There is no way LS would even consider taking over the ROI. Think about it, the best he could ever hope for would be to take over a chronically under-performing team, turn it around, then set it on its way to over-performing. Which is fine, were it not that it's hardly guaranteed and even if he did, people would merely say "So what?" i.e. it's been done before. By him.
And in any case, he's made it quite clear he sees his future in club management, such that he'll leave NI when his contract expires at the end of the Euro Qualifiers (or the finals, if he gets us there!).
Of course, he has said he thinks he could combine a club job with NI on a part-time basis, but even if the club concerned were to agree (v.unlikely), I can't ever see a p-t manager being acceptable to the FAI.
Anyhow, that's not your biggest problem: your biggest problem will be replacing Staunton with somebody capable. No-one with a decent CV is going to want to touch it and anyone with a bit of sense will want to wait until things really have hit rock-bottom, in order to extinguish all unrealistic expectations, so that the only way for any new guy is up.
Unless, of course, you appoint someone who is either short of alternatives (O'Leary?), for which there is usually a reason, or take a chance on somebody who is eager but unproven. (Actually, scrub that last one, since that's what Staunton was...)
Worse still, if finding a replacement for Stan is your biggest problem, it's not actually your immediate problem: i.e. getting rid of him first.
As I see it, there's no way Delaney will sack him, since he's too convenient a "sandbag" to protect him (JD) from the muck and bullets aimed in both their directions. Plus it would cost a fortune in compensation, compensation which will be sorely needed to attract a new guy. Above all, if Stan were sacked, attention would immediately move to the guy who appointed him in the first place...
Therefore, he'll have to resign. Clearly, he's not going to want to do that, since he's a proud man and he won't want to forego a big pay-out, especially since his reputation is getting shredded so severely, he'll find it hard to get a decent alternative job.
Which leads to a further problem. If he can stagger on getting the odd half-decent result (Czech, Germany etc), then you could be stuck with him for another year or more. Alternatively, if the next few results are more like Cyprus or San Marino, then the pressure will become unbearable, and he'll have to resign.
Neither option is palatable, since the former would only delay the start of the repairs needed and the latter would deepen the extent of it.
But worse, much worse than any of that, is that even once you've got rid of Stan and appointed someone in his place, his successor can only hope to do a good job
despite the circumstances he finds himself in, not because of them. That is because, as you rightly point out, many of the problems are not really to do with the senior team management, even if they (the problems) eventually end up making the manager's job harder.
A good appointment will only allow the Blazers to kid themselves everything is really OK and a bad appointment, well, you really don't need another one of those.
Now I daresay anyone still reading will ask, "What the feck business is it of yours what's happening and what does you know about it, anyway?" The first question is fair enough, but I only offer my opinion from a feeling that I've seen this situation before.
You see, the ROI under Stan are exactly where NI were under Sammy Mc.
and we only got out of that through pure luck.
First, Stockport offered to take Sammy off our hands (he's managing Morecambe in the Conference now, btw) and second, the clear favourite for the job was Jimmy Nicholl (now Assistant Manager at Aberdeen).
However, Jimmy Nic turned it down because the money wasn't enough (the second time he'd done that!), which left Lawrie as "Hobson's Choice".
Still, if the "Luck of the Irish" worked once for us, maybe it can do the same for you...

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