Secrecy, above all else, is no way to launch a new era in Irish football. So there were 231 days of conjecture and then, in a manic 48 hours, the narrative around the Republic of Ireland men’s manager is completely rewritten. Seemingly Heimir Hallgrímsson was first choice all along.
A cynic would call this another FAI sleight of hand. We know Lee Carsley was approached before Hallgrímsson. We know Willy Sagnol, Roy Keane and other names were in the frame.
The new Ireland manager deserved a better introduction to the public, especially after the difficulties he encountered in Jamaica. At the very least his opening press conference should have been all about facing England and Greece in September. Instead his employers began by vaguely explaining why he was announced the same week RTÉ broadcast a programme about alleged historical abuse of Irish female players by male coaches.
It’s fair enough that Hallgrímsson had to explain his comments on Mason Greenwood, which he did, noting it was a “political answer” to appease the Jamaican FA after they tried to tempt the former Manchester United player to declare for them. That alone was instructive: what is Heimir willing to say to keep the FAI on side?
The Icelander is an interesting appointment with a good reputation but – give me strength – FAI director of football Marc Canham has pulled the same stunt on John O’Shea as he did earlier this year.
John carried a lot of weight for the association as Canham ducked for cover since February. He launched his managerial career against Belgium and Switzerland probably knowing he was a stopgap until Jamaica were knocked out of this summer’s Copa America.
Last April, via YouTube, Canham offered O’Shea the chance to continue as interim Irish manager against Hungary and Portugal in June. Now, in July, Hallgrímsson is publicly offering John the role of assistant coach. Would it not make sense, on both a professional and decency level, to wait for John O’Shea’s answer before throwing his name about?
With or without O’Shea, six Nations League matches come thick and fast. Not much is expected against England but Greece and Finland are supposed to be at Ireland’s level. Certainly in terms of Fifa world rankings. Success is finishing runners-up in this group.
There is one glaring concern: Hallgrímsson doesn’t know the Irish players by name. After a 231-day recruitment process this feels a little rushed. If he was considering taking the job since March shouldn’t he have his research done by now?
Despite all these challenges Hallgrímsson must be delighted to see the back of Jamaica after their federation engineered a mini-Saipan-moment by suspending Leon Bailey when the Aston Villa winger branded them “unprofessional”, noting that he books his own flights for international windows.
Suits at the front of plane, cash-flow issues at the back, you know the drill.
Jamaica qualified for Copa by beating Canada over two legs last November. I covered their 3-2 victory in Toronto for TV and they were blessed to win. Canada completely collapsed. I guess Ireland need a lucky coach.
Speaking of Canada, Jesse Marsch has worked instant wonders, bringing them to the Copa semi-final by implementing the Red Bull methods. Before his brief stint at Leeds United, Marsch spent six years coaching at RB New York, Salzburg and Leipzig. Austria manager Ralf Rangnick already proved that the Red Bull formula works at international level. Marsch is backing this up.
I hope Hallgrímsson brings a clear style for Irish players to embrace. His approach for Jamaica against Canada was a simplistic 4-4-2, with the ball quickly funnelled into Bailey and more recently West Ham striker Michail Antonio.
Clearly a lot of training time goes into set pieces. I’m not knocking this approach if it gets results, but Jamaica limped out of Copa with three defeats, scoring one goal, against Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela. The Reggae Boyz have similar quality players to Ireland in many positions but qualification is not a serious achievement.
At Euro 2016, the former dentist co-managed Iceland with Swedish tactician Lars Lagerbäck. Anyone who follows football will remember that pair masterminding the defeat of England in the last 16. Nobody can question his credentials as the sole Iceland manager. He got them to the World Cup in 2018, topping Croatia’s qualifier group and drawing 1-1 with Messi’s Argentina in the pool stages.
That makes the appointment worth rowing in behind. How the FAI bungled the announcement, and the retention of O’Shea (again) can be set aside if Hallgrímsson gets a tune out of Chiedozie Ogbene, Nathan Collins, Caoimhín Kelleher and Evan Ferguson.
After Amhrán na bhFiann is played on September 7th, the crowd should throw in a Thunderclap to trigger the memory of the worst moment in recent English football history.
Turns out, losing to Iceland was the best thing that ever happened to England. It brought them to Gareth Southgate and a second successive Euros final in Berlin. Viva España.
I urge everyone to watch the Copa final between Argentina and Colombia late on Sunday night. Miami will embrace the South American passion. It’s been a sensational tournament. Fights in the stand, head butts on the grass, yellow and red cards galore, Colombia playing at a pace I’ve never seen and perhaps the greatest ever Argentina team.
