Aidan Fitzmaurice: McCarthy needs to take an axe to his midfield for crucial Swiss game
Ireland manager has placed faith in his established players but loyalty should be put to one side as Boys in Green go in search of crucial win
IT’S the muddle in the middle which could cost Ireland their chance to qualify for Euro 2020. Mick McCarthy’s sense of loyalty will be tested, severely, in the hours leading up to kick-off here in Geneva tomorrow.
Loyalty is a key part of McCarthy’s makeup, as a man and a manager. So he needs to wield an axe and shake things up in the middle of the park because, if that pallid, disorganised, unconvincing display by the midfield in Tbilisi on Saturday is repeated in Geneva, Ireland will finish this international double header with one point from six.
This Swiss side are vulnerable and came home from Denmark after Saturday’s defeat with the weight of a disappointed nation on their shoulders. Their players are racked by selfdoubt, they are beatable, but beating teams is something that doesn’t come easily to Ireland.
If tomorrow’s outcome is a repeat of Tbilisi, qualification could still come Ireland’s way, with a win at home to the Danes next month. To do that, Ireland need to come up with something different as the Danes, and the Swiss, have figured out that a setpiece tailor-made for Shane Duffy’s head is our most likely source of a goal. The Danes were caught out at home late on in the game in June, but they won’t be fooled again.
McCarthy has essentially had the same midfield for most of the campaign, with some switches. Matt Doherty, Robbie Brady and Callum Robinson have played in different variations of a wide midfield role, but Conor Hourihane and Jeff Hendrick have started every game in the group in the centre.
James McClean has started, and finished, every game essentially as a left-sided midfielder while Glenn
‘I don’t think it’s frustration – it’s people wanting to do better’ – John Egan
Whelan has been dropped into the side as McCarthy sees fit. Whelan has started at home and away against Georgia, away to Denmark and at home to the Swiss.
His role is different to those around him. His main job is to protect the back four and give the midfield a stiffness often needed, especially away from home.
He was needed on 65 minutes in Tbilisi, scampering back to cover as Jano Ananidze burst through with dangerous intent on his face, and Whelan had to take one for the team – a yellow card that is – to prevent the Spartak Moscow man from doing damage.
McCarthy has to decide if Whelan, at 35, can deal with the physical demands of two starts in four days. The player himself has no doubts about that, telling this newspaper last week that he played three games in six days for his club, one of them going to extra time and penalties. “And I put my peno away too,” he said.
But the midfield did not work together in Georgia. Callum Robinson was way below the standard needed, the Aston Villa man looking lost for long spells. McClean delivered his usual effort and grit but his lack of pace, and inability to influence the game, was worrying.
Annoyed
The lack of cohesion was evident for all to see on 85 minutes when McClean and Hourihane were at crossed wires, getting annoyed with each other as Hourihane’s pass to McClean didn’t go where the Stoke City player wanted it to go.
The ball bobbled over the touchline for a Georgia throw-in, much to the relief of the home fans. Ireland had lost an opportunity, and McClean and Hourihane started to lose it with each other.
Asked about that moment of conflict between the pair, John Egan said: “I don’t think it’s frustration, I think it’s people wanting to do better and setting high standards. Every player demands more of each other.
“It might come across that it looks a bit frustrating and people are arguing and stuff, but it’s all just people trying to drive each other on to be better, and it’s all good. We have a great squad, a great bunch of lads and everybody just wants to do well.”
McCarthy won’t make four/five changes to his midfield for tomorrow, but he should be looking at it in depth, as Robinson and McClean, in particular, could have no complaints
if they were dropped.
The UEFA stats show that Georgia had far more passes than Ireland (507 against 382) and more passes completed (403 against 292).
That’s not all on the midfielders. Every player in green was guilty of giving the ball away too cheaply, and as Whelan pointed out in that interview on these pages last week, for so long the Irish midfield were the whipping boys, criticised for being too open in a defeat, hammered for not being creative after a draw.
It would be a risk for McCarthy to butcher his midfield and throw in untested players like Jack Byrne and Josh Cullen, or even to give Callum O’Dowda or Alan Judge a start.
But with risk there can come reward. Already under fire for his conservative use of Aaron Connolly on Saturday, sticking with the same old formula tomorrow may be McCarthy’s default position.
McClean, Hendrick and Hourihane have started every game in the campaign to date, Robinson has started the last three. They have not repaid the faith shown in them by their manager and McCarthy needs to put past service to one side.
Their places in the side should be under threat, but only McCarthy can make that call and loyalty could come at a cost.