Following the Republic of Ireland's recent results in Group C for qualifying for Euro 2012, one must wonder where it is going wrong for the Boys in Green.
A 3-2 defeat at home to Russia and a 1-1 draw away to Slovakia, may prove to cost Giovanni Trapttoni's men dear as they bid to qualify for the tournament which will be held in Poland and the Ukraine.
Here is a look through Trap's squad.
Defence: It may not be Ireland's biggest weakness but the Irish certainly need to sure up at the back. Shay Given and Kevin Kilbane may be two of our most experienced players but neither are playing regular football. Given has lost his place to Joe Hart at Manchester City while Kevin Kilbane is struggling to pin down a place in the Championship with Hull City.
Perhaps it's time to look at change. Kevin Kilbane is now 33-years-old and is becoming increasingly old for international football. There are other options for the Irish at left-back. Stephen Ward is playing week-in-week-out in the Premiership for Wolves, yet he can't even get a call-up. I fear Trapattoni may be looking at this qualifying campaign and not beyond, thus stalling the growth of our young talent on the international stage.
There have been positives in the Irish defence though and at times it has been our strongest weapon.Richard Dunne and Sean St.Ledger have been solid for Ireland at centre-back, but going by the goals conceded against the Russians and indeed the Slovaks work must be done to rectify the creeks in Trapattoni's defence.
Midfield:Our Achilles heel, well, in the middle at least. Quite simply Paul Greene is not an international footballer. An honest, hard-working player he may be but he is nowhere near international standard.
There are quietly simply better players available then him who play in the centre of midfield. I would give Keith Fahey a go in the middle, he has certainly proved more than capable of delivering for Ireland. I also feel the Irish manager has to bring Andy Reid into the squad, he offers something different to Glenn Whelan and Keith Andrew. Even Stephen Reid could offer us something Greene can't in the middle of the pitch.
On the wings we're up to scratch. Duff, Lawrence, McGeady and even Fahey have proved to be a key part of the team when they've played. Most of our goals so far has come down the flanks and hopefully this is something Trapattoni will continue to exploit for the rest of qualification.
Attack: Robbie Keane is Ireland's top goalscorer and is without a doubt an Ireland legend but since he is not playing regularly for Tottenham the 30-year-old has been somewhat out of sort.
Keane had a shocking game against Russia and Slovakia, he looked like a player who was frustrated and low on confidence. Some of his play acting and general demeanour on the pitch seemed to show this.
But can Trap afford to drop his captain? Probably not. Kevin Doyle is a given to partner Keane up-front, with the other options being Andy Keogh and Shane Long.
While both Long and Keogh have done reasonably well when given their chance by the manager neither are close to the standard of Keane. It is worrying however though that this is the case. We don't appear to have someone in reserve who can step-up and deliver.
Next up:Norway will visit the Aviva Stadium in September to take on the Green Army in a friendly. Perhaps this game will give Trapattoni the chance to experiment with his squad and possibly try to experience with a new style of play. I wouldn't hold my breath though...
So after days of speculation Wayne Rooney has decided to stay with Manchester United, for the time being at least.
