When the Republic of Ireland needed to replace Giovanni Trapattoni, supporter Paddy O’Brien thought he had something unique to offer. Despite his revolutionary tactics and willingness to negotiate on wages, the FAI replied to turn him down

Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane will stroll on to the pitch at Celtic Park next week with great confidence. Late goals against Germany and Georgia have put their Republic of Ireland team in a strong position before their Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland, but could things have be even better for the Irish? Could an even smarter managerial team with more revolutionary ideas have achieved more with these player?

That was Paddy O’Brien’s hope last September, when the FAI waved goodbye to Giovanni Trapattoni and began to search for a replacement. The list of prospective candidates did not impress the long-suffering supporter, so he decided to put his name forward: “At the time I wrote the application there were a lot of individuals being touted for the job and, even with no experience of football management, I reckoned I would be every bit as good as Owen Coyle, Gerard Houllier, Noel King, etc.”

O’Brien has supported Ireland for as long as he can remember – “my earliest childhood memory is of big Johnny Aldridge sticking two past the hapless Latvian defence in the famous 2-1 pummelling we inflicted on them in Euro 1996 qualifying – so he drew up a CV that set out his personal and tactical philosophy, not forgetting to mention his salary demands, star sign and previous managerial skills:

O’Brien was not offered an interview, but he holds no grudges: “Martin O’Neill has impressed me thus far. He’s not utilising my tactics, even though I said he could if he wanted, but there are more than two ways to skin a cat. I suppose the proof of the pudding will be whether he manages to guide us to Euro 2016 glory. I can see why Keane was hired as assistant manager. He’s the perfect foil for the good cop/bad cop routine and obviously knows a bit about the Irish game. I would have appointed an assistant double team of philosopher Noam Chomsky and chess master Garry Kasparov. Chomsky was very interested.”

At least the FAI broke the news to him politely:

Despite his personal disappointment, O’Brien still hopes he can play a role for his country: “I’m also always happy to advise O’Neill on any tactical questions he may have, for a small fee.”

