Aiden McGeady's two goals against Georgia will go a long way to winning over Irish fans...
The Republic of Ireland got their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign off to a winning start yesterday thanks to a 2-1 win away to Georgia and the man they have to thank for the three points is Everton winger Aiden McGeady. McGeady did something that Irish fans have been demanding from him for some time and that's end product.
The Scottish-born player possesses something that only a small percentage of players have, and that's the ability to beat a man. That's the part he's excellent at but what follows has been consistently inconsistent throughout his international and club career; not enough goals or assists.
However, if you look at his recent form, he may have turned a corner and last night could be a glimpse of a new potent Aiden McGeady. Here's his first goal against Georgia yesterday...
During his time with Ireland under Giovanni Trapattoni and Brian Kerr, McGeady scored just twice in 62 games, a poor return for a player with so much ability. However, his record under Martin O'Neill is encouraging as he's scored three times in eight games and we think his improvement is coinciding with the managers he's now playing under.
At international level, he has O'Neill who gave him his first chance at Celtic so there's obviously a relationship of trust and belief there while at club level Roberto Martinez has proved to be able to get the best out of players and the Irishman seems to be one of those reaping the benefits.
Simply put, McGeady is a unique talent but he's a confidence player and the two managers he's playing under at the moment have a special ability to instill confidence in players.
The task of getting into and staying in the Everton team this season should also bring him on. His competition for a place on the wings is from Steven Pienaar, Kevin Mirallas, Christian Atsu and Steven Naismith so he'll have his work cut out for him but in terms of ability, McGeady is as good, and probably a wee bit better than, any of those guys. He's made a decent start with a goal and an assist from three appearances, producing that vital end product we've all demanded of him.
McGeady still has a way to go to cement himself into the pantheon of Irish greats but at 28-years-old he seems to have found some stability following his adventure in Russia.
Everton are a club in the up, they play attractive, attacking football which suits McGeady's game so at last we may be about to see the potential that's been threatening to surface for a long time at both club and country level.
Sunday was a very, very good sign that we're set to see the best of Aiden McGeady now, and that is great news Ireland and Everton fans.
