Kevin Kilbane: Weak in midfield and toothless up front, Ireland now left clinging to blind hope
Galway
and
Mayo
. There is no better way to judge the mood of our nation towards the men's football team than over a few pints in Westport.
The same question is continually asked: how do we beat Hungary in September's World Cup qualifier?
Gone are the days when bigger football countries feared a manic night at Lansdowne Road.
There is still no sign of an Irish midfielder who can take possession, pass it forward and put the opposition under pressure.
READ MORE
After an impressive season for Bristol City, Jason Knight was invited to nail down the position against Senegal and Luxembourg. A relentless athlete without the ball, he's no number six.
John Patrick, Killian Phillips and Will Smallbone were also given chances to impress at training and in the games, but the rested Josh Cullen remains the only midfielder Ireland can truly rely on. We know Cullen is a good player without being a visionary passer.
Nobody is coming to save this
Ireland
team. We have what we have heading into the 2026 World Cup campaign.
Chiedozie Ogbene has been missed since his achilles tendon tear. It's not just his pace. Ogbene keeps the crowd and his teammates engaged by chasing lost causes and somehow winning the ball back.
Kasey McAteer did well in Ogbene's role down the right during the draws against Senegal and Luxembourg. I actually thought the performance against Senegal last week was all right. However, every person I have encountered this week, for the inevitable football chats before the Luxembourg game, could not see any positives through all the negatives.
Nil-nil in Luxembourg damaged Irish football's reputation. Ninety minutes from a flight to somewhere sunny and stress-free, the players were unable to produce a performance.
This happens in June. Take Nathan Collins. After playing every minute for Brentford in the Premier League last season, the captain admitted to being physically and mentally spent.
[
No shortage of effort, but Ireland fail to find the net against Luxembourg
Opens in new window
]
At least Heimir Hallgrímsson told Tony O'Donoghue on RTÉ that the performance was nowhere near the standard required. He even said the first-half 'boring'. Previous managers have done themselves no favours by clinging to vague positives when the truth is obvious to see.
Call it what it was and move on. The players have already forgotten, I guarantee you that.
So, how do we beat Hungary on September 6th?
Honestly, I have no idea. The glass is half empty at the moment.
Under Stephen Kenny, when it really mattered, Ireland produced one
brilliant performance at home to France
, only to lose 1-0 in that opening Euro 2024 qualifier. Collins's late header drew a phenomenal save from Mike Maignan. Séamus Coleman marked Kylian Mbappé into obscurity in a leader's performance that showed how much Kenny missed his injury-cursed right-back.
France goalkeeper Mike Maignan saves from Nathan Collins in 2023, during one of Ireland's best performances in recent years. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho
Knight was an all-action, defensive cog that evening. That's what he does.
The other time Ireland under Kenny were faced with a nowhere-to-hide situation, against Greece in Athens two years ago, the selection of Smallbone and Adam Idah backfired as the 2-1 loss made it clear that Kenny's days in the job were numbered.
What really concerns me is Evan Ferguson's performance against Luxembourg. Let's not panic. He's still only 20. The West Ham loan did not work out. Brighton appear to have moved past him as well.
But the version of Ferguson, at 18 and 19 years old, who briefly lit up the Premier League, has gone missing in the past 18 months.
The physicality is not there. We know about the injuries. We don't know how much they have stunted his progress. We do know that he is no longer backing into top defenders and looking likely to score.
Maybe Ferguson needs to look at Troy Parrott's career path. When life at Tottenham Hotspur did not pan out, Parrott moved to the Eredivisie in Holland, where he has accumulated 37 goals in two seasons.
Troy Parrott's career has been rejuvenated by his move to the Eredivisie. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
It was suggested in January that a club like Bayer Leverkusen might get Ferguson's career back on track.
Unless Adam Idah hits the ground running at Celtic in August, Parrott deserves to start against Hungary, ideally with Sammie Szmodics, Finn Azaz and Ogbene backing him up.
We have what we have. Add Robbie Brady's left foot to the equation and the blind hope starts to rise again. We're going to need big performances right across the team and a rub of the green come September.
Speaking of blind hope,
Mayo to beat Donegal
in the Hyde on Sunday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Qatar in 'ongoing discussions' with IOC on bid for 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Qatar has confirmed its interest in hosting the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The country's Olympic committee confirmed on Tuesday it was in "ongoing discussions" with the International Olympic Committee over staging the Games. The Middle East nation hosted the men's football World Cup in 2022. "This move underscores the State of Qatar's unwavering commitment to supporting the Olympic and Paralympic movements and its keen interest in playing an active role in the advancement of global sport," a QOC statement said. Staging a Summer Games in the searing heat of the Middle East may require a move out of the event's traditional slot. The 2022 World Cup was played in November and December instead of June and July. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, president of the QOC and chair of the bid committee, said: "We currently have 95% of the required sports infrastructure in place to host the Games, and we have a comprehensive national plan to ensure 100% readiness of all facilities. "This plan is rooted in a long-term vision aimed at building a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable legacy. "Our objective goes beyond simply organising a successful event, we aim to deliver a global experience that reinforces the values of inclusivity, sustainability, and international collaboration." New IOC president Kirsty Coventry said last month her organisation would be reviewing the process for determining Games hosts.
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Sharlene Mawdsley takes part in hilarious road race as part of Tipperary's All-Ireland celebrations
A VIDEO circulating on social media appears to show Sharlene Mawdsley taking part in an hilarious road race as part of Tipperary's All-Ireland celebrations. The Olympian has been relegated to the role of fan over the past few weeks as 4 If it isn't her it's some very, very fast blonde woman who also happens to be from Tipp Credit: X 4 The outfit would appear to match the one she wore to Monday's homecoming in Thurles Credit: @INPHOSPORTS 4 She'd never been to Croke Park before this summer Credit: Sportsfile 4 Breen was a candidate for Man of the Match against Cork in the decider But seemingly she showed off her own athletic ability as part of The video showcases 'Buggy' O'Meara, a former Tipp hurler, being given a sizeable not sizeable enough. It cuts out right as she's eating up ground on him but safe to say his lead didn't last long as evidenced by the laughter in the background. In the immediate aftermath of Sunday's triumph for the Premier, the 26-year-old had shared a few photos of her beau Breen. Read More On GAA Bursting with pride, she said: "Proud of you every day, but that little bit prouder today." That sense of pride was also one of the main points of emphasis Speaking post-match to "I want to take the opportunity as well, if you don't mind, to big shout out to my mam and dad at home. Most read in GAA Hurling "My mother probably has the rosary beads swallowed at this stage and my father probably has the cows milked three times with nervousness. "Just so thrilled for everybody. Supporters, the whole shebang. RTE GAA pundit embrace Tipperary captain Ronan Maher after his epic display toppled Cork in All-Ireland final "As I said leading into the All-Ireland: players win matches and managers lose them. "The reality of it is that everybody from county board, people in the supporters club and the various teams behind the set up that support us, that allow us to create a high performance environment, have just been superb. "The honesty of that group of players. I never doubted them. "I know we were all a bit sensitive after last year with what happened and some of the criticism was probably deserved at times. "But I knew the quality of these men and, once we got in among them and supported them better and got them back believing again, we would have a great opportunity of lifting the spirits of the Tipperary people. "They came here in their thousands today. I am just so happy." If that interview went off without a hitch, the same could not quite be said While reflecting with Thomas Niblock, the presenter host gestured him towards his players who were passing by in the background. When Cahill raised his arm in celebration, the players let out a massive roar before swarming their beloved boss and carrying him away with them.
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Brolly slams Cusack over 'most grotesque thing' after All-Ireland final loss
Joe Brolly has taken aim at Dónal Óg Cusack over the Cork players' strikes, saying they were "the most grotesque thing I've ever seen in my life as a GAA person". The former Derry player was reacting to the Rebels' shock All-Ireland final loss to Tipperary over the weekend when he brought up the strikes during the early 2000s. The first of the strikes in 2002 was over player welfare and rights, with manager Bertie Óg Murphy stepping down as a result, while in 2009, Gerald McCarthy stepped down as manager. Brolly, now based in Mayo, claimed there is a big difference between the Westerners' shortcomings in All-Ireland finals and what happened to Cork on Sunday. He said on his Free State Podcast: "This is different. This is carnage. This is a f***ing wasteland of dreams. The first thing the Cork players will be saying this morning, I think, will be... it will take them a while to come out of the numbness and genuine f***ing horror of this... will be what the f*** were our management doing? "So now you've got this dynamic of 'can we trust this management, is this management at the level that is required for us' and that of course is the road to disaster as well." Brolly went on to say that the Rebels 'have never recovered' from the strikes many years ago as he took aim at Cusack. "They were a team that were renowned as the Rebels throughout Ireland, they had given us some of the greatest hurlers that had ever played the game, they had great football teams and then all of a sudden they became like a trade union," he added. "Dónal Óg, the senior sort of trade union chair, shuttling in and out of meetings with the GAA." Dónal Óg Cusack (Image: ©INPHO/Oisin Keniry) He continued: "You'll recall the strike, which was just the most grotesque thing I've ever seen in my life as a GAA person, as a GAA volunteer. "So they reaped the devastation of that and the great Seán Óg (Ó hAilpín) has since spoken about his disappointment in himself that he went along with it. "So they got over that, they got through that very, very recently and now they've got this team playing like a Cork team and they've got everything going for them. "They've no individual weaknesses, brilliant free taker, I mean even their free taker ultimately melted down. Missed an easy free at the start of the second half that would have put them seven up. Where do they go from here?" Cusack previously told how he had no regrets over the strike in 2009, telling the Irish Examiner: "Gerald was doing his best - he wanted to do his best. 'He was a great Cork player, but we felt there was better management propositions out there. 'When it was becoming pretty apparent what was ahead of us, myself and John (Gardiner) said we need to go and talk to Gerald face-to-face and tell him what was going on. So, we told him the story, told him that the players didn't have confidence in him. 'Gerald made it clear to us that night that he wasn't going anywhere. 'We went back to our players and said, 'This is the choice that we have. What do you want to do?' 'I think it was unanimous that the players would go on strike. 'I regret anybody got hurt in it. I regret Gerald had to be in the position he had to be in, because the fight was between the players and the board, yet the board knew exactly what they were doing. 'But in terms of regretting what we did? The only regret I have is that we didn't give them half enough of it, that when we had our foot on their chests that we should have went all the ways." However, Ó hAilpín admitted in 2020 that he did have regrets over the strikes. "When I start looking in reflection, that is one thing I do regret, the casualties and the fact that people had to step down," he told The Sunday Game. "After that, the players got the demands that they were looking for. I don't think that strike would have been so highlighted if we didn't win; if we didn't back that up with the '04 and '05 wins, we would have been the laughing stock of the nation. At least those actions were justified. "It was bad enough going through one, then there was another one in 2007, which involved the hurlers and footballers. Life would have been much easier if we'd stopped at that. "Then, there was the worst one which was in '09. Probably, that's the one where there's still aftermath to this day. The biggest casualty out of that was Gerald McCarthy - probably one of, if not the greatest Cork great, having to step down." He added: "There's not a day goes by when I don't think back to then and what could have been done differently. "There's certain actions that in hindsight... I can't speak for other players at that time but I know that I would have said some stuff that in proper reflection that I was best to just keep my mouth shut. "My view is that you had one party, the playing group, who were looking to go one way, and you soon realise that the biggest power broker in that situation is the county board. They didn't want to go that way with us. They had their own ways about how the association should be run. "We were just going two poles apart completely. When you have two camps entrenched in their own beliefs, it was only going to lead to ringside tickets in Las Vegas. The aftermath was filthy, callous and cold."
