Next Senior Men's Team Manager - Runners and Riders

[SkStu]

I think the challenge here is that it needs to be someone who carries some proven experience at either club level or as an international manager. Someone that the players, fans and media can buy into. That doesn't come without a baseline cost, obviously. The second would be someone that brings a pragmatic v. idealistic approach to the game. In retrospect, I think Kenny was a bit too much of an idealist and it cost him in terms of results and goodwill (over time) - even if some performances were good. A coach who plays to the strengths of his pool and balances that against the strengths/weaknesses of the opposition. I know someone threw out Jose Mourinho earlier and he would be ideal from a pragmatic perspective but i cannot see us being able to afford him plus he has a few more big jobs (pay days) left in him, i reckon. Rafa Benitez is another who, for his faults, is a pragmatician - but just signed on with Celta Vigo for a few years. Dont think he could be tempted away. Same goes for a few of the names mentioned on here who i would also class as fairly pragmatic.

Who/what does that leave? You really are starting to look like a Sam Allardyce type at this point - unless there is someone out of left-field not on the main radars...

[SkStu]

Sorry, meant to add, i think appointing someone who has been around the last few set-ups will be a disaster. Not just from an experience perspective but the fact that there will immediately be a schism among the media, fans, potentially players. I think we are better moving away from the approach of "appointing from within" (which is actually laudable) and starting with someone new, with a fresh slate.

[EalingGreen]

Ireland job might be an opportunity [for Kevin Muscat] to put himself on display for clubs in the UK.Then after he gets a few good results, he leaves you mid-campaign for the first attractive offer?

It happened to NI with Lawrie Sanchez. Can't blame him, but he took a job in the EPL with Fulham when NI were 2nd in a seven team group including Spain, Sweden and Denmark (two to qualify). We ended up skittering in 3rd on GD ahead of the Danes in 4th, after losing very winnable games to Iceland and Latvia which would have seen us qualify.

[EalingGreen]

Would Graham Potter be an utterly outlandish suggestion? Great at Brighton, but perhaps looking for something a bit different after the disaster at Chelsea, has worked outside England too.If you look at the calibre of job he's been "linked with" (I know, I know) but turned down, I'd guess he's holding out for bigger things. Besides, he's still only 48 and ambitious managers often see an international job as a wind-down to their career.

[JR89]

Then after he gets a few good results, he leaves you mid-campaign for the first attractive offer?

It happened to NI with Lawrie Sanchez. Can't blame him, but he took a job in the EPL with Fulham when NI were 2nd in a seven team group including Spain, Sweden and Denmark (two to qualify). We ended up skittering in 3rd on GD ahead of the Danes in 4th, after losing very winnable games to Iceland and Latvia which would have seen us qualify.

Which will probably be a concern with many coaches given Ireland don't pay millions anymore.

[EalingGreen]

Also Carsley won manager of the month in the championship while Brentford manager and was offered the job full time. Turned it down because he has a child with a disability so international management would seem to suit him better.Extremely highly rated at Brentford, but turned down the permanent job for genuine reasons, as you say. And Brentford's record in appointing managers is absolutely top class, so that's as good a Job Reference as you can get.

One left-field appointment might be Mark Warburton? He's a bit of a snake when it comes to dealing with Chairmen and transfers etc, meaning his club management career hasn't been as good as he doubtless imagines it should have been. But he's a genuinely good coach, and since international managers have to work with the players they're given, maybe his skills might suit? Currently assisting Moyes at WHU, so would surely be open to offers for a "proper" job?

[JR89]

Mentioned Mark Warburton before as a left field option and he actually left West Ham in the summer because he wants to get back into management. Think international football would suit him similar to Chris Wilder.

[seanfhear]

From a new manager's point of view ~ Always good to come in after the previous manager has been a failure ~ Might make the job a bit more attractive !

[sbgawa]

Neil Warnock was mentioned earlier , i read a book by him "The Gaffer" recently (although its a few years old) talking about his time as a Manager.
Gave me a different perspective on him tbh. Naturally given it was his own book he comes accross well but there were some specific instances and factual things that made me think there is more to him then people think.
He would have been everything i wouldnt want in an Ireland manager but .............

Its a good read.

[ontheotherhand]

Sadly I reckon more thought is going in to the next appointment on this thread than the FAI will muster.

I'd love to see someone on the way up, like Magne Hoseth or an unknown De Zerbi type....but we will more than likely end up with Robbie Keane.

The next manager's style of play is the most critical thing. We could appoint Pep but he'd still have to deal with having very little going on between a decent back line and a very young Evan Ferguson. Do we switch back to bypassing midfield? Personally I don't mind. I liked that Kenny believed we could play a better brand of football but he was far too stubborn when the team weren't able to execute or we didn't have the key players you need available.

[Razors left peg]

Genuinely worried the FAI will take a punt on Robbie Keane.

I dont think they will, but Robbie has had as good a start as possible to his managerial career. I know some dont like the politics of him working in Israel, but personally I see that as hypocritical when we are ok with men working in a country that litterally still rules part of our own land ( and for the mods, Im not trying to start a debate on it outside of Current Affairs Thread). I think its too soon for him, but my hope for him in Israel was that he would do well enough to get a 2nd decent job and he seems to be doing that.

I seen John O'Shea mentioned as a caretaker. Am I the only one who thinks O'Shea has been badly tainted by recent performances. If we want to give Anthony Barry credit for some of the good work, O'Shea has to be criticized for recent games. Ive thought we looked extreemly badly coached against Greeks and Dutch.

I do think that Ferguson might tempt someone that wouldnt have been interested otherwise. A genuinely top class striker makes any team more capable of winning games and there might be a few coaches out there that would like the "project".

[Razors left peg]

Sadly I reckon more thought is going in to the next appointment on this thread than the FAI will muster.




I think you've nailed this

[pineapple stu]

I seen John O'Shea mentioned as a caretaker. Am I the only one who thinks O'Shea has been badly tainted by recent performances. If we want to give Anthony Barry credit for some of the good work, O'Shea has to be criticized for recent games. Ive thought we looked extreemly badly coached against Greeks and Dutch.
Nope - I said the same in the Stephen Kenny thread. I'd be fairly underwhelmed with O'Shea/Andrews being appointed. Though it has to be an option.

[Razors left peg]

Nope - I said the same in the Stephen Kenny thread. I'd be fairly underwhelmed with O'Shea/Andrews being appointed. Though it has to be an option.

They've done as much to get fired as Kenny has. Andrews was an idiot for the stuff before the Greek game and was dismissed with a grin by a professional manager

[DCWA]

I'd love to see someone on the way up, like Magne Hoseth

Is this the manager of that KI crowd? A manager who has only ever managed in the Faroese league (afaik without checking) ? The leftest of left field ideas. He’d maybe be a candidate for Shamrock Rovers to replace Bradley but I think there would be a national meltdown should someone from the Faroese league get the Ireland job lol.

[SkStu]

What about Solskjaer? Out of a job, decent coach, good with youth, good connections…

[Razors left peg]

What about Solskjaer? Out of a job, decent coach, good with youth, good connections…

The Man Utd fan in me just had a seizure

[CraftyToePoke]

Some interesting names starting to surface here, fair play, most of those in the first post would be in the please God no category for me. I genuinely don't get the ongoing willingness to entertain names who are in the end of managerial life cycle career stage as Kenny's predecessors were & the increasingly diminishing returns those appointments delivered lead directly to having a punt on Kenny. Yes, he failed, & the pressure cooker fishbowl combo of the Ireland job crushed him in the end, but surely we wont return to a methodology which failed under several managers, over many years because one guys approach failed once. Before this campaign he was worthy of a contract extension and had wide support among the fanbase and it if was because of certain coaches then find more guys of that calibre surely ?

Or pick a short term bounce guy, launch it, and have the whole debate again in a few years, which I would rather not.

There is no money in the FAI, but whatever bit there is, Hill & Canham are taking home a good chunk of it each year, we have no main sponsor and Castore gear to show for their efforts. I would like them to come up with one progressive innovative appointment & get it right. Others do it, why not us.

& while I am at it, if one more supposedly knowledgeable ex pro pundit says we have Ferguson now, he's good & big so we should fire it up to him, they should be told to go watch Brighton & stop talking immediately.

[Thewhitepele]

My guess is the FAI will take their time under the illusion of getting the right guy but really to save money. Those that are out of work now may be in gainful employment by the time they make a decision and those currently employed may on the dole queue. Personally I would like to see Chris Houghton and this strategy give him a chance.

[Insidetherock]

We've got to cast wider..

After Jack stood down in 1996, if we'd taken a punt on a relatively unknown manager in Japan called Arsene Wenger, 1996 Foot.ie would have gone into meltdown

After Kenny had fallen flat after his first campaign, and we'd taken a punt on a journeyman Australian called Ange Postecoglu, Foot.ie would have gone into meltdown

along with the whole Irish soccer scene, journalists, ex pro etc

So lets cast the net wide. If it's true and Kenny is on 500,000 a year (which is bonkers btw, he should have been offered 20% more than he was on at a LOI club, or go sling his hook), then there are going to be loads of really good managers globally who'll take hand and all off us

Or maybe, find someone like Anthony Barry, who's undoubtedly a really good coach, and ask them if they want a shot at managing.

Remember, you get international players for a week at a time.. you don't ever know you have a full squad until they all turn up.. you can't do a huge amount of new work with them

So find a game plan, put the players into it.. and drill the hell out of them for a few days to try to get them playing

[osarusan]

Sadly I reckon more thought is going in to the next appointment on this thread than the FAI will muster.


Indeed, as Stuttgart88 has pointed out, us mere fans don't really know what's out there.

Ideally, the FAI would draw on all of their resources and unearth a Postecoglou-esque or de Zerbi-esque diamond for the job....but who really has faith in them to do that.

[EalingGreen]

We've got to cast wider..

After Jack stood down in 1996, if we'd taken a punt on a relatively unknown manager in Japan called Arsene Wenger, 1996 Foot.ie would have gone into meltdown
Alternatively, you might have taken a punt on any one of twenty other little-known rookie French managers who'd hardly played professionally (or one of 20 other managers in the J-League), and what would you have got?



After Kenny had fallen flat after his first campaign, and we'd taken a punt on a journeyman Australian called Ange Postecoglu, Foot.ie would have gone into meltdown
Ditto any of the other managers in the A-League.

That is, we all know that there are unknown, unconsidered individuals out there in the crowd who could turn out to be brilliant, but which ones?

It's a bit like when Mourinho exploded upon the scene from nowhere (hadn't even played the game). Suddenly Portugese managers were all the rage. Next in line was Villas-Boas, who wasn't bad, but wasn't up to JM's standard either. Eventually we got to the likes of Nuno Espiritu Santo before realising that Portugese managers could be just as crap as anyone else!

[weldoninhio]

Nope - I said the same in the Stephen Kenny thread. I'd be fairly underwhelmed with O'Shea/Andrews being appointed. Though it has to be an option.

I think that is the only possible way we could actually downgrade from Kenny. Makes it more likely for the FAI to pick.

[SkStu]

We could go back to the days of a selection committee. Nominate 5 foot.ie posters to select the side but let MyPost and Crafty take training (Stutts can train the goalkeepers).

[DCWA]

Eventually we got to the likes of Nuno Espiritu Santo before realising that Portugese managers could be just as crap as anyone else!

Nuno Santo not a crap manager. Wrong man, wrong club wrong time with Spurs no doubt but far from a crap manager. Ridiculous example.

[Diggs246]

Keith Andrews career in senior management is over.

Nonsense about data and how we should have won loads of games etc and an unfounded accusation against Greece.

He's so fired

[EalingGreen]

Nuno Santo not a crap manager. Wrong man, wrong club wrong time with Spurs no doubt but far from a crap manager. Ridiculous example.And after 8 months out-of-work after Spurs, he ended up in.... .... Saudi Arabia.

Take away the influence of his Agent, Jorge Mendes, and what are you left with? A hugely overrated manager, who eventually got found out.

[CraftyToePoke]

We could go back to the days of a selection committee. Nominate 5 foot.ie posters to select the side but let MyPost and Crafty take training (Stutts can train the goalkeepers).

Ok, I'll do it. But Im bringing a 70s Adidas trackie with me. No Castore carry on here boyo. Mypost you can bring your hulahoop & flip flops, don't worry.

[Fixer82]

Kenny era to formally end on Nov 28th according to Examiner

[Jolly Red Giant]

.... you are willing to take a punt on Coleman who doesn't have managerial experience???
Would be far from my first choice - but when you are talking about the likes of O'Shea, Andrews, Robbie Keane (and Roy Keane for that matter) - I would go with Coleman (or Stephen Reid) before any of them. He strikes me as the type of person who would get the most out of an international team (he actually reminds me a lot of Johnny Giles in his outlook to football)


Then after he gets a few good results, he leaves you mid-campaign for the first attractive offer?

It happened to NI with Lawrie Sanchez. Can't blame him, but he took a job in the EPL with Fulham when NI were 2nd in a seven team group including Spain, Sweden and Denmark (two to qualify). We ended up skittering in 3rd on GD ahead of the Danes in 4th, after losing very winnable games to Iceland and Latvia which would have seen us qualify.

That would be a big issue - and why I would be more inclined to go with someone like Chris Hughton - a highly regarded coach - an underrated manager - someone who has had success at club level and now has international experience - including at a major tournament which will take place in a couple of months. He has coached underage teams - he has been a first team coach under 11 different managers - and has more managerial experience in the PL than all bar a small number of managers (the average lifespan of a PL manager is less than 2 years - Hughton has more than 5 1/2 years - and did it by getting two teams promoted - he also has been sorting out a basket case of an international set-up in Ghana for the last couple of years.

[backstothewall]

Of the people mentioned on my original post the only ones I would consider seriously are Hughton, Carsley, Poyet and Steven Reid. Poyet throwing his hat into the ring is interesting, although I’m not at all convinced, he isn’t attempting to wangle a pay rise out of the Greek FA

I would have no issue if we were to cast the net wider than usual, but I don’t like the idea of an English manager tbh. Anti-English sentiment has always been there in Ireland, but I think it has changed in a way that makes it harder to appoint a manager from there than might previously have been the case. Over the last few decades I think the Irish public have come to look upon the English as being a bit unsophisticated compared to ourselves, particularly since Brexit. In the context of this conversation that’s more than ironic given that the change in our national self-esteem arguably began with an English football manager taking over our national team, but there you have it.

Say what you like about Jack Charlton’s football, but as a man he was a great fit for us. He had an old-fashioned charm about him, and when he had a fishing rod or a pint of Guinness in his hand it was never a prop. With the budget we have to offer, the English managers who might be interested would probably be names like Chris Wilder, Dean Smith or Nigel Pearson. It’s hard to imagine one of those guys standing in the middle of the Boyne wearing waders.

If it was to be an Englishman, I think it would have to be someone who had gone to the continent and worked there for a while, but the only example that jumps to mind is Graham Potter who I imagine we simply can’t afford.

If it isn’t to be an Irish manager I think the players, media and general public would all react better to someone with that bit of mystery about them that comes with being from somewhere we’re less familiar with.

I like the suggestion of Vladimir Petkovi?. He has the sort of CV that shows real promise. Jorge Sampaoli is another name I would throw into the mix if he would consider it. I reckon the Irish public could get right behind that high intensity Bielsa style football he plays.

Thinking about the characteristics of what would make up the ideal candidate to come out of left field, I came up with a few ideas.

I'm not in favour of a young up and comer. The trouble with that sort of appointment is that we'll be an obvious stepping stone to the Premier League. If they do well they'll likely be off after one campaign and we're back to square one. I'd prefer someone in their late 50s or 60's who is maybe at a stage of life where they want to be working but would perhaps find the less intense regime of international football to their liking.

Ideally, they would also speak English to a decent standard. We've seen in the past that communication is a key part of the role. Trapattoni and Stephen Kenny both suffered totally unnecessary difficulties because of their struggles with the English language.

A good knowledge of the Championship in England would be beneficial. It’s probably the division most of our players emerge in, and clearly we need a few new faces.
And clearly the FAI are in no position to pay any compensation to anyone.

So I’m looking for someone who is over 55 and out of work, who isn’t English but speaks the language, has managed in the championship as well as in Europe. There are a bunch of former Watford and Fulham and managers who tick a lot of those boxes, and those clubs go through so many managers that it doesn’t really hurt their reputation when they inevitably get sacked. Quique Sánchez Flores, Slaviša Jokanovi? and Slaven Bili? would all be worth considering.

One last name I want to mention is David Wagner who I rate highly. And he’s working with a few of our players already which can’t hurt.

All that being said, I think Chris Hughton would be my #1 choice.

[Stuttgart88]

Irish Times saying Carlsley is the FAI's preferred choice

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/2023/10/18/stephen-kennys-ireland-tenure-likely-to-end-next-month-with-lee-carsley-the-fais-preferred-successor/

"One of the primary functions of a manager is to inspire ruthlessness. Such a shortfall could be solved by the recruitment of England under-21 coach Lee Carsley, the outstanding candidate to replace Kenny according to a source in Irish football."

(Whatever that actually means!

[ontheotherhand]

There is no money in the FAI, but whatever bit there is, Hill & Canham are taking home a good chunk of it each year, we have no main sponsor and Castore gear to show for their efforts. I would like them to come up with one progressive innovative appointment & get it right. Others do it, why not us.



I'm not as close to things as others on here but I can't think of anything positive from their tenure so far?

1. The "Strategic Plan" was just a a bunch of wildly optimistic KPIs that were in large parts completely out of their control. LoI clubs coefficients in Europe improving etc....how exactly did they plan to affect that?

2. The lack of a sponsor - What is Hill doing in England that we can't even get a sponsor for the international side? I know we are bad but fans are still showing up. If we can't get someone to pay why aren't we promoting a good cause on the jersey?

3. Euro 2028 bringing the GAA development money for Casement Park but very little for the game itself. This one actually boggles the mind. What a shocking indictment of the state of the FAI that the GAA will benefit from a football tournament. Shocking.

4. We are still broke and hoping for a qualification miracle to dig us out of things.

Sadly we are now at a point where finding a Denis O'Brien type to splash the cash on a top level manager just to get us to qualify might actually be the right idea. We seem completely ****ed in the short, medium and long term but at least that might pay off the debts. Maybe Euro 2028 will clear them and the FAI will then pump money into the game here but..........I see nothing so far that gives me any hope that they know what they are doing.

[Razors left peg]

I'm bored in work so decided to have a look into Chris Hughtons record at Ghana since his name keeps coming up.

Took over in February and was in an African Nations group with Madagascar, Angola and Central African Republic. Ranked 108, 117 and 127 in the FIFA rankings, while Ghana at 60.... similar to us having a group of Kosovo, Estonia and Faroes.


Hes won 2 and drawn 2.
Took a 96 min winner to beat Angola at home.
88th min winner to beat Central African Republic.


Hes won 1 Friendly against Liberia, but this week has been beaten by Mexico 2-0 and yesterday 4-0 by USA.


I suppose the good news is that he'll probably be out of a job and available soon....

[JR89]

2. The lack of a sponsor - What is Hill doing in England that we can't even get a sponsor for the international side? I know we are bad but fans are still showing up. If we can't get someone to pay why aren't we promoting a good cause on the jersey?



Was mentioned last month at the press conference that a route they've looked at is a number of secondary sponsors rather than one main sponsor similar to UEFA with the Champions League.

[SkStu]

I'm bored in work so decided to have a look into Chris Hughtons record at Ghana since his name keeps coming up.

Took over in February and was in an African Nations group with Madagascar, Angola and Central African Republic. Ranked 108, 117 and 127 in the FIFA rankings, while Ghana at 60.... similar to us having a group of Kosovo, Estonia and Faroes.


Hes won 2 and drawn 2.
Took a 96 min winner to beat Angola at home.
88th min winner to beat Central African Republic.


Hes won 1 Friendly against Liberia, but this week has been beaten by Mexico 2-0 and yesterday 4-0 by USA.


I suppose the good news is that he'll probably be out of a job and available soon....

I saw your last post and this, appreciate it. I have to be honest, Hughton has never filled me with excitement as a potential candidate apart from a brief spell when he was with Norwich. I'd much rather Carsley as a fairly progressive choice that carries some risk (or Solskjaer just to see you go into full on seizure mode :)). I love some of the foreign candidates that have been put forward too over the last few pages but have reservations. The Trappatoni appointment was, for me, one of the most deflating experiences (despite qualifying for the euros) in terms of how he spoke about our players, our talent pool and their limitations. At a time where they were far superior to what we have now. I hated how we played under him but it was as much about how he spoke about us. O'Neill and MickMackII were way more palatable to me. Sorry... that turned into a mini-rant! If it is someone from the continent or further afield, it is ideally someone who really wants the job, who is hungry to prove themselves, not just a paycheck, and will put their heart and mind fully into it, put a bit of joy back into the role and not buy into lazy stereotypes about our ability.

Yours,
Bored in Work too.

[Fixer82]

Re Hughton, Ghana were also beaten by USA today in a friendly 4-0

[ontheotherhand]

I saw your last post and this, appreciate it. I have to be honest, Hughton has never filled me with excitement as a potential candidate apart from a brief spell when he was with Norwich. I'd much rather Carsley as a fairly progressive choice that carries some risk (or Solskjaer just to see you go into full on seizure mode :)). I love some of the foreign candidates that have been put forward too over the last few pages but have reservations. The Trappatoni appointment was, for me, one of the most deflating experiences (despite qualifying for the euros) in terms of how he spoke about our players, our talent pool and their limitations. At a time where they were far superior to what we have now. I hated how we played under him but it was as much about how he spoke about us. O'Neill and MickMackII were way more palatable to me. Sorry... that turned into a mini-rant! If it is someone from the continent or further afield, it is ideally someone who really wants the job, who is hungry to prove themselves, not just a paycheck, and will put their heart and mind fully into it, put a bit of joy back into the role and not buy into lazy stereotypes about our ability.

Yours,
Bored in Work too.

Certainly don't want us picking up another foreign manager who should be retiring. Trap never seemed all that invested to me. Blaming the players was a cop out for a lack of interest imop. One reason I backed Kenny getting more time is that he's been the complete opposite. He eventually let me down in terms of re-hauling the side but he at least knows all the players who are or might be available. Trap would never have unearthed Johnston for example. I'm not sure he even watched our players. Tardelli seemed to do most of that work.

[EalingGreen]

I'm bored in work so decided to have a look into Chris Hughtons record at Ghana since his name keeps coming up.

Took over in February and was in an African Nations group with Madagascar, Angola and Central African Republic. Ranked 108, 117 and 127 in the FIFA rankings, while Ghana at 60.... similar to us having a group of Kosovo, Estonia and Faroes.


Hes won 2 and drawn 2.
Took a 96 min winner to beat Angola at home.
88th min winner to beat Central African Republic.


Hes won 1 Friendly against Liberia, but this week has been beaten by Mexico 2-0 and yesterday 4-0 by USA.


I suppose the good news is that he'll probably be out of a job and available soon....If you want (a Northern) Irishman with wider experience of international management than Hughton, including in Africa, here's your man - amazingly eclectic CV and still only 38:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnathan_McKinstry

[Insidetherock]

Trap worked on the basis of boring opposition to death, and sneaking one on the break when they fell asleep.. it was mind numbing

O Neill was as bad.. anyone remember going two up against Moldova and just stopping playing???

[JR89]

Mark Kennedy (whose been mentioned here I believe) has walked away from his job at Lincoln along with his assistant manager.

[Insidetherock]

I've been organising tickets for people this campaign

I could have sold out France myself..

Got decent orders for Gibralter cause it was a nice Summer evening game

Dutch.. mostly die hards going to every game

Greece.. none.. not a single person wanted them

That alone shows why Kenny couldn't last

Sheesh when I think he was getting 500k

For what? Basic economics would have meant taking his salary at the time, and adding 20% on top to sweeten it.. and if he said no, grand.. on your bike

At worst he could have been offered a qualification bonus

[Razors left peg]

I've been organising tickets for people this campaign

I could have sold out France myself..

Got decent orders for Gibralter cause it was a nice Summer evening game

Dutch.. mostly die hards going to every game

Greece.. none.. not a single person wanted them

That alone shows why Kenny couldn't last

Sheesh when I think he was getting 500k

For what? Basic economics would have meant taking his salary at the time, and adding 20% on top to sweeten it.. and if he said no, grand.. on your bike

At worst he could have been offered a qualification bonus

Can you imagine the tumbleweeds that'll be in stadium for the NZ friendly

[SkStu]

I know but if it is common knowledge he will be gone after the window, you'd hope he'd get a decent send off. He cares so much, he'd deserve it for that alone.

[Razors left peg]

I know but if it is common knowledge he will be gone after the window, you'd hope he'd get a decent send off. He cares so much, he'd deserve it for that alone.

Its also gonna basically be a testimonial for McClean so that might add a few.

[nigel-harps1954]

I'm bored in work so decided to have a look into Chris Hughtons record at Ghana since his name keeps coming up.

Took over in February and was in an African Nations group with Madagascar, Angola and Central African Republic. Ranked 108, 117 and 127 in the FIFA rankings, while Ghana at 60.... similar to us having a group of Kosovo, Estonia and Faroes.


Hes won 2 and drawn 2.
Took a 96 min winner to beat Angola at home.
88th min winner to beat Central African Republic.


Hes won 1 Friendly against Liberia, but this week has been beaten by Mexico 2-0 and yesterday 4-0 by USA.


I suppose the good news is that he'll probably be out of a job and available soon....

Hughton also left Notts Forest bottom of the table when he was sacked, the same year they got promoted to the Premier League.

He's a more old school style of manager, and those wishing for him to get the job would want to be careful with what they wish. He'd be well down my list of preferences.

[mark12345]

Of the people mentioned on my original post the only ones I would consider seriously are Hughton, Carsley, Poyet and Steven Reid. Poyet throwing his hat into the ring is interesting, although I’m not at all convinced, he isn’t attempting to wangle a pay rise out of the Greek FA

I would have no issue if we were to cast the net wider than usual, but I don’t like the idea of an English manager tbh. Anti-English sentiment has always been there in Ireland, but I think it has changed in a way that makes it harder to appoint a manager from there than might previously have been the case. Over the last few decades I think the Irish public have come to look upon the English as being a bit unsophisticated compared to ourselves, particularly since Brexit. In the context of this conversation that’s more than ironic given that the change in our national self-esteem arguably began with an English football manager taking over our national team, but there you have it.

Say what you like about Jack Charlton’s football, but as a man he was a great fit for us. He had an old-fashioned charm about him, and when he had a fishing rod or a pint of Guinness in his hand it was never a prop. With the budget we have to offer, the English managers who might be interested would probably be names like Chris Wilder, Dean Smith or Nigel Pearson. It’s hard to imagine one of those guys standing in the middle of the Boyne wearing waders.

If it was to be an Englishman, I think it would have to be someone who had gone to the continent and worked there for a while, but the only example that jumps to mind is Graham Potter who I imagine we simply can’t afford.

If it isn’t to be an Irish manager I think the players, media and general public would all react better to someone with that bit of mystery about them that comes with being from somewhere we’re less familiar with.

I like the suggestion of Vladimir Petkovi?. He has the sort of CV that shows real promise. Jorge Sampaoli is another name I would throw into the mix if he would consider it. I reckon the Irish public could get right behind that high intensity Bielsa style football he plays.

Thinking about the characteristics of what would make up the ideal candidate to come out of left field, I came up with a few ideas.

I'm not in favour of a young up and comer. The trouble with that sort of appointment is that we'll be an obvious stepping stone to the Premier League. If they do well they'll likely be off after one campaign and we're back to square one. I'd prefer someone in their late 50s or 60's who is maybe at a stage of life where they want to be working but would perhaps find the less intense regime of international football to their liking.

Ideally, they would also speak English to a decent standard. We've seen in the past that communication is a key part of the role. Trapattoni and Stephen Kenny both suffered totally unnecessary difficulties because of their struggles with the English language.

A good knowledge of the Championship in England would be beneficial. It’s probably the division most of our players emerge in, and clearly we need a few new faces.
And clearly the FAI are in no position to pay any compensation to anyone.

So I’m looking for someone who is over 55 and out of work, who isn’t English but speaks the language, has managed in the championship as well as in Europe. There are a bunch of former Watford and Fulham and managers who tick a lot of those boxes, and those clubs go through so many managers that it doesn’t really hurt their reputation when they inevitably get sacked. Quique Sánchez Flores, Slaviša Jokanovi? and Slaven Bili? would all be worth considering.

One last name I want to mention is David Wagner who I rate highly. And he’s working with a few of our players already which can’t hurt.

All that being said, I think Chris Hughton would be my #1 choice.

A couple of things. The English are unsophisticated? Maybe 15 or 20 years ago, but not now. England are in the argument for the top 2 or 3 teams in world football.
And you made me laugh with the Stephen Kenny and the English language bit. My take on Kenny is he can speak the English language but no one has the foggiest what he is saying as he rambles up and down and all around . Comparing him with Trapatoni was pretty clever.

[seanfhear]

Chris Hughton has a pretty mixed record as a manager ~ Also, is it possible that he has fallen behind the times as a manager for today's game ~ Just asking ? !

[CraftyToePoke]

A couple of things. The English are unsophisticated? Maybe 15 or 20 years ago, but not now.

He means as a people, as a society, obviously.
Brexit, right leaning populist PM during it. Inward looking islanders, etc.

[CraftyToePoke]

Chris Hughton has a pretty mixed record as a manager ~ Also, is it possible that he has fallen behind the times as a manager for today's game ~ Just asking ? !

Probably at the tail end of his managerial stage yeah, like Trap / MON / Mick II were. Looking a lot like that career trajectory wise anyhow.