Golden Generation?

Credit: RTÉ

Maybe We Should Temper Expectations

With a batch of exciting young talent going across the continent from the island, many fans are starting to become excited for the up-and-coming generation of footballers. Considering many players have been linked to some of the biggest sides in the UK, many might want to start heralding this as a “golden generation”. However, should we temper expectations slightly?

After the failure to reach the World Cup was confirmed by the heart-wrenching loss to Czechia, Ireland had already scheduled friendlies in hopes of warm-up matches before the North American World Cup was due to kick off in June.

Ties were confirmed against Grenada, Qatar, and Canada, with the team selections set to be interesting.

Would Heimir call up the U21 and lower best performers, or would he be set to continue to have his team gel, considering the team will now be set to look towards European qualification for an event on home soil?

The Next Generation

 Thankfully, Heimir would inevitably decide to call up some prospects for the Irish National Team. Some including Umeh, Melia, Rory Finneran, among many others.

Covered at length, Umeh looks to be one of the strongest emerging prospects for the Irish National Team, where the wing depth has often looked thin, and Azaz, a natural 10, has had to cover when the set-up switched to a 5-2-3.

Umeh has impressed for the underage groups of Ireland and Benfica. Hopefully, the former Cork City player can become a regular fixture in the Portuguese League. His journey to this point can be read here!

Melia, now a Spurs player, may look to kickstart his Spurs career in the coming season off the back of a difficult season for the North London outfit, with relegation narrowly avoided on the final day.

Melia made his senior debut, where he played 20+ minutes as a substitute against World Cup hosts Canada. While not a massive amount of experience was gained, it will prove to serve the prospect well in gaining experience in the camp.

Much is to be seen with how Melia’s Spurs career could turn out, with obvious parallels to be drawn from the current talisman for Ireland, Troy Parrott’s career.  

Rory Finneran, the youngest player to ever play for Blackburn Rovers at the age of 15. The young midfielder would soon take his talents to the Newcastle academy.

A player profile that the Boys in Green are becoming increasingly in desperate for where the midfield depth has looking troubling.

Finneran possesses an impressive ability to read opposition passing lanes and a progressive passing range, which might be the solution for the Boys in Green.  

Finneran will need to solidify his professional career by going on loan or gaining minutes in the senior team before he can become a mainstay in the National Team.

Expectations

Discussing the players mentioned, one thing becomes clear: these players are human and that they are young. Before piling on expectations that they will lead us to the World Cup again, we must recall how expectations have led to disappointment before.

Evan Ferguson, who last year had a good yet frustrating season at Roma, where playing time proved to be more limited than expected, would have performances with increased confidence despite the criticism from Gasperini.  

First thought of as a perfect fit, where the former Atalanta coach’s history of transforming strikers’ careers was noted. Soon became a thing of nightmares as Gasperini would begin to criticise the striker who was once linked with Manchester United.

Ferguson has long suffered extensive periods on the sideline, especially with his ankle, which might be a consistent problem for the still young striker.

With this all in mind, Evan Ferguson is still only twenty-one years old with his whole career ahead of him. Upon his breakout season under De Zerbi, many declared that we finally had an Irish Wonderkid.

Immediately given the number 9 for Ireland, and links to teams where Brighton declared he would not be sold for under £100 million.

All of this spotlight for a kid must be dizzying, where the expectations of a dormant football-mad country certainly pile up on this too.

I think it must be understood that anything could happen for these players, whether it’s injuries or just unfairly placed huge expectations.

While it is true that Ireland possesses a strong group of young talent, it can be easy to become excited about. Two things can be true at once.

Luck, injuries, and many other factors play into how these players’ careers can be shaped. So, rather than add further detriment and expectations, we should allow these players to play and hopefully, the holy grail of a World Cup campaign will come.