The Trap that Jack built

THE charge sheet is eerily familiar: the manager is too rigid in his thinking.

He is suspicious of so-called flair players, stifles creativity and freedom of expression, and rewards those who follow orders. The result is football of limited imagination and crushing predictability.

But, with discipline, organisation and work-rate exalted above all else — and with more than a smidgeon of luck thrown in for good measure — qualification for a major tournament is still very much on the agenda.

For Jack Charlton in 1987, read Giovanni Trapattoni in 2011. When Trap speaks of combating “fantasia” football with “mentality” and “enthusiasmos”, it is his version of Jack saying: “We can’t beat them at their game so we try to beat them at ours.”

And when the Italian makes the distinction between La Scala and the football pitch, he is only saying in his own words what the Englishman meant when he used to declare, as he often did: “It’s not pretty but it’s effective.”

Without too much of a stretch, those who wish to can find even more parallels: for David O’Leary and Liam Brady, say, read James McCarthy and Andy Reid. For Alan Kernaghan read Paul McShane.

The exceptional match that proves the rule about players finding themselves when the managerial handbrake is released? For Ireland v France in Paris in 2009, try Ireland v Russia in Hamburg in 1988.

The game where all the underlying frailties were shockingly exposed? Under Trap, it was Russia putting three past Ireland in Dublin. Under Jack, it was Spain putting three past Ireland in Dublin.

And if you reckon Charlton’s biggest achievement was in making Ireland hard to beat, then look no further than Tuesday night in Moscow for evidence that, under Giovanni Trapattoni, the Irish can find themselves pummelled on the ropes from first bell to last — and still somehow keep the knockout punch at bay.

In truth, the way things are shaping up, there’s every likelihood that we’ll find ourselves hailing some Macedonian Gary Mackay when, as it looks increasingly likely that it will, Group B goes right to the final night on Tuesday October 11.

One significant difference between Jack and Trap, however, is that Charlton had much greater resources to play with, especially when you consider some of the names who starred in the Irish midfield during his time in charge: Liam Brady, Ronnie Whelan, Mark Lawrenson, Paul McGrath, Andy Townsend, Roy Keane.

No-one could ever fault Keith Andrews or Glenn Whelan for their commitment to the cause but the lack of real authority in the heart of the Irish team continues to be a source of legitimate concern. And, of course, the lack of creativity there is an even greater cause for dismay.

But, even with the superior calibre of players he had at his disposal, Charlton never encouraged his teams to play through the middle. And you fear the same would apply under Trapattoni were he to belatedly accommodate James McCarthy, the young man to whom a nation now turns its beseeching eyes after prolonged flirtations with Stephen Ireland and Andy Reid.

There’s no doubt that McCarthy is better equipped than most to pick out a pass or create a scoring opportunity but, under Trapattoni’s locked-down system of two holding central midfielders, the concern would be that McCarthy would could actually ship more punishment than he would be allowed to inflict.

Still, I’d love to see the manager give him his chance — not that I think that that’s remotely possible between now and the end of the current qualifying campaign. Not unless Ireland are three up in Andorra, and even that seems unlikely in light of the team’s regression as an attacking force in the last two games.

Trapattoni is set in his ways and, beyond the pubs and studios and back pages, the raging debate about his anti-style has about as much relevance to the realities of Euro qualification at this late stage, as does discussion about the number of angels who can dance on the head of a pin.

Not to be sniffed at are the good things Trapattoni has brought to what we all too conveniently forget is a middle-ranking Irish team: organisation, discipline and a never-say-die mentality.

With that as the basis, and notwithstanding the weaknesses in central midfield, the difference between a good and bad Irish performance under the Italian depends on whether or not individual players all contribute as much as they can to the collective effort, maximising the positives and minimising the negatives on any given night.

Of course, the quality or otherwise of the opposition is a critical factor too, but that’s effectively the formula which underpinned Ireland’s best performances under Trapattoni, in places like Paris, Sofia, Bari and Liege.

It could be that, if qualification is achieved, he will feel more relaxed about fast-tracking some of the exciting talents who are still waiting in the wings or currently nursing untimely injuries — hugely promising players like McCarthy, Seamus Coleman, Greg Cunningham and, rising fast in the U21s, Robbie Brady.

But, then, that’s the other big difference between two mirror-image Ireland managers. It’s easy to forget that, much reviled at the outset, Charlton didn’t become St Jack until qualification for Euro ‘88 was achieved (by the way, if you thought Moscow was an improbable result, do please have another look at the glory game that was England in Stuttgart).

If Trapattoni oversees progression to Poland and Ukraine, he will be entitled, at very least, to the benefit of the doubt. But sainthood will probably only be bestowed if and when we’ve progressed to the quarter-finals without winning a game.

Just like you know who.