?

Why can't South Iron produce a display to beat a big fish like Norn Iron was able to last night? The most persuasive reason I can see why Ireland isn’t competing like they used to is due to the lack of players - shaky central defense, uninterested full backs, no legs in midfield, a winger who used to try to beat a second player rather than fall automatically after the first, no big man for an out ball/set piece up front.

All valid reasons (well they are mine) but there is still no reason why the best team we have beaten since Holland, this week five years ago, is Albania.

It’s All About Self-Perception
To me it’s not the real cause. The biggest reason why we don’t look like we are capable of taking any decent team now, or for the foreseeable future, is mostly down to how we perceive ourselves.

The Keane Ideal
Keane's hissyfit in Saipan isnt to blame for this. If it wasn’t for his attitude we wouldn’t have beaten Holland or performed so well against Portugal, and its likely we would have drawn or lost to Cyprus. However, when we had a midfield with high class players (Charlton era) we had an attitude that we weren’t good enough to compete on one-to-one footballing skills with the big boys of the game. We had to sweat, work, and know what we wanted to do with the ball, when we got it back. We worked hard for the poorer teams, who were swamped admittedly by a midfield of Keane and Townsend, McGrath or Houghton, and caved in.

What Keane and his media backers have perpetuated is the idea that we should not have to view more vaunted footballing nations as naturally our superiors. We should not be happy with a draw away in Holland, a draw away in Portugal. If we can look at Germany and France in the eye and expect to beat them, then this new method of perceiving ourselves would translate itself into the belief that we are automatically better than the likes of Switzerland and Israel.

If They Don’t Want to Win, Don’t Pick Them
It is the coach's fault for picking players who do not work as hard nor play as intelligently as Keane, because it really is the only way that we can view the top teams as equals. It is coach's fault for not hammering home the fact that it is only when the entire team play with Keane's attitude towards work that then you might be good enough to win a world cup. Players that don’t particularly care - Carr and Harte being two culprits - shouldn’t be allowed to play. Players should not be tempted out of retirement, including Carsley. Ireland doesn’t have the talent to have players who don’t want to be there.

Elbow Grease
Until better players become available, we need to get back to the idea that we aren’t good enough to beat Holland, France, Spain on talent alone and take them on with elbow grease. They don’t like it up ‘em you know. I know that I would be overjoyed with a draw in Holland at this stage. I think we will struggle to beat Cyprus next time up, and unless Staunton can come up with a Rehagel type structure and organisation in the near future, I can see us getting hammered by Bellamy and Giggs also. I think we'll beat San Marino and Cyprus at home.

Also related: Keane is a lot mellower towards Staunton now he a manager.

LIST OF COMMENTS ....

	1. Written by Guest/Visitor     Thursday, 07 September 2006
thomas, you're dead right. it seems to me that the whiole nation looked at the norn iron game last night and thought - we could never do that ! and you know what? they're right - until the attitude changes and some self belief is restored by a manager with more than 2nd division experience, there are players out there who simply don't give a shite ! look at the belief generated in greece and germany by their recent successes - we'll beat the like of san marino alright - but only by 1 or 2 - not 13 !!

	2. Written by Guest/Visitor     Saturday, 09 September 2006
Thomas, Seán Báite here - travelled 250 Km round trip & stayed in a hotel to let the beer levels fall off after to watch the German match in an Oirish bar. As you say, there is a problem with the mainly bitpart Premiership spoilt brats composition of the team. But as Connolly would state, (Jim not David) the real solution is obviously an end to footie partition... For the first time in a decade there'd be, between the north and south, a decent enough squad and 1 decent gaffer...

	3. Written by Guest/Visitor     Sunday, 10 September 2006
Thanks for the comments. Tom here. The issue is that if an all Irish team were to be picked, it would have a southern heavy look, as they are man for man a far stronger team than the north....on paper. What we need is the appetite for work that allow Northern Ireland pull off that reuslt against Spain. Its the kind of hunger that Wales and Scotland are beginning to foster. Ireland huff and puff, and believe that its better to win a game while allowing the opposition to play instead of getting after them (putting em under pressure) We arent good enough to do that, and dont have the manager to implement such a plan. Do we have a tackling midfielder or defender? Reid maybe...