No big names but the signs are promising nonetheless

Have Ireland’s opponents this evening any big names?” This question is always asked of me by my lady partner as we walk towards the Aviva Stadium prior to a ‘Boys in Green’ international match. Last Tuesday evening was no different (except that she was on time!), the two of us delighted to have had a relaxed feed of fish and chips en route to the old Lansdowne Road pitch, thereby reminding me of ‘the good old days’ when Big Jack occasionally ‘fed’ his troops in his partly-owned Harry Ramsden’s with a meal which would get the thumbs down in 2022 from any self-respecting junior ‘B’ football manager!

Accordingly, when I was asked whether Lithuania have any big names, I replied that they certainly had. Then, taking a quick look at the overpriced programme, I said: “Baravykas Rolundas has 17 letters, but Klinavicius Augustinas is their biggest name with 21 letters!”

Of course, Lithuania have no ‘big names’ in the sense which the very nice questioner meant, and none of them play at ‘big clubs’. Frankly, without reverting back to the match report, I have no idea whether the two ‘big names’ I threw out actually played in their 1-0 loss to Stephen Kenny’s troops. The decisive goal came in injury-time in injury-time, so to speak, and I totally agree with Roy Keane (yes, I sometimes do!) that the manager’s reaction to Troy Parrott’s decisive strike against one of the weakest international sides imaginable was way over the top.

Indeed, in this regard, does anybody remember Steve Staunton’s ill-fated reign as Irish bainisteoir commencing with similarly-OTT celebrations 16 years ago after his side had beaten Sweden in a friendly by 3-0 at the same venue, the men in yellow and blue clearly having minded themselves during the preceding 90 minutes-plus on a then-bumpy surface just three months ahead of the World Cup finals in Germany?

Kenny’s reign has by now outlasted Staunton’s. Both were surprise appointees, the latter having been sprung by John Delaney (remember him?) on the unsuspecting Irish public as part of a “world-class management team” alongside the already-unwell Bobby Robson RIP, while the former’s CV largely comprises stints (albeit very successful ones) spent in the humble League of Ireland (the FAI’s “problem child”, as per the aforementioned Mr Delaney). Kenny’s contract has belatedly been sorted by Delaney’s successor Jonathan Hill. However, monetary items etc aside, the typist in Abbottstown could have drafted up said contract in 21 letters (a la Klinavicius Augustinas): “Make the Euros, or be fired.”

Nobody denies Kenny’s total commitment to the cause and on Tuesday he rested probably his first two names selected on big match days, Seamus Coleman and Shane Duffy, giving opportunities to some less familiar names. My pre-match take on Will Keane was he would look well short of international class. My post-match take is identical, with ‘a poor man’s Niall Quinn’ role hardly fitting into Kenny’s admirable attempt to pass the ball on the ground rather than lump it skyward. This observer felt that Matt Doherty should have got the official ‘man of the match’ rather than Nathan Collins, while still objecting to such awards being made while a match is still in progress – witness the egg on chins scenario recently in Rugby Union for Wales v Italy in this regard.

The first leg of the international double-header saw a creditable 2-2 draw with what was largely a Belgian ‘B’ team (and I was only too delighted to boo Thierry Henry when he appeared on screen). It was the night that Chiedozie Ogbene became a firm favourite with the home fans, the Rotherham United man scoring a spectacular goal with an overhead kick and doing extremely well to set up Alan Browne for the equalizing header. On recent evidence, his days at the Millmoor Ground are unlikely to last into the 2022/23 season.

However, recent positive results can’t disguise the fact that the absence of an influential midfield general – or two, or three, as we sometimes had in the past – remains a huge problem for Kenny. There are seemingly endless players of roughly similar ability contending for central midfield roles, but no standout player has emerged. Indeed, the manager’s ‘21-word contract’ may well hinge on securing one.

While the resumption of games in a packed and semi-packed Aviva was a great thrill in March, the month’s highlight came for me on the day after St Patrick’s Day. My eagle-eyed partner had spotted an afternoon (and it was free admission to the credit of the organisers) with a group of Irish legends at Collins Barracks. Olivia O’Toole and Paula Gorham represented the ladies, while Pat Byrne, Paddy Mulligan, Charlie O’Leary and the majestic Paul McGrath were the males present for an informal couple of hours compered by FAI Director of Publications and Communications, Cathal Dervan. A quick text to a mate prompted him to suggest that Charlie “must be nearly 100”. He was soon introduced as being 98! While, unsurprisingly, he is a little slower on the feet than he was in yesteryear, he was very much compos mentis, great fun, and well able to be self-deprecating. It was easy to see why Big Jack and the players loved him so much in his kitman role in those never-to-be-forgotten years.

Of course, the Black Pearl of Inchicore was the main focus of attention, not just from ‘oldies’ like yours truly (both my doctor and solicitor of over 40 years’ standing retired in recent days – that says it all!), but young boys who may never live to see such a complete footballer, be it as a reluctant midfielder or right back, or incomparable centre half, wear the green jersey in their lifetime.

My only crib is that he hadn’t a bottle of curry sauce ‘for everyone in the audience’ as we made our way to a nearby chip man! Don’t you just love when the great man, who made us all smile for more than a decade, ends that ad with his trademark smile?