Trap’s biggest mistake

When it comes to football punditry, I find that ole Bobby Zimmerman rarely lets you down.

The conventional reading of ‘Love Minus Zero/No Limit’ is that it is the bard’s ode to a loved one but methinks that’s far too literal an interpretation. Ponder the thing a little while longer and it should become obvious that the line quoted above has been designed to cut right to the heart of the debate about Giovanni Trapattoni’s stewardship of the Ireland team.

With Trap having walked the tightrope between success and failure for over five years, it’s becoming increasingly clear his biggest mistake had nothing to do with tactics, selection, the fact he used to spend too much time holed up in Milan with his DVDs or any of the other brickbats routinely hurled at him from armchairs, barstools and studio seats.