Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports, former Republic of Ireland International Kevin Doyle gives his thoughts on the qualifying campaign and admits even a playoff place will be difficult at this point following the defeat to Armenia.
The Striker takes a particular interest in Ireland’s attacking talent and what the future could have in store for the likes of Ferguson, Idah, Parrott and Azaz.
The two-time Championship promotion winner also gives his thoughts on whether Middlesbrough can finally make their return to the Premier League and if Southampton and Ipswich can bounce back from relegation.
Ireland MNT
Playoffs For Ireland?
There was a lot of positivity going into the campaign, which is a short one. We needed to build momentum, and it's over in November. You get your squad together, but unfortunately, what started as a good result at home against Hungary turned into a loss against Armenia.
While you can lose any game, the manner in which we lost was concerning; we made Armenia look very good. They outplayed, out-fought, and looked quicker and better than us in every department, with the probable exception of Caoimhín Kelleher in goal.
You don't want your goalkeeper to be the best player against a team ranked 100th in the world. This result has burst our bubble a little. Our next game is away to Portugal, so it doesn't get easier. However, we tend to raise our game against bigger teams and have done okay against Portugal in recent years, so there's still a bit of hope.
We've left ourselves in a tough spot. First place goes automatically, and second place enters a playoff. At this stage, a playoff is all we can really hope for, and even that looks very difficult.
Evan Ferguson
Evan Ferguson
The back three or four, on paper, are solid, mainly Premier League players who've gone for a lot of money. You'd expect them to lead and be the more experienced standout players. However, they've played quite well for their clubs, and it doesn't always translate to the national team.
We do have Evan Ferguson up front, and Troy Parrott has started the season excellently. The last game I saw him play for Ireland before the summer break, I thought he was brilliant.
He didn't score, but his hold-up play, his general work rate, he did everything but score. It's the best I've seen Troy Parrott play. Then he started the season really well, scoring a lot of goals in the Dutch league, but unfortunately, he got injured before the last games.
Evan Ferguson would be, I suppose, on paper and in the last few years, a big hope. He could be a superstar; he has everything needed to be a superstar. He was linked with a few of the top clubs maybe two years ago, but then he went through a dip, which happens with young players.
He's very young still and has a big frame to fill out. He still has potential and has had a great opportunity with a fabulous loan move to Roma, a massive club. By all accounts, he seems to have started well.
He started at the weekend in the Rome Derby. He hasn't scored a goal yet, but I think the fans are quite happy with him from what we read, and he's starting games. He just needs to get a few goals under his belt out there.
I don't think he needs to restart his career because he's so young; he's only just getting into his career. He needs to cement himself as a starting player who stays injury-free.
He seems to have had a lot of minor injuries, which probably goes with his size for such a young man. But now is the time to push on a little bit again and start to live up to the promise he showed because he has everything.
He's quick, he's good in the air, he's strong, he's got a good touch, and he finishes very well when he gets his chances. So he's got what's needed, he's got all the ingredients, he just needs to put it together.
Adam Idah
Idah’s Swansea Switch
I think it is a good move and probably needed. For Celtic, seven million is a lot of money. They probably expected him to be a guaranteed 20-goal-a-season striker or more, and it hasn't worked out, but that happens at clubs.
He needs to go now and do it again. From looking from the outside, he seems a bit of a confidence player. When he scores, he gets a good feeling and goes on a run, looking like a really good player.
Other times, his confidence is down, and I imagine at Celtic, if things aren't going well, there's a lot of pressure, and your confidence can take a hit quickly. He got a good goal for Ireland, the equaliser in their first home match, which will boost him.
He just needs a run of games in the Championship. The Championship is great because you have so many games that if you are a striker and you get a goal or two, the next game is a few days later, and you can go on a nice little run.
For us, we hope so, because he has, again, maybe not the potential of Evan Ferguson, but he has a lot of the ingredients needed to be a very good player.
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Rob Edwards is a good manager. Michael Carrick left, and it seemed mutual, but a new manager came in, and immediately, they started strong. I think they're already four or five points ahead in the Championship this early in the season.
When a team gets a run like that in the Championship early on, they tend to stay there. This might be the case for Middlesbrough. If you can get momentum early and build a few points lead, teams don't seem to catch you.
They've done what was needed so far. They have a manager who knows how to get a team to the Premier League. It's due. They've spent a lot of money over the years trying to get back up. Maybe this is their turn.”
Finn Azaz
Finn Azaz
He's a player I like. I watched him just before the summer. He played just off Troy Parrott, and they were brilliant together. He just looked like a player we needed – that sort of link player between midfield and up front, creating chances.
He's a really good player who got a decent move. It takes time to settle in. Middlesbrough to Southampton is a fair journey. He has to move, move family, move house, move everything. It takes a little while to settle in.
I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I do think he has the football ability. He's a good player. I've only seen him a couple of times for Ireland, and every time I've seen him, he's impressed me.
Will Still
Will Still
It's great when playing and things are going well, but when they aren't, it's difficult to put them right because the next game comes so quickly. I've been promoted from the Championship and relegated from it, so I know both ends of the spectrum.
It seems easy when things are going well, it's brilliant, you're on a roll, you can't stop winning. But the same applies when things aren't going well.
When you're a manager who's used to coaching the team and working on the training ground, the Championship isn't that sort of league. You don't get the chance to breathe between the many games, the League Cup, and everything that goes with it.
You're constantly on the go, just trying to patch and repair players and get everyone out on the pitch the next weekend. If things go wrong on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, there's nothing you can do between then and Saturday to try and fix it.
So, for a coach, like Will Still, who really likes to work with teams on the training ground and get his point of view across, it's very difficult to put that right.
You often see that some very good managers, perhaps seen as more 'older school,' tend to do better in the Championship. They might be more adaptable, better at moving players, and not relying as much on training ground work.
Ipswich
Bouncing Back From Relegation
When a team gets relegated and loses key players, like Liam Delap, confidence can plummet. After a tough Premier League season, players are accustomed to struggling, making it incredibly difficult to shift their mentality back to being the dominant team.
Confidence is so important in football. The club transitions from the disaster of relegation to suddenly being favourites for promotion. I've experienced this situation with Reading and Wolves, where you're relegated, and the monumental task is to re-energise everyone involved.
Everyone working at the club is initially thrilled to be in the Premier League, and then suddenly, they're relegated. Trying to turn that around is challenging, usually, you start slowly, and it can be very difficult.
While people talk about parachute payments and the advantage relegated teams have, that goes out the window when a club and its players are feeling sorry for themselves.
Some players will lament not getting a move back to the Premier League; some left, some didn't, and others wanted to go but couldn't. Getting everyone back on board is an incredibly tough job.
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