The Scotsman, the Englishman, and the Italian

Did you hear the one about a Scotsman, an Englishman, and an Italian?

They were all apparently in the running for the vacant Ireland job.

If the reports are true, then Billy Davies, Terry Venables, and Giovanni Trapattoni were all at one point considered for the job, with Giovanni Trapattoni seemingly coming out on top, with an expected appointment this Wednesday.

If this is the case, then I firmly believe that they are making the wrong decision in Trapattoni. Now let me make this clear, Trapattoni is an exceptional coach, his record speaks for itself. Yet, how much does he know about Irish players? His fellow Italian, Capello, brought up the fact that in the Premiership about 39% of the players are actually English! What does that mean for the amount of Irish players applying their trade in the Premiership?

With that in mind, Trapattoni will have to scour the Championship, and possibly lower, to be able to select the kind of squad he has in mind. The backbone of the side could possibly be made up from Premiership players. However, as far as squad members go, could you imagine Trapattoni at Bramall Lane on a cold spring afternoon watching Paddy Kenny in goal?

My mind boggles at the fact that Terry Venables was even considered for the position. This is a manager whose last successful stint in management was in 1996, whilst in charge of England, even then (as harsh as this may sound) failed to deliver on home soil.

Since then he has done virtually nothing, except maybe helping Middlesbrough avoid relegation, when Bryan Robson was in charge. The game has changed since then, and believe it or not has progressed further then some like to agree on. All you need to do is look back at Venables tenure at Leeds United to see that he is so far out of touch; the simple fact that some of the English media suggested Venables for England was laughable at best.

That leaves the Scotsman; Billy Davies as the last option. Okay, he didn’t fair too well in his limited time in the Premiership, yet the work he had done at Derby County and before that, Preston, was outstanding. The reason Derby struggled is because they were ahead of the timeframe that Davies had laid out, instead of reaching the Premiership in five seasons as Davies had planned, they reached it in just over one.

When you look back over Ireland’s history and pinpoint their most successful manager, only one really stands out above and beyond all others; Jack Charlton. This was someone who had not delivered any kind of results in ‘top flight’ management, yet he turned Ireland into a team who were difficult to beat, as Italy will testify.

Billy Davies could easily fit into the Jack Charlton type of mold; he also holds a vast amount of knowledge regarding the Premiership, Championship, and the game in Scotland.

Trapattoni could well and prove doubters (like me) wrong, time will only tell.

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