It was Mick McCarthy who guided the early part of Mark Kennedy's career at the London club of Millwall, giving the young Dubliner the chance to establish himself in the first team and then selling him for £1.5 million - then a British record for a teenager - to Liverpool.
Kennedy had supported the Anfield club as a child and was clearly delighted with the move, but it did not work out for him.
In nearly three years on Merseyside he made just five competitive starts and finally moved to Wimbledon in March 1998.
Again he struggled to make an impression and 16 months later, after fewer than 20 starts, he joined Manchester City in July 1999.
City had just been promoted to the English first division and the left-sided winger proved a key figure in the club's successful attempt to win a place in the Premiership. He immediately broke into the first team and went on to score 10 goals in 45 appearances for Joe Royle's side, showing considerable versatility along the way and eventually being selected by his fellow professionals as one of the 11 best players in the division.
While his arrival at City meant regular first-team football at club level for the first time in Kennedy's career since his time with McCarthy at Millwall, the Republic of Ireland manager had nevertheless made the midfielder a fixture in his international side.
In June this year he won his 30th cap against South Africa in the US and after some shaky performances early on he had started, over the past season or so, to fulfil the promise he had shown as a teenager. Kennedy was virtually certain to start in Amsterdam this weekend with the wing on which he would play being the only thing in question.
In contrast to Babb, however, McCarthy does have obvious alternatives with a number of players, most notably the left-sided Kevin Kilbane or right-sided Jason McAteer, fit and available.