SOCCER: While Scotland and Wales complete their preparations for European play-off second legs tonight, last month's defeat in Basel means that Brian Kerr must settle for bringing yet another televised talent show to Irish television screens.
The Ireland manager maintained yesterday that beating the Canadians will be the main priority at what will probably be a half-full Lansdowne Road but the reality is that he and the rest of the FAI are about to embark on their very own version of You're A Star.
Needless to say they'll be hoping that tonight's meeting with a low profiled Canadian side and the friendlies still being organised for the new year produces more by way of genuine star quality than RTÉ's take on the format. But if the likes of Andy Reid and Liam Miller provide evidence during Ireland's next few games that they are ready to make the step up to international football, and one or two of the existing squad can establish themselves more firmly, then by the summer Kerr and the rest of his management team are likely to resemble pop promoters that have just discovered the next big boy band.
Kerr's immediate problem is how to strike the right balance between presenting the newer faces with the opportunity to prove themselves and the established guard with the chance to show that last year's World Cup finals rather than the more recent qualification campaign was the truer reflection of their capabilities. When the manager announces his team for tonight's game we will get the strongest indication yet of the pace at which he anticipates tackling the process of change.
With central midfield having perhaps been the source of Kerr's greatest difficulties in the later part of the recent campaign Miller's absence from the game comes as a blow. In the young Corkman's absence, though, Graham Kavanagh will start while both Andy and Steven Reid as well as Stephen McPhail have been told that they will get a run-out at some stage of the evening.
Robbie Keane, Damien Duff and Shay Given are amongst the bigger names likely to start, Matt Holland is expected to play alongside Kavanagh in the centre of the field and, judging by Kerr's remarks yesterday, Clinton Morrison is set to return to the attack.
In defence Kenny Cunningham will be back to captain the side and Steve Carr looks the most obvious candidate for the right-back position but there must be a question mark over John O'Shea's involvement at the outset given that he has stitches in a shin injury suffered in Manchester United's recent premier league game against Liverpool.
If the 22 year-old is to be rested then Richard Dunne will presumably get another opportunity to prove that he is capable of making a major contribution to the Irish set up. The Manchester City defender has repeatedly raised his game in the past when handed responsibility on the international stage but is dogged by questions regarding his commitment and discipline at club level. A strong performance tonight would strengthen his chances of re-establishing himself somewhat higher in the pecking order when the competitive games start to come around again in the middle of next year and the likes of Gary Breen, O'Shea and Andy O'Brien are fully fit and available.
Rory Delap may well get his start under Kerr, with the Southampton midfielder the latest player to audition for Ireland's increasingly problematic slot on the right side of midfield. With Steven Reid at right back in the Blackburn first team of late and Andy Reid's emergence having the potential for Kerr to use Damien Duff elsewhere, there may be more options by the time the next qualification campaign gets under way than there seemed to be in Switzerland last month, but Delap's industry and versatility is something that my well prove useful during the year ahead.
Morrison looks set to earn his 14th cap this season and, given the strength of the opposition, he may well end up adding to his current tally of five goals for his country. At club level, however, his problems appear to be mounting with his chances of first team football seeming to grow increasingly faint. The former Crystal Palace striker has insisted that he will stay and battle for his place, but if he fails to do so by the end of this season it may be better that he continues his development elsewhere.
On the face of it this will be a low key contest against opponents who have already lost five friendly games against European sides this year. Kerr's insistence, however, that he is squad building for a more demanding future has clearly lent some importance to the fixture with Kavanagh, for one, making it clear yesterday that he sees tonight's match as crucial to his future.
"I'm 29 now," he said, "and people may think that if I was going to do it at international level then I would have done it a long time ago, but I feel that my game has developed a lot over the last few years. I've played with good players and I think I'm better than I've ever been before but I know how important it is that I impress.
"For some people it may not seem like that important a game but if it doesn't happen for me in this one then I don't know how many more chances there are going to be. Basically, I can't afford to be holding back. I need to establish myself at this level and I really can't wait for tomorrow night."
If even all of the other talent show contestants feel as strongly it mightn't be such a bad night after all.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given (Newcastle Utd), Carr (Tottenham), Cunningham (Birmingham City), Dunne (Manchester City), Harte (Leeds Utd); Delap (Southampton), Kavanagh (Cardiff City), Holland (Charlton Ath), Duff (Chelsea); Morrison (Birmingham City), Keane (Tottenham).
CANADA: Hirschfeld (Tottenham); Bernier (Moss FK), deVos (Wigan Athletic), Dasovic (Vancouver Whitecaps), Hastings (Graz AK); Stalteri (Werder Bremmen), McKenna (Hearts), Imhof (St Gallen), Jazic (Rapid Vienna); Radzinski (Everton), Peschisolido (Sheffield Utd).
Referee: M Whitby (Wales).
