleagues at club level and even during the recent run of results, their commitment couldn't be questioned.  Given that Robertson is currently recuperating from a recent heart attack, the fact that the demands of international football are not as involved as the day to day running of a club and that he could work from his midlands home, mean I'd be hopeful that O'Neill would include him on his staff.  Even if the 2 remaining qualifiers were too soon for Roberston following his illness, then getting him on board for the Euro 16 qualifiers could be a target.  Were that to be the appointment I'd be relatively happy with it. 

Outside of this, the usual suspects of Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane have been linked, but I don't see either as a viable option.  John Delaney will want a populist appointment given how divisive Trap's reign became. Judging from talking to the travelling support and browsing the fan forums, either appointment would be divisive again regardless of the merits (or lack thereof, depending on one's viewpoint) of either's ability.  There has been interest from abroad with Hector Cuper's agent putting his client forward but my opinion is that Cuper's star is on the wane and he's a long way removed from his two Champions League finals of a decade ago.  His last international stint with Georgia was uninspiring and his last big job in La Liga with Racing Santander ended 5 months in with them rooted to the bottom.  Not for me.

For a more left field choice, I'd like to see Marcelo Bielsa looked at.  Major international experience with Argentina and Chile and a relatively successful recent tenure with Athletic Bilbao, including a methodical destruction of Manchester United in the Europa League winning both legs, he was called the best manager in the world by Pep Guardiola and is currently available.  Given the salary on offer for the Ireland job, his demands wouldn't be beyond what we can afford and I'd love to see options like that explored.  However, given that a lot of Irish fans rarely look beyond English football, the fact that he's relatively unknown would go against him in the eyes of a populist like Delaney so I think it's a pipe dream!

To finish, I think that the success or failure of the last 5 years will be brought into focus by what his successor achieves. If he doesn't get consecutive 2nd places, will he considered to be worse?  Despite the negativity of the last 18 months, Trap's record compares favourably with Mick McCarthy's on a similar amount of games as do his two 2nd places, the difference being that Mick's team delivered on their 3rd campaign whereas Trap's stuttered although they both delivered one major finals each.  Hopefully, whoever the new man is, he can eclipse them both.

MANAGER	PLAYED	WON	DREW	LOSS	G F	G A
Mick Meagan	12	0 (0%)	3 (25%)	9 (75%)	7	26
Liam Tuohy	10	3 (30%)	1 (10%)	6 (60%)	11	20
Sean Thomas	1	0 (0%)	1 (100%)	0 (0%)	1	1
John Giles	38	15 (39%)	9 (24%)	14 (37%)	49	45
Alan Kelly Snr	1	1 (100%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	2	0
Eoin Hand	40	11 (28%)	9 (22%)	20 (50%)	47	59
Jack Charlton	94	47 (50%)	30 (32%)	17 (18%)	128	63
Mick McCarthy	68	29 (43%)	20 (29%)	19 (28%)	117	66
Don Givens	3	0 (0%)	2 (67%)	1 (33%)	2	3
Brian Kerr	33	18 (55%)	11 (33%)	4 (12%)	39	20
Stephen Staunton	17	6 (35%)	6 (35%)	5 (30%)	23	18
Giovanni Trapattoni	64	26 (41%)	22 (34%)	16 (25%)	86	64

 

 Thanks to Soccer Ireland for the table.

It's Goodnight Vienna as Trap Door Opens

Following the disappointment of the Sweden game it was nice to have an away trip to throw ourselves into straight afterwards, albeit that we were travelling to Austria far more in hope than expectation.  With an 8.15 flight out of Dublin on Monday morning I had the usual fitful sleep the night before filled with dreams about oversleeping and rushing to make the flight so it was nearly a relief when the alarm went off at 6 and I dragged myself out of bed to ready myself for the half 6 taxi and the journey ahead.  As a few of my regular travelling companions were sitting this game out I was rooming for the first time with an old mate, Brendan, a veteran from many trips in the past going back to the mid 90's so it was good to see him at the airport and to see a few familiar faces from his crew down at the gate.  A short flight to Luton and a two hour wait for a connection was spent reminiscing about those old trips and it wasn't long before we were airborne again en route to Bratislava which is only an hour or so from Vienna and was the cheapest option for getting there.  A quick pit stop for a beer in Bratislava airport while we waited for the bus was followed by an uneventful journey and we arrived in Vienna around 5.   Terry the Tash had done his usual trick of booking half the hotels in Vienna as soon as the games were announced before cancelling the ones he didn't need, he had set us up with a cracking room in a lovely hotel at a decent rate so we'd hit the jackpot there!  A quick freshen up and we stopped in the hotel bar to be served by an excellent Austrian bartender the spit of BBC's Andrew Marr and waited for a couple of the other lads in the hotel before heading out for food and to check out the town.

 Our award winning bartender....kind of......

While walking up to the Schewdenplatz area, which was to become our base for the trip, we walked past the team hotel just in time to see John Delaney wandering around the bar pressing the flesh as per but having given him a serious ear-bashing a couple of years back in Skopje I decided against a repeat performance and we carried out to what turned out to be a lovely pedestrianised area with 40 odd bars and restaurants.  Having eaten and been joined by the Brummie crew, we headed off to a local Irish bar named after one of my favourite haunts, Dick Mack's in Dingle!  Unfortunately, the name was pretty much where the similarities ended given that Dick Mack's in Dingle has one of the nicest pints of Guinness in the country while the first pint of black liquid I was served in Vienna left a lot to be desired!  On the plus side, there was an ongoing midweek price offer in place where all pints were €2.40 from Monday to Thursday with all shots €1.20 so despite the average stout and dingy decor we soldiered on for another couple of hours with the drink and the conversation improving the more it flowed.  To be fair to the place, it looks like your typical student bar which is understandable at those prices and the crowd that started arriving backed that up.  After a tip from the barmaid we moved onto another pub which was owned by the same crowd around the corner called Sally's, so we decamped there and put the word around to some other friends who were en route.  Sally's was a different proposition altogether and was very well put together. Although the lager was the same price, the Guinness in there was unfortunately a bit pricier at €3.60 but was a better pint and still pretty cheap in comparison to Dublin prices!

  Dick Mack's v2.0!

My old mate Billy had travelled down from his Swiss home with his wife Sophie and having arrived at every pub we'd been in just after we'd left he finally caught up with us in Sally's and immediately started sparking off hilarious conversations in his own inimitable fashion.  Having spent a couple of hours in Sally's and caught up with everyone we grabbed a few taxis and made our way to a bar called Charlie P's across the city where the YBIG crew had made their base.  Although the place looked pretty busy when we arrived about 1, there seemed to be a bit of space inside, it took a fair bit of persuasion on my part for the lot of us to be allowed in but after a couple of minutes they relented and we made our way inside.  Although there was a smaller travelling support than normal for the game with a Germany trip in the offing next month, there was still a great atmosphere in the place with the usual night before a game shenanigans going on, lots of ceoil agus caint upstairs with a dancefloor downstairs and we managed to find a few seats and got a bit of a sing-song going before the place shut down around 3am so we headed back to the hotel to grab a quick bite from a noodle bar in the vicinity to try and pre-emptively cut off the hangover and called it a night.  I've always loved being in a city the night before a game, the atmosphere is always superb as optimism takes over and Vienna didn't disappoint.

Game day arrived with the noodles having at least helped with the hangover as did the sun which was shining without a cloud in the sky as we got ready to head out and the fans began congregating in the various watering holes in the city centre.  We wandered back to Schwedenplatz to find the bars we'd started in the previous night weren't opening till later in the afternoon, so we settled in a local bar called Krah Krah which had seating outside and spent the next couple of hours waiting for the likes of the Quinn towers, a certain small brown man and Caimin and Karl who were only arriving on the day.  A few Austrian fans had already arrived so there was a good bit of craic interspersed by the arrival of a local T.V. crew who interviewed some of the Austrian's and then requested a chant from us so we were happy to oblige with a chorus of 'Come On You Boys In Green'!  A good crew of us had gathered at that stage, but as I had to collect a ticket (and unfortunately just as happy hour drinks for €1.70 had begun!) myself and Bren ducked out for a couple of hours for that and hung around for a drink with the lad who had the spare, which was a bit of craic, before heading back to our crowd and catching the end of the second happy hour.  We also got the news that Sweden had gone ahead early in Kazakhstan which really killed off any of the lingering optimism we had that a miracle might happen.  At that stage we figured our goose was cooked, so concentrated on making the best of the trip and enjoyed the final couple of hours before heading to the stadium having had the Sweden result confirmed en route.

As usual, the craic on the train out to the ground was great with Irish and Austrian supporters mingling and swapping chants with The Fields of Athenry and The 12 Days of Paul McGrath ringing through the carriages.  I can normally get pretty tense heading out to games where there's something at stake but given that qualification was really beyond our grasp the pressure was off and I was just hoping for a good performance and hopefully a victory to regain a bit of pride.  We got up to the ground and were greeted by a pretty spectacular looking stadium at dusk and the sight inside was even more impressive as the locals were determined to help their team hold onto the final sliver of hope they had for hauling back Sweden in the race for qualification.  Flags had been left out on every Austrian seat which lead to some very impressive coordination around the stadium and really added to the atmosphere.  For a change, there was actually space to get the 69er's flag hung and having done that I went back to my seat and waited for the game to begin.

Onto the game itself and, once again, I felt we started reasonably well with Austria struggling to get any ball in the first ten minutes which silenced their fans somewhat and I'm sure I even heard a couple of boos at that stage.  Unfortunately, as has so often been the case, this wasn't to last and at around the 15 minute mark, David Alaba began to get on the ball and dictate the midfield as we began to drop a bit deeper.  To be fair, Paul Green was making a nuisance of himself and I think that James McCarthy plays better with Green beside him rather than Glenn Whelan but Alaba really looks the real deal and was head and shoulders above everyone on the park.  But, although Austria were gaining a foothold, it wasn't all bad from Ireland with Robbie Keane putting a half chance just wide on around the half hour mark and Anthony Pilkington doing well to cut back inside after a ball from Shane Long but dragging his shot into the side netting.  Alaba was still causing problems though as the game opened up a bit and David Forde was needed to parry a couple of shots to his left and his right as the game moved towards half time.  At the other end, Long did what he should have done on Friday to pull a ball across the box where Jon Walters was waiting but their keeper got down well to intercept.  The game was fairly end to end by now and John O'Shea can consider himself very unlucky to have got booked for a challenge where a far worse one through the back of Long had gone unpunished earlier.  That was O'Shea out of next month's game and then to compound things Robbie Keane was also booked after the ref blew for half time which was poor form by the ref given that, as captain, Keane should have the right to bring a query to the ref.  So a reasonably close first half had finished nil all but given how Ireland have tended to fade later in games this campaign I was concerned for the second.

The start of the second half was similar to the first and we were well on top for the first 15 minutes without really troubling their keeper.  Unfortunately, Alaba began dictating things again and we reverted to type by drifting further back.  O'Shea looked to pick up a knock and was replaced by Ciaran Clark which was an understandable like for like change but, given how the game was going, it was very frustrating to see another like for like change around 75 minutes when Pilkington was replaced by James McClean.  Personally I think McClean could consider himself unlucky to have been dropped after a reasonable game on Friday but I'm tired at this stage of no effort being made to change how the team in set up when games are slipping away from us.  If things aren't working then maybe try something else, as just putting fresh legs on and sticking with the same game plan hasn't been working.  Austria began their best spell of the game around then with a flurry of corners requiring some last gasp defending and blocks from the likes of Green and Seamus Coleman in particular.   However, having weathered that storm and broken upfield a couple of times ourselves we were to shoot ourselves in the foot once again.  McCarthy had the ball in  midfield under little pressure with options in front of him and across to his left.  He chose the more difficult ball, for me, and lofted it forward to Walters but even if it wasn't the easier ball it was a bad touch from Walters when he had time to control it and possession was ceded back to Austria.  They broke quickly and worked the ball down their left. As the ball was pulled across the box there seemed enough time for Dunne or Clark to clear it but it evaded both and pinged around before ending at Marc Wilson's feet.  His attempted clearance was mishit and of course has to land right at Alaba's feet who finished superbly first time and blasted a shot into the roof of the net where it couldn't have been blocked by the various defenders on the line.  Once again, a late goal to break our hearts and send the Austrian support into raptures.

The final sub had been made just before the goal with Conor Sammon replacing an out of sorts Long but, despite our continued efforts to hoof the ball towards his head, we looked dejected after the goal and the game fizzled out as the fans, players and staff realised that the end of the Trap era would be marked by our first away defeat of it.  The final whistle nearly came as a relief as it was clear we weren't going to score at that stage.  I'd thought beforehand that Trap would see the campaign out but by the final whistle had come around to thinking it was time for him to go.  Although you can't blame the manager for some of the individual errors which have been so costly this campaign, I've lost patience with his idiosyncratic team selections and substitutions which have done nothing to change the flow of games when they've been slipping away from us.  There are options such as Wes Hoolohan which should have been utilised as it's been clear that the options he's been using haven't been working. But I guess the pros and cons of his reign are for another blog. Although I always hate coming out of games where we've lost and was gutted in the immediate aftermath, I wasn't as annoyed or down as I have been in the past given that the campaign was all but over after the Sweden result from earlier that day.  While walking out I was approached by a young Austrian fan with his Dad looking to see if I'd swap flags with him but I was happy enough to just give him the tricolour draped around my shoulders which seemed to make his night as I passed it to him.

So we made our way back to Sally's where those we didn't see leaving the stadium gathered.  The atmosphere wasn't as morose as previous away defeats but it was a bit strange having not experienced it in so long, bar the draw in Paris which felt like a defeat as well as a robbery.  There wasn't a huge amount of conversation about the football as we all knew that this was the end of the road for Trap.  In fact, the most passionate debate of the night was started by Billy asking people what their Top 10 women of the 80's would be!  Lads were still arguing the toss about it when we were heading back in the airport yesterday when Daisy Duke came into the conversation! I can't believe we missed Kim Wilde.......

The Winner Takes It All, The Loser Has To Fall

I guess the tone was set pre kick off when we had to endure the unfortunate Nadia Forde absolutely butcher our national anthem.  I'd have been prepared to turn a blind eye to it if that remained the low point of the evening but alas, that wasn't to be.

The matchday experience had been pretty positive in the build up.  Given that this was such a make or break game there was a general feeling of optimism amongst the support and in the media.  The team Trapattoni had picked was quite attacking and unusually, given some of his previous idiosyncratic selections, was pretty close to what most fans would have gone for.  The news that the game was approaching a sell out was welcome and everyone seemed to be looking forward to a big atmosphere with a full house roaring on the team for only the 3rd time since Lansdowne re-opened.  Having managed to get out of work at 4, we strolled down by the canal to our usual meeting spot in the Beggars Bush on Haddington Road and a decent atmosphere was building with a fair smattering of Sweden fans visible and adding to the sense of occasion.  We were due a big home performance and given the recent improvement in form through the summer friendlies, I was pretty confident we wouldn't be beaten and quite hopeful that we could get the 3 points we so badly needed to banish the memory of the last minute Austria goal which still rankled.  When we arrived, the Brummie boys were already there and the rest of the gang gathered over the course of the next couple of hours as we discussed our chances and finalised some arrangements for next week's trip to Austria.  At 7.25 we finished our last pint and made our way into the Singing Section with our new season tickets.  There's been many a time in the past when we've stayed a little too long in the pub beforehand and missed the anthems but now that we're a bit older and wiser we've got into the habit of making it in time for Amhran na bhFiann.  Unfortunately, given last night's rendition we may have been better off hanging on that extra 5 minutes before getting into the stadium!

The ground really did look great with the capacity crowd, the 6,000 Swedish fans in the North end and the side of the East stand seemed to spur on our support with our Singing Section in the South Lower vociferously getting behind the team from the kick off.  I actually think we started very well and won the first corner of the game within minutes when a Long shot was deflected over.  We were playing to a decent tempo and creating a few half chances which was feeding the atmosphere and although Sweden began to come more into the game the lead was deserved when it came.  A James McClean cross had drifted onto the crossbar a couple of minutes earlier but we weren't to be denied for long.  And who else would score it but Robbie Keane who really is our only goal threat these days.  A header back to the Swedish keeper was left short and Robbie nicked in to go round the keeper and prod the ball goalwards.   I actually think Keane was fouled by the keeper which could have resulted in a penalty and a red card had the goal not gone in but he deserves great credit for playing to the whistle and he was straight back on his feet to collect the rebound as the ball came back off the post and Mikael Lustig's heels and bury it in the roof of the net!  Cue lift off at Lansdowne, although to be honest the first thing I said when we'd finished celebrating was that I'd have been far happier had we taken the lead with 22 minutes left rather than 22 minutes gone.

Part of the problem with Ireland under Trap is that we seem to turn into a different team once we go ahead.  And not a better team, a significantly worse one.  Instead of gaining confidence from a goal we seem to retreat into ourselves.  We don't have the Italian culture or the ability to shut up shop and protect a lead and we don't seem to be able to keep doing the things that we were doing well that enable us to go ahead and build on a lead.  When we should be going for the jugular we get caught between 2 stools and allow momentum to get away from us.  So it proved again last night as our lead lasted for all of 11 minutes and indeed should only have lasted 9 when Seb Larsson inexplicably placed a free header wide.  Instead of counting our blessings and learning our lesson from it another cross 2 minutes later found Johan Elamnder getting a yard on Richard Dunne and powering home a bullet header.  To be fair, it was an excellently worked goal and it would be churlish to attach blame to the defence for it, sometimes you have to put your hands up and just say it was a great goal.  Needless to say, this roused the Swedes and the half time whistle came as a relief as we hoped the break would enable us to re-focus and try and regain the intensity we'd played the first half hour with.

Unfortunately, that intensity never materialised and once the second half began it was with Sweden in the ascendancy again.  The only tactical change seemed to be a pointless swap of wings for Walters and McClean and bar a shot from the latter player that Isaksson in the Swedish goal had covered all the way we were creating little.  In fact, only the alertness of Forde in goal prevented us falling behind when he dived at the feet of Larsson to prevent a clear goal chance.  Again, this let off only delayed the inevitable.  A quality through ball from Ibrahimovich should have amounted to nothing with the defence pushed up but some very lazy play from Glenn Whelan kept Svensson onside and he coolly finished past Forde.  I can't understand what Whelan was doing, if you're going to track the man then get tight and get goal side, he was caught in no man's land when all he had to do was step up with the defence and leave his man offside.

So 2-1 down and really up against it.  Surely time to try something different.  Having seen Robbie Brady and Simon Cox warming up I was really hoping to see Brady come on with Walters looking likely to make way but no, despite the fact that it's been proven time and time again that Cox is completely ineffective out wide it was he who stripped off his tracksuit top and came on.  No tactical change, just a like for like so needless to say the pattern of the game didn't change at all.  We increasingly looked like we'd need to get a break to get back into the game as we were creating little and playing with increasing predictability.  A chance duly arrived when Long got onto a misplaced pass but with Keane in acres of space screaming for the ball, Long, for reasons best known to himself cut back onto his other foot and straight into a defender.  It was a serious lack of vision and cost us really the only chance we had of getting back into the game.  A final sub saw Anthony Pilkington introduced for his belated debut replacing McClean in another like for like sub that once again did little to change the pattern of the game.  Although he looked lively in his cameo we had resorted to aimless long balls at this stage and bar one half chance where Keane slid in but failed to reach the ball before Isaksson the game ended with a whimper rather than a bang and with it Ireland's chances of making it to Brazil, barring the most unlikely sequence of results.

To say it was a disappointing end to the day is an understatement.  To lose 2 home games in a campaign is unacceptable and this is the first time it's happened since the Euro '72 qualifiers where, funnily enough we also faced Sweden and Austria although we managed to get a point from the home game v. the Swedes before losing to Italy and Austria.  While our away record is very impressive, our home form under Trap has been very poor.  Even in our darkest days in the past, we usually got it together at home and it's a pretty damning indictment that this is no longer the case. Once again, a large portion of blame for yesterday's defeat has to lie at the feet of the manager with the complete lack of a plan B galling in the extreme.  The players shouldn't be immune from criticism either, a large number of them (including many that people have been clamouring for) simply didn't show up last night. Marc Wilson had a nightmare at left back and you can't blame the manager when a professional player kicks a 5 yard pass to a team-mate directly into touch.  James McCarthy was anonymous in centre mid as was Whelan beside him.  While Long won his share of ball in the air, his play when the ball was at his feet was very poor and the lack of vision when Keane was free in the box was inexcusable.  To be fair to Long, he had a disruptive week and finding out your club manager is happy to let you go can't be good mentally.  McClean justified his inclusion and can be happy with his nights work as can the 2 old warhorses in Keane and Dunne (notwithstanding Dunne being beaten in the air for their first) and Forde did well once again although he may think he could have done better for the winner.  Although we played well for 30 minutes, any kudos gained for that is more than cancelled out by the hour that followed it.

So, instead of looking forward to an early morning flight to Austria on Monday with a degree of optimism there's an air of despondency around as our qualification hopes seem holed below the waterline.  I won't give up until it's mathematically impossible and given that I don't think Sweden are particularly impressive bar Zlatan, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that if he has an off day they could come unstuck in Astana but it's a pretty forlorn hope.  I've always measured an Irish manager's success on whether he can deliver a top 2 finish or not and, to be fair to Trap, he has done this is both campaigns so far.  Some may say he's been lucky to do so but it's a results business and we've had our share of bad luck over the years.  If he manages to turn this around then the luck he's previously had will pale into insignificance.  I believe he'll see out the campaign and go with a two out of three record which ain't bad as the song goes.  Where we go from there remains to be seen and I really think that his reign will only really be judged once we see what another manager can do with the players we have at our disposal.

Fingers crossed for a rare away victory on Tuesday but even then I think that'll be too little too late.

As Keane as Mustard

The old English idiom 'as keen as mustard' is defined in online dictionaries as meaning that someone is exceptionally enthusiastic or something 'having a fine, sharp cutting edge or point'.  How apt it is then that last night was all about the man who broke Shay Given's all time Ireland caps record by lining out for the 126th time and who's enthusiasm for representing his country is as bright now as it was way back in 1998 when he made his first appearance in a little remembered friendly away to the Czech Republic as Mick McCarthy began the process of rebuilding the Irish team after the retirements of most of the stalwarts of the Jack Charlton era.  And how apt that the sharp cutting edge that has led him to obliterate the Irish goalscoring record was evident once again as he moved into the top 5 European goalscorers in the history of the game by bagging the second hat trick of his Ireland career.  Okay, it was only the Faroe's, but let's not forget this man has scored vital goals in competitive games against Holland, Germany, Spain, France and Italy not to mention teams from every ranking of the game.  It'll be a long time before we see his like again.

The evening itself had started in very pleasant fashion with the usual walk down the canal from Charlemont to our regular matchday watering hole, The Beggars Bush on Haddington Road, a stones throw from the ground.  A number of the usual crowd were already in with plenty of the faces from the London trip settling into their pints by the time I arrived.  And there was a steady flow of new arrivals as the glorious sunshine brought everyone out into the beer garden to soak up some rays and indulge in some pre match refreshment.  By the time my Dad and his crowd arrived, everyone was in high spirits with the prospect of as close as you can get to a guaranteed 3 points ensuring that there was more debate about what the best result would be from the Austria v. Sweden game for our chances rather than the prospect of us dropping points.  In fact, it was more about how much we should be looking to increase our goal difference by, given how tight the table is.  People were generally happy enough with the team, bar the picking of Simon Cox out of position on the right wing, and my feeling was that I'd be satisfied with a 4 goal victory at the least.

As kick off approached we made our way into the ground and slipped into our spot in the Singing Section on the South stand just as the anthems were playing.  A nice tribute to Robbie Keane had been arranged by the posters on the YBIG site on the 10 minute mark as that's the number synonymous with his Ireland career and a minutes' chanting planned when the above image was to be flashed up on the big screen.  We'd joked beforehand that it would be something else if he were to score on the 10th minute! It'd be something else but, in the event it took Robbie less than half that to put us ahead.  The goal was well worked with Wes Hoolahan, who impressed on his first start, playing in Aiden McGeady who played a good square ball in for Keane to slide home.  A perfect start and should have put us in prime position to push on and bump up that goal difference.  Unfortunately, that wasn't what came to pass.  Although we had all the possession and were camped in their half, the end product was non existent with only one other attempt from Keane causing their keeper any difficulty which ended up being tipped over for a corner.  I felt that a second goal would open the floodgates but the final delivery was very poor with McGeady in particular wasting a number of chances with poor passes and underhit shots.  I find him a very frustrating player to watch, he has plenty of skill and is well able to beat a player but there's a massive lack of consistency with his end product and I find it hard to believe that a professional footballer can have such a weak shot, there were numerous occasions where he seemed to snatch at his opportunities and either give the keeper an easy save or drag it wide.  Add the fact that both full backs were having poor games and Cox looked what he was, a striker playing out of position, and there was a palpable air of frustration in the ground as the first half came to a close.


In contrast to the players mentioned above, a large degree of praise has to go to Wes Hoolahan who was instrumental in practically everything that was positive in the game.  In addition to his hand in the first goal, he showed a willingness to show for the ball and wasn't afraid to harry the opposition and chase the ball down rather than just wait for it to come to him.  And he was involved again when we finally doubled our lead in what was nearly a carbon copy of the first goal.  This time it was Coleman (who'd improved in the second half) who showed wide right and ran onto Hoolahan's perfectly weighted pass to square the ball for Robbie to slide in and take the score to 2-0.  Again I hoped that this would be the spark for us to push on and score another couple but the lack of urgency that had been prevalent was still visible and too many players seemed to be already thinking about their holidays with Marc Wilson particularly culpable.  Things got freshened up with  Jon Walters, McGeady and the aforementioned Wilson making way for Conor Sammon, James McClean and Stephen Kelly.  This immediately paid dividends with McClean getting onto another weighted Hoolahan pass and squaring it to Sammon who controlled and turned beautifully to lay the ball on a plate for Robbie to complete his hat trick.  This belatedly seemed to spark us into life and we spent the last 10 minutes pushing on for the 4th goal that I'd hoped for but the closest we came was when a superb piece of control and finish from Keane was denied by a harsh linesman's flag for offside.  So 3-0 it finished and much as 3 points are 3 points, the performance had to be considered disappointing although Austria's 2-1 win away to Sweden leaves the group wide open. And it should be said that Germany only managed a 3-0 victory as well in their Faroe's game.  If only we'd managed to hold out at home against Austria the group would be looking very healthy but it's still all to play for going into the autumn fixtures.

Much as I was slightly unhappy with the manner of the performance, I've just watched the RTE panel's analysis and I have to say that the lack of factual knowledge and amount of guff spouted on there from Eamon Dunphy is particular was embarrassing.  I know that Wes Hoolahan is the latest cause celebre and it can be argued that this is justifiably so.  However, in his desperation to try and claim the moral high ground and proclaim his undying love for Wes there was some blatant bullshit spoken.  Having first claimed that Hoolahan was first capped by Mick McCarthy in some 'mickey mouse' tournament in the USA he then added that he didn't think the management team knew who he was 3 years ago and that everyone was crying out for him to be in the team for the last several years that he's been playing in the Premier League and Championship. Fact is, that Wes Hoolahan was in the first squad that Trapattoni picked and made his debut under the current manager 5 years ago against Colombia in London.  I've followed Hoolahan's career closely since watching him many times when Shels played Bohs and since initially being included in a squad under caretaker boss Don Given when still at Shels he was ignored by Brain Kerr (a man with an intricate knowledge of League of Ireland players) and Steve Staunton after he moved to Scotland.  Much as it can be argued that he could have been utilised more the last couple of years the only permanent manager that has picked him at all is Trapattoni.  Let's not forget that only 3 years ago Wes was playing in the third tier of English football and was 29 before he belatedly made it to the Premier League after a single season in the Championship.  I've always thought that he was a classy player but to suggest that everyone has been crying out for him to be included in the squad for several years is laughable, I don't recall Dunphy even making a case for his inclusion until he started producing in the Premier League about 18 months ago and even then there were no eyebrows raised when he wasn't involved in the last qualifying campaign. By all means be critical but at least get the facts rights.  It's hard to believe that there's less than 2 years of an age gap between himself and Keane but given his style of play I think that he can still offer us something for a number of years and hope that his recent performances go some way to convincing the manager that this is the case.

So on we go to the autumn internationals and the business end of the campaign.  We're still up against it and really need to produce a rare away victory against a qualification rival in September versus Austria but stranger things have happened.  The reverse fixture between Sweden and Austria is still to come which will lead to dropped points somewhere and with all teams currently locked on 11 points (allowing for the predicted victory for Sweden in their Faroe's fixture on Tuesday) it looks like it'll be tight to the finish.  I think we'll miss out if it goes to goal difference but given that none of our groups have come to that since the ill fated 1982 campaign I'm hopeful that it won't.  A home win against Sweden in September and we can travel to Austria with hope, a defeat and it's curtains.  Here's hoping.....

28 Years Later

Time can be a strange thing.  It certainly doesn't seem like 28 years ago, before the bulk of this young Irish team were born, since I, as a young teenager and in the absence of live coverage, studiously avoided the score of the last Ireland friendly at Wembley so I could watch the highlights on Sports night as live.  A fresh faced Gary Lineker scored his first goal for England that night to put them 2-0 up and basically seal the game for England before Liam Brady pulled back a late consolation for the Boys in Green but the game still finished in a 2-1 English victory.  28 years later and a slightly greyer Lineker was sticking the boot into Roy Hodgson via the medium of Twitter and calling England's tactics on the night a 'step back to the dark ages'.  I'm sure if the younger Lineker had been told back in 1985 that 28 years later his goal would be the last to result in a victory for his home nation against their neighbours from across the Irish sea he'd have laughed in your face but so it has come to pass.  Over 6 games since then there have been 2 Irish wins (including the abandoned 'victory' in 1995) and 4 draws but not a single figure in the 'W' column for England.

My day started early and ended late, a 7.15 flight to Southend necessitated a 5.45 alarm call and so after the usual broken sleep before an early flight I stumbled out of the house into the morning light for a 6am taxi to the airport.  Southend had been the cheapest option for flights and with the train journey to Liverpool St station only 55 minutes it was as close as any of the other London airports so, despite the slight trepidation of getting a plane that looked like something from the 1950's, I boarded in good spirits and took my seat overlooking the propeller on the left hand wing.  Travelling on my own I was spared the peer pressure and temptation to have a drink en route so by the time I got to London to meet up with the rest of the gang I was ready for action and having dropped my luggage at our gracious host Tommy Feeley's house myself, himself and Terry the Tash headed towards Kilburn around noon for some breakfast and some liquid refreshment.  Having spent the World Cup in 1990 living in London and watched the games in Kilburn it was a strange feeling to be back there for the first time in 20 years or so and see how much the place had changed.  Some my old haunts like McGovern's pub and the Kilburn National were gone and the Irish influence that used to make the place the unofficial 33rd county had waned somewhat, but there was still a familiar feel to it as we moved on after a full Irish breakfast and a couple of Guinness to The Crown in Cricklewood where the gliterrati of the London Irish supporters club were gathering.  By the time we got there around 2 there was already a good presence and some familiar faces holding court as they waited for check in to open at 2.30.  We settled in and enjoyed a good reminisce of  previous trips and the games against the old enemy that had been played in those 28 years since.  All the while old faces arrived in with Brummie Al flying the flag for the Birmingham contingent, the Quinn Towers arriving in with their Dad and Uncle representing the Newry crew, joining ourselves, Syl, Pat and the rest of the London boys.  A TV crew arrived then so the 69ers flag was unfurled and the atmosphere was building nicely.  Before we knew it it was 6.30 and the call went out to head on to Wembley.

As Wembley Park is on the same tube line as Kilburn it was an easy journey and it was great to disembark at Wembley Way and not get a hint of the bitter atmosphere I've experienced at previous England games.  We strolled up Wembley Way to the ground, made our way through the queue and found our way to the Irish section in plenty of time for the anthems.  The atmosphere was good in our end but there was a notable difference in intensity to previous meetings, even allowing for the fact that the game was a friendly.  Small price to pay to not have scenes similar to our last meeting I guess.  I'm sure the intensity would return if there was a competitive edge present but I hope that the respect shown to both anthems is a taster of things to come.  There was a huge Irish support present with somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 in a crowd of 80,000 wearing green and it wasn't long before the chants of 'You're supposed to be at home!' were reverberating around the ground with very little response other than the ubiquitous English brass band coming from the rest of the ground.

That atmosphere was ratcheted up another notch when, slightly against the run of play, Ireland took the lead with an absolutely superb Shane Long header following some good interplay between Seamus Coleman and Jon Walters!  It really was a top class cross from the Everton man who, having suffered somewhat from the dreaded 'second season syndrome' this time last year, has come on in leaps and bounds this season and really is blossoming into an excellent player.  While the celebrations were definitely a small bit more muted than they would have been for a competitive game it was still something special as every goal against England is something to be savoured!  The pall of green smoke that swept across our section from a flare that someone had thrown onto the pitch added to the sense of the occasion as we started to dream of a famous victory while simultaneously cursing the fact that there was still 77 minutes to go!  The momentum of the game swung with the goal and we started to play with a great deal of composure and England's efforts became a bit more ragged.  Unfortunately our worst fears were realised within ten minutes as, from a position where we were under little pressure, the ball was funnelled back to David Forde who cleared upfield but probably didn't get as much distance on the ball as he'd have liked.  Possession went straight to England and the ball came out to Sturridge who poked over a cross that Sean St Ledger really should have cleared.  Unfortunately Sledge mishit his clearance and after it flicked off Glen Whelan it fell perfectly for Frank Lampard who slotted home in scruffy fashion.  It was a real shame as we had started looking comfortable at that stage and I was a bit worried that it could lead to a collapse.

To their credit, my fears were unfounded, Ireland regrouped impressively and actually ended the half on the front foot with a couple of corners in quick succession and a shout for a penalty as Robbie Keane was manhandled by Wayne Rooney in the box.  But one all was how we went in at half time and it was probably a fair enough reflection of the play.  The second half started with a couple of substitutions for England but more of the same from us as our fans continued to make all the noise in the ground and the team showed enough discipline to frustrate the English and we seemed content to play on the counter.  Things began to fizzle out early enough with Forde dealing very competently with anything thrown at him and as Robbie Keane began to drift out of the game I started to hope that Wes Hoolahan might get his opportunity to slot in behind Long for the last 25 minutes.  But no, in typical Trap fashion, Keane's number came up on the board but it was Simon Cox who jogged on rather than Hoolahan.  I really think that Hoolahan is suffering from the media pushing to get him into the team.  I'm not blaming any journalist for this, they're perfectly entitled to express that view and it's shared by a good proportion of the support.  I just think that one of Trap's biggest faults is his stubbornness and he has a childish way of reacting when people question his selections.  Hoolahan is the latest player to fall victim to this.  Ironically, with the end of Keane's international days getting closer and closer, it's probably Wes who would slot in easiest as a replacement if Long deservedly holds onto his position as the fulcrum of the attack.  It wouldn't even necessitate a move from his favored 4-4-2 per se, as the shape wouldn't radically change with Long slightly further forward and Hoolahan slightly further back then Keane was playing.  It was nearly a 4-4-1-1 at times on Wednesday anyway.

The flow of the game was further broken up by the rest of the subs with Ireland's only chance coming from a Foster fumble which was touched goalward by Walters but struck Cox before reaching the net. As Cox was offside he couldn't finish anyway and the chance was gone.  A real shame as I think it was going in but it probably would have flattered us to go ahead at that stage.  At the other end Forde was manfully dealing with everything that came his way. He excelled himself in the last couple of minutes when Oxlade-Chamberlain burst through but Forde stood big and deflected the ball over for a corner which came to nothing.  While we may not have deserved to be ahead we were good value to be level, so to concede at that stage would have been very harsh.  The general reaction was relief when only 2 minutes went up on the board as England certainly looked the more likely to score by then and while I wasn't prepared to join in with that chant of 'You'll never beat the Irish!' that started about a minute into stoppage time, I was happy to belt it out as soon as the ref put his whistle to his lips for the last time!

So we left the stadium happy with a decent nights work and a deserved 1 all draw.  The difference between now and the last time we played was summed up by the amount of half and half Ireland and England scarves on display and the sight of two lads peacefully walking out amongst the Irish fans with a Union Jack and Ulster banner tied around their necks which would have been unthinkable back in 1995.  After struggling back through the masses to the tube station, we reconvened back at The Crown for the usual post game analysis, banter and pints before finally making our way home a mere 22 hours after I'd got up!  Sleep certainly came easy as soon as my head hit the pillow.

In summary, there were certainly some positives for Ireland to be taken from the game.  The aforementioned Coleman is getting better and better and, despite the presence of Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson and Leighton Baines, looked the best full back on display.  James McCarthy continues to grow, although I still believe he has the potential to impose himself on a game a bit more than he does at present but it's easy to forget that he's still only 22.  Long led the line superbly and Forde is looking more and more assured every game, his handling of crosses and corners is a joy to behold.  It was great to see 3 of our best 4 players coming from a League of Ireland background as well and just shows that a move to the UK at a young age isn't the be all and end all, and may not even be the best thing for every player.  The manager's record in away games is incredible as well, discounting the 3 Euro '12 games and the defeat by Brazil in neutral venues, it's in the region of 20 games without loss on the oppositions patch which augers well for the vital fixture v. Austria to come.  On the negative side, the defence is still looking a bit shaky with another avoidable goal conceded.  Trap's preference for certain players such as Cox and Sammon while Hoolahan sits unused on  the bench is baffling and frustrating although as I type I've just seen that Wes will start the Georgia game so may get his chance to impress.  Robbie Keane's days as a starter should be numbered but it will be fitting to see him break Shay Given's caps record before he finishes altogether.  His experience is still valuable in the squad and I'd still back him to sniff out the odd goal here and there, but at this stage I think it would be better for both himself and the team if he does this from the bench.  I feel that it's unlikely the manager sees it that way right now but I feel it's inevitable and should be sooner rather than later.

Even though this was only a friendly, extending that unbeaten record to 28 years was nice and it'll be interesting to see if the mooted return fixture at Lansdowne comes to pass and if so, can we extend it further.  The serious business starts again on Friday with the visit of the Faroe Islanders in what really should be a comfortable 3 points.  Hopefully the confidence of some of the fringe players will get a boost against Georgia this weekend and the season will finish off with the New York game v Spain.  I'm not sure how much of a good thing it is to play the best side in the world in our final game of the season, but hopefully the Spaniards will have a more relaxed attitude to the game than they did 12 months ago.  In the meantime, I'll use the time between now and then to bask in that 28 year unbeaten run again and have another little laugh at the incredulity of Gary Lineker's twitter account and try to work out exactly which England team he's been watching over the last 28 years that actually managed to get out of the dark ages!

Do You Remember The First Time?

A treasured memory from my childhood seemed a little further away today when I heard of the untimely passing of Tony Grealish, a stalwart member of the Irish team that was so cruelly robbed of qualification for Espana '82. Ireland finished 3rd on goal difference in a group that contained two of the eventual semi-finalists in Belgium and France as well as Holland, with only 2 points separating the top 4 teams.

Add to this the fact that Ireland had perfectly good goals disallowed away to both France and Belgium and that the Belgium winner in Brussels came from a free won by a dive in addition to a clear foul on the goalkeeper, I'm sure that being deprived of the chance to play on the biggest stage in world football in that fashion would have rankled with such a genuinely honest and committed player as Grealish was.

But despite the fact that Grealish had a superb personal qualifying campaign in central midfield alongside Liam Brady, scoring in the home games against Belgium and Cyprus, that's not what I really remember him most for.

They say you never forget your first, your first kiss, your first love etc.  Well, Tony Grealish was the player who scored the first goal I ever witnessed Ireland score in the flesh which kick-started the love affair I've had with the Boys In Green ever since.

It was only a mickey mouse friendly against the USA in October 1979 that's better remembered these days for the fact that Chris Hughton made his debut and thus became the first black player to represent us. But, although I'd been brought to Croke Park on a number of occasions to watch Heffo's army as they cut a swathe through the best that the GAA could produce, this was the first time to be brought to my Mecca, the home of Irish football, Dalymount Park.

Despite being young enough to spend most of the game on my Da's shoulders, I can still remember it as if it was yesterday.  I can remember making our way up the Connaught Street end and finding a spot at the back under the famous King crisps sign which would be familiar to anyone who watched any matches on tv back then and which seemed gigantic to me.

I can remember that sinking feeling that I've gotten so used to over the years as Ireland went behind early on against a country that were minnows in football terms back them.  I can remember the annoyance of my Dad and his mates as Ireland huffed and puffed but couldn't get back into the game and the good-natured resignation as they said "here we go again".  And I remember the curses that filled the air when the USA went 2-0 up not long after the hour mark.

But then it happened.  I can't recall much of the build-up as it happened so quick as Ireland attacked pretty much straight from the restart but the ball somehow made it's way to Tony Grealish and next thing it hit the net.  Suddenly I was bouncing up and down with my Dad as the atmosphere changed in the space of a minute from one of embarrassment to a feeling that the game was there for the taking.

Sure enough, once Ireland had their tails up the USA crumbled and substitute Don Given equalised within a couple of minutes before another sub, John Anderson hit the winner two minutes after that.   From 2-0 down on 63 minutes, Ireland were 3-2 up after 68 with the other two goals coming within 4 minutes of Grealish putting us back in the game! I can remember thinking that if every football match was like this I'd like my Dad to bring me more often!

From there on I always took an interest in his career at club level as a boy and remember rooting for him in the 1983 Cup Final as he led Brighton out as captain v Man Utd due to Steve Foster's absence wearing Foster's trademark headband as a mark of solidarity with his suspended teammate.  There were numerous Irish players playing that day with three and a sub for Brighton and two and a sub for Man Utd but the fact that an Irish player might actually lift the FA Cup really caught my interest.

And he came so close in the last minute with that famous 'and Smith must score!' line roared by the commentator before Gordon Smith somehow contrived not to and instead fluffed his shot straight at Gary Bailey.  Although Grealish wasn't captain in the replay with Foster's return, I can still recall how gutted he looked going up to collect his losers medal as Man Utd ran out easy winners. And still recall how gutted I felt for him myself.

At international level, I saw him play many more times in the early '80s as my Dad often brought me again untill I got old enough to start heading in with my own mates around the same time as the Jack Charlton reign began. Unfortunately, Grealish was one of only a couple of players from the Hand era who never got a chance under Jack as a move to Man City didn't work out and he dropped down through the leagues.  In fairness we had an abundance of players who could play in his position with the great Paul McGrath often having to be accommodated there due to the quality we had at centre half but I was always sorry that he got stuck on 45 caps when 50 was considered a huge achievement back then.

By the time we started qualifying for the tournaments that he was cheated out of appearing in in 1982, he was seeing out his career with Rotherham and Wallsall but he was never forgotten by a certain vintage of supporter who grew up admiring his tenacity and never say die attitude, not to mention his trademark beard!  He also represented the 2nd generation fans with pride as, despite his London accent, you only had to look at him to know he was Irish through and through even before finding out that he played hurling and Gaelic football as a child and actually represented London in the All Ireland in his youth.  I have no doubt that he brought his battling qualities to the fore in the fight with his illness but unfortunately this was one fight he just couldn't win.  

Since that day back all of 34 years ago I've travelled far and wide supporting the Irish team and have long lost count of the amount of home games I've been to or the amount of goals I've seen us score. Hopefully I'll see many more.  But no matter how many I've seen or how many more I will in the future there'll only ever be one first.

Rest in peace, Tony Grealish.  Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.