FAI...New Manager Hunt continues

[trileacman]

Much as Delaney must take some of the responsibility it's not all down to him.
Compared to others we are a relatively small country , we have poor weather , poor facilities , and soccer isn't the dominant sport on the streets and fields . We have the additional issue of having access to several strong leagues next door: EPL, Echampionship, Efootball league, Scottish leagues , meaning that relatively speaking , domestic leagues suffer, as most top quality players leave these shores .
The IRFU by contrast to FAI seems to be much better run, and we punch above our weight rugby wise, by having strong domestic teams, amongst other things.
Irish soccer can never regain the success of the 90s as the world demographics of soccer dictate that we are extremely poorly placed to be a competitive soccer nation

Now the f**king weather is to blame. Must be a f**king joy to be steven kenny where everything is at fault except you.

[Ed Ricketts]

Horrible result last night. No defending the manager nor players.

But any criticism should be framed by the context that this is probably the least experienced, least accomplished Irish squad assembled for competitive matches in at least 40 years. They were always going to struggle.

Kenny probably doesn't have what it takes at this level - whether that's the charisma to energise the players, or the in-game smarts, or whatever. But the transition he leads away from hoofball is a noble pursuit, and should continue even if under different leadership. There isn't much to be gained from ditching him before the end of the campaign, which is just over six months away anyway.

Those pining for it should realise that hoofball is not the innate condition of Irish football. It wasn't a trait of senior team in the decades preceding Charlton. It isn't commonplace in the national league. It isn't played by the underage national teams. Most of the current senior team won't have experience of it at club level. It's entirely possible, and logical, to try to send out an Irish team that plays with more variety - and over time it will lead to better results. No team, at national or club level, is achieving anything at the minute playing hoofball - it's a dead philosophy.

Hoofball isn't even really a style of football - it's what you're left with when after abandoning all efforts to play with any particular style. When you just send men out to sit in tight banks of four, hoof everything, and try to nick goals from set-plays. It's debatable whether it ever really did anything for Ireland, in the last 20 years anyway. We qualified for two tournaments in that time - once after beating Estonia, and once by finishing 3rd in qualification but sneaking through after the championships were expanded. And in recent qualifying campaigns it had stopped working altogether - we just drew a pile of games, inevitably finished third in qualifying, and achieved nothing.

The rest of this qualifying campaign should be about exposing the younger lads to international football. Bazunu, O'Shea, Collins, Molumphy, Knight, Smallbone, Parrott, Idah, Connolly, Obafemi. Expand options for next qualifying campaign and hope that some of these boys press on with their clubs. This was probably the intention anyway, but you'd hope that there isn't too much pressure to revert to the likes of Hendrick, Christie, McClean, etc. in pursuit of some now irrelevant results.

[sid waddell]

Players not being able to go to England until 18 is not going to help the Ireland senior team

Why not?

Because the earlier you expose yourself to a higher standard, the more you have a chance of developing your game to a higher level

Robbie Keane was torturing Argentina when he was three months off his 18th birthday - I don't think it would have helped him to be stuck in the League of Ireland until the summer of 1998

Given that Irish youngsters find it harder to thrive in England these days due to the globalisation of the game there, I'm all for improving the League of Ireland as an alternative player pathway, but I don't think we should fool ourselves that it will be a substitute for the traditional pathway of young lads going to England

The reality is that the LOI is probably GM Vauxhall Conference standard - or whatever it's called these days

Rovers and Dundalk would struggle in League Two I think

[Baile Brigín 2]

Players not being able to go to England until 18 is not going to help the Ireland senior team

Why not?

Because the earlier you expose yourself to a higher standard, the more you have a chance of developing your game to a higher level

Robbie Keane was torturing Argentina when he was three months off his 18th birthday - I don't think it would have helped him to be stuck in the League of Ireland until the summer of 1998

Given that Irish youngsters find it harder to thrive in England these days due to the globalisation of the game there, I'm all for improving the League of Ireland as an alternative player pathway, but I don't think we should fool ourselves that it will be a substitute for the traditional pathway of young lads going to England

The reality is that the LOI is probably GM Vauxhall Conference standard - or whatever it's called these days

Rovers and Dundalk would struggle in League Two I think

League Two? What? Barrow, Mansfield and Harrogates league? Be serious.

Young lads going to England fail 98% of the time and end up with nothing. So 98% shouldn't have gone. At least if they stay and fail they have a leaving cert and weren't uprooted. If they are good enough they go at 18 for a fee as a pro.

[seafoid]

Are there not more kids playing soccer that GAA?

If you play GAA or rugby in Ireland (and you're good enough) there is a clear path to follow from underage/schoolboy level all the way up to inter county/international level.

Soccer doesn't have anything close to that sort of structures for football in this country thanks mainly to mismanagement at the top level by the likes of John Delaney so Ireland doesn't produce quality players for the international side meaning we are relying on clubs in the UK to do the job for us.

Changing the manager of the senior international team won't suddenly mean Ireland has better players to pick from or start producing players for the international dide

What have Roy Keane, Paul.McGrath, Ronnie Whelan, Kevin Moran, Seamus Coleman, Jay McClean, Wes Hoolahan, Enda Stevens, Matt Doherty, Kevin Doyle, Shane Long, Daryl Murphy, David Meyler and so on have in common?

Roy Keane went from Cobh Ramblers to Forest.They were in the top tier. Look.at any mediocre team.in the EPL now. They are loaded with players from all over the world.TV money means they can buy players from anywhere.

Other countries have better player development systems
England is the wrong country for most Irish players given development possibilities.

Agreed. But the idea there isn't a pathway from the domestic game to overseas is false.

There is a pathway. But is it the most effective ? Irish players get crowded out in England.

[Baile Brigín 2]

Are there not more kids playing soccer that GAA?

If you play GAA or rugby in Ireland (and you're good enough) there is a clear path to follow from underage/schoolboy level all the way up to inter county/international level.

Soccer doesn't have anything close to that sort of structures for football in this country thanks mainly to mismanagement at the top level by the likes of John Delaney so Ireland doesn't produce quality players for the international side meaning we are relying on clubs in the UK to do the job for us.

Changing the manager of the senior international team won't suddenly mean Ireland has better players to pick from or start producing players for the international dide

What have Roy Keane, Paul.McGrath, Ronnie Whelan, Kevin Moran, Seamus Coleman, Jay McClean, Wes Hoolahan, Enda Stevens, Matt Doherty, Kevin Doyle, Shane Long, Daryl Murphy, David Meyler and so on have in common?

Roy Keane went from Cobh Ramblers to Forest.They were in the top tier. Look.at any mediocre team.in the EPL now. They are loaded with players from all over the world.TV money means they can buy players from anywhere.

Other countries have better player development systems
England is the wrong country for most Irish players given development possibilities.

Agreed. But the idea there isn't a pathway from the domestic game to overseas is false.

There is a pathway. But is it the most effective ? Irish players get crowded out in England.

We can't rely on English clubs, we can't rely on plastics, we can't produce our own players.

Fock it, lets just give up.

[mouview]

Horrible result last night. No defending the manager nor players.

But any criticism should be framed by the context that this is probably the least experienced, least accomplished Irish squad assembled for competitive matches in at least 40 years. They were always going to struggle.

Kenny probably doesn't have what it takes at this level - whether that's the charisma to energise the players, or the in-game smarts, or whatever. But the transition he leads away from hoofball is a noble pursuit, and should continue even if under different leadership. There isn't much to be gained from ditching him before the end of the campaign, which is just over six months away anyway.

Those pining for it should realise that hoofball is not the innate condition of Irish football. It wasn't a trait of senior team in the decades preceding Charlton. It isn't commonplace in the national league. It isn't played by the underage national teams. Most of the current senior team won't have experience of it at club level. It's entirely possible, and logical, to try to send out an Irish team that plays with more variety - and over time it will lead to better results. No team, at national or club level, is achieving anything at the minute playing hoofball - it's a dead philosophy.

Hoofball isn't even really a style of football - it's what you're left with when after abandoning all efforts to play with any particular style. When you just send men out to sit in tight banks of four, hoof everything, and try to nick goals from set-plays. It's debatable whether it ever really did anything for Ireland, in the last 20 years anyway. We qualified for two tournaments in that time - once after beating Estonia, and once by finishing 3rd in qualification but sneaking through after the championships were expanded. And in recent qualifying campaigns it had stopped working altogether - we just drew a pile of games, inevitably finished third in qualifying, and achieved nothing.

The rest of this qualifying campaign should be about exposing the younger lads to international football. Bazunu, O'Shea, Collins, Molumphy, Knight, Smallbone, Parrott, Idah, Connolly, Obafemi. Expand options for next qualifying campaign and hope that some of these boys press on with their clubs. This was probably the intention anyway, but you'd hope that there isn't too much pressure to revert to the likes of Hendrick, Christie, McClean, etc. in pursuit of some now irrelevant results.

That's a good summation of the Charlton era. As much as one might dislike Big Mick, the football played in the 2002 WC was of a better standard than previously - even the Euros in 2016 produced some good pockets of play.

[6th sam]

Are there not more kids playing soccer that GAA?

If you play GAA or rugby in Ireland (and you're good enough) there is a clear path to follow from underage/schoolboy level all the way up to inter county/international level.

Soccer doesn't have anything close to that sort of structures for football in this country thanks mainly to mismanagement at the top level by the likes of John Delaney so Ireland doesn't produce quality players for the international side meaning we are relying on clubs in the UK to do the job for us.

Changing the manager of the senior international team won't suddenly mean Ireland has better players to pick from or start producing players for the international dide

What have Roy Keane, Paul.McGrath, Ronnie Whelan, Kevin Moran, Seamus Coleman, Jay McClean, Wes Hoolahan, Enda Stevens, Matt Doherty, Kevin Doyle, Shane Long, Daryl Murphy, David Meyler and so on have in common?

Roy Keane went from Cobh Ramblers to Forest.They were in the top tier. Look.at any mediocre team.in the EPL now. They are loaded with players from all over the world.TV money means they can buy players from anywhere.

Other countries have better player development systems
England is the wrong country for most Irish players given development possibilities.

Agreed. But the idea there isn't a pathway from the domestic game to overseas is false.

There is a pathway. But is it the most effective ? Irish players get crowded out in England.

We can't rely on English clubs, we can't rely on plastics, we can't produce our own players.

Fock it, lets just give up.

I think you're probably right. Too
Much ground to make up?

[seafoid]

Carty the rugby player was handy in soccer and GAA at 17  but chose rugby. Both soccer and rugby need to broaden the player base. As long as the GAA plug the Dublin model most players from other counties won't win anything. Soccer and rugby have an opportunity.

[Jell 0 Biafra]

Could we not just send the Dublin team out? Couldn't be any worse than these lads and would give the other counties a chance.

Plus there'd be 15 of them, so you'd have to fancy their chances.

[Baile Brigín 2]

Carty the rugby player was handy in soccer and GAA at 17  but chose rugby. Both soccer and rugby need to broaden the player base. As long as the GAA plug the Dublin model most players from other counties won't win anything. Soccer and rugby have an opportunity.

More people play soccer than football, hurling and rugby combined....

[rrhf]

Yes the do be playing it... terribly though. Luxembourg trois pointe....Irelande nul pointe

[themac_23]

 I can't watch Ireland anymore. I want a side that can win and at international level ya have to play the hand you're dealt not the one you want. O'Neill & McCarthy both done that with decent success. Built from the back and tried to play percentages with a team that is hard to beat. Kenny is trying to play possession football with players who aren't capable of it at that level. If we can't successfully play that type of game against Luxembourg, what the hell will happen when we play a decent side, it needs ended and it needs done soon

[dublin7]

Are there not more kids playing soccer that GAA?

If you play GAA or rugby in Ireland (and you're good enough) there is a clear path to follow from underage/schoolboy level all the way up to inter county/international level.

Soccer doesn't have anything close to that sort of structures for football in this country thanks mainly to mismanagement at the top level by the likes of John Delaney so Ireland doesn't produce quality players for the international side meaning we are relying on clubs in the UK to do the job for us.

Changing the manager of the senior international team won't suddenly mean Ireland has better players to pick from or start producing players for the international dide

What have Roy Keane, Paul.McGrath, Ronnie Whelan, Kevin Moran, Seamus Coleman, Jay McClean, Wes Hoolahan, Enda Stevens, Matt Doherty, Kevin Doyle, Shane Long, Daryl Murphy, David Meyler and so on have in common?

They played LOI, but it's wasn't through any FAI structures put in place by FAI. The LOI clubs were abandoned by Delaney when he was in charge of the FAI and that's part of the problem.

If you are a good youngster in Leinster playing rugby you know there's a clear path to get into Leinster and then the international team. If you're a good young footballers in Ireland you're encouraged to go the UK rather than a LOI club as that's less profitable for the club

[clonadmad]

Carty the rugby player was handy in soccer and GAA at 17  but chose rugby. Both soccer and rugby need to broaden the player base. As long as the GAA plug the Dublin model most players from other counties won't win anything. Soccer and rugby have an opportunity.

More people play soccer than football, hurling and rugby combined....

Any figures?