If there was one thing that Giovanni Trapattoni was perfectly clear about in his post-match comments after the 2 – 0 win over Poland, it was the fact that Wes Hoolahan has virtually no chance of starting despite impressing and scoring as a second half substitute.

Whether Trap actually appreciates the Norwich man or not, it seems that the Italian believes that Hoolahan cannot fit in to his preferred 4-4-2. But as Eoin Brennan pointed out in midweek, Hoolahan did a fine job in midfield alongside the industrious Paul Green.

The merits of a switch to 4-2-3-1 have been discussed endlessly and seem to have fallen on deaf ears, but there is no reason why Hoolahan could not have been trialed in a 4-4-2 alongside either Glenn Whelan or James McCarthy if that is the system that will be persisted with until 2014.

The former Shels man’s best position is undoubtedly in the hole behind the main striker. That is where he excels in the Premier League.

Good tackler

But one thing that is overlooked is the fact that he is a good tackler. Hoolahan has won 84 per cent of his tackles for Norwich this term, more than Whelan, Gibson (assuming the Everton man returns for Ireland) and McCarthy.

Of course that trio’s defensive reading of the game is far superior to Hoolahan’s as they make far more interceptions per game than the Dubliner – something that can be more important than tackling in the modern game.

But Hoolahan ability to maintain possession would be an advantage defensively. It goes without saying that the Norwich man has the best pass success rate (84 per cent) of any of Ireland’s Premier League midfielders with the exception of James McCarthy (88 per cent).

A McCarthy and Hoolahan partnership in midfield would make more intelligent use of possession which would alleviate pressure defensively – although there would be inherent risks when the opposition have the ball. Ideally that duo would work best alongside the ever-improving Darron Gibson in a midfield three.

But that is unlikely to happen under Trap’s stewardship. Instead he used Wednesday night to give the hard-working but limited Conor Sammon a full 90 minutes up front when the Poland match could have been used to experiment with players that could be useful against Sweden next month.

 

©INPHO/Cathal Noonan