Being
an Ireland fan comes with its fair shares of ups and downs.
When Brian Kerr was sacked, Irish football didn’t seem to have
any real sense of direction. Experienced players had retired and with
the prospect of watching yet another summer tournament without Ireland
has cast a real sense of doom and gloom amongst fans.
But cometh the hour, cometh the man and Steve Staunton has given himself
every opportunity to blow the cobwebs away that have been growing on
the managers desk at FAI headquarters and take Ireland forward into
the future with optimism.
His first game in charge of the national side he represented more times
than any other man was a triumph to the old adage that if they are
old enough, then they are good enough to play for the senior team.
The team that played in the convincing 3-0 defeat over Sweden earlier
this month showed something that seemed to be lacking at the end of
the Kerr era, and that is hunger.
It truly was a case of out with the old and in with the new.
Debutantes Wayne Henderson (Brighton), Joey O’Brien (Bolton),
Stephen Ireland (Manchester City) and Kevin Doyle (Reading) did not
look out of place in an Ireland side that outclassed a Swedish team
which will head to the World Cup this summer.
On this showing alone, Sven Goran Eriksson will not be loosing any
sleep over how England can defeat his homeland in Germany later this
year.
After a someone rusty start to the game, Ireland soon got into their
stride with Damien Duff showing on the eve of his 27th birthday that
all his injury problems of recent months have gone as he tormented
the Swedish defence all night.
Duff opened the scoring with his first strike for Ireland in two years
and continued to be a source of panic for the Swedes and he thoroughly
deserved his man-of-the-match award.
Ireland’s new captain Robbie Keane was back to his goalscoring
best as he grabbed the second and continued to increase his record
goals tally for Ireland which currently lies at 25.
And to wrap up the night, Liam Miller (currently on loan at Leeds United
if you were wondering where he had disappeared to) saved the best ‘til
last as his 25-yard screamer notched up Ireland’s third on a
memorable night for Ireland, and in particular, Steve Staunton.
“It’s gone better than expect, but what’s more pleasing
was the performance. I thought there were some outstanding individual
performances and we saw some lovely, hard tackling,” he said.
“Their attitude was fantastic and they have set high standards,
but hopefully they will go on from here. Damien Duff and Robbie Keane
led by example. I could go through the whole because the lads on the
bench played their part in giving those on the pitch their support.
“It was tremendous. A bit of a fairytale.”
Staunton added his annoyance at the fact that Ireland were not going
to the World Cup – which in turn would’ve meant Brian Kerr
would still be in charge – but added that he hopes that the fans
can look forward to the future with a sense on excitement.
“We certainly gave the supporters something to look forward to.
That’s what I asked of my players and that’s what I got,” he
added.
Looking towards the next few months, from the way that Staunton operates,
it looks like he and Bobby Robson are going to try and bring a sense
of club football to the international stage.
By way of club football, this means a real feeling of being part of
a team and working hard for each other.
International football is made up of individuals from different clubs
where things are run differently playing as a single unit which an
often cause conflict (a certain episode involving Roy Keane and Mick
McCarthy springs to mind).
By bringing in new faces into the Ireland team, this then gives the
whole team a lift and means that there is strong competition for places.
The strength in depth for Ireland has been lacking over the last few
years, but with Staunton being able to bring on the experienced pro’s
to replace tiring legs, it will give Ireland an advantage in the future.
Ireland are due to play again during May against an as-yet named opponent.
It might be a good plan to play a team who has qualified for the World
Cup on opposition soil.
The experience of playing away from home in front of a capacity crowd
in a hostile environment - such as Italy or Spain – will give
the newer members of the team a great insight into playing for your
country.
A game that recreates the pressure and noise Ireland will face when
they take on Germany in Stuttgart on September 2 in their first Euro
2008 qualifier should be the way forward.
The vast majority of Ireland’s friendlies were in the comforting
surroundings of Lansdowne Road. So when the team went to places like
France, Switzerland, and Israel, they couldn’t handle the environment
they were in and didn’t perform.
They are going to have to learn to do this when they visit places like
Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Millennium Stadium in Wales
if they are to have any chance of reaching their first European Championships
in 20 years.
It isn’t going to be an easy task, but it looks like it will
be one that Steve Staunton will relish and hopefully fulfil.
|
