The best that never was - the Ireland team that could have taken on the world
Ireland could have had Bellingham, Kane, Rice and Grealish - instead they have journeymen and has-beens.
Imagine if the Irish team that plays England this Saturday were favourites rather than underdogs.
Imagine if they were the ones with stars from La Liga, the Premier League and Bundesliga.
Imagine if Heimir Hallgrimsson had the choice of three Champions League winners, four players who played in a European Championship final, two players from Liverpool, one from Real Madrid, one from Manchester City, another from Atletico Madrid, a sixth from Bayern Munich, a seventh from Arsenal.
Imagine all that and you might think that’s an imagination gone wild.
Except the now impossible was once possible.
Ireland could have had a starting X1 worth €610m, could have had Jude Bellingham and his little brother Jobe; could have had Harry Kane, could have had Conor Bradley and Conor Gallagher and once upon a time they did have Jack Grealish and Declan Rice.
Now they have a mix of promising new boys, has-beens and never-weres.
But it could have been different.
Had the FAI got luckier and in certain cases been a lot more ruthless, they could have had a team capable of reaching a World Cup semi-final.
That's not a joke by the way.
Check out this team - the best that never was.
GOALKEEPER - Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool)
While the Cork-man has won six major medals, there is only one he is remembered for, when his penalty shoot-out exploits in the 2022 EFL Cup final against Chelsea. Now 25, he has been starved of first-team football yet any time he has been given a chance by Liverpool, he has taken it.
RIGHT BACK - Conor Bradley (Liverpool)
Pictured as a kid wearing a Republic of Ireland kit, the Co.Tyrone man has been inside Northern Ireland’s structured programme since he was 12, long before the FAI could realistically have persuaded him to switch allegiance. The fact he has already made 31 appearances for Liverpool is evidence of his quality. Both they and Northern Ireland have a gem.
CENTRE BACK - Nathan Collins (Brentford)
A quality operator who has played well for Ireland but whose game would move to an even higher level if he had a midfield of Bellingham, Declan Rice and Conor Gallagher to pass to.
CENTRE BACK - Dara O’Shea (Ipswich Town)
Has matured into a fine defender, which is why the owners of three different Premier League clubs have been prepared to put him on their payroll. Worth €14m - some of those eligible for Ireland who ended up with three lions on their shirt have been bought for a lot more.
LEFT BACK - Enda Stevens (Stoke City)
The Dubliner can reflect on his career with justifiable pride having made the most of his ability, rising from the League of Ireland to become a regular and consistent performer at Premier League and Championship level, playing 233 games at that level as well as 26 times for Ireland in a problem position - one where Stephen Kenny tried eight different players.
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD - Declan Rice (Arsenal)
He kissed the badge, sang the anthem, said he was proud to be Irish and denied the rumours suggesting he might switch allegiance. Three senior caps later and he was making the quickest exit across the Irish Sea since St Patrick banished the snakes.
MIDFIELD - Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid)
Eligible for an Irish passport which he secured en route to his new life in Spain, Gallagher is another who opted for England, his country of birth, ahead of Ireland. The energetic enforcer Hallgrimsson needs.
ATTACKING MIDFIELD - Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
As far back as 2016, England had him capped. The difference between now and Jack Charlton’s era is the English FA are alert to the dangers of allowing quality players slip through the net. Andy Townsend was never a Bellingham but he was snapped up by Ireland at a time when Bobby Robson was complacent about the available talent. England never were about Bellingham who qualified for Ireland via a grandparent. Now worth €180m, he is considered one of the best players in the world.
ATTACKER - Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
His father is a Galwegian, his route home each summer part of the Kane backstory. Yet Ireland was never part of his footballing plans, as he instead became England’s record goalscorer at a time when The Boys in Green were crying out for a successor to Robbie Keane. He did fill that role at White Hart Lane but never at the Aviva.
ATTACKER - Evan Ferguson (Brighton)
Currently shy of form, the 19-year-old has netted 12 Premier League goals - more than Kane had managed at the same age. Right now, there is more hype surrounding Liam Delap - whose dad, Rory, played for Ireland. But time is on Ferguson’s side. Unfortunately for him, and Ireland, Kane, Bellingham, Rice, Bradley and Gallagher, are not.
ATTACKER - Jack Grealish (Manchester City)
There was a time when he was better known as Jack The Lad rather than Jack Grealish. Yet for Ireland fans, he will always be remembered as the one that got away, the creative spark the team has missed, the player who lit up the shabby little underage grounds that he played in for Ireland’s Under 17, Under 18 and Under 21 sides. Martin O’Neill could and should have capped him. England didn’t even take him to the last Euros. Ireland’s team would have been built around him. After Charlton, he would have been our next favourite Jack. A massive loss who has never been replaced.
SUBS
Liam Delap, Jobe Bellingham, Gavin Bazunu, Adam Idah, John Egan, Seamus Coleman, Matt Doherty, Will Smallbone, Josh Cullen, Chiedozie Ogbene, Troy Parrott
THE GAFFER
Lee Carsley. Instead of Three Lions on his chest, the former Ireland international should be wearing a different top this week.
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