In McShane We Trust?

The sports pages of the world's most famous broadsheets were only concerned with one news item today, namely that Paul McShane has been drafted into the Ireland Euro 2012 squad to replace the injured Kevin Foley. Foley is now the second withdrawal from the squad hot on the heels of Keith Fahey who was replaced by the equally imperious Paul Green. I expect that the likes of Iniesta, Jelavic and Balotelli are now having nightmares at the prospect of coming face to face with the man who makes Alan Kernaghan look like a quality defender.

McShane in fairness strikes fear into hearts every time he steps onto the pitch for Ireland. The problem being that it is the Irish fans' whose hearts I am talking about. That is something even his club's fans at Hull City haven't had to endure recently, since he was on loan at Crystal Palace for the second half of last season. Now don't get me wrong, we all love players who have lots of heart and would die for the cause, and there is no doubt that McShane satisfies both of these criteria, but we also love players who can actually play too.

McShane seemed to be totally out of the picture in terms of getting a starting berth in the Irish team only a few weeks ago, but the subsequent injury doubts surrounding John O'Shea have suddenly propelled him into a  situation, where he will be very much in the frame for the first game against Croatia now that he is in the final 23. There is always Stephen Kelly of course, who I would like to think could reasonably get the nod. But a niggling feeling persists that should O'Shea not be ready for the Croatia game, and there is every reason to believe he won't, McShane will step forward as the man upon whom we trust. As the little montage below suggests, that will not be an easy thing.