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Part 2 of Ireland’s modern football history, very abridged…

The McCarthy Years: Part 1 1996-1998 

There are some people who will always base their view on Mick McCarthy within the prism of…well if I say it, then you’ll be thinking it for the rest of this piece. But no matter how you approach it there is a Cork shaped elephant in the room.

McCarthy’s first game as manager was against Euro 96 bound Russia. Shay Given made his debut in glorious lilac but inexperience and physicality betrayed him with the goals. Kernaghan did little to cement his status in the team but unlike Shay he didn’t have youth to fall back on. Most of the team on the night was made up of Jack’s veterans but Big Mick was already thinking about the future with his choice of captain. 25 year old Roy Maurice Keane. Ireland didn’t veer much from the late Charlton era. Lots of honest graft but but no great subtlety. 

Ireland rallied after going two down and could have had a draw if Cascarino hadn’t missed an open goal and Staunton a peno. But the big story was Keane getting sent off for his nasty foot swipe. There were many ways to interpret this at the time and many more theories would emerge later. Keane had played well but no doubt was frustrated by the quality around him. A soon to be double double winner with Man United having to slum it with an Ireland squad in transition was not ideal.

A month and a few team changes later we were left with another 2-0 reverse this time at the hands of the Czechs. Again there was promise but aside from Given getting a second cap along with Alan Moore and Mark Kennedy starting, this was still very much the team that Jack built.

0-1 at home to Portugal followed with a 20 year old Gareth Farelly starting in midfield. He lasted an hour before being replaced by…definitely one for the trivia experts…Dave Savage. This was end of season stuff no doubt but while we were providing fodder for the Euro 96 teams who’d qualified, maybe McCarthy was taking stock. Would Keane come back for the next friendly? Would he fuck!

Croatia also came to Dublin and while the scoreline improved and Ireland scored for the first time since Aldridge’s double against Latvia in October 95, this was nothing more than a nice day out. 17 players got on that day with Gary Breen, Liam’s Daish and O’Brien as well as Keith O’Neill starting. The latter justified selection with a goal and would soon hit a little purple patch as slivers of hope appeared. Ireland came back twice in the game after goals from Suker and Boban (wow). O’Neill and Quinn with a late equaliser.

There was still time for one more defeat against quality opposition. 1-3 against the Dutch. Bergkamp was in imperious form scoring and assisting two to cancel out Cascarino’s early header.

1996 was the hangover year we had dreaded for so long. And yet there was optimism. The US Cup was up next . The manager was handing out starts to youngsters left, right and at centre half. McGrath was loyal to a fault but nobody expected him to travel all that way for a friendly and so Kenneth Cunningham came in for his fifth cap in succession. Often derided nowadays as a pundit, Cunningham was one of the few Premiership regulars at the time.. The first game was in Boston against the home team and a unlucky 1-2 followed with Ramos and Reyna doing it for them and Connolly scoring for us. 

Next up came the old enemy Mexico in the Giants Stadium. Ian Harte, Savage again and David Connolly all started. If they could make it there…

In as much as these things can be, this was a late night thriller. Unlike the World Cup these games were played at prime TV time in the states. Packie Bonner, surely delighted at the prospect of usurping Friends and Seinfeld reruns on his penultimate swansong(is that a thing? He got on for the last 5 mins in the next game anyway) let in one. But Ireland struck back with the new boy Connolly. Then an o.g and Ireland had their first McCarthy win in sight! Alas Luis Garcia, our Orlando slayer had other ideas. It finished 2-2 but not before sending off mayhem with Quinn and McCarthy seeing red. But in that balmy heat of the Giants Stadium, in between the temporary goalposts and the unfamiliar squad numbers and names, there seemed to be green shoots. Defiance was slowly being forged, team spirit being moulded! The poor old Bolivians never stood a chance and so with NY once again providing a happy home for Ireland we signed off with a 3-0 win and 2nd place in the group. O’Neill getting a brace and Harte scoring the first of many under this regime.

Back to Europe and the 8th game of the calendar year in the calendar’s eight month. It was World Cup Qualification time and to start with came Liechtenstein. Despite the narrative of the June 95 debacle, this was a sure fire confidence builder for the burgeoning McCarthy project. Five nil with goals from Townsend, Harte, O’Neill and a Quinn double. This foregone conclusion was joined by yet another foregone conclusion with a 3-0 win over Macedonia in Dublin a month later. This time McAteer and a Cascarino double did the needful as Alan Kelly returned in goal.

All going well then, until…

The visit of Iceland to Donnybrook was expected to be a competitive but ultimately rewarding contest. Iceland were not the force they became later with a ranking of 67th in the world compared to ireland’s 32nd. For context that would be Peru vs UAE in May 2024; a notable gap in quality. Keane was back and the era of Oasis haircuts had come with him. McAteer followed suit alongside Breen and McLoughlin though thankfully Staunton demurred. Despite Keane’s long awaited comeback for the first time since Russia, Ireland somehow conspired to draw nil-all in front of a cold and miserable November audience. Depending on your bingo cards this was the first time Keane had a run in with Irish journalists as Cathal Dervan questioned his commitment in the Sun. It was the first hint of a civil war in the country as proud fellow Corkonian Tony O’Donoghue rushed to Keane’s defence in the Examiner.

More here https://www.balls.ie/news/roy-keane-booed-against-iceland-349474-349474

The game itself probably rested on one key decision. Ireland had set up with a 532 against Macedonia but despite a 3-0 win now were deemed to be struggling at the back. Keane was deployed as a centre half which obviously limited his time on the ball. The resulting team performance was insipid though Keane rose above the mediocrity as always. In a group where Ireland had wisely planned to get points on the board early by handpicking fixtures, we had dropped two fairly easy ones. It was the first time where McCarthy faced real criticism. 

Later that night and with the FAI awards due to take place in the Burlington Hotel, it was confirmed that John Aldridge had decided to retire. The old band was breaking up. 1996 ended with the relative positivity of the US Cup firmly in the distance.

1997

More dreariness was to follow with a nil nil in Cardiff. Ninian Park in February, how exotic. A forgettable match saw the end of one of the most storied careers in Irish football. Paul McGrath played his last game in green. He deserved much better.

The following month saw a trip to Skopje and a presumed three points against a team only playing its second qualifying campaign since the second world war. In a stunning sequel to the Iceland disappointment Ireland went down 2-3. McLoughlin’s clever early header canceled out by two penos. Gabriel Clarke on ITV thought the second Phelan handball was generous. I think little Terry could have done a good job in nets. The third goal followed an unlucky slip by Harte but it was a thunderbolt. David Kelly pulled one back after a John Goodman assist but by the 88 minute McAteer had seen enough and decided to take the game by the scruff of the neck…or by the chest of his spinning heel kick.

In all honesty the orange kit looked quite nice to me but its sales never really recovered after this. 

The qualifying group was very much off the rails now. Houghton came back in place of McAteer but Bucharest was a tough place to go and now we were relying on him and Townsend in the centre of the park alongside Keane. Ireland however liked the underdog tag and almost pulled off a great draw. After Ilie’s first half goal, Keane spurned a chance to equalise from the spot. He would never take another penalty in normal time though did score in shoot-outs for United (so obviously he would have scored against Spain in 2002!). 

Romania were cruising in the group but after showing a good degree of competence in defeat the general feeling was that a play off spot was still possible if we could beat who we should beat in the group. McCarthy was still benefiting from the loyalty of fans but the hacks were less generous. 

Liechtenstein came to Dublin and were dispatched 5-0 again this time with a Connolly hat trick. It was one step forward and three back as Lithuania grabbed a point in Lansdowne at the other side of the summer. Said Lithuanians were now neck and neck for second place with Macedonia also in contention. 

A gung-ho performance in Reykjavik next as Ireland won 4-2 with goals from Connolly, Keane twice and a lucky one from Kennedy. Kevin Kilbane would usurp the former Liverpool man later. For a long time I felt Keno was the more talented player but looking back at some highlights he was very reliant on his left foot whereas Kilbane was perfectly average on both. 

Ireland went to Vilnius next knowing a victory would almost guarantee second and to be fair they got it. In a time of small mercies Cascarino’s two goals, the winner from a ridiculous angle, was enough to ensure the Romania game in Dublin could be played in relative relaxation.

That game was a good one. Ireland with debutant Lee Carsley played with zest and positivity throughout, knowing that a play off place was already secure. Hagi’s goal after the break was politely applauded before big Cas equalised with about ten minutes to go. At this point Cascarino had been playing for Ireland for 14 years on and off. He’d seen off Aldridge and David Kelly and was in the form of his life thanks to his French diet (and his new girlfriend?-ed)

The year would end with a two legged showdown against the old enemy Belgium. We hadn’t played them since the very start of Charlton’s first qualifying campaign and rumours were abound that if we lost this tie, it would bookend McCathy’s time as manager too. 

The draw favoured Belgium as Lansdowne came first. Irwin’s brilliant opener cancelled out by Luc Nilis in the second half. I remember having to work as a lounge boy during the second leg in a rain sodden Brussels (dreadful grammar there, I was working in Clonee not Belgium) After a defensive mix up Oliveria slipped in to score past Shay Given. Houghton had one last moment of magic in the second half with an Uwe Seller inspired header before Belgium scored the winner following the dodgiest throw in award ever seen. The ‘Red Devils’ had screwed us in ‘81 and it had happened again.