Tough World Cup draw for new Boss

By Aidan Begley

Well, this summer looks set to be a rather dull affair football wise.
With the Republic of Ireland and all the home nations failing to qualify for the 2008 European Championships in Austria and Switzerland, houses this side and the other side of the Irish Sea will be full of men pottering about looking for all manner tasks to undertake as they'll be no footy to watch.
There will be obviously, but without Ireland there, it seems a little boring. Then again, having only ever qualified for one European Championships 20 years ago, maybe we were expecting too much from the boys in green.
After the dust had settled from the FAI sacking (sorry, mutually consenting to relieve of his duties) Steve Staunton, Ireland headed to the Millennium Stadium to take on Wales in nothing more than a dead rubber of a game.
The fact that the Millennium Stadium was only a third full tells its own tale of how little the game caught the imagination. Hundreds of Ireland fans had booked hotel rooms and flights a year in advance thinking that this could be the game to send Ireland through. Oh well, at least they got a night out in Cardiff, which is an experience in itself.
Goals from Robbie Keane (his first competitive goal away from Landsdown Road/Croke Park for seven years - a truly shocking fact for a striker of his calibre) and Kevin Doyle put Ireland 2-1 ahead after Jason Koumas scored to give Wales the lead.
Two minutes from time, a rush of blood to Paul McShane's head saw him give away a penalty, which saw Koumas tuck away the spot-kick, giving Wales a respectable draw. Ireland were poor in the first half, but showed what they could do in the second, but yet again, defensive errors in the final minutes cost Ireland dear.
The final standings saw Ireland secure third place, which, when looking at the group, was realistically the highest place they could've finished. The Germans and the Czech Republic really put their stamp on the group, and to independent viewers, a third spot finish is making sure the rankings equilibrium is adhered to.
Speaking after the game, Caretaker Manager, Don Givens was complimentary to the Ireland team, and believes that the performance was considerably better than the previous game against Cyprus.
“It was disappointing not to end the campaign with a win. We were not with it in the first-half. We got pulled apart too often, which led to their (Wales') first goal. At half-time we said to them that they needed to pass the ball more, get it down the channels, and also look for the killer ball through the middle.
“We got back into it and went ahead, but at times our naivety has cost us points and sadly this was the case today. The lads will learn from this and I'm sure that they'll be ready next September when the qualifying for the World Cup begins,” said Givens, who now returns to his duties as the Under-21 Manager.
By finishing third, Ireland meant that they found themselves in the third pot for the World Cup qualifying draw, which took place in Durban last month.
The draw was a memorable affair full of traditional South African tribal dances, reminding us that the next World Cup will be a truly groundbreaking tournament as it is the first one to be held in Africa, making it even more appealing to qualify for it.
When the European draw was eventually made, Ireland were drawn in a group containing defending champions Italy, Bulgaria, Cyprus (again!), Georgia and Montenegro.
The two teams that stand out from that group are Ireland's recent old foes Cyprus and the 2006 World Champions Italy, who have to qualify for the World Cup, after Fifa changed the rules following the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea.
Alongside them, Bulgaria are going to be an extremely difficult team to face, especially as most Ireland players wouldn't fancy a mid-week trip to Plovdiv in November (no matter how cold they say is gets in Galway during the winter).
Ireland faced Georgia in the qualifying group en route to the 2002 World Cup. If my memory serves me right, Ireland won in Georgia and scorer of the winning goal, Gary Doherty had a bottle and a knife thrown at him during his celebrations - how welcoming of them.
Montenegro will be the unknown team of the group, but it is doubtful that they'll be the whipping boys of the group, they're no Andorra, Faroe Islands or San Marino, three teams which Ireland have played in the last five years and have actually struggled to defeat.
Football Association of Ireland chief John Delaney was hopeful about the Republic of Ireland's chances after the draw for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
Although Italy will be hot favourites in the group, Delaney believes that second spot is a realistic target for the Republic.
“Although we are the third seed, we'll be going for the play-offs. I am particularly looking forward to welcoming Italy to Croke Park. It'll be something special with 76,000 people in the stadium.
“There was a fantastic atmosphere for a number of the games we've already held there, the Wales and Germany games spring to mind and we're looking forward to taking on these teams to try and get through to what I'm sure will be a fantastic tournament in South Africa,” said Delaney.
Whilst at the draw, Delaney was quizzed on the current managerial situation regarding the national team and gave an assurance that the new man will be in place by the time that Ireland take on Brazil at Croke Park in February next year.
“We've spoken to about 25 people over the last couple of weeks in terms of the type of manager we should have,” said the FAI Chief Executive.
“A number of people have contacted us saying they would like to have the job. There is certainly a greater level of interest this time than last. We've got a better squad now than 18 months ago, a better playing pool.
“Secondly we are in a better financial position this time round and are prepared to put more money on the table. Our preference would be to have someone in place before the Brazil game.”
Read into that what you may, but it looks like the FAI are deciding to let people who have played the game or who have an in-depth knowledge of football decide the next Manager.
Former Ireland captain Andy Townsend, has turned down an approach from the FAI to be apart of their three-man head-hunting committee.
The committee who been asked by the FAI to assist in the search for the next Republic of Ireland manager met members of the FAI's executive board last month to outline the Association's requirements of any potential new manager.
They've also learnt that if you pay peanuts, then you get monkeys, so more Euro's will hopefully mean a better Manager. Although, this isn't always a given option in Football as plenty of high-paid jobs have seen inept people fill them.
Terry Venables is the current bookies favourite to take over the job. Whilst El Tel hasn't publicly stated he's interested in the position, he hasn't exactly ruled it out either now that he's looking for work after being given the sack along with Steve McLaren from the England squad.
Andy Townsend is being touted in certain circles as a possible Assistant Manager for Venables should he be given the role.
In the last few days, former Dutch international Arie Haan has publicly confirmed his interest in the vacant Ireland Manager's position.
Haan was the man who brought Irish stirker David Connolly to Feyenoord and has been in charge of various club sides including Ajax, as well as the Chinese and Cameroon national sides.
He said: “Certain teams are free at the moment and Ireland is very attractive. They were in the World Cup in 2002, and it would be very attractive to bring them back where they were already and I think it would be a fantastic challenge for me.
“I think with the spirit of the Irish players and the technical Dutch way of playing, if we can bring them together, it could be a fantastic formula.”
It looks likely that the FAI will take their time with their decision and will appoint someone early in the New Year. When they do, you'll be able to get the latest news in The Harp.