Who are the candidates for the Ireland job?

Lovely Bloke

Rhys Essien wrote: »

Very well put Paully.I am suprised myself with the overwhelming backing he is getting to become the next manager.I taught the dog on the street knew that the Sunderland and Villa fans hated his guts in the end.Are the majority here only remembering his Celtic days.Im at a loss.

As far as I can see the majority of those championing him are Celtic fans wearing tricolor tinted glasses

Paully D

Lennonist wrote: »

Yeah we already know what you think. I find it staggering that there are people on here like you with an entirely negative and unbalanced view of O'Neill's credentials for the job. Thankfully - whether he gets the job or not - you wont have any influence over the decision.

It's exactly what I saw from him from December 2011-March 2013 and it's exactly what Villa fans who had first hand experience of his management from August 2006-August 2010 told me would happen. In fact, it was scarily similar except they won 42% of their 190 games under him and we won 31% of 66. And the evidence would suggest it's exactly what will happen once again if/when he gets the Ireland job.

As a Celtic fan, it's understandable that you rate him and believe me, if he had achieved what he did with Celtic at my club, then I would too but that was a long time ago. Things have changed.

Appointing O'Neill as Ireland manager would be the equivalent of shagging the pensioner next door because she was hot when she was younger.

Neil3030

Paully D wrote: »

The amount of people championing the appointment of Martin O'Neill as manager on here is staggering IMO.

This isn't the Martin O'Neill of 5-10 years ago. It's the same man who only 6 months ago was producing the vomit-inducing type of football that was, at best, equally as bad as anything I have watched from Trapattoni's Ireland team and I watched 90 minutes of all but 4 or 5 of O'Neill's 66 games as Sunderland manager and every Ireland game bar the odd friendly under Trapattoni.

Here's how the Ireland job will go, presuming he gets it. He'll start off by throwing himself into the job and will pick up a few unexpected results, those that were for his appointment will be shouting from the rooftops about how it's great to have someone with passion and enthusiasm as manager. As the months go by the enthusiasm will wane and so will the results. Teams will know to play against O'Neill's teams at this stage and for whatever reason he just won't have a Plan B. He'll then get disinterested.

Whether we're playing against Somalia or Spain it will always be the same. 4-5-1 (although he will say it's 4-3-3, which it never really is) with the opposition having the ball at will until they get into the final third, then his players will try to win the ball and break quickly. The problem is, the wingers (and full backs) are always so deep it's difficult to get them the ball in dangerous areas and it inevitably ends up being lumped to a lone striker up front, where the opposition defence are in a 3 or 4 versus 1 situation and win the ball back easily. Rinse and repeat.

He is also well known for not giving younger players a chance which is one of the criticisms of Trapattoni's reign. O'Neill would often bring 5 or 6 substitutes leaving 2 or 3 places on the bench free rather than throw a young player into the squad. That was at club level where the expectation is that he builds something. He will be even worse for not giving youth a chance at international level, where if he qualifies for a tournament he will be classed a success by the majority, so he will certainly have no focus on the future.

Positives? Defending set pieces will be great. In fact, I think we only conceded two or three goals from set pieces during his reign and we have conceded three in three games this season.

Has Martin O'Neill been a good manager? Yes. Is he a good manager now? No. These things happen. Managers, especially those that have been in the game for as long as O'Neill (23 years) lose some of the fire and desire that brought them to where they they are. It's not that unusual. Those days for O'Neill are gone and he has proven it himself by regularly not turning up at Sunderland during the week. If he can't motivate himself how can he motivate anyone else? His win percentage has also dropped with every job he has had since 2000, from 75% at Celtic, to 42% at Villa and 31% at Sunderland. It's not like he didn't have the resources at his disposal either, he's just declining, job after job.

I'd urge the FAI to look elsewhere but I fear they will make the appointment due to it being cost effective and ''the man on the street'' being in favour so they can say ''well the majority wanted him'' if it falls to pieces, which it eventually will.

Ask those that have had direct experience with him in recent times. Most villa fans wouldn't want him, I don't know any Sunderland fan that would want him. There's a reason for that.

That's all I'm going to say on the matter, but the proof is there. Open your eyes.

Mad how I was in Paully's position not so long ago, saying pretty much the exact same things* to Sunderland fans upon his appointment

(*though he has made the case more eloquently than I ever did)

circadian

Lennonist wrote: »

Yeah we already know what you think. I find it staggering that there are people on here like you with an entirely negative and unbalanced view of O'Neill's credentials for the job. Thankfully - whether he gets the job or not - you wont have any influence over the decision.

And on the other hand.....
Pot.Kettle.Black.

Chucky the tree

Just when you think the FAI couldn't get any more inept they go and probably hire MON.

Lennonist

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Do you think he did a good job at Sunderland?

He did well initially. Then things went awry, maybe he was not up for the day to day involvement at club level anymore, but again if that is the case that still wont stop him being affective in the international game.

There was a journalist from Sunderland on the Second Captains podcast last night that i listened to. He had a much more balanced view and greater insight into what happened with O'Neill at Sunderland. He also described an incident where O'Neill was angry with him when he described O"Neill as "a half glass full" kind of man. O'Neill resented that, he obviously regards himself as an optimist by nature, but maybe was not happy with things in Sunderland. The journalist went on to give a fairly balanced appraisal of O'Neill tenure at Sunderland.

Colin Young Daily Mail, North East Correspondent was the journalist.

newballsplease

I dont think MON is as bad a manager as people on here are making out.
His style of play isnt the best but i think it can be effective for International football and Ireland havent the best pool to pick from.
He seems to be able to get the best out of his teams and the players always warm to him.
Hes Irish and will be able to communicate easily to the players which was a serious issue with Trap.
The media seem to go easy on MON in some ways. And hes well able to speak on that front.

Who else could we get... I dont think we can get anyone whos currently in a job.
Money is tight and Delaney is a donkey.
God knows why he announced the new managers salary would be part fundedby denis o brien!

Lennonist

Paully D wrote: »

It's exactly what I saw from him from December 2011-March 2013 and it's exactly what Villa fans who had first hand experience of his management from August 2006-August 2010 told me would happen. In fact, it was scarily similar except they won 42% of their 190 games under him and we won 31% of 66. And the evidence would suggest it's exactly what will happen once again if/when he gets the Ireland job.

As a Celtic fan, it's understandable that you rate him and believe me, if he had achieved what he did with Celtic at my club, then I would too but that was a long time ago. Things have changed.

Appointing O'Neill as Ireland manager would be the equivalent of shagging the pensioner next door because she was hot when she was younger.

The international job is different than the day to day job of running a club in the EPL. If he's offered the job and he's up for it he'll take it, if he's not he wont.

You should have a listen to the Second Captains podcast interview with that journo from the Daily Mail, might give you a different perspective.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/second-captains

noodler

Lennonist wrote: »

The international job is different than the day to day job of running a club in the EPL. If he's offered the job and he's up for it he'll take it, if he's not he wont.

You should have a listen to the Second Captains podcast interview with that journo from the Daily Mail, might give you a different perspective.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/second-captains

God, after all the hype, I saw their show on Tuesday night and was thouroughly underwhelmed.

I'll give that a listen though - maybe TV is out of their comfort zone.

Lennonist

circadian wrote: »

And on the other hand.....
Pot.Kettle.Black.

If you're saying I wont have any influence over who gets the job, then yeah I don't either. I just hope he gets it, 'cos I think he's the best choice for it and will be a success.

noodler

Lennonist wrote: »

I think he's exactly what we are looking for and I hope it happens. The FAI will need to move within the next week or two to make it happen.

Why do they?

Where is O'Neil going exactly?

Lennonist

noodler wrote: »

God, after all the hype, I saw their show on Tuesday night and was thouroughly underwhelmed.

I'll give that a listen though - maybe TV is out of their comfort zone.

The TV show was sh1te. Still listen to the podcasts sometimes, though the one last night they spent way too much time talking about Roy Keane. I think they were filling time, they probably don't get as much guests for interviews as they did when they were on Newstalk.

Rhys Essien

newballsplease wrote: »

I dont think MON is as bad a manager as people on here are making out.
His style of play isnt the best but i think it can be effective for International football and Ireland havent the best pool to pick from.
He seems to be able to get the best out of his teams and the players always warm to him.
Hes Irish and will be able to communicate easily to the players which was a serious issue with Trap.
The media seem to go easy on MON in some ways. And hes well able to speak on that front.

Who else could we get... I dont think we can get anyone whos currently in a job.
Money is tight and Delaney is a donkey.
God knows why he announced the new managers salary would be part fundedby denis o brien!

Sadly,we wont be getting O'Neill on the cheap.

Bert Van Marwijk would nearly be my candidate.Same age as O'Neill at 61.Won UEFA cup with Feyenoord in 2002.Dutch Cup twice,League once.Got to World Cup final with Holland in 2010.Currently available,I think.He could also bring Dutch/Irish player Barry McGuire along.Also speaks English I think.

Two year contract,pending qualification.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_van_Marwijk

Lennonist

noodler wrote: »

Why do they?

Where is O'Neil going exactly?

O'Neill has made himself available now in interviews on TV etc., he has made it known he is interested.

Either the FAI offer him the job over the next week or two, or someone else will get the job sometime next year maybe.

Banjaxed82

While he wouldn't top my list, there's a lot of over the top hysteria around MON.

Sure what Irish fan was creaming themselves for Jack Charlton or Mick?

"In the past Martin did X so Y is going to happen..." The assumption that people know how it's all going to pan out is hilarious.

Rhys Essien

Lennonist wrote: »

O'Neill has made himself available now in interviews on TV etc., he has made it known he is interested.

Either the FAI offer him the job over the next week or two, or someone else will get the job sometime next year maybe.

This should mean nothing.I imagine every out of work manager in available.

Worse thing to do is panic and sign him up.At least look at all the potential candidates.There is absolutely no rush.Next months games mean nothing now and the Germany result is obvious whoever is in charge.

ambid

I'm amazed by how many people are writing off O'Neill because apparently he hasn't kept up with the modern game and was a better manager 5 years ago.

These are exactly the same arguments used against Alex Ferguson in 2004 and 2005. "He's not as good as he used to be". "He doesn't understand the modern game". "His time has passed". "He's a dinosaur". People were lining up to offer those absurd opinions, and all of those people were spectacularly wrong. A skilled manager doesn't suddenly become poor.

O'Neill failed at Sunderland, but almost every successful manager has failed and/ or been sacked at some stage. Should Ferguson, Benitez, Capello, Hiddink all be ruled out because they all failed and/ or were sacked at various stages? Clearly not, yet that seems to be the standard applied to O'Neill.

I don't know if O'Neill is the best option for Ireland. I do know that O'Neill improved almost every club he managed over a 20+ year managerial career. Leicester City, Celtic, and Aston Villa were more successful under O'Neill than they had been before for many years, and than they have been since. That is the mark of a good manager.

Much of the criticism in this thread is unfair and absurd.

Paully D

Lennonist wrote: »

The international job is different than the day to day job of running a club in the EPL. If he's offered the job and he's up for it he'll take it, if he's not he wont.

You should have a listen to the Second Captains podcast interview with that journo from the Daily Mail, might give you a different perspective.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/second-captains

As a fan of a north-east club, I'm all too familiar with the semi-literate ramblings of Colin Young that would be more appropriate in a fanzine than a national newspaper.

He has been banned from press conferences at Sunderland last month (he might still be actually) for writing inaccurate rubbish about the club and the manager and as a self-confessed Newcastle fan, he uses any possible opportunity to get a few digs in at Sunderland.

I will have a listen later and I appreciate the link to the podcast, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's used this as another chance to have a dig at Sunderland and to spin a ''it was the club, not O'Neill'' slant on things.

Lennonist

Rhys Essien wrote: »

This should mean nothing.I imagine every out of work manager in available.

Worse thing to do is panic and sign him up.At least look at all the potential candidates.There is absolutely no rush.Next months games mean nothing now and the Germany result is obvious whoever is in charge.

It's up to the FAI what they do now. O'Neill has basically issued a come and get me statement. If they want O'Neill they'll offer it to him over the next week or so, and unless they can't agree on details he'll take on the job. Otherwise they'll go into their consultation process phase and pick someone else in 6 months or so. That's my reading of it.

circadian

Lennonist wrote: »

If you're saying I wont have any influence over who gets the job, then yeah I don't either. I just hope he gets it, 'cos I think he's the best choice for it and will be a success.

That was half the point.

The other half being that you can't beleive how someone can be so unbalanced and negative whilst you're unbalanced in your positivity.

Pro. F

Lennonist wrote: »

Eh no. I read your post saying what you want - or I'm guessing the least you expect - from the next manager; is that his team's will produce "sensible, effective football".

If offered the job, I'm saying that is exactly what Martin O'Neill will provide and possibly more if things go his way and the players perform to the very optimum in big tournament games.

What are you getting thick about, it doesn't matter whether you're convinced about that or not.

I made it clear that the type of football that MON favours is not what I understand to be sensible, effective football. If you think it matches that description then that's great, but telling me that MON is exactly what I am looking for, when it's blindingly obvious that he is not, is stupid. We've all seen his teams play, we all know what his style has been.

RoryMac

I'd be cautiously optimistic if O'Neill gets the job, he has some qualities that make him ideal for international management and some of his major faults are not relevant.

He is a great motivator of players and tends to build a good team spirit. Both of these will help improve our team as the amount of time he will get with the players is limited. He is good at organising teams defensively and offensively at set pieces which again can be done under short time constraints.

Another plus is he won't be involved in transfers which have proven to be a big downfall of his even in his Celtic days.

On the negative side he is poor at bringing through young players and tends to have his favorites who won't be dropped no matter how they perform. We will probably play a similar game to that of Trap but not quite as bad.

All in all I think he will do good job in the short term and then things will go downhill. It could give us an opportunity to get things right in terms of structures for developing players behind the scenes with the new Dutch development director given free reign of parts of the game O'Neill will likely not want to be too involved in and after the Euros we will be in a better position appoint a young manager who can continue that work.

Lennonist

Pro. F wrote: »

I made it clear that the type of football that MON favours is not what I understand to be sensible, effective football. If you think it matches that description then that's great, but telling me that MON is exactly what I am looking for, when it's blindingly obvious that he is not, is stupid. We've all seen his teams play, we all know what his style has been.

You said you want a manager that will deliver sensible, effective football. I'm saying Martin O'Neill can deliver that at the very least and maybe more.

I disagree strongly with your assessment of O'Neill, you obviously disagree with mine. So what, what's your problem?

Henlars67

ambid wrote: »

I'm amazed by how many people are writing off O'Neill because apparently he hasn't kept up with the modern game and was a better manager 5 years ago.

These are exactly the same arguments used against Alex Ferguson in 2004 and 2005. "He's not as good as he used to be". "He doesn't understand the modern game". "His time has passed". "He's a dinosaur". People were lining up to offer those absurd opinions, and all of those people were spectacularly wrong. A skilled manager doesn't suddenly become poor.

O'Neill failed at Sunderland, but almost every successful manager has failed and/ or been sacked at some stage. Should Ferguson, Benitez, Capello, Hiddink all be ruled out because they all failed and/ or were sacked at various stages? Clearly not, yet that seems to be the standard applied to O'Neill.

I don't know if O'Neill is the best option for Ireland. I do know that O'Neill improved almost every club he managed over a 20+ year managerial career. Leicester City, Celtic, and Aston Villa were more successful under O'Neill than they had been before for many years, and than they have been since. That is the mark of a good manager.

Much of the criticism in this thread is unfair and absurd.

Ya, but it comes as no great surprise.

There is a massive amount of bigotry toward Irish citizens from the north from people down here.

I never really realised it until it was pointed out to me, but I've since noticed how prevalent it is, on here, twitter and from talking to people.

I'm not certain myself if O'Neill is the right man for the job, but he's up there with the best of the realistic candidates and I think he'd be more suited to international management than club management.

LuckyLloyd

Bigotry?

devotional1993

Henlars67 wrote: »

Ya, but it comes as no great surprise.

There is a massive amount of bigotry toward Irish citizens from the north from people down here.

I never really realised it until it was pointed out to me, but I've since noticed how prevalent it is, on here, twitter and from talking to people.

I'm not certain myself if O'Neill is the right man for the job, but he's up there with the best of the realistic candidates and I think he'd be more suited to international management than club management.

Interesting...Never noticed that to be fair

Lennonist

circadian wrote: »

That was half the point.

The other half being that you can't beleive how someone can be so unbalanced and negative whilst you're unbalanced in your positivity.

I disagree.

While I would say that O'Neill has his flaws as a manager, I'm of the belief that there is a lot more to be positive about when assessing his credentials for the job as Ireland manager. Hence my overall positive judgement in relation to O'Neill being linked to the job.

Pro. F

Lennonist wrote: »

You said you want a manager that will deliver sensible, effective football. I'm saying Martin O'Neill can deliver that at the very least and maybe more.

I disagree strongly with your assessment of O'Neill, you obviously disagree with mine. So what, what's your problem?

I had no interest in debating with you about whether MON is the right man for the job because I could see how mad about him you are and I knew well what your posting style is like.

Unfortunately you decided to quote me, tried to convince me that MON plays exactly the type of football I'm after, so I responded to that. But instead of responding to what I had said, or just saying you disagreed, you started blabbing on again about how you think he is perfect for the job, as if I would care what you think.

Rhys Essien

It only dawned on me.Will the two Ireland's both have M O'Neill's in charge.What would have been the odds.:)

Pro. F

Henlars67 wrote: »

Ya, but it comes as no great surprise.

There is a massive amount of bigotry toward Irish citizens from the north from people down here.

I never really realised it until it was pointed out to me, but I've since noticed how prevalent it is, on here, twitter and from talking to people.

I'm not certain myself if O'Neill is the right man for the job, but he's up there with the best of the realistic candidates and I think he'd be more suited to international management than club management.

I lived in the North for a while and have loads of friends from there so get the fúck out of it with your bigotry nonsense.

MON is just a shít manager, that's the problem with his potential appointment.

Lovely Bloke

Bigotry ffs, victim much?

Lennonist

Pro. F wrote: »

I had no interest in debating with you about whether MON is the right man for the job because I could see how mad about him you are and I knew well what your posting style is like.

Unfortunately you decided to quote me, tried to convince me that MON plays exactly the type of football I'm after, so I responded to that. But instead of responding to what I had said, or just saying you disagreed, you started blabbing on again about how you think he is perfect for the job, as if I would care what you think.

You don't like my posting style and you don't like MON's management style, well I don't like your style and I don't care what you think either.:D

yabadabado

Henlars67 wrote: »

Ya, but it comes as no great surprise.

There is a massive amount of bigotry toward Irish citizens from the north from people down here.

I never really realised it until it was pointed out to me, but I've since noticed how prevalent it is, on here, twitter and from talking to people.
.

you are talking absolute bollocks .

circadian

I've loved pretty much ever minute living south of the border. Bigotry? For realz?

SuperInfinity

I think that like Liam Brady said, a lot of managers are going to run from the job of managing Ireland. You can talk until the cow's come home about "irish spirit" but at the end of the day you can't argue with champions league players vs premier league players. The idea that the "irish lads" are somehow more patriotic or have more heart or spirit than Austria or some other nonsense is ridiculous, Austrians have as much heart as Irish people. And even if it were true, heart doesn't hugely help over the long term... most players fight hard at all levels.

Sometimes things come together (trap first two campaigns), sometimes they fall apart (this campaign). Realistically I'd say you'd need about six or more campaigns to assess an international manager.... because you have to allow for all the different calibers of players, the different opponents, the luck that football undoubtedly has over a handful of games, injuries and everything else. For all we know Trap might have performed better as a manager than Jack Charlton. I bet you could even do a study that shows statistically that the international manager only makes a little difference. If we had kept Mick McCarthy all the time we might have the exact same results. While changing manager might be good for a change, I doubt it works out because of a manager underperforming, more like just a campaign gone bad.

Francie Barrett

Rhys Essien wrote: »

Sadly,we wont be getting O'Neill on the cheap.

Bert Van Marwijk would nearly be my candidate.Same age as O'Neill at 61.Won UEFA cup with Feyenoord in 2002.Dutch Cup twice,League once.Got to World Cup final with Holland in 2010.Currently available,I think.He could also bring Dutch/Irish player Barry McGuire along.Also speaks English I think.

Two year contract,pending qualification.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_van_Marwijk

Barry Maguire? Who cares!

Honestly, I think O'Neill is probably the best of the candidates that we could attract.

• He'll play a direct brand of football that will suit our players.
• He's a proven man manager and should be able to get performances out of players.
• He won't have a chequebook to go mad with!

He has an awful task ahead of him though. So many of our best players (Keane, Given, Duff, Dunne, etc.) are either in rapid decline or are already out. The only player who has stepped it up is McCarthy - but realistically he can't drag this team to qualification by himself. What really scares me is our lack of goals. Doyle looks finished. Keane is finished. Long has struggled for goals in an Ireland shirt. The less said about Sammon and Keogh - the better.

circadian

I think there's a fair part of blame to towards mismanagement as opposed lack of ability to be fair. Long is an excellent poacher.

simongurnick

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Barry Maguire? Who cares!

Honestly, I think O'Neill is probably the best of the candidates that we could attract.

• He'll play a direct brand of football that will suit our players.
• He's a proven man manager and should be able to get performances out of players.
• He won't have a chequebook to go mad with!

He has an awful task ahead of him though. So many of our best players (Keane, Given, Duff, Dunne, etc.) are either in rapid decline or are already out. The only player who has stepped it up is McCarthy - but realistically he can't drag this team to qualification by himself. What really scares me is our lack of goals. Doyle looks finished. Keane is finished. Long has struggled for goals in an Ireland shirt. The less said about Sammon and Keogh - the better.

If Denis O'Brien is stumping up some benjamins again then we will be able to offer one of the highest salaries in Europe. I'd be surprised if any of the current names being bandied about get it.

yabadabado

Bert van Marwijk really is a manager the FAI should look at .He has had success at club and international level,speaks fluent English and his salary wasn't huge with Holland(similar to Trap's) .
His Dutch team weren't the best Dutch side ever but he had a brilliant record with them and I think he gets overlooked because what happened in Euro12 and of the style
they played,it was very effective but not as pleasing on the eye as previous Dutch sides.
They usually played 433 with 2 holding midfielders with full backs who pushed on and were a very hard working team in both attack and defense.He added plenty of toughness
and power to the Dutch style .

I know it is highly unlikely he would want or be offered the job but he is one of the names that I would love to see linked to it.

briany

Didn't the FAI say they were looking to get a new manager installed as soon as possible? That would make MO'N the front runner but I have to imagine that the same kind of discussions are going on behind the scenes that are happening on here, discussing the merits of people like O'Neill, because I think everyone can see that Ireland can not go on playing the kind of football that they have been doing. It just won't do, and if there's any hint that the new manager will play a style similar to Trap, I'd say there'll be a faction moving against his appointment. It can't be treated as a willy nilly no brainer because the team is standing over a serious precipice as it stands at 59 in the rankings.

That's another thing. How did the team manage to slip that far in 12 months and look to also go down a seeding? The team got second place in two successive campaigns plus a qualification to a major. I know the team got an awful time of it in the last year and a bit but I'm quite surprised it's caused that far a fall all the same. It seems weird that Kerr and Staunton's combined time at the helm didn't seem to do as much damage to Ireland's standing as Trap has over this last year.

yabadabado

Ireland will still be 3rd seeds for the Euro draw and isn't there even a outside chance they can be second. We won't be fourth seeds anyway.
Ireland has had an awful fixture list since June 2012 , played beat Kazakhstan and the Faroe Islands(x2) in competitive fixtures, so its not too surprising we have fell down the FIFA rankings, not many if any other country has played so many top teams in the last 15 months.

LuckyLloyd

circadian wrote: »

I think there's a fair part of blame to towards mismanagement as opposed lack of ability to be fair. Long is an excellent poacher.

16 goals in his last 66 appearances.

Doesn't score at the highest level.

newballsplease

simongurnick wrote: »

If Denis O'Brien is stumping up some benjamins again then we will be able to offer one of the highest salaries in Europe. I'd be surprised if any of the current names being bandied about get it.

So you would be surprised if MON or McCarthy etc get the job???


Well you my friend are in for a shock !

newballsplease

briany wrote: »

Didn't the FAI say they were looking to get a new manager installed as soon as possible? That would make MO'N the front runner but I have to imagine that the same kind of discussions are going on behind the scenes that are happening on here, discussing the merits of people like O'Neill, because I think everyone can see that Ireland can not go on playing the kind of football that they have been doing. It just won't do, and if there's any hint that the new manager will play a style similar to Trap, I'd say there'll be a faction moving against his appointment. It can't be treated as a willy nilly no brainer because the team is standing over a serious precipice as it stands at 59 in the rankings.

That's another thing. How did the team manage to slip that far in 12 months and look to also go down a seeding? The team got second place in two successive campaigns plus a qualification to a major. I know the team got an awful time of it in the last year and a bit but I'm quite surprised it's caused that far a fall all the same. It seems weird that Kerr and Staunton's combined time at the helm didn't seem to do as much damage to Ireland's standing as Trap has over this last year.

I would not pay 1 bit of heed to the FIFA rankings.... England were 5th a few months ago!

Now theyre down 17th( i think).

The FIFA rankings are a joke to go with the organisation.

deadeye187

I just think they should go with a younger man


ie....Brian McDermott or Neil Lennon

newballsplease

deadeye187 wrote: »

I just think they should go with a younger man


ie....Brian McDermott or Neil Lennon

What has age got to do with it?

If anything age means experience

loyatemu

deadeye187 wrote: »

I just think they should go with a younger man


ie....Brian McDermott or Neil Lennon

McDermott has ruled himself out.
Lennon I can't see being interested at this point in his career.

briany

newballsplease wrote: »

I would not pay 1 bit of heed to the FIFA rankings.... England were 5th a few months ago!

Now theyre down 17th( i think).

The FIFA rankings are a joke to go with the organisation.

I agree that the rankings are a pretty poor reflection of reality sometimes but if it comes to points where they affect your team's seeding in a tournament, then they do become a more serious matter whether we like it or not. Not that it's an eventuality Ireland will be seeing for a while, though. It would still be nice to be riding as high in them as possible for whenever it comes in handy.

Jarrod

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Barry Maguire? Who cares!

Honestly, I think O'Neill is probably the best of the candidates that we could attract.

• He'll play a direct brand of football that will suit our players.
• He's a proven man manager and should be able to get performances out of players.
• He won't have a chequebook to go mad with!

He has an awful task ahead of him though. So many of our best players (Keane, Given, Duff, Dunne, etc.) are either in rapid decline or are already out. The only player who has stepped it up is McCarthy - but realistically he can't drag this team to qualification by himself. What really scares me is our lack of goals. Doyle looks finished. Keane is finished. Long has struggled for goals in an Ireland shirt. The less said about Sammon and Keogh - the better.

Keane is finished? I read somewhere that in our last 6 games we've scored 8 goals. If I'm not mistaken Keane scored 6 of those. If Keane is finished then the rest of the squad haven't even started. If he wants to, he easily has another campaign in him.

Banjaxed82

Jarrod wrote: »

Keane is finished? I read somewhere that in our last 6 games we've scored 8 goals. If I'm not mistaken Keane scored 6 of those. If Keane is finished then the rest of the squad haven't even started. If he wants to, he easily has another campaign in him.

While I would agree, I do think a year is a long time when you're a 33 year old striker.