Are Ireland Trapped?

In the wake of such capitulation - not a surrendering of the heart but of the mind - having borne witness to the collapse of the established playing system as a viable winning (or as the emphasis suggests, not losing) option when playing teams of the highest seeding, there was, in the fleeting afterglow of Aviva, as the phoenix, a thought arisen from the ashes of despair, a moment when one allowed oneself to dream; of another way.


The withdrawal of Kevin Doyle, through injury, fostered an environment which allowed this embryonic notion to fully form.


McGeady infield off strikier Fahey-Whelan-Gibson Coleman to right-back O'Shea to centre what's that young left-back's name?4-2-3-1 4-3-2-1 4-2-2-1-1 4-1-2-2-1...


Wait.


The withdrawal of Kevin Doyle. Through injury.


Drop Robbie Keane? Play him deep?


And then it was gone. Kevin Doyle, a cliff face pummelled by two seas; on one side, his team mates, barrage him, in wave-like relentlessness with mediocrity, and he enacting Bethsaida, converts these bankrupt, frightened punts into field position, set pieces opportunities, go-forward momentum and above all sweet relief. From the other side he is kicked, elbowed, kneed, pushed and pulled; a great big fixed target. Is it any surprise he is injured?


Robbie Keane cannot play the solo role. Nor can he, in my opinion play a deeper role - akin to Gerrard under Benitez - as his style of play is that of a predatory striker and thus his runs are always away from the ball and towards goal. He is not a link man nor is he a creator. Failing that, can you drop your captain and record goalscorer? Can you leave out a player of his quality, when quality is what we are crying out for? Probably not.


Is it worth jeopardising the stability that Trapattoni has brought, that his system has brought, to an Irish team that was desperate for stability, in the wake of successive deteriorating campaigns from Kerr to Staunton? Probably not.


So four-four-two it shall remain. Trapattoni argues the aforementioned system is the one best suited to the players at his disposal. Perhaps it is, but is Il Trap picking the right players to best extrapolate from his conservatism, a way of retaining possession thus alleviating defensive rigours, or an attack strategy focused on creating rather than being hostages to fortune, relying on opponents' back-line errors - which become increasingly unlikely when Shay Given becomes your play-maker-in-chief - and the extent of your rival's defensive duties is heading away, long straight balls,unsophisticatedly launched in the general direction of Richard Dunne?


The problem I have with that is; he's not picking the best players available to him. Players that would improve the unfashionable, two in the middle, two up-top routine, such as James McCarthy and Andy Reid, are not in the squad. Ireland's formation causes the wide-men, most recently McGeady and Lawrence, to come infield as reinforcements for the outrun central duo.This invites opposition full-backs to circumvent the midfield, attacking with impunity, safe in the knowledge that O'Shea and Kilbane offer no threat of their own. Kilbane, who became such a liability at left-back in the World Cup qualifiers has been neutered, and as an attacking outlet, he has been sacrificed in favour of positional certainty, as if he zonally marks our left defensive flank the whole game, regardless of how it is actually unfolding.


At right-back, in green, John O'Shea is a different prospect to the one we see turned out weekly in Manchester red. At centre-back, where he has played well with Dunne for Ireland, he offers us more footballing ability than St. Ledger and is quite simply a player of higher calibre, even at centre-back. Drafting Coleman to the right is a more penetrative attacking option. As earlier stated, left-back is a genuine weakness and has been for some time. That Trapattoni failed to meaningfully examine alternatives, is a black mark against the Italian. His selection policy belies his expertise, in midfield for example, Paul Green is not international standard. Technically he is as poor as he is positionally.


For a team like Ireland, the belief is expounded by some, that success must come at a cost. The price we are asked to pay is football.


All that's left to ask is: what is football worth to you?