“SOMETIMES you need a bastard in your team.”
These are the words of the new Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrímsson, who hasn’t held back on what he wants his team to look like on and off the pitch.
He thinks we’ve gone soft; a wee bit too nice. And that’s not a trait associated with the Ireland of old. Johnny Giles, Kevin Moran, Roy Keane, Paul McGrath.
As we know, Jack Charlton led Ireland’s rise in the late 80s and early 90s. The style of play was derided but most fans weren’t bothered.
For one, we were finally qualifying for major tournaments and for two, opponents hated us. Charlton’s mantra was put ‘em under pressure and boy did it work.
But Jack’s tactics weren’t only for the field of play.
Off the park, Charlton dove headfirst into recruiting from the Irish diaspora.
If a player had a hint of green about him, Big Jack gave his family tree an almighty shake to see if an emerald fell out.
Maybe it’s because I’m an Irish Londoner
The diaspora, I’m part of it. Hammersmith born; Greenford raised; summers spent in Mayo and Sligo. I’m nothing but Irish blood.
My two best mates at school, Ciaran who turned a lowly Chiswick Youth side into the Barcelona of west London and Brendan who the FAI need to sort out their finances, are the same. None of us feel English despite living all our days here.
I was a decent schoolboy footballer. I spent my best years at Greenford Celtic – even represented the Borough of Ealing – but when you’ve got the pace of a snail you get left behind. Sure enough, I watched as my peers got snapped up by the QPRs and Luton Towns, and my goal of turning pro faded.
When your dreams of football end there’s only one thing a devastated young man can do. Move to Canada to teach kayaking. With mighty forearms I returned to west London two years later with a brand-new plan. Can’t play football - no worries, I’ll write about it instead.
I fetched up at the offices of The Irish Post office for some work experience. I floundered awhile in news, but when Ronan Early landed in from Cork to take the sports editor role, I became a permanent pain in his ear. To shut me up, I think, Ronan handed me a Premier League media pass and a weekly column in the paper. I was in.
The boys in green
Press pass in hand, I began to carve a little niche for myself. On matchdays, when formal interviews were over, I’d seek out a team’s Irish players for an informal chinwag. I’d always make a point of asking which of their teammates were eligible for Ireland.
As my contacts book grew, I filled my weekly column and, in my mind at least, I was doing the old country a solid.
I soon connected with the then U-21 manager Noel King, whose squads were littered with second and third generation talent, like Jack Grealish and Declan Rice, and we got into a groove. I’d throw Noel regular tips and he would connect to those players, their parents and their agents to pop the question.
I was made up. With my career taking off and contacts book filling up, I got new opportunities with the nationals and began commentating for my beloved QPR. A quick aside, I was finally able to uncover why Kevin Gallen didn’t play for Ireland via his big bro Steve. It’s a fun ride but another story for another time.
Let’s make this official
In January 2019 I received my own version of the call up. By then I’d been sending King eligible players for six years, the latest - West Ham youngster Marcus Browne. King responded stating he’d made contact with the player's agent and then asked if I’d consider being an official FAI talent spotter.
A later phone call confirmed it wasn’t a paid position. Hmm. Sure, I’d get comp tickets and an official FAI jacket, but it wasn’t going to do much for my bank balance. No matter, I said, I was game. Navigating through football was often a battle, and this still felt like a move up the ranks.
With King’s blessing, I announced my new role on Twitter. Kudos poured my way from readers, fans and even other journalists. But the party didn’t last …
See, change was afoot at the FAI.
The organisation had been quietly but very determinedly dismantling Liam Brady’s UK scouting system; set up under Giovanni Trapattoni. Chief scout Don Givens and lieutenants Mick Martin and Gerry Murphy had been canned, and only Mark O’Toole – he who discovered Rice and Grealish – would stay in position.
Mick Martin had been earning 20,000 Euro a year as a scout. Noel King had to deliver Martin the bad news just before Christmas 2018: the FAI were restructuring and would Mick Martin do the job for expenses?
He declined, and a related Rob Brennan Tweet made national headlines.
Not impressed
My next exchange with Noel King had a different tone. My Twittering hadn’t gone down well. With the whole story now playing out in the Irish press, King suggested we go back to the previous arrangement. Send me players but nothing official, right?
Enter Paul Rowan from The Times. He’d seen my Tweet, he knew the craic at the FAI and knew salaried scouts were on borrowed time. Paul had been onto the powers-that-be and was keen to speak to Rob Brennan the Talent Spotter.
I initially declined to comment but after more confusing and contradictory phone calls with insiders, I called Paul back. For years I’d tried to help the system but it felt like this whole thing was unravelling. I expected better. I was done.
The whole thing turned into a circus and later that year the conductors got rumbled. Paul Rowan and Mark Tighe exposed financial irregularities at the top of the FAI and the duo’s book Champagne Football lays out very well our nation’s struggle in soccer these past few years.
The affair led to the resignation of John Delaney in September 2019. Noel King left his role as Player Identification Manager in 2020. As for Rob Brennan, I cut ties with the FAI. And with Twitter.
The system’s dead (long live the system)
Granny rule players have dried up for Ireland in recent years. It’s not like the glory days. Sure, hope remains – Leicester City winger Kasey McAteer might debut against his country of birth on Saturday – but Ireland are still miles off-course.
So much so that current England manager, Lee Carsley, has a granny from Cork, was back there for family reunion this summer and has 40 Ireland caps to his name.
Carsley was the front runner to become Ireland manager but opted to stick with England. He’d had some pervious with the FAI since hanging up his playing boots.
Back in 2014 Carsley and his old Irish teammate Kevin Kilbane were approached by the then FAI Technical Director, Rudd Dokter, to see if they would be interested in developing the next crop of underage talent.
Kilbane flew to Dublin, the wise Carsley had his chat over the phone. John Delaney wanted two former players with 150 caps combined to do the work for free! They declined.
So no shock that Carsley has ended up with England. They do after all have a dedicated department charged with recruiting and nurturing dual national players.
Carsley’s squad to face Ireland last weekend was mainly built of players from Anglo-Irish / Scottish / Caribbean and African backgrounds. Those boys had options - but chose to play for King and Country.
It’s not just England, coaxing eligible players is now an international slugfest. Poland have two staffers in Scotland scouting the next Lewandowski. Albania showed up to the recent Euros with eight homegrown players and a slew of internationals discovered thanks to an algorithm.
The Welsh FA have nearly 40 full-timers keeping tabs on international maybes. Ethan Ampadu, son of former Ireland Under 21 international Kwame is one they capped for their senior team aged 17. He’d previously played for England at youth level.
Jack Coles, Head of Recruitment at Lincoln City, moonlights as a recruiter for the African nation of Guinea-Bissau.
His strategy: browsing Football Manager on the PC. Coles has drafted in players plying their trade throughout the world with their most recent 25-man squad containing players performing for clubs in 16 different countries including France, China and Portugal. Wouldn’t you know it, Guinea-Bissau have qualified for the last four African Cup of Nations, having missed the prior 30.
The English FA have also got him on their books as a casual FA Talent Indentification Level 2 tutor.
Talentspotting 2.0
If Hallgrímsson is hellbent on finding his ‘bastard’, and surrounding that bastard with talent that can drive Ireland back to the world stage then the FAI needs to put on its gloves. We need to join other nations in the fight for talent. As is, we’re on the ropes. We’ve all-but thrown the towel in.
In a spiritual sense, fighting back should come easy. Fight is in our DNA. But we also need to box clever.
With the FAI set to appoint a new Head of Talent ID, as I wrote after Shane MacGowan’s death, Ireland can’t any longer rely on nostalgia and heartstrings and dreamy dreams of the emerald isle to get players on board and committed.
This time it’s going to cost. The FAI needs to search its soul and decide how much it is willing to invest in talent spotting 2.0.
Things have changed.
That said, I still bleed green. Like always, I’m happy to help. You won’t find me on Twitter, or X whatever that is, instead try the Lower School End of Loftus Road on matchdays.
And by the way, QPR’s left-footed centre half Jake Clarke-Salter - he’s keen to go green. Youth star Harry Murphy - his dad is his ticket to an Irish passport.
Just sayin’.
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