Next Senior Men's Team Manager - Runners and Riders

[JR89]

1802083099741766126

Don't worry the Peterborough United chairman is gonna save Irish football. His master plan will likely be hire Darren Ferguson, sack him after awhile and then rehire him when things aren't going smooth.

And then repeat that process three or four times hoping it works. Must have sacked and rehired him at Peterborough about four times now.

[CraftyToePoke]

Must have sacked and rehired him at Peterborough about four times now.

It is four yes. And the appointments in between were fairly calamitous. Beyond that there's his having to get investors on board because he's not as financially buoyant as he was, having a massive scrap with one of them which is very costly and has led to some very high interest loans which are leading to money having to be moved around on Companies House. And there's the land around the city centre stadium turning into flats, thus on site expansion of the stadium is now not possible & the nearby replacement stadium plans mired in zero progress for years despite all the usual fancy miniature stadium replicas he puts in the papers, the decision makers on planning haven't budged. They want a university facility there which is probably fair enough.

So yeah, there's Darragh.

[backstothewall]

MacAnthony is a clown but he's not wrong. There are several teams in the Euro's who we are better than on paper. Romania are one of them and have shown what's possible in international football for a well organised bunch of mediocre players. Not just today but by getting to the finals going unbeaten in qualification.

Amadans like MacAnthony are going to keep doing this until a serious manager is appointed.

[CraftyToePoke]

Amadans like MacAnthony are going to keep doing this until a serious manager is appointed.

Yeah, the vacuum is as much bother as the problem causing the vacuum. You have McClean trying to rewrite his role in recent years & engineer a recall as well. If anyone anywhere should happy with 100 caps it's that fella.

[Snapshot]

Wont be getting much airtime after this...he didnt get the memo about being pro O'Shea!

But every word he says is 100% true, you can see the difference between McMillan saying what he thinks and the other clowns clearly reading from a script....is what David says actually makes sense.

In regards the the PR, its feels like all this suspicious support for O'Shea feels very fake and almost like work is being done behind the scene to try build support O'Shea so the FAI can pretend it's someone they wanted and the he's a "popular choice" when anyone with half a brain know's it's complete ********.
Again, your conspiracy theory lacks credibility and damages the otherwise reasonable case against appointing O'Shea. Why would journalists/panelists jeopardise their careers/credibility with such a stunt? Maybe they think O'Shea will do a good job.

[CSAD]

Again, your conspiracy theory is nonsense and damages the otherwise reasonable case against appointing O'Shea. Why would journalists/panelists jeopardise their careers/credibility with such a stunt? Maybe, just maybe, they think O'Shea will do a good job.


You tell me then, this is a manager with no managerial experience, was part of the Kenny backroom staff last year when Ireland lost every game as far as im concerned (no matter how bad we were realistically we weren't losing to Gibraltar) and so far hasn't set the team up much differently to Kenny and yet the panel is full of support for him despite lambasting Kenny previously...

Again lets look at the evidence presented, what evidence on show would suggest he's going to do a good job? Even the people backing him cant bring themselves to praise his management, they simply just praise his personality which says it all. And not only that the extent of which they go out to defend him despite all the evidence is so desperate that I fail to believe there is no some sort of altered motive in play. Maybe its reading from a script or maybe they are backing a mate, either is possible, but I refuse to believe they are backing him because they legitimately think he's the best option as it seems very left field especially when you consider what they thought of Stephen Kenny.

It's worth noting McMillian is the only person on one of these shows that wasn't part of the RTE panel or a former team mate of O'Shea and yet he was the only one who backed against him...funny that.

[Jolly Red Giant]

Kenny was not similar to O'Shea in terms of experience. We can rightly say now that Kenny wasnt good enough at a higher level of management that what he had done previously, but he was a professional football manager. He had won League championships and competed with his team in european competition.

O'Shea has just completed his 4 games of professional football management ever. Even Carsley is not the same by a long stretch. The team that Carsley manages is full of Premiership footballers. He has taken them to an international competition and won. Its not like its a team of u16 kids.

As for thinking Carsley still may take the job, that ship has long sailed.... Although I do hope Im as wrong about that as I was convinced he was taking it! :D
Carsley also has experience on the senior side of things - in 2012 he was First team coach at Coventry before taking over as caretaker manager for 6 games. Later the same season he again took over as caretaker for another five games after Mark Robins left the club. In 2015 he was in charge of Brentford for 10 games. in 2017 he was caretaker at Birmingham for 3 games before becoming Steve Cotterill's assistant manager. Even without the England U21 job, Carsley has far more experience as a coach.

[Jolly Red Giant]

Seems that Willy might not be our man either....

Good - Georgia can keep the racist

[CSAD]

Carsley also has experience on the senior side of things - in 2012 he was First team coach at Coventry before taking over as caretaker manager for 6 games. Later the same season he again took over as caretaker for another five games after Mark Robins left the club. In 2015 he was in charge of Brentford for 10 games. in 2017 he was caretaker at Birmingham for 3 games before becoming Steve Cotterill's assistant manager. Even without the England U21 job, Carsley has far more experience as a coach.

Ngl none of that is any better than Kenny's experience, lets not forget Kenny managed in Europe competing not only in the Europa league but also against sides like BATE & Legia Warsaw...if you are hiring Carsley you're hiring almost entirely based on his experience with the English U21's and while he's done great with them ultimately its different managing kids to managing adults and it's questionable that he would be able to make the step up for Ireland. He could be a revelation of course but people who think if he gets hired he'll automatically be a massive improvement on Kenny might want to keep expectations in order, he could very well be but there's also a chance he could just be as bad as ultimately based on his CV this is an appointment with an element of risk attached to it based on the points made here.

[Diggs246]

Lads we have to hire Steve Bruce see below he's perfect for us!!!

"while manager of Huddersfield, he
wrote a trio of novels: Striker!, Sweeper! and Defender!. The books centred on fictional football manager Steve Barnes, based on Bruce, who solved murder mysteries and thwarted terrorists"

He is our guy!!

[pineapple stu]

Reviewed here - it's glorious. (The review, that is)

https://www.balls.ie/football/steve-bruce-novel-293169

That said, it starts off with an Irish striker being fatally stabbed in the back. I'm not sure that's who we want in charge...

[Snapshot]

You tell me then, this is a manager with no managerial experience, was part of the Kenny backroom staff last year when Ireland lost every game as far as im concerned (no matter how bad we were realistically we weren't losing to Gibraltar) and so far hasn't set the team up much differently to Kenny and yet the panel is full of support for him despite lambasting Kenny previously...

Again lets look at the evidence presented, what evidence on show would suggest he's going to do a good job? Even the people backing him cant bring themselves to praise his management, they simply just praise his personality which says it all. And not only that the extent of which they go out to defend him despite all the evidence is so desperate that I fail to believe there is no some sort of altered motive in play. Maybe its reading from a script or maybe they are backing a mate, either is possible, but I refuse to believe they are backing him because they legitimately think he's the best option as it seems very left field especially when you consider what they thought of Stephen Kenny.

It's worth noting McMillian is the only person on one of these shows that wasn't part of the RTE panel or a former team mate of O'Shea and yet he was the only one who backed against him...funny that.
The conspiracy theory is rubbish. The Kenny era was a wrecking ball from potty romanticism to downright incompetence. O'Shea was last through the backroom’s revolving door. To taint him with the full body of the Kenny failure is unfair. The horse had well and truly bolted. If anything, the Kenny/Andrews losers' environment must have been a rude wake-up call.


I've never considered him a standout candidate, but he doesn't deserve the flak cast by those who so aggressively demanded more time for Kenny.

[Razors left peg]

Ngl none of that is any better than Kenny's experience, lets not forget Kenny managed in Europe competing not only in the Europa league but also against sides like BATE & Legia Warsaw...if you are hiring Carsley you're hiring almost entirely based on his experience with the English U21's and while he's done great with them ultimately its different managing kids to managing adults and it's questionable that he would be able to make the step up for Ireland. He could be a revelation of course but people who think if he gets hired he'll automatically be a massive improvement on Kenny might want to keep expectations in order, he could very well be but there's also a chance he could just be as bad as ultimately based on his CV this is an appointment with an element of risk attached to it based on the points made here.


Carsley probably manages more 1st team Premiership footballers with the England U21s than he would with the senior Ireland job. Its not kids he is managing. Its a moot point anyway, since he is not taking the Ireland job, but he would have been well qualified for it.

Any appointment has a large element of risk to it. Which is why O'Shea should be ruled out immediately. IF we had appointed Carsley on a 4 year contract and the first 4 games looked like O'Sheas trial run we'd all be panicking. Those 4 games give us a snapshot of what his tenue would look like and only an idiot who hasnt a clue about football or someone with an agenda would continue to defend his claim for the job.

[EalingGreen]

Ngl none of that is any better than Kenny's experience, lets not forget Kenny managed in Europe competing not only in the Europa league but also against sides like BATE & Legia Warsaw...if you are hiring Carsley you're hiring almost entirely based on his experience with the English U21's and while he's done great with them ultimately its different managing kids to managing adults and it's questionable that he would be able to make the step up for Ireland. He could be a revelation of course but people who think if he gets hired he'll automatically be a massive improvement on Kenny might want to keep expectations in order, he could very well be but there's also a chance he could just be as bad as ultimately based on his CV this is an appointment with an element of risk attached to it based on the points made here.Carsley was extremely highly thought of at Brentford, only turning down the offer to be permanent manager for (legitimate) family reasons.

And Brentford's record in appointing managers, often from "left field", is first class. The south would be lucky to get him.

[elatedscum]

Carsley was extremely highly thought of at Brentford, only turning down the offer to be permanent manager for (legitimate) family reasons.

And Brentford's record in appointing managers, often from "left field", is first class. The south would be lucky to get him.

The South? Can't see him manage the 6 counties of Munster

[EalingGreen]

The South? Can't see him manage the 6 counties of MunsterNah, you must know them - live next door to the north.

[Diggs246]

Officially the name of our country is Ireland, not the rep of Ireland.

Is there a officially a nationality of northern Irish. Or are you Irish or British.. of course you can recognise as all three etc but officially? I'm not sure. Anyone?

[Crosby87]

That Turkiye/Georgia half was one of the most entertaining in recent memory

Oh for Ireland to make a tournament and play with a little moxie

[CSAD]

Carsley was extremely highly thought of at Brentford, only turning down the offer to be permanent manager for (legitimate) family reasons.

And Brentford's record in appointing managers, often from "left field", is first class. The south would be lucky to get him.

He is a good manager I agree and could end up being a great appointment for Ireland. But let's be real, we are rating him based on hypothetical possibilities and work he's done at underage level. The key word there is "could", all the reasons why he might be a great appointment are there but the key overall fact is he has very little experience in senior management outside of work as an assistant. It would hopefully workout but we cant deny there would be a degree of risk involved in the appointment and more of one than a lot of people seem to believe.

[CSAD]

Carsley probably manages more 1st team Premiership footballers with the England U21s than he would with the senior Ireland job. Its not kids he is managing. Its a moot point anyway, since he is not taking the Ireland job, but he would have been well qualified for it.

Any appointment has a large element of risk to it. Which is why O'Shea should be ruled out immediately. IF we had appointed Carsley on a 4 year contract and the first 4 games looked like O'Sheas trial run we'd all be panicking. Those 4 games give us a snapshot of what his tenue would look like and only an idiot who hasnt a clue about football or someone with an agenda would continue to defend his claim for the job.

And those England u21 players are no older than 23 years old...it's not the same as managing a senior team. He would be qualified ofcourse but I'm not convinced he would be the dream appoint that some deem, most on here seem to think anyone that works in the English FA is a god so I think its a common misconception though.

Well O'Shea is no risk, its either be just as bad as we are now or be even worse...the issue I have with the Carley appointment is after the last 2 managers we've had if we have another relatively inexperienced manager (by international management standards) come in and things dont improve then the pressure could come on very quickly.

[Razors left peg]

And those England u21 players are no older than 23 years old...it's not the same as managing a senior team. He would be qualified ofcourse but I'm not convinced he would be the dream appoint that some deem, most on here seem to think anyone that works in the English FA is a god so I think its a common misconception though.



Dont know where you are getting that from. No one on here would even think of Canham as capable never mind a God, and the same with Hill before him.

[Razors left peg]

John O'Shea has written on Instagram where he says "Looking forward to the next Chapter" at the end of post thanking staff and players.

Do we think hes been told its not his?

[pineapple stu]

I'm not convinced he would be the dream appoint that some deem, most on here seem to think anyone that works in the English FA is a god so I think its a common misconception though.
Who thinks Carsley would be a dream appointment? Far as I can see most people view his as a former Irish international having a bit of success in management - those people are very rare and are always going to be interesting/favoured candidates.

I don't think anyone thinks "anyone that works in the English FA is a god" either.

Or maybe you can point to a couple of posts that back your views up?

[seanfhear]

Who thinks Carsley would be a dream appointment? Far as I can see most people view his as a former Irish international having a bit of success in management - those people are very rare and are always going to be interesting/favoured candidates.

I don't think anyone thinks "anyone that works in the English FA is a god" either.

Or maybe you can point to a couple of posts that back your views up?
Nice bit of Parsley adds a bit of flavour !

[Olé Olé]

Officially the name of our country is Ireland, not the rep of Ireland.

Is there a officially a nationality of northern Irish. Or are you Irish or British.. of course you can recognise as all three etc but officially? I'm not sure. Anyone?
Don't feed the troll.

[Eminence Grise]

John O'Shea has written on Instagram where he says "Looking forward to the next Chapter" at the end of post thanking staff and players.

Do we think hes been told its not his?

Just as likely he's halfway through Steve Bruce's under-appreciated trilogy of whodunnits.

[seanfhear]

Just as likely he's halfway through Steve Bruce's under-appreciated trilogy of whodunnits.
Was it a dodgy referee that done it ? !

[tetsujin1979]

Paul Butler did it!

[backstothewall]

Ahh here folks. Official names? Would ye ever wind yer necks in?

Do you refer to the Hellenic Republic or the Kingdom or the Netherlands in normal conversation? Colloquially Northern Ireland/the Occupied 6 Counties are refered to as the north and Poblacht na hÉireann/the Irish Free State is the south.

I thought us Nordies were supposed to be the specialists in manufactured grievances. I think we all know whats meant when someone says the north are away to Greece and the south are playing Holland at Lansdowne Road.

[Snapshot]

Those 4 games give us a snapshot of what his tenue would look like and only an idiot who hasnt a clue about football or someone with an agenda would continue to defend his claim for the job.
Maybe you're right. You've had your little dig, now let's move on. I salute your passion for Ireland and football. It's what makes us travellers on the same train. But it's a journey I'll take less often - so best of luck into the future with whoever, whenever, whatever.

[Stuttgart88]

Whatever about racism accusations, Willy Sagnol is too badly dressed to be Ireland manager.

[texidub]

Stephen Kelly, watch this space :D

[backstothewall]

Whatever about racism accusations, Willy Sagnol is too badly dressed to be Ireland manager.

I'm sure sartorial elegenece is high on the list when most people around the world think of the typical charateristics of the Irish nation.

[Diggs246]

How about Page?

Wales on the hunt for a new manager as Page is sacked (rte.ie) (https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2024/0621/1455937-wales-on-the-hunt-for-a-new-manager-as-page-is-sacked/)

two tournaments in fairness

[Stuttgart88]

Not for me, but I'd take FAW's Noel Mooney as CEO

[Diggs246]

Not for me, but I'd take FAW's Noel Mooney as CEO

Why wouldn't you take page?
Remember who is currently in the hot seat! Before we rush to dismiss page or any other experienced international manager

[Stuttgart88]

I think we should aim for better that's all. I haven't got his record to hand but it seems decent - winning NL B pool is good, does well enough in qualifying or finals tournaments too. Near miss for Euro 2024.

I just think he comes across as a competent manager who gelled with players and got fans' support because he's Welsh and part of their system but if put in the Ireland seat he'd be trying to get the best out of us (and oversee a broader system) as an outsider purely on his ability, and my feeling is that on ability alone he's only a modest candidate and I think gaining the "buy in" of players, public and the domestic coaches he needs to fullfil the FAI brief would be a struggle for him.

The role needs a competent and charismatic Irishman or a very competent and charismatic foreigner. I think the bar is a bit higher for a non-Irishman.

The positives would be that he got Wales promoted and within a shoot out of the Euros* and he's not shy about picking young players yet to be tested at club level.

*Remind me: how did they do in their group? 3rd, but play off via NL?

[Diggs246]

I think we should aim for better that's all. I haven't got his record to hand but it seems decent - winning NL B pool is good, does well enough in qualifying or finals tournaments too. Near miss for Euro 2024.

I just think he comes across as a competent manager who gelled with players and got fans' support because he's Welsh and part of their system but if put in the Ireland seat he'd be trying to get the best out of us (and oversee a broader system) as an outsider purely on his ability, and my feeling is that on ability alone he's only a modest candidate and I think gaining the "buy in" of players, public and the domestic coaches he needs to fullfil the FAI brief would be a struggle for him.

The role needs a competent and charismatic Irishman or a very competent and charismatic foreigner. I think the bar is a bit higher for a non-Irishman.

The positives would be that he got Wales promoted and within a shoot out of the Euros* and he's not shy about picking young players yet to be tested at club level.

*Remind me: how did they do in their group? 3rd, but play off via NL?

I think first and foremost we can now take it that the ridiculous "FAI Brief" is now firmly in the toilet.
Whoever ends up as manager wont be living in Dublin 15 and wont be working with our underage kids

They came third behind turkey and Croatia, and lost in the play off final to poland ( penos)

[Stuttgart88]

True.

I think I'd prefer Hughton to Page, for example.

[Diggs246]

True.

I think I'd prefer Hughton to Page, for example.

Id take either in a heartbeat

[Eirambler]

Wales have been in steady decline under Page, coinciding with their strong team of the 2010s falling away. He's hasn't been able to do anything to arrest that slide, which is why Wales have gotten rid. Would be no better than O'Shea for Ireland.

[Diggs246]

He got Wales to a world cup and to the last 16 of the euros, he can't be absolutely dreadful?

I can't agree with your OShea comment. John O Shea has done literally nothing in international management

[Eirambler]

If we had Bale and Ramsay in their early 30s I'd fancy O'Shea to qualify us for something too. Pretty much anyone can do it if they have a couple of world class players. Having the likes of Bale moved Wales from also rans to qualifiers. They did it more in spite of their three most recent managers than because of them. Since Page hasn't had that luxury he's been shown up badly, which is why he's been given the boot.

[Diggs246]

Having 2 good players doesn't guarantee anything.

Also was bale still a world class player when they qualified for the world cup and was Ramsey. I'm not sure

[2 Year Contract]

Having 2 good players doesn't guarantee anything.


True, doesn’t guarantee anything as Norway have proved by qualifying for absolutely nothing while having Haaland and Odegaard in their ranks. It undoubtedly makes it a hell of a lot easier though and requires a high volume of incompetent players/management to fail to get close to qualifying with 2 world beaters in the side

[JR89]

Page would be foolish to even consider the Ireland job atm. We'll be paying him less than half what he earned with Wales and if he fails that could flat line his career.

Can see him holding out for club offers or see what international jobs are out there post Euros.

[Diggs246]

Page would be foolish to even consider the Ireland job atm. We'll be paying him less than half what he earned with Wales and if he fails that could flat line his career.

Can see him holding out for club offers or see what international jobs are out there post Euros.

It appears he would be doubling his salary with us. If this is correct of course

ww.thesun.ie/sport/football/9728656/highest-paid-world-cup-managers-gareth-southgate-england/amp/

[Diggs246]

Actually other sites are saying he on 1.2m

[CSAD]

Page would be foolish to even consider the Ireland job atm. We'll be paying him less than half what he earned with Wales and if he fails that could flat line his career.

Can see him holding out for club offers or see what international jobs are out there post Euros.

We'd be even more foolish to consider him.

What's the betting Wales will have their replacement even quicker than us...

[pineapple stu]

He got Wales to a world cup and to the last 16 of the euros, he can't be absolutely dreadful?

I can't agree with your OShea comment. John O Shea has done literally nothing in international management
Got them to within a penalty shootout of the current Euros too. Hammered Finland in the playoff semis and drew with Poland. Bit unlucky in the Nations League too - two 90th minute winners for Holland, both times after Wales had equalised in the 90th minute themselves. I think Eirambler is being a bit harsh on Page.

Agree with JR89 that his natural next step should be a club job though.