End of year assessment

It's been a bit of an ‘annus horribilis’ for Ireland. Few positives to take away, though the standard of opponent was, in Germany, Spain, Croatia and Italy, of a greater calibre than any that Ireland have faced in one year, as far back as this blogger can remember. In the past, Ireland have been able to take points off bigger sides when - like Holland in 2001 and France/Italy in 2009 - the opposition has proven over-rated, badly coached and vulnerable as a result. It didn't happen with the more illustrious opponents this year.

This blogger is not a utopianist when it comes to the Irish side - Ireland have never consistently won games or strolled to qualification by playing free-flowing football; even in that outstanding campaign for 2002 under McCarthy, the team had to rely on graft, grunt, good defence and good fortune at various times, epitomised by the stubborn resistance of Roy Keane against Portugal, and the last-gasp heroics of Shay Given in the playoff against Iran. So, with that in mind, this blogger was a Trap supporter between 2008 and 2011, opining that the style of play, based on solid defence and a hard-working, stifling midfield, was appropriate for the player pool in terms of grinding out results against weaker sides and picking up points against the higher seeds. The 2012 qualifying campaign was a success - too many times, Ireland have thrown away qualification for want of results against lower-seeded teams - think Liechtenstein and NI in 1995, Macedonia in '97 and 99, Lithuania and Iceland in the '98 qualifiers, Israel home and away in 2005; Trap eliminated those silly results, which have enabled the team to be competitive at the 'business end' of the table. Even now, we stand on six points from a possible nine. Trap deserves some credit for that, given that our player pool has been quite weak over the last few years.

However, the damning fact about Trap's tenure - all the way along - has been his bizarre selections on the fringes of the squad, and his refusal to make unforced changes to the starting XI. The team that started against Croatia was identical bar Kilbane/Ward from the first-choice in 2009. Players have not been able to play their way into the side on club form, which is simply wrong. This policy has come home to roost this year with the various injures and retirements, particularly against Germany, when Ireland started with five Championship players - while regular EPL players like Long, Hoolahan, O'Brien, Gibson, McClean, Clark and Wilson languished either on the bench or at home. These players should have been blooded 12-18 months ago. Now we're faced with the prospect of a Sweden/Austria double header in March, where the fans are disillusioned, resigned to the fact that the best team will not be picked. Even if by some miracle, Trap picks the right team, Ireland's most talented players will be going into the game without much international experience, having been waiting in line behind journeymen for the last two years. It doesn't fill anyone with hope.

Add to this the fact that the defence - so reliable in 2011 - seems to have fallen apart. Even Oman and the Faroe Islands recently breached Ireland's brittle rearguard, which currently looks like conceding in every game. Also, Trap has developed an irritating new habit of playing strikers on the wing, which is almost Staunton-esque in its absurdity. Ireland may be playing for nothing more than future seedings after March, unfortunately. Trapattoni is not getting the best out of the current pool of players, and the trends of the last year are worrying, since Sweden and Austria present a much tougher proposition than Bulgaria/Cyprus or Slovakia/Armenia.

Still, on the plus side, there seems to be a decent conveyor belt of talent - no world-class individuals, but plenty of players who could have a good international future. Coleman, Wilson, Brady, Clark and McCarthy have been introduced to the team, and others should follow. Gibson will be a big asset if/when he re-commits. Here's hoping that McClean can step up again, and that Pilkington gets his passport sorted. Meyler and Stevens could emerge as credible options too. We'll surely have a bolter like Garvan, Quinn or Mason getting promoted and getting more exposure to the top level, which may give Trapattoni another option or two. The U-21s achieved a fine victory over Italy in the autumn, and hopefully the better players from that level - Egan, Duffy, Cunningham, Hendrick - continue to develop. We'll surely see one of the other Villa kids step up too, and hopefully the LOI will continue to produce talent of the Stevens/Maguire/Forrester mould. In terms of the player pool, things should improve.

However, the positive influence that Trap brought to the side in 2008 - organisation, discipline, solid defence, ability to grind out results - seems to have been lost over the last year, and the beatings handed to the Irish team in 2012 will not be forgotten. The side needs an injection of new blood and confident, in-form players, and we have the resources to do so - but I'm far from convinced that Trap is the man to preside over such a transition.