IT HASN’T QUITE been billed a ‘make-or-break’ week but the next five days will go a long way to determining what Giovanni Trapattoni’s future holds.
Ireland, currently sitting third in Group C with two wins and a defeat, arrived in Stockholm last night ahead of tomorrow’s qualifier with second-placed Sweden. Then it’s back onto a flight to Dublin before they welcome Austria to Lansdowne Road on Tuesday.
FAI chief executive John Delaney has recently insisted that there are plenty of countries who “would love to have six points out of nine” and on the surface it does look a respectable return so far. However, a late smash and grab win against Kazakhstan was hardly inspiring and the 6-1 mauling by Germany saw Ireland suffer their biggest ever defeat at home in a competitive fixture.
Sure, we overcame the Faroe Islands easily enough but getting the better of the 153rd team in the world isn’t exactly worth bragging about.
If Ireland are to have any chance of finishing as runners-up and securing a play-off place, realistically they need to be aiming to earn four points from these two games.
With an excellent record of qualifying for major tournaments, Sweden are no mugs and, despite what you may read, do in fact possess more than one player.
He sits top of the goalscoring charts in France’s Ligue 1 this season with 25 goals in 26 appearances and Ireland’s predicted centre-half pairing John O’Shea and Ciaran Clark have a real job on their hands to keep him quiet.
CSKA Moscow’s Rasmus Elm is also a goal threat from midfield but it is the team’s ability to work for one another as a unit (as they showed coming back from 4-0 down to draw 4-4 with Germany in October) which makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
The Swedes haven’t been beaten at home in a competitive outing since 2010 and Trapattoni would almost certainly be happy to settle for a draw at the Friends Arena.
Austria, meanwhile, appear an inferior team to Ireland and getting three points at home should be well with their reach against a side who most recently lost out to Wales and the Ivory Coast.
Training this week suggests Trapattoni will roll out his 4-4-2 with a flat back four, two holding midfielders, hard-working wingers and two men up front.
It may be his tried and trusted formation but it is also, at this stage, a horribly tired one. His lack of faith in the goalscoring ability of the squad means persisting with Robbie Keane when dropping the record marksman for Wes Hoolahan to fill a deeper role and help out the two midfielders by linking up play would be a much smarter option.
Allowing opponents the lion’s share of possession and then attempting to nick goals through set pieces will work sometimes but when you come up against accomplished nations you are likely to get found out – as we discovered at the Euros.
How these two matches pan out will ultimately determine the FAI’s next move. Four points or better and they may well carry on with their man and talk up our chances of making it to Brazil. On the flip side, a draw and a defeat could force their hand.
But would they cut their losses and start fresh by paying Trapattoni off?
Having nothing more than pride to play for in the remainder of the current campaign would allow a newly-appointed manager to take a look at all his options before setting out on the road to France 2016.
An ever-growing number of players who have expressed their frustration at Trap’s abrupt management style and an increasing amount of antipathy and discontent from the Irish public are two other reasons why it should happen.
There’s also the matter of a stadium to fill for unattractive home fixtures with Georgia and the Faroe Islands later in the year. Given low attendances for recent fixtures, imagine how few fans would show up if Trap was still in a job and Ireland were out of the running with five qualifiers still to play.
Delaney was keeping his cards close to his chest when asked about Trap’s future recently but you get the feeling that, unlike six months ago, he could be ready to go through with a decision to end his tenure.
And for all that the legendary Italian has achieved, the time is right for someone else to take the reigns in order for the current crop to progress.
Opinion: Trapattoni’s reign hanging in the balance
IT HASN’T QUITE been billed a ‘make-or-break’ week but the next five days will go a long way to determining what Giovanni Trapattoni’s future holds.
Ireland, currently sitting third in Group C with two wins and a defeat, arrived in Stockholm last night ahead of tomorrow’s qualifier with second-placed Sweden. Then it’s back onto a flight to Dublin before they welcome Austria to Lansdowne Road on Tuesday.
FAI chief executive John Delaney has recently insisted that there are plenty of countries who “would love to have six points out of nine” and on the surface it does look a respectable return so far. However, a late smash and grab win against Kazakhstan was hardly inspiring and the 6-1 mauling by Germany saw Ireland suffer their biggest ever defeat at home in a competitive fixture.
Sure, we overcame the Faroe Islands easily enough but getting the better of the 153rd team in the world isn’t exactly worth bragging about.
If Ireland are to have any chance of finishing as runners-up and securing a play-off place, realistically they need to be aiming to earn four points from these two games.
With an excellent record of qualifying for major tournaments, Sweden are no mugs and, despite what you may read, do in fact possess more than one player.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic certainly brings star quality to Eric Harmen’s side and the Paris Saint-Germain striker can produce something out of nothing – as we witnessed with his outrageous over-head kick against England.
He sits top of the goalscoring charts in France’s Ligue 1 this season with 25 goals in 26 appearances and Ireland’s predicted centre-half pairing John O’Shea and Ciaran Clark have a real job on their hands to keep him quiet.
CSKA Moscow’s Rasmus Elm is also a goal threat from midfield but it is the team’s ability to work for one another as a unit (as they showed coming back from 4-0 down to draw 4-4 with Germany in October) which makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
The Swedes haven’t been beaten at home in a competitive outing since 2010 and Trapattoni would almost certainly be happy to settle for a draw at the Friends Arena.
Austria, meanwhile, appear an inferior team to Ireland and getting three points at home should be well with their reach against a side who most recently lost out to Wales and the Ivory Coast.
Training this week suggests Trapattoni will roll out his 4-4-2 with a flat back four, two holding midfielders, hard-working wingers and two men up front.
Allowing opponents the lion’s share of possession and then attempting to nick goals through set pieces will work sometimes but when you come up against accomplished nations you are likely to get found out – as we discovered at the Euros.
How these two matches pan out will ultimately determine the FAI’s next move. Four points or better and they may well carry on with their man and talk up our chances of making it to Brazil. On the flip side, a draw and a defeat could force their hand.
But would they cut their losses and start fresh by paying Trapattoni off?
Having nothing more than pride to play for in the remainder of the current campaign would allow a newly-appointed manager to take a look at all his options before setting out on the road to France 2016.
An ever-growing number of players who have expressed their frustration at Trap’s abrupt management style and an increasing amount of antipathy and discontent from the Irish public are two other reasons why it should happen.
There’s also the matter of a stadium to fill for unattractive home fixtures with Georgia and the Faroe Islands later in the year. Given low attendances for recent fixtures, imagine how few fans would show up if Trap was still in a job and Ireland were out of the running with five qualifiers still to play.
Delaney was keeping his cards close to his chest when asked about Trap’s future recently but you get the feeling that, unlike six months ago, he could be ready to go through with a decision to end his tenure.
And for all that the legendary Italian has achieved, the time is right for someone else to take the reigns in order for the current crop to progress.
Delaney remaining tight-lipped over Trap’s future
Transcript: Marco Tardelli defends decision to drop Kevin Doyle by text
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Editor's picks Giovanni Trapattoni Ireland John Delaney SWEIRE World Cup 2014