Come Back Any Time Stephen, Any Time!

Tony O'Donoghue is standing there on the news from outside the RTE studios probably, reporting on the announcement of the Ireland squad to face Georgia. Tony is being suave as ever, standing in the dark on a cold, wet night obviously suffering for our benefit. What can you say, the man is a total pro. Tony proceeds to speculate on the consequences of the continued absensce of Stephen Ireland from the squad.

The gist of what he said, along with what probably ever other journalist in the country wrote on Sunday is that if Stephen Ireland doesn't come back now it will be difficult for him to do so for the rest of the campaign. They said that it would cause unrest among the other players in the squad if he returned when "all the hard work had been done".

Stephen Ireland's absence from the difficult away games would apparently cause resentment among the players if he came in for the big games at the end but missed the possibly less glamourous, though equally important games coming up.

Let's get one thing straight- who cares what the players think? I see the players as being a bit like soldiers and Trappatoni is the General. The players are fighting for Ireland and our enemies are the other teams in the group. The purpose of this "war" if you will, is to qualify for the World Cup Finals in South Africa in 2010 (whether they are capable of hosting it is another story).

We must use all and any means at our disposal to ensure that we qualify. In Jack's time it meant making up stories about Tony Cascarino's lineage and somehow convincing UEFA that Andy Townsend is "Irish". The same principle applies today in trying to make sure that the best possible players eligible to play for Ireland are available for selection.

It is then up to Trappatoni and Trappatoni alone to decide who the best 11 are. It is for Trap to decide who wears the green shirt, not the players or their sensibilities. The unrest the media are trying to stir up already should Stephen Ireland decide to return in the autumn or later is sure to turn him off. The media are once again putting their sales ahead of the best interests of the national team. The fact is that no unrest has been caused by something which has not yet happened and to say it will only increases the likelihood of Stephen Ireland staying away.

It is purely up to Trappatoni to decide what impact Ireland's return would have and however he decides to deal with it, you can be sure he will have the Irish teams results at heart. I don't know what the players would have to be pissed off about. If Stephen Ireland did return, it would immediately make the team better so in that sense the players would immediately benefit.

He would probably take Aidan McGeady's place in the team. I'm sure McGeady would be unhappy about this. What I would say to him is to put his head down, work harder and if he becomes a better player than Stephen Ireland then he might get his place back. I hate this attitude that only the players who turn up should be played. It's the same right down to Junior football.

What I say is that if a player is going to improve the team for a particular match then put him in the side. The reason teams train is to improve themselves as individuals and collectively. So to follow that logic, if having trained you are still not better than the players who haven't shown up then frankly you don't deserve to be in the team if it is trying to win a competition.

If Stephen Ireland refused to play in friendly matches I'd still play him in the big games. Squad players and less established first teamers should be delighted at the opportunity to play in a friendly because it gives them a chance to impress the manager and it gives them a game which is more than most of them are getting at their clubs (Joey O'Brien take note). Players like Stephen Ireland have nothing to gain from these matches and the most important thing is that he shows up for the games that count.

If Stephen Ireland announced his return the night before the World Cup Final and Trap decided to put him in the team, the players could have no complaints because in the eyes of the manager they have not proven themselves better players. Like I say Trap is the General and the players are soldiers. For the team to be effective, they must follow orders.

There is no suggestion that Stephen Ireland has ever caused any hassle within the squad so I don't see how his return would be the cause of unrest. Paul McShane said as much recently and that he has always gotten on great with him. Unless Tony O'Donoghue and Co. think his presence will cause the other players to bully him over his hair again.

This story over Stephen Ireland not wanting to play the away games doesn't make sense because he has been in Tenerife all this week with Man City at a training camp. We don't know for sure why Stephen won't come back, God knows we all want him to but we do know that his family situation is complicated and that needs to be respected. I'm also certain that Trap, Tardelli and Chippy have done everything in their power to try to get him back.

Hopefully he will return someday but we have to leave the door open. It's like the story of the Prodigal Son. The media are threatening to scupper any possible return with their lazy journalism drumming up perceived unrest to fill their column inches. Try reporting the facts for a change and leave the character assassinations to the British media where it belongs.