The High Road To The Lowlands

I DON'T know if his wife is aware of this, but Liam Brady seems to spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about Roy Keane's groin.
"I just hope that he comes through United's game at the weekend without picking up one of the strains or pulls that combative players like him are prone to," Brady told me last week, adding, "so often, he's been the one who's conjured up the magic when we've needed it. It's very rare that he doesn't deliver."
Having emerged from Man U's taming of Leicester City with nary a twinge, Keano will again be marshalling the troops as Ireland embark on their most testing mission since the Euro '96 play-off against Holland. Unlike other pundits, though, Brady doesn't necessarily think that we need a hatfull of goals to take to Turkey.
"It'd be great if we could go with a two or three goal cushion, sure, but 1-0 would also be an excellent result. The important thing is not to get impatient and let them score on the counter which they're perfectly capable of doing. As soon as they get an away goal, the complexion of the tie changes."
Arsenal's Head of Youth Development also reckons that too much is being made of the "Welcome To Hell" aspect of the second-leg.
"It's a cliché, but once the whistle goes you really do blank out the crowd," he resumes. "An awful lot of it is media hype. The same sort of thing was said when we (Arsenal) played Fenerbahce there in the Cup Winners' Cup, but it was no worse than going to White Hart Lane for a derby game.
"I tell you, their lads will be just as nervous about coming to Lansdowne Road and playing in front of 40,000 roaring and screaming Irishmen."
Is there anything to be gleaned from Chelsea's 5-0 hammering of Galatasaray?
"Well, in relation to what we were just talking about, it shows that it's footballers who score goals, not the crowd. Some sides actually perform better in away games, because the onus is on the home team to attack and they can counter more effectively."
Brady, who lest we forget is the proud owner of 72 Irish caps, feels that Mick McCarthy has been unfairly criticised for not achieving automatic qualification.
"My immediate reaction when the group was drawn was, 'We're going to have our work cut out against Yugoslavia and Croatia.' There were a couple of wobbles along the way, sure, but beating Croatia 2-0 so soon after their World Cup exploits, was an incredible result. I don't know about you, but winning all your home games doesn't rate as failure in my book."
McCarthy's über-critics maintain that if Ireland do get to Euro 2000, it'll only be to make up the numbers.
"I don't accept that. If we beat Turkey - which I think we will - I can see us going to Belgium and Holland next year and reaching the knock-out stage."
As for the more immediate task, Brady is heartened by the form that some of our key squad-members have been showing recently.
"He was a quality player in the First Division as well, but being back in the Premiership has given Niall Quinn that little bit of extra sharpness. There have been a couple of games this season when he's been outstanding.
"And then there's Robbie Keane, who seems to improve with every game. He doesn't strike me as a lad who's ever lacked confidence, but he must be riding the crest of a wave having gone to Coventry and clicked straight away."
Of course, if Arsene Wenger had succeeded in getting his man last season, the crest-riding would be taking place in London, rather than the Midlands. Was there disappointment at Highbury when he eventually pledged his allegiance to Gordon Strachan?
"You'd have to ask the senior management team that," comes the rather careful reply. "He's certainly very exciting to watch, and a huge asset as far as Ireland's concerned."
Robbie Keane's not the only player who's been catching the eye this season at club level, with Derby's Rory Delap and Leeds' Stephen Carr moving ever closer to a regular first-team berth. If needs dictate, Liam Brady wouldn't mind them starting against Turkey.
"It's really down to the balance of the side," he proffers. "If there's enough experience around them, I think Mick could put either Carr or Delap in and be confident of them holding their own.
"There's no two ways about it, club and international football are different, but if you're playing week in, week out in the Premiership, you're used to the big occasion. I'm sure Stephen Carr's played at Old Trafford, which, when Leeds are the visitors, is a real cauldron. Full marks to David O'Leary - the way he's brought his youngsters on has been superb."
For his part, the Irish football legend has been doing okay with his own bunch - the Arsenal Under-18s successful last year in both the F.A. Premier Youth League and Southern Junior Floodlit Cup. The bad memories of his times at Celtic and Brighton remain, though, with the 43-year-old adamant that he'll never return to first-team management. "I've experienced it and it's out of my system," he says bluntly.
Would he reconsider his position if the FAI came a calling?
"No, I don't see any circumstances under which I'd take on the job of Ireland manager."
Which isn't to say that he's not doing his bit for the international side - Arsenal's current batch of budding Kanus and Bergkamps including former Cherry Orchard defender Brian McGovern, and Keith Fahey and Declan Field who were recruited from the Dublin Schoolboys League.
While the experience of being at Highbury can only benefit them, one wonders what chance they have of breaking into a senior side that's peppered with #5 million-plus World Cup stars.
"The trick is to bring your youngsters on so that you don't have to spend #5 million on World Cup stars. Realistically, there are always going to be players that you bring in from outside, but there are huge advantages to be gained from having a good youth policy."
Something which is often forgotten when talking about foreign imports, is how their skills impact on their Anglo-Saxon teammates. Ray Parlour, for instance, has come on leaps and bounds since the arrival of the Highbury foreign legion.
"I'd agree with you," he concurs. "Football's all about learning, which you can't help but do playing alongside the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Mark Overmars."
When he's not trying to save David Dein a few bob, Brady can increasingly be found in front of the RTE cameras. Indeed, this season has seen him emerge as a pundit of real substance.
"I don't go out of my way to court controversy, but neither do I sit on the fence. I try to be objective and if that objectivity upsets people, so be it. I have to say that I find it easier commenting on the Premiership than I do Ireland games, because in many ways I'm still quite close to the international set-up."
He's also supremely adept at putting Eamon Dunphy in his place.
"It wasn't so long ago that I was getting a tongue-lashing from him myself," he laughs. "Eamon's Eamon. RTE like him to be controversial, which by nature he is. A lot of what he says I take with a pinch of salt, but there's no questioning his passion for the game."
And a final prediction for the play-offs?
"Ireland to win at home, and then draw in Turkey."
Here's hoping. n