A lack of capable midfielders appears to be the root cause of the Republic of Ireland’s struggles throughout the 2020s.
The uncompromising Jayson Molumby will immediately contest this thesis.
Dropped from the squad for last month’s opening World Cup qualifiers – a draw at home to Hungary and the disastrous loss in Armenia – the 26-year-old has been recalled ahead of Saturday’s game against Portugal in Lisbon following an injury to Jason Knight.
“Obviously I am playing in the Championship,” said Molumby after training on Tuesday. “It is not the top level. It is not the Premier League. But I know what I am as a player, I am not going to dribble past three players and stick it in the top corner.
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“I know my strengths and weaknesses. I care a lot about playing for Ireland. I’ll work as hard as I can. I am not overly technical, but I am good enough to play on the ball at this level. One-hundred per cent.”
Since Heimir Hallgrímsson took over in 2024, the midfielders named ahead of Molumby – Josh Cullen, Will Smallbone and Knight – have failed to secure enough possession to create goals from open play.
Ireland continue to produce international calibre goalkeepers in Caoimhín Kelleher and Gavin Bazunu. There are defenders aplenty, with Nathan Collins and Jake O’Brien regulars in the Premier League. At the other end of the field, Evan Ferguson leads the line for Roma and Troy Parrott had notched 10 goals in eight appearances for AZ Alkmaar before his knee injury.
That leaves midfield as the area of constant concern. Nobody expects a generational player like Johnny Giles or Roy Keane to suddenly appear, but the grit displayed by Glenn Whelan – who won 91 caps between 2008 and 2019 – is sorely missed.
“I’m just a bit worried, does [losing] hurt the lads as much as it hurt me?” wondered Whelan last year after briefly coaching the squad under interim manager John O’Shea. “I think there are certain individuals [where] it is too easy to bat it off. On to social media, on to the next one.
“Show us on the grass that it hurts. Tackle. Put fouls in. Block shots. We are a little too easy to play against.”
That statement alone made the selection of Killian Phillips and Jack Taylor last month, ahead of the combative Molumby, a surprise.
“I was gutted not be called up,” said the West Bromwich Albion midfielder. “I went home to see my family in Waterford and it was really tough to watch [the game in Yerevan]. You feel a lot of emotions. Angry, disappointed . . . I am just happy to be back.”
Despite Hallgrímsson’s appointment in July 2024 – two months before the Nations League defeats to England and Greece – the Icelander asked his assistant, O’Shea, to pick the squad as he did not know the players.
Injury to Josh Cullen meant that Molumby and Smallbone went up against England’s Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo at the Aviva Stadium. Knight and Alan Browne had filled in by the time the final whistle was blown on a 2-0 defeat.
Molumby and Smallbone were retained three days later, when a three-man Greek midfield outmanoeuvred them.
The following month, October, saw Hallgrímsson take full control. Knight and Cullen sat in front of the back four when Robbie Brady’s late goal secured a 2-1 win over Finland in Helsinki. But the same partnership was overrun by Greece, again, until Hallgrímsson abandoned playing Parrott up front alongside Ferguson.
Knight and Cullen kept their places as Ferguson’s headed goal beat Finland at the Aviva in November.
On to London. Unwilling to give Jude Bellingham the run of Wembley, Hallgrímsson pushed Nathan Collins into midfield. The Brentford man looked the part as a ‘number six’ behind Cullen and Molumby until a scoreless, competitive fixture became a 5-0 rout.
The Collins experiment was shelved for the Nations League relegation playoff against Bulgaria in March. Concerned about Cullen and Knight’s lack of physical presence, the manager used June friendlies against Senegal and Luxembourg to look at Killian Phillips and John Patrick.
Neither player did enough to dislodge Knight or Cullen from the starting team for last month’s 2-2 draw with Hungary in Dublin. A few days later in Yerevan, against the world’s 105th-ranked national team, Cullen cut a frustrated figure as the hosts held the upper hand in midfield.
Hallgrímsson did start three midfielders in Armenia, but Jack Taylor operated as a second striker behind Ferguson while Cullen made way on 70 minutes for a disappointing cameo from Phillips.
“We thought we had superior players than them,” said Hallgrímsson. “To be honest, we struggled in possession.”
Former Ireland under-21 captain Andrew Moran has been suggested as an alternative, as has Charlton Athletic’s Conor Coventry and Joe Hodge of Portuguese side Tondela.
Penny for Molumby’s thoughts, as the players named ahead of him struggled to contain Eduard Spertsyan and Tigran Barseghyan last month.
“There have been discussions in the group,” he admitted. “It is really difficult for me to speak on a game I wasn’t involved in,” he said. “I don’t really want to disrespect anyone or give my thoughts, as it would be unfair on the boys that played.
“I’ve been there as a player, when you are expected to win or dominate and you haven’t. It is a tough place to be.”
