COLUMN: Patience or the patient might die
Published in the Meath Chronicle that printed and in the shops on Tuesday evening 30th March (before the game against Qatar)
Maybe we have to wait for a player like Darragh Lenihan from Dunboyne to claim a regular spot in the Republic of Ireland starting 11 before we will see any real progress?
Maybe that's just a parochial view from the Royal County?
Maybe not and maybe the aforementioned Dunboyne man will get an opportunity at some stage to make an impact on the international stage?
Like lots of things in Ireland - there are usually two contrasting views with both claiming to be right and not much co-operation in the mix?
For example, there are two types of soccer supporter in Ireland - wouldn't it be much better if they were united.
Not all followers of the Republic of Ireland (can't classify them all with the 'supporter' badge) are supporters of the clubs in the League of Ireland.
One group was and is always eager to knock Stephen Kenny's appointment as manager - that group has lots of ammunition at the moment.
The results and performances of the international team provided plenty of fuel for that debate over the past few days.
The League of Ireland supporters can sometimes portray themselves as the only followers of 'real football' as they call it.
The supporters who have an affinity solely with English clubs can sometimes feel that they are the only ones who appreciate and understand what 'real football' is.
Each to his / her own.
One thing that both sides will definitely agree on is that it was painful watching the game between the Republic of Ireland and Luxembourg on Saturday evening.
The one saving grace, if that's the right term, is that it was in an empty stadium - maybe a packed Aviva would have seen a hard-earned win for the the boys in green, maybe not.
Even if Ireland had won, you can bet the calls for change would have persisted, something along the lines of the team not playing attractive football, that sort of thing.
The 'Stephen Kenny out' brigade was in full flow long before the final whistle on Saturday night following what was a dreadful result against Luxembourg in the FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign.
That defeat, off the back of what was a commendable performance against Serbia in the midweek encounter in Belgrade, had the social media platforms buzzing.
To take the calls for 'Stephen Kenny out' to the next stage - and to utilise a phrase from that old BBC quiz 'A Question Of Sport' - it would be reasonable to ask - "What happens next" ?
Making comparisons with what happened in Meath GAA circles after the hugely successful Sean Boylan era might not exactly be comparing like-with-like, but just broaden whatever perspective you might have.
While Meath won lots of silverware under the guidance of the Dunboyne man, the Republic of Ireland, even when they were 'good' never actually won anything of substance.
Since Boylan's departure Meath footballers have had six managers and the only one of those, Eamonn O’Brien, won something significant (a Leinster SFC title). He was then quite unfairly sent through the exit door via a combination of failed communications and discussions (enough about that).
Since the Jack Charlton era ended some 25 years ago the Republic of Ireland has, in broad terms, been on a downward trajectory.
There was the odd good result here and there thrown in and the odd spat along the way as well.
So (to use a term that's SO popular at the moment) what happers next if Kenny is sent to the departure lounge?
It's not a simple equation - it's complicated by the fact that all those who are at the helm of the good ship FAI (hopefully it is a good ship at this stage) have lots of issues to address.
And an underperforming international team is just one more added headache.
There is no quick fix to this and the Republic of Ireland team is now at its lowest ebb in many years.
Even when the team wasn't as good as it might have been, going back to the days when a win was as rare as it is now.
That was the era of the 'moral' victory.
The era when the Republic of Ireland failed to qualify for the World Cup in England in 1966 after losing a play-off with Spain after they each won a game in a two-team qualifying group.
It was the era when goal difference wasn't a factor, Ireland won 1-0 at Dalymount, Spain won 4-1 in Seville, there was a bigger crowd at the game in Dublin than in Seville.
The third game, the play-off was originally scheduled for London where Ireland would have had a large support, but the FAI agreed to move it to Paris where Spain qualified on a 1-0 scoreline with an 80th minute winner.
There was to be no World Cup for the Republic of Ireland until Italia 90 and the Charlton era.
Jack Charlton knew how good we were - and if social media had existed at that time it would also have been buzzing with calls of ‘Jack Charlton out’ no doubt.
On Saturday night at the Aviva Stadium the Republic of Ireland conceded an 85th minute goal to a super Gerson Rodrigues strike for Luxembourg.
"You have to be resilient after something like that," commented team captain Seamus Coleman in a post-match interview.
There might be no World Cup 2022 in Qatar for the Republic of Ireland, but don't rule out the possibility of a late charge up the table to keep the prospects of a runner-up position alive at least.
The loyal supporters are having that loyalty tested at the moment - some of them won't pass the test - but they will be back when the results improve.
A more pertinent question - what difference would a new manager make at the moment?
LEAGUE OF IRELAND
Former League of Ireland star shot-stopper Gary Rogers was on duty at Oriel Park in a different role on Friday evening as he was part of the commentary team for WATCH LOI game that featured Dundalk against Finn Harps.
Rogers provided good commentary and during the game confirmed that he doesn't really miss that he is not now playing.
"I probably hung up the boots at the right time because I'm not missing it," he remarked as he watched his former team slump to a shock 1-2 defeat against the Donegal side.
Harps are now top of the Premier League while for Dundalk they have to go to Tallaght this week to play Shamrock Rovers in what is now almost a must-win game for them even at this early stage of the season.
In the other Premier game on Friday night Sligo Rovers defeated Waterford 2-1 at the RSC while on Saturday Tim Clancy's Drogheda Utd found the trip to Richmond Park too demanding as they were edged out (1-2) in a tight game.
Longford Town demonstrated that they will be formidable opposition for anyone this season when they recovered from a two-goal deficit at Dalymount Park to earn a 2-2 draw with Bohemian FC.
In the First Division the results were as follows: Cork City 2, Cobh 1; Galway 0, Shelbourne 0; UCD 2, Athlone 2; Wexford 1, Cabinteely 2; Bray 0, Treaty Utd 0.
Meath players in action included Georgie Poynton for Shelbourne, Dylan Hand for Athlone while Jimmy Corcoran was on the bench for Wexford.
This weekend the League of Ireland fixtures are as follows:
FRIDAY 2nd APRIL
Premier - Longford Town v Sligo Rovers; Shamrock Rovers v Dundalk.
First Division - Treaty Utd v Wexford; Shelbourne v Bray; Cabinteely v Cork City; Athlone Town v Galway.
SATURDAY 3rd APRIL
Premier - Drogheda v Finn Harps; Bohemian FC v St Pat's; Derry v Waterford.
First Division - Cobh Ramblers v UCD.
Women's League - Galway v Bohemian FC; Cork City v Shelbourne; DLR Waves v Wexford; Athlone Town v Treaty Utd.