WHATEVER happens against France next month, Giovanni Trapattoni would be entitled to reach for the microphone on the flight home and launch into some Frank Sinatra. He really does do things his way.

There's a school of thought which suggests that Trap is above questioning. After all, he inherited the post-Staunton chaos, yet has steered an average bunch of players through a qualifying campaign unbeaten, only to be screwed over by shameful goalpost moving from FIFA that has placed a significant obstacle between Ireland and the promised land.

It's an understandable belief, but while Trapattoni's single-minded stubbornness is an admirable trait, that is not to say that he is always consistent. Specifically, the decision to leave both Steven Reid and Steve Finnan out of the squad for next month's showdown France is a major surprise.

When you consider that Trapattoni has included Reid in squads in recent months when he was nowhere near ready, it seems remarkable that the 28-year-old should not even be left on standby after he delivered the strongest possible positive bulletin on his fitness in the Irish Independent 12 days ago in response to the Italian's vague scepticism about his long-term well-being.

If Reid participates in Blackburn's games with Manchester United and Portsmouth between now and November 14, then it makes little sense for him to be at home when he could provide quality midfield back-up.

The lack of consistency comes by virtue of the presence of Darron Gibson in the squad; the Derry native has been laid up since before the Italy and Montenegro games and missed his scheduled comeback in the Carling Cup on Wednesday in the same week that Reid lasted 70 minutes in what Trapattoni derided as an 'easy game'. It may well have been so, but should Gibson fail to add to his 108 minutes of club action this season before meeting up with the Irish squad on November 9, the logic for Reid's exclusion is difficult to hold up.

"These two games, these play-offs, are 90 minutes and 90 minutes against a strong team," said Trapattoni. "Our team now is a good team because it has balance and the players are in good condition at the moment. I need players who play, play, play now. In the future, if other players are fit and ready, I will look to those players after the play-off."

The Irish psyche is always disposed towards a conspiracy theory, however, and it's not completely ridiculous to suggest that Reid has paid the penalty for both speaking to this newspaper and then his manager, Sam Allardyce, launching an outburst at what he described as Trapattoni's 'drivel'.

Dissent is not welcomed in Trap's world. Behind all talk of systems and tactics, Andy Reid still suffers for the showdown in Wiesbaden. Minor figures, like the luckless Joey O'Brien and Daryl Murphy, expressed dismay at their respective situations and haven't been sighted since although the former was struck down shortly after his fit of pique.

Enraged

It would be terribly unfortunate if another Reid somehow entered this category, with Trap protesting that the observations that so enraged Allardyce were misinterpreted -- even though the transcript does him little favours in that regard.

"What disturbed me was when I read what I didn't say," he said. "My meaning may have been misunderstood. I cannot answer today to what my colleague (Allardyce) said in England. Steve knows my meaning. Steve knows what I said to him before the holiday. Steve knows what our doctor said. Steve knows what spoke with Liam (Brady) last week. He know. He know."

Does he? Given what has gone before, the Londoner is entitled to feel very confused about what has unfolded. So, too, does Finnan.

Remember, the 33-year-old retired from international football after the end of the Staunton era but was convinced back into the fold by Trapattoni and Brady. Like Reid, he kicked off the campaign as a first-choice option but then succumbed to a series of mishaps as part of the great disaster that was his stint in Spain with Espanyol.

Again, similar to Reid, his name has popped up on squad lists at times where he was in no state to participate. Now, with three full matches at Premier League level under his belt, his services aren't needed for the defining two games of this tenure.

And he isn't on official standby either. Instead, Sean St Ledger will partner Richard Dunne at centre-half with John O'Shea at right full. Should any of those suffer misfortune, then Paul McShane is next in line while a superior performer is left at home.

Baffling

It's arguably more baffling than the Reid decision as Finnan has already been involved in games of consequence. "We follow Steven Reid and Finnan after the play-off," said Trapattoni, "Fingers crossed. This team now has balance, it's a good team... I cannot change now.

"I have said about teams, like Italy, in the Confederations Cup who changed players and lose. It's not the time to change the team now. We need a strong team with 11 players with a winning mentality who know their job and work on the pitch and can go up over this play-off.

"After one year, it is difficult. You cannot say that he (Reid) plays one game, it's not two games, 18, 19 minutes or 45 minutes. For 180 minutes we need strong fit players, it's performance. It's not the name. I don't want to get angry but I have been saying for a year that international matches are different. I am used to these games and performance is very, very important. Do you know how strong the French are?"

There is a change of sorts in the striking department with Anthony Stokes summoned after the misfortune suffered by Noel Hunt and Caleb Folan. Stokes has been in or around squads under Trapattoni, but earned all three of his senior caps under Staunton. Reunited with his mentor at Falkirk, John Hughes, the great white hope has thrived at Hibernian but it's difficult to see his skills being required. Leon Best takes the role of third choice striker behind Kevin Doyle and Robbie Keane.

No disrespect to Best, who has shown enough in his Irish cameos to suggest he could play a prominent part in the future, but it's further evidence of just how badly Trap's strength in depth is exposed by one or two injuries to major players.

"We think now that we have a 50pc chance to achieve qualification for South Africa," he said, "We can keep this dream but we have to think about what we have done until now.

"It is necessary to repeat the same performance, we did not lose any games and we must avoid silly mistakes. We did not want to play the first game at home but now we must not lose a game. These are the things we must understand, this is where we must concentrate."

A gruelling, exacting challenge lies on the horizon and the reality is that it will be a group effort which is why the issue of whether the strongest group has been selected comes into sharp focus. In that context, neglecting the talents of Reid and Finnan is questionable in the extreme. Regrets? Let's hope he doesn't have a few.

- Daniel McDonnell

Irish Independent