Rich pickings on austere stage
While James McCarthy already appears to have a head start, for Shane Long, Seamus Coleman, James McClean, Robbie Brady and Ciaran Clark — all of whom feature in the starting 11 this evening — it’s a final chance in 2012 to convince Giovanni Trapattoni that they are equipped to help him change the complexion of his team.
For Clark, in particular, the stakes are high, given that questions marks must persist about Richard Dunne’s ability to reclaim his place after such a long absence, so late in his career, through a complicated groin injury which has required two operations.
Trapattoni said yesterday that he hoped Dunne would return for the February friendly against Poland but, in the same breath, made clear that he is anxious to monitor the various alternative options available to him at centre-half, the leading contenders being John O’Shea, Sean St Ledger, Darren O’Dea and, now, Ciaran Clark.
“Sure I am sometimes in touch with him,” said the manager of Dunne, who has not kicked a ball in anger since the summer. “This moment he faces two situations. One is his physical recovery and the other is with his club, whether or not they will sell him. Sure, I believe he can be there for the game in February and then the qualifier against Sweden. But if Richard is not available, Clark is one option and we can look at him tonight. He is strong, quick and passes the ball well. But he must also know when to hold back and not commit fouls in the box. He must be careful in his judgment against experienced strikers.”
For tonight’s match, the man who has replaced Dunne at centre-half for Aston Villa will be partnered in the heart of the Irish defence by John O’Shea. And the Sunderland man, who captains the side, likes what he has seen of Clark.
“Clarkie has got fantastic potential,” he said. “He has settled into Aston Villa’s team this year — obviously Richard has had his few injury problems, and Paul Lambert has shown a lot of faith in him. We played against Aston Villa a few weeks ago and he was outstanding. We put them under a lot of pressure in the second half and Clark stood up to a lot of the pressure.
“He has shown an increased maturity and, as the manager said there, he wants to see if he can rise to the occasion internationally as well, and I have no doubt he will. He is a fantastic talent.”
Tonight also provides James McClean with a welcome chance to let his feet do the talking from the off on the left flank, with rising star Robbie Brady getting another outing on the right. And with Aiden McGeady only missing because of injury for this game, it’s Brady who seems better placed to stake a permanent claim given Trapattoni’s high praise for the youngster yesterday.
“When Damien Duff retired we worried because he is Damien Duff,” said the manager, “but now we have Robbie Brady. Robbie is one of those players with creative fantasia.”
And while Robbie Keane’s absence and Jon Walters’ injury have combined to help create the opening, there will be considerable relief as well as delight to see Shane Long get a rare start under Trapattoni as a strike partner for Simon Cox in what, at least at the outset, will be a familiar 4-4-2 formation.
That means Wes Hoolahan will have to wait just a little bit longer for his long-awaited return, with the manager yesterday promising that the Norwich schemer would appear for the second half, most likely to play off a lone front man.
That, of course, assumes that all is going to plan for Ireland at that stage, as Trapattoni looks for his team to finish off an international year to forget on a positive note. Two days ago, his assistant Marco Tardelli raised eyebrows by characterising 2012 as “a fantastic” year, but the manager was more muted in his summation yesterday. “It was not a great 2012,” he said, “but it was enough positive.”
Many would still take issue with that but it won’t do his cause any harm if he is in a position to be saying at least much the same thing this time tomorrow.
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