Mc Caffrey has to be the best underage manager ever

[KildareFan]

Was in Tolka Park last night at the Under 17 game v Hungary.Now I would be well informed in underage football and have to say that the transformation on this team is nothing short of miraculous.

The footbal that was played was a joy to watch and both teams contributed to the overall enjoyment of the game.

Considering the results of this team at Under 16 level - in 2009

This team lost 2-0 to Denmark, lost 4-0 to Portugal; lost 4-0 to Spain;lost 3-0 to France; lost 5-2 to France, Drew 1-1 with Mexico; lost 2-0 to Serbia; drew 2-2 with Croatia and lost two games to two CLUB sides in Itlay.

When Mc Caffrey took over this squad his first result was a defeat to Russia by 2-1 and then lost to Sweden 2-1. From there he put his own stamp on things as Irelaand defeated Romania 4-1.

These games were palyed ina tournament in Poland.

From there he brought the team to Bulgaraia and topped the group as Ireland defeated Bulgaria, Latvia and drew with Sweden in the Under 17 Qualifying tournament..

Mc Caffrey has once agin unearthed a few jems in England/Northern Ireland and the goal scored by Frankie Sutherland last night was a beaut.

Have to say looking at the changing face of underage Soccer - It is much more difficult to win a European trophy now than in Kerr's time and that is not taking away from the fantastic achievement by Brian- it is unlikely that Ireland will ever again triumph in these competitions agin.


What do others think of Mc Caffrey?

[Deckydee]

Hi Sean :p;)

[TrapAPony]

Mc Caffrey has once agin unearthed a few jems in England/Northern Ireland....

That's the key and they should be looking to do the exact same with the senior squad.

[Top Drawer]

Mc Caffrey has unearthed a few jems during his reign as manager - Scannell, Gibson, Jim O 'Brien as well as some home based players who fell through the net like Shane Long, Stephen Ward, Andy Meyler etc.

[gspain]

Yah definitely. What did Brian Kerr (ably assisted by Noel O'Reilly) ever do at underage apart from win a couple of European championships and come 3rd in the World?

Wasn't there last night but am going to Bray tomorrow night. Lets judge these teams on how they do in the elite phase qualifiers not a friendly against Hungary.

[Crosby87]

Wow, a positive, well written post? My eyes are bleeding.
So Kildare, let me ask you, who are the top players on the team if you had to name a few?
Never to soon to start keeping track.

[irishfan86]

Gspain beat me to it by bringing up Brian Kerr. Not saying McCaffrey isn't any good, but Kerr has to be our best underage manager ever.

[Top Drawer]

Gspain beat me to it by bringing up Brian Kerr. Not saying McCaffrey isn't any good, but Kerr has to be our best underage manager ever.

Have to say Do not agree with above -
1. If memory serves me right Kerr did not qualify for one of the Tournaments that GSpain mentions
2. It was much easier then as there were 16 teams in ther finals- On that basis Mc Caffrey would have qualified for I think about 8 Euro finals (thats between 17's and 19,s)
3. In the Under 16 Kerr was very lucky as only a fantastic save by Joe Murphy in the dying minutes of our game against I think Belgium - had that gone in it would have stopped us even qualifying for the final stages.

[KildareFan]

I's not really the players. I was trying to point out that the team has changed completely under Mc Caffrey

From being a side that has suffered defeat after defeat they have now qualified for the Elite phase - by the way so have Hungary

Anyway players to look out for in the future
Sean Mc Ginty, Frankie Sutherland, Anton Rodgers ( son of former Reading boss Brendan Rodgers, Daniel Purdy (son of former LOI player Ritchie)

[Predator]

McCaffrey is definitely not the 'best underage manager ever'. That accolade surely has to be Brian Kerr's?

McCaffrey's under 19 team that lost 6-1 to Switzerland (in European qualifiers?), also lost to Belgium in that group; they won against Sweden, but it meant nothing and we didn't qualify. They won against Malta and Liechtenstein in the qualifying for that group, losing to France.

This international campaign, they've beaten Albania and San Marino in the qualifying, losing to Italy. I think we can agree that the teams the under-19 team has beaten in the past two years have been teams we expect to beat.

Like gspain says, let's see how they do. I wish them the best of luck!

[gspain]

So Kildare, let me ask you, who are the top players on the team if you had to name a few?

I's not really the players. I was trying to point out that the team has changed completely under Mc Caffrey

From being a side that has suffered defeat after defeat they have now qualified for the Elite phase - by the way so have Hungary

Anyway players to look out for in the future
Sean Mc Ginty, Frankie Sutherland, Anton Rodgers ( son of former Redaing boss Brendan Rodgers, Daniel Purdy (son of former LOI player Ritchie)

Far too simplistic - u16 is an experimental year. Lots of players get tried. We don't even know if this is a full Hungarian side or just an experimental one.

These teams need to be judged on competitive games against decent nations at U17 & U19.

We've qualified for 1 finals in recent memory - Turkey U17 08. We lost all 3 games there.

Lets see how this team does in Greece. Ditto for the U19s in the Ukraine.

[lopez]

As GSpain and Predator said, come back when McCaffrey has won THREE UEFA Youth titles and I'll gladly concur. Positive post though, but perhaps 'The Future Looks Brilliant' would have been a better title.

[rambler14]

Surely Brian Kerr is the best under-age manager Ireland have ever had?

[Top Drawer]

That depends on your definition of success - Is it winning trophies or bringing players through to the Senior Squad - or getting players to declare for us?

[Charlie Darwin]

Anton Rodgers ( son of former Reading boss Brendan Rodgers
How'd he manage that one? Born in Reading, according to the Chelsea website, and his father seems to be a proud Northerner. Also strange to see a youngster at a major club declaring for a country other than his nation of birth at such a young age.

[Top Drawer]

There is another article on this site about how bad the Under 21 squad is - not sure but we are behind Armenia and Georgia with I think 4 pouints

Now how come we are bad at Under 15 and Under 16, Good at Under 17 and Under 19 and bad at Under 21
IN MY OPINION THERE IS ONLY ONE ANSWER TO THAT

[Soccer Mom]

I think that it is a bit early to be making this claim:- "Mc Caffrey has to be the best underage manager ever". Unquestionably at the moment there is only one contender i.e. Brian Kerr. I'd be only too delighted if McCaffrey turns out to be better but only time will tell.

[Predator]

There is another article on this site about how bad the Under 21 squad is - not sure but we are behind Armenia and Georgia with I think 4 pouints

Now how come we are bad at Under 15 and Under 16, Good at Under 17 and Under 19 and bad at Under 21
IN MY OPINION THERE IS ONLY ONE ANSWER TO THAT
And what's the answer, in your opinion?

Relative to the Under-21 results, the Under-17 and 19s are doing OK, but in general, they still aren't doing the best.

[Top Drawer]

The answer is Sean Mc Caffrey

Disagree that the Under 17's and Under 19's are doing ok

Look at the tables
Under 17's ranked 9th out of 53
Under 19's ranked 19th - that was because of a bad year last year when before that they were ranked 13th out of 53

The Under 21's are ranked in the 40's and the Senior team are ranked 25th

Now those figures might not be 100% accurate but they are no more that one or two places out

[Predator]

Sean McCaffrey might be a better manager than Don Givens, but that doesn't make him our best under-age manager ever. I would still say that the under-17s and under-19s are currently doing ok. They are distinctly average, especially when you consider what Brian Kerr managed to achieve. Perhaps it's the players, perhaps it's the manager; it's hard to tell sometimes. Nevertheless, Brian Kerr has set the standard, showing that it is possible for an Irish team to succeed in an international tournament and as such, I feel we should always be aiming to duplicate that success.

[KildareFan]

Have to disagree Mc Caffrey has reached 5 Elite phases in the Under 17 age group and 6 Elite phases in the Under 19 age group. In Brian Kerr's time that would equate to a total of 11 Final stages.

It should also be pointed out that the standard of player coming through now is far worse than 10 years ago - the Emerging Talent Programme has achieved nothing and is nothing but a waste of money. This money could have been put to a far better use and maybe our players would be better technically.

[gspain]

Have to disagree Mc Caffrey has reached 5 Elite phases in the Under 17 age group and 6 Elite phases in the Under 19 age group. In Brian Kerr's time that would equate to a total of 11 Final stages.

It should also be pointed out that the standard of player coming through now is far worse than 10 years ago - the Emerging Talent Programme has achieved nothing and is nothing but a waste of money. This money could have been put to a far better use and maybe our players would be better technically.

There are 28 teams in the elite phases. Qualifying for this is hardly a big achievement.

We've qualified for 1 finals since 2002 and then lost all 3 games in the finals. Kerr qualified for quite a few and WON 2.

[Top Drawer]

Thats being unfair- When Kerr qualified there were 16 qualifiers now there is only 8 qualifiers

Yes Under 17 lost all three games - in the dying minute against France and Led Spain - both of who reached the final

[Alf Honn]

Think Kerr is immortal in terms of where he brought Irish underage football but surely McCaffrey deserves great credit especially when one looks at the three uncapped players in Trap's squad.

Cunningham is still eligible for his U19 squad and is one of the few contstants in his team (striker or defender) for the past 2 and half years.

Wilson was first capped by McCaffrey and would have won more caps under him only for injury.

McCarthy: Let's not forget that McCaffrey was the first person from the FAI to speak with James and his family. He took a trip to Hamilton a few years back to see a young lad who'd been dropped from the Scotland squad and ****ed off the Scottish press by telling them we'd nabbed the next Roy Keane. Bit to go on that front alright but he's going to right way.

Take a bow, McCaff!