It’s hard to ignore the current state of the Irish national side. A below par squad of players, the uncertain situations regarding the futures of Declan Rice and Harry Arter and the disgraceful recent results. But I believe this has been coming for a while and it all stems from the FAI’s decision back in January to give the management team of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane new contracts.
The brief glance at the pair start upon them taking the reins in 2013 and you would be led to believe they had a good start. They managed to get us to the last 16 of the European Championships in 2016 before being knocked out by the hosts France. But take a closer look into it, we beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in a playoff game after a 3rd place finish in the qualifying group. The three countries we came ahead of? Scotland, Georgia, and Gibraltar. Nothing special.
Throughout this campaign, we began to witness the defensive direct style of play which O’Neill and Keane were implementing no matter the quality of opposition. Fast forward to the qualifying campaign for the recent World Cup and again on paper, you would be led to believe that we’d a decent campaign. A 2nd place finish in the group and managing to qualify for the playoff phase. But once again this was achieved in a group which lacked the presence of a top side. With Wales being the top seed in the group off the back of their recent success it was easily our best opportunity to qualify for a World Cup since our last appearance in 2002.
Then came the Danish demolition in the playoffs. A 5-1 thrashing at the Aviva Stadium after what looked like a precious draw in Denmark ruined any chances of the pair somehow robbing us a spot at the World Cup. Once again, the stubborn approach came across throughout the campaign with the failure to adapt our style to the different quality of opposition which was faced.
An overall look at their stats in charge shows they’ve only managed 19 wins in their 50 games at the helm. That’s just a 38%-win ratio. How was that deemed acceptable for the pair to be awarded new contracts on the mammoth wages which they earn? That stat doesn’t even consider the poisonous football which the side has been playing.
Another major problem of the pair’s time in charge is the handling of several issues regarding players availability. The failure to award senior caps to both Jack Grealish and Declan Rice before the FA came calling? Look at the model which Wales have adopted by awarding senior competitive caps to players such as Ethan Ampadu and Ben Woodburn to ensure they wouldn’t lose them to England. Then there was Roy Keane’s falling out with Harry Arter which has led to him making himself unavailable for selection. Another avoidable situation at a time where Ireland just can’t afford to lose players of that quality at a time when the squad is at it’s weakest in recent memory.
Overall, I believe the Irish football team is going backwards under the guidance of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane and it’s time for the FAI to act fast and make a change. Sadly, I know that won’t come any time soon because there isn’t a hope of FAI admitting to their mistakes and paying up the pair’s massive contracts. But I hope…I hope for Irish football’s sake.
