Apologies zero re. Russia result. I'm great for that ; pointing out something only for the opposite to happen an hour later etc.Originally Posted by zero
Still though Slovakia did qualify for the euros - they had a poor NL campaign albeit better than us. I thought our performance out there was good and I felt we had the better chances. On their day a decent side.
Something we struggle with is putting performances together and we are not alone. - 3 internationals in 6 days is really tough. Serbia only for a bit of magic from Mitrovic would have dropped points in Baku yesterday. You see it all over Europe - Slovakia were 2-0 down v Malta before squeaking a point but a few days later beat Russia. Turkey beat Netherlands and Norway but undid a bit of the good work by drawing at home to Latvia. I'm sure there will be other examples - France / Ukraine / Bosnia all play their 3rd game in 6 days tonight. The only country that seems immune to it was Belgium - who put their reserves out against Belarus and thumped them 8-0. They look really strong. Anyway a bit of a tangent to illustrate the difficultly a new squad faces in the environment we find ourselves in. We have a 3 game window in Sept but the windows in Oct / Nov are 2 game windows.
3 Games in 6 Days is definitely suited for the Big Footballing Countries that could field three teams if necessary !
To be honest I've more time for a manager who doesn't 5hit on his players in public, even if it tends towards defending the indefensible. Would people prefer that Kenny picks a scapegoat of the match and destroys him, the way Mourinho does?
Hello, hello? What's going on? What's all this shouting, we'll have no trouble here!
- E Tattsyrup.
No I would not, but he isn't blaming anyone or anything, he is saying we were brilliant which isn't even correct regardless of the defeat
Which I take as a manager saying publicly the things his players need to know are being said publicly. We don't know what he says behind closed doors. I don't recall who it was who said that Alex Ferguson never admitted that a Man Utd team ever played a bad game no matter how bad the shellacking. It's probably an over-stated observation. Still, a surefire way to lose your dressingroom is to start carping and criticising. Right now we've a squad as low on confidence as can be imagined - they need to be built up to get some self-belief back, even if the manager himself doesn't believe what he's saying. (Half the time I'm giving feedback to students I don't believe what I'm saying!) I'm sure Kenny can see that Irish football right now is a 5hit sandwich and he's strugling to find the bread, but the players don't need to hear him say that.
Hello, hello? What's going on? What's all this shouting, we'll have no trouble here!
- E Tattsyrup.
The more often you say something the more hollow it sounds. Not many seem to have picked up on kennys use of the world brilliant and "we should have won". It's very worrying when a manager comes out saying those sort of things. I also saw the same problems against Qatar the last day where we drop off in midfield and give too much space, no one closes down and the centres are withdrawing, but if kenny still thinks we are brilliant that's a massive concern.
There's only so long he can get away with kicking the can down the road and saying how things will change, before people grow tired of that.
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
He's used the word brilliant quite a lot, not just about the performances, like he said before Slovakia, and also the players attitude. I'm referring though to the Serbia game when he said we played brilliant, possibly superb was used too. He also said it about the Slovaka game, or if not brilliant a word to that effect.
The point is we haven't played brilliant or superb or any other similar superlative to describe those performances. We have been poor throughout his reign thus far.
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
Kenny needs media training but the thing is, he needed it 20 years ago. It would be one hell of a challenge to improve him now = = probably not impossible.
Last edited by seanfhear; 01/04/2021 at 11:45 AM.
Not impossible at all. I think he's unlikely to ever have a Gary Lineker TV presence, but there are loads of firms in Dublin alone that do media training for executives. I'd fault the FAI for not picking up on this, but is it still Cathal Dervan heading up their comms? No surprise if so.
Hello, hello? What's going on? What's all this shouting, we'll have no trouble here!
- E Tattsyrup.
He definitely needs it. His performance after the Qatar game was cringe worthy. His comments at the end of the interview were ill-advised and counter productive.
His ending was brilliant. Bite, conviction and passion.
His "I'm used to winning" sounded desperate and pathetic. The "critics coming out of the woodwork" line was ill-considered and downright wrong - he has been relatively well treated by the media despite his results. This is not a personal attack on Stephen Kenny - just a statement of the bleeding obvious: he needs help with the media. It's standard industry practice.
I've done up a couple of rooms in a flat before, I'm not going around telling everyone that I'm an architect and my record as an architect proves itself because I've done up a bathroom and a living room.
Everything he had, we don't have on the pitch. If only he could transfer some of that to the playersAny winning record would do, regardless of the opposition too !
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
That's how I saw it too. An act of a desperate man but he actually hasn't been backed into a corner as much as his 'come out fighting' approach would have suggested. As you say, the media have been remarkably gentle, all things considered.
Just as well Dunphy & co. have got the boot if he reacts like that in the current circumstances. And yes, the Dundalk/U21's stuff was just lobbing one up for his detractors to laugh their arses off at him, and I say this as somebody who is completely rooting for the guy, but I ended up watching that interview through my fingers.
Kenny’s not media savvy and he stumbled through the bulk of that interview. But in stating his belief in himself and his players, he spoke with convincing clarity and strength because it came from the heart. That’s the bite, that’s the conviction, that’s the passion speaking.
I'm sorry but he doesn't come across well at all in interviews. It may be harsh but his interviews reminds me of Staunton's. The end of that interview reminded me of the infamous ' I'm the gaffer' speech.
Architect?
Couldn't think of more polar opposites to be honest. Kenny is thoughtful and methodical in expressing his views. Staunton was anything but. An odd comparison in my view.
And I don't buy he is not media savvy either. I actually think he is very deliberate about what he says. As he was when Dundalk manager.
They both look extremely uncomfortable in front of the camera, they both have long pauses in their sentences and they both do anything but inspire confidence in their abilities. Staunton also blamed injuries and the media for his problems and felt he should have been allowed continue as Ireland manager, let's hope it doesn't go the same way for Kenny but so far their reigns have huge similarities.
Posting Permissions
Quote
Bookmarks