Foley deserved better than this

When Giovanni Trapattoni stole a long march on his Euro 2012 rivals by naming his squad as early as May 7, it seemed like a powerful statement of intent and a resounding expression of confidence, both in his players and in the certainty of his own decision-making.

Just 22 days later, on the UEFA deadline day of May 29 for the submission of Euros panels, the temptation was to file it under ‘must have seemed like a good idea at the time’.

Because, in declaring his hand so early on, Trapattoni failed to account for the possible intervention of “events, dear boy” and, specifically, the circumstances whereby injury concerns about other players would ultimately lead to the bizarre situation of a fit player being dropped from the panel.