Replacing gifted Hoolahan a conundrum for Ireland

Although there was no great surprise in news of his retirement, already the cavity in the Ireland team created by Wes Hoolahan’s absence is being sorely mourned.

Daryl Murphy was capable of providing a goal in times of need, while the solidity of John O’Shea, should as expected he also depart the international scene, will be missed but there’ll be something uniquely deficient from the withdrawal as an option of Hoolahan’s skillset.

Equating those traits to Lionel Messi, as his most ardent supporter Eamon Dunphy tried to, is to stretch it, yet the diminutive Dubliner was the closest we had to a playmaker hewn from the traditional virtues of South American artistry.