Soccer:The morning after the night before, it was perhaps inevitable that one name would dominate the latest Republic of Ireland press briefing. James McCarthy has been the story all week – last night's 5-0 win over Northern Ireland reduced to a mere footnote – and today was to be no different.
McCarthy’s absence, for whatever reason, has cast serious question marks over his international future, certainly under the current regime. Giovanni Trapattoni is not a manager inclined to indulge a player’s whims, no matter how talented the individual, and it would come as no surprise if the midfielder was filed in the outbox alongside the likes of Andy Reid and Stephen Ireland.
Injured or not, the Irish management clearly feel aggrieved by the player’s failure to respond to his call-up, not just on Sunday, but since the squad was announced earlier in the month. But rather than slam the door shut, assistant manager Marco Tardelli today insisted McCarthy still has a part to play in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.
Initially, the Italian deflected questions about McCarthy, preferring instead to focus on last night’s result at the Aviva Stadium and those players involved. “Ask me about Simon Cox,” he suggested after the West Brom striker marked his debut with a goal.
When it became clear the McCarthy issue wasn’t going to go away, Tardelli insisted the 20-year-old Wigan player could be welcomed back. Accepting the ankle injury offered as an excuse for his absence at face value, Tardelli explained that the youngster should have travelled to have the ligament damage assessed by the Irish medical team.
“James has an injury, the season for him was very hard. He played with a problem in his ankle, I believe him,” Tardelli told reporters. “For us, it is not a problem. If we call him up for the next match and he comes, it is not a problem. The problem with McCarthy is not whether he comes or not, the problem is his behaviour.”
Asked whether McCarthy would be involved in the next Ireland squad, Tardelli refused to rule out the possibility.
“Why not,” he said, “if he comes here. If not and others come and play well, if Stephen Ward plays well, then they will have the opportunities.”
With McCarthy seemingly ruled out for up to a month, by his club at any rate, he will play no part in Sunday’s final Nations Cup meeting with Scotland and the subsequent Euro 2012 quailfier in Macedonia.
The Stoke pair of Jon Walters and Marc Wilson have also been ruled out of those matches, again through injury. Wilson was another to blot his copybook with Trapattoni, failing to show up for last night’s game despite being named in the starting line-up 24 hours earlier.
When pressed to clarify matters, Tardelli explained: “Wilson — out. He has a problem, injured. Walters is out, injured. (Glenn) Whelan and (Keith) Fahey, they will come.”
Celtic striker Anthony Stokes sparked the first controversy of the week by withdrawing citing tiredness, a move which infuriated manager Trapattoni. McCarthy then failed to report for duty on Monday as expected and Trapattoni claimed the player had made no contact with him or returned any calls.
Wigan had, in fact, been in contact on Sunday and Monday but the FAI medical team cast doubt on the veracity of the medical report sent by the club, prompting Trapattoni to animatedly question the motivation and desire of the player after last night’s win.
