THE king is dead; long live the king. It may seem a dangerous gamble to return to the scene of Jack Charlton's nadir as Republic manager but the FAI's former treasurer Joe Delaney knew what he was doing when he formalised the draw. Come Saturday tea-time and in one- respect at least, the Mick McCarthy era should already draw a favourable comparison.
Did it really happen? Catching up with the team coach on the motoray from Zurich to Liechtenstein 50 miles or so away, vi a supersmooth motorway through valley after valley, June 3rd 1995 hardly seemed credible. Vaduz is a dot on the map east of Switzerland, only signposted at the eventual turn off at Sargans. How could they have only drawn with these jokers?
Triesenberg, the team's base up the road is an even smaller dot. About 15 miles long and four miles wide, Liechtenstein is roughly the same size as Manhattan but a little wider - and a good deal cleaner.
Somewhere nearby, resides the collection of Swiss fourth and fifth division players who did more damage to the Charlton era than Italy, Holland, Brazil or anyone else. Granted, the Euro `96 outcome would have been the same had Liechtenstein been dispatched by 10-0 on June 3rd last year: group runners-up and a-play-off with Holland. But the psychological damage was incalculable.
An architect, a draughtsman, a builder, a mechanic, a coach driver, a teacher, a footballer (yes, they still have one of them) and, most memorably, a groundsman. The pristine surface on which the Republic squad trained yesterday was down to one Martin Heeb, he of the herculean goalkeeping.
The FC yaduz ground is, a charmingly idyllic little alpine setting in appearance akin to Tolka Rovers' ground perhaps, save for the minor matter of the Alps overlooking it. The adjoining pitches told a tale. From the Alpine peaks of 8,000 feet above, the kids running around them must have seemed like a swarm of ants.
Charlton's legacy isn't confined to Ireland. Children's football has taken off here since June 3rd 1995. Well, that's nice. One swarm had to be cleared away for the men in green. Alps to one side with a tiny knot of Irish journalists and a couple of local onlookers shading themselves from the sun under green tree-tops with - not a falling autumn leaf in sight. Between the players and the adjoining swarm of kids lay a green bank, on the far side of which was the River Rhine within range of one sliced Mick McCarthy clearance. A gust of wind and you might even hear a cow bell. You could play football forever here.
Down to business, though for the men in green. Lunched and - rested, this was a lengthy enough 90 minute work-out for McCarthy's squad of 20. A warm-up, then 1O a side keep ball, first with one touch, then two touches. Then a practice game of sorts, 11 against nine, into which, perhaps, too much could be read.
Interestingly though, Denis Irwin, Gary Breen and Steve Staunton began as the back three while Alan McLoughlin, Ray Houghton and Andy Townsend finished as the middle three, as McCarthy juggled his resources. The wing-backs were constantly switched Jeff Kenna and a subdued Jason McAteer on the right, Curtis Fleming and Ian Harte on the left. Some things remained constant though, and Niall Quinn was always partnered by Keith O'Neill and his shock of black hair. The guessing games continue until McCarthy reveals all: at high noon today.
Meantime, the locals are still chuckling. Mario Frick, their one professional footballer, has recently moved on from unfashionable St Gallen to SC Basle and in a local newspaper yesterday was recalling the limitations of the Irish performance 14 months ago.
"The Irish underestimated us and were not as aggressive about their work as we were. The basis of our result lay in the fact that the Irish were tactically easy to predict. If we again play on the long balls as we did in the last game then there lies, the possibility of a good result.
Without daring to criticise the tactical straitjacket that was imposed on the Irish team here McCarthy is too fond of Charlton and too much of a diplomat to do that - it is clear that he places greater trust in the individual skills of his players. Charlton, you always sensed, never quite trusted them that much.
Deep-lying massed defence will again be Liechtenstein's sole gambit but presumably, aerial bombardment will not, this time, be the Republic's sole response.
"Well, there's loads-of ways of getting in behind them I suppose," mused McCarthy over a afternoon coffee, while sheltering under a canopy outside the tea hotel from the warm sun. "You spank the ball into the corner; you knock it into the big man, play it off him, try and get it wide to put the ball in the box or actually keep it and try and work players into position, so you can get in behind them or get through them into the box by playing."
Clearly his greater trust in his players will allow them more individual responsibility.
"You have to try things in the last 25 yards. Flicks and touches and let it run through your legs. People have got to be in tune with each other, do something different; all the little things we see from top class players and the things that we all enjoy are the things that we've got to try ourselves.
"It works wonders, dunnit? When somebody drags the ball back and slams it into the top corner of the net? That looks pretty good.
