Missing the bigger picture - is Kerr to blame?

[JimmyP]

Kerr doesn't seem to be able to handle enforced substitutions.
He can plan meticuolously and make great preperations, these seem to be some of his strong points, but when he's put on the spot to make a decision like that - he seems to fluff it.
I'm a fan of kerr but the thing that bothers me is that he's not learning the lessons, and it's distressing.

I know it's always easy for armchair pundits to pick apart what should have been done after the fact, but in the case of leaving Morrison on in Israel until he had to ask to be taken off, and putting Kav on for Robbie, were genuine "No!" moments and seem obvious at the time.

When we put Andy Reid on for Morrison in Paris, I thought it was a gamble but felt good about it, and thought we did ok. But Doc was the only other potential striker on the bench at the time.

[Stuttgart88]

I'm refusing to get drawn into a "we can't qualify with Kerr in charge" rant because I think we can & sod all the doom & gloom - I think we will.

But I think it's hard to disagree with anything else in The Guardian:

A Brian shame

After the Republic of Ireland's awful 2-2 draw with Israel on Saturday, Paul Doyle argues that manager Brian Kerr has made his own bad luck.

Monday June 6, 2005
How bad was the referee in last Saturday's Republic of Ireland-Israel match? Worse than tax. How bad was Irish manager Brian Kerr? Worse than the ref. The man in black denied Ireland a clear penalty, handed one to Israel for a non-existent foul and red-carded Andy O'Brien for being hit by the opposing goalkeeper. Truly, not even the most pungent egg sandwich has ever stunk as much as Kyros Vassaras did at Lansdowne Road. But even in spite of this, Ireland should have pocketed three points and the main reason they didn't is because Kerr tore his own team apart.

What makes this even more excruciating for Irish fans is that the 2-2 draw, as shoddy as it was, would not have wrought so much damage on Ireland's qualification campaign if Kerr had not blundered so badly in previous games. He surrendered victory in each of Ireland's three away matches, forcing a side that should have had a healthy lead in the group into a position where any ****-up would be nigh-on fatal. And on Saturday, he administered the ****-up.
Ireland were 2-0 up after 11 minutes and palpably superior in every department - they seemed certain to do what they so foolishly chose not to do in Tel Aviv two months ago: batter the Israelis while they were down. Instead, Kerr again intervened to offer them a hand up. It was not, of course, Kerr's fault that Robbie Keane had to come off injured in the 23rd minute but that is not what turned the game. What turned the game was Kerr's perverse reaction to it.

Instead of applying a plaster - replacing Keane with another striker - Kerr attempted to perform major surgery. His decision to unleash Graham Kavanagh, a hard-working midfielder who, despite his unerring set-piece deliveries, is simply not an international class player meant moving Damien Duff from the left flank, where he had been bamboozling the visitors, to centre-forward, a position where both Mick McCarthy and Kerr have previously deployed him to infinitely less effect. Kevin Kilbane, who along with Matt Holland had seized total control over the middle of the park, was shunted out to the left.

These changes unbalanced Ireland and gifted the initiative back to Israel who, in fairness, had the wherewithal to grab it, albeit with the assistance of a referee who awarded a penalty against John O'Shea for neglecting to stop a forward from falling.

When, in the 64th minute, Kerr finally plucked up the courage to introduce another striker, it was at the expense of Andy Reid, who had set up Ireland's second goal and was, since the neutering of Duff, their most creative player. Gary Doherty went up front and immediately wreaked havoc. He won everything in the air, laying the platform that enabled Ireland to dominate the last half and hour - they were then denied by an incredible miss by Duff and a series of freakish saves by goalkeeper Dudu Awat, but it was plain for all to see that if Doherty (or Stephen Elliot) had been on the pitch since the 23rd minute, Ireland would certainly have had a third, at least.

Ireland have a small squad. When the likes of the two Keanes or Damien Duff are missing, it severely weakens them. Therefore, when all three are fit and available, the manager must take maximum advantage. Throughout the campaign, Kerr has refused to do to this.

Away to Switzerland and Israel, a full-strength Irish side swaggered into an early lead only for Kerr to become negative, concede territory and ultimately settle for draws. Against injury- and suspension-ravaged France in Paris, a full-strength Irish side were in the process of delivering one of their most accomplished away performances and outclassing their illustrious hosts, only for Kerr to become negative, concede territory and ultimately settle for a draw.

His reasoning? Ireland would beat all three at home so there was no need to beat them away. That assumed his team had some kind of magical immunity to injuries, suspensions, bad referees and inspired opposition goalkeepers. And that France will be missing as many players in Dublin next September as they were in Paris last October. It's a woefully misguided policy.

Kerr should simply have helped himself to away victories when they were offered to him on a plate. By declining, he ensured that Saturday's shambles was an accident waiting to happen. To reach Germany, Ireland now need to be flawless in their remaining four games. With Kerr in charge, they've no chance.

[JimmyP]

he did the only thing he can do on a soccer pitch, a free kick, after that he's useless

He saved us when he was left one on one with one of their players on the break, after we had 10 men and no one else back.

[rodoman]

He saved us when he was left one on one with one of their players on the break, after we had 10 men and no one else back.

Point taken, but if you, me, John, Paul, George, Or Ringo's on a soccer pitch for 90 minutes you're bound to do something right. After all he is a defender, that's his job, to stop the opposition scoring

[dancinpants]

All this talk about Kerr unsettling the team on Saturday. And half of you want him fired for it now!!! - yeah, coz getting a new manager in with 4 qualifiers remaining WOULDN'T be unsettling.... :rolleyes: . Is it too much to ask for some people to give EVERYONE in the Irish camp their backing for 4 more f**kin' games? If we don't make it, then you can vent your spleens all you want until you get what you want... Kerr's head on a plate (sure don't we do it to everyone eventually), and if we do qualify and have a good run in the finals - well ye can just pretend ye backed Kerr from the very start.

[jimbob117]

Exactly, and remember we have only lost 2 games out of around 28!

[onenilgameover]

Exactly, and remember we have only lost 2 games out of around 28!


These knid of no brain comments are really unsettling...What does that mean unless we qualify...absolutely zip!

[Fergie's Son]

I wholeheartidly agree with the article inthe Guardian. If we do not qualify then yes, Kerr should be dismissed.

[mountie]

Hi all, first posting ,but been following this site a long time. Thought you guys might like to read Paul Doyle column in the Guardian. www.guardian.co.uk....football link on Monday june 6th. I personally agree fully with his comments. Any thoughts?

[onenilgameover]

:) Hey and welcome Mountie...The link doesn't work there... :)

[Flea]

we had no option but to put duff up front .. doherty would not have lasted all game .. i dont want to see us booting the ball up in the air every attack but was effective with doc for the last half hour as an impact sub ..elliott is not ready for game of that level yet but with time and games in the prem he will be ... but for the ref and goalie we would be not having this conversation and not due to brian kerr ... you would swear we are world beaters judging by the comments .. we are not ..

there are always other options. You don't want to see them booting the ball for the rest of the game, well I wud've preferred it to drawing ffs. And what the hell does 'Elliot isn't fit for this level' mean?.If he was on the Israeli side he'd be the first name on the sheet. The goalie wasted a bit of time, so what, it happens the whole time, get over it, its only Israel ffs, if this causes us to lose a 2 goal lead at home to them then I don't want to qualify cos we'd be embarassed by teams ten times better than Israel :o . The ref in general was very bad but you can't stand by their peno, it was a stonewaller. Yeah we are no worldbeaters, and we are no Israel beaters either, evident on two encounters now ;)

[FarBeag]

Fergie's Son I wholeheartidly agree with the article inthe Guardian. If we do not qualify then yes, Kerr should be dismissed.

I would'nt even leave it that long if we Fcuk up on Wednesday.


jimbob117 Exactly, and remember we have only lost 2 games out of around 28!

Tell us how many of the ones we won actually meant anything.What teams have we actually beaten in competitive games in the last four years,everyone of them extremely average, Saudi Arabia,Albania,Cyprus,Georgia ,Faroe Islands to name a few,not exactly world beaters ha. :rolleyes:

[Flea]

I would'nt even leave it that long if we Fcuk up on Wednesday.

Tell us how many of the ones we won actually meant anything.What teams have we actually beaten in competitive games in the last four years,everyone of them extremely average, Saudi Arabia,Albania,Cyprus,Georgia ,Faroe Islands to name a few,not exactly world beaters ha. :rolleyes:

Agree completely, when the ****t hits the fan Brian beats the best in the world Australia, the Czechs and the like. If only, if only they weren't friendlies we'd win the world cup. Ah still it looks impressive for his CV for this November ;) Ah no only messin' prove me wrong Brian please :)

[jimbob117]

These knid of no brain comments are really unsettling...What does that mean unless we qualify...absolutely zip!

Its not a no brain comment, its a fact. it shows we are hard to beat and while i dont think its you, there are people calling for kerr to go before he even completes he first full qualifying campaign. Judge him after the swiss home game.And while it may mean zip to you that we arent getting beaten in friendlies, it means something to me as i support the team and pay good money to see them.

[jimbob117]

I would'nt even leave it that long if we Fcuk up on Wednesday.

Tell us how many of the ones we won actually meant anything.What teams have we actually beaten in competitive games in the last four years,everyone of them extremely average, Saudi Arabia,Albania,Cyprus,Georgia ,Faroe Islands to name a few,not exactly world beaters ha. :rolleyes:

and tell me how many we lost.... the swiss(which was largely due to the whole mccarthy thing) and the nigerians(in an end of season tournament where most of our 1st team were missing)

[onenilgameover]

Its not a no brain comment, its a fact. it shows we are hard to beat and while i dont think its you, there are people calling for kerr to go before he even completes he first full qualifying campaign. Judge him after the swiss home game.And while it may mean zip to you that we arent getting beaten in friendlies, it means something to me as i support the team and pay good money to see them.


I agree...there is no point in even discussing Kerrs position untill after these qualifiers... I just wish we could lose friendlies and win a couple of Qualifying matches..Friendlies are grand and I pay me money too but they are of very little importance other than preparation for the big games which we aren't winning...Kerr's record is misleading in my eyes.

[tricky_colour]

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1500226,00.html#article_continue

How bad was the referee in last Saturday's Republic of Ireland-Israel match? Worse than tax. How bad was Irish manager Brian Kerr? Worse than the ref. The man in black denied Ireland a clear penalty, handed one to Israel for a non-existent foul and red-carded Andy O'Brien for being hit by the opposing goalkeeper. Truly, not even the most pungent egg sandwich has ever stunk as much as Kyros Vassaras did at Lansdowne Road. But even in spite of this, Ireland should have pocketed three points and the main reason they didn't is because Kerr tore his own team apart.

What makes this even more excruciating for Irish fans is that the 2-2 draw, as shoddy as it was, would not have wrought so much damage on Ireland's qualification campaign if Kerr had not blundered so badly in previous games. He surrendered victory in each of Ireland's three away matches, forcing a side that should have had a healthy lead in the group into a position where any ****-up would be nigh-on fatal. And on Saturday, he administered the ****-up.
Ireland were 2-0 up after 11 minutes and palpably superior in every department - they seemed certain to do what they so foolishly chose not to do in Tel Aviv two months ago: batter the Israelis while they were down. Instead, Kerr again intervened to offer them a hand up. It was not, of course, Kerr's fault that Robbie Keane had to come off injured in the 23rd minute but that is not what turned the game. What turned the game was Kerr's perverse reaction to it.

Instead of applying a plaster - replacing Keane with another striker - Kerr attempted to perform major surgery. His decision to unleash Graham Kavanagh, a hard-working midfielder who, despite his unerring set-piece deliveries, is simply not an international class player meant moving Damien Duff from the left flank, where he had been bamboozling the visitors, to centre-forward, a position where both Mick McCarthy and Kerr have previously deployed him to infinitely less effect. Kevin Kilbane, who along with Matt Holland had seized total control over the middle of the park, was shunted out to the left.

These changes unbalanced Ireland and gifted the initiative back to Israel who, in fairness, had the wherewithal to grab it, albeit with the assistance of a referee who awarded a penalty against John O'Shea for neglecting to stop a forward from falling.

When, in the 64th minute, Kerr finally plucked up the courage to introduce another striker, it was at the expense of Andy Reid, who had set up Ireland's second goal and was, since the neutering of Duff, their most creative player. Gary Doherty went up front and immediately wreaked havoc. He won everything in the air, laying the platform that enabled Ireland to dominate the last half and hour - they were then denied by an incredible miss by Duff and a series of freakish saves by goalkeeper Dudu Awat, but it was plain for all to see that if Doherty (or Stephen Elliot) had been on the pitch since the 23rd minute, Ireland would certainly have had a third, at least.

Ireland have a small squad. When the likes of the two Keanes or Damien Duff are missing, it severely weakens them. Therefore, when all three are fit and available, the manager must take maximum advantage. Throughout the campaign, Kerr has refused to do to this.

Away to Switzerland and Israel, a full-strength Irish side swaggered into an early lead only for Kerr to become negative, concede territory and ultimately settle for draws. Against injury- and suspension-ravaged France in Paris, a full-strength Irish side were in the process of delivering one of their most accomplished away performances and outclassing their illustrious hosts, only for Kerr to become negative, concede territory and ultimately settle for a draw.

His reasoning? Ireland would beat all three at home so there was no need to beat them away. That assumed his team had some kind of magical immunity to injuries, suspensions, bad referees and inspired opposition goalkeepers. And that France will be missing as many players in Dublin next September as they were in Paris last October. It's a woefully misguided policy.

Kerr should simply have helped himself to away victories when they were offered to him on a plate. By declining, he ensured that Saturday's shambles was an accident waiting to happen. To reach Germany, Ireland now need to be flawless in their remaining four games. With Kerr in charge, they've no chance.

[onenilgameover]

Cheers for getting that up...Not sure I agree with all of it...but he makes some goods points....However we very much still have a chance.... :)

[thejollyrodger]

That article was posted twice now.

I think the odds of Kerr going by the end of this year are shortening after the mess in lansdowne.

Kerr is too negative. He put pressure on us by saying draw our away games and win our home games. The draw is the easy bit but the home games immediately become MUST WIN before you even kick a ball in the WCQ's.

So in that respect Kerr made it difficult for us before we even started. The other thing which he did was make all the wrong subs. Elliott should have been brought on.

However. What is international class ? Non of the israelis are international class, kavanagh is about as good as them.

[Flea]

Its not a no brain comment, its a fact. it shows we are hard to beat and while i dont think its you, there are people calling for kerr to go before he even completes he first full qualifying campaign. Judge him after the swiss home game.And while it may mean zip to you that we arent getting beaten in friendlies, it means something to me as i support the team and pay good money to see them.
Yeah I understand, what I mean is though Kerr should be let finish out this campaign regardless if we are in or out, but you cannot rate an international manager on the countless friendlies he has won, and the lack of victories in meaningful games.

[Reality Bites]

Brian Kerr likes to take the plaudits for all things good about Ireland. He likes for people to talk about his great triumphs and his amazing attention to detail. He enjoys hearing tales of the professionalism that he has brought to the Ireland job. He’s not unusual – we all like a bit of praise from time to time. Kerr’s problem is that he’s an animal for such backslapping.

But craving adulation and demanding praise can represent something of a double edged sword. People get used to putting you on pedestal when all is going well. But when things go awry, you have to expect to bare the brunt of the flak. And that’s what Kerr’s is starting to get now that the honeymoon is over. The recent debacle against Israel has reduced the margin of error alarmingly for Ireland in terms of qualification for next year’s World Cup. Yet again, we failed to capitalise on a winning position and put serious pressure on our rivals.

Many are tempted to say it’s OK, sure France and Switzerland are doing no better. But such thinking is foolish. In football, you must take your chances – you get severely punished if you don’t. Israel have highlighted this to potentially disastrous effect in our recent fixtures. France will surely improve and our recent record and performances against the Swiss suggest that even a play off position could again slip from our hands. If the worst happens, four points that were well within our grasp against the Israelis will have been central to our collapse.

Kerr’s Ireland remind me of boxer Michael Carruth. A deserved Olympic champion, Carruth was well suited to the technical demands of the amateur game. But his attempts to make a career in the professional game ran aground because of his lack of punch. Solid and durable, Carruth just didn’t have the firepower to put his opponents away.

Kerr and his boys seem to be in a similar mould. Our lack of killer instinct could well see us fall short. Opportunity after opportunity has been spurned by Kerr’s men in this group – and it’s not the first time. After taking over the reigns from his predecessor in a rather unpromising position, Ireland’s opponents kindly played us back into real contention for Portugal 2004 qualification. The result? A poor score draw at home to Russia (who were awful in the championships proper) and an abject defeat against the Swiss – possibly the poorest side in Portugal. Automatic qualification had been ours to take. Instead, we didn’t even get a play-off.

Now the pattern is being repeated. Kerr’s conservatism in Basel and Tel Aviv saw Ireland skitter away winning positions. The recent draw in Lansdowne against Israel could be the seminal result in the group for us. Kerr has defended the lapses, claiming his boys are still learning. But for me, this just doesn’t wash. The Keanes, Damien Duff, Kilbane, Harte, Cunningham, Given, Finnan, Holland amongst others should not be back in school.

If Ireland qualify, Kerr will be at the top of the queue to take the plaudits. If we fail, I can’t help feeling he’ll blame the inexperience of his players or their inability to follow his direction!

Oh yes, we’re still in the mixer – but had we held our winning positions against the Swiss and Israelis – then we’d already be booking our flights to Germany. Kerr’s had a disproportionate amount of credit in the media to date for the job he’s done with the senior squad – and he’s milked the applause. But if the worst happens, and personally I think it will, then I hope for Kerr’s sake, the flipside of the media coin isn’t quite as disproportionate!


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