With calendars now having flipped to 2020, it is only a matter of weeks before Ireland face the defining period of the second Mick McCarthy era. Having been brought in with the sole goal of bringing us to Euro 2020, the playoffs in March will decide if his return can be classified as a success or failure.
Ireland will face a tricky game in Slovakia, with a win in that one setting up a decider against either Northern Ireland or Bosnia & Herzegovina, once again away from home.
It is certainly not an easy path, especially when you consider our only away win in the campaign was an unconvincing 1-0 victory in Gibraltar. This leaves plenty of questions as to where we have gone wrong during a qualifying campaign that saw be placed in an enviable position for the most part.
Team selections were questionable at times. Despite preaching a mantra of club form above all else, he often reverted to the tried and tested.
John Egan was playing at a level well above Richard Keogh for at least 12 months but the Irish boss persisted with the Derby player until his injury forced him to switch up his defence. Similar arguments could be made for other players, especially in terms of those who were retained despite a lack of form.
Still, no player can feel more hard done by then Matt Doherty.
Doherty was unquestionably the best Irish player in the Premier League during the 18/19 campaign, producing some scintillating performances for Wolves. He was desperately unlucky not to be included in the PFA Team of the Year, with only Trent Alexander-Arnold keeping him out of the side.
He looked set to be a massive player for Ireland during Euro 2020 qualifying, but things didn't work out that way.
The presence of Seamus Coleman ensured McCarthy was never going to give Doherty the right back position. As captain, and a huge performer for his country over the past number of years, the Everton man was always going to be in the team.
That resulted in McCarthy seeking ways to fit both players into the starting XI. The first game of the campaign against Gibraltar saw Coleman start at right back and Doherty just in front of him on the right of midfield. Considering the attacking nature of the Wolves man's play at club level, it had the potential to work.
It was abandoned after less than an hour and was not used again in the campaign. Hindsight may be 20/20, but that now looks like a mistake.
Doherty would not start another game until Georgia away, where he was played out of position at left back. When he finally got an opportunity at right back against Switzerland due to Coleman's suspension, he was arguably our best player.
With decisive games now only a matter of weeks away, Matt Doherty simply has to be in the team. Ignoring this issue once again would be a huge mistake on Mick McCarthy's part.
Where does he fit in? The most obvious answer is as a direct replacement for Coleman.
The Everton man has been an incredible servant to his country, but he is no longer at the peak of his career. Doherty has been outperforming for a good 18 months now and there is no real contest between the pair when it comes to current form. It clear the Dubliner offers more at this point.
That being said, knowing all we do about the current Ireland manager, this seems like the least likely outcome.
This once again leaves us looking for answers as to how both can be part of the same side. Luckily for McCarthy, the perfect litmus test is currently taking place on Merseyside.
Everton recruited World Cup winning right back Djibril Sidibe from Monaco during the summer, presumably with the intention of replacing Seamus Coleman. That seemed to be the way things were going under Marco Silva, with the Donegal man finding himself out of the team more and more as the season progressed.
However, with the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti things have taken an interesting turn. The Italian seems intent on fitting both Sidibe and Coleman into the team, trying out a couple of different systems in order to do so.
Coleman has been deployed on the right of a back three, with Sidibe operating at right wingback. This is a particularly interesting development for Ireland, with a number of our first choice defenders playing in a similar system.
Coleman playing on the right of a back three again for Everton this evening.
Could this, along with Doherty and Stevens at wingback, be the way forward for Ireland? https://t.co/ZVSG1G0x3i— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) January 1, 2020
The clubs of Matt Doherty, Shane Duffy, John Egan, and Enda Stevens have all predominantly used a 3-5-2 system, and adding Coleman to that list would make it hard to ignore for Mick McCarthy.
We have been calling for the use of this exact system and personnel since March of 2019, although others have now joined that particular cause.
McCarthy did flirt briefly with it in Switzerland, but frankly he made a mess of it. James McClean played at left wingback, Enda Stevens in the back three, with Doherty on the bench. It was abandoned after less than half an hour.
If Coleman performs well at right centre back, this should be the move for Mick McCarthy. Enda Stevens and Matt Doherty are two of the most creative players in top half Premier League teams, and in a team crying out for such contributions, this would hand them the opportunity to do the same at international level.
That isn't the only way the pair have been used at Everton. In the admittedly unsuccessful trip to Anfield yesterday, Sidibe played on the right of midfield with Coleman at right back, similar to the experiment we tried in Gibraltar.
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COYB! #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/tXlh5SENR4— Everton (@Everton) January 5, 2020
While it was not a good game for Everton, it will be interesting to see if this is trialled again over the next few games. Doherty would have far more to offer than Sidibe going forward, so you would imagine that Ireland's version could function even more functionally.
Mick McCarthy will no doubt be keeping an eye on Goodison Park in the coming weeks. Should Coleman thrive in a back three, this could be the solution to a number of Ireland problems.
Matt Doherty has to be in the team, that much is obvious. How McCarthy chooses to accommodate will be the interesting thing.
