New Manager but same old problems for the Republic of Ireland

Author: Liam Lacey, Last Updated: 18.09.2024

A new era for the Republic of Ireland international football team began on Saturday as new manager Heimir Hallgrimsson took charge for the first time, for two games in the UEFA Nations League against England and Greece. Unfortunately for the former Iceland and Jamaica boss the same issues that faced his two predecessors John O’ Shea and more obviously Stephen Kenny have remained, with no obvious signs that the problems that have dogged the Irish team for a few years can be fixed any time soon.

New Boss, Same old Problems

The worries for the new boss appeared to start very early on after he alluded to having more of a watching brief for the games against England and the Greeks, appearing to suggest that assistants John O’Shea and Paddy McCarthy would be the heavy lifters for his first camp as Ireland boss as opposed to him getting started straight away in his new job.

A disappointing performance and result against England, although to be fair we wouldn’t really have expected anything else but a defeat against the old enemy was compounded by yet another sub-par showing against a Greek side that is starting to become something of a bogey team for the Irish. Fans and pundits alike would have expected a better performance and result from the Irish side against Greece last Tuesday, but instead the failings of the last reign were all too evident once more.

The first half against the Greece appeared to be decent from an Irish side quite clearly lacking in any confidence. A Chiedoze Ogbene cracker was rightfully ruled out for offside before some nice play from Szmodics, Ogbene and Smallbone created half a chance for Alan Browne who skied his shot from the edge of the area.

This Irish side has developed an unwanted habit of conceding early second half goals as well as goals from outside the box however, and just five minutes after the restart both things happened once again. A shot from Greek striker Fotis Ioannidis from just outside the area was inexplicably not closed down by either Nathan Collins or Dara O’ Shea and the Greeks were 1-0 up, and that sinking feeling once again reverberated around the Aviva Stadium.

The opening goal seemed to have the opposite effect on the Irish players than that of team looking to impress their new boss and impose themselves on their opponents to try and get back into the match. Instead, the Greeks took control of the game knowing that counter attacking opportunities would present themselves as the Irish meekly pushed for an equaliser. One such counter-attack chance presented itself to the Greeks in the 87th minute and it was dispatched expertly by Christos Tzolis and that was that, Ireland would lose once again at home, their fourth consecutive competitive home defeat, an unwanted record for an Irish side.

Did the new regime do anything Differently?

As has been already mentioned the new boss had said that O’ Shea who was a part of Stephen Kenny’s failed regime and McCarthy were the main men in charge for this international break, and unfortunately that was quite clear from the two performances.

A surprisingly open 5-2-2-1 against the English was replaced by a 4-4-1-1/ 3-5-1-1 against the Greeks but much like under Stephen Kenny reign and John O Shea’s four matches in charge there was little in terms of structure and plan to be applauded.

The lack of a coherent attacking threat that has plagued Irish teams for a long time was still on show, as was the susceptibility to counter attacks and the inability to close down shots from range.

Players that have not performed in an Irish shirt for quite some time were picked again even though there seemed to be better options on the bench during both games, something that you would have expected a new boss to have done their research on and perhaps tried to put his own stamp on the starting eleven.

Any Positives?

As disheartening as the opening two games of Hallgrimsson’s reign were, there were a couple of positives to take away from this international break for the manager and Irish fans. Sammie Szmodics showed enough during the two games to suggest that he could be a key player for us, if we can get an attacking plan that can bring the best out of him. He has earned his big move to the Premier League and hopefully he can perform for Ipswich as they look to make their mark in the EPL.

The arrival of Leicester City’s Kasey McAteer onto the Irish scene is another welcome boost for the new manager as wide attackers are not something the Irish have many of, and the addition of another Premier League player can never be taken for granted.

In Conclusion

If the new manager didn’t already know the magnitude of the job he has, he surely does now after his first games in his new role. Qualifying for European Championships or World Cups is the goal for any Irish manager, but Hallgrimsson has already mentioned that the Irish jersey appears to weigh heavy on certain individuals.

It’s his job now to lighten it, lets hope he can do it.

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