GREECE IS THE word once again.
It was against Greece that Stephen Kenny’s reign reached the point of no return, the 2-1 loss in Athens so comprehensive that the FAI had resolved to go in another direction.
Heimir Hallgrimsson is the man chosen to lead Ireland in that new direction, though he has started with a loose grip on the wheel. John O’Shea and Paddy McCarthy picked the squad for these September games, and the system and personnel deployed against England was similar to that used by O’Shea earlier this year and, indeed, by Kenny in that ill-fated Euros campaign.
O’Shea’s influence is such that he made an unprecedented appearance at the pre-match press conference, in place of Hallgrimsson. Uefa’s rules decree that the head coach must attend the media event on the eve of a game, but the FAI nonetheless pressed ahead with their own plan, decided in advance of the international window.
What resulted with a mildly exasperated O’Shea delivering a reverse Steve Staunton. I’m not the gaffer.
“The boss is the boss and there are clear lines on that”, said O’Shea, later adding, “it’s clear, I’m the assistant.”
The impression is that O’Shea has been more viceroy than assistant for this camp, as King Heimir busies himself with enthronement.
Hallgrimsson is justifying this hands-off start by saying he needs time to acclimatise to a new squad and a new culture, continuing in this quasi-consultant role in which he is auditing what’s good and bad before layering on his own influence. This makes a certain logical sense, of course, and it’s certainly in keeping with the steady pace at which his bosses make decisions. But Hallgrimsson was brought in to effect change and flip results, so for him to be still stocktaking during competitive games is another indictment of the FAI’s epic recruitment process. Plus, if you take the FAI at their public word in insisting that Hallgrimsson was their first choice for the job from as far back as March of this year, that he is still only getting to know the players six months on is utterly baffling.
Hallgrimsson said after the England game that it is not his style to make radical changes to the team, and so he may stick with the back three/five system that has served Ireland’s results so poorly in recent years. (Take Gibraltar out of the equation, and Ireland have lost 10 of their last 13 competitive games.)
Two of those defeats came against Greece, so Hallgrimsson’s riskiest move may be to stick with the same set-up. As part of his interview, Hallgrimsson is understood to have been asked how he would have reacted at half-time of Ireland’s defeat in Athens, and has been given the job partly for his adaptability. If he is true to the reasons the FAI hired him, and if he is fully in control of this team, then Hallgrimsson will surely change things up tonight.
Seamus Coleman is absent, but Festy Ebosele is capable of playing at right-back, along with Matt Doherty. Nathan Collins, Dara O’Shea, Liam Scales, and Jake O’Brien are all centre-back options: Collins will surely be retained given his excellent club form and the fact he finished the England game wearing the captain’s armband. Scales would offer left-footed balance at centre-back, but equally, he may be an option at left-back, where Ireland are painfully weak. Doherty has experience of playing there, and while Robbie Brady struggled at left wing-back against England, Ireland are not tripping over themselves with better options.
Jayson Molumby and Alan Browne are central midfield options, with Will Smallbone’s role understood to have been scrutinised in the post-game video debrief.
Jason Knight’s versatility and energy may see him sprung into action, perhaps off the left, to allow Sammie Szmodics get into a central area in support of the striker. Adam Idah struggled in isolation against England, but Hallgrimsson has suggested Evan Ferguson is not yet ready to start. His cameo against England was his first senior appearance since the end of March.
Of course Hallgrimsson may be true to his word and stick with a back three, but whatever the system, Chiedozie Ogbene’s role off the right flank will be crucial. Ireland must limit the influence of the Greek full-backs, especially left-back Kostas Tsimikas, who ran amok last summer in Athens when the Greek wide forwards stood on either touchline and pinned back the Irish wing-backs. Ireland’s best moments against England came when Ogbene was shifted to right wing-back, and the best means of limiting Tsimikas’ attacking influence is to force him to defend.
Gus Poyet is no longer the Greece manager, and he has been replaced by Serbia’s Ivan Jovanovic, whose previous job was with Greek side Panathinaikos.
Greece opened their Nations League campaign with a 3-0 win at home to Finland, and though the manager has changed, much of the team remains the same. Midfielder Anastasios Bakasetas – who tormented Ireland across both games last year – remains captain, though Giorgos Masouras, who scored the winner in Athens, is absent through injury.
It’s unfair to judge Hallgrimsson on the result against England, even if he admitted Ireland’s performance wasn’t good enough. He, like Stephen Kenny, will be judged by results against Greece. A draw tonight would be a step in the right direction.
Ireland (Possible XI): Kelleher; Doherty, Collins, O’Shea, Brady; Ogbene, Browne, Molumby, Knight; Szmodics, Idah
Greece (Possible XI): Vlachodimos; Rota, Mavropanos, Koulierakis, Tsimikas; Bouchalakis, Bakasetas, Mantalos; Chatzigiouanis, Ioannidis, Pelkas
On TV: RTE Two; KO: 7.45pm
