The best laid plans, and all that.
Today’s column was to be a reflection on Ireland’s tournament, a look at the players who shone, a tribute to those we might not see in an Irish shirt again and to those who will probably wear one for years to come. A take on the path ahead, but more than anything, a salute to the historic achievement of reaching this World Cup and how we showed we belong at that level.
So much for that.
Much as I’d love to ignore the latest sideshow – and there have been so many of them these past few weeks, the football has become an afterthought at times – it’s the story, unfortunately. With a heavy sigh, then, I’ll push that World Cup reflection to next Saturday and . . . ah look, where do I start?
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I’ll try at the beginning.
There is absolutely nothing unusual about a captain urging a manager to make changes during a game. It’s not some kind of act of defiance or disrespect, it’s commonplace, a standard enough interaction.
Often, the players can see more than the manager, they’re out there in the middle of it, scrapping for their lives, they sense when team-mates are running out of steam. And we were running out of steam. So Katie McCabe, as captain, was more than justified in asking for fresh legs.
But, as manager, Vera Pauw was justified too in standing her ground. “I am the coach,” as she said afterwards. While you would want her to listen to her captain, as manager, she makes the decisions. And that is her right.
So, at that point, it was all much ado about nothing. No drama, no need to overhype this one, move along.
But Vera and Katie are as headstrong as each other, so it’s what happened afterwards that made the headlines.
Still overhyped, still blown out of all proportion, but in the context of the uncertainty about Vera’s future as Irish manager, not surprising.
Vera overexplained herself in that press conference after the Nigeria game. But that’s her character, whatever comes in to her head, she says it. The naming of Sinead Farrelly was the issue. Whether Katie actually asked for Farrelly specifically to be taken off, we don’t know.
It could be that Vera interpreted her ‘request’ for fresh legs as a demand that Sinead be subbed. Again, we don’t know. But dragging Sinead in to it wasn’t wise.
Neither was that zipped-mouth emoji.
Kids and their phones these days.
The thing is, Katie is an emotional character. That’s why people love her, she wears her heart on her sleeve, and we don’t want to take that away from her because that’s part of what makes her the player, and leader, she is.
The people criticising her now would be the same ones who love her fieriness on the pitch, when she goes in for a tackle or does something reckless. ‘Ah, that’s passion,’ they’d say. She doesn’t hold back. On the pitch or, on this occasion, when she takes to Twitter.
Still, maybe someone should take her phone off her. Not wise.
I’ve found all this sideshow stuff draining when the focus should have been on the football, but I think this particular drama probably just confirms that Vera’s contract won’t be renewed. There’s definitely been a tension between her and her players, that’s been evident.
So many of these girls are playing at a high level now with their clubs and they’re ready to take the next step. But maybe they feel that won’t happen under Vera, that tactically we were a little bit underprepared in this World Cup, and substitution-wise, she got it really wrong in the last two games.
If the FAI had wanted to give her a new contract, it would have been done by now. There’s a long history of the association not listening to players, but it could be that they are now, and that the writing is on the wall.
If I was Vera, I’d probably just say ‘thanks for everything’ and slip away quietly. But who knows what will happen. The FAI just needs to stop faffing about – make a decision and announce it, it’s time for clarity.
Much has been made of the players not publicly supporting Vera. But I understand that. We don’t know what they know. If they voiced their views to the FAI, it certainly wouldn’t have been done without reason.
There hasn’t been anyone publicly looking to push Vera out. The girls have answered those difficult questions about her future diplomatically and cautiously, they’ve been respectful.
And all that through a build-up and tournament that I can only describe as . . . weird.
A strange sadness hung over the naming of the squad. Why wasn’t it a celebration? The process was too long, too drawn out. There was too much emotion attached to it. Yeah, football is an emotional game, but it’s your job as a manager to take the emotion out of it.
Look at England. Sarina Wiegman just gets it right. She gets on with it. When she named her squad, Maya Le Tissier was left out. That was a huge decision. But the players and media moved on from that quickly because they trust her and the decisions she makes. And there seems to be a warmth between her and her players and a high level of respect. And it’s clear that we don’t have that same dynamic.
Who knows what the FAI will do next. We’ll see. Vera will move on, or she’ll stay for another couple of years. Either way, they need to make up their minds. Now.
Enough of the sideshows. Sort it out. We need to be able to focus on the football again.
