Best of both worlds for club and country
FOR MANY that bow down at the altar of the English Premier League, an international break is the stuff of nightmares, a weekend that is tougher to negotiate than trying to wade through a paddling pool packed full of treacle.
There’s no opportunity to see Jurgen Klopp trampolining manically on the sideline, Pep Guardiola remonstrating with flailing arms towards the fourth official, or Ole Gunnar Solskjaer getting greyer by the minute as Manchester United struggle to break down some mediocre side that would have been considered cannon fodder not so long ago.
International football just doesn’t resonate as strongly with some people, and there’s no amount of brow-beating about national pride that will change that fact.
It’s obvious that a drawn-out week of qualifiers, with the odd friendly thrown in for good measure, doesn’t offer the same cut and thrust and instant gratification of a weekend of Premier League fixtures, with top players travelling to the four corners of the globe, thus seriously diluting the quality of the product.
Despite Gareth Southgate’s young guns looking like a team that is capable of challenging for long-awaited honours, the three lions brigade can still be a hard sell to English football fans, who would much rather see their clubs lift some silverware than their country savouring European Championship or World Cup success.
As for Ireland, we’re not going to be winning anything anytime soon, but there are some that will always back the Boys in Green to the hilt in good times, or more usually in bad.
However, there are many, many more that would much rather cheer on Arsenal, Chelsea or Tottenham many miles away in London than get behind their own in Dublin.
Of course, the lack of quality in the Irish ranks and often rancid style of play makes it difficult to get the unconverted on board, and the intermittent nature of the international calendar means that it’s something that just drifts in and out of the lives of casual followers.
At the time of writing, I don’t know how Mick McCarthy’s charges fared in their must-win game against Denmark, but whatever the result, there’s many that will quickly turn their attentions to next weekend’s Premier League fixtures, rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of Manchester City versus Chelsea or Crystal Palace locking horns with Liverpool.
Thankfully, international breaks are a win-win situation for yours truly as I get to watch countries in action, while also keeping up to date with the most important league programme across the water, as my team of choice,
Swindon Town, ply their trade in the lowly depths of League Two.
Saturday was a particularly good day to be a fan of the Robins as a hard-fought 3-2 win away to Salford City catapulted them to the top of the table.
Ireland often struggle in front of goal but Dubliner Eoin Doyle, who is on loan at the Wiltshire club from Bradford City, has no such problems, and is the top league scorer in England with an impressive 16 goals already this season.
The ‘Ginger Pele’, as he’s affectionately known, helped himself to a brace against Salford, with another Dubliner, Adam Rooney, converting two penalties for the home side.
There are plenty of Irish players lining out in the lower leagues across the water, and anybody who doesn’t normally keep up to date with what’s happening in the Championship and below should definitely have used the void left by the absence of the Premier League to acquaint themselves with the more unheralded divisions.
The TV channel Quest is normally my port of call at nine o’clock on a Saturday evening as they show the highlights from the English Football League, and for anybody who likes goals, goals and more goals, it’s certainly a must watch.
Viewing clubs rich in history, like Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, Derby County, Ipswich Town and Sunderland in less salubrious settings, is in its own way as exhilarating as any glamorous Premier League fixture.
All of the clubs mentioned may desperately want to get back to the Holy Grail of the top flight, but it doesn’t mean the entertainment value will be instantly better just because the television giants tell us so. There’s a purity to the lower divisions that has been long-since ripped from the Premier League, and with VAR sucking the soul out of the game it looks like it could get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better.
Fans of Preston North End, Wycombe Wanderers and Forest Green Rovers can still celebrate with spontaneity in the knowledge that a decision won’t be overturned after an age of deliberation.
Swindon Town fans can do the same and for now, at least, they can do so from the lofty perch at the top of the table.
Happy days indeed.