Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson welcomes a 23-man squad into camp in Dublin on Monday that is worryingly low on game time in advance of the Nations League opener against beaten European finalists England at the Aviva Stadium next Saturday.
It is no secret that a gulf exists between the value of the modern Irish and English players. Nor should it come as a surprise to learn that the majority of Ireland players earning a living in England struggle each season to get into and stay in the Premier League.
This is nothing new. But it has got worse. Back on February 15th, 1995, a volcanic burst of violence by English fans in the West Upper stand of Lansdowne Road forced an international friendly to be abandoned after 26 minutes, with Ireland leading 1-0 from a David Kelly goal.
From Terry Venables’s starting XI that evening, only David Platt was not a Premier League regular, as the midfielder was in the last of his four seasons in Italy with Sampdoria. Ireland had eight top-flight players, with three – Alan Kelly (Sheffield United), Alan Kernaghan (Bolton Wanderers) and David Kelly (Wolverhampton Wanderers) – in the old First Division.
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The current Irish squad has 13 players at Premier League clubs but only six – Nathan Collins (Brentford), Matt Doherty (Wolves), Séamus Coleman (Everton), Will Smallbone (Southampton), Sammie Szmodics and Chiedozie Ogbene (both Ipswich Town) – have made a notable contribution in the opening three matches.
This number was four a week ago, but Coleman made a timely return to a struggling Everton outfit and Ogbene signed for Ipswich from Luton before the transfer deadline window. He dovetailed effectively on Saturday with Szmodics behind goal scorer Liam Delap in a 1-1 draw with Fulham.
Like Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, as well as Irish passport holders Jude Bellingham and Conor Gallagher, the son of former Ireland defender Rory Delap will be lost to Ireland if the 21-year-old features for the England under-21s this week.
That is how it goes in the 2020s.
Actual Irish players, Evan Ferguson (Brighton), Andrew Omobamidele at Nottingham Forest, Everton’s new signing Jake O’Brien, Caoimhín Kelleher and Mark Travers – the Liverpool and Bournemouth reserve goalkeepers – have amassed a grand total of zero Premier League minutes this season.
Doherty has never commanded a regular starting berth during his second coming at Wolves, while the uncapped Kasey McAteer cannot break into the Leicester City team.
It’s not all bad. Smallbone is established in the Southampton midfield, Collins is having a strong start to Brentford’s season and Dara O’Shea should find his feet under Kieran McKenna at Ipswich.
Ireland assistant coach Paddy McCarthy can provide first-hand information about the English players he coaches, with and against, at Crystal Palace.
Six English players – Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guéhi and Dean Henderson – started as the McCarthy-coached team held Chelsea 1-1 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Insider knowledge or not, interim England manager Lee Carsley has added to a star-studded group with an approximate value of €1.5 billion, in comparison to an Irish panel that is worth around €180 million.
Besides Celtic pair Liam Scales and Adam Idah, and former Tottenham striker Troy Parrott, who is plying his trade in Dutch football with AZ Alkmaar (no goals in four starts), the rest of the squad are at Championship clubs in the English second tier.
Increasingly, the Championship, and its gruelling 46-game season, has become the primary destination for Irish talent. It is where West Bromwich Albion midfielder Jayson Molumby, who is set to partner Smallbone against Kobbie Mainoo and Rice, scored his first of the campaign this weekend against Swansea City.
West Brom and Southampton professionals in combat with Manchester United and Arsenal men is the same as it ever was. Just like 29 years ago, when Aston Villa’s Andy Townsend and Sheffield Wednesday’s John Sheridan got stuck into a prime Paul Ince and Platt, until the wooden seats were broken and speared on to the Lansdowne pitch.
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