Stephen Kenny

Why do people keep saying "we don't have the players to play the ball on the ground"?

Seriously?

How true can this be?

Any youngster playing pro football in England has excelled right through underage, and managed to get himself a contract to play. They can play football

We've Duffy, Egan, Coleman, Doherty, Hendrick, Connolly, Idah, Omabomidele, starting.. all Premier League footballers, regardless of whether they're regular starters, or playing with "top clubs".. they're Premier League players

They can play ball.

In my opinion, we're in transition.. and damn its hard. But we're going to have to do it sometime.

If we finish this campaign with 3-4 players as pretty well certain starters eg Idah, Connolly, Cullen, Bazunu.. then we can add them to Duffy, Egan, Doherty, Coleman and have the nucleus of a team for the next 2-3 campaigns

But a transition has to start somewhere

I'm all in favour of a better domestic league. I can't imagine it being any more of a joke than it is right now. For a whole host of reasons, the domestic league has gone backwards, not forwards, over the last ten years. When was the last time we had a player who played for a LOI club actually make an impact for the international team? Has it ever happened? Anyone good enough to play professional football is snapped up by a British club as early as possible. I think Bazunu was sixteen when he went to Manchester City.

Keith Fahey is about the only player I can remember that was good enough for the international team, and he only chose to play in the LOI for personal reasons, despite being good enough to play in England. Damien Duff came back for a cup of coffee before retiring. Kevin Doyle moved to Reading sixteen years ago, and Seamus Coleman twelve years ago. All the rest of the so-called LOI superstars have failed to make any kind of impact outside of Ireland, and some mid-table team in Cyprus just released Jack Byrne because he wasn't good enough to play for them. Richie Towell couldn't make it in non-league football in England. Michael Duffy couldn't make it playing non-league football in Scotland. Sean McGuire can't even get a call up to the national squad. Daryl Horgan is a benchwarmer at Wycombe. These are all PFAI Players' Player of the Year winners! Maybe putting a manager in charge from a league of that kind of caliber wasn't the best idea.

Coleman will be 33 next month.

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Originally Posted by BOOMSHAKALAKA

This is the team v Denmark:

Randolph, Doherty, Duffy, Egan, Stevens, Browne, Hendrick, Whelan, Hourihane, McClean, McGoldrick

Is that really any stronger than what Kenny has? McGoldrick yes but Ireland's best player is Seamus Coleman and he was missing.

Is Steven's any better than Doherty? Is Whelan any better than Cullen? Is McGuire better than Idah? Most would say the opposite.

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I think it is stronger.

Doherty played both games so you can't compare him with Stevens. Maguire didn't start so it's not reasonable to compare to Idah.

Randolph and McGoldrick are better than Bazunu and Parrott. Idah and Connolly would both weaken than Mick team but I can't see who he had up front. Maybe he played a more pragmatic formation. McClean is not the player he was. That's half the team.

It's mostly our attacking players who are getting weaker and that's what we're seeing - we're not conceding that many, but we're scoring less than ever.

Again, I don't disagree that Kenny is not as good a manager as Mick. But the players are weaker

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

I think it is stronger.

Doherty played both games so you can't compare him with Stevens. Maguire didn't start so it's not reasonable to compare to Idah.

Randolph and McGoldrick are better than Bazunu and Parrott. Idah and Connolly would both weaken than Mick team but I can't see who he had up front. Maybe he played a more pragmatic formation. McClean is not the player he was. That's half the team.

It's mostly our attacking players who are getting weaker and that's what we're seeing - we're not conceding that many, but we're scoring less than ever.

Again, I don't disagree that Kenny is not as good a manager as Mick. But the players are weaker

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Randolph better than Bazunu, yes. The defence for Kenny was stronger as Coleman is better than Stevens. Midfield available for Kenny is better as Cullen is superior to Whelan. McClean was not on good form then either, Connolly about equal and Kenny had Robbinson on the bench. McGoldrick better than Idah. So overall about the same level of team.

Kenny one win in 15 against Andorra. McCarthy one defeat in 10 against Switzerland.

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

I'm all in favour of a better domestic league. I can't imagine it being any more of a joke than it is right now. For a whole host of reasons, the domestic league has gone backwards, not forwards, over the last ten years. When was the last time we had a player who played for a LOI club actually make an impact for the international team? Has it ever happened? Anyone good enough to play professional football is snapped up by a British club as early as possible. I think Bazunu was sixteen when he went to Manchester City.

Keith Fahey is about the only player I can remember that was good enough for the international team, and he only chose to play in the LOI for personal reasons, despite being good enough to play in England. Damien Duff came back for a cup of coffee before retiring. Kevin Doyle moved to Reading sixteen years ago, and Seamus Coleman twelve years ago. All the rest of the so-called LOI superstars have failed to make any kind of impact outside of Ireland, and some mid-table team in Cyprus just released Jack Byrne because he wasn't good enough to play for them. Richie Towell couldn't make it in non-league football in England. Michael Duffy couldn't make it playing non-league football in Scotland. Sean McGuire can't even get a call up to the national squad. Daryl Horgan is a benchwarmer at Wycombe. These are all PFAI Players' Player of the Year winners! Maybe putting a manager in charge from a league of that kind of caliber wasn't the best idea.

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Where your witless, plastic, soccerball theory falls down though is that there were zero LOI players on the pitch against Azerbaijan but lots and lots from the British system that you're so in thrall too. It's not the fault of any of the players that weren't there. There were 4 players from the third tier of English football on the pitch, that's a very low water mark for us as a nation. You seem completely wedded to a linear theory that every player at a certain level is better than every player at a level below.

I think Kenny should go, for whatever that's worth, but thinking that somehow delegitimises the whole league moves the whole weird, sweaty theory of yours way beyond uninformed and into the realms of profoundly lacking even a basic grasp on how the game works. And if you think that simply replacing Kenny is going to turn us into a competitive outfit with a click of the fingers... well that would pretty much match what I'd expect to be honest.

Instead you're spewing inane tactical revelations as though you're Guardiola and Klopp all rolled into on, using a single goalkeeper error (from a Northern Irish international as it happens) as your silver bullet to write off the domestic league. Presumably when Taibi happened you dismissed the Premier League just as fervently. I suspect, as a self-proclaimed Championship afficionado, that you were prattling on in just as tiresome a fashion on a Stoke City website somewhere warning them off Michael O'Neill too.

I'll reiterate, again, that I'm not even a little bit pro-Kenny and there isn't a player in the LOI today that I'd have in the Irish squad currently if everybody was fit but you're shockingly, hilariously fond of a baseless, sweeping statement.

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Originally Posted by BOOMSHAKALAKA

Randolph better than Bazunu, yes. The defence for Kenny was stronger as Coleman is better than Stevens. Midfield available for Kenny is better as Cullen is superior to Whelan. McClean was not on good form then either, Connolly about equal and Kenny had Robbinson on the bench. McGoldrick better than Idah. So overall about the same level of team.

Kenny one win in 15 against Andorra. McCarthy one defeat in 10 against Switzerland.

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Defence isn't our problem though. McClean was far better then than now. Connolly about equal with who? Connolly is rubbish. Connolly/Idah/Parrott are toothless kids up front, so goals have dropped off a bit from Mick's time, that puts us under more pressure defensively, and we've crossed a key balance point between the two which we've been saying for years would come. So not the same level of team for me.

The bigger issue of course remains the disaster of a domestic football structure, which we're really starting to struggle from now. There's been slight improvements lately with underage academies, but we're still far behind most of Europe. Kenny is a sideshow compared to that - albeit, as I say, there are legitimate questions about him too.

But this is a perfect storm of a multitude of issues

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Defence isn't our problem though. McClean was far better then than now. Connolly about equal with who? Connolly is rubbish. Connolly/Idah/Parrott are toothless kids up front, so goals have dropped off a bit from Mick's time, that puts us under more pressure defensively, and we've crossed a key balance point between the two which we've been saying for years would come. So not the same level of team for me.

The bigger issue of course remains the disaster of a domestic football structure, which we're really starting to struggle from now. There's been slight improvements lately with underage academies, but we're still far behind most of Europe. Kenny is a sideshow compared to that - albeit, as I say, there are legitimate questions about him too.

But this is a perfect storm of a multitude of issues

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McCarthy started games with this rubbish Connolly. McClean has been rubbish for a good few years. McCarthy had Whelan, Hendrick and Hourihan in his midfield selections. Games with Long up front. Even McGoldrick only ever scored one goal for Ireland. McCarthy and Kenny's squads were equally as toothless. The myth that Kenny has a weaker squad than McCarthy is just another attempt to excuse Kenny.

Yes, there are loads of major issues to fix but Kenny isn't the solution to any of them.

Connolly didn't play v Denmark. I don't know why you're bringing him in here.

I agree with your conclusion, but our squad is definitely weaker now. Shane Long under Mick was a Premier League regular. He and McGoldrick weren't banging in the goals, but they were better than what we have now.

The main responsable is Kenny. He picks up the team. Mindset etc. Some of his decisions are odd. I like youngsters but as Kerr said not all at the same time.

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Connolly didn't play v Denmark. I don't know why you're bringing him in here.

I agree with your conclusion, but our squad is definitely weaker now. Shane Long under Mick was a Premier League regular. He and McGoldrick weren't banging in the goals, but they were better than what we have now.

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We're comparing what McCarthy had available to Kenny and it clearly isn't a drop off at all. Mainly because they're mostly the same players. Kenny has had Long available, he even had McGoldrick. He has had better defensive options, better midfield options and some players with potential coming through. If anything, Kenny has had a stronger selection to pick from.

McCarthy was lambasted during his tenure despite actually being competitive. Kenny has us bottom of the table and he's getting off very lightly.

He made three big selection mistakes yesterday.

1. Playing a front three instead of 2 plus an attacking midfielder (compounded by not playing Parrott where he plays best).
2. Changing the wing backs (compounded by playing McClean) instead of just giving them license to attack and keeping Omobamidele.
3. Starting Molumby ahead of Hendrick.

He did not manage the game well at all in the first half. Why it took to h/t to recharge the team is unforgivable and cost us a stupid goal that made the task in the second half close to insurmountable given how the Azeris were set up.

We did play well in the second half and created more than enough chances to win building well in possession to create crossing opportunities. The players are playing for him; they’re buying in and listening. He can be credited for the turnaround but can’t be blamed for the missed chances.

While Portugal was a whole bunch of check marks in the plus column and very few negatives, last night was the opposite. A bad showing from him.

Tough to see how he can win people over from here so his goose is cooked now in reality, no matter what. I personally still give him the rest of this campaign and possibly the right to start the next campaign depending on the remaining games and results. Sacking him and replacing him now changes very little in the grand scheme. We’re a team in transition with a paucity of viable players; very few are getting games for their clubs; there’s no one being left out that really changes our strength in a meaningful way. Our problems and prospects go far beyond Kenny being the manager or not.

On the McCarthy v Kenny thing I think it's very unfair on McCarthy he had a year or so and he had a particular job which was in situ for Kenny. His mandate was qualify for the euros at all costs. So he setup the best way and safebet to get the best possible results out of what he had available. So comparing is unfair given how poor and short time he had with the players. There's absolutely no comparison between what he achieved in a similar time frame to Kenny

I think you can only compare his first tenure which were under similar circumstances.

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Originally Posted by BOOMSHAKALAKA

We're comparing what McCarthy had available to Kenny and it clearly isn't a drop off at all. Mainly because they're mostly the same players. Kenny has had Long available, he even had McGoldrick. He has had better defensive options, better midfield options and some players with potential coming through. If anything, Kenny has had a stronger selection to pick from.

McCarthy was lambasted during his tenure despite actually being competitive. Kenny has us bottom of the table and he's getting off very lightly.

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No, you were specifically comparing the Denmark line-up (and went so far as to list it). Connolly didn't play in that.

Long was a Premier League regular two years ago; now he's past it. I think he's only in the squad out of desperation. You can't compare Shane Long of today and of 2019 and say they're the same player. They are in name only - but not in ability.

"If anything, Kenny has had a stronger selection to pick from" - no, he hasn't. In nets and up front, we are significantly weaker. You've acknowledged the keeper. Parrott/Connolly/Idah is the worst front line we've ever had. "Players with potential coming through" - that's what the U21s are for, not the senior squad. "Players with potential" are worth **** all at senior international level

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

No, you were specifically comparing the Denmark line-up (and went so far as to list it). Connolly didn't play in that.

Long was a Premier League regular two years ago; now he's past it. I think he's only in the squad out of desperation. You can't compare Shane Long of today and of 2019 and say they're the same player. They are in name only - but not in ability.

"If anything, Kenny has had a stronger selection to pick from" - no, he hasn't. In nets and up front, we are significantly weaker. You've acknowledged the keeper. Parrott/Connolly/Idah is the worst front line we've ever had. "Players with potential coming through" - that's what the U21s are for, not the senior squad. "Players with potential" are worth **** all at senior international level

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I picked the Denmark game as an example. We have been discussing the strength of the squads and the options available to both. Shane Long didn't play any games under McCarthy. So I don't know what your 2019 point is all about?

Randolph has been around throughout Kenny's tenure so keeper has been equal. Defensive options are stronger under Kenny, as are midfield options. McGoldrick is the only player McCarthy had available who's stronger and Kenny had him available for a short while also. There was a number of games where James Collins was the striker under McCarthy as McGoldrick wasn't available. In fact, against Switzerland away our front 3 was Collins, McClean and the 'rubbish' Connolly. That might just challenge your worst front line we've ever had claim.

Looking at the facts, the squads available to both are and were very similar in standard. Trying to claim otherwise is just ridiculous. McCarthy's record was played 10, won 5, drew 4, lost 1. Kenny's is played 15, won 1, drew 7, lost 7.

Yes with the results here the Kenny tenure is an unsustainable situation tbh. thats why the national team is bigger than any coach or player. When Jack Charlton couldnt take his ageing key players to the Italia 90 world cup was because one was injured ( Tony Galvin) and the other one fell out with him (Liam Brady) Charlton actually he replaced Brady with Ronnie Whelan the problem was Ronnie Whelan got injured just before the world cup. He took Stapleton but he regretted because he wanted to play.

National team interest is more vital and important than any coach or any footballer .

The new coach has to be someone with passion who plays attractive footie and a motivator like Mark Hughes or maybe Eddie Howe

Lennon has the passion though but not so sure, the rest of the names are almost retired

But you keep saying X was available to both without considering what's happened to them in the last two years. Randolph has barely played in that time; McClean and Hourihane have dropped a division - they're clearly not as good now as they were two years ago.

How did Mick do in Switzerland with that forward line which resembles a Kenny forward line?

Bottom line is our form for the past decade has been on a linear downward trend. We've just crossed the place where now Mick's draws in Georgia or narrow wins against Gibraltar are turning into worse results. This was always going to happen unfortunately.

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Bottom line is our form for the past decade has been on a linear downward trend.

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It's tightly correlated with the increase in transfer fees in England. With all the big money in English football at the moment, they can buy all the stars of the world. The English clubs make sure their best English prospects get starts, but there's less and less room for the young Irish, who get turned into Championship loan cannon fodder. Imagine Paul McGrath or Ronnie Whelan being loan players at Preston until the age of 23. They wouldn't be the same players. Roy Keane went from LOI First Division Cobh Ramblers straight into the first team at Forest, who were in the top tier at the time. It doesn't work like that any more.

So we need to stop haemorrhaging players to England. That involves improving LOI and Irish youth structures, and also encouraging players who feel they have outgrown Ireland to look at places like Spain, Italy, France, Holland, where tactical and technical development is encouraged. And in some leagues, like Spain (and Italy I think) there is a limit of non-EU players in a team, so Irish players can use their EU status to their advantage.

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Originally Posted by sadloserkid

Where your witless, plastic, soccerball theory falls down though is that there were zero LOI players on the pitch against Azerbaijan but lots and lots from the British system that you're so in thrall too. It's not the fault of any of the players that weren't there. There were 4 players from the third tier of English football on the pitch, that's a very low water mark for us as a nation. You seem completely wedded to a linear theory that every player at a certain level is better than every player at a level below.

I think Kenny should go, for whatever that's worth, but thinking that somehow delegitimises the whole league moves the whole weird, sweaty theory of yours way beyond uninformed and into the realms of profoundly lacking even a basic grasp on how the game works. And if you think that simply replacing Kenny is going to turn us into a competitive outfit with a click of the fingers... well that would pretty much match what I'd expect to be honest.

Instead you're spewing inane tactical revelations as though you're Guardiola and Klopp all rolled into on, using a single goalkeeper error (from a Northern Irish international as it happens) as your silver bullet to write off the domestic league. Presumably when Taibi happened you dismissed the Premier League just as fervently. I suspect, as a self-proclaimed Championship afficionado, that you were prattling on in just as tiresome a fashion on a Stoke City website somewhere warning them off Michael O'Neill too.

I'll reiterate, again, that I'm not even a little bit pro-Kenny and there isn't a player in the LOI today that I'd have in the Irish squad currently if everybody was fit but you're shockingly, hilariously fond of a baseless, sweeping statement.

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I think he is trying to play a satirical character who attempts to be funny by taking contrarian, ridiculous, easily debunked, nonsensical opinions. I think he's trying to be the foot.ie version of Stephen Colbert from the tv show that he took his name from. If not...well....best ignored either way really.

I just wanted to note one thing - one of the big arguments put forward by Kenny supporters (particularly in a couple of articles I read recently on 42.ie) is that he should be given more time because he is bravely giving young talent a break, while previous managers (like Mick) stuck with experienced journeyman, thus stopping the team from being as good as it could be - this ignores the fact that Mick had little time for experimenting, yet still gave debuts to Mark Travers, Kieran O'Hara, Aaron Connolly, Josh Cullen, Lee O'Connor, Troy Parrott, Jack Byrne and, er, James Collins. He also wasted a trip to Holland to see if Dan Crowley was worth adding to the team.

Kenny had a number of friendlies and a Nations League campaign to improve the squad both in terms of personnel and playing style and, while he has continued to bring in players who will undoubtedly form a big part of our squad in the coming decade, he hasn't got them playing in a competitive manner and, at the end of the day, that's what matters.

Thanks to the development of a lot of youth over the past few years (which Kenny played a part in, TBF), we will have a great opportunity to qualify for the next Euros as we will have a mix of youth and experience, but it is vitally important that we have the correct manager. At this point I would say that Kenny is not that manager, but that he has four games to prove otherwise

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Originally Posted by samhaydenjr

I just wanted to note one thing - one of the big arguments put forward by Kenny supporters (particularly in a couple of articles I read recently on 42.ie) is that he should be given more time because he is bravely giving young talent a break, while previous managers (like Mick) stuck with experienced journeyman, thus stopping the team from being as good as it could be - this ignores the fact that Mick had little time for experimenting, yet still gave debuts to Mark Travers, Kieran O'Hara, Aaron Connolly, Josh Cullen, Lee O'Connor, Troy Parrott, Jack Byrne and, er, James Collins. He also wasted a trip to Holland to see if Dan Crowley was worth adding to the team.

Kenny had a number of friendlies and a Nations League campaign to improve the squad both in terms of personnel and playing style and, while he has continued to bring in players who will undoubtedly form a big part of our squad in the coming decade, he hasn't got them playing in a competitive manner and, at the end of the day, that's what matters.

Thanks to the development of a lot of youth over the past few years (which Kenny played a part in, TBF), we will have a great opportunity to qualify for the next Euros as we will have a mix of youth and experience, but it is vitally important that we have the correct manager. At this point I would say that Kenny is not that manager, but that he has four games to prove otherwise

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That's all very fair, but for Mick blooding young players was a luxury. For Kenny it's a pure necessity. Mick had 3-4 experienced pros to call on that Kenny doesn't. Those pros are either gone or have devolved, even to the point where they can't find a club. Robbie Brady is the prime example but there's plenty more who have slid alarmingly down the leagues in what should be their prime. At this level, your best available 11 is how good you are. Comparing Mick and Kenny is also useless. We couldn't afford Mick if we wanted him.

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

But you keep saying X was available to both without considering what's happened to them in the last two years. Randolph has barely played in that time; McClean and Hourihane have dropped a division - they're clearly not as good now as they were two years ago.

How did Mick do in Switzerland with that forward line which resembles a Kenny forward line?

Bottom line is our form for the past decade has been on a linear downward trend. We've just crossed the place where now Mick's draws in Georgia or narrow wins against Gibraltar are turning into worse results. This was always going to happen unfortunately.

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Has Randolph's performances been any weaker under Kenny? No. Same with Hourihane and McClean. They've been poor for a long time. You can also say that Kenny has had the advantage of Dara O Shea gaining a lot of experience, same with Josh Cullen moving to Anderlecht. There are pluses and minuses for both leaving it with a very similar squad in terms of strength overall.

Mick lost that game in Switzerland but that was his only defeat. No one would be complaining if Kenny's only defeat was away to Portugal. It's the losses to Luxembourg et, the draws to Azerbaijan, the lack of organisation, poor tactical awareness, the overall incompetence.

This is why the results are getting worse than under McCarthy. Because Kenny is so far out of his depth. No other reason. McCarthy wasn't even that impressive in his latest term. Again, it shows how far back Kenny has brought us.

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Originally Posted by samhaydenjr

Thanks to the development of a lot of youth over the past few years (which Kenny played a part in, TBF), we will have a great opportunity to qualify for the next Euros

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Woah - that's...optimistic. Yes, they're a couple of years away yet, but there's plenty of players who need to move on from the "prospect" stage to where they can be considered an international class player. Some will drop away to a lower league career (I'm thinking Connolly is a prime suspect for that at the moment). In the meantime, Randolph, Coleman and Stevens will be in and around mid-30s and will surely have lost some of their effectiveness.

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Originally Posted by BOOMSHAKALAKA

Has Randolph's performances been any weaker under Kenny? No. Same with Hourihane and McClean. They've been poor for a long time. You can also say that Kenny has had the advantage of Dara O Shea gaining a lot of experience, same with Josh Cullen moving to Anderlecht. There are pluses and minuses for both leaving it with a very similar squad in terms of strength overall.

Mick lost that game in Switzerland but that was his only defeat. No one would be complaining if Kenny's only defeat was away to Portugal. It's the losses to Luxembourg et, the draws to Azerbaijan, the lack of organisation, poor tactical awareness, the overall incompetence.

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Randolph hasn't played for us in a year. He was left out of the current squad precisely because he hasn't been getting game time at club level. McClean was Stoke's Player of the Year in 2019/20. This yeah, he's been released and has had to drop down a division. You seem to think 30+ players exist in a stasis; they really don't.

Yes, Mick lost to Switzerland with that starting three. A 2-goal defeat, which is more than any competitive defeat Kenny has suffered (so far...) He also drew 0-0 in Georgia, who are better than Luxembourg, but not by a huge amount. The signs have been there for a long time that we were getting closer and closer to results like of late. Our scoring rate has fallen off a cliff pretty much since Keane retired. You really can't get away with attacking line-ups of Parrott/Idah/Connolly at international level.

Kenny Pros:
Players still seem to be playing for him and supporting his methods
Even in defeats and poor performances we're creating far more scoring chances and having far more shots than we did in previous regimes (analysis from nations league showed this and it has continued)
First half against Portugal was the best performance by any Irish team in a very long time
Brave in selection and giving some potentially top class prospects genuine experience
Flexible with approach to formation and tactics
Still don't conceded many goals
No heavy defeats

Kenny Cons
Poor media presence
Poor results
Too flexible with approach to formation and tactics (do the players have long enough to adapt and implement the changes he wants in the short time available)
Questionable use of subs
Discarding senior players too quickly?

Outside Factors
Natural gap in squad due to almost no players coming through between the age of early 30's and under 23
Covid disruption
Players not playing for their clubs

I still think there's potential for another campaign (unless we end up with only the one point, anything around 5 might be enough at this stage). As long as the players still seem to believe in the changes Kenny is trying to make. It's not easy, but there's no potential replacement candidates jumping out. Do we really want another old school manager who doesn't believe the players can pass it 5 yards to each other (I know some do and fair enough)? Look at the bookies lists and convince me that anyone on them would improve anything. Yes, results from now on have to pick up. Hopefully starting with at least a point tomorrow, but it's not quite the final curtain yet. If someone figures out how to put the ball in the net before the end of the campaign it changes everything.

The switches made between Portugal and Azerbaijan are a real issue for me. Sure, some changes were necessary, but why switch things around and kill the attacking threat we showed there, especially Doherty and Coleman? Why not keep the shape as much as you can and tell the much the same players to go out and do the same thing against a much weaker team?

Instead he made a number of changes, some of which were just baffling frankly, and I've no idea what it would even have looked like if it had worked. We went from creating some decent chances against a very good team (albeit defensively weaker than their attack) to creating very little against a much weaker team.

And that's his tenure in a nutshell for me. Too many decisions that just don't make sense and don't work. Is he doing a better job in terms of decisions and performances now than he was at the start. Is he learning? Are the team improving?

In my opinion, no, neither of those things are happening. Certainly not as much as we can reasonably expect from the manager of our national team...maybe not at all.

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Originally Posted by passinginterest

Kenny Pros:
Players still seem to be playing for him and supporting his methods
Even in defeats and poor performances we're creating far more scoring chances and having far more shots than we did in previous regimes (analysis from nations league showed this and it has continued)
First half against Portugal was the best performance by any Irish team in a very long time
Brave in selection and giving some potentially top class prospects genuine experience
Flexible with approach to formation and tactics
Still don't conceded many goals
No heavy defeats
Plus - He's Cheap!

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One more crucial one!

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

I suppose the question you have to ask is - if Coleman were to look at the Ireland job and consider it, what would they see? A team on a long decline trying to squeeze something out of PL2 players or third tier loanees. Coleman's career trajectory has been weird - a great spell with Wales but he's flopped since then - but he presumably has ambitions to get back on the merry-go-round. Is the Ireland job a route back to the top? Or has it become a bit of a poisoned chalice?

(This goes for any of the suggestions btw; not just Coleman, who's an interesting call in fairness)

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Bazunu positioning is inviting rivals to shoot from distance

And so it begins...
Commercial reality may force FAI's hand to arrest Ireland malaise under Stephen Kenny: https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/...-40374119.html

I thought Kenny's contract was until the end of the year, it's actually until July.

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In one of the several bizarre legacies of the Delaney years, Kenny’s deal runs until next July, midway through the next Nations League campaign. Any payoff due by the end of this series in November, or before, amounts to around €300,000.

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Wow - we appointed a new manager until what, after the original dates of the World Cup? Rather than up to the end of the qualifying campaign?

Well done Delaney there.

I say dont fire him, and make him resign if there is a heavey defeat tomorrow he must resign

McDonnell on twitter has categorically stated that his job isn't at risk after tomorrow night (online indo article). He mentions that the crowd for the friendly vs Qatar will be taken into account (that in itself is laughable).
Meanwhile OTB have a soundbyte quoting the Star and Daily Mail who say he could be sacked if we lose tomorrow night, with both Keane's, Duff, Sam Allardyce, Steven Reid and Carsley all in the picture.
That's laughable (the alternatives) and depressing.

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Originally Posted by Kingdom

McDonnell on twitter has categorically stated that his job isn't at risk after tomorrow night (online indo article). He mentions that the crowd for the friendly vs Qatar will be taken into account (that in itself is laughable).
Meanwhile OTB have a soundbyte quoting the Star and Daily Mail who say he could be sacked if we lose tomorrow night, with both Keane's, Duff, Sam Allardyce, Steven Reid and Carsley all in the picture.
That's laughable (the alternatives) and depressing.

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If we have no funds circa 500k, I would take a chance on lee carsley, if we have extra funds circa 1m how about Chris Wilder?
Remember the Euro is easier to get to and may be attractive

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Originally Posted by Kingdom

McDonnell on twitter has categorically stated that his job isn't at risk after tomorrow night (online indo article). He mentions that the crowd for the friendly vs Qatar will be taken into account (that in itself is laughable).
Meanwhile OTB have a soundbyte quoting the Star and Daily Mail who say he could be sacked if we lose tomorrow night, with both Keane's, Duff, Sam Allardyce, Steven Reid and Carsley all in the picture.
That's laughable (the alternatives) and depressing.

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the list arent great. we need an experienced guy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kingdom

McDonnell on twitter has categorically stated that his job isn't at risk after tomorrow night (online indo article). He mentions that the crowd for the friendly vs Qatar will be taken into account (that in itself is laughable).
Meanwhile OTB have a soundbyte quoting the Star and Daily Mail who say he could be sacked if we lose tomorrow night, with both Keane's, Duff, Sam Allardyce, Steven Reid and Carsley all in the picture.
That's laughable (the alternatives) and depressing.

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I doubt Carsley would leave the England U21’s for what we have now = = That would be a big gamble. Look at what Southgate got out of being the English FA’s, Yes Man and being in the right place at the right time.

So Steven Reid out of that list but he has never been a Manager so if the Kenny experiment ends soon they ( the FAI ) are hardly going to gamble on a man that has never been a Manager.

I can't see Lee Carsley leaving his current gig for our job even if it does come up. I'd like it to happen but I think if fan goggles are removed it's not an overly attractive proposition at the moment.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Diggs246

If we have no funds circa 500k, I would take a chance on lee carsley, if we have extra funds circa 1m how about Chris Wilder?
Remember the Euro is easier to get to and may be attractive

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Certainly a better shout out than the others on Kingdom’s list.

Not to advocate Robbie Keane, but he has already been paid by the FAI to do a job that he has yet to do.

I think the FAI and Kenny should be thinking goodbye by mutual consent if it goes pear-shaped again, v Serbia. Pay Kenny Up and off.

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Originally Posted by ifk101

Not to advocate Robbie Keane, but he has already been paid by the FAI to do a job that he has yet to do.

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I suppose if we sack Kenny and appoint Keane, then what we have is a position where Keane is the manager and Kenny is being paid to to a job that he's not doing.

Which sounds an utterly perfect FAI solution...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by seanfhear

I think the FAI and Kenny should be thinking goodbye by mutual consent if it goes pear-shaped again, v Serbia. Pay Kenny Up and off.

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I expect a moral victory (i.e. a defeat) against Serbia, which won't put any more pressure on him. He'll have to lose badly to feel more pressure than he already is, and that's maybe unlikely as we are inclined to do well enough defending against better teams.