Stephen Kenny

[Snapshot]

Kenny needs media training but the thing is he needed it 20 years ago. It would be one hell of a challenge to improve him not = = probably not impossible.
He definitely needs it. His performance after the Qatar game was cringe worthy. His comments at the end of the interview were ill-advised and counter productive.

[ifk101]

His comments at the end of the interview were ill-advised and counter productive.

His ending was brilliant. Bite, conviction and passion.

[Snapshot]

His ending was brilliant. Bite, conviction and passion.
His "I'm used to winning" sounded desperate and pathetic. The "critics coming out of the woodwork" line was ill-considered and downright wrong - he has been relatively well treated by the media despite his results. This is not a personal attack on Stephen Kenny - just a statement of the bleeding obvious: he needs help with the media. It's standard industry practice.

[paul_oshea]

His ending was brilliant. Bite, conviction and passion.

I've done up a couple of rooms in a flat before, I'm not going around telling everyone that I'm an architect and my record as an architect proves itself because I've done up a bathroom and a living room.

Everything he had, we don't have on the pitch. If only he could transfer some of that to the players :) Any winning record would do, regardless of the opposition too !

[DeLorean]

His "I'm used to winning" sounded desperate and pathetic. The "critics coming out of the woodwork" line was ill-considered and downright wrong - he has been relatively well treated by the media despite his results. This is not a personal attack on Stephen Kenny - just a statement of the bleeding obvious: he needs help with the media. It's standard industry practice.

That's how I saw it too. An act of a desperate man but he actually hasn't been backed into a corner as much as his 'come out fighting' approach would have suggested. As you say, the media have been remarkably gentle, all things considered.

Just as well Dunphy & co. have got the boot if he reacts like that in the current circumstances. And yes, the Dundalk/U21's stuff was just lobbing one up for his detractors to laugh their arses off at him, and I say this as somebody who is completely rooting for the guy, but I ended up watching that interview through my fingers.

[ifk101]

His "I'm used to winning" sounded desperate and pathetic. The "critics coming out of the woodwork" line was ill-considered and downright wrong - he has been relatively well treated by the media despite his results. This is not a personal attack on Stephen Kenny - just a statement of the bleeding obvious: he needs help with the media. It's standard industry practice.

Kenny’s not media savvy and he stumbled through the bulk of that interview. But in stating his belief in himself and his players, he spoke with convincing clarity and strength because it came from the heart. That’s the bite, that’s the conviction, that’s the passion speaking.

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

His ending was brilliant. Bite, conviction and passion.

I'm sorry but he doesn't come across well at all in interviews. It may be harsh but his interviews reminds me of Staunton's. The end of that interview reminded me of the infamous ' I'm the gaffer' speech.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xWq-16pi50

[ifk101]

I've done up a couple of rooms in a flat before, I'm not going around telling everyone that I'm an architect and my record as an architect proves itself because I've done up a bathroom and a living room.

Architect?

[Real ale Madrid]

I'm sorry but he doesn't come across well at all in interviews. It may be harsh but his interviews reminds me of Staunton's. The end of that interview reminded me of the infamous ' I'm the gaffer' speech.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xWq-16pi50

Couldn't think of more polar opposites to be honest. Kenny is thoughtful and methodical in expressing his views. Staunton was anything but. An odd comparison in my view.

And I don't buy he is not media savvy either. I actually think he is very deliberate about what he says. As he was when Dundalk manager.

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

Couldn't think of more polar opposites to be honest. Kenny is thoughtful and methodical in expressing his views. Staunton was anything but. An odd comparison in my view.

And I don't buy he is not media savvy either. I actually think he is very deliberate about what he says. As he was when Dundalk manager.

They both look extremely uncomfortable in front of the camera, they both have long pauses in their sentences and they both do anything but inspire confidence in their abilities. Staunton also blamed injuries and the media for his problems and felt he should have been allowed continue as Ireland manager, let's hope it doesn't go the same way for Kenny but so far their reigns have huge similarities.

[tetsujin1979]

Also he didn't win four titles in a row with Dundalk, Cork won it in 2017, and he didn't win nearly all of his games at U21 manager, he won 7 of the 12 games he was in charge for.

[Bielsa´s irish]

I said it before I say it now, I would give this guy a game process between 12 to 20 games, some of his selections in my opinion were off field, he has the best job in the whole Island!!

I would have played an experience keeper Im not convinced by Travers and Bazunu, they will improve. Travers specially, he is a better keeper than Bazunu, for what I saw, he is a bit like Kepa of Chelsea the basque kid, will improve and for me hi needs to improve his positioning that's the only thing, his reflexes are better than Bazunu, who is a good keeper, but I like Travers more.

Happy Easter!!

[Charlie Darwin]

A full page of debate about whether he needs media training or not. Lord save us.

[Bielsa´s irish]

Couldn't think of more polar opposites to be honest. Kenny is thoughtful and methodical in expressing his views. Staunton was anything but. An odd comparison in my view.

And I don't buy he is not media savvy either. I actually think he is very deliberate about what he says. As he was when Dundalk manager.

I wondered at the time, why we didnt get Frank Stapleton or David O'Leary instead at the time of S.S.? I know Kerr was sack I believe, he was so near yet so far

[Charlie Darwin]

Stapleton was holding out for the Argentina job at the time - just unfortunate timing.

[Bielsa´s irish]

Couldn't think of more polar opposites to be honest. Kenny is thoughtful and methodical in expressing his views. Staunton was anything but. An odd comparison in my view.

And I don't buy he is not media savvy either. I actually think he is very deliberate about what he says. As he was when Dundalk manager.


Stapleton was holding out for the Argentina job at the time - just unfortunate timing.

What a 9 Stapleton was! a complete player! he managed in MLS I think. But both were more entitled than Staunton. I know McDermott from Reading and a Driscoll or O'Driscoll fellow were names at the time. Dont know what happened with them after that

[brine3]

Staunton and John Delaney were good friends. That was basically it.

[Razors left peg]

I said it before I say it now, I would give this guy a game process between 12 to 20 games, some of his selections in my opinion were off field, he has the best job in the whole Island!!

I would have played an experience keeper Im not convinced by Travers and Bazunu, they will improve. Travers specially, he is a better keeper than Bazunu, for what I saw, he is a bit like Kepa of Chelsea the basque kid, will improve and for me hi needs to improve his positioning that's the only thing, his reflexes are better than Bazunu, who is a good keeper, but I like Travers more.

Happy Easter!!

I genuinely would love to know what you have seen that makes Travers looks like a better keeper than Bazunu

[Bielsa´s irish]

Stapleton was holding out for the Argentina job at the time - just unfortunate timing.


I genuinely would love to know what you have seen that makes Travers looks like a better keeper than Bazunu
he has better reflexes in my opinion, but they are both learning their trade. Travers needs to be a more commanding guy, seems shy and his positioning, but he has great reflexes, Bazunu is better as a modern keeper, etc. Thet both made faux pas and blunders will get stronger

[Fixer82]

he has better reflexes in my opinion, but they are both learning their trade. Travers needs to be a more commanding guy, seems shy and his positioning, but he has great reflexes, Bazunu is better as a modern keeper, etc. Thet both made faux pas and blunders will get stronger

Bazunu far more confident.
I think Kelleher better than them both though

[Snapshot]

A full page of debate about whether he needs media training or not. Lord save us.

You're very wrong. Being media savvy in an industry facing massive competition is imperative. Have a read of Stuttgart88 (#343) and Abbeyman (#324) about choices available to young talent across the codes. Also, some interesting anecdotes from other posters (all on Ire v Lux thread).

Now fast forward to Stephen Kenny's media defence of his record which includes probably the worst performance in Irish football history. Who could blame talented kids and their parents for looking elsewhere? Who would want to be part of that trainwreck? Did Kenny spluttering his "I'm-a-winner" defence look a winner? It was a total disservice to those who support him and more fodder for those who don't.

No amount of media eloquence can morph such as the Luxembourg debacle into a plus - but an ability to avoid cringe factors and defensive outpourings would encourage confidence, temper damage and ease short-term expectation. Kenny really needs to help himself here because he's close to the point where even the Lord won't be impressed by his Dundalk results.

[DeLorean]

There were only a couple of posts about the need for media training in any case, the rest were opinions on whether his bullish interview was rousing or ill advised, which would seem a reasonable enough discussion in his current situation.

[geysir]

Also he didn't win four titles in a row with Dundalk, Cork won it in 2017, and he didn't win nearly all of his games at U21 manager, he won 7 of the 12 games he was in charge for.
U21 friendlies don't count for anything in Intl football, they're not official Uefa games, not even the Toulon tournament is. Kenny's u21 record is 7-1-1 (the Iceland blot).

[Razors left peg]

he has better reflexes in my opinion, but they are both learning their trade. Travers needs to be a more commanding guy, seems shy and his positioning, but he has great reflexes, Bazunu is better as a modern keeper, etc. Thet both made faux pas and blunders will get stronger

Are you basing those opinions on the 3 games in this window? Im just curious how you can say that Travers has better reflexes based on what we have seen of both.

I have my opinion that Bazunu is a better keeper but its based on a very small sample size and also how they have both been handled by their clubs. If we do a like for like comparison on the attempted lobs both faced in back to back games would you not have said Bazunus reflexes to get back on his line were much better than Travers?

[pineapple stu]

It's Bielsa. You're not going to get a reasonable debate out of Bielsa. A lot of the time he's just saying things to be controversial.

[Razors left peg]

I know, I just want to see what the answer is for the craic

[Stuttgart88]

Did we not lose both ties v Iceland?

Anyway, being pedantic, if you listen back to the SK interview I think he actually says “I nearly won all my games” rather than “I won nearly all my games” :)

[Olé Olé]

Paul Rowan today in the Sunday Times saying that "winning over the players is an impossible job" for Kenny and that "others within reaching distance could do a better job."

The "others" he is refers to in the piece are Michael O'Neill, Roy Keane and Lee Carsley. He even suggests a duo of Keane and Carsley.

Rowan also states that the FAI board are backing Kenny but states "there is also a lack of expertise within the FAI about making the right decisions about Kenny."

But Rowan is clear that he feels that "it's clear that it isn't working."

A very strange piece overall I think.

[CraftyToePoke]

Had a read of it too, thought it was weak and speculative at best.

[pineapple stu]

"there is also a lack of expertise within the FAI about making the right decisions about Kenny."
That strikes me as a bizarrely specific thing to accuse a body of having a lack of expertise about.

I thought it was the right decision to appoint him as U21s manager, for example, so that's a start.

[Stuttgart88]

I thought it was a rubbish article.

Keane showed pioneering reformist zeal? He had his tongue up JD's arse when he was getting paid by him.

Keane would probably change his abrasive ways if he was manager. On what basis can anyone assume that?

Kenny hasn't got the confidence of the players but Keane would? Objection, speculative your honour.

And Carsley has less managerial experience than Kenny.

Paul also says Michael O'Neill would like the job at some unspecified point in the future. Well, in that case he's not a candidate for the job now, is he?

[Olé Olé]

Agree with all that, Stutts. The O'Neill point was funny though. He'd want to have a fairly good source for that assertion. Michael was fairly clear in his passion for NI. Why would he fancy the Ireland job too?

[Fixer82]

I thought it was a rubbish article.

Keane showed pioneering reformist zeal? He had his tongue up JD's arse when he was getting paid by him.

Keane would probably change his abrasive ways if he was manager. On what basis can anyone assume that?

Kenny hasn't got the confidence of the players but Keane would? Objection, speculative your honour.

And Carsley has less managerial experience than Kenny.

Paul also says Michael O'Neill would like the job at some unspecified point in the future. Well, in that case he's not a candidate for the job now, is he?

Don’t think Keane had his tongue up JD’s hoop. He just got on with the job.

Keane is not the man for the Ireland job though.
I’m hoping Kenny will come good.

[Trequartista20]

A nonsense article, even Ken Early's effort was better.

This piece in The42 had a greater sense of realism and balance, I think:

https://www.the42.ie/the-challenges-of-being-ireland-manager-stephen-kenny-5397148-Apr2021/

[Stuttgart88]

I enjoyed that, thanks. Doolin's take was particularly interesting.

[Wobbles]

Hello lads,

I'm not Irish, but I'm a fan of Big Jack and have always admired the fans.

Greece, my country of origin, has been poor for a few years now. We lost twice to Faroe Islands, once to Luxembourg in a friendly, and in 2019 we drew Liechtenstein. The results were as bad as they could get at times.

Greece now has a Dutch manager by the name of van't Schip. As a player, he won Euro 88, won trophies with Ajax, and even enjoyed a spell with Genoa in Italy during the 90s. He was an assistant to van Basten when Holland played incredible football at Euro 2008, but has been something of a journeyman since becoming a manager in his own right. At the time of his hiring, we were all a bit baffled. Greece is blighted by corruption and we can be a bit backwards in our dealings unfortunately, but I must say he is an exceptional coach. The level of play has improved a lot under him in matches to Finland and Bosnia, countries more or less at Greece's level. It was good to see players giving their all and actually playing passes forward for a change!

In the past two matches the performances have been poor again. A number of players have been out of form and some key players have been missing. The issues seem quite similar to the ones Ireland have had lately. The only difference is we had luck, something I think Ireland have not had.

The draw to Spain was a fluke. Spain too often tried to play through the defense with short passes. They took almost no shots outside the area. There was no desire to take men on, to have a dribble. All they did was pass the ball. Greece couldn't string more than maybe 1 or 2 passes into Spain's half. The penalty was the result of a Spanish defender losing momentary control of the ball and then tackling studs up into a Greek attacker who didn't even get hold of the ball. The penalty came literally out of nowhere. We had no business being on the scoresheet.

Against Georgia, who had given Sweden and Spain a tough time despite losses in both matches, we again showed the same ineptitude on the ball. They outplayed us. A lucky own goal saw us take the lead (I'm still at a loss to explain how it happened), but the opposition clearly identified our weakness at right-back and scored soon after to get a result they frankly deserved.

I think our two countries share a lot of similarities in football. We've overachieved at major finals (Ireland had 30 years ago and in our case a little under 20 years ago). We tend to hire managers of similar repute (Trapattoni, Rehhagel). We have recently hired managers who intend to play better quality football, but who lack experience. The quality of the players now available isn't as strong as it once was. Ireland had players at Liverpool and United in the 80s and early 90s. Greece had players at some big clubs or in big leagues in the early 2000s.

I have the impression Kenny is not the right man for the Ireland job, but the direction Ireland is taking makes sense to me. Even when Greece was successful, our football was painfully one dimensional. It isn't enough to sit back and defend well. We lacked a balance in our play that was absolutely needed to be a more successful side. It's a mistake to believe Ireland should stick to a negative approach.

[DeLorean]

Malachy Clerkin summarises SK and Ireland's current plight well here - https://www.irishtimes.com/malachy-clerkin-ireland-will-beat-andorra-won-t-they-1.4579173

[passinginterest]

Malachy Clerkin summarises SK and Ireland's current plight well here - https://www.irishtimes.com/malachy-clerkin-ireland-will-beat-andorra-won-t-they-1.4579173

That really does sum the whole situation up very well (at least for any of us that are still clinging to some hope and support for Kenny). It really is the belief that he's trying to do things for the better and that we were heading into a terrible spell regardless of manager or style, versus the fact that can't be proven and there's an increasing nagging suspicion that maybe just putting 11 behind the ball and hoping for the best would be producing better results still.

[seanfhear]

Malachy Clerkin summarises SK and Ireland's current plight well here - https://www.irishtimes.com/malachy-clerkin-ireland-will-beat-andorra-won-t-they-1.4579173
Behind a paywall.

[DeLorean]

Behind a paywall.

Oh right, it wasn't for me, and I'm not a subscriber. I think you get a handful of free articles per month if you register maybe.

[tetsujin1979]

Me either, I was able to read it without a subscription

[elatedscum]

Me either, I was able to read it without a subscription

Same here

[seanfhear]

Obviously ~ Ye do not drop in every now and again to keep an eye on them ~ I must have used up my Freebies.

[Eirambler]

Good article, although it does come dangerously close to falling into the trap of suggesting that the only alternative style of play to Kenny's approach is to hoof it long and abandon all sense of a passing game, when the reality is far more complex than that.

[Olé Olé]

I enjoyed that piece too. I love the opening- really gets to the core of the issue. Have a look at YBIG.ie or the a lot of the more sensationalist media outlets. Thinks are very binary. Black and white. We are going well. Or our football team is an utter disgrace to the nation. Like we deserve so much better.

There's a large gap between Luxembourg and Andorra. Luxembourg are ranked 96 in the FIFA rankings. Andorra 158. Luxembourg have players in a few decent European club leagues. Andorra's squad comprises mostly of lads in the regional Spanish divisions. And I think we beat Luxembourg on another day.

But there are plenty that won't let a bit of context create grey areas.

[TrapAPony]

I wouldn't be as 100% sure that we will beat Andorra under Kenny like Clerkin has said. All they need to do is put everyone behind the ball and it will frustrate the life out of us. If we win, it will not be a convincing display IMO.

In any case, Kenny has already been given too much time because he is a LOI darling even though it's beyond obvious he is not up to it. The main reason he was appointed by the FAI was that he was cheap and that he was supposed get us playing some sort of good football but instead we are as septic as we ever were. Let him go back to the U21s where he was doing a good job and get a proper manager in to manage the national side.

[placid casual]

Too right.
We should get a manager in who preferably has an english accent, has worked in the lower league in England, and can identify english born lads who have no chance of wearing the 3 lions so are happy to play for air-ah to further their careers. Where's big Sam when you need em eh!

[Olé Olé]

I wouldn't be as 100% sure that we will beat Andorra under Kenny like Clerkin has said. All they need to do is put everyone behind the ball and it will frustrate the life out of us. If we win, it will not be a convincing display IMO.

In any case, Kenny has already been given too much time because he is a LOI darling even though it's beyond obvious he is not up to it. The main reason he was appointed by the FAI was that he was cheap and that he was supposed get us playing some sort of good football but instead we are as septic as we ever were. Let him go back to the U21s where he was doing a good job and get a proper manager in to manage the national side.
Clerkin didn't say that he was "100% sure" and he implied that at the end of the article too:

"This week, first and foremost, it is to dismiss out of hand any suggestion that Ireland won’t beat Andorra on Thursday. They will. Of course they will. They absolutely will.

Won’t they?"

[pineapple stu]

Yeah, the whole thrust of the article is that it's not 100% sure, I thought

[DeLorean]

I think Trap is agreeing with Clerkin not being 100% sure!