System and personnel just don't fit

WITHOUT knowing an awful lot about the Czech Republic it's safe to say that I'm fearful about today and fearful about the months and perhaps years ahead.

We are facing into a time when the team is changing drastically. We lack a lot of things we used to have. We have a series of tough friendlies before the World Cup campaign and I honestly think that we could end up playing Liechtenstein in August without a win under our belts in quite some time.

Mick has stayed with the three man central defence idea for today's game with the Czech Republic. I don't agree with him in his choice of system but I can understand what he hopes to achieve.

What the system gives is the chance to prolong Paul McGrath's career for a start. With young legs around him Paul can stay behind and as long as he isn't stretched he is like a magnet when players try to run past him. Mick is also looking to increase our attacking options. With only one recognised striker left he is hoping that the midfield will create more and push forward more.

The new system gives Mick a feeling of stability. He can look at the team and see that we are rigid and tough to play against. It marks the change of management too. New manager, new system.

There are reasons for playing the way Mick has chosen to but I would make the case for a return to 4-4-2 as soon as possible. The players have to dictate the system we use and looking at the players which Mick has available it seems to me that we are a 4-4-2 side.

Look at the three man central defence for a start. Even assuming that Paul McGrath survives another season or two we are one short in personnel there anyway. Who is going to play the right side? There really isn't anyone unless Mick asks Steve Staunton to move in there.

Roy Keane would be ideal, but that takes too much away from the midfield, so eventually it will probably be Staunton. No lesser player will do. If one of the three defensive players aren't up to it, it makes it tough for everyone. Instead of expressing themselves, the defenders end up practically holding hands.

All three players have to be comfortable on the ball. Look at what happened against Russia. Alan Kernaghan wasn't comfortable there. The system didn't work.

Now look at the full backs or as they are under this system the wing backs. We have so many. McAteer, Kelly, Irwin, Staunton, Phelan, Cunningham, Morris, Fleming, Kenna. If we play three at the back and just two wide men we leave most of these sitting on the bench while we suffer shortages elsewhere. It makes sense to me to use two full backs and two wide midfielders if that is what is mostly available.

What happens when things go wrong? You pick a natural full back instead of an attacking midfielder. You end up with perhaps Denis Irwin and Gary Kelly, two fine players, but what do they do? They tuck in like full backs so they can see the play and watch what's coming at them. You end up playing five at the back when that wasn't your intention.

It gets worse though. Up front we have nobody. We are getting hard pressed just to name somebody credible up front beside Niall Quinn.

Niall is tall and slow, so he negates the effectiveness of midfield players like Keane and Townsend who at club level can drive with the ball and then thread it through for a fast player who can turn quickly. For Ireland, they have to lay it wide for somebody to cross. If Niall is being tightly marked, as he usually is, his options are just a knock down or a header. When we go one down we are unlikely to win any game. It's a sad fact that stopping others playing is still our best method of attack at the moment.

I know Liverpool have played Mick's system and Villa have played it. It gives them a platform to get players forward. That suits them ideally. Liverpool have Collymore, McManaman and Fowler up front. Villa have Yorke, Milosovic and Johnson. They are all fast and creative players, the sort that the system is designed for.

We are just short of being able to play the way Mick wants. It reminds me of when I was playing. We had Brady, O'Leary, Whelan, Stapleton, myself and one or two others. After that it was honest players who we had to make do with at international level. We were always just a few short of being a good side.

There are other problems. There has been complete mismanagement of the under-21s for 10 years. The future will be frustrating for our top players. Staunton, Keane, Irwin, Babb, McAteer, McGrath. If they are going to be successful with their clubs their availability is going to be reduced. They will have to be patient.

Now that Mick has had a while in the job, and the honeymoon period is over, I'm sure he's come back from the Russian game and thought "oh dear". He has a tough job in papering over the cracks left after the Charlton era.

I'm not including the American tournament in my thoughts here - that is a getting-to-know-you affair, players away with their manager for the first time. The players need to learn and the public need re-educating too. Teams aren't going to come to Lansdowne and get rolled over.

The bright side? Kennedy did some things against Russia that you just can't coach. He was a disaster defensively and yet he is possibly our only player who can go past players. It's a lot to ask, however. He will need a long run in the team and the constant arm on the shoulder from the manager.

Kennedy is coming from central league football to being asked to play a key role at international level. Alan Moore has made a similar journey. That sums up the problems of our situation.

We have a reasonable foundation. My team on a good day would include Kelly in goal. Kelly and Irwin as full backs. McGrath and Babb in the middle of defence. Keane and McAteer around Townsend in midfield to prolong Andy's career. Staunton on the left and Quinn up front. That's a nucleus if we can prolong a couple of careers.

I think, because of the position he plays, Paul will last longer than Andy. Niall is going to be first choice striker, but in an ideal world he'd be one of four available. We need a fast, goal-scoring striker, a playmaker who can hold up the play a bit, another central defender and a couple of midfielders. In the long term, too, we have to play 4-4-2. I think a U-turn is inevitable. Sooner rather than later.

It shouldn't be a big deal for Mick to change his mind. The one thing we can learn from the end of the Jack Charlton era is that you need to be flexible to survive.

In the meantime there isn't a whole lot to look forward to this afternoon except another hard lesson.