The task of picking a squad of 20 for next month's World Youth Championship was, Gerry Smith admitted, one that gave him sleepless nights, but the fruit of his insomnia was revealed yesterday when the Republic of Ireland under-20 manager named the panel to travel to the United Arab Emirates later this month for the tournament.
There are just two changes from the squad originally picked by Brian Kerr in February, before the championship, scheduled for March, was postponed by FIFA because of the threat of war in Iraq. Sunderland's Mark Rossiter and Bray Wanderers' Eamon Zayed are the players to miss out.
Rossiter ruptured a cruciate ligament in April and won't play again this season, but Zayed's exclusion was greeted with dismay at Bray Wanderers yesterday.
"It's a shame," said Bray manager Pat Devlin. "I think everyone connected with the club, including the player himself, thought he would be in the squad because he was in the one in March - and since March he's just got better and better.
"We are quite upset about it, but it's a football decision and you just have to take these things on the chin. In a selfish way, it's great for Bray, because we'll have him for the rest of the season, but we would have sacrificed everything for the kid. It's a test you don't want a 19-year-old to have to take, but he won't be taking it on his own, we'll all help him out."
Smith, though, had already conceded that "the players who will be left behind will be as good as the players we'll take".
"I have tried to stay as close to the players who got us to the finals and I hope I've got it right," he said yesterday. "I know players will be disappointed, but I also hope they will understand that not everyone could be included. It was not an easy job. I have tried to pick the squad in the fairest way I could. We had a long list of contenders and it was not easy to leave anyone out."
Replacing Rossiter and Zayed are David Bell (Rushden and Diamonds) and Kevin Doyle, one of two Cork City representatives in the squad, the other being Liam Kearney. Stephen Paisley, a non-playing member of Longford Town's FAI Cup-winning squad last weekend, is the third home-based player to make the panel.
"It's a great honour for the club - we're thrilled and delighted for the two guys," said Cork City manager Pat Dolan. "We're very, very proud to be the biggest contributors to the squad from the Eircom League. The most important thing is that we have Irish professionals representing their country."
With the squad due to leave for the UAE on Thursday, November 20th, after which Cork City play their final two league fixtures of the season, Dolan expressed his hope that the league and the Football Association of Ireland would "get together to come up with a solution that's acceptable to Cork City".
"I think it would be very bizarre if we were penalised for developing young players and helping contribute to what should be a fantastic World Cup. How it's going to be handled regarding the fixtures has to be decided by the FAI. We certainly don't envisage a situation where we'll have to play with a weakened team."
Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy, meanwhile, expressed mixed feelings about Sean Thornton's selection for the squad. "Losing Sean isn't something I want in the middle of the season. I don't particularly want to lose first-team players but Sean will have to go. I have been on the other side of the argument, don't forget," he said, in reference to his tenure as Republic of Ireland manager.
"If someone gets called up, he is representing his country and he has to be proud to do that. He has to go and play, that's just the way it is, it isn't something I can refuse. But it will be more than a couple of weeks if he does go. It could be a month when you see the games they have got and take into account the preparations they will have to make beforehand. But if that happens, we will just have to get on with it."
Manchester City have the largest presence in the squad, with Paddy McCarthy, Willo Flood, Stephen Elliott and Glen Whelan (currently on loan at Bury) all included. Ireland open their World Youth Championship campaign against Saudi Arabia on November 29th, before meeting the Ivory Coast and Mexico in the group stages.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND UNDER-20 SQUAD: Henderson (Aston Villa), Murphy (Swansea City), Fitzgerald (Blackburn Rovers), Deane (Charlton), Kearney, Doyle (both Cork City), Ward (Kidderminster Harriers), Potter, Foley (both Liverpool), Paisley (Longford Town), McCarthy, Flood, Elliott (all Manchester City), Whelan (Manchester City, on loan at Bury), Brennan (Newcastle), Bell (Rushden and Diamonds), Capper (Scarborough), Kelly (Tottenham, on loan at Watford), Daly (Stockport County), Thornton (Sunderland).
