No standout figure harming Irish soccer

With the men’s Six Nations now out of the way, the full sporting limelight will be afforded to the Republic of Ireland football team this week as they attempt to successfully navigate a Nations League play-off with Bulgaria.

John Delaney certainly had his detractions as CEO of the FAI, but he was correct when he said the Irish football team was the biggest show in town. Nothing else moves the needle quite like the the senior men's team, as was evidenced in the warmth and affection shown towards the heroes of Italia 90 during their get-together last weekend at Aras an Uachtarain in the company of President Michael D Higgins.

The Irish football team still retains that central role in Irish sporting life, but its ability to grab a hold of the attention and keep it is no longer as strong as it was. Worse still, there seems to be an apathy amongst the sporting public towards the team now.

Heimir Hallgrimsson’s squad announcement last week generated very little in the way of optimism or excitement - fair enough, says you, when they are preparing for a play-off to avoid relegation to League C - and it’s worrying with a World Cup campaign on the horizon.

Given the current state of affairs, can Ireland harbour any hope of making the World Cup next year?

Given the difficulty in qualifying for the competition from a European perspective - 16 teams will advance to the finals next year - it’s difficult to make the case for Ireland, especially when they have failed to qualify for the much more forgiving European Championships in both 2020 and 2024.

Ireland are likely to feature at Euro 2028 by way of being a host and given automatic entry but beyond that, the horizon is bleak enough for our national team.

One has to wonder, how has it come to this?

The atmosphere surrounding the national team is as bad as it has been in a couple of generations.

Last Friday night’s reaction from the League of Ireland matches largely focused on comments from Stephen Bradley and Damien Duff, who were both questioned about their willingness to meet with Heimir Hallgrimsson. The Irish manager extended an olive branch last week, off the back of his comments suggesting players need to leave the domestic league to make it into his squad.

Duff’s response was dismissive of the possibility and the former Ireland international - who has 100 caps - says that he is worried about the state of Irish football.

“I only found out the other day it’s Bulgaria home and away,” he told the media after Shelbourne’s 1-all draw with Cork City.

“I’m not sure what it means. It’s a playoff. I don’t know. That’s just the mood and the energy on the streets.

“I’m not talking about the FAI here. I’m talking about Irish football. It’s so so worrying. I asked a good friend the other day ‘do you want to go to the game?’ And he laughed at me.” It’s a neat summation of the current mood towards the national team here. While the League of Ireland is thriving by its own standards, the national team has slipped down the ladder in terms of importance in the public consciousness.

We spoke in this column last week about the importance of roles models in our Gaelic Games, and in rugby there’s a plethora of stars for young players to look up to around the country.

But when it comes to our young players out on the soccer pitches from week to week, the national team is lacking a standout figure on which to pin our hopes and expectations.

Gone are the days of a leading figure like Roy Keane, Robbie Keane or Damien Duff. Seamus Coleman isn’t part of the current squad, and his days in the green shirt are coming to an end, so we really are shorn of players of star quality with a big reputation.

Evan Ferguson is perhaps the one to fill the void in the coming years, but he too has struggled to catch fire this season having fallen out of favour at Brighton. He is now attempting to reinvigorate his season on loan at West Ham.

In terms of inspiration over the last decade, there has been nothing of note for the soccer public to cling onto. Cross channel, Wales are a prime example of having had a great run on the international stage (reaching the Euro 2016 semi-finals and competing at the 2022 World Cup) and of having a major star in the world game (Gareth Bale).

The result?

In 2022, surveys showed that, for the first time, more people followed the Welsh football team as opposed to their rugby team.

Ireland is a long way off that right now, and murmurs of discontent amongst League of Ireland clubs about plans the FAI has for coaching of young players does not bode well for the future. In such a small country, everything has to be joined together but there does appear to be something of a disconnect - and discontent too - amongst factions of the footballing community.

In many ways, Heimir Hallgrimsson’s job is a nigh-on impossible one. He occupies the biggest job in Irish sport, but everyone recognises the low base from which he is coming from. The expectation for the team is not very high at the moment, but surely retention of their Nations League status this week is a bare minimum.

Anything less would leave things in a poor state and with even less room for optimism heading into another World Cup qualifying campaign.