New Irish manager

[Stuttgart88]

ah, it's getting better...

[EalingGreen]

http://www.carlow-nationalist.ie/news/story/?trs=mhaukfeyoj

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Walker, Swedish superstar
By: Eoin Weldon

IT’S 23 YEARS since Carlow town man Pat Walker left home to play soccer in England. Since then, his career has been full of highs and he is now one of the most respected TV football anaysts in Sweden, as well as managing a premier league soccer team there. Here, he reflects on a football life less ordinary.

ONE of the biggest sporting success stories in Carlow over the past 20 years has been happening thousands of miles away in Sweden.

Patrick Walker is from St Patrick’s Avenue in Carlow town and left Ireland for England in 1983 to pursue a professional soccer career.

That was the start of a 23-year story that sees him managing a Swedish premier league club today in a country where he is a celebrity.

He played over 60 games for Gillingham in the old English division three and met a Swedish girl, which prompted a move to the Scandinavian country.

It wasn’t long before he was back in Ireland and joined Bohemians, where he played in the 1983 FAI Cup Final, losing to Sligo Rovers.

Back to Sweden then where he spent ten years playing in the top two divisions there. Coaching was next on his agenda and after getting his badges he went on to manage a number of teams in Swedish football, ranging from Ssundsvall to Kalmar, reaching the first division playoffs with the latter.

Last October was his biggest achievement in football when he guided Orebro Sk to promotion to the top flight of Swedish football. It was a remarkable feat considering the club had been relegated from the top league only two years previous for financial irregularities, something which left the club in turmoil.

“The club was in a historical crisis and I was basically given the job with very little expected of me. I had to go in and do a Braveheart thing really. Everyone was at each other’s throats and I told them that we should unite and fight together. We weren’t going to go down without a fight.

“We managed to steer things around and were back up within two years. There is a great passion in the town now and a real interest in the team.

“We play a good brand of football and have an attacking style which the club were not renowned for. We have a new stadium with restaurants and corporate boxes and it’s really looking up.” He says that the city is beautiful and it really sounds like a fairytale. However, he insists that it was the fruits of a lot of hard work.

“There was an amount of hard work done to get where I am. It was 30 years in the making but there are times when you think you’ll never make it. Being out here has been a huge lift for my career and the people in Sweden have been wonderful.” Walker was always interested in coaching and got his badges while he was still in England. There he met some of England’s brightest young managers at the time and lists Birmingham City manager Steve Bruce and Leicester City boss Mickey Adams as his friends. He has subsequently taken Swedish coaching certificates and also studied in university and has qualifications in performance psychology and mental training. Walker’s bulky CV doesn’t end there; he has been courted by a number of teams in the championship in England and was offered the role of head coach with Rosenborg in Norway, who have played regularly in the champions league. He was also been offered the role of junior national coach in Sweden. His managerial prowess has also transcended the international arena and just two years ago he guided a development Swedish U21 team to second in the international Toulon tournament. “It was basically a squad that were there to get some experience and it wasn’t even the first choice pick. It was incredible that we got to the final, we beat China and Portugal along the way who would be considered great teams at that level.



“We were beaten by France in the final and Jeremie Aliadiere got the winner and he now plays for Arsenal. That French team was so good that Gael Clichy, who is Arsenal’s first choice leftback, couldn’t even get on the side.

“I was only there myself as a guest coach and me and another guy took them to the final. It was remarkable too that I played in the same tournament 28 years previous with guys like Kevin Sheedy.”

Walker is something of a celebrity in Sweden and assumes the role of Eamon Dunphy on the Swedish equivalent of The Premiership and regularly provides what he calls “expert commentary” on games from the Premiership. Just last weekend he was in studio analysing the Liverpool v Manchester City and Everton v Charlton games on Swedish TV.

The story doesn’t end here either; Walker has two sons who themselves have been making waves in Swedish soccer circles.

Robert is 19 and plays professionally with Orebro. His dad says he scored an influential goal that helped Orebro to get promoted and as we talked, Pat told me that Robert was putting snow tyres on his car for a trip to Gothenburg which is about three hours by train.

Younger son Kevin is only 17 but already a member of the first team squad; he has also captained Sweden at U17 level and his first game as captain was against Ireland.

Walker doesn’t rule out the possibility of returning to Ireland some day. “I’d never close the door on coming back but I thought that the offers I did receive didn’t really suit me but for the time being I’m looking forward to continuing the development of Orebro.” A snapshot of the drive of Walker was the way he set about learning the Swedish language when he first arrived there 23 years ago.

“My wife Annette is fluent in a few languages and even though she speaks English I wanted to get to know her family better, as they were so nice to me.

“I was keen to learn and went to school for two years to learn how to read and write Swedish. It also gave me a chance to communicate on the field with players.”

Walker was also a keen gaelic footballer and was a ‘Blues’ man before seeking greener pastures but still has a lot of family here. With five sisters and a brother living in Carlow he will always be linked with home as his career continues to soar.

[Stuttgart88]

Here's a name from left field lads........
Wim Jansen........?I think he's in a back room or Director of Football-type role at Feyenoord, but not sure.

[paul_oshea]

no its not stutts, but im wondering what the ... means, and think you are being sarcastic. Its left hand right hand crisis - more names included that we approve of, but all behind TV. The annoying thing is, is that journalist writes who he feels is the favourite as though the whole nation feels it, so if you have 10 journos writing from the same script it becomes the WHOLE nation. Fiercely annoying.

[Noelys Guitar]

O'Leary is still the frontrunner for the job (as of today). Should all change if Houllier and Hodgson are interviewed. Venables has as much chance as Pat Walker of getting the job. Thats what I have been told as of half an hour ago.

[jmurphyc]

In regards to McCarthy I read (on Aertel so not sure how reliable it is) that he was ruling himself out. This was a few weeks ago. Maybe the situation has changed but I personally can't see it happening (and don't want to). He said himself there's too much baggage involved, but said that it was a good job for someone to get.

[Stuttgart88]

O'Leary is still the frontrunner for the job (as of today). Should all change if Houllier and Hodgson are interviewed. Venables has as much chance as Pat Walker of getting the job. Thats what I have been told as of half an hour ago.I see O'Leary as being like that Aussie short track speed-skater that won a Winter Olympic gold a few years back. Probably the worst in the race but all the good guys crashed at the last bend and he won gold.

[Dr. Ogba]

O'Leary is still the frontrunner for the job (as of today). Should all change if Houllier and Hodgson are interviewed. Venables has as much chance as Pat Walker of getting the job. Thats what I have been told as of half an hour ago.

I really hope that's a reliable source Noely! :)

[tetsujin1979]

According to the (English) Independent, Houllier has informed the FAI that he would be interested in the position: http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/news/article3187058.ece

Gérard Houllier is also understood to have conveyed his interest in the post to the FAI.

The article is a review of the campaigns of Scotland, Wales, the North and ourselves. Worth a read.

[Noelys Guitar]

I see O'Leary as being like that Aussie short track speed-skater that won a Winter Olympic gold a few years back. Probably the worst in the race but all the good guys crashed at the last bend and he won gold.

I believe the thinking behind it is that if it comes down to the usual suspects ie the ones that nobody wants as manger then O'Leary is top of that pile.

[Noelys Guitar]

I saw him play for Bohs and he was a good player. Fair play to him for making it in Sweden.

[eekers]

good sunday times article about him last year

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article666397.ece

how many swedish titles has hodgson got back in the day though, 5 in a row or something?

[Bondvillain]

So, A Hodgson / Walker management team, with Chris Hughton looking after the U21s then?

[eekers]

i dont think imposing an assistant manager on someone works.
Hodgson should pick whoever he wants

[jmurphyc]

How likely is it that Hughton will get a chance to be involved in the new set up though? Would the FAI really allow Kerr's former assistant to have a job in the next set up? I'd like to see him involved but I'd say it's very unlikely. Anyway, Don Givens seems to have the U21 job for life.

[eekers]

hughton as i mentioned before was spurs' defence coach under jol - enough said.

[eirebhoy]

hughton as i mentioned before was spurs' defence coach under jol - enough said.
That's a fair point. Celtic have absolutely terrible defenders but they can play well as a unit because of the coaching.

[jmurphyc]

hughton as i mentioned before was spurs' defence coach under jol - enough said.

I don't know exactly what his role as assistant to Kerr entailed, but himself and Kerr did a good job in making sure the defence was fairly solid - we conceded 5 goals in 10 games in the World Cup Qualifiers, whereas this time we conceded 14 goals in 12 games, which is a much worse record.

[Noelys Guitar]

Will Don Howe (if he is to be one of the chosen 3!) choose O'Leary or Brady over Sean Foreigner? Also Hodgson and managers like him are not going to hang around waiting on the FAI so they better get moving. And I hope that if and when he is interviewed there is no forcing of assistants nonsense. Otherwise top managers like Hodgson will be out the door sharpish. And then we will be debating O'Leary or Hoddle. On a serious note who would have McCarthy back if we can't get someone like Hodgson?

[paul_oshea]

has mccarthy learnt about picking players in the wrong position?!

would he bring back harte and breen?! Is he still too loyal? Is he still too stubborn to listen to anyone else? Can he not handle the media better than before?

If the answer to all those is No, then yes I would be happy he always had us there or there abouts and now he should have the experience to deal with those situations that ended seeing us not qualify for tournaments.....

[MojoPin]

judging from the pole we gotta sign this "other" guy.. a nice effectiev german style of play would be good for us ;)

[Armando]

good sunday times article about him last year

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article666397.ece

how many swedish titles has hodgson got back in the day though, 5 in a row or something?

Ye, With Malmo 5 League titles, 2 cups and 2 European Cup 1/4 final appearances.

If it's true that he has contacted the FAI with his interest then if he's not number 1 candidate there is something very wrong.

[padjoe]

anyone in favour of george burley for the work he done with hearts or ipswich or maybe even john gregory...

[Noelys Guitar]

Jewell just said on sky that Delaney called him last night to ask was he interested in the job. Jewell explained that he is only interested in club football at the moment which is fair enough.

[Stuttgart88]

anyone in favour of george burley for the work he done with hearts or ipswich or maybe even john gregory...George Burley in theory yes, Gregory no.

[eekers]

better qualified people than burley in contention
and they arent tied to a contract either.

more likely to take the scotland job when mcLeish gets a premiership offer

[Jayk69]

anyone in favour of george burley for the work he done with hearts or ipswich or maybe even john gregory...

are ya for real, George Burley or John Gregory!!! Dont think they should be evn considered. Hey lets make Bertie manager!!! Enough monkey shi*te when it comes to the irish team, how bout for once we get a proper manager in to do the job, pay him the feicin money then see how good we actually are!! Terry Venables, good manager, good credentials, but realistically, he was on board a sinking ship in Boro, England again sank with his involvment. Famous words of O Leary, " at the end of the day" alot of people are not going to be pleased with who replaces "the Gaffer", so how bout we clean up the FAI, get rid of Delaney, run the FAI properly, pay a decent manager and reap the benefits! Im sick to death of travelin around watching our boys in green do sh*te. We deserve better!!!! FAI should give us the best they can and not some bargain bin reject that cant even get a job in England!!!

[eekers]

any of the mods wants to start a new poll.
jewells votes should be redistributed :)

hodgson, houillier, venables, o' leary, jol (brady and souness as the joke candidates)

[Superhoops]

......so how bout we clean up the FAI, get rid of Delaney, run the FAI properly.....

Explain you proposal for this please!

[danonion]

Mick McCarthy for me please

[eekers]

Mick McCarthy for me please


You think the Mons will be able to afford McCarthy's wages !?!

[Sonic]

i think at this stage it has to be hodgson. Venables after his involvement in the english debacle made my mind up he is not up to it. Im not a great favour of giving assistants the managers job unless their influence has been a positive one which in venables case was not the case! Gerrard Houllier has been mentioned and i would not even entertain him to be honest. Hasnt a great track record at big teams left alot to be desired at Liverpool. Graeme Souness definetly no crap manager and a knob to go with it. Liam Brady would be my choice or hodgson atr this stage. Regardless the lack of top quality candidates is startling.

[Sonic]

A little harsh on burley at least he has a decent track record unlike must we could mention. Stan anyone!!?? His experience is at smaller clubs though so may count against him there but definetly considered. Gregory now that really would be desperation.

[soccerc]

Pat Walker in the Sun (http://www.chatsoccer.eu/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1661)

Full pdf of the article

[eekers]

Pat Walker in the Sun (http://www.chatsoccer.eu/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1661)

Full pdf of the article

who are the other two selectors that the fai already have??

i think walker would be a fantastic choice as a selector
someone with a non british bias and who isnt tied in to the jobs for the boys managerial merry-go-round

[HolylandsMan]

Voted for Other. Venables by a neck from Hodgson. Would be able with either to be honest. Houllier a bit behind and doubt Jol is interested

[Noelys Guitar]

O'Leary is favourite to get the job no matter what the bookies or media say.. We are not an attractive offer! But I still believe somebody will come onboard that the majority can admire

[Noelys Guitar]

I really hope Hodgson gets the job and that Delaney has already called him. It seems that Jewell was offered the job and turned us down but first Giles and then Delaney have contacted Jewell again. Did Houllier turn us down? I hope Hodgson did'nt.

[eekers]

i think we are an attractive proposition to manage
1m-ish a year for what is in reality a part time job
i know stan didnt get this but there is more money this time and you have to add robsons salary to stans when consideringwhat the fai were paying last time.

no doubt we would be in and around the top ten international managerial salaries

hodgson, venables and o'leary would all jump at the chance

and jol should be approached just for the sake of it, he wants to stay in london and has turned down other jobs because of this. and i cant see him being fulham manager just yet

[Qwerty]

Jewell has turned us down, Hodgson & Houllier have apparently contacted the FAI if the meda is to be believed:

http://www.eleven-a-side.com/boysingreen/irish_soccer_detail.asp?newsid=30115

The Irish Daily Mirror reports that seven managers have now formally notified the FAI of their interest: Venables, Houllier and Hodgson this week, joining David O’Leary, Graham Souness, George Graham and Glenn Hoddle in making their interest known.


Hodgon is the only one I would consider from the above list.

[geysir]

It looks to me that the "selection team" is a haphazard and freelance affair where anything goes. It is reported that the job was Jewells if he wanted it and Delaney is reported as asking Jewell to reconsider.
Jewell
"John Delaney, the chief executive (of the FAI), called me last night to ask me if I would reconsider and I discussed it with him"

[kingdomkerry]

There was never any need for a selection committee really? Everyone knows who the canidates are and they either want the job or not!

[Noelys Guitar]

There was never any need for a selection committee really? Everyone knows who the canidates are and they either want the job or not!

It seems to be just Delaney making the calls and he has settled on Brady (for the moment). So we would have Givens running the u21's and Givens part 2 running the first team( Brady is just another Givens type). I truly hope not.

[Noelys Guitar]

i think we are an attractive proposition to manage
1m-ish a year for what is in reality a part time job
i know stan didnt get this but there is more money this time and you have to add robsons salary to stans when consideringwhat the fai were paying last time.

no doubt we would be in and around the top ten international managerial salaries

hodgson, venables and o'leary would all jump at the chance

and jol should be approached just for the sake of it, he wants to stay in london and has turned down other jobs because of this. and i cant see him being fulham manager just yet

I was jesting eekers having been turned down by Jewell who will end up in the championship. He will regret turning down this job.

[Stuttgart88]

Is Delaney acting alone or is he being panicked into action due to others in the FAI going their own way? The latter is what I suspect.

I think Brady is a super coach who had Celtic playing very technical attacking football. His record was poor but I think Celtic & Brighton were hospital passes to be honest. However, if being hard to beat is the first objective then I wouldn't be sure.

Is there no chance the London meeting (not with Venables is all the Indo said I think) was with Jol?

[Stuttgart88]

I think this could be an attractive job for Jol. He's minted after leaving Spurs. He'd have better players than he had at Spurs (to a large degree) including Duff who he wanted, Given, Finnan and Dunne and obviously Keane has performed well for him. Andy Reid and Mark Yeates may have something to say but I can't see that being an obstacle. If successful it could open up a top PL club (what vacancies other than Fulham type standard are likely as eekers points out?) or, more interestingly, the Dutch job. It'd allow continued London/Essex residence and he'd be abe to watch PL games week in week out for money. He lives near Colchester and Ipswich too, meaning caps for Garvan and Yeates :)

[Noelys Guitar]

Brady admitted himself(to his credit)that he did'nt have the experience needed for the job.

[conlonn]

How about whoever does not get the engerland job. Names bandied around there are impressive such as
Capello
Lippi (winner of last world cup)
Scolari
Even Mourihno try him.

If we do not get any of these then either Hodgson or Houllier would be fine. But the search should not start outside these.

Any thoughts?

[Stuttgart88]

I can't see it appealling to the big names. In Italian circles we're a 2 bit international backwater with a few good players.

I also think a command of English is essential and experience of the English game as well as international experience.

The English are in no rush to make an appointment but I think we need to act quickly and decisively.

[Scram]

Jewell has turned us down, Hodgson & Houllier have apparently contacted the FAI if the meda is to be believed:

http://www.eleven-a-side.com/boysingreen/irish_soccer_detail.asp?newsid=30115

The Irish Daily Mirror reports that seven managers have now formally notified the FAI of their interest: Venables, Houllier and Hodgson this week, joining David O’Leary, Graham Souness, George Graham and Glenn Hoddle in making their interest known.

Hodgon is the only one I would consider from the above list.

Hoddle has some fcukin neck declaring his interest after saying that the Irish should be happy with coming third in our group, whilst drivelling on about how poor England's position in their group was.

Hodgson OR Houllier please.

CAN WE ALL AGREE ON HODGSON ? :eek: If so, lets start a campaign.