What a difference a win makes
I speak of James McCarthy — remember him? It’s only a couple of weeks ago that his name was all over the back pages, his withdrawal from the Irish squad igniting a controversy which, with receipt of additional sick notes, threatened to overshadow and even capsize Ireland’s hectic end-of-season programme.
Communication breakdown. Crisis. Farce. Remember? Those were some of the words featuring prominently in print and on the airwaves just a little over 14 days ago, along with the widely held view that, even if the bulk of responsibility for the mess lay with what Giovanni Trapattoni called “the disappeared”, the manager’s authority had been seriously, perhaps even fatally, undermined.
Well, what a difference a few wins make. The transformation in the national mood began with a pleasing and unusually goal-filled romp against Northern Ireland, gained momentum with a marginally more meaningful win over a much stronger Scottish side and ended on an unexpectedly thrilling high with that hard-fought victory against Italy in Liege.
But, of course, none of those victories put points on the board in Group B of the European Championship qualifiers. The only one of last the four games which really mattered was the 0-2 win in Skopje a game in which, as John O’Shea readily admitted, Ireland dodged a couple of bullets and were indebted, above all, to the old reliables, Robbie Keane and Shay Given, to ensure a good night didn’t go bad.
The upshot of it all is that Trapattoni is once again being routinely referred to as the maestro, his critics here forced to bow to the unanswerable argument of four games, 10 goals and four clean sheets, while his admirers in Italy can only look on enviously at an old boy who can still teach the young ‘uns a thing or two.
And, after shipping a fair bit of criticism in recent weeks, Trap surely deserves the plaudits. Once again, the football may not been candy for the eyes but the heart and soul of the collective effort — as personified by Stephen Hunt’s heroic displays in Skopje and Liege — couldn’t but stir the blood. And even those of us who were gobsmacked at Trapattoni’s decision to favour Simon Cox over Shane Long have to acknowledge that the new striker’s return of two goals in four games vindicated the manager’s decision, at least for now. In the future, I would still fancy Long to be the more significant player for his country but full credit to Trapattoni and Marco Tardelli for backing their judgment on the West Brom man this time around and, by doing so, ensuring that the competition for places up front remains encouragingly keen.
Certainly Cox has leapfrogged the likes of Jon Walters and Anthony Stokes in the forward line pecking order, in the same way that Stephen Ward must now be considered ahead of Marc Wilson and Ciaran Clark as the likeliest successor to Kevin Kilbane. (Not that I would suggest any of the contenders dare to hold their breath, of course).
And, in the battle for midfield places, Darron Gibson and Paul Green are reduced to staring at the back of Keith Andrews, now that the fit-again Blackburn man has done so much to reclaim his place alongside Glenn Whelan after a protracted period sidelined through injury.
But where might James McCarthy fit into all this? For tactical reasons, it was a question we were still asking even after he’d made his competitive debut against Macedonia at the Aviva back in March, a brief cameo which, along with his declaration of intent in front of the mics, seemed to finally put to bed the whole ‘will-he, won’t-he’ saga surrounding the Wigan player.
But now, the question has reverted to something more fundamental again — has McCarthy got a future with the national team at all? You would have to hope so, since the talent pool at Ireland’s disposal is hardly so great that we can afford to ignore one of the most highly-rated young players in the Premier League? The pragmatist in Trapattoni would doubtless agree, even if it’s not entirely clear yet just how he might best employ the gifted midfielder.
The Italian has said that he will give the absentees an effective ultimatum before his next squad call-up for the friendly against Croatia in August — though, since that game comes just before the new season kick-offs in Britain, he could be storing up a whole world of grief for everyone with the timing.
Whatever, by the following month — and the build-up to the pivotal qualifiers at home to Slovakia and away to Russia — we should be a lot clearer about who is going to be along for the rest of the ride and who isn’t.
But if the prodigal sons do return, Trapattoni is also going to have to take steps to smooth over any potential disturbance caused by their reappearance in the camp. Footballers are adaptable folk, especially when they’re winning, but some of the strong, verging on bitter, words spoken about the no-shows by the likes of Robbie Keane, Shay Given and Stephen Hunt, suggest that feelings on this subject run high, and the manager is going to have to address the issue head-on.
The good news for Trapattoni is that a successful end of season run of games, coupled with the fact of going into the autumn qualifiers still level at the top of Group B, means that, whatever decisions he decides to take, he will do some from a position of strength, his authority unquestionably restored.
And there’s nothing mysterious about that, really. As the man himself never ceases to remind us, it’s all about results, results, results.
