FAI...June 2024 Friendlies v Hungary and Portugal

[AustinPowers]

That was an awful performance again this evening.







Its time to get rid of Ronnie Whelan on co-commentary

Ronnie was  right with one  thing though. Throw big men  up with 5 minutes to go.  What have you to lose? It'll leave  holes at the back yes, but a   defeat by 1 goal or 2 goals  is still a defeat

[Ed Ricketts]

That was an awful performance again this evening.







Its time to get rid of Ronnie Whelan on co-commentary

Ronnie was  right with one  thing though. Throw big men  up with 5 minutes to go.  What have you to lose? It'll leave  holes at the back yes, but a   defeat by 1 goal or 2 goals  is still a defeat

Ronnie started on about throwing Duffy up front from the 65th minute. Mad shite.

He also whinges about things constantly. Never very much insight or wisdom, just a whole lot of crying and moaning. The football is miserable enough without listening to that for 90 mins. And then cheery Richie picks up the baton back in the studio. f**k, RTE is grim.

[Ed Ricketts]

Looks like that's that for qualification. Were never qualifying automatically out of that group, but it looks like the playoff route is shot now too. Some bad results elsewhere the last few nights mean that too many of the teams ranked higher than us as per the 22/23 Nations League are now likely to need playoff spots - bumping Ireland out of the picture. Not that they would make it through the playoffs anyway.

I'd say that's Kenny done now too. But they'll probably hold onto him for the last few groups games before letting the contract expire. No games of note for about 10 months from November, so maybe an opportunity for the FAI to leave the post vacant for a bit and save a few euro.

I'm generally supportive of what Kenny tried to do, possession football is the only show in town these days. But it's also abundantly clear that he wasn't the man to front such a revolution. He didn't seem to have the charisma nor vitality to really drive the thing on. Instead, he was on the back foot from early on, and always came across very mopey and defensive. We might have lived with the gutsy defeats to France, Portugal, etc. if the same energy displayed in those games had have been on show against Armenia, Luxembourg, Greece - those dreadfully flat performances were Kenny's biggest failure.

The next man in might profit from some of the groundwork in the last few years. I'd be hopeful that things will improve. There has been a significant uptick in underage results in recent years - so more decent players will break through. Andrew Moran seems to be the next great white hope. A couple of semi-competent central midfielders would make a world of difference to the side.

[seafoid]

Have to agree with the fellas in the RTE studio, the only chance of playing in another major tournament in the foreseeable future is to host it.

Not in the next Nations League or World Cup qualifier but :

1. The younger cohort may turn out to be better than the mostly championship stalwarts we have  now.  We all know clubs that were shite who suddenly started winning because some good young lads came along and gelled with the older players. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk_kZspsp1o

2. Or we may get a decent midfielder who can link up with Ferguson and can operate on the half turn. The current squad is very limited without Ferguson. A majority of them are plodders. If we had 2 or 3 younger players with the talent , the drive and the potential of the young Seamus Coleman we could build a team around youth. Ferguson isn't even 20.

3 It's also important to remember that by some fluke we have a generational talent. Scotland in rugby were shite for years until Finn Russell came along, amongst other things. As Kenny has noted, we lose most matches by 1 goal. Ferguson could address this as soon as he adjusts to international soccer.

4. The work that Kenny did might bear fruit over time 

We have really been in a slump for 20 years. The last time we had a half decent team was during the Henry handball incident. It will not go on forever.

The noise from the crowd after the Irish goal was fantastic to hear.

[Captain Scarlet]

A championship team with a PL starter and a Serie A player benched in the France game...throw them in IF what we say about Kenny is bringing in younger players.
This season is a write off so let's see Collins O'Shea Omobamidele with Festy and Manning there too for at least one game.
Try Ferguson and Sinclair Armstrong up top too for a bit.

[seafoid]

Soccer is all about money. The best players cost more.

I had a look at the transfermarkt.de website after the first France match.
The average value of the Irish players was €6.2 m. That's heavily weighted to championship. If they were better they would be worth more

The average value of the French players was €67m.
Even valuing Ferguson at €100m wouldn't bridge the gap

[Captain Obvious]

The work that Kenny did might bear fruit over time 

His time as manager will bear about as much fruit as Steve Stauntons time did. As in bringing in a more experienced manager who was just handball incident away from reaching back to back major competitions.

[seafoid]

The work that Kenny did might bear fruit over time 

His time as manager will bear about as much fruit as Steve Stauntons time did. As in bringing in a more experienced manager who was just handball incident away from reaching back to back major competitions.

I wouldn't be sure about that.

[Captain Obvious]

I wouldn't be sure about that.

Next manger appointment will be a crossroads moment for the FAI.

Bring in another inexperienced manager who convinces some that the style of football is more important than results and it will be more of the same for the next couple of qualifying competitions.

[seafoid]

I wouldn't be sure about that.

Next manger appointment will be a crossroads moment for the FAI.

Bring in another inexperienced manager who convinces some that the style of football is more important than results and it will be more of the same for the next couple of qualifying competitions.

I agree. They cannot possible do that. They need someone who can bring the team on and leave it in a better state. Someone like Vera Pauw !

[Joeythelips]

Surely Ireland need to look for a club manager who had some success with improving players who were good to average players and have a system of play to brings some success.

I'm not saying they could get him but a person like Graham Potter springs to mind (insert wizard/magic joke/pun here). He took over a Brighton team who played a very defensive style due to the limited players they had, Potter came in a turned them into a passing team who could compete with so called better teams. He would also be an ideal continuation and improvement on the work Kenny has been trying to do. After his experience with Chelsea he might like an international job.

[mouview]

I wouldn't be sure about that.

Next manger appointment will be a crossroads moment for the FAI.

Bring in another inexperienced manager who convinces some that the style of football is more important than results and it will be more of the same for the next couple of qualifying competitions.

I agree. They cannot possible do that. They need someone who can bring the team on and leave it in a better state. Someone like Vera Pauw !

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2023/0911/1404711-bitter-oneill-claims-kenny-was-anointed-by-the-media/

It might seem like sour grapes from O'Neill, but he does have a point. An international manager by necessity is rather limited in what he can do with his squad, and how he shapes the way they play, as he only has them for finite blocks of days every year.

The simple fact of the matter is that we're not a soccer nation, and bar the mercenary/granny rule days of the past, never really have been.

[Sportacus]

How the Jaysus did we beat Scotland 3-0 a year ago? They were booed off the pitch.

[seafoid]

I wouldn't be sure about that.

Next manger appointment will be a crossroads moment for the FAI.

Bring in another inexperienced manager who convinces some that the style of football is more important than results and it will be more of the same for the next couple of qualifying competitions.

I agree. They cannot possible do that. They need someone who can bring the team on and leave it in a better state. Someone like Vera Pauw !

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2023/0911/1404711-bitter-oneill-claims-kenny-was-anointed-by-the-media/

It might seem like sour grapes from O'Neill, but he does have a point. An international manager by necessity is rather limited in what he can do with his squad, and how he shapes the way they play, as he only has them for finite blocks of days every year.

The simple fact of the matter is that we're not a soccer nation, and bar the mercenary/granny rule days of the past, never really have been.

The soccer pool is relatively small so the cycle of finding decent players is very long and in between there are long stretches of mediocrity.

[From the Bunker]

The simple fact of the matter is that we're not a soccer nation, and bar the mercenary/granny rule days of the past, never really have been.

We have always in the past produced a Giles, Brady, Whelan, McGrath, Keane (x2), Duff, Given, Irwin. What ever helped form those players into what they became? Hardly from our underage system, but we fluked these players somehow.

I'm guessing these lads were Soccer only. None of those lads really played Gaelic.

Was talking to a Dub a couple of years ago and he said James McCarthy was a super Soccer player, would have made it at some level cross channel. But culturally he was never going to give up Gaelic football.
The Dubs line was that ''He could be living like a King (on soccer wages) but gave the chance up for a few AI medals that he keeps at home in a sock while working for a middle class wage with AIB.

And that's it, most of our athletic lads go for the Cultural option.