In McShane We Trust?

The sports pages of the world's most famous broadsheets were only concerned with one news item today, namely that Paul McShane has been drafted into the Ireland Euro 2012 squad to replace the injured Kevin Foley. Foley is now the second withdrawal from the squad hot on the heels of Keith Fahey who was replaced by the equally imperious Paul Green. I expect that the likes of Iniesta, Jelavic and Balotelli are now having nightmares at the prospect of coming face to face with the man who makes Alan Kernaghan look like a quality defender.

McShane in fairness strikes fear into hearts every time he steps onto the pitch for Ireland. The problem being that it is the Irish fans' whose hearts I am talking about. That is something even his club's fans at Hull City haven't had to endure recently, since he was on loan at Crystal Palace for the second half of last season. Now don't get me wrong, we all love players who have lots of heart and would die for the cause, and there is no doubt that McShane satisfies both of these criteria, but we also love players who can actually play too.

McShane seemed to be totally out of the picture in terms of getting a starting berth in the Irish team only a few weeks ago, but the subsequent injury doubts surrounding John O'Shea have suddenly propelled him into a  situation, where he will be very much in the frame for the first game against Croatia now that he is in the final 23. There is always Stephen Kelly of course, who I would like to think could reasonably get the nod. But a niggling feeling persists that should O'Shea not be ready for the Croatia game, and there is every reason to believe he won't, McShane will step forward as the man upon whom we trust. As the little montage below suggests, that will not be an easy thing.

McLean our secret weapen?

James McLean has been given the nod by Giovanni Trapattoni to start tomorrow's friendly against Bosnia. The young 23 year old Derry native will be hoping he can impress the manager enough to stake a claim for a starting place when Ireland's Euro adventure kicks off on Sunday 10 June in Poznan. My guess is that most fans would probably prefer to see him start ahead of Trap's current first choice left winger Aiden McGeady, although knowing Trap (for the record we go way back!), the safety first mantra of experience over excitement will probably win out.

So what if McLean scored a hat-trick against Bosnia? Would that be enough to make the starting X1... It's hard to know. But what is clear is that his form under Martin O'Neill at Sunderland was so consistently at a high level last year that Trap went from talking about him as a player for the future, to saying that he was 90% certain to be named in Ireland's Euro squad. That is a significant turn around from a man who usually doesn't change his mind too quickly. Trap has gone further by saying that he could be an important player for Ireland in the 2nd game against Spain and maybe even 3rd game against Italy, suggesting that a start against one of these giants may indeed be possible.

There is no doubting McLean's stake for a place in the team  is gathering momentum. Not only is he foremost in Trap's thoughts but he is possibly the only player in our squad who can excite the crowd, by doing something unorthodox and being unpredictable. Stephen Hunt used to have this honour,  but comparing these two is like comparing a Bentley to a broken down Cinquecento with no windows. Who can forget the roar of the crowd at Landsdowne Road (yes Landsdowne Road) when he came on the pitch for the last 12 minutes in the friendly against the Czech Republic back in February. A new hero was born.

For tomorrow's game I hope that McLean plays a disciplined role, obeying Trap's instructions and tracking back to help the defence when needs be. I hope he keeps it simple with short crisp passes and doesn't give the ball away too much like the rest of the lads on the team. Throw in a few direct runs down the line and one or two decent crosses for Doyle and Keane and he should keep the main man happy. Once Trap is happy McLean will have a role to play. Imagine the scenario where we are a goal down with 20-30 minutes to go against Croatia, Spain or Italy, my gut feeling is that no matter how well he plays tomorrow, only then will our secret weapon be given his chance to shine.

Ten years on...

Ten years ago day Roy Keane walked out on the Irish team in the build up to the World Cup in Japan/South Korea. It was one of those occasions where I can remember exactly what I was doing, jut like 9/11 and the death of Princess Diana, two of the other earth-shattering monumental media events of the past 20 years.

I vividly remember buying a copy of the Irish Times that morning as there was word on the radio that Keane had undertaken an explosive interview with Tom Humphries, where he blasted the Manager Mick McCarthy, the FAI and the whole training set-up. A few hours later word filtered through that Keane had been expelled from the camp after a big bust-up with the Manager. The nation was gripped.

What followed was a debate which carried on for years. This debate aroused more passion in the average Irish person than various referendums and general elections which would have greater implications for the country as a whole. Until it came to the point, only a few years ago where people were sick of the whole thing. I personally think that in the time which has passed since 2002, those who originally sided with Keane may have mellowed, due mainly to some of the bust-ups and outbursts which he has been party to in the recent past, most notably of which were his ultimate downfall at Man Utd, media spats with Fergie and his infamous "who's phone is that?" press conference when manager of Iswich Town. In contrast I believe that those who sided with McCarthy have not changed their opinion.

Anyway the real point of this post is to draw a line under that fateful day once and for all as the Boys in Green are about to embark on a new journey in 18 days time, which will hopefully be less controversial and more successful. Expectations are unusually high this time - it seems half the country has bought a van and will be traveling over. I would love to hear from people out there on how well you think we may get along in the Euros.