KEANE COULD HAVE UPSET GREALISH’S AGENT
BETWEEN club appointments, hotel spats, and autobiography revelations, Roy Keane hasn’t exactly made things easy for Martin O’Neill since his appointment as Republic of Ireland manager. And as the Ireland manager names his squad today for the crunch Euro 2016 qualifier with Scotland on June 13, Keane, unwittingly perhaps, may have queered the pitch for his boss regarding the formal recruitment of Jack Grealish into the senior ranks with last week’s withering put down of Gareth Bale’s performance in the Champions League, an outburst which prompted a fierce rebuke from Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, who retaliated, branding the Corkman a ‘failure’ in management. The fact that Barnett also provides career advice to Grealish, might have implications for O’Neill, and for Ireland. Having guided the likes of Lennox Lewis and Ashley Cole, there is little to prevent him from suggesting to his client that he could gain more for his career by standing under an English flag at Wembley, than the tri-colour at the Aviva. His positioning poses a potential problem for O’Neill even if the decision on whether Grealish sticks with Ireland or twists to England ultimately rests with the player, and his family, more so than the agent. As things stand, the less Grealish is seen in an Irish shirt, and the more in a claret and blue, so his reputation soars. He has been compared to former England winger Chris Waddle by Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood after another silky, swivel-hipped, contribution to Villa’s Premier Division cause on Saturday. ‘We can see what a real talent he is,’ said Sherwood, ‘and his teammates are learning to love him. He has the Chris Waddle ability to go past people.’ Since Sherwood decided Grealish was good enough, never mind old enough, to slalom past oak-sized defenders of the division, Villa have breathed easily once more. A run of four wins and a draw for Villa coincided with five successive starts for the Ireland under 21 international; and a high profile for the 19-year-old who won his first Man of the Match award after Saturday’s 1-0 win over West Ham. If he is polished enough to light up the Premier League, he’s more than capable of slotting into the Republic of Ireland set-up, not in September when he is due to end his international sabbatical and return for the U21s, but now. Grealish is in better form than either Aiden McGeady or James McClean, the two mainstays on the flanks for Ireland so far in the Euro 2016 qualifiers. The Scotland visit on June 13 is a game Ireland must win and which demands that O’Neill makes courageous calls. Playing safe isn’t an option; it’s win or bust and, on current form, no player would worry the Scots more if involved than Grealish. O’Neill has handled Grealish with care since becoming manager, choosing not to bring him on tour to the United States a year ago when there was nothing to lose and so much, particularly trust, to gain.