Ken Early: Trap’s antics could cost us James McCarthy

Giovanni Trapattoni’s shoddy handling of James McCarthy is worrying as far as the future is concerned, writes Ken Early.

 

Ireland's win against Wales should have been about as satisfying as a friendly gets. Three good goals, three promising debutants, everything looking good for the qualifier against Macedonia at the end of March.

That the performance has been overshadowed by concerns over the international future of one of our best young players is largely the fault of Giovanni Trapattoni.

Having already lost a major talent in Stephen Ireland, and seen another good player in Andy Reid harshly exiled for a minor disciplinary incident that happened two and a half years ago, followers of the Ireland team are naturally anxious about seeing yet another quality player slip through our fingers.

Anxiety

In the case of McCarthy the anxiety is heightened by the knowledge that the player originally decided to play for Ireland because the Scottish youth set-up had overlooked him. Like many very talented players, he has a high opinion of himself and a streak of impatience. He wasn't prepared to wait around for Scotland to realise how good he was.

Taking stock of his career we can see that McCarthy's commitment to Ireland has been tested as few players' ever will be.

This season he was in the curious position of being omitted from the squads for the four Euro qualifiers Ireland have played even though he was the only Irish central midfielder commanding a regular place in a Premier League team.

The only explanation that made any kind of sense was that Trap disapproved of McCarthy's failure to turn up for the training camp in May (excuse: tiredness), and the manager had decided to send the player some kind of message.

McCarthy was again left out of the squad for the Wales game, with Trapattoni saying he was injured, but proved he was fit by playing for Wigan. He was then, unbelievably, called up to the U21 squad, before being hurriedly promoted to the seniors.

He played brilliantly for Wigan on Saturday, scoring two goals. Later that evening he again pulled out of the squad. Was he really unfit to play, or was he sending Trap a message of his own?

Given all this confusion it would calm everyone's nerves if the communication from the manager was clear and emphatic. Instead it has been muddled and filled with ominous hints.

On Sunday, at the FAI International Awards, Trapattoni said he was disappointed that the player had pulled out, said "maybe he is tired, maybe he is injured" and stated that players should be proud to play for their country.

On Monday, at the pre-match press conference, Trapattoni said he thought the player was committed to Ireland, but revealed he had not spoken to him for months and would not risk a personal meeting as the last time he went to meet a player face to face (Stephen Ireland), it was a disaster.

The faces being pulled by Giovanni Trapattoni weren't the only confusing things about his press conferences this week

On Tuesday, RTE's highlights of the match were followed by a discussion about McCarthy that might have left the viewer with the impression his Ireland career was hanging by a thread.

He said what?

On Wednesday morning, at the post-match press conference, Trap addressed the issue again.

Was he worried that McCarthy might rediscover his Scottishness? His response, verbatim: "James no. James know our position. James know how he like us, and he's 21 old. And I was players, Marco was players. In 21 olds, we was man. We take the decision. I don't wait my agent to tell me what to do. He can decide, free. He can decide. I like Scotland, he know.

“I like Ireland, he know. He has the possibility. 21. Many many players wait his agent. You decide, the agent. You decide! You decide. That is... he know what we think."

Now Trapattoni has introduced the unsettling idea that the player's agent might be making the decisions for him. Again, would the best way to establish clear communication with the player not be, well, to communicate with him directly?

"I already answer you. Two years ago, I spoke, I was in Manchester, I tried with another players. Yeah yeah, the player was like this, look down. We speak about... spoke more... his manager, his agent, yeah yeah the players. In fact this players, no coming with us.

Or another, I already said you, play in other country. He said, oh yeah, maybe, he wants insurance, he come, he play, play sure. Is no international player."

McCarthy criticism unfair

So now McCarthy is being compared to Stephen Ireland again, plus another of the granny-rule players Trap has attempted to entice, whose agent said he would only declare for Ireland if he was guaranteed a place in the team.

Does the player deserve this? Taking stock of his career we can see that McCarthy's commitment to Ireland has been tested as few players' ever will be. After he chose Ireland over Scotland he was forced to endure ceaseless abuse from Scottish fans who were disappointed with his decision.

His loyalty under that kind of pressure hardly puts him in the same category as Stephen Ireland, who blew up at a time when he was the toast of the nation, or some careerist who is happy to wear the green jersey but not a green substitute's tracksuit.

Trapattoni seemed irritated by the questions but it's his fault they're being asked. He has had ample opportunity to cap the player in a competitive match and decide the issue once and for all. If McCarthy had played so much as thirty seconds against Andorra, there would be no doubt and no questions.

Gibson case best kept in-house

There was still time for Trapattoni to reopen the debate over Darron Gibson's club career. Six months ago Trap ventured the opinion that to develop as a player, Gibson needed to move to a club where he would play regular football. It was an entirely legitimate and reasonable view. Gibson shot back that he was happy at Manchester United and would make his own career decisions. Maybe any further discussion on the subject would be best kept to the private arena.

Today, discussing Gibson's performance against Wales, Trap revisited the subject: "I expect from [Gibson] more. He can do more. He has big potential, his mentality. There was a polemica, one years half ago, if I was Gibson, I will go in other club, where I play always, continue, continue. With this you can build your mentality, your strength. Manchester is Manchester, obviously, it's important. But the young need play, play, play, play, play. He keep confident, he take confident. But potential is fantastic."

Trapattoni seemed irritated by the questions (about McCarthy) but it's his fault they're being asked.

Rather than publicly criticise Gibson's career choices, Trapattoni should act according to his stated principles and pick the player who is playing regularly for his club. That would mean handing McCarthy a competitive debut against Macedonia. If Gibson saw that he had been passed out by a younger player he might be forced to think more seriously about where his career is headed.

That decision would have the happy side-effect of ending the worries over McCarthy's international future for good. Yet it seems more likely that Trapattoni's conservatism will win out: he won't want to use an "unproven" player in a competitive match, even if the evidence of the Premier League suggests he's well able for it. Unfortunately it looks like the nonsense could drag on for some time.