When Martin O’Neill drew up his plans for the European Championships, this week in Cork was going to be the time for a bit of squad bonding, a game of golf and the relaxed preparation that is the manager’s way.
On Monday night, it didn’t seem that relaxed. Harry Arter may well be out of contention after picking up a thigh injury, but the frenzy in Turner’s Cross surrounded Ireland’s record goalscorer: Robbie Keane.
If Keane had played in Friday night’s game against Holland, he wouldn’t have taken part in a training session for those who weren’t involved in that game on Saturday morning, during which he picked up the calf strain that has ruled him out of the Belarus match on Tuesday, and put his participation in the European Championships in doubt.
These are the moments on which careers turn.
Keane wanted to play at the Aviva, but, more importantly, he wants to go to France and logically that should be in question now. If O’Neill decides to select Keane when he finalises his squad on Tuesday night, he will be taking a 35-year-old who has only scored against Gibraltar in this campaign, who is no longer a regular starter and who will be nursing a calf injury which he hopes heals quickly.
If he is selected, Keane’s involvement could be minimal. At this stage in his career, he is a gamble within a gamble, a player thrown on when Ireland need a goal which, sadly these days, very rarely comes.
O’Neill has said he was prepared to take a couple of players who were carrying injuries but in Cork on Monday evening, he stressed that he couldn’t do that with too many players. If James McCarthy and Seamus Coleman are the two key squad members who need nursing, Keane, on the evidence, belongs in a different category.
In fact, when you make the case for Robbie Keane, it is an emotional one, but not a sentimental one.
Keane is a key player within the squad, a powerful influence and somebody who understands the demands of playing international football.
He has moved into a minor role with little fuss. He travels to Ireland to meet up with squads even though he knows his chances of starting are limited. He left his newborn baby to travel from LA to Ireland to be involved in the games against Germany and Poland last October. Over the two games, he was involved for 35 minutes when he came off the bench in Warsaw.
"Doesn't matter who's playing, it's about the nation"- classy Robbie Keane hails Irish spirit http://t.co/67QKfFDqPU pic.twitter.com/Z30KeTwaM8
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 8, 2015
Keane isn’t demanding anything more and the manner in which he has embraced MLS when other Premier League stars have misunderstood completely what was required of them demonstrate his ability to keep looking forward.
In March, O’Neill was asked if he would consider selecting a player because they added to the mood of the squad.
“I don’t think I would want to fill my squad up with players who are good around the hotel,” he replied. “As Iniesta goes past someone, I’ll be saying ‘Actually, he’s very good around the hotel. He gets the drinks for everybody’.”
As O’Neill made clear, the idea of morale can be over-stated but what Robbie Keane brings is a lot more. It is stature. Keane brings a presence to the squad which adds to morale, but also adds to the experience.
He has scored 67 international goals, a record which is unlikely ever to be beaten, and he has an authority which comes with that phenomenal achievement.
Unless the medical prognosis rules Keane out conclusively, it would be extraordinary if O’Neill decided to leave him out at this stage.
There is no alternative to Robbie Keane who is demanding inclusion at his expense. It would be unnecessarily disruptive to leave Keane out and bring another forward, say, Kevin Doyle, who probably wouldn’t have much more of an involvement than Keane anyway. This isn’t Gary Waddock or Kevin Foley, this is Ireland’s record goalscorer, the captain when selected, and those things should carry some weight.
O’Neill talked up Robbie on that basis on Monday night, and if there is any chance with Keane’s fitness he should go. The alternative, ending his international career in a dramatic way for very little benefit should be avoided.
“I’ve been in management a fairly lengthy time and telling really good players their time is up has always been difficult. Telling average players their time is up was actually quite simple to me,” O’Neill said in March when he anticipated the decisions he would have to make this week.
Taken logically, Robbie Keane would seem like a player on the wane who could be easily discarded. But he has achieved extraordinary things for his country. He deserves to be in France, but, more importantly, it makes sense to take him. It might not be logical, but a squad sometimes needs something other than logic.
