Lesser lights must step up

Necessity has proved to be the mother of invention for Giovanni Trapattoni who has been forced by an injury crisis to set out a radically altered team in a fresh formation for tonight’s World Cup qualifier against Germany at the Aviva Stadium.

Having already lost certain starters Richard Dunne, Sean St Ledger and Glenn Whelan to injury, the manager yesterday confirmed that skipper and record goalscorer Robbie Keane is also consigned to sick bay (And, just for the record — and contrary to the impression given two days ago by Marco Tardelli — it appears to have been a training ground challenge involving David Meyler, not Paul McShane, which saw the LA Galaxy man aggravate the Achilles problem which keeps him out of tonight’s game).

Trapattoni yesterday acknowledged that with the exit of Keane goes some of the “personality and experience” the manager values so highly, while he also noted the psychological advantage lost when the opposition doesn’t have to worry about “the famous players”.

Despite his powerful impact as a substitute in the smash and grab win in Kazakhstan, Kevin Doyle could not have been considered nailed-on for a starting place here but, in any event, he has been another to fall victim to the wave of injuries, with the manager opting for Jon Walters ahead of Shane Long as a replacement for Keane.

Given that Ireland will be deployed in a 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation, there are many who will see a silver lining to the cloud of Keane’s absence. Although his goals mean he is always a deserving starter for Ireland in a 4-4-2 line-up, Keane is not the most obvious candidate to play the role of lone striker, where the demands of the job specify a strong target man who can hold the ball up under pressure.

And while many will bemoan the fact Trapattoni has overlooked the in-form Long, there is certainly merit to his argument that Walters’ physical presence is ideally suited to the role, at least in the game’s early stages, and especially since it means retaining the option of springing the West Brom man from the bench later on, when his pace could prove even more effective against a tiring — and some suggest — vulnerable German defence. That’s the theory at any rate but, as with all such matters of tactics and selection, only tonight’s proceedings will prove if Trap has made the right call. In some ways, perhaps the bigger selection surprise is a normally conservative manager has opted for the energy of Seamus Coleman over the experience of Stephen Kelly for the right-back position left vacant because of the need for tonight’s captain John O’Shea to move inside and partner Darren O’Dea in the absence of Dunne and St Ledger. The manager has, however, retained his faith in Stephen Ward at left-back, though you suspect that Marc Wilson is increasingly running the Wolves man close for the nod.

And, of course, there are also those well-signposted changes in midfield where, as expected, Keith Fahey, Keith Andrews and James McCarthy will form a central three, with Aiden McGeady and Simon Cox on the flanks.

Saying that tonight’s is “one of those matches I would love to play in myself,” Trapattoni made a virtue out of having to make at least some of the changes which many of his critics have been calling for. But perhaps not surprisingly — given how wedded he has been as Irish manager to the 4-4-2 system — the Italian also insisted that 4-3-3 was not set in stone and that his team could revert to the more familiar shape at a moment’s notice.

“We must be in good balance and in good order,” he stressed. “Germany are fast and creative. Our commitment, our balance will be very important. And for our young players, it is a great opportunity to show us what they can do. They have quality. They have the possibility to grow. With every game, James McCarthy gains confidence and trust, also Coleman. So this is an opportunity, not for the long-term future but, immediately, for this campaign, to turn the page and look for this new energy. If we play together with our quality, I am optimistic. But the players will need 100% to put on the pitch what we can do.”

Certainly, no-one will disagree with that last assessment. Irrespective of selection or formation, for Ireland to achieve a draw or better tonight against what is, after all, the second-ranked team in world football, the collective effort will have to be huge, the spirit unyielding and individual error kept to the bare minimum. It would also help, of course, if the opposition have a bit of an off-night.

Germany come into this game with some questions being posed of them at home that, at a distance, can sound oddly similar to the charges being levelled at Trapattoni’s Ireland: that their manager is no longer infallible, that they have taken a step backwards, that they still haven’t managed to shake off those Euros blues.

All of which sounds vaguely encouraging until you remind yourself that this is a star-studded side which reached the semi-finals of that tournament and already has a maximum six out of six in World Cup qualifying points. For Germany, it’s about putting a mild head cold behind them. For Ireland, by contrast, it’s about getting over a bad case of pneumonia.

After the near fatal relapse in Astana, the Green Army will travel to Lansdowne Road, as almost always, in hope if not expectation. At the very least, they’ll want to see some encouraging signs of real recovery, even if an actual positive result against Germany still looks like the tallest of tall orders.