The Republic of Ireland are looking for a new manager.
Martin O’Neill’s time as Ireland manager came to an end on Wednesday morning. He and his assistant Roy Keane left the national team after five years.
In truth, O’Neill’s tenure should have ended after the 5-1 defeat to Denmark in the World Cup playoff last November. Since then, Ireland have been a zombie team.
The final 12 months of his reign will be symbolised by Cyrus Christie, a full-back, starting in midfield for three consecutive competitive games.
Christie ran around looking lost. He hadn’t played in the position since he was a teenager and told reporters that he only found out he would be starting there when he reached the Aviva for a match against Denmark.
O’Neill may not have had a glut of world-class players available to him. But, over the last 18-months, there is little evidence to suggest that he made the most of the players he did have.
His effect had evaporated and a change was desperately needed.
⚽ MON and Keane depart.
⚽ Why Stephen Kenny is the answer
⚽ And the hypnotic appeal of Sven Goran Eriksson#TheFootballSpin with @DionFanning @PaddyMcKenna and @RobRedmond10 is out now!Subscribe here on 🍏&🤖:https://t.co/t8VAfE657e
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 21, 2018
The theme of change should determine the next manager. There have been two candidates widely mentioned – Mick McCarthy and Stephen Kenny. One would represent the future of Irish football, the other would be a short-term solution.
McCarthy is a good manager. He did a respectable job with the Irish team between 1996 and 2002. He helped bring through a generation of players and the team tried to play football. He has since had success with Sunderland and Wolves, helping both earn promotion to the Premier League.
His work with Ipswich Town looks more impressive with each passing week.
He would bring a level of organisation to the Irish team that has been lacking. The players would respond to him and he is probably the safe pair of hands the association are seeking in order to try to ensure qualification for Euro 2020.
McCarthy is also a popular figure with Irish fans. His time away from the job, and the national team’s struggles over the last 15-years, have boosted his reputation.
While he wouldn’t be a bad appointment by any means, Mick wouldn’t be the right choice at this time. It just simply has to be Kenny.
The Dundalk manager has achieved tremendous success with the Irish champions after starting from a very low base when he took charge five years ago. Since then, he has helped them win four league titles in five years.
Something I wrote about Stephen Kenny and Irish football.https://t.co/A2iADIstbr
— Robert Redmond (@RobRedmond10) October 23, 2018
Dundalk play progressive passing football and more than held their own when they reached the group stages of the Europa League in 2016. If Kenny can get his team to pass the ball against Zenit St Petersburg, he should be able to help Ireland string a couple of passes together.
He is, according to several accounts from his current and past players, a brilliant tactician and an excellent motivator. He wouldn’t talk down the talent of the players at his disposal and would engineer a plan to bring out their best qualities.
Kenny is also invested in Irish football and has worked to improve the sport in the country. He believes in the best qualities of Irish footballers and wouldn’t spend his time in the job bemoaning the quality of the players available to him.
There would be no references to Ireland lacking a “natural goalscorer” or complaints that the players available aren’t as good as they once were.
He certainly isn’t shaped by the fatalistic mindset that governed British football for so long. He wouldn’t judge players based on the clubs they feature for or the level they play at. He would select players to fit a tactical plan that wouldn’t involve Ireland hoofing the ball away.
Or the team could go with the safe choice and appoint McCarthy. But this would be a short-term selection when long-term thinking is needed.
McCarthy would be the equivalent of a relegation fire-fighter in the Premier League or the Championship, appointed to give the players a boost and bring back some basic structure to their play.
This may work well for a time, and it may be what this team needs in the short-term. But after he leaves, we’d be back to square one. We need to look at the bigger picture.
"The rush for players to ‘get away’ to England has harmed Irish football and at this point it no longer makes any sense to persist with it as the primary goal, as English clubs are discarding Irish talent" – @RobRedmond10 https://t.co/Cyc7WlCeYH
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 27, 2017
Kenny’s remit could extend beyond the senior team. He could work as part of a restructured setup where the Ireland team is the end point of Irish football development. An idea of play would be established and the national team manager could have an input on the development of the sport in the country.
There would be a plan, some structure and pattern to the team’s play and, most importantly of all, some belief in the talent of the players available.
His appointment would represent a sea-change, both in terms of strategy and mindset, within Irish football. If it doesn’t work out, the relegation fire-fighter manager, like McCarthy or Sam Allardyce, will still be there.
The national team reached rock bottom over the last year and more of the same won’t suffice. Kenny would be a progressive and ambitious appointment and exactly what Irish football needs.
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