Seamus Coleman was unquestionably the best right-back in the Premier League at the end of the 2013/2014 season.
The Everton full-back was brilliant as Roberto Martinez’s team finished fifth, scoring six times, and setting up another two, Coleman earned the respect of his peers and was named in the PFA team of the year.
His surging runs from deep was a constant attacking outlet for the Toffees, who looked transformed after David Moyes departed for Manchester United.
Coleman’s inherent competitive spirit, honed by his time playing Gaelic football in Donegal, his on-field aggression and athleticism was paired with a craft and guile, a game intelligence that developed since his move from Sligo Rovers in 2009.
The full-back was also given license to express himself by Martinez and didn’t let his manager down. In an attacking sense, he created 45 chances, the second most of any Everton player, while defensively he was a rock.
Everton conceded only 39 goals in 38 games, and Coleman was imperious when faced with one-on-one situations. Attackers didn’t pass him, and if they did, they had better have taken advantage of it because it wasn’t going to happen again.
Seamus Coleman: The making of the best right back in the world https://t.co/oAglvSUuxh
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 11, 2016
According to football statistics website Squawka, Coleman made one defensive error. Not one per game, one defensive error for the whole season.
He blossomed into the best right-back in England and should have had clubs lining up to sign him. Maybe they were, but two years on and Coleman is still at Everton.
The question at this point, you would assume, is ‘what happened?’
What happened to Coleman that meant this stunning season wasn’t rewarded with a move to an elite club?
(Not a so-called ‘big club’, because Everton have a great history and are traditionally a ‘big club’, but an elite club that competes in the Champions League and challenges for the league title).
The short answer is nothing happened to Coleman, he’s still a brilliant full-back and if his club form dipped it was largely due to the unravelling of Martinez’s team over the next two seasons.
Nothing changed for Coleman, he’s still the same humble player, who hasn’t forgot his roots, yet has become an exemplary professional in the world’s most competitive and globalised football division.
McCarthy is f**king on it tonight
Seamus Coleman is making damned sure of itpic.twitter.com/Vsy5SfTPYd
— Conán Doherty (@ConanDoherty) June 22, 2016
Coleman’s brilliant 2013/2014 season also came not long after being left-out of Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic of Ireland squad for Euro 2012.
Just think about that for a second. The current captain of the Irish team was deemed not worthy of a place among the 23 players that travelled to Poland.
Four years later, Coleman is, without any doubt, the leader of the Irish team and proved it again on Saturday night in Vienna.
He was excellent as Ireland recorded their best away result since 1987, beating the higher-ranked Austria 1-0 and taking control of Group D.
Afterwards, Coleman only wanted to speak about his teammates and the Irish fans. There was no mention of his own performance. His selflessness shined through.
My God, this is incredible https://t.co/i6X8IYZz2s
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 13, 2016
“I say it all the time, when I come out with this group of lads, it’s a privilege,” the Killybegs native told RTE.
“We know we’re going to leave it all out there. We ran our luck a few times, but the likes of Jonny Walters up top… James McClean, his back is hanging off him and he puts in a performance like that.
“David Meyler: He’s been waiting for a chance and he was different class.
“We know it’s only three points but it’s massive. And them fans who have come out here for us… three and a half thousand of them. That’s what it means to us as well.”
And there you have it. There’s why Coleman is indispensable to Ireland, but remains at a club outside the elite in England despite being more than capable of playing for a so-called top side.
Coleman’s selflessness has, arguably hindered his club career to an extent, but it propels the Irish team.
Seamus Coleman's comments after France show why he should captain Ireland for the next six years https://t.co/jcmSeK5Xol #coybig
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 26, 2016
This season alone, Manchester United have used Antonio Valencia, a converted winger, Ashley Young, another converted winger, and Matteo Darmian, a player of significantly less quality than Coleman, at right-back. None have really excelled.
Yet, despite all the transfer stories that circulate, Coleman isn’t linked with a move to United. Jose Mourinho’s powers may be on the wane, but it’s hard to imagine he’s lost his eye for a player.
However, it’d be a surprise to see Coleman move to Old Trafford this season.
Let’s compare Moussa Sissoko’s recent career trajectory with that of Coleman’s.
The French midfielder was average at best in a team that got relegated from the Premier League season last year. He then went on a few mazy runs for his national team at Euro 2016, a tournament largely devoid of creative quality played on terrible pitches.
Yet, somehow, Tottenham Hotspur paid Newcastle United £30m for him. He’s been absolutely woeful since.
Sissoko after he saw the camera ?? pic.twitter.com/zYdeDNdZtx
— P (@Paulius98) June 10, 2016
They play in different positions, but Coleman is a lot better at right-back than Sissoko is in any position on the pitch.
So, what’s the difference? Of course, Spurs wanted a midfielder and not a right-back, so we’re not saying they should’ve signed Coleman. And there are, of course, numerous contributing factors, but there’s one that’s difficult to get away from on why Sissoko got a move to a team competing in the Champions League and Coleman hasn’t – Sissoko has pushed for a move for a long time.
“I hope to play in the Champions League one day,” Sissoko said last October, when Newcastle were struggling in the Premier League. He has also said he would like to play for Arsenal and Real Madrid.
“I always want it, but everything is about timing. For now, I do not play in it, but I’m patient. I await my hour calmly.”
It’s difficult to imagine Coleman coming out with nonsense like that, and we’re not advocating that he should. But you can be certain that Sissoko’s agent was following his client’s lead and working extremely hard to engineer a move. It succeeded.
Newcastle fans band together to bitterly tell Moussa Sissoko where to go on his birthday https://t.co/c8yoL0kz2Z
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 16, 2016
The underlying point appears to be that selfishness rewards. And while Sissoko was selfless enough to allow his much worse brother play for him at Wembley during Spurs’ recent defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, it’s clear he’s only been thinking about himself in his career.
He wanted a move to a Champions League team, and got it through a mixture of past form, occasional reminders of his talents, a lot of public utterances and his agent earning every cent of his fee.
Meanwhile, Seamus Coleman shows up to work at Everton and Ireland, does his job to the absolute best of his ability, without any airs or graces, and goes home to his family at the end of the day.
This isn’t because he lacks ambition, or the mentality to thrive at a big club, and it certainly isn’t because he’s not good enough to play for a team for Manchester United.
Just as teams rarely attempted to sign Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs or Denis Irwin, it could be argued opposition clubs look at Coleman and see a player who is settled and are therefore less likely to be tempted him away.
As Donald Trump’s election, the Brexit vote and social media trends have proved over the past year, the modern world values perception over substance.
Clubs who might be interested in signing Coleman arguably perceive him to be happy at Everton, because he doesn’t talk a big game about himself or how it’s his dream to play in the Champions League – he’s too busy doing his job.
Coleman’s a selfless, hardworking, talented professional, who just wants the best for his team whenever he steps on the pitch.
One might argue that he should take a leaf out of Sissoko’s book, or others who push for moves in such a manner, and advise his agent to engineer a move to a top team, but that’s not in his nature.
Coleman stays true to himself, and that’s worth more than any medal or trophy at the end of the season and it’s why he’s such a great captain for Ireland. In a world that’s becoming increasingly fractured such a quality is also rare. Irish fans should cherish Coleman, who has become become the undoubted leader of the team.
