The Irish entered the game trailing the Swiss by a point for the second and final qualifying spot from the group. And given that group leader Russia was playing out-of-contention Georgia in Moscow at the same time, it was clear that nothing less than a victory would get Ireland into the cup competition proper.
But, alas, it wasn’t to be. And now Ireland will have to settle for a year of international friendlies before qualifiers begin for the 2006 World Cup. Thin gruel indeed for the serious fan, but an opportunity nonetheless for manager Brian Kerr to evaluate talent and begin the painstaking job of piecing together a team capable of — dare we say it? — advancing deep into the next World Cup, which will be held in Germany.
Kerr’s honeymoon period with Ireland is officially over with this, his first loss. He is, of course, fully absolved of blame for his team’s failure to qualify. The team’s two losses under Mick McCarthy’s stewardship at the start of the campaign left the new manager with a Sisyphus-like task of pushing a player pool freighted with question marks to the top a mountain only to have it roll back under its own weight. Such was the futility of the task he faced.
From now on, though, Kerr’s action will be much more closely scrutinized. Already, in fact, some observers have questioned his personnel decisions against Switzerland. In the months ahead, the quality of the players he chooses and the manner in which he uses them will be thoroughly debated from bar stools on both sides of the Atlantic.
At one level, Kerr may be held to a higher standard than his predecessor, the seed of whose downfall, simply put, was his inability to get one of the world’s best players onto the pitch for the world’s biggest tournament. That Kerr has a defter touch with people than McCarthy is not surprising, given his success with Ireland’s youth squads. But as he moves forward, he will also be dealing increasingly with those same players whom he’d coached to two European championships and one World Cup final. Fans will be expecting similar results. And who can blame them?
The spotlight is on Kerr. The glare can be a harsh one. Ole, ole, ole!