Glenn Whelan gets too much stick.
He’s the country’s fall guy and he’s strung up every time the Republic play out an underwhelming stalemate. His only real flaw is that he’s disciplined. Conservative.
He had a stormer of a game against Georgia last month but his Irish career was probably summed up in one second half move when he went through to the box with just one loose defender tracking him and, without even looking up or having a glance to see that he had time and space to not only shoot but take a touch as well, he immediately just kicked the ball back 15 yards to James McClean.
His instinct is to play it safe. Tidy. Take no risks.
His job is to anchor the midfield and marshal the space in front of the back four and Premier League managers rate him for it. He’s one of very few players in the Ireland squad who can say that they not only start and finish every game for their club, but they do so at the top level.
The irony of it all is, for all the grief that Whelan gets, he was never more appreciated and valued than he was in the build-up to the Germany match. When we knew he was going to miss the visit of the world champions, we collectively shit our pants because we realised that we needed him.
Except we didn’t in the end because Martin O’Neill found another way. A better way.
The three ball-playing midfielders that the manager deployed in front of his back four gave the side impetus and purpose – even against the world champions. It wasn’t just a case of 11 men throwing their bodies on the line, O’Neill wanted to play ball when we had it. And Brady, McCarthy and Hendrick gave us that. They gave us a direct link to even more attack-minded players like Walters and Hoolahan and, through all the injuries and suspensions and rejigging, they gave us balance.
We need to go to Poland and win the match and we have nothing to lose out there – we’re guaranteed third anyway. All we stand to achieve is more than what we already have so we don’t need the protective caution of Whelan and, do you know what, the current team, in this system, is better for it.
That’s tougher to do with Stephen Ward injured – Brady will probably now drop back to defence. But you want to keep guys in there who are going to make things happen. And you don’t want Whelan upsetting the applecart. Particularly the James McCarthy one.
James McCarthy flourished
Maybe it was a coincidence that the Everton player came of international age in the absence of Glenn Whelan but you can’t help but feel that James McCarthy took over because he had to.
He became the undoubted leader of the middle three and he produced the sort of performance we’ve been crying about him having for three years. He was aggressive, he was uncompromising, and he read the game like the Premier League star that he is.
Whether that was because Whelan wasn’t there occupying the space McCarthy would like to, it’s hard to say exactly but what we can commit to is the rubbishing of this idea that we need the Stoke midfielder there to put out fires. We don’t. Because McCarthy can do that for him. And do it better.
Richard Keogh deserves his shot
2009/10 – Carlisle United player of the year.
2010/11 – Coventry City player of the year.
2011/12 – Coventry City player of the year and players’ player of the year.
2012/13 – Derby County player of the year, players’ player of the year, and supporters’ player of the year.
2014/15 – The Championship Team of the Season.
Why is Richard Keogh, a man who is consistently performing for whatever club he’s playing in, constantly overlooked for bang average players?
Ciaran Clark was getting in ahead of him when Wilson was out injured. John O’Shea – a legend, of course – is somehow automatically still our ‘first choice’ centre back when his form for Sunderland has long since plummeted beyond the realms of acceptable.
Is it really better to play poorly for poor Premier League clubs than it is to play well for Championship teams? It must be in the international reckoning anyway because Keogh isn’t even given a second thought when bit-part Clark and bit-left O’Shea are in town, even though the Derby man is not only playing and starring in every minute of every game for his club team, but he has gotten two chances for Ireland against Scotland away and Germany at home and he has acquitted himself brilliantly.
Shane Long’s role is perfect
How could you argue with it?
There are some who want Long in the starting team (again) but, holy God, we’re after beating Germany. In a competitive match. Germany!
And it was because Long was sprang when he was.
Would he have had the same effect if he was there from the start? Instead, he got to use his best attribute, his pace, perfectly. And, after Daryl Murphy had done a job and put in a shift that was largely just relieving pressure, Ireland attacked when the Germans were vulnerable.
They attacked when their spears were sharp enough. And not a moment sooner.
O’Neill proved us all wrong with his system
What separates Martin from the rest of us shit talkers, is that he’s actually a quality manager. And it was almost humbling how he proved us all wrong with his team as if to just reinforce the idea that he does indeed know way more about football than most of us.
It’s summed up just by looking at the reaction to the team pre and post Germany. When the 11 was announced, there was a chorus of ‘What the f**k?!’ Everyone was a little unsettled and unsure at what was put out there to face the best team in the world and, now in the aftermath, we’re all thinking, ‘actually that’s the best team, let’s stick with that.’
You’d bring Coleman in for Christie but that aside – barring maybe one more personnel change if you really wanted to – you wouldn’t want to touch it because it worked and it works so well.
Something like this would keep continuity with Thursday but also provide so many options to carve out opportunities. Worried about the balance? Don’t worry, Jon Walters has got this.
Hopefully the manager does something similar in Warsaw. But, listen, he has already proven his worth.
The team have too. We go to Poland with a playoff spot in the bag and a shot at automatic qualification from the toughest group in the campaign. We’ve lost one game throughout the whole pool and O’Neill is after leading the team to three victories on the bounce as we ride to Warsaw on the crest of a wave.
The pressure is on Poland. The cards are in O’Neill’s hands. And you wouldn’t want them anywhere else.
