The search is on for the new Robbie Keane ! And if and when he is discovered nobody will extend a warmer welcome to him than Don Givens, manager of Ireland’s squad of U21 international players. Givens will look back on twelve months of regular action and regret that a player with the goal-scoring instincts of Ireland’s senior team captain has not yet been identified. That serves to emphasise how special are the particular qualities that elevate a player with goal-scoring potential above his contemporaries, how rare those qualities are. Keane has demonstrated at every level of the game a unique ability to capitalise upon a healthy quota of the goal-scoring opportunities that came his way. He confirmed this special gift when he graduated to senior international football from the day he made his debut in a friendly against the Czech Republic in Olomouc in March, 1998. A total of 41 goals from 95 matches for Ireland represents a marvellous return and points to a very special player. How Don Givens would like to groom his successor ! He said: “If we had a player with Robbie’s ability to take a good proportion of his scoring chances then I can assure you our U21 team would be very competitive in the current UEFA Championship.” Ireland have played six out of ten matches in Group two of the UEFA U21 Championship and are currently bottom of the table behind Switzerland, Turkey, Estonia, Georgia and Armenia with four draws and two defeats. The scoreline in the four drawn matches was 1-1 and therein lies a tale. A youngster with Robbie Keane’s eye for goal might well have led to Ireland winning all four of those matches. Said Givens: “I can honestly say that this squad of players have created more scoring chances in all of their matches than any other group I have managed. But we cannot find someone to put the ball in the back of the net. “The performances generally have been very good. The only one of the six matches where the performance was poor was in our last match where we lost 1-4 to Armenia.” There were extenuating circumstances. That match was played in Yerevan on November 17, four days after Ireland had drawn with Georgia in Tbilisi. Givens was drawing up his squad of players for those two matches when he had to find replacements for the injured James McCarthy, Alan Judge, Brendan Moloney and Ian Bermingham, all regulars in his squad. Then the match in Tbilisi took a heavy toll on his squad for three more players picked up injuries – Seamus Coleman, Sean Scannell and Owen Garvan. The team that faced Armenia was seriously weakened. Givens would, of course, like to see Ireland earn better results, would rejoice if they were to qualify for the finals of the UEFA Championship. However, the main purpose of developing a squad of U21 players has to be the production of players ready to take a place in Ireland’s senior squad. Givens addresses this challenge in his own way. “I do not put pressure on the players for results” he said, “of course we go out to win our matches, but I put pressure on the players for performance. “Generally if the performance is right then the results will follow. Now I have already said that our performances were good in all our games except for the match against Armenia. What has compromised our position has been the inability of our players to put the ball in the net … in a 1-1 draw with Estonia we had 24 scoring opportunities to their one.” Givens has sought to facilitate the advancement of his players and the production of good quality football and performances by imposing an adventurous playing system. “We have played 4-3-3 in all our games” he said, “with two wingers instructed to play wide at all times, principally because we have good wingers. That is why we have had so many scoring chances.” A big drain on the manager’s resources has been, inevitably, the calls of the senior management team. Ireland’s U21 team has lost the services of a large number of players in recent seasons to the senior team while they were still eligible for U21 football. That list includes Eddie Nolan, Paul McShane, Shane Long, Darren O’Dea, Darron Gibson, Aiden McGeady, Anthony Stokes, Andy Keogh among them. It remains to be seen how many of the current U21 squad will go on to play senior football for Ireland. The events of this season in England suggest that Seamus Coleman, the former Sligo Rovers player now with Everton, might well be next in line. “Seamus is a terrific young player with a great attitude” said Givens, “he was unlucky when he first went to Everton because he picked up a foot infection that kept him out for a long time and now he is quickly making up for lost time. “Seamus has always been a very good defender with the kind of enthusiasm and drive you want in your side. But he was, perhaps, a little bit limited when he came over the half-way line. “Then when I saw him recently against ‘Spurs it seemed to me that he has made great strides in this regard. Training and playing regularly with better players is bringing out his attacking skill and he is just one of the players I think could move on to the senior squad soon. “This is an occupational hazard to somebody in my job … just when the team is settling down the probability is one of your best players is plucked from your ranks and promoted to the seniors. Eddie Nolan was the last one and he is a defender too. “But, you know, that is what the job is all about; I mean, you have to accept that Giovanni Trapattoni is not going to be calling to take the players off my bench ! He’s looking for the best.” Results 2009 for Ireland’s U21 squad: 10/02/’09: Friendly – Ireland 1 – 1 Germany, Turner’s Cross. 27/03/’09: Friendly – Ireland 2 – 1 Spain, RSC Waterford 31/03/’09: *ECQ – Ireland 0 – 3 Turkey, Turner’s Cross 09/09/’09: ECQ – Estonia 1 – 1 Ireland, Rakvere 09/10/’09: ECQ – Ireland 1 – 1 Georgia, Tallaght Stadium 13/10/’09: ECQ – Ireland 1 – 1 Switzerland, RSC Waterford 14/11/’09: ECQ – Georgia 1 – 1 Ireland, Tbilisi 17/11/’09: ECQ – Armenia 4 – 1 Ireland, Yerevan. *European Championship Qualifying match

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Ireland’s U21s look for the new Robbie Keane