The Steve Staunton Discussion thread

**4tothefloor** · 17/08/2006, 11:07 PM

Originally Posted by Forever Dreamin

Kerr was not good enough BUT was probably the best candidate for the job at the time, and the same with Stan.

Staunton was the best candidate for the job? He was in his bo||ox! Staunton was the last man I'd have given it to. A rubbish appointment. Even John Aldridge was a better candidate than Staunton, and far more qualified

Originally Posted by Delbertt

Did anyone see stans interview after the match it did little to convince me that he is good enough to be ireland manager, but still in all i think he should be given afair chance

Yup saw it and thought his interview was as bad as the teams performance. He looked like a little boy lost. Now we know why Bobby Robson is on board, and we also know without him Staunton hasn't a clue.

Originally Posted by Scram

ps. Stan's first match, a 3-0 win, Mclarens's first match a 4-0 win, let's hope Mclaren follows the same pattern.

McClaren is a top coach who has an excellent CV, has won trophies and is highly qualified - due to years of work on the training pitch and as assistant before he became a manager himself. Staunton is just an ex-pro full of pride and passion, but no qualifications or tactical know how. England have better players. We're going in opposite directions unfortunately.....

I think Stauntons future hinges on (a) The type of performance we put in in Germany. Lose 3-0 at a whimper and his position will become untenable because the fans and media won't put up with it. (b) How much the FAI will have to pay him off if the sack him. Personally I don't think that prat Delaney would have the balls to sack him so we're stuck with Staunton. Lets see how we fare in Germany....

**Marked Man** · 18/08/2006, 3:06 AM

Yes, Staunton should obviously be sacked after having three friendlies to prove himself.

And the next bloke in should have only 25 minutes.

**ramondo** · 18/08/2006, 6:26 AM

Originally Posted by Ceirtlis

Its ridiculous for anyone to be calling for a manager to be sacked after a friendly match

Agree, and only after his second match "in charge" too...

But, I feel a rising sense of panic, this forum included....it's all going pear-shaped... we've been here before!!! Eoin Hand, Belgian referees, Ashley Grimes, lucky win in Malta, Jimmy Magee shouting down a drainpipe from Sofia, Eddie McGoldrick, another goal disallowed, Pierce O'Leary...aaaaaggggg!!!

**RogerMilla** · 18/08/2006, 7:39 AM

i was dead against his appointment but he deserves this campaign now , if not one more to impose his idea for irish football. and if it all goes to pot and we are in the pot below norn iron for the next tournament then it wont be stan i will be blaming , it will be delaney and the other fai muppets

**Reality Bites** · 18/08/2006, 7:42 AM

Staunton should be judged on Germany game, but if it is so tactically inept that we get steamrolled like we did against the Dutch, then I think the FAI need to sack Stan and appoint someone else ASAP, ****sake the Irish managers Job is starting to become a beginners course for Football management, Unacceptable for the Fans who pay good money to sit and watch a manager **** up!

**macdermesser** · 18/08/2006, 7:56 AM

Or maybe Delaney should switch Robson to the main job and demote Staunton to his assistant for the time being. Well ... if only Bobby's health was a bit better.

sort of messing what that idea .. as it is a non-starter for a lot of reasons

**drinkfeckarse** · 18/08/2006, 8:06 AM

Originally Posted by 4tothefloor

Yup saw it and thought his interview was as bad as the teams performance. He looked like a little boy lost. Now we know why Bobby Robson is on board, and we also know without him Staunton hasn't a clue.

I caught that bit and at the time I was embarressed for the guy. I'm not calling for him to be sacked yet but he either A) has poor vocabulary skills at getting his point across or B) is tactically inept.

I recall the interviewer saying something like "what aspects of the game were most unpleasing" to which Stan replied something like "we lost 4-0 so it was very unpleasing"

FFS give us an idea of where you think it went wrong tactically other than the old cliches like "we couldn't get near them" and "we were taught a lesson". I want to know what YOU think were the fundamental faults

**Dr. Ogba** · 18/08/2006, 8:24 AM

From reading most of the posts here I think we can all agree that Staunton was not the man for the job. however, now that he's here we should all get behind him for at least one campaign cause it would be absolutely silly to sack a manager (again!!) in the middle of a qualifying campaign.....

From Stauntons point of view, he should realise now that he's on a hiding to nothing and should take a few risks....Get the youngsters in there, blood as many players as possible cause lets face it, the tried and tested just isn't working....stick to 442 and get the youngsters in and try and inject a bit of pace into our game again...

**youngirish** · 18/08/2006, 9:07 AM

I think giving Bobby Robson a more commanding role with the team is the only way to go forward at this stage while phasing Staunton out to take more of a back seat. It is extremely clear that Staunton hasn't a clue. He's not even fit to manage schoolboy football. This is no surprise really to be honest. The FAI shouldn't have ever approached him for the job.

If Bobby Robson can manage to stay alive for the duration of the campaign then let him make the majority of the tactical decisions while allow Staunton to help to lighten his workload and possibly he might learn a few things on how to manage an international football team.

**NeilMcD** · 18/08/2006, 9:09 AM

Lads he was not a tactical genius when we beat Sweden 3-0 and he is not a gob****e because we lost 4-0. In many ways Mc Carthy learned on teh job also and turned out to be a decent manager for Ireland who got us playing above ourselves in conjunction of having a world class footballer and leader in the team.

I see no reason why Staunton cannot be the same. Remember we lost some embarassing friendlies in Mc Carthys first few months in charge and it took us ages to even win a game. Like Mc Carthy Staunton is rebuilding and he shoudl be given the this campaign, if their is progress well he should be kept on and if we go backwards he should go.

**NeilMcD** · 18/08/2006, 9:34 AM

Staunton's gamble backfires
Friday August 18th 2006
ADVERTISEMENT

Irish boss discovering just how fickle Irish public opinion can be

HAS the first crisis of Steve Staunton's managerial career been caused by his decision to play only three warm-up games before the Euro 2008 qualifiers?

The rookie manager took office last January but Ireland have only had three games in the seven months he has been charge and on the eve of the visit to Germany that's suddenly looking like far too few for comfort.

Staunton opted to play only one end of season friendly, against Chile, on May 24 and resisted the many offers to take on teams looking for warm-ups games ahead of the World Cup Finals in Germany.

At the time he explained that he didn't want to prolong the season for his players because he wanted them to get a good break and return fresh and ready for the Euro 2008 kick-off in the autumn.

His plan was to use this week's friendly against Holland as a full scale dress rehearsal for the September 2 opener against Germany in Stuttgart but the injuries which ravaged his squad and deprived him of five first choice players put paid to that.

The outcome was that Ireland suffered their heaviest home defeat in 40 years and Staunton is now finding out just how fickle public opinion can be. Of course, getting criticism from certain quarters is nothing knew to Staunton who, as a player, was often the target of certain pundits seeking an easy scapegoat.

As Ireland's most capped international footballer and as somebody whose involvement with the senior squad dates back to 1988, Staunton knows how national team players think and his management style is very player orientated.

His decision not to play into June was a player based decision yet he was let down by those very same players on Wednesday night as they produced one of the most listless performance ever seen from an Irish team at Lansdowne Road.

Staunton should have learned from his immediate predecessors and the manner in which they prepared for their first full campaigns in charge of Ireland.

When Mick McCarthy became manager of Ireland in February 1996 he played eight friendly games before his first competitive outing in August of that year against Liechtenstein.

Prepared

While Brian Kerr began his managerial career in mid-campaign, the Dubliner prepared for his first full campaign by having nine warm-up games between November 2003 to August 2004.

The forthcoming Euro 2004 campaign is going to see a marathon 12 games between next month and November 2007 and, with the games coming thick and fast, Staunton is going to need a strong squad.

That's why it would have been a good idea to hand the fringe players in his squad the opportunity to gain valuable international experience last June.

It didn't need to be against opposition heading for the World Cup Finals, although the likes of Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago and Angola would have provided good tests for an inexperienced Irish squad.

The much maligned US Cup served Mick McCarthy well in the past while the Unity Cup in 2004 saw Brian Kerr try out players like Clive Clarke, Martin Rowlands, Stephen McPhail, Graham Barrett, Nick Colgan and Aiden McGeady and make a judgement on them before selecting his World Cup qualifying squad.

A similar venture last June could have produced valuable experience for the likes of Paddy Kenny, Wayne Henderson, McGeady, Kevin Doyle, Joey O'Brien, Stephen Kelly, Stephen Ireland, Stephen Elliott and Daryl Murphy.

A series of games in quick succession would have allowed Staunton, Bobby Robson and Kevin MacDonald to fine-tune their style of play and it would also have allowed Staunton to search for back-up centre-backs.

His decision not to add the likes of Gary Doherty or Paddy McCarthy to his squad when Richard Dunne withdrew was another error as it meant that John O'Shea had to be withdrawn from his new midfield partnership with Steven Reid.

Presence

O'Shea's presence in midfield was missed as Ireland failed to close down the Dutch and with centre backs scarce on the ground Staunton now knows he has to find proper cover for Dunne and Andy O'Brien ahead of the trip to Stuttgart.

While the absence of Shay Given, Richard Dunne, Ian Harte, Damien Duff and Robbie Keane was a key factor in Ireland's defeat on Wednesday it should not be forgotten that five of the players who are likely to start against Germany were on the pitch at kick-off.

The back four was far from inexperienced as Stephen Carr, John O'Shea, Andy O'Brien and Steve Finnan went into the game with a collective total of 132 international appearances between them not to mention a wealth of Premiership and European club experience.

One of the most disappointing aspects of the game was the lack of communication at the back which resulted in the concession of goals that were sloppy from a defensive point of view and goalkeeper Paddy Kenny must also bear some of the responsibility.

To be fair to Staunton he quickly copped on what was happening. He watched the start of the game from the West Lower Stand at Lansdowne but within 10 minutes he was down on the touch-line roaring at his team to get forward and start pressurising the Dutch, especially goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

It was obvious that his half-time team talk and switches brought a bit of spark to the Irish performance only for more sloppy defending to unravel his best efforts.

The reality is that Ireland does not have the pool of players needed to consistently compete at the top level of world football so Staunton must make-do with what's available.

When he got the job in January he was handed a four-year contract by the FAI and the objective was to build a team capable of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa.

These are early days in his managerial career and like everybody starting out in a new career he is going to make mistakes.

He will ultimately be judged when his contract expires and his success will depend on how quickly he learns.

Gerry McDermott

**OwlsFan** · 18/08/2006, 9:58 AM

Originally Posted by Billsthoughts

Dunphy called for Staunton to go today in the paper.

Tell me which one of Hand, Charlton, McCarthy, Kerr and Staunton your good friend, Mr Drunkphy, has not called for the head of ?

Everyone here who was writing off Kerr's wins in friendlies as meaningless, now consider a defeat (albeit a woeful one) in a friendly as a reason to sack the manager. Knee jerk stuff. He's entitled to one campaign at least and let's see how the competitive games go.

**hoops1** · 18/08/2006, 10:09 AM

Alot of that is true
But no matter what players are missing there should be evidence of what the
team are trying to achieve, what way they are going to play, after 3 games this should be all visible. With Ireland there doesnt deem to be any structure/game plan or purpose about what we are doing. I believe the booing
and leaving early were people angry at the lack of these things. Fans know enough about the game to know that these results are meaningless. But its the shambolic way Staunton and the team are going about there business that is causing the anger. The team had no direction and was leaderless. These things come from the manager firstly. Kerr had many faults but preperation and direction werent. Even if he was overly negative no stone was unturned in his attempt to get things done properly. His approach generally was accepted to be based on good football principals. Staunton appears to me to be trying to take us back to a more Charlton type set up.
Bring back Good aul Mick and Tony lets have the crack get, the team spirit going sure that will carry us along, lets try to create the club type set up.
This mentality and attitude should have died with the Charlton era.
The team lacks good character and good professionals. Real men. Coupled with a manger inexperienced and behind the times.
Its early but the signs really look bleak

**pete** · 18/08/2006, 10:38 AM

I believe it was a mistake giving Staunton a 4 year contract. Obviously failure to qualify would not mean automatic sacking but if say he closes 3 or 4 games in a row then what do the FAI do? Do they claim he building for the future despite no improvements?

**DotTV** · 18/08/2006, 11:10 AM

This is ridiculous.
Sack Staunton after three freindlies, one we won, and two we lost but with half our team missing against Holland.

Apart from the fact that this is an imbecilic knee-jerk reaction, there wasn't exactly a stampede of quality managers lining up for this job.

**Billsthoughts** · 18/08/2006, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by OwlsFan

Tell me which one of Hand, Charlton, McCarthy, Kerr and Staunton your good friend, Mr Drunkphy, has not called for the head of ?

good friend??? what the **** are ya on about???? what planet are you living on?

Strong leadership involves seeing which way the wind is blowing and then taking firm action. this wait until we see how he is getting on crap. well thats two years down the tubes when it is obvious he hasnt a clue. Can anyone remember a team coming to lansdowne road and giving us such a hiding before? I agree with one of the posters above. Robson should be brought more to the fore. At least he has managed before.People were calling for Kerr to be fired cause 4th place was unacceptable. at least we were in with a shout on the final day.there is a danger we will be out of the running after our first few games here. and this crap about how losing to holland doesnt make him a bad manager as much as winning to sweden makes him a good manager. no what makes him a bad manager was his only response to a team playing rings around us was to give the ball back to goalie and hoof it right back to the opposition. woefull stuff. doesnt matter who is going to come back into the team if that is our tactic we will be murdered by any team who likes to play football. why do people feel we were good enough to qualify for the last tournament but now we arent so a campaign should be wasted on "rebuilding!" is there really such a differnace now that cunnigham holland and a way below his best Keane are gone???????? he wasnt good enough to be walsall manager and he certainly isnt good enough to be ireland manager. there wasnt even any sense of shame eminating from the players after wed. speaking of which if you are a professional footballer and you cant control a ball or even mark someone for corners what the hell are you doing????
Major change in attitude from both players and manager at this stage if we are to get any form of result in germany.

**geysir** · 18/08/2006, 11:24 AM

If this and if that. He has the contract to do the job. What's the criteria he should be judged on? An improvement on the starting position as 4th seeds and a solid platform for the next campaign. The time period - at least to the end of this qual. campaign.
The problems that this team have did not go away when Kerr left.

As for Dunphy, that gobsh'ite was centre half in in one of our worst ever performances against Austria, he was so bad that he was subbed after 45 mins in a time when there was only one substitution allowed to be made.

**PaulB** · 18/08/2006, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by NeilMcD

Staunton's gamble backfires
Friday August 18th 2006
ADVERTISEMENT

Irish boss discovering just how fickle Irish public opinion can be

Gerry McDermott

How does this make us fickle. Was anyone jumping around when Staunton got the job, or after the win against Sweden. me thinks not. The heading should have been:-

Irish boss discovering just how right Irish public opinion can be

**NeilMcD** · 18/08/2006, 11:33 AM

Dunphy said Staunton was doing a very good job after the Sweden game and that the signs looked good now he is calling for him to be sacked. That is fickle in my view. Also there are many people who were ranting and raving after the Sweden game saying it was a fantastic performance and Stan is the man now they are saying he must go. That is fickle in my view. Commenting on public opinion is a dangerous game as with all generalisations but like any public opinion , Irish public opinion can be fickle from time to time.

**Billsthoughts** · 18/08/2006, 11:38 AM

I only used dunphys front page hyperbole as a starting point for the thread. As I said in first post it wasnt about personalities Dunphys, Stauntons or anyone elses. If you want to discuss dunphy start another thread about him. I dont think there were many people thinking we were great after sweden game. Or rubbish after chile game. but 4 nil at home(when it could have been much more) and the manner of the way we played. - no direction , no gameplan. the signs are there that an inexperienced manager is out of his depth. and in truth most people without rose tinted glasses thought this when the appointment was made.