scenario: wolves get relegated from prem...mick mccarthhy feels he should take a break from management after managing wolves for the best part of 6 years. roll on november and ireland lose in a playoff and fail 2 qualify for poland/ukraine. traps contract is over and 2 weeks later mick mccarthy is appointed inheriting the most promising irish squad in many years. i can envision him on the touchline in the maracana already
Hard to see the bacon slicer bloke being sexy enough for Denis O'Brien to subvent.
I like it. I would welcome him back with open arms even if situations like that never work. My funniest memory of him is how he was wearing those shorts during the WC games. Not leaving much to the imagination. For Goodness's sake no one told him how silly he looked?
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
The longer we go without qualification, the better McCarthy's reign looks in hindsight. I'd imagine Scotland fans feel the same way about Craig Brown. However, I think McCarthy had better players to work with than Kerr, Staunton or Trap: by 2000, the team had a lot of leadership, and good players in the prime and form of their careers: think of Cunningham, Breen, Staunton, Kinsella, Roy Keane, McAteer, Holland, Quinn; along with the youth of Harte, Given, Carr, Finnan, Keane, Duff and Dunne. We haven't had that mix of youth and experience since, and certainly not the kind of strong characters and CM options that McCarthy had at his disposal.
One thing that strikes me about McCarthy is that he seems to motivate teams to play extremely well against the big teams: but his teams also lack the ruthlessness to grind out results against teams of limited/equal ability. We've seen it for Wolves this season, but also for Ireland under Mick. Our excellent wins against Croatia, Yugoslavia and Holland were interspersed with home 0-0s against Iceland and Lithuania and two terrible results in Macedonia. I woud accept that - being in transition - we weren't good enough to beat Belgium in the 1997 playoff, but I also think Euro 2000 was a chance missed. Drawing Turkey in the playoff was a reprieve after blowing it in Croatia and Macedonia, and we didn't take the opportunity.
However, I wouldn't be sulking if McCarthy was given the job again, despite having misgivings about such a retroactive appointment. He will have learned from the past (as he did progressively when he was in the job) and there are very few links between his 2002 squad and those who will be around for the 2014 campaign. In terms of an 'exciting' appointment, I'd rather go with Owen Coyle, Martin O'Neill or Chris Hughton, if any of them wanted the job. I really don't see Trap hanging around after this campaign, anyway, nor would I expect another Denis O'Brien bailout to get a manager of genuine international renown.
I can see what you are getting at but I think the standout difference was Roy Keane, that apart the squads are comparable, I mean Cunningham was at the time a Wimbledon full back, Breen and Staunton were surpassing in green anything they could do at their club sides, if they were even in their club sides at times. McAteer was a Blackburn/Sunderland player having ultimately not fulfilled his potential at Liverpool. Kinsella had lost his place at Charlton to a young Scott Parker and moved to Villa around this time, and if memory serves, faded badly after a decent first season there. Holland was at his best around then, granted.Originally Posted by Supreme feet
As for the youth, Duff and Keane could change a game, but the others were just solid international players and I remember Dunne had ropey periods when off field antics were threatning his career.
Not wishing to run your post down but its sometimes easy to look back at things a bit more fondly than they maybe were at the time, our group of players now should be able to match the achievements of those above, if not just yet, then soon I believe. I realise there is the Roy Keane factor, and that is a big one, we have nothing like him at present, but McCarthy's Ireland had to learn to deal with life post McGrath, just as big a loss.
We just desperately need to qualify, but I think the current player pool, if well managed does have it in them.
Last edited by CraftyToePoke; 08/03/2011 at 4:08 AM.
Actually, CTP, you may be right. Compare today's first choice side...
- - - - - - - - -Given - - - - - - - - -
O'Shea - Dunne - St. Ledger - Clark
McGeady - Whelan - Fahey/Gibson/Andrews - Duff
- - - - - - Doyle - Keane - - - - -
...with the side who started against Holland in 2001
- - - - - - - - - Given - - - - - - -
- -G. Kelly - Dunne - Staunton - Harte
McAteer - Roy Keane - Holland - Kilbane
- - - - - - -Duff - Robbie Keane - - - - - - -
... and the only real difference is central midfield. However, in McCarthy's day, we had so many more experienced options in the squad. That victory over Holland was achieved without Carr, Cunningham, Breen, Kinsella and Quinn, who had started the campaign as first choice players. We don't really have as much experience in reserve these days. We do have more promising youngsters, though.
Last edited by Supreme feet; 08/03/2011 at 3:49 AM.
Its funny how time moves perception around, at the time were those players seen as wonderfully experienced or was it just a lack of youth coming through to put them out to pasture ? Some of them anyway.
Today we have Kilbane, in a similar way to some of those McCarthy era players, and almost to a man on here we berate Trap for utilising him and his experience.
But you are right in what you say as well, as we now may face Macedonia shorn of Keane, Given and Dunne and as bright as our young squad may be in a year or two, they may not be ready to hurdle that game by themselves yet.
Funny old game ....
Back in 2002, it was expected that the likes of Miller, McPhail, Healy and Steven Reid would come through in midfield, with Andy O'Brien and O'Shea coming through at the back alongside Dunne, and Doherty and Morrison replacing Quinn as the 'target men'. Graham Barrett, Richie Partridge and Richie Sadlier were also still on the fringes, while Stephen Elliott, Glenn Whelan, Paddy McCarthy and Stephen Kelly were starring for the U-18s in the 2002 Euros in Norway. Our future looked pretty good then!
Last edited by Supreme feet; 08/03/2011 at 5:00 AM.
I honestly saw this decade that's just gone as being a potential golden age for the senior side - it just never happened. We looked to have decent options (for a country of our size) in most areas, but the civil war meant we never got back on the footing that a successful WC02 should have put us on, and the wrong decisions at the wrong time at board room level have killed us even more. Hopefully with another batch of promising player on the threshold of breaking through, this decade might work out slightly better.
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
Would welcome Mick back with open arms. Did he apply for the job last time around? I remember reading something on here about it. That he was interviewed.
A "dream" appointment which involves us not qualifying for a tournament we're right in with a shout of qualifying for. Can't beat the Irish fans eh.
As for Mick, I'd hate to see him come back. He had a very good WC 2002 campaign but took him an awful long time to get there, and had a very good squad of players in that campaign. Since then he's been a yo-yo manager in the Championship/Premiership unable to cement a place in the Premiership and even managed to accumulate the lowest points total in Premier League history.
i'd prefer owen coyle
It's been a gaping hole for about 7 years. We've been spoilt down the years with Giles, Brady, Keane, McGrath and others. Full back, especially left back, is a weak area too, but I think our forwards, wide players, first choice keepers, and centre-backs would be good enough to be competitive against most good teams if only we had a genuinlely top-class CM.
I think Mick could do a great job, although 1 goal leads appraoching 90 minutes could be too much for the heart.
I'd prefer the continuity of Tardelli being appointed.
Anyone else find it pretty odd the good press McCarthy gets? On paper his record is probably similar to someone like Gary Megson, and he certainly had no quick success with Ireland. Yet Mick's reputation is much higher despite all that, in the press and as a result with most fans. Any coincidence that he's a journalist's dream with all his hilarious quotes and gurning faces?
Last edited by Jicked; 08/03/2011 at 11:22 AM.
Yeah I imagine he'd be much more open and less conservative than Trapattoni.
I reckon Trap barely listns to Tardelli if he has made his mind up on something
Folding my way into the big money!!!
Bring back Jack!
In principle yes, I'd agree, as long as some of the obvious faults with Trap's tenure are rectified, such as communication (to players and prospective players, and external communication) and conservatism.
It helps he's about a billion times more likable too. Also I think McCarthy's teams, in general, play a better game than the muck Megson usually serves up.
I'd imagine Tardelli, as the eyes and ears, would be better at building relationships and there'd be far less issues over scouting.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
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