Allardyce, Sam
Bilic, Slaven
Bruce, Steve
Carsley, Lee
Clement, Paul
Coleman, Chris
Cook, Paul
Goran-Eriksson, Sven
Grayson, Simon
Hughton, Chris
Keane, Robbie
Keane, Roy
Kenny, Stephen
Kerr, Brian
Lennon, Neil
McCarthy, Mick
Moyes, David
Queiroz, Carlos
Redknapp, Harry
Wenger, Arsene
#KennyForIreland and be done with it - always admired the man. The key is to get him out of Dundalk before pre-season starts.
Paul Cook is an interesting one. Reasonably successful in LOI and in England, teams usually play attractive football.
Tallaght Stadium Regular
Ok it might upset the Neighbours ...
But how About
Michael O’ Neill .
Make him an offer ( financially ) that it would be hard to refuse .
Mick for me. Experienced, motivated, proven ability to get the best out of mediocre players, 15 years of club management under his belt since Japan WC, trusts young Irish players at club level. McGoldrick will be back in a flash. Wild guess: I think he can persuade Rice.
I'd love Kenny to get it and be a success. What a story it'd be for Irish football, a huge boost for the perception of our own system. I just fear that he may not succeed though, and the opposite effect would happen.
The U21 appointment is critical too. Finally we may be able to join up the whole thing from U15s to Senior and groom a successor from within. A former senior Mick-era pro with Mick running the show top down and in sync with the U21s would work well in my opinion.
I know little enough about Cook. Can someone spell out his credentials?
I'd really worry about Bruce and I just don't like Allardyce. I think we really need an ex-Irish international or an Irish coach to be in charge. Bruce and Allardyce have an Irish connection but each would be a regressive English appointment. I grudgingly think Sam could do a decent job though.
McDermott would be interesting. ArdeeBhoy and I met him in 2015, sound bloke and clearly has an interest in us.
Come on, be fair. You're not even being close to fair. What Michael O'Neill has achieved with the North, with their players is superb. After a smashing World Cup qualifying group, they missed out on qualification by a stinker of a penalty decision.
And you could make the argument that Kenny's coaching record at club level surpasses ONeill by a distance. If NIMON can do it, Stephen Kenny can do it. To say otherwise is just ignorance, narrow-mindness, or both.
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
Tallaght Stadium Regular
In fairness, I think OF concedes that NIMON shows it can work. Beating Ukraine at a finals is a great result and let's face it, that Swiss side is a really good side and to run them so close was a great achievement.
My thanks button isn't showing, so thanks passing interest. I knew about his Sligo success but only had a vague idea what he had done since. Has he any track record with Irish players in England? Was Stevens' second wind down to Cook?
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
Will any Irish radio stations be focusing on this at lunchtime? RTE will give it some attention but I want a full on discussion. I'm at home and can listen online.
Michael O'Neill's team is playing good football at the moment, but it took him a long time to get there. It took him 18 months to record his first win at international level, an excellent 1-0 home win against Russia, and another 13 months for his second, an away win against Hungary after which performances and results started to improve. Those first three years include a loss and a draw with both Luxembourg and Azerbaijan. There's very few, if any, other international assocations that would tolerate that record without sacking the manager, including our own.
IMO what he learned in that time was how to organise the side, the strengths and weaknesses of the players he had available to him, and how to get the best from them which resulted in the run that brought them to Euro 2016. Now, every player knows his role. You can clearly see the patterns of play when a certain player is in possession, who his supporting player is, what passing options he has available, and how the same players are set up when the opposition are in possession.
Having said all that, because the qualifiers are starting in four months, there is no honeymoon period, no run of friendlies for a new manager to try out new players, tactics, formations, etc, what is needed is a manager who can get results from this squad immediately, and I don't think Michael O'Neill is that manager.
Off The Ball are hosting a live discussion on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wenK9lVIln4
Michael O'Neill also played 30+ international games for the North and played in the English top flight. This is at least a difference with Stephen Kenny. I'd like to see Kenny get the u21 job first, but whether he'd take it is another question.
Wouldn't be particularly opposed to him, but do think it might be a bit of a step up
Just like players, some managers can step up to a higher level and some can't. It absolutely remains to be seen whether Kenny can or not.
And, as Tets points out very well in his post, Kenny would be sacked in a fraction of the time it took Michael O'Neill to get things moving in the right direction for NI.
Bert van Marwijk - would he want it though?
Lars Lagerback has been successful throughout Scandinavia - currently the Norway manager so it rules him out.
Last edited by IsMiseSean; 21/11/2018 at 12:16 PM.
The key for a manager to be successful is to be the right man for the right job at the right time. For all we know MON could do a great impact job at a club or country starting next week, but he had run out of road with us.
I think Mick is all 3, I think Kenny is 2 out of 3.
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