Next Senior Men's Team Manager - Runners and Riders

[Eirambler]

I think anyone that said O'Shea could get it based on Belgium always added the caveat If Swiss game goes well. It didnt, and he wont get it.

But it's crazy to be drawing any conclusions on anything from two meaningless friendlies. Besides, we have enough evidence from O'Shea's previous coaching involvements working with Kenny, Crawford and Rooney to know that there's nothing there to merit him managing the team. It's been a catalog of failure everywhere he's been.

[Razors left peg]

But it's crazy to be drawing any conclusions on anything from two meaningless friendlies. Besides, we have enough evidence from O'Shea's previous coaching involvements working with Kenny, Crawford and Rooney to know that there's nothing there to merit him managing the team. It's been a catalog of failure everywhere he's been.

There was things he could have done to make it interesting tonight. Adjust, show that theres more to him than one formation. But it was pathetic. Ferguson being forced out onto the wing to fit O'Sheas formation rather than O'Shea adjusting to his players was criminal. Same with Szmodics, never made an attempt at any time to try get him through the middle where hes been brilliant this season.

If you asked me 2 weeks ago would I want O'Shea I would have said absolutely not. After Saturday I thought he could be interesting based on the seeming lack of alternative and I was glad we had another game to have a look... it was disgraceful tonight.

Canham better have something good. Is it 5 months since Kenny got the boot, and we knew he was gone months before that. With all the secrecy and mystery he better have a hell of a manager lined up or he should be following his boss Hill out the door very soon.

[ontheotherhand]

Kenny clearly the best manager we've had in the past 5 years........

We went pragmatic and almost got the two scoreless draws OShea wanted. Never looked like scoring a goal over two games though, particularly when Ferguson stepped up to take a peno.

What did we learn?

Kelleher is a better option than Bazunu.
Idah might be a better option than Ferguson for now.
We have a promising back 3.
Szmodics can be useful.

Sobering but that's where the team is. It will take a really inspired appointment from the FAI to get a tune out of them. Easy.

[backstothewall]

I'm sure John O'Shea is a lovely fella, and he was a great servent to IRish football, but giving him the job would be Steve Staunton v2.0.

[Murfinator]

If we appoint O'Shea then there was no reason to sack Kenny to begin with. I have to assume and hope that the FAI have someone more experienced lined up because otherwise massive mistakes have been made.

[Olé Olé]

Kenny clearly the best manager we've had in the past 5 years........

We went pragmatic and almost got the two scoreless draws OShea wanted. Never looked like scoring a goal over two games though, particularly when Ferguson stepped up to take a peno.

What did we learn?

Kelleher is a better option than Bazunu.
Idah might be a better option than Ferguson for now.
We have a promising back 3.
Szmodics can be useful.

Sobering but that's where the team is. It will take a really inspired appointment from the FAI to get a tune out of them. Easy.

At least the players are only improving. Ferguson will bounce back and Idah is looking better. Two good striker options. 4 good centre half options (why didn't O'Shea blood O'Brien?) and 2 good options in goals. Smallbone and Cullen isn't the worst midfield but is a little weaker than elsewhere.

Realistically we need to move to 4-2-3-1
Kelleher
Coleman Collins Omobamidele O'Shea
Cullen Smallbone
Three of Ogbene, Johnston, Szmodics, Knight (I would go with all bar Johnston for now)
Idah or Ferguson

I count 8 Premiership players and 3 top end Championship.

A manager that can design and implement a game plan to maximize our strengths could do well. That is the name of the game in international football.

Did you see the cut of the Northern Ireland side that beat Scotland last night? Bradley is the only player that would start for us. Price and Charles would nake our squad.

[NeverFeltBetter]

JOS certainly talking like he is still a contender: https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2024/0326/1440172-oshea-more-than-ready-to-manage-ireland/

[ifk101]

There was a significant time lapse between John Eustace leaving and Kenny bringing John O’Shea into the senior setup, despite Kenny expressing urgency to replace Eustace and John O’Shea being on the FAI’s payroll with the U21s – i.e. Kenny was (very) reluctant to promote O’Shea (and maybe his hand was forced?). The team performances in 2023 explain why Kenny was reluctant. John O’Shea has been bigged up as a “respected” coach but he had direct involvement in poor to progressively dreadful performances under Kenny, was part of a coaching team that Birmingham couldn’t get out the door quick enough, and has now overseen brutally stand offish performances, replicating the worst from the Kenny era, against an underwhelming Belgium side and a Switzerland side well past their sell-by date. I get the impression that the complete absence of leaks about the next manager is simply because they don’t have a candidate and these games were a trial run for O’Shea with his mates being used to help to sell the idea in the media. Hope I’m wrong but if O’Shea is appointed manager heads need to roll.

[Eirambler]

If that was the plan then it fell apart last night. O'Shea won't be accepted as manager based on what we've seen. A lot of supporters will walk away from it for a few years if he gets the job id expect.

[brine3]

This is turning into a farce.

[backstothewall]

This is turning into a farce.

Aegean Airlines flight A3897 from Tbilisi to Athens is on the ground

Perhaps the FAI are super organised, Seamus Coleman has been asked to hang around until this evening, and a tall, dark handsome man is boarding the Ryanair flight that's leaving for Dublin in 45 minutes.

[Jolly Red Giant]

This is turning into a farce.
I think that happened quite a while ago.

So we are clear - there are a lot of good coaches, with a wide variety of approaches, either currently unemployed, coming to the end of their contracts, or in a position where being released from their contracts would not be an issue.

Canham and Hill spoke about an exhaustive search - but from day one do not appear to have engaged in any real search at all. The latest one is that they are looking for an Irish coach - yet they unceremoniously dismissed the most qualified Irish coach in the game today - Chris Hughton (and my apologies for bringing up his name again - but he is by far and away to most qualified coach of anyone who has ever been named with the possible exception of Sam Allardyce)

It is time for a reset - advertise the bloody job, see who is interested in applying and take if from there.

[Eirambler]

Hughton may well have no interest at his age for the money we're offering. Let's see what comes out of the board meeting. No doubt O'Donoghue and the rest of them will be standing outside again looking for comments and assessing body language. If there's a name at the board meeting it will likely be public knowledge within hours as the FAI will leak like a sieve as usual once any name goes beyond the small group covering recruitment.

[JR89]

Hughton may well have no interest at his age for the money we're offering. Let's see what comes out of the board meeting. No doubt O'Donoghue and the rest of them will be standing outside again looking for comments and assessing body language. If there's a name at the board meeting it will likely be public knowledge within hours as the FAI will leak like a sieve as usual once any name goes beyond the small group covering recruitment.

Don't think money would be an issue given he was on something like 500k supposedly with Ghana. Think Kerr said Hughton wasn't going to jump straight back into management and wouldn't blame him given how things ended with him being attacked by a fan.

[Eirambler]

Five more days! Now is not the time to talk about it, it's the time to analyse what happened tonight,” he told the media after the defeat in Tbilisi.

"For me it was a privilege to be in this team but I don't want to say anything about the future. It was a privilege to be here. How they treated me, how much they supported me within the team. Now we have to calm down, rest and get ready for the next day.

"There is a lot of frustration. We have had no luck in the last two years, not even in the playoff draw. My players did everything they could. In two matches we did not concede a goal, and somehow we missed out on the Euros. The players did what we asked,” he added, bemoaning the fact that four changes made in the game in Tbilisi were forced on him by injury.

Kind of sounds like he has something lined up that he can't talk about just yet...five more days, that would coincidentally take us into "early April".

Incidentally I would have said that drawing Kazakhstan and Georgia for a shot at the Euros is about as good a piece of luck as you're going to get. if he thinks that's bad luck, wait until he sees the draws we consistently seem to get.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Only one player, but a squad member now calling for O'Shea to get the job: https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2024/0327/1440209-i-would-yes-collins-backs-oshea-for-permanent-gig/

[Eirambler]

There's no alternative answer to that question for a player though. Any player asked must say yes, because saying no, or even giving a neutral answer will be interpreted as a slight against the manager. So any player with any decent level of media training will always say yes to that question, the same way they all publicly backed Kenny no matter how badly he set the team up (and yet they never think to even mention him now he's gone!)

[Jolly Red Giant]

Don't think money would be an issue given he was on something like 500k supposedly with Ghana. Think Kerr said Hughton wasn't going to jump straight back into management and wouldn't blame him given how things ended with him being attacked by a fan.
Yea - money was never an issue with Hughton - he was by far the lowest paid manager in the PL.

Hughton does tend to take time out when he finishes a job - recharge the batteries and refocus. He took 6 months off between Newcastle and Birmingham - nearly 9 months between Norwich and Brighton and over a year between Brighton and Forest (now part of that was, from his perspective, trying to find the best fit - and he did mess it up with Forest). He is 65 now and I do think that, while he might be interested in club management again, the Ireland job is the one job he would really be interested in having a crack at.

And before people have a canary - that doesn't mean that he would be a success - just that he has a really good track record of success and a lot of experience at club and international level.

[SkStu]

And before people have a canary

Nice pun.

[Razors left peg]

Hughton over Poyet for me, but if those are our 2 options at this stage of 5 months of secrecy there wouldnt be enough firings in the FAI to satisfy me

[SwanVsDalton]

Would honestly rather have O'Shea than Poyet. Usually I'd take the entertaining disaster over the mediocre failure, but Poyet strikes me as a balloon apart.

[SkStu]

I'd take Poyet as I think he is the better manager and a proven one at that. It will be, if its him, an absolute rollercoaster ride and doesn't seem like the type of decision that the FAI would make [I typically would associate them with fairly conservative or safe appointments]. It could blow up spectacularly.

[Jd2793]

yeah dont get the poyet clamour. we were a shambles against them and he showed up kenny, fine. other than that his results were pretty similar to ours. its a sidways move

[Murfinator]

I'm still naively hoping that the FAI actually have a candidate lined up and O'Shea was never being considered, although the way he was speaking and the way he lined up his team yesterday really felt as if someone had a word with him that it was a possibility.

It would be illogical and nonsensical to let Kenny go on a results basis and decline applicants on the basis of not having international management experience only to wind up hiring Kenny's assistant coach with no management experience with a team of ex-player buddies with no coaching experience. An unimaginable shambles even by the FAI's standards.

At least Poyet is an experienced manager who'll bring with him a team of experienced coaches like Nus and Taricco so we might have some semblance of a professional outfit.

[Crosby87]

If they are not announcing for two weeks it's not JOS....why would they wait?

Drumroll...and here he is...get ready...get ready...please welcome... John O'Shea!!(comes out from behind curtain) (scattered polite clapping) (sounds of snoring)

[Razors left peg]

I'd take Poyet as I think he is the better manager and a proven one at that. It will be, if its him, an absolute rollercoaster ride and doesn't seem like the type of decision that the FAI would make [I typically would associate them with fairly conservative or safe appointments]. It could blow up spectacularly.

What has he done to prove he's a good manager Stu. Steve Bruce honestly has a better CV than him

[Crosby87]

Slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
Don't need to be coy, Roy
Hop on the bus, Gus
Drop off the key, Lee

I always hated that song with a passion.

But I do feel like things with the FAI are slip slidin away sometimes, and we are sort of on a bridge over troubled waters (just not in Baltimore thankfully)

[SkStu]

What has he done to prove he's a good manager Stu. Steve Bruce honestly has a better CV than him

it was a response in relation to O'Shea v Poyet.

[Razors left peg]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2024/0327/1440279-fai-board-meet-with-big-calls-up-for-discussion/

Speaking after an FAI board meeting today, president Cooke said: "We got an update on the recruitment process for the men’s team manager.
"We’re on schedule for an April announcement. The [exact] timing is not certain at this moment in time."
Cook declined to say whether O’Shea was in the running after he took charge of the friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland, adding: "We’ve narrowed the process well down. It will be revealed in April.
"We would be comfortable that the candidate will fit into our plan and processes going forward.
"The intention is that the manager will start as soon as possible."


Could Cooke not have just come out and said " Johns done a great job for the 2 games he was asked to manage, but the permanent manager will take over in April". Instead its more spin, no answers about anything and not ever ruling O'Shea out. Theres more secrecy that who shot JFK, and for what? That statement to me reeks of them scrambling because theres nothing in place

[elatedscum]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2024/0327/1440279-fai-board-meet-with-big-calls-up-for-discussion/

Speaking after an FAI board meeting today, president Cooke said: "We got an update on the recruitment process for the men’s team manager.
"We’re on schedule for an April announcement. The [exact] timing is not certain at this moment in time."
Cook declined to say whether O’Shea was in the running after he took charge of the friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland, adding: "We’ve narrowed the process well down. It will be revealed in April.
"We would be comfortable that the candidate will fit into our plan and processes going forward.
"The intention is that the manager will start as soon as possible."


Could Cooke not have just come out and said " Johns done a great job for the 2 games he was asked to manage, but the permanent manager will take over in April". Instead its more spin, no answers about anything and not ever ruling O'Shea out. Theres more secrecy that who shot JFK, and for what? That statement to me reeks of them scrambling because theres nothing in place

I'd suspect they've got a handshake agreement with person X that an agreed contact will be signed in April, pending the close of a previous contract that they have/had. They're not saying more until a contract is actually signed. Can't imagine O'Shea was ever really in the running... My assumption is it's Poyet, purely based on his contractual situation. Not the most inspired appointment, but certainly a better appointment than O'Shea, Lennon etc. Expect him to fall out with a bunch of players and alienate the fanbase by not playing someone obvious (Ogbene? Cullen?) before coming 3rd in the next two qualification campaigns and leaving. Good times ahead

[Crosby87]

Does JOS have a little pride, even if this is his only option?

Twist in the wind for a while, mate, if we can't find anyone else to take the job, and we mean anyone, like if we get turned down by Steve McClaren, we will announce you as next manager sometime after Wrestlemania.

[EalingGreen]

Would honestly rather have O'Shea than Poyet. Usually I'd take the entertaining disaster over the mediocre failure, but Poyet strikes me as a balloon apart.Minor piece of trivia: When Poyet was at Spurs, his nickname was "Radio" - he never stops talking.

[CSAD]

I'd suspect they've got a handshake agreement with person X that an agreed contact will be signed in April, pending the close of a previous contract that they have/had. They're not saying more until a contract is actually signed. Can't imagine O'Shea was ever really in the running... My assumption is it's Poyet, purely based on his contractual situation. Not the most inspired appointment, but certainly a better appointment than O'Shea, Lennon etc. Expect him to fall out with a bunch of players and alienate the fanbase by not playing someone obvious (Ogbene? Cullen?) before coming 3rd in the next two qualification campaigns and leaving. Good times ahead

I still think the Poyet rumours are just a case of people putting 2 & 2 together.

[Razors left peg]

I still think the Poyet rumours are just a case of people putting 2 & 2 together.

I hope so

[seanfhear]

Maybe it's going to be Jesus ~ ~ He will be free in April ~ ~ Sort of , out of contract.

[CraftyToePoke]

Maybe it's going to be Jesus ~ ~ He will be free in April ~ ~ Sort of , out of contract.

Knows a thing or two about crosses.

[backstothewall]

If it is Poyet (it's still and if, but I'm not disappointed that I stuck a fiver on him a few weeks back at 13/2), I think he could do well. He passes the sniff test, and the manner in which he outfoxed Kenny gives him a degree of credibility that none of the other seemingly available candidates can claim.

Apart from that he's a big personality. He would clearly be far more glamourous than Stephen Kenny. There were rumours that something the FAI wanted was a manager who would base himself in Ireland. If it is him, and he has agreed to that, I could see him charming the Irish public in a way we've not seen since Big Jack.

We're a very different country than we were when Jack was in charge, but we still don't get many Uruguayans to the half dozen. If he got out and about in the car and took his South American charm around the country handing out medals to kids at end of season awards days and standing behind the goal at League of Ireland games, this island could fall in love with him.

[osarusan]

Knows a thing or two about crosses.

And could turn Waters into....ah crap, years too late.

[Razors left peg]

Knows a thing or two about crosses.

Will always come back from the dead at the end of games

[mark12345]

And could turn Waters into....ah crap, years too late.

We're making fun of Christians / Catholics now?

[CraftyToePoke]

We're making fun of Christians / Catholics now?

You've nailed it.

[passinginterest]

We're making fun of Christians / Catholics now?
Feed him to the lions!

[Razors left peg]

We're making fun of Christians / Catholics now?

Down with that sort of thing! Careful now!

There should be nun of that around here, but Jesus is playing for Brazil so I don't see why we can't have him as manager since he can be everywhere all at once

[Jolly Red Giant]

Poyet is way ahead of Kenny (and O'Shea) in terms of managerial ability - he is a nutcase but it would be far from boring if he got the job.

[Colbert Report]

Is Poyet 6/4 at Paddy Power? Can't access the odds from North America.

[seanfhear]

We're making fun of Christians / Catholics now?
Great bunch of lads and girls.

That is the strength of christianity / catholicism ~ Is that it is strong enough / confident enough to be made fun of.

On a wing and a prayer, we will get more out of a player.

[backstothewall]

Is Poyet 6/4 at Paddy Power? Can't access the odds from North America.

Yes.

Gus Poyet 6/4F
Willie Sagnol 9/4
John O'Shea 10/3
Robbie Keane 9/1
Anthony Barry 10/1
Roberto Di Matteo 11/1

20/1 Bar

[SwanVsDalton]

I'd take Poyet as I think he is the better manager and a proven one at that. It will be, if its him, an absolute rollercoaster ride and doesn't seem like the type of decision that the FAI would make [I typically would associate them with fairly conservative or safe appointments]. It could blow up spectacularly.

You're not wrong in that assessment. All I'm saying is that if we're going for a combustible loudmouth with a patchy managerial record who's likely to set fire to the whole thing before they leave, then there's no way we should be looking past one Royston Keane Esq. A disaster, but a 'the craic is 91' disaster.

[samhaydenjr]

Yes.

Gus Poyet 6/4F
Willie Sagnol 9/4
John O'Shea 10/3
Robbie Keane 9/1
Anthony Barry 10/1
Roberto Di Matteo 11/1

20/1 Bar

So it's:

Untrustworthy chancer 6/4f
Guy who makes dodgy statements about race 9/4
Possible Steve Staunton reboot 10/3
Close to a possible Steve Staunton reboot 9/1
Ha! We wish! 10/1
Ruled out already 11/1

It's going swimmingly (or the bookies don't actually have a clue). Suddenly that guy nobody likes who briefly had the England job is looking like a viable option!

[John83]

We're making fun of Christians / Catholics now?
They're making puns on Christian terms. It's not decorious, but it's not the same as mockery. Christianity used to be able to demand decorum, but have lost that priviledge as our society rejected their claims to moral authority in light of, e.g., their shielding and enabling paedophiles and their mistreatment of mothers and children out of wedlock. This is an example of how loss of privilege is sometimes mistaken for discrimination. A counterexample, "Christians are overly sensitive to criticism because their beliefs are illogical and that makes thim insecure about their faith," would be mocking Christians.

Additionally, many Irish people have grown up in Christian households, and have a cultural claim on Christian language, customs, and iconography they grew up with. This is why, for example, many non-religious people celebrate Christmas in an entirely secular fashion, and do so without mocking the Christian holiday. A counterexample, quoting Jeremiah 10:2-4, 'Thus says the Lord: “Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move,' and pointing out the relationship to Christmas trees would be an example of mocking the Christian holiday.

I hope this was helpful in clarifying the situation.