Ireland's deficiencies in midfield could partly be a legacy of the Jack Charlton era.. He wanted his players to bypass midfield and that approach was copied at different levels in Ireland for far too long.
He's fond of social media and Gary Lineker was trigger happy on a Thursday evening over three years ago. It was England's non-event of a World Cup qualifier against San Marino that sparked him into action.
There were competitive games with England in the past where the teams faced each other as equals, but those days are well behind us now. It's not as if Ireland aren't producing players. Even though Caoimhin Kelleher isn't playing regularly for Liverpool and Gavin Bazunu is injured, both are real talents who will enjoy long careers.
But, in recent times, the well had run dry in the engine-room. A very ordinary player like James McCarthy was talked up, but never delivered. Ireland did better than expected, and that led to coaches here at different levels aping the Charlton approach. Hallgrímsson has a reputation as a pragmatic coach and it will be interesting to see how he sets up the team.
Carsley's England really impressed when winning the European Under-21 Championships, and he has the strength of character to embrace this new challenge.
FAI Eamon Dunphy Jack Charlton Heimir Hallgrimsson John O'shea Lee Carsley Republic Of Ireland National Football Team Republic Of Ireland Football Team Republic Of Ireland Soccer Team
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