Let’s face facts, Ireland can always do with another goalscorer.
You have to go back 30 years or more to find an Ireland team who were comfortable scoring two or three goals per game.
Since the Charlton era 1-0 wins and battling 1-1 draws tend to be the order of the day as far as successful Ireland teams go.
That hasn’t always been due to a shortage of natural goalscorers – John Aldridge struggled to score for large swathes of his international career while simultaneously topping the goalscoring charts in the English top flight, whilst we have just waved goodbye to Robbie Keane, whose scoring feats in the green of Ireland may never be matched.
But still Ireland have often struggled to score the goals to see off big games.
So anytime someone who his eligible for Ireland and who can find the back of the net with regularity comes along our ears prick up, and rightly so.
That’s why Scott Hogan’s goalscoring efforts at Brentford in 2016 have led to many fans calling for Martin O’Neill to snap him up.
Barnsley skipper gets a call-up https://t.co/hrLOOi3UcD
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) September 23, 2016
Hogan has scored 13 goals in his last 15 Championship games since returning from long-term injury lay-off, and that ability to find the back if the net could be invaluable as Ireland try to negotiate a tricky qualifying group.
As O’Neill announced his squad for the 2018 World Cup qualifier double header against Georgia and Moldova he spoke about Hogan and revealed that the door is open for the Salford-born striker, who cites Roy Keane as his all-time hero, but the final decision is in the hands of the 24-year-old.
O’Neill admitted, however, that he has spoken to Hogan and that the striker has other options open to him and has yet to say that he is interested in playing for Ireland.
