Far be it from me to be telling Trap how to do his job but the inclusion of Leon Best for this game against Nigeria tomorrow night is a little puzzling. Best has only scored 4 league goals this season and that for a championship club which finished 17th. Is it possible that the old man from Milan has mixed him up with Clinton Morrison who at least has ten goals to his name?
It wouldn't be the first time such a mix up has occurred. Who can forget the Real Madrid-Tomas Gravesen-Lee Carsley love triangle? When asked if he thought Gravesen could be the answer to Real's defensive woes, David Moyes replied that he had never seen Gravesen make a tackle in his life. Gravesen didn't last long with Madrid because of course they had meant to sign Lee Carsley. Everyone knows that Trap only watches the Irish players on DVD except for when he goes to Old Trafford to hob nob with Alex Ferguson and watch Darren Gibson get a cameo when United are 5 up against Stoke.
Trap has spoken about the big man, small man combination up front and we all know what President Clinton brings to the table in that department. Scottish Football Association but at least he puts himself about as they say. The inclusion of best is all the more baffling seen as it will probably be Caleb Folan who starts against the Bulgarians. Folen is badly in need of games and especially after being sent off against Liverpool recently in only his second premier league start of the season.
Folan showed Irish supporters what he could do against Italy and I would even go so far as to say that without his contribution, unlike that say of Noel Hunt, we would have come away from Bari pointless. Folan can cause the Bulgarians similar problems in Sofia and in a way it's a blessing that a fatigued Kevin Doyle is getting the break he so badly needs because we just can't afford too many industrious but ineffective performances in such a big game.
We are short of strikers but I can't see how Best is going to provide the solution. Coventry are not a good team and Best has only managed as many goals in a Championship season as Morrison did in the Premier League. The only thing that can be said about this is that Trap is consistent in his approach. If he wants a particular type of player, he selects him regardless of his club form. Trap is looking for pieces for a jigsaw, the completion of which should be enough to secure qualification to South Africa.
His selections have been questioned in the past but both Glenn Whelan and Gibson have finished the season very strongly in the Premier League and while a certain amount of scepticism still surrounds these players in Irish shirts, they are clearly no flash in the pan.
So we'll give Leon Best a chance and Trap the benefit of the doubt as usual. He has come good so far. I do have a vague memory of Best scoring a brilliant goal for Southampton against Sunderland (I think) two seasons ago in the Championship but international football is a big step up. Let's hope he can make the leap.
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