Alex Neil deserved to get relegated last season.
No-one’s saying it wasn’t a massive challenge anyway or that keeping Norwich up in the Premier League was expected, never mind possible. But the manager didn’t give his side their best chance of survival.
He didn’t give them their best player for a lot of it.
Wes Hoolahan is literally a magician pic.twitter.com/Ic9WRHKP38
— Conán Doherty (@ConanDoherty) June 20, 2016
Norwich City played 3,420 minutes in the top flight last season.
Wes Hoolahan featured for 2,006 of them.
He bagged four goals and eight assists for a team that scored 39 times in the whole campaign and yet he was deemed unworthy to even be on the field over 41% of his side’s action.
It’s akin to bringing him off in the 53rd minute of every game but he wasn’t even selected for a lot of them.
Take, for example, April 16. Norwich have an absolutely must-win clash with Sunderland. They have to win, there’s two ways about it. They’re at home. It’s the proverbial six-pointer and it’s a big, big chance for them in the relegation battle.
Alex Neil picks his team and he leaves Hoolahan on the bench. Sunderland score and he leaves Hoolahan on the bench. They score again and only when his side are two down with half an hour on the clock is Wes reeled out.
We don’t need to go into what Wes brings to a team or how infuriating this British and Irish mentality is that says, because you’re small, you can’t really be trusted.
We should waste no more breath on the idea that a player who takes risks is a luxury player and no more but we shouldn’t accept when men like Alex Neil refuse to give Hoolahan even 10 minutes of a big match – and, worse, uses just two subs for the whole game.
Norwich lost 2-1 to QPR on Saturday and their Irish maestro sat on the bench for the entirety of the defeat.
Hoolahan’s human – he’s not the best player in the world. He loses the ball, he gets caught in the tackle sometimes and he might even piss some people off for rare moments. During Ireland’s away game in Austria last week, the Dubliner was taking criticism during the first half. He had lost possession, he wasn’t getting turned like he does and there was this God-awful realisation sweeping over the country that maybe he isn’t Zidane.
Maybe.
That was a bad game for Wes Hoolahan and, still, he delivered two moments that no-one else on the pitch could’ve. He delivered two breathtaking moments.
He combined with Robbie Brady to give Jon Walters an open net and his mouthwatering flick allowed it all to happen.
He put James McClean straight through on goal and mapped out his whole run for him for the only goal of the match.
Most people spray that ball wide and they run into the box themselves. Most people don’t take that chance, they don’t see that angle and they don’t have the ability to make that happen. Wes Hoolahan does and, on a bad night for Ireland, he forced one of the most famous wins.
But when Norwich are up against it, Alex Neil doesn’t see the use for a player of his quality and guile.
He made a big call.
Dropping klose and hoolahan, leaving in bennett and bringing in naismith. Big call by AN and if it doesn't work, it could be his last!
— PWM (@Pmy12345) November 19, 2016
And it didn’t work.
The anger was palpable.
https://twitter.com/mattsomerton/status/799991994999312384
The message was clear.
No Hoolahan no party
— Andrew Pearse (@Andrew_Pearse) November 19, 2016
And no-one saw the logic.
https://twitter.com/Marleysymonds/status/799975975647932417
https://twitter.com/ch_harwood/status/799975817304567808
No Jerome or hoolahan 😰💩 https://t.co/ooRF09AtAe
— Jack (@HoolahanAssist) November 19, 2016
https://twitter.com/thomasmunday/status/799977852363948032
This guy’s account is the greatest.
This guy has been doing his homework.
So we have Hoolahan, Lafferty on the bench.. didnt Alex Neil watch international games ffs#ncfc
— ((( Mark Ryder ))) (@REalityCheque) November 19, 2016
And this guy has a simple, simple solution.
https://twitter.com/CoysAlex/status/800062208000462848
But people wanted it during the game and it never came.
Hoolahan on for ruddy and jerome on for Bennett let's have a goal fest
— Richard Garry (@rkgarry88) November 19, 2016
He’ll still always be a hero.
I'm wearing my Irish messi top and someone just asked who the Irish messi is so I told him wes hoolahan and he said he agrees, gd lad
— Ella (@ellaatovell) November 19, 2016
Wes Hoolahan is 34. It’s only right to assume that he can’t play 46 league games for 90 minutes anymore.
But Wes Hoolahan is still Wes Hoolahan. He still brings vision and creativity and football that most others cannot – not in the Championship, not in Norwich. And any manager who doesn’t even see how they could get 10 minutes out of him deserves to be under pressure.
Because Hoolahan deserves more than this. So does football.
Aaron Kernan joins Colm Parkinson on The GAA Hour to explain the work he’s doing for the Club Players Association. Derry captain Chrissy McKaigue talks Slaughtneil and a Dublin club advertising for hurlers gets a sore touch. Subscribe here on iTunes.
