Eamon Dunphy column: Nathan Collins experiment was a daft move that backfired on Heimir Hallgrimsson
I wouldn't blame Liam Scales at all. He was trying to do too much on his own, and just clipped Jude Bellingham. Nathan Collins was way up the field, because he was caught between two stools.
There's a big lad that plays for Manchester City. He's called John Stones. Someone please show a photograph of Stones to Heimir Hallgrimsson.
For some weird reason, he decided that Nathan Collins is John Stones. The latter often plays a hybrid role at Manchester City, moving from central defence to central midfield.
For some weird reason, Hellgrimsson tried to get Collins to do the same. Against England. At Wembley. Oh, Lord.
READ MORE: Both anthems booed ahead of Ireland v England at Wembley
READ MORE: England 5-0 Ireland recap and result from Nations League trouncing
Collins isn't Stones. Ireland aren't City. Hallgrimsson isn't Pep Guardiola.
A role like that can work with just a handful of players worldwide. You need to be of exceptional quality to pull it off.
Collins is a decent and promising centre-half. He won't be a midfielder in a million years.
You need hours and hours of work on the training ground to give that kind of role any chance of working. You'll never get that time at international level.
This game turned early in the second half with the penalty and the red card for Liam Scales.
I wouldn't blame Scales at all. He was trying to do too much on his own, and just clipped Jude Bellingham. Collins was way up the field, because he was caught between two stools.
Lee Carsley is no fool. He'd have figured out that the Collins situation was one that England could exploit, and they did once they rubbed the sleep out of their eyes.
It makes me wonder whether Hallgrimsson has the right stuff. The Nations League campaign has been barely adequate, no more than that.
The two wins over Finland could have been a draw and a defeat but a couple of things went Ireland's way.
Ireland got no more than a barely adequate return from the six games.
Can anyone honestly say that Ireland have improved over the last three international breaks? I certainly can't.
Now there were players missing for different games, but it's rare you have a full deck to play with at international level. Absentees always have to be factored in.
This was a crushing way to end the campaign. And Hallgrimsson has to take the rap for that, as the Collins experiment was one of the main reasons why England won.
I was delighted with the way Ireland played in the first half. It was exactly the kind of performance I was hoping for from the team.
They were well organised and there was a definite shape and method to their play.
Festy Ebosele was feisty, and a lot more besides. He made a brilliant contribution in Helsinki late on but I wasn't sure about him.
Yes, he has lots of pace but this was the first time Ebosele convinced me that he can be a real player for Ireland.
In the first half, he worked really hard in defence, and was direct and adventurous going forward with the ball.
He was physical too, and played with a bite and a swagger. That's what you want from plauyers at Wembley.
It was refreshing to see the attitude that he took on to the pitch.
Ireland kept their discipline at the back and Caoimhin Kelleher was a passenger in the opening period.
England were poor and I'd say Lee Carsley wasn't happy at all at half-time.
But Ireland weren't letting England play. They were in their faces, snapping at them and always looking to hit the home side on the break.
Ireland should really have had at least one penalty too.
The Evan Ferguson one was nailed on and plenty of referees would also have given the other one.
It was hard to believe that VAR was being used in this game. It's hard to believe that a VAR official watched Ferguoson be dragged to the ground and figured it was nothing.
What would it have done to the game if Ireland had got one of those penalties and put it away? We'll never know but, given the way things worked out, it's frustrating.
That was the first half. Do we really want to go over what happened in the second in detail?
Five minutes in, disaster. Scales clipped Bellingham and a second yellow meant the Celtic man was off. Harry Kane buried the spot-kick.
A goal up and a man up, a hammering was inevitable. Bellingham was suddenly strutting around the place.
England knew there were goals there for them and they went hunting for them in packs. It was hard to watch.
I wasn't impressed with England at all when it was 11 v 11. There was an arrogance to their play, exemplified by Bellingham.
Once they had an extra man, though, he was acting as if he was Zinedine Zidane.
Losing so badly will hurt the team in terms of their confidence, and that's down to the manager.
When you try and be too clever at anything in life, a kick in the arse often comes your way. Our Icelandic friend knows that now.
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
