The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) need a win tonight against Greece as much as their new manager Heimir Hallgrímsson and the put upon players.
The association’s cash balance at the end of 2023 was €1.6 million, down from €10.9 million in 2022, as the annual general meeting on Saturday will explain, to service a legacy debt that currently stands at €43.2 million.
These figures should not directly impact a Nations League fixture where Ireland seek to avoid a third defeat to Greece inside 15 months, but the debt explains why Irish football is knee deep in a decade of austerity.
A lack of professional coaching for young talent and the failure to recruit British-born footballers was brought home by Declan Rice and Jack Grealish goals in the 2-0 loss to England on Saturday.
It could have been worse. Ireland, with 29 per cent possession, were blessed that the reflexes of Caoimhín Kelleher have not been dulled by another season as Liverpool reserve goalkeeper.
The FAI are desperate for a result because full houses like Saturday and tonight – many of the 50,000 tickets were sold as a bundle – is what keeps the lights on in Abbotstown. Match related income last year was €18.9 million.
If Hallgrímsson’s inherited squad is to avoid repeating the failings of Stephen Kenny’s 40 games in charge, which included back-to-back losses at the start of the 2022 World Cup, the Nations League and Euro 2024 qualification campaigns, then the 58th ranked nation in the world must overcome the 54th.
Otherwise, the visit of Finland to Dublin in November will prove a tough sell.
It is a disservice to Ivan Jovanovic’s Greece that only four places in the Fifa rankings separate them from Ireland.
“In terms of the Irish public thinking – ‘Ah, it’s Greece’ – when you actually delve into where their players are playing, the profile of their players, it’s a really hardened, experienced team,” warned assistant coach John O’Shea.
Ireland fell well short of reaching the Euros in Germany last summer but Greece, then under Gus Poyet, went toe-to-toe with France and twice beat Ireland before losing a play-off, on penalties, to an excellent Georgia side.
On Saturday, they took Finland apart, winning 3-0 after a brace from Fotis Ioannidis and the latest star turn by Liverpool left back Konstantinos Tsimikas.
Anastasios Bakasetas and Dimitrios Pelkas in the Greek midfield will embrace the challenge of Rice and Grealish at Wembley next month. They probably see Ireland as a soft touch, technically inferior to a group largely spread across the Turkish super league and their own domestic competition.
Victory, as O’Shea hinted, may be beyond a limited Irish squad with results trending downward at an alarming rate. Beating Scotland 3-0 at the Aviva in June 2022 was a blip. As Malachy Clerkin highlighted recently, it’s the only win from 21 outings since 2012 against countries ranked above them.
The goal difference is worse. Nine scored, 45 conceded.
If the performance against England matters, Matt Doherty and Adam Idah should be dropped, and arguably replaced by Chiedozie Ogbene at wing back and Troy Parrott.
Another glaring issue is how unprepared Hallgrímsson has been for this international window, repeatedly branding his role as a learning brief, even letting O’Shea pick the squad and the FAI asked Uefa for a dispensation to allow an assistant fill the prematch duties of the manager.
“The manager has plenty of knowledge of the players,” said O’Shea. “I am the assistant coach, the number two to the boss, the manager has plenty of knowledge.”
Maybe so, but media messaging matters. Take the fitness of Evan Ferguson. Inching back from an ankle injury that denied the teenager any game time for Brighton since March, Hallgrímsson gave him the last eight minutes against England.
Afterwards, the manager indicated that it would be October before the striker makes a real impact. That was late Saturday night. Come Monday morning, O’Shea was declaring Ferguson “fit to start.”
When it was pointed out that the boss had indicated otherwise, O’Shea replied: “Technically, is he available to start? Yes.”
One voice is needed.
By all accounts, from inside the camp, Hallgrímsson’s voice was heard during numerous meetings over the past seven days.
“We’re an open group and willing to learn and trying to take everything on board,” said Kelleher.
“Hopefully by October we’ll be a bit more prepared and have more of an understanding of what the manager wants us to do, and yeah it’s also about getting the results, that’s important. We’ll be more prepared in October.”
Ireland (Possible): Kelleher (Liverpool); Ogbene (Ipswich Town), O’Brien (Everton), Collins (Brentford), O’Shea (Ipswich Town), Scales (Celtic); Molumby (West Bromwich Albion), Smallbone (Southampton), Knight (Bristol City); Szmodics (Ipswich Town), Parrot (AZ Alkmaar).