Troussier wants to be Manager

**Noelys Guitar** · 20/10/2005, 7:45 PM

Interesting article and comments by Troussier.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...ls/4361794.stm

**geysir** · 20/10/2005, 9:37 PM

Sorry its personal now, the name Troussier keeps popping up.
try this link http://www.wldcup.com/Asia/nats/2002/epitaph.html

**Stuttgart88** · 21/10/2005, 7:10 AM

Anyone got John Delaney's e-mail address?

My recollection of Troussier's Japan was that they played a very attractive brand of football, more attacking in style than we saw under Kerr which is why I felt that he could be worth considering.

The problem is I don't expect the FAI will make a decision based on assessing a candidates strenghts AND weaknesses. I posted this a few months ago when I listed about 10 bullet points saying why MO'N would and would not be a better candidate than Kerr. On balance I think he'd be good but an appalling away record in the Champs League and a few other factors should not be ignored. I'd love to see the brief handed to the headhunter & the files prepared by the headhunter.

There's barely a candidate out there that hasn't got major entries in the debit column but will they only focus on the successes, if indeed the candidates have any?

**Stuttgart88** · 21/10/2005, 7:17 AM

This is what John Delaney says he wants:

"The style of person I'd like to see would be somebody who can get the best out of the players we have, somebody who can make tactical adjustments when required at the highest level when things need to be changed during matches and somebody who is committed to managing the side."

Sounds simple in principle, but in practise? I think Delaney may end up singing "two out of three ain't bad" in the end.

**thejollyrodger** · 21/10/2005, 8:00 AM

from the irish times.

Troussier keen on Ireland position

SOCCER: Former Japan coach Philippe Troussier said yesterday he would be "very interested" in becoming the new Republic of Ireland manager. Martin O'Neill is believed to the FAI's preferred choice to succeed Brian Kerr. However, Frenchman Troussier, who was interviewed for the job three years ago, could again emerge as a candidate.

"It's an honour to be linked with the job. The financial conditions would also not be a problem," said Troussier.

The 50-year-old, who guided Japan to the second round of the 2002 World Cup finals, added the chance to manage the Republic "would be too good an opportunity to refuse".

Troussier is currently in the frame for the vacant Moroccan national team job and also has an offer from a "big club in Turkey" but he hinted the Irish role was the one which interested him the most. Troussier is aware the FAI's preferred candidates appear to be O'Neill and Alex Ferguson.

He has not been contacted by the FAI about the vacancy but is hoping the call may come again after he narrowly missed out on the job in January 2003. Troussier acknowledged there would be some doubts about the wisdom of employing a foreign coach. "To take a decision to employ a foreign coach would not be so easy and makes it even more of a victory for me that my name is being linked with this job."

Troussier added he was "surprised" by the Republic's failure to qualify for the World Cup finals in Germany. "Everybody expected a good performance against Switzerland and the display was a surprise. I thought the Irish team deserved to go to Germany but in football, nothing is logical and you have to go and play the matches."

He added he would relish the task of having to bring in "new blood" which is likely to be a large part of the new manager's job. "I like this kind of process. When I took charge of the Japanese team I was in charge of three categories - the senior team, the Olympic team and the under-19s."

Troussier suggested he would not drive a hard financial bargain with the FAI. "If I want to get money, I know where I have to go. To accept this kind of job is not for the money."

Troussier has also had spells in charge of South Africa, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Qatar. He took charge of Marseille last November and appeared to be unfortunate to lose that job in the summer after the club just missed out on a Uefa Cup place.

Meanwhile, Graham Kavanagh has called on the FAI to ensure a new manager "has a passion for the country" if Ireland are to emerge from the doldrums. Kavanagh believes a fellow Irishman, or at least someone with Irish connections, should be appointed.

Kavanagh said: "Whoever the FAI choose, it has to be the right appointment. We've now missed out on a World Cup and a European Championship, and financially it has cost the FAI a hell of a lot of money."

"Obviously, there's been lots of names bandied about these past few days, but I'm sure whoever they pick will be somebody connected with Ireland, someone who has a passion for the country and has Ireland's best interests at heart. I don't want to ruin my chances if a foreign manager does come in, but given a choice I would like to see an Irish manager, or one with Irish connections."

Commenting on David O'Leary, Kavanagh said: "If it turns out he is the manager, then so be it. I certainly don't think I would have to impress him in any way. He knows what I could possibly do."

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/spo...TROUSSIER.html

© The Irish Times

**tetsujin1979** · 21/10/2005, 9:10 AM

From yesterday's indo (haven't seen it posted here)

YESTERDAY, the three wise men charged with finding the new Ireland manager sat down in Merrion Square with two blank sheets of paper in front of them.

On one sheet they wrote out the characteristics they felt that Brian Kerr's successor should have and on the other the names of the people they felt match those traits.

Before the meeting FAI chief executive John Delaney, who along with president David Blood and honorary secretary Michael Cody, makes up the triumvirate tasked with finding the new man, outlined what he felt those characteristics are.

"I think I know the style of person who should manage our side going forward - somebody who can get the best out of the players that we have," he said.

"Somebody who can make tactical adjustments when required at the highest level when things need to be changed during matches.

"Someone who is committed to managing the side.

"They are the type of characteristics I personally would be looking for in the new manager."

Delaney left nobody in any doubt that the FAI will take their time in making the appointment in order to ensure that they get the right man.

"If we are forced or pushed into making a speedy appointment I don't think that is the right way. Let's get the person who we think can lead us to the finals of the next championship."

With Ireland certain to be fourth seeds for the Euro 2008 qualifiers, the new manager will face an uphill task to guide the team to a top two finish, so the FAI really is looking for a miracle man.

SUPER MANAGER PHOTOFIT MOTIVATOR:
He needs to have the ability to get the best of the players and keep the whole squad happy - just like Martin O'Neill did at Celtic.

TACTICAL ACUMEN:
He will require the ability to set the team up properly and make the right changes under pressure during games - just like Dutch master Rinus Michels, who created the concept of total football.

LUCKY:
He needs to be able to get the rub of the green and the bounce of the ball when he really needs it - just like Rafa Benitez did last season in the Champions League.

SUCCESSFUL:
He needs to have a proven track record of success - just like Alex Ferguson, who has won 27 major trophies in 19 years at Manchester United.

PASSIONATE:
He needs to have the passion of Bill Shankly who once said that football is not a matter of life and death - it is much more important than that.

LEADERSHIP:
He needs to have the leadership qualities of Der Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer - the only man to captain and manage a World Cup winning team.

METICULOUS:
He needs to be on top of the job - like Brian Kerr was by watching players regularly, scouting opponents and ensuring that the squad want for nothing in terms of facilities and medical back-up.

INVESTIGATIVE:
He needs to be a genealogy expert - like Jack Charlton, with an ability to immediately spot an Irish granny among a player's ancestors.

DISCIPLINARIAN:
He needs to rule the dressing room - like Brian Clough did, so that his players won't be easy prey for Sunday tabloids.

HUNGRY:
He needs to have a hunger for success - like Jose Mourinho, who won it all inside two seasons with FC Porto, has it all at Chelsea, but still wants more.

MEDIA SAVVY:
He needs to be able to deal with the enormous media demands that the job now entails - just like Arsene Wenger does so successfully at Arsenal.

CHEAP:
He must be prepared to do the job for €400,000 a year plus expenses - which is less than O'Neill is getting from Celtic to do nothing.

**geysir** · 21/10/2005, 2:15 PM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

This is what John Delaney says he wants:

"The style of person I'd like to see would be somebody who can get the best out of the players we have, somebody who can make tactical adjustments when required at the highest level when things need to be changed during matches and somebody who is committed to managing the side." Sounds simple in principle, but in practise? I think Delaney may end up singing "two out of three ain't bad" in the end.

Two of Delany�s criteria for a new manager looks to me as a neat backstab to Brian Kerr�s perceived failings. He is looking for a Brian Kerr opposite

If that is to be Delany's gospel, then Troussier's cv is littered with player conflicts, good players dropped, rigid tactics and not changing when it needs to be changed.
For Troussier, there is a perception going around that he did well with Japan. Japan anyway play attacking football, they had a good squad which he managed to weaken. They won their wc group well but for the last 16 game against Turkey he dropped his 2 strikers and astounded everybody by taking off their best player at half time, Alex. They lost a very winable game. Wherever Troussier has gone (and he has travelled) he has had serious disputes with the best players. There are too many question marks surrounding him not least why does he manage to get the sack so often. I was delighted last time when Kerr was appointed but half of that was that Troussier did not get the job.
There are question marks around any candidate I suppose. With MON if you were to question his away record in the champions league its only fair to include the good away performances in the Eufa cup run.

**Stuttgart88** · 21/10/2005, 3:13 PM

Yep, Blackburn & especially Liverpool were great results though they lost away to Celta & Stuttgart which wouldn't earn you points in WC Qualifying. I suppose they knew what they had to do to get thru in those games though so it's not a fair comparison.

One thing I forgot to mention in my original Martin O'Neill for and against thread is his emphasis on dead-balls. Frees & corners make all the difference sometimes when there's little else to separate 2 teams. Our set pieces in this campaign were atrocious. The first goal we scored under Kerr came from a Steve Reid free, headed in by Kilbane. Sadly, this was about as good as it got. Harte against Israel I suppose & goal from a corner at home to Cyprus.

Here's what I think of O'Neill (plus the above!)

http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=2939...ight=O%27Neill

PS: Geysir - a mate of mine has just moved from Dublin to Reykjavik. This week I think. I might put him in touch with you?

**Junior** · 21/10/2005, 4:13 PM

Great orginal post on MON there Stuttgart88.

Celtics poor european away results
These have been a mixture of poor tactics and sheer bad luck. Some of the key games were...

Juve away - lost 3-2 to a last minute penalty. It was a blatant dive that the ref didn't pick up on. Celtic came back from 2-0 down.

Porto away - played us off the Park 3-0 going on 10. Defensively inept, chasing shadows all night.

Munich Away - lost 2-1, 1-0 up for most of the game. Freak Blunder by Hedman allowing a cross freekick to go straight in to the goal in the dying minutes

Lyon Away - Lost 3-2, again a last minute freak penalty (Bobo handled - some refs would not have given it) Again we came back from behind twice in the game.

Anderlecht Away - Most disappointing performance away. They were there for the taking and down to 10 men.

Barcelona Away x 2 - Two draws at the nou camp when Barca were scalping everyone domestically. Draws away from home against top ranked sides in the group can be enough if you are winning at home (we won 1 at home and lost the other!)

MON's poor european record does speak for itself, however there are some positives to be taken from it, in terms of rarely being dead and buried and coming from behind on a number of occasions. With a bit of luck the record could look much better.

Quality of football
The football last season was very poor to watch. Despite still throwing the league away on the last day the football on show throughout the season was a snorefest, rough and tumble, huff and puff type stuff. Not dissimilar to what we've been watching with Ireland of late.

Tactics
MON has been criticised for tactics (particularly in europe). He seems very unwilling to make changes to his starting 11 and when he does it is more often than not in the last 10-15 minutes. - Not a trait I believe Delaney is looking for!!

Dead Balls
Celtic have been very successful in this regards during the MON tenure for 2 reasons. When you have a strike force of Sutton/Hartson/Larsson (despite size - excellent in the air) and others such as Balde, Varga, Mjalby, (Valgaren,Laursen, Petrov to a lesser extent) who are all extremely strong in the air you tend to muscle your opponenets out of it. In addittion to this an excellent deadball specialist such as Thompson.

Im not sure we have that type of quality with Ireland? Morrison is ok'ish though not imposing, Kilbane is strong but has a head like a 50 pence piece, Cunningham (now retired), O'Brien, Dunne have never particularly looked threatening - maybe this could be changed and worked on in training.

The job would certainly suit MON if he wanted to be involved in football as it does not have the rigours of club footie. Im still not convinced that I would want him in the role, he would undoubtedly bring many qualities to the setup but I would like to see who else we go headhunting and therefore Im sitting on the fence at this stage!!!!

**geysir** · 21/10/2005, 6:22 PM

Originally Posted by Junior

Juve away - lost 3-2 to a last minute penalty. It was a blatant dive that the ref didn't pick up on. Celtic came back from 2-0 down.

t is ironic that same referee did our game against Holland 2001 and played a blinder

As Stuttgart might have pointed out no prospective manager will be without some flaws somewhere, some poor decisions made etc. Overall the first 3 years of O'Neill at Celtic were a big success. Defense was superbly set up, attacking full backs, ball down the wings. A team full of heart, battle and skill. For that to be called hoofball??
I wonder is it a coincidence that as soon as Mc Geady and Miller leave the O'Neill radar, their game has dropped a level or two.
As he has not said no yet, he might be a candidate.
An unmentioned side plus is that he can strip layers off self important journalists with acid sarcasm.
I have to admit to being favourably biased.

**gustavo** · 21/10/2005, 6:27 PM

Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

From yesterday's indo (haven't seen it posted here)

INVESTIGATIVE:
He needs to be a genealogy expert - like Jack Charlton, with an ability to immediately spot an Irish granny among a player's ancestors.

Was written by that gobshyte gerry mcdermott. is that bit really neccecary ?

**Junior** · 21/10/2005, 7:30 PM