O’NEILL’S CRITICS MUST LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE
Ireland slowly choking on the increasing lack of opportunities in England
ARSENE WENGER is accused of many wrongs. Some of the criticism directed at him is absurd, as are some of his accusers. The most common complaint against him from supporters other than Arsenal fans stems from a match on St Valentine’s Day in 2005.
Wenger selected a team to play Crystal Palace composed entirely of non-British players. The attitudes that would eventually enable Brexit were soon evident in response to the Arsenal line-up.
‘Why we’ll never halt the invasion’ sobbed a headline in the People newspaper.
‘Quotas may be needed to halt damaging foreign policy,’ suggested the Press Association.
‘A total of 16 players and no Brit in sight? That was a disgrace,’ said Paul Merson.
In his Sportsmail column, though, Bobby Robson presented a more daring analysis – unsurprising, from the bravest manager England have had in living memory.
It was headed ‘Stop blaming Wenger, and start finding our own stars of the future’. ‘It’s nonsense to say we haven’t got the talent in this country, so it must be our preparation and attitudes,’ reasoned Robson.
That suggestion remained convincing through the years that followed, as clubs throughout the English leagues took up Wenger’s example and started sourcing technically excellent players from around the world.
In the coming weeks, as anticipation of England’s World Cup campaign heightens, there will be the occasional article wondering if the number of foreigners in the Premier League is handicapping Gareth Southgate.
As soon as England are eliminated, the number of those will increase, and they will generally be little more than demented harangues, trying to pin the blame for issues of coaching and structural weakness on men like Wenger.
The departing Arsenal boss has had a tremendous effect on English soccer. It was not him that made the sport there the most vivid example of globalisation in the world. Change was coming, wrought by TV deals that enriched clubs; Wenger realised it early.
More imports in English soccer has squeezed opportunities for English players, but their national team has also been damaged by the failures in coaching aspiring indigenous talents.
This has had an enormous effect on our national team, too, but perhaps it is only now people are fully realising that.
One Irishman made a team of the year in the sides selected from the four English divisions.
Alan Sheehan, a native of Athlone who plays for Luton Town in League Two – the fourth tier – was selected in that divisional team. No Irishman was near the Premier League selection, but the extent of Ireland’s patchy representation in English soccer is laid bare by the failure to figure in the Championship or League One sides.
The Champions League long ago became barren ground for nurturing Irish talents. There are some who will get succour from blaming all this on Arsene Wenger. They will also scatter blame at the FAI.
But one unavoidable consequence of the declining Irish stake in English soccer is a weakening of the national team.
That should be remembered as the end-of-season internationals loom into view. These are harmless diversions, and for some players they are avoided at all costs.
Ireland play France on May 28 in Paris, then the United States in Dublin on June 2. Neither match has a great significance as a standalone fixture, but managers are expected to tinker with their sides in these encounters. The extent to which Martin O’Neill is compromised in that regard should by now be clear: he has very, very little with which to work, outside of the usual squad members.
Declan Rice was a very encouraging debutant in Turkey, and trying to source players through ancestry rules should now be a priority for the manager.
But judgements on O’Neill must be tempered by the fact that Irish players no longer feature at the elite end of the English game, and are becoming scarce even at its intermediate level. There are some ready to course O’Neill for having the temerity to consider another job, and for being cross at an RTÉ reporter.
His critics are unhappy with the level of loyalty displayed by him, as if a professional in a ruthless industry should never think over an opportunity to work elsewhere.
O’Neill is responsible, primarily, for delivering results, and he has been reasonably good at that. He will have to continue to be, but the environment in which he operates has to be considered as well.
And it is now a climate in which Irish players simply do not thrive. That is not O’Neill’s fault. Blame Arsene, if it makes you feel better.