Heimir Hallgrimsson has ignited Ireland's flame, can he keep it burning?
A Can Bag Flame Heimir New Again Picture: Hallgrímsson Has His Mixed Opening Ignited He Era: Keep Going ©inpho/ryan After Byrne But Ireland's Games In It
If he were to compare himself to one of the 13 Yule lads associated with an Icelandic Christmas, Heimir Hallgrímsson would be angling towards the Candle Beggar rather than Door Slammer.
Just because Hallgrímsson had a major job confronting him in September as Ireland manager doesn’t mean there was a requirement to apply a dictatorial approach.
Players belonging to the last successful era of the Irish team were of a feeling that the appropriate candidate to stir a deflated dressing-room of players combined presence and experience.
The FAI struck gold when it came to one of those traits.
Despite offering a middling salary, by club standards anyway, that they attracted a manager with history of boosting the profile of both Iceland and Jamaica constituted hitting a requisite.
Where Hallgrímsson comes up short is in radiance and aura. It’s said that players need only a couple of introductory audiences to suss out the capability of the person barking the instructions.
In this case, those listening had no choice but to be patient.
So mangled was the FAI’s pursuit of filling the vacancy that a mere five weeks was available to the newcomer before England and Greece rocked up to Lansdowne Road for the opening Nations League double-header in September.
His decision to allow John O’Shea to extend, unofficially, his caretaker stint from the four games earlier in the year subjected Hallgrímsson to immediate scrutiny.
Had his team succeeded in scoring a goal, never mind lay a glove on either opponent, allowances might have been granted.
External spotlight didn’t alter the manager’s demeanour. It has been similar from his first press conference on July 11 to his last for the World Cup qualification draw on December 13.
Hallgrímsson cut a cool figure during his unveiling at Lansdowne Road, sitting like an obedient child between Marc Canham and David Courell.
They were the parents fielding the media inquisition, Canham fumbling for excuses to explain missed deadlines while ironically Courell absorbing flak for staging the announcement too soon, clashing with a vital women’s Euro qualifier in Norwich.
Throughout, the star attraction smiled for the cameras.
He’d have been well aware of his new employers’ penchant for controversy without googling the latest scandals.
His rules of engagement were spelt out from preliminary dealings with the FAI. Trust was foremost, evident by his insistence that a leaking of his name into the ongoing discourse would veto any potential alliance.
Jamaica was aware of other ventures being explored beyond the summer Copa América, only not with whom.
Hallgrímsson is an outlier in many ways, typified by his choice of going solo. No agent was used in negotiations. If any sliver of information on his candidature was to emerge over the six months contact remained, it wasn’t coming from his side.
He wasn’t so assured to ignore the notion of O’Shea and fellow coach Paddy McCarthy remaining involved to smooth his arrival, yet adamant his goalkeeping specialist formed part of his package.
Hallgrímsson, as O’Shea declared when confusion surfaced over roles and responsibilities, is the ‘boss’.
He might not fit the stereotype players are conditioned to from the UK club circuit, preferring quiet individual chats over motivational group sermons, but that is the character recruited by the FAI. Barking isn’t his thing.
He appears to be entirely cocooned, indifferent to whatever latest fire the association is fighting.
Maybe ignorance was bliss when he downplayed the connotations of Robbie Keane being invited to a caps presentation during the last camp.
His casual dress sense, of retro Adidas trainers with open necked shirt – certainly no sighting of a tie so far - chimes with the soft-spoken monotone of his press interviews.
Tone is one strand to master but the theme is equally important.
Irrespective of results, the four defeats and two wins, Hallgrimsson’s messaging has remained consistent.
When the decline has been so steep, 46 places in Fifa rankings over the past 20 years into the sixties, first principles are imperative.
“We don’t have the high-profile player of the past like Roy Keane in the middle - playing at the highest level of football,” he said, delivering an uncomfortable truth.
“It’s collective responsibility. We need to grow from something - and structure and organisation is where we need to start. Players will find confidence in being structured.”
Only once did he risk teetering from honesty into insult.
Players and public were entitled to be miffed by him declaring the team “gave up” amid the second-half collapse at Wembley last month but within a few weeks he dismissed it as a “one-off.” It’s difficult to compartmentalise when that mauling was the most recent result, compounded by being against the nearest neighbour.
Hallgrimsson’s era won’t be defined by meetings with top-five global nations, rather seeing off similar counterparts like Finland and reaching a stage whereby clawing back sides such as Greece is realistic.
Two of the three goals conceded against the latter two in the October window were uncharacteristic errors from Nathan Collins and Caoimhín Kelleher.
Both players have had, and will have, better days for Ireland, convincing their manager to adopt perspective. “Shit happens,” he deadpanned.
Of more concern are structural fractures. Ireland succeeded in repelling England for 50 minutes, an improvement on the Dublin meeting 10 weeks earlier, until a single crossfield pass by Harry Kane dissected his defence.
That had reverted to a back-four from his second game but Robbie Brady’s constant presence within it was derailed by injury for the final window.
His replacement at left-back, the undercooked Callum O’Dowda, delayed anticipating the danger, isolating the back-peddling Liam Scales against Jude Bellingham. Ireland never recovered from losing the goal and player.
On the upside, Evan Ferguson rediscovered his fitness and form.
From beginning the year with a missed penalty in O’Shea’s bow against Belgium to finishing with the winner against Finland and a valid penalty claim rejected at Wembley, his role is crystalising all the time. He only turned 20 in October.
Hallgrímsson’s longevity in the striker’s development will be determined by 2025, not 2024.
A couple of wins ignited a flame that was flickering but the real test will be to keep the candle burning.
IRELAND: C Kelleher; A Omobamidele, N Collins, D O’Shea; S Coleman, J Cullen, W Smallbone (F Ebosele 86); S Szmodics, R Brady (M Doherty 81); C Ogbene (M Johnston 71), S Szmodics (J Knight 71); E Ferguson (A Idah 71).
IRELAND: G Bazunu; A Omobamidele (M Doherty 57), N Collins, D O’Shea; S Coleman, J Cullen (F Azaz 87), J Knight (W Smallbone 58), R Brady (C O’Dowda 79); S Szmodics (M Sykes 79), M Johnston (A Idah 57); E Ferguson.
IRELAND: C Kelleher; S Coleman, S Duffy (J O’Brien 46), D O‘Shea (L Scales 46); M Doherty, W Smallbone (J Knight 79) , J Cullen, R Brady (C O’Dowda 62); S Szmodics, F Azaz (T Parrott 62); A Idah (M Obafemi 71).
IRELAND: C Kelleher; D O‘Shea, J O’Brien, L Scales; S Coleman (M Doherty 70), W Smallbone (M Sykes 83), J Cullen, R Brady (C O’Dowda 52); S Szmodics (J Knight 70), T Parrott (T Cannon 52); A Idah (M Johnston 52).
IRELAND: C Kelleher; S Coleman (J O’Brien 57), N Collins, D O'Shea; M Doherty (J Knight 57), W Smallbone (A Browne 75), J Molumby, R Brady (E Ferguson 82); C Ogbene, S Szmodics; A Idah (K McAteer 75).
IRELAND: C Kelleher; A Omobamidele (M Doherty 74), N Collins, D O’Shea; C Ogbene (C Robinson 84), A Browne, J Molumby (E Ferguson 63), R Brady; W Smallbone, J Knight (K McAteer 74); S Szmodics (A Idah 84).
IRELAND: C Kelleher; D O’Shea, N Collins, L Scales, R Brady: J Cullen, J Knight; C Ogbene (A Idah 80), F Azaz (J McGrath 70), S Szmodics (F Ebosele 80); E Ferguson (T Parrott 70).
IRELAND: C Kelleher; D O’Shea (K McAteer 84), N Collins (c), L Scales, R Brady: J Cullen, J Knight (J Molumby 73); C Ogbene (F Ebosele 57), T Parrott, S Szmodics (M Johnston 73); E Ferguson (J Taylor 57).
IRELAND: C Kelleher; M Doherty (D O’Shea 76), N Collins, L Scales, C O’Dowda: J Cullen, J Knight; F Ebosele (J Molumby 76), S Szmodics (T Cannon 85), M Johnston (R Manning 85); E Ferguson (F Azaz 76),
IRELAND: C Kelleher; D O'Shea, M McGuinness, L Scales, C O’Dowda (R Manning 66) ; F Ebosele (F Azaz 66), J Cullen (A Moran 77), N Collins, J Molumby, S Szmodics (K McAteer 88); E Ferguson (T Parrott 66).