Originally Posted by
Kiki Balboa
I hope this is the right place for this. ..... But where did it go wrong....
I guess, like many, I am fairly devestated with the loss to Luxembourg. We were awful, and it didnt seem it was for the lack of trying. The talent just wasn't there. For me, the young players coming through won't bring us to a higher standard than we were 5 years ago (which was already low).
While its good that we have some young players coming through, I get the feeling its youth for the sake of youth. Its not their talent that got them into the squad, rather we had no other option (Parrot and Coventry have no where near the experience to be in a competitive naional team). It feels like as every other country is making progress we are really standing still.
Stephen Kenny staying or leaving is really a moot point. I am a big fan of Kenny, but this stick of 'developing a system' doesnt make any sense to me, because simply it doesnt really matter because the players arent here. In a similar vain, reaplacing him wont make much of a difference.
One person who needs to be gone is Ruud Dokter. He is in the job 10 years, and every year we get less competitve. When he first started, his ideas were already antiquated. The Dutch were already moving off ideas (like tactics, methods) like his when he started with the FAI. ETP teams have not worked. While maybe the idea was okay and soon became just a clone of the old schoolboy representative system. We are a small football association, with a history of giving massive contracts for little more than part-time work. Much of the coaching staff need to be double jobbing within the FAI. Why pay Robbie Keane (who also is able to work in England) and Ruud Dokter massive wages, when their jobs should be done by one person (like in the Welsh FA).
The only progress I see is LOI national youth leagues. Rovers, Pats and Bohs are doing great academy work. But their are issues here too. Missing U-14 and U-16 teams cause dysfunction in trying to bring through teams, and the gap between u19 to Senior is way to large. But at least this system allows for development from youth to senior football.
I have some suggestions, 1) All LOI teams need to have profesional coaches training their youth teams. This is unfeesible for many LOI clubs, so it has to be directly funded by the FAI. The FAI has regional develpoment officers, but their roles have to change. Baiscally, the aim of getting the best youth players the best coaching as possible (in a systematic way )(or Have a national academy like Georges Park in England...)
2) Developing 5-a side football. 5 a side is already culturally built in the country. Develop it for schoolboy football, codify it, and play leagues or blitzs in the off season, as it needs less players and less training. Baiscally a way to encourge all youth to play more football.
3) Decrease the cost of doing badges. Run more courses. Effort into developing coaching as much as players.
Apart from wanting to Rant, I want to know other opinions on where we are going right/wrong, and other suggestions that need to be done. I cant see us being competitive for 10 years. The FAI is on the verge of killing the game in Ireland.
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