Venables new favourite. Good or bad choice?

[Superhoops]

I think Bonner/Givens will do that.

If Bonner had his contract as G/K coach terminated at the same time as Kerr, Hughton and O'Reilly, can't see him being offered a caretaker manager's job, nor can I see him taking it if he was offered. It would get in the way of his job as Technical Director.

[jbyrne]

I think the next 10 months or so is critical in reshaping the team. If the FAI do need to wait to get their man, be it Hiddink or O'Neill, and if this is going to take until after WC06, then Venables would be a far better candidate than Givens to be a caretaker manager. I wouldn't be averse to him being given a short-term contract with a mandate to begin the transition from the McCarthy / Kerr era to our World-Cup winning side of 2010

theres no point in shaping a team for ten months then handing it over to someone else who may have completely differant ideas and abilities. that would be a complete waste of time. we need a strong manager who will stamp his own style etc. on the squad immediately. the pre wc friendlys are critical and whoever will be in charge for the qualifiers should be in charge from january 1st at latest. a short term appointment would be a complete disaster imo

[Stuttgart88]

a short term appointment would be a complete disaster imo

So would appointing a mediocre candidate now on a permanent basis though.

I would be happy with a short-term appointment if the successor was of O'Neill / Hiddink pedigree. If the FAI thinks they can get a top class candidate in 10 months, then I'd be OK with a short-term appointment with a clear mandate: forget about friendly results, prepare & integrate the players with the most potential. The new manager can then come in with a lot of the hard work already done for him.

There's a great opportunity build a foundation for later years right now. Wasting this opportunity would be criminal. I personally don't think Givens / Bonner etc would be good enough to do the job but who knows?

I also think some of the capable candidates with a connection to Ireland (Brady for example) who are either committed to another career or who are afraid to put their reputation on the line or whatever, might be tempted to carry out a caretaker role.

Does anyone else agree the next 10 months is an opportunity not to be wasted?

[klein4]

Deffo think we shouldnt be wasting any time. we have to give any young lads we want to come thru as many caps as possible before the qualifiers. I wasnt a massive fan of macarthy but he did throw in a lot young lads at the begining of his reign.
not too sure if the idea would work tho. players being players they dont seem to care too much when the manager is not long term.
altho I do like the idea(if only cause at the least it would provide us with a bit of forward momentum). Brady would come with the gravitas of bein one of our greatest players and being involved with one of the more successful club sides of last few years. so if it was goin to work he would certainly be one of the better choices.