Link: http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...l-1227377.htmlQuote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Printable View
Link: http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...l-1227377.htmlQuote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
It's in the paper aswell,Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
El Tel
By Daniel McDonnell
Friday November 23 2007
Never has it seemed more appropriate to pluck out that old saying about England sneezing and Ireland catching a cold. These are ripe times for infection.
It's rare that the failure of the English national side could have such a knock on effect for those on this side of the pond. Normally, the tragi-comic collapse of our neighbours provides a certain amount of comfort in the summers where we have become accustomed to watching major championships from afar.
Perhaps it's an immature kind of pleasure but then it's hard not to smile at the reaction to what unfolded on Wednesday night when you consider that the BBC's three wise men of Hansen, Wright and Shearer all predicted facile victories for McClaren's band of brothers.
When Hansen had the temerity to suggest that it may not quite be a stroll in the park for the Wembley hosts, Wright even scolded him for taking a trip to 'negative town'. With such brazen and misplaced confidence, the subsequent capitulation became devilishly enjoyable.
Worrying
What is worrying, however, is that there were Irish people celebrating England's demise for a very different reason. For them, the silver lining of a European Championships without England is that it smoothes the way for Terry Venables to become the man to replace Steve Staunton.
It's remarkable really. While people revel in the inexplicable failure of an English side to qualify for the first time since the disastrous reign of Graham Taylor, there is a willingness to take a key component of that management staff and thrust him with the responsibility of leading Ireland forward.
If the common consensus is that we need a leader to bring the best out of the players we have and possibly look for them to perform beyond their abilities to make it to South Africa in 2010, then it makes little sense to turn to someone who was a member of a set-up that has somehow succeeded in bringing the worst out of their vaunted stars.
But wait, it's not that simple. Or so we are told. The mess is apparently nothing to do with El Tel. After all, he wasn't the manager and had a strained relationship with McClaren long before they were handed their P45's yesterday.
So that's alright then. What that argument ignores, unfortunately, is what is understood to be a key reason behind their fall-out.
When McClaren was appointed, he turned to Venables because he was believed to be strong in the area of tactical flexibility. It was a common theme put forward at the time; Venables had been in this game before so his knowledge of systems would be an asset. During his time as England boss, he had experimented with a degree of success.
The problem was that Venables did not negotiate England through a qualifying group when he was in the hot-seat. Considering they were the hosts of Euro '96, he had the luxury of spending two years dithering around with various formations in a non-pressurised environment.
In the competition itself, the enduring memory is England's agonising penalty kick defeat to Germany in the semi-finals of the competition. Never mind that they should have lost to the Spanish but triumphed by the same method at the quarter- final stage or needed a missed penalty from Gary McAllister to help them past Scotland. Sure, it's a tad harsh to take away from his side's performances in that competition but host countries rarely fail to threaten in such tournaments.
Anyway, this is where we move onto this campaign where at an early stage the influence of Venables was apparent. England switched to his favoured 3-5-2 for last year's qualifier in Croatia and flopped. The root of the breakdown in the relationship between McClaren and Venables lies there. Since then, it has consistently leaked out that El Tel is unsatisfied with not being consulted properly about formations and team selection.
Leaks
Ah yes, the leaks. A central aspect behind the clamour for Venables has been strong media support which has been a feature of his career to date. He knows how to play the press pack and look after journalists.
He's a smart guy and his logic made sense. Keep a couple of the more influential members in the loop and the legacy will be stronger. Consequently, his track record in handling the media and the circus similar to what the Irish job has become is regarded as a positive. We are suckers, it seems, for a bit of charisma.
The momentum behind the Venables campaign in some quarters is, literally, frightening. Sure, he ticks several of the boxes for what is wanted from a replacement with plenty of experience and some notable achievements when he was working his way up the managerial ladder.
But his recent record is appalling. The only high point was his admittedly fine effort when saving Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough from the drop six years ago. Other than that, his Australia experiment didn't work, his spells with Portsmouth and Crystal Palace were embarrassing and his stint at Leeds -- although it was a club in turmoil -- was littered with gaffes in the transfer market.
The belief that he got a raw deal with England after departing due to his complicated business dealings (let's not go there) was why there was a concerted campaign to give him another shot with the Three Lions. Now, after that experiment failed spectacularly, our desire for a big personality is obviously enough to deem his recent endeavours irrelevant.
What's frustrating is that the thrills and spills at Wembley was the wrong game for the FAI to be keeping their eye on the other night. With a bit of luck, they were monitoring affairs in Porto where Finland's goalless draw against Portugal was not enough to book a spot in Austria and Switzerland for the visitors.
The Finns never quite threatened to get the win which would have brought them to the big stage for the first time but they have come remarkably close with a limited panel. In a difficult group, they have conceded just seven goals and their lack of firepower can be attributed to lengthy injuries suffered by main men Mikkel Forssell and Jari Litmanen.
Their English manager Roy Hodgson is likely to move on and not with the stench of failure. The Finnish FA is desperate to keep him there but his career has been characterised by the desire for a new challenge and Ireland comes under that bracket. He is out of contract and therefore free to talk.
Exploits
Now aged 60, Hodgson steered Switzerland to USA '94 and Euro '96 and while his club career has had its ups and downs, his Finnish exploits prove that the international game is where he thrives. Lazily, his claims for the Irish post will be mocked due to an unremarkable stint in charge of Blackburn 10 years ago. On the other hand, we must delve into Venables' history in a search for any kind of positive.
We shouldn't be looking for just a Premiership manager though, or someone we rate because we recognise them off the telly and reckon they'd be engaging company. What we need is an international boss whose methods still seem capable of securing results in an arena where a special kind of expertise is required.
That man is Hodgson, not Venables -- yet there's far more chance of the latter being handed the reins should he want them. Baffling, but then this is the country we live in. Chilly times indeed.
- Daniel McDonnell
Can someonme else tell Kevin doyle to stop spouting "stream of conciousness" nonsense to the media. Anyway, the press are asking him about Venables & he'd say "ok", not eaxctly Doyle going out of his way to say Venables is the one. Dangerous all the same.
AI should steer clear of “Z-List” Venables – Dunphy
November 23, 2007
Outspoken pundit Eamon Dunphy believes the Football Association of Ireland should not touch Terry Venables “with a bargepole”.
Venables is the new bookmakers’ favourite following his dismissal from the England management team and the withdrawal of Paul Jewell from the Irish race.
But Dunphy is far from convinced by the merits of the 64-year-old Londoner in relation to the Ireland position.
In his Irish Daily Star column on Friday, he wrote: “Do we want England’s cast-off? Venables was sacked yesterday for his role in England’s disastrous Euro 2008 campaign and it means he still hasn’t managed to spend over two years in any of his last seven jobs in football.
“But Venables has this Teflon tendency to deflect all criticism away from him. Steve McClaren was a disastrous appointment by the English FA but Venables’s fingerprints are all over a lot of the low points of the manager’s tenure.”
Dunphy added: “If you want to know why the FAI should not touch Venables with a bargepole, then you only have to look at the way he spent the first half at Wembley against Croatia in the royal box hobnobbing with Britain’s Prince William. Remember, England were 2-0 down at the time.
“But that sums up Venables. An A-List celebrity with his fondness for singing on chat shows but, these days, he’s a Z-List manager.”
This is good news. Daniel McDonnell and now Dunphy coming out against the candidacy of Venables. The FAI will surely see reason and know that they can't appoint someone like him. Then again, this is the FAI of course.
can u just imagine venables play 352 with ireland
even though we dont have 3 centre backs or 3 central midfielders. it would be a disaster. kilbane and finnan on the wings :D
He has no chance of getting the job. Will not get selected by the FAI.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmurphyc
:D:D:D
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bondvillain
Tony Francis: Wow, what a game! A fantastic goal by Owarain. The Saudis seem to have some good players and have surprised a lot of people. What do you reckon Don, can you see any of them signing for British clubs?
Don Howe: Well, they've done well today, but you'd have to be worried whether or not they'd turn up to training, what with all the praying and that.
(General merriment in the studio, Venablesesque guffawing abounds)
Tony Francis: But it is a serious issue though.
Actually, I've just found an article about football TV coverage, including discussion of the efferverscent and patently stupid Matthew Lorenzo. They reference the Howe moment thus:
Yet Lorenzo wasn't helped by his pundits. Denis Law didn't seem to care less, and when asked what he thought the Spanish coach would be saying to his team after a poor performance replied, "I don't know, I can't speak Spanish". Worst of the lot, though, was Don Howe. He was considered one of the most adept coaches in the game, but was abysmal as a pundit. Not only did his oversized glasses and bald pate make him an unlikely TV star, but his flat Yorkshire accent, dour opinions and patronising manner made even the most serious-minded viewer hanker for the liveliness of Jimmy Greaves. One of his most notorious moments came when he was asked if any Saudi Arabian players would be worth signing by an English team. Howe suggested, "You'd have problems because of the praying all the time, you wouldn't know if they'd turn up for training. I'm being serious", addressing the final sentence at his fellow pundits roaring with laughter.
giles talking about venables last night
http://83.138.170.50/podcasts/audio/2211giles.mp3
That's it. He has no chance. Dunphy has spoken out against him: the font of all knowledge :rolleyes: Mind you, first time I've ever agreed with anything he has said.Quote:
Originally Posted by jmurphyc
Was upsetting to hear Cas and Lawro singing El Tel's praises last night though on the Last Word. Most of text messages though they were getting were negative thank God.
El Tel is a failures assistant.:rolleyes:
Why can't we have a proper failure like the last one :D
Hyland blowing Venables again big time on the back of the herald. Also takes time to have another cut at McCarthy in what has to be a non story, can't see him leaving Wolves at this stage.
At least they have a counter arguement inside, Eamon Carr is dead against it and articulates the obvious reasons pretty well.
Garry Doyle in the Mirror says a lot of the same things as Carr, only in a slightly less articulate manner....
ffs Delaney is in London tonight talking to a candidate according to cascarino on todayfm there
If he's meeting Venables hopefully they'll be mutually unimpressed
there should be no decision til after sundays draw anyway
Can´t be true.Quote:
Originally Posted by eekers
Cas, as we are told is unworthy or untrustworthy and according to Noely, Venables is not on the FAI agenda.
Isn´t Delaney on his way to South Africa?
Suggest Delaney is in London on his way to South Africa!!Quote:
Originally Posted by eekers
Sorry geysir: didn't see your post, but glad someone is on same wave length!
cas is a p-rick alright, just letting yous know what he told the country.
hope he's on the same flight as hodgson
cas is as likely to be bigging up venables because he has a six figure sum on him
mc donald is on newstalk now with his anti venables line
i remember hearing this story before so i went searching for it again on the internet found this
http://community.channel4.com/eve/fo...6/m/9040052245
confirmed it here http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,913642,00.html
Quote:
I heard a story that sums him up perfectly. When he bought into Tottenham, he found out that, in the Bill Nicholson Suite, there was a dancefloor which was one of the highest quality floors in Europe. He had this dug up and swapped it with the one in his extremely tacky Scribes West club.