New Irish manager

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Originally Posted by Dr. Ogba

ah go way out of that. some people seem to think that any criticism aimed at Keane is an attempt to "knock our greatest ever player" :rolleyes:.

The thing is that Keane is the only one that has gone out of his way to knock and undermine the process as much as he can and this is the exact reason that the media keep on asking him about it. the rags are guaranteed a big headline along the lines of "Keane slams the FAI selection process" as soon as they ask him the question.
No matter if we agree with Keane (and to a point I do!), I just don't understand why he keeps commenting on it as it has absolutely nothing to do with him!! I agree that he's entitled to his opinion but he should realise that anything he says (as previously pointed out by others) will be spinned to high-heavens by the media. He's been critical of the process on several occasions now, we all know where he stands on it so he should just mind his own business (i.e Sunderland) at this stage...

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What he said

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Originally Posted by Dr. Ogba

ah go way out of that. some people seem to think that any criticism aimed at Keane is an attempt to "knock our greatest ever player" :rolleyes:.

The thing is that Keane is the only one that has gone out of his way to knock and undermine the process as much as he can and this is the exact reason that the media keep on asking him about it. the rags are guaranteed a big headline along the lines of "Keane slams the FAI selection process" as soon as they ask him the question.
No matter if we agree with Keane (and to a point I do!), I just don't understand why he keeps commenting on it as it has absolutely nothing to do with him!! I agree that he's entitled to his opinion but he should realise that anything he says (as previously pointed out by others) will be spinned to high-heavens by the media. He's been critical of the process on several occasions now, we all know where he stands on it so he should just mind his own business (i.e Sunderland) at this stage...

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eh... a good proportion of the posters on this thread, dunphy and other ex players have all been critical of the process. keane is by no way the only critic of the process. i dont think that answering a question on a football matter that he should, as an ex Ireland captain, be interested in and have an opinion on is "going out of his way to knock and undermine the process"

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Originally Posted by colster

1. We don't have the money to headhunt the best candidate. the best candidates are making stacks of dough in club management.

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If they arent interested then they are not candidates.

I wasn't insinuating the FAI should cold-call Jose or Capello, Offering someone €1m a year when they're used to £5m a year just is idiotic, no matter what alleged prestiege was attached, but surely a network or grapevine existed to give any potential headhunter a chink of light regarding the identity of anyone who was even slightly interested. If not, why did JD feel compelled to half heartedly contact Jewell?

I would have been more impressed with the FAI had they posessed the bollicks to identify their chosen No1 and say "You're the best there is, we know what you can do with a middling team with some potential like ours, and we can offer you x million for a 2 campaign contract." If it was refused, it was refused. But at least we'd have known, and the word would be out there that the Irish were looking aggressively, instead of the footballing world now thinking that we've just set up a tent that any has-been gobshyte who's ever kicked a ball in anger can walk into and have his ego massaged by
A) an FAI employee who's future depends on who he chooses as manager
B) Someone who last had an input in the Game (In England) in the last century and
C) a Former playing great, now a middling tv pundit.


What I was suggesting was that the "Committee" of footballing experts formed to find a new manager should have immediately known who the best man for the job was.

If it takes them 3 months to find out, then they are not 3 "footballing experts" they are "3 blokes reading CV's" . Might as well have asked Fás to do it.

What happens when they've finished their 16 week interviewe process, and to a man, they decide that Roy Hodgson was the best applicant by a country mile? We'll never know, of course, but we all have to live with it. Which should be as difficult for the committee as it will be for us. Lord knows they're only getting a stack of consultancy fees to console them...poor crayturs.

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Originally Posted by Bondvillain

If it takes them 3 months to find out, then they are not 3 "footballing experts" they are "3 blokes reading CV's" . Might as well have asked Fás to do it.
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http://fai.ie/index.php?option=com_c...=2694&Itemid=9

http://fai.ie/index.php?option=com_c...=2709&Itemid=9

It hasn't taken them 3 months. Selection Panel was completed when Houghton came on board on December 5th so in all it's taken them a month and if you take Xmas hols into account less than that.

The impression I got from it is that Keane couldn't care less about the Ireland team and hasn't got an opinion worth any value on the matter. That's his prerogative, he has a team to manage himself and has his own business to attend to.
Houghton and Givens care about the team and however flawed the process are investing
time and attention to it.

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Originally Posted by Bondvillain

I would have been more impressed with the FAI had they posessed the bollicks to identify their chosen No1 and say "You're the best there is, we know what you can do with a middling team with some potential like ours, and we can offer you x million for a 2 campaign contract." If it was refused, it was refused. B.

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That is the Crux of the whole thing IMO. The FAI fear looking stupid if they are publicly knocked back by some of the big name managers, thats the reason we got stan and that is the reason we have the selection committee
and thats the reason we'll get cr@p this time around too

The selection committee was set up to say " If you want the Job come and get it" when they FAI should have been saying to the like of Hodgson "we want you"

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Originally Posted by Block G Raptor

That is the Crux of the whole thing IMO. The FAI fear looking stupid if they are publicly knocked back by some of the big name managers, thats the reason we got stan and that is the reason we have the selection committee
and thats the reason we'll get cr@p this time around too

The selection committee was set up to say " If you want the Job come and get it" when they FAI should have been saying to the like of Hodgson "we want you"

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True but I think Delaney took advice from Giles. Giles has said a number of times that non-football should not be selecting the manager. So we have a selection committee that did talk to Hodgson so they can at least identify a decent candidate.

Some interesting odds in ladbrokes. Houillier is now firm favourite over Venables at 4/6. Venables himself is 7/4 but the major surprise for me is that fifth favourite is Jean Tigana at 8/1.

Where did they pull that name out of the hat from. I personally wasn't aware he was even in the running?

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Originally Posted by colster

[url]

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Originally Posted by Bondvillain

If it takes them 3 months to find out, then they are not 3 "footballing experts" they are "3 blokes reading CV's" . Might as well have asked Fás to do it.
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http://fai.ie/index.php?option=com_c...=2694&Itemid=9

http://fai.ie/index.php?option=com_c...=2709&Itemid=9

It hasn't taken them 3 months. Selection Panel was completed when Houghton came on board on December 5th so in all it's taken them a month and if you take Xmas hols into account less than that.
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Originally Posted by John Delaney in the link

30th November - Over the past month we laid the groundwork for the next stage in the process. We have finalised the terms of reference, the criteria and financial package. The process has now been handed over the panel.”

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1) Month / Schmonth. Between the lot of them, They still should have known straight off. They didnt have the balls to go out and hook their chosen candidate for fear of rebuttal. Anyway, A "month" is still too long, even given the generous R&R time over christmas you've allocated them. Im sure Howe could do with a two week break from his otherwise hectic schedule of Tea dances and Bingo and telling stories about the Blitz.
2) This farce hasn't reached it's conclusion yet.

I'd say it was something as simple as someone requesting odds on him in one of the bookies and sticking 50 quid on him. Once one of the bookies have a price on him then the rest will follow. If you e-mail Paddy Power and request a price for any manager they'll stick them up there on the website for you.

Say Betfair was a betting shop, would all the money laid cover the total payout on Houllier should he win ?

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Originally Posted by geysir

Say Betfair was a betting shop, would all the money laid cover the total payout on Houllier should he win ?

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It's take a long time to work that out. You'd have to multiply the stake by the odds matched and add them all together which would take hours. If the average odds was more than 2-1 and Houllier got the job then the "bookies" would make a loss. It's absolutely no indication as to what an actual bookies stand to win/lose though.

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Originally Posted by Bondvillain

1) Month / Schmonth. Between the lot of them, They still should have known straight off. They didnt have the balls to go out and hook their chosen candidate for fear of rebuttal. Anyway, A "month" is still too long, even given the generous R&R time over christmas you've allocated them. Im sure Howe could do with a two week break from his otherwise hectic schedule of Tea dances and Bingo and telling stories about the Blitz.
2) This farce hasn't reached it's conclusion yet.

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A Month, it's about the same time it took England to appoint Capello. McClaren sacked Nov 22, Capello appointed Dec 14.

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Originally Posted by colster

A Month, it's about the same time it took England to appoint Capello. McClaren sacked Nov 22, Capello appointed Dec 14.

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Painting yourself into a corner there Colster....

Staunton Sacked october 24, Irish Interview process "still continuing" as of 18 January 2008.

Difference is, England didnt fiddle about with an interview process. While admittedly having greater resources, they weren't afraid of identifying the right man for their job, and snapping him up. Something we're incapable of, hence the farcial 3 man committee routine.

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Originally Posted by Bondvillain

Painting yourself into a corner there Colster....

Staunton Sacked october 24, Irish Interview process "still continuing" as of 18 January 2008.

Difference is, England didnt fiddle about with an interview process. While admittedly having greater resources, they weren't afraid of identifying the right man for their job, and snapping him up. Something we're incapable of, hence the farcial 3 man committee routine.

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England were majorly different, Capello pubicly stated that he wanted the job. No one of that calibre has publicly expressed an interest in the job. If he had I'm sure the FAI would have jumped at the chance.

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Originally Posted by colster

England were majorly different, Capello pubicly stated that he wanted the job. No one of that calibre has publicly expressed an interest in the job. If he had I'm sure the FAI would have jumped at the chance.

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I appreciate the differences between ourselves and England's FA. Thats why I pointed out the difference in resources, and the fact that Capello was their man for the job, not necessarily ours.

As an example though, Hodgson did express interest to the FAI, and while not wanting to slight my country, I think he's more our speed than Capello.

And what happened? He was interviewed, presumably to be told "We'll let you know. Thanks for coming" and Fulham came up and said "Want a job? Like, Right now? " and he took it.

Whether he would have been a fly-by-night and jumped ship early for a better offer had we appointed him is now an irrelevant point, as because of the sheer length of this interview process, we'll never know, but we may yet rue not grabbing him with both hands at first time of asking.

My original point was, you cannot expect someone in the field as volatile as football management to be still interested in a vacancy nearly 3 months after it has arisen (For clarification : Im using the actual 'nearly three months' there - 24th Oct to 18th Jan, as opposed to the one that removes days for Christmas, Halloween, Eid and Chanukha ).

I still believe the FAI lacked courage in not headhunting, and that the interview process is a weak alternative. Dragging an interview process out this long frustrates genuine suitable contenders, and if they ARE any good, they'll be snapped up elsewhere, leaving us with a choice between the unemployed and the unemployable.

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Originally Posted by Jerry The Saint

People are really baring a grudge over the qualification campaign from 15 years ago - is it possible he's learned something since then?

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No, its not possible

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Originally Posted by ruben_sosa

the same france that under different management failed the qualify for 1990 world cup and were knocked out in the first round of Sweden 1992. In the 1994 qualifiers he beat Israel away 4-0, beat Sweden 2-1 at home and defeated all the lower ranking teams in the group. Yeah he managed them terribly...


no point even replying to such a stupid statement.

the same plan which won Liverpool 2 league cups, FA cup, UEFA cup, Charity Shield, Premiership Runners-up and consistent top 5 finishes.

Yes, Houllier is clearly inept to manage a team of Irelands stature !

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Didnt do a good job of disproving me really:(
Re France, yeah as i said he didnt do anything with them, and lost two vital home games. Cant argue with that

Have you even heard of Paul Le Guen:rolleyes:
or do you rely on MOTD for your footy info?

You always know when you are struggling when the Charity Shield is brought up as a trophy to be won:rolleyes:
Even Liverpool fans wouldnt care much about him

Why is he out of a job at the moment?

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Originally Posted by bennocelt

Didnt do a good job of disproving me really:(
Re France, yeah as i said he didnt do anything with them, and lost two vital home games. Cant argue with that

Have you even heard of Paul Le Guen:rolleyes:
or do you rely on MOTD for your footy info?

You always know when you are struggling when the Charity Shield is brought up as a trophy to be won:rolleyes:
Even Liverpool fans wouldnt care much about him

Why is he out of a job at the moment?

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He's not out of a job. He works for the French FA. Obviously they don't agree with you on his incompetence.

His first management job was Lens, who he got promoted in their first season and got into Europe in the first year in the top flight. He then got the PSG job, and won a title with them. He became Technical Directer for the French FA and impressed them so much in that role he was offered the managers job, which didn't go as smoothly and they narrowly failed to qualify behind two sides that did very well in the World Cup. He remained Technical Director after resigning as team manager, playing a big part in training the team that won the World Cup in 1998 - being given a World Cup medal to recognise the part he had to play.

Something relevant to Ireland from his early Liverpool days is the way he cleared out the "Spice Boys". A lot of people seem to think that the attitute of some players in the Irish camp isn't up to or focused, Houllier dealt very well with a similar situation in Liverpool and changed the atmosphere of the squad.

Things started to take place as Houllier built up a squad and Liverpool won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup in 2001. They also finished third in the League that season. Houllier then fell ill and when he came back things were stop-and-start, with Liverpool failing to make a real impact in most competitions. As pressure mounted, Houllier claimed that the team and club was "turning a corner" and success would follow in the coming years. However, he was sacked in 2004. His talk of "turning a corner" proved true however, with Liverpool winning the Champions League in 2005 with a squad made up mostly of players he signed - he even celebrated in the dressing room with them.

In 2005, Houllier was handed the Lyon job and guided them to the League title, as well as a cup final they narrowly lost. Houllier then won the league again the next season before resigning due to the outspoken nature of the Lyon chairperson.

Houllier has been awarded the Légion d'Honneur for his services to French football, and an honorary OBE for services to British football, along with fellow manager, compatriot and friend Arsène Wenger.

Paris Saint-Germain

1985-86 French League Championship

[edit] Flag of England Liverpool

2000-01 League Cup
2000-01 FA Cup
2000-01 UEFA Cup
2002-03 League Cup
2001-02 UEFA Super Cup
2001-02 FA Charity/Community Shield

Olympique Lyonnais

2005-06 French League Championship
2006-07 French League Championship

France
1996 European Under-19 Football Championship

So he is hardly a bad manager as some on here would suggest, considering he hasn't been at a club where he hasn't won anything. He has managed at the highest level in some of the biggest jobs, and isn't a "yesterday's man" considering he was winning leagues only a couple of years ago.

In Houllier we have one of the best managers available in international football at the moment, people can be nit-picky but if he is good enough for Liverpool, France, and Lyon (as well as the many jobs he has turned down in international management and club management) then he's good enough for us too. I think he would do well.

There is still a possibility that neither Venables or Houllier will get the job for a variety of reasons. First one would be they don't want the job. Second one especially in the case of Venables is the FAI refuse to ratify him as manager(Givens has said he is not 100% certain the FAI will ratify whoever the 3 amigos suggest). I am very surprised that neither candidate is 1/10 which suggests that the 3 amigos have been watertight with their info or there are still other candidates being considered.