Onus on Clubs to fly football’s national flag

TIME was when footballers insisted that a clause releasing them for international matches would be written into their new club contracts.

Frank Stapleton was one who insisted on this when he moved from Arsenal to Manchester United, Liam Brady was another. Brady took such pride in wearing the green shirt that he did not look for a match fee.

International football is not just the icing on the cake, it is the very essence of the cake; its flavour, its aroma, its enduring richness and appeal. But, for a very small group of men, international football is anathema.

It has been obvious for years now that managers at the big clubs are hardening their attitudes to international football.

It can be only a question of time before they attempt to impose their will on the international programme in a major way.

The next issue that is likely to lead to confrontation will be the question of money. Now that players have to be released five days before a competitive international match, it is inevitable the club managers, and the chairmen/chief executives, will ask the national associations to pick up the players’ wage bill for that week.

In fact, the international squads now spend almost two weeks together on competitive international dates. Ireland will play Georgia on March 29 and Albania on April 2 and they will be together from Monday, March 24.

Two weeks wages for a squad of 22 premiership players would amount to a sizeable sum.

Such a development would put an intolerable strain on national associations, which depend heavily on match-day income to meet their many overheads.

The negative influence of the clubs was a huge consideration during the most recent series of international challenge matches. There was scarcely any team not affected by the club’s reluctance to release players.

Ireland escaped lightly, principally because the match against Scotland was Brian Kerr’s first as manager. All of the players were keen to be involved to establish their interest in supporting Kerr. The manager helped his own cause by being pro-active in seeking their release.

Kerr was busy on the telephone in the weeks before the game, making personal contact with the various managers and stressing the need for all of his players to be in attendance when he took charge for the first time.

In consequence, a couple of players travelled to Glasgow, even though they were not going to remain long enough to play in the game; Kenny Cunningham and Rory Delap were cases in point.

The England team that played Australia was ruined by restrictions that had obviously been placed on Sven Goran Eriksson by the clubs. The main players were restricted to 45 minutes.

There is a volume of opinion out there suggesting that friendly internationals serve no purpose. They could not be further from the truth.

Brian Kerr would love to have at least one more friendly match before he has to lead the team into competition against Georgia and Albania.

John O’Shea will look back on the friendly match against Scotland with warm feelings. He confirmed for Kerr and anyone else who was taking any interest that he is ready now for a regular place in the team.

Clinton Morrison helped his cause as well with a hard-working performance in which he illustrated his ability to act as a fulcrum around which the Irish attacking machine can revolve.

FRIENDLY INTERNATIONALS are a necessary part of the process of developing players to this standard. They are an important element also in fostering the desired relationship within the group, in developing team spirit to the point where a team can perform to the level Ireland did during the World Cup finals.

Club managers and chairmen are becoming more vocal in criticising them only because they are increasingly more covetous and more demanding in terms of finance.

They have only themselves to blame if the modern players are earning such huge sums of money. It is the clubs who demanded more matches to generate still more income to enable them spend still greater sums on transfers and on wages.

Now that TV income is shrinking at some levels and at least being questioned at the very highest level, they know their income is not infinite. And they realise they may have to economise to maintain profit levels.

Interfering with the international programme of matches is not the way to go. Let them economise by cutting their huge playing staffs and trimming their enormous wage bills.

Football needs the international dimension and not just because the national associations need an income.