Heimir Hallgrímsson’s decision to exclude Matt Doherty from the Republic of Ireland squad can be seen as an act of fairness, especially considering the player’s age of 32 and the recurring injuries of Séamus Coleman. Instead of Doherty and Coleman, the Irish right backs to face Finland and Greece in the upcoming week are pinned as Festy Ebosele and Andrew Omobamidele, given the likelihood of the former duo winding down their careers before the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Hallgrímsson, with the Irish side ranked 62nd globally and tasked with a consequential Nations League demotion match against the 64th-ranked team in Helsinki, has his priorities set in the present. In his words, the current task at hand is to halt the nation’s footballing decline.
The exclusion of Doherty should not be isolated – the blame for 11 losses out of 13 competitive matches is to be shared collectively. Both while playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Ireland, Doherty’s lack of engagement on the field has not gone unnoticed.
The manager’s decisions have set precedents for the team, as two Premier League players have been dropped. The team would expect Jake O’Brien to stake his claim in the Everton lineup, much as Nathan Collins did after his initial fallout at Wolves, swiftly shifting to Brentford the subsequent summer.
The replacement of O’Brien with Mark McGuinness of Luton, a regular Championship player, indicates a pre-existing hierarchy under Hallgrímsson. In midfield, Finn Azaz and Jack Taylor earn their places in light of their performances with Middlesbrough and Ipswich, respectively.
These actions taken by Hallgrímsson send a clear indication to the team. Professional athletes are well-versed in the relationship between performance and consequences. It’s plain: without regular play and satisfactory performance, international football is unlikely to remain an option.
Hallgrímsson deserves credit for keeping the prospects alive for players who have previously served Ireland well, even though they are currently facing difficulties in their respective clubs. One could argue that his selection policy is insincere, much like the criticism Mick McCarthy faced during my time away from Sunderland. Mick consistently chose me, and each time I joined the camp, my mood would dramatically transform, knowing that the manager desired my presence on the team. Consequently, I returned to Sunderland enriched with goals and self-belief.
Over my 14-year career, during which I often undertook short journeys to Dublin, I’ve been in the shoes of the current team members. Times when poor performances began to mount, goals became scarce, and we repeatedly suffered from identical lax errors, apprehensions about some elements of the international camp began to overshadow.
While brutally straightforward team meetings can serve as emotional purging, they also have the potential to undermine team spirit. Of our current team, Robbie Brady is the sole player who played in Euro 2016, our final significant competition appearance. Admittedly, the signs suggest that Ireland is a few cycles away from again participating in the World Cup or Euro Championships.
At least our new manager isn’t incessantly hitting the same stumbling block. He’s focusing on team refurbishment, implementing a four-back formation, and populating the midfield with individuals who are equally good at manoeuvring and distributing the ball.
The Stephen Kenny strategy, which emphasises playing out from the back, or Marc Canham’s modern approach which he advocates for every Irish representative team to embrace starting from the under-15s, is unlikely to apply to the senior 2024 team.
We need to grind out a victory in Helsinki. The situation can deteriorate even more. Although Irish football is grappling with a host of challenges, the principal financial resource for the FAI is the complete house at the Aviva Stadium.
From my most challenging times wearing the green shirt, I’ve realised that the supporters of Ireland will continue to show up, as long as the team delivers genuine performances, and the manager brings a level of tactical expertise that the 62nd-ranked nation in the world requires.
Indeed, Doherty and O’Brien were left out due to insufficient merit. This decision serves as a stern warning to others. Ireland has arrived at a juncture where Hallgrímsson can completely overhaul the team, practically absolving players of responsibility by assigning them straightforward, precise duties.
This may seem like a throwback to our farming origins, but one takeaway from the players would have been the necessity to secure control. This could be Josh Cullen or Azaz aware that Sammie Szmodics is breaking free from a Finnish defender to score.
This tactic saw Szmodics bag numerous goals for Blackburn Rovers in the Championship the previous season, earning him a transfer to the Premier League with Ipswich at 28 years old.
Our collective aspiration is to eventually build our offense around Evan Ferguson. While we anticipate his return to form and peak fitness, substitute scorer Adam Idah at Celtic and Troy Parrott’s innovative moves in the Dutch football scene illustrate the potential of an Irish striker outside England.
The crux is, we are not short of choices. The talents of Caoimhín Kelleher, Collins, Cullen, Chiedozie Ogbene, and Szmodics form a solid groundwork for an impressive team.
While Hallgrímsson is restoring self-confidence, I envisage that most practice sessions in Helsinki and Athens will be dedicated to scoring from set pieces.
Direct football isn’t strictly about a goalkeeper transferring the ball front to back. Teams like Liverpool, Brighton, and Brentford progress the ball swiftly, propelling at least three or four attacking players into the opposition’s half before the defence is ready.
Other teams exemplify slick, dual-touch play with minimal possession. For instance, Lille triumphed over a Real Madrid team featuring Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Endrick, Kylian Mbappé and Luka Modric as substitutes, thanks to a penalty shot by Canadian player Jonathan David on Wednesday.
This effective model exists and resembles the approach that each prosperous Irish team has utilised historically.