O'Neill/Keane combo for the Ireland job.Yes,No,or maybe?

Pawwed Rig

I am hoping Alan Kelly is kept on. He has been a good servant to Irish football as palyer and coach.

I am in agreement with Pro F. There was no need to appoint a manager now with the next competitive game being next September. Other options could be available in the next few months such as Chris Hughton or Martin Jol and the FAI could have adopted a wait and see strategy

briany

Pro. F wrote: »

If the problem was a lack of available options right now then we should have waited until somebody better became available. We've got 9 months until we actually need our international manager to do anything.

People are incorrectly dismissing the fact that we have serious wages to offer for this this job. MON and Keane are poor value for the money.

Just saying, for the sake of argument, that maybe the FAI want a team that is well molded to the managerial vision come Sep 2014 and have decided to go for what they can get now as opposed to what they might get if they wait into the new year.

Dempsey

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Hiddink was never going to get Irish job.

Lets live in real world.

Im disappointed we did not go for Jose, Pep, Fergie or Klopp will be what is said next.

Hiddink is out of work & has managed countries like South Korea & Australia before.

Mitch Connor

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

I am hoping Alan Kelly is kept on. He has been a good servant to Irish football as palyer and coach.

I am in agreement with Pro F. There was no need to appoint a manager now with the next competitive game being next September. Other options could be available in the next few months such as Chris Hughton or Martin Jol and the FAI could have adopted a wait and see strategy

disagree.

The more game time the new management team have with the squad before the competitive internationals kick off the better.

glineli

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

I'd like to see the two of them bring in some new players.

Would like to see the likes of Duffy and Cunningham (who has played in defence before) get a good shot.

Cunningham has been dropped at Bristol City, not a good sign!!!

aidan24326

Dempsey wrote: »

Hiddink is out of work & has managed countries like South Korea & Australia before.

Good point. We're hardly much worse than those two and the FAI are offering serious wages by international standards.

Feck it, the O'Neill and Keane show will be entertaining anyway if nothing else. And fcuk knows they might even surprise us all and actually make it work!

But I'd agree with an earlier poster that Keane should really drop down and division or two and learn his trade. O'Neill himself learned the ropes at Wycombe starting off at conference level.

Kerrydude1981

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/international/2013/1104/484457-ireland/

Rikand

homerjay2005 wrote: »

leave the assistant manager part aside, what other realistic options are there for the manager spot?

right now, i cant see many other alternatives to O Neill. and guus Hiddink is not a realistic option before you mention him.

But the assistant manager is a part of the package and the poll. If people agreed with merely O'Neill and not Keane, then the 3rd option would be leading surely ?

It's the people here who genuinely think O'Neill+Keane is what we need.


I wouldn't have Keane anywhere near either job and I would have McCarthy as boss over O'Neill. He got a really raw deal from his previous tenure in the Irish job in my opinion.

He also did well at Sunderland, Wolves and now doing alright at Ipswich - He has proven time and time again that he can get quality out of squads that are pretty mediocre. I think he could work wonders with ours!


^ and we'd be playing a nice brand of football to boot!

Pighead

Rikand wrote: »

He also did well at Sunderland, Wolves and now doing alright at Ipswich - He has proven time and time again that he can get quality out of squads that are pretty mediocre. I think he could work wonders with ours!


^ and we'd be playing a nice brand of football to boot!

He's not done anything at Ipswich really. Midtable finish last year and currently sliding down the table having not won a game since the end of September. Done well to get Wolves and Sunderland promoted but didn't do anything in the Premier League with either team inevitably struggling and flirting with relegation each year. Got sacked at Sunderland when they were more or less relegated and got the boot at Wolves when they were in the relagation zone.

LuckyLloyd

Pighead wrote: »

He's not done anything at Ipswich really. Midtable finish last year and currently sliding down the table having not won a game since the end of September. Done well to get Wolves and Sunderland promoted but didn't do anything in the Premier League with either team inevitably struggling and flirting with relegation each year. Got sacked at Sunderland when they were more or less relegated and got the boot at Wolves when they were in the relagation zone.

Ah, you're some piece of work.

I'd say keeping Ipswich up and achieving the finish they did qualifies as doing something alright if you consider the state they were in when he took over.

Banjaxed82

Pighead wrote: »

He's not done anything at Ipswich really. Midtable finish last year and currently sliding down the table having not won a game since the end of September. Done well to get Wolves and Sunderland promoted but didn't do anything in the Premier League with either team inevitably struggling and flirting with relegation each year. Got sacked at Sunderland when they were more or less relegated and got the boot at Wolves when they were in the relagation zone.

Where are Wolves now?

Mick did great job with zero cash. Their current standing says more about the miracles Mick was working.

Pawwed Rig

To be fair MM kept Wolves up for a year in the premier league when anyone would have picked them for relegation. He also built the team from nothing.

slingerz

O'Neill and Keane will be box office and put a bit of interest back into irish football. That interest which was there previously had been drummed out of the public after years of Trappatoni and his mumblings as well as his dropping of Ireland's best footballers.

Pro. F

briany wrote: »

Just saying, for the sake of argument, that maybe the FAI want a team that is well molded to the managerial vision come Sep 2014 and have decided to go for what they can get now as opposed to what they might get if they wait into the new year.

I think it is much more important to have a superior manager than an inferior one with more time to do his job.

slingerz wrote: »

O'Neill and Keane will be box office and put a bit of interest back into irish football. That interest which was there previously had been drummed out of the public after years of Trappatoni and his mumblings as well as his dropping of Ireland's best footballers.

Fúck interest.

Pighead

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Ah, you're some piece of work.

I'd say keeping Ipswich up and achieving the finish they did qualifies as doing something alright if you consider the state they were in when he took over.

Ah now, he got the job in November so he had plenty of time to save them from relegation. He had two thirds of the season to get them going which in fairness to them he did. Not having the best of times at the moment with them and with games coming up against high flying Blackpool and Leicester his season could be heading for a relegation scrap rather than troubling the playoff spots.

aidan24326

Pighead wrote: »

He's not done anything at Ipswich really. Midtable finish last year and currently sliding down the table having not won a game since the end of September. Done well to get Wolves and Sunderland promoted but didn't do anything in the Premier League with either team inevitably struggling and flirting with relegation each year. Got sacked at Sunderland when they were more or less relegated and got the boot at Wolves when they were in the relagation zone.

To be fair he was always living off scraps financially and was never backed with anything like the sort of cash that O'Neill and Keane have had access to, O'Neill in particular.

For me he did a good job with Ireland the last time (admittedly with superior players) and would have been a safer bet than this O'Neill/Keane experiment (which if we're all being honest is unlikely to end in anything other than tears).

CucaFace

As a Villa fan who watched enough of 'football' under O'Neill I can tell you he is not cut out tactically for international football.

His old fanishioned get it wide and wipe it in at every chance and never mind passing or keeping possession was out of date in the PL, never mind in international football where possession is KEY.

Now add in bringing in the one of the greatest traitors the country has ever produced, who only last summer had a go at the fans on English TV after the Spanish game well this appointment is going to be some mess and that's for sure.

MON has lost the plot if he thinks Keane as a number 2 will do nothing but undermine and cause trouble with the players but also with certain fans who haven't forgotten Keane's past history and treatment of the Irish fans.

Only the FAI could think this was a good idea.

Ganymede Glow

I went for someone else. I think we should have cast the net out further and approached someone like Ralf Rangnick. It would have required another approach to Red Bull Salzburg as his wiki says sporting director there but he has a good track record. It was him who lead that Hoffenheim team to consecutive promotions up to the Bundesliga where they also held first place up until around xmas time that year. He also done well with Schalke leading them to the semi finals of the champions league and a runners up place in the Bundesliga. He's German but he speaks fluent English.

I'd rather have him with Brian Kerr as his assistant.

TheDoc

A **** tonne more money no doubt, for what will end up being another fairly average few years.

I think a starting point is expectations from the fans and general public. That isn't addressed brining in two big names like this. You can be assured all rational thinking will be lost, and expectations will be qualification for tournaments.

Martin O Neill is one of those managers who is a media favourite, but has a very VERY disheartening track record in managerial football, and has had his fair few blunders. If you take away his Celtic tenure, which when you consider the random 50/50 chance of success in Scotland, he is a manager with a pretty lowly record, barely racking up a 46% winrate in managerial football.

Good critics associated with Sunderland and Villa(not general media) comment on how O'Neill typically gains VERY short term boosts to moral and performance, for it to inevitably slip back into mediocrity and in some cases, regress. Upon leaving, which is inevitable, there is typically an inflated wage bill which leaves his clubs rather crippled and having to ship alot of deadwood.

So when you then breakdown his short term boosts to performance, built of signings players he is familiar with, comfortable with etc. you will see that at international football, there is really nothing you can draw from anything as to how he will do.

I don't personally buy into him being a great man manager, but that will reveal itself. He is an animated character always out on the sidelines, but for me animated managers on the sidelines scare me, in a sense the only reason for that carry on, is to impress the fans. To let on like they are doing something.


I'm not a fan of Roy Keane. As a United fan, I have respect for the work he performed, but have always had a distaste for his attitude and character, and self entitled personality. I was totally opposed to his actions in Saipan, and I stopped going to Ireland games after he was brought back. His reputation and quality gave him a free pass, that has not being provided to the likes of Gibson or Stephen Ireland.

I could rant all day really about how this doesn't sit well for me. The FAI had a chance to really take a step back and look at what they wanted to do. Make a plan, and then put it into action. Take on a coach, not a manager, a coach, who would get behind and involved in more then just the first team, but take an active interest in what went on outside his immediate grasp. Ireland are already LIGHTYEARS behind the rest of European football. At some point a change will need to be made, a pretty cataclysmic one, but again here the opportunity has been passed over, in order to get a headline grabbing duo act. No doubt Delaney will be remaining at the helm on his massive salary, lining the pockets of his board, while Ireland continue to struggle on the pitch and remain stuck in footballing limbo.

One thing I will say, for those like me who were disgusted at the caveman football we deployed over the last while, playing like a newly promoted Premier League team in the early 00's, we can expect absolutely NOTHING better from a combination of O'Neill and Keane.

noodler

How damning is it that even the most outrageous media speculation couldn't come up with possible candidates beyond O'Neill, Mick and Keane?

Did the FAI even try? I mean was Hiddink phoned? Did Delaney just waltz into the nearest bar and ask a bunch of drunks?

I was against O'Neill on the basis he ultimately failed in Villa after spending alot of money, absolutely failed with Sunderland and has been out of work for a little while. I honestly worry about his personal life affecting the job as well. I also felt it would be the wrong call for those who wanted an appointment based on a change of style in terms of the football we play.

Adding in Keane just looks like some awful attempt to cover over the cracks of the appointment ala Stan and Bobby Robson.

Why on earth would Denis O'Brien bother with a contribution to funding such appointments? If this appointment is reflective of the FAI's sum total efforts in finding a successor to a man with a glittering managerial CV and who got us to two out of three play offs (and actual qualification) then it is a damning indictment of their abilities.

TheDoc

noodler wrote: »

Why on earth would Denis O'Brien bother with a contribution to funding such appointments?

He is a wealthy business man for a reason, I'm sure there is some agreement in place that has made it, and will make it, financially sound for him to keep doing so. Be it percentage investment in the Avivia or something along those lines.

Simply put the FAI have now gone down with two appointments based of nothing but assumption of popularity. I heard Kevin Kilbane on the radio this morning state how every Irish fan wants this. It reminds me of the British media assuming everyone wanted Harry RedKnapp. It's the same sort of situation to be fair, a vastly average manager being built up by favourable media.

And let's be real here, there is friendlies to be played to service a massive debt on the Aviva, there was always going to be a reckless appointment. An opportunity sorely missed here. I'm sure I'll get lashed out of it for my views, but I'd the same ones of Trappatoni and well, I wasn't far wrong. We are focusing in on media names, rather then actual credentials, and expecting miracles.

Alot of questions asked about the alternatives. The problem being that people assume it needs to be high profile. When will people realise we are not a high profile country in footballing terms? We have a drought of talent, an association brutally failing their mandate, a stadium shockingly underfilled and on a massive downhill slide.

There is an absolute SEA of young, creative, eager coaches and managers looking for a start. International football in most cases plays second fiddle to club footballnow I'm sorry to say. And clubs around Europe are skeptical of throwing the reigns to something untested.

But we shouldn't be, we arn't a top flight club, we arn't an anything. We should have explored the options out there, including young and inventive managers that would be eager to get involved in (and have the energy to) take control and have influence over a large structure starting from the first team. And most importantly not have the weekly pressures, but instead having months to prepare, scout and forge a new idea.

Instead we have gone for a media hyped name, who has had mediocre - poor success in club football, and most importantly is not a coach, is a manager. Put alongside a number two who is a mouth, opinianted, and somewhat offended that everyone else isn't as good as he was, despite having an overflated opinion of how good he actually was.

noodler

TheDoc wrote: »

He is a wealthy business man for a reason, I'm sure there is some agreement in place that has made it, and will make it, financially sound for him to keep doing so. Be it percentage investment in the Avivia or something along those lines. .

That is just speculation in fairness. If O'Brien was making more out of the transaction than he put in, then how would he be any different to a run-of-the-mill investor? More to the point, why would such investors be so hard to come by if we could guarantee them whatever return you reckon O'Brien might have?

No, I don't think O'Brien's decision has anything to do with furthering his finances.


.

TheDoc wrote: »

I'm sure I'll get lashed out of it for my views, but I'd the same ones of Trappatoni and well, I wasn't far wrong. We are focusing in on media names, rather then actual credentials, and expecting miracles. .

What were you right about on Trap?


Agree with the rest of your points.

TheDoc

noodler wrote: »

What were you right about on Trap?

Made some points on here about having massive reservations about Trappatoni. Granted not Felt we would play an outragously outdated system of football and that we would get battered. Outlined it was a chance to take stock of the nations football and employ some new direction, but instead we went for a big name media grabbing name. I coudln't envisage it turning out so bad, and alienating so many players, but the general jist was it would be a poor appointment that would leave lasting legacy or benefits. Got blasted on here for it, and in general whenever the topic arose outside of boards

And yes the Dennis thingy is TOTAL speculation on my part, but I cannot envisage why someone would be that charitible, and have no say or return or anything. Then again perhaps O Brian is one of those people that believes O'Neill is a top manager, takes his lead of opinion from certain segments of media, and is all out happy with it, which is fine in fairness. There is every possability this will be a good deal and appointment, evidence just suggests it will be probably more mediocrity, and no real move forward.

iDave

A lot of hysterics here about a position where even the most accomplished manager would struggle with. I think Turkeys results in their play off will have as big a bearing on ROIs next campaign as who the manager will be. Second seed for an expanded Euros will be a massive incentive, while being third will be a huge mountain to climb, one I don't think were capable of scaling regardless whos in charge.

Pighead

TheDoc wrote: »

Made some points on here about having massive reservations about Trappatoni.

Just looked through my 'TheDoc' files and you never said anything about Trap when he was hired. To your credit you did speak out during the Staunton era saying we should have left Kerr in charge until either Dave O'Leary or Martin O'Neill became available.

smackbunnybaby

Keane and O'Neill have signed players for their respective clubs from LOI?
I see this as being good for LOI as there is a possibility of having players in the National Squad.
They may even scout and watch LOI games....without being told to...

TheDoc

smackbunnybaby wrote: »

Keane and O'Neill have signed players for their respective clubs from LOI?
I see this as being good for LOI as there is a possibility of having players in the National Squad.
They may even scout and watch LOI games....without being told to...

I'm not in anyway shape or form versed in LOI so won't even pretend to be, but I do think there needs to be a shakeup in regards to reputation coming before performance levels. Too long we have been playing lads based on reputation over current performance levels. People still treat International football as a level above club football when it's not.

I would take a wild guess that a LOI player could handle the sort of game that might surface from say playing another minnow country that you are bound to have in a qualification group. So I see no reason not to. Atleast to have some on the bench.

For example surely there is something playing top flight LOI knocking in a fair amount of goals, that could maybe look to get the nod of say a KEvin Doyle playing league 1 football in England, and at present has something like three goals..

TheDoc

Pighead wrote: »

Just looked through my 'TheDoc' files and you never said anything about Trap when he was hired. To your credit you did speak out during the Staunton era saying we should have left Kerr in charge until either Dave O'Leary or Martin O'Neill became available.

Found that post myself there, did a bit of trapsing back but bless you for being dedicated to the cause.

O'Neill had just left Celtic and I was was yet to witness Villa and Sunderland, he had the obvious success at Celtic and a decent term at Leicester.

Have me reading more posts from back to 2006 and beforehand, that's going back to early teens. Still of the same mindset, granted now a bit wiser to things, but my lord I typed like a little arsehole :O

Lennonist

iDave wrote: »

A lot of hysterics here about a position where even the most accomplished manager would struggle with. I think Turkeys results in their play off will have as big a bearing on ROIs next campaign as who the manager will be. Second seed for an expanded Euros will be a massive incentive, while being third will be a huge mountain to climb, one I don't think were capable of scaling regardless whos in charge.

Romania's play-off results v Greece you are referring to I think? Romania have to win both legs in order for Ireland to be deprived of a 2nd seeding for the Euro 2016 qualifiers I believe.

iDave

Lennonist wrote: »

Romania's play-off results v Greece you are referring to I think? Romania have to win both legs in order for Ireland to be deprived of a 2nd seeding for the Euro 2016 qualifiers I believe.

Apologies I had Turkey in my head.

purplepanda

So Delaney & the other Gombeen FAI men keep their overpaid jobs in the background whilst the circus has a new headline attraction? :rolleyes:

smackbunnybaby

Lennonist wrote: »

Romania's play-off results v Greece you are referring to I think? Romania have to win both legs in order for Ireland to be deprived of a 2nd seeding for the Euro 2016 qualifiers I believe.

So the Trap era was a success overall if we are in pot 2.
he inherited pot 4?

TheDoc

purplepanda wrote: »

So Delaney & the other Gombeen FAI men keep their overpaid jobs in the background whilst the circus has a new headline attraction? :rolleyes:

Pat Kenny interview where Delaney was quizzed on his massive salary, and stated the irish national team was only 1% of his actual tasks and duties.

That was sailed over FAR to quickly for my liking

Limestone1

iDave wrote: »

A lot of hysterics here about a position where even the most accomplished manager would struggle with. I think Turkeys results in their play off will have as big a bearing on ROIs next campaign as who the manager will be. Second seed for an expanded Euros will be a massive incentive, while being third will be a huge mountain to climb, one I don't think were capable of scaling regardless whos in charge.

The format is not decided yet but with 53 teams (including Gibralta this time round!) chasing 23 places, coming 3rd in the group could even be an automatic finals spot. O Neill and Keane certainly arrived at the right time re qualification mathematics .....

briany

TheDoc wrote: »

I'm not in anyway shape or form versed in LOI so won't even pretend to be, but I do think there needs to be a shakeup in regards to reputation coming before performance levels. Too long we have been playing lads based on reputation over current performance levels. People still treat International football as a level above club football when it's not.

If you go too hard with this rule, though, you can end up with a wildly inconsistent team selection. Cohesiveness and cultivating understanding between players is important as well. In a perfect world, the manager would have a couple of good options at each position and maybe that would bring about some healthy competition, upping performance.

Certainly, more than ever, we should be looking to club level for emerging talents but there is also the element of managerial discretion, and if the manager thinks a player can do a job at international level and is proven right, club performance becomes only a footnote. McAteer, when he was without a club and consequently running risk of not being match fit, scored an important goal against the Netherlands. There's a yin and a yang to it is all I'm saying and a manager needs to be firm but fair in team selection and not necessarily be trying to wedge in a club star but certainly give him a chance without upsetting the balance too much at any one time. Trap fell down badly with this because of his almost total resistance to new players, giving no opportunities even in friendly games or games that were being won well.

Pawwed Rig

Limestone1 wrote: »

The format is not decided yet but with 53 teams (including Gibralta this time round!) chasing 23 places, coming 3rd in the group could even be an automatic finals spot. O Neill and Keane certainly arrived at the right time re qualification mathematics .....

Looking at the current rankings there are very few teams in the top 35 in Europe I would be confident of beating.

http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/rankingtable/

Not saying we would be completely outclassed but I don't think an expanded Euro 2016 is a guarantee.

Lennonist

smackbunnybaby wrote: »

So the Trap era was a success overall if we are in pot 2.
he inherited pot 4?

The Trap era was a success up to qualifying for Euro 2012. It was the abject performance in Euro 2012 and Trap staying on when everything went downhill after that that was what tarnished Trap's legacy.

I don't think we'll be in with a chance of a pot 2 place for the next WC qualifiers even if we do well in the next Euro qualification campaign, I think the seeding system is separate for the two tournaments?

LuckyLloyd

TheDoc wrote: »

Found that post myself there, did a bit of trapsing back but bless you for being dedicated to the cause.

O'Neill had just left Celtic and I was was yet to witness Villa and Sunderland, he had the obvious success at Celtic and a decent term at Leicester.

Have me reading more posts from back to 2006 and beforehand, that's going back to early teens. Still of the same mindset, granted now a bit wiser to things, but my lord I typed like a little arsehole :O

I had you pegged for 40+!!

To be fair, while I disagreed (and still disagree) with your position on Trapp I like the consistency of your stance with respect to this impending appointment. Too many seem to have forgotten what they indicated their displeasure with Trapp was.

Anyone looking for a tactically forward thinking, attractive football, youth nurturing coaching ticket that never alienates a player are going to be disappointed - irrespective of how it shakes out results wise.

Celly Smunt

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Looking at the current rankings there are very few teams in the top 35 in Europe I would be confident of beating.

http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/rankingtable/

Not saying we would be completely outclassed but I don't think an expanded Euro 2016 is a guarantee.

There are alot of teams in the top 30 who are beatable if we gave them an honest game with the lads we have now.

Slovenia- Yes
Romania - Yes
Serbia - Yes
Czech Republic - Yes
Sweden - Yes (with a bit of leadership,easily)
France - Maybe (the french aren't a powerhouse when playing together as opposed to their teamsheet)
Russia - Probably not
Croatia - Probably not
Greece - Yes
Bosnia - Yes
Portugal - Probably not
England - Probably Yes
italy - most likely not
Holland - Absolutely not
Switzerland - Probably not
Belgium - Absolutely not
Germany - Never again
Spain - Defo not

As you said, we are not at all outclassed in europe but there are quite a lot in their we could beat.

Hamadeusentman

I am disgusted at the appointment of Keane as assistant (99 per cent certain now). O'Neill is a solid appointment in my opinion, he has the track record and is a decent manager. He worked wonders with an unfashionable but hard-working Leicester in the 90s, and was shafted by Sunderland and Villa. His Villa side at their best were lovely to watch I thought. He was tipped for the England job before Hodgson got it and linked with ROI job as well I recall. He understands football well and coaching and management.
Keane on the other hand. Whatever one thinks about the man and his character (very little, personally), he has PROVEN himself already that he is a quitter. When the heat got too much at Sunderland and Ipswich he quit. Rubbish manager with zero staying power and a disaster as O'Neill's appointment. It's a pure FAI stunt to get arses on seats. I am ragin'.

Conbhar

Just after watching UTV news and they had a guy on talking from Dublin(didn't catch his name) but he said it was O'neill who asked for Keane to come in with him.

aramush

Conbhar wrote: »

Just after watching UTV news and they had a guy on talking from Dublin(didn't catch his name) but he said it was O'neill who asked for Keane to come in with him.

I'm glad you've woken up!

Paully D

Banjaxed82 wrote: »

Where are Wolves now?

Mick did great job with zero cash. Their current standing says more about the miracles Mick was working.

Didn't he break their transfer record twice for Doyle and then Fletcher? I think Mick is alright but he certainly had more than zero cash at his disposal. He spent £45m there according to this blog - http://www.thedaisycutter.co.uk/2012/02/taking-the-mick-mccarthys-transfer-dealings-since-promotion-2009/

Dempsey

Dempsey wrote: »

Guus Hiddink

Philippe Troussier

Aenaes

slingerz wrote: »

O'Neill and Keane will be box office and put a bit of interest back into irish football. That interest which was there previously had been drummed out of the public after years of Trappatoni and his mumblings as well as his dropping of Ireland's best footballers.

Except Trapattoni never dropped Given, Duff or Keane.

Corholio

Hamadeusentman wrote: »

I am disgusted at the appointment of Keane as assistant (99 per cent certain now). O'Neill is a solid appointment in my opinion, he has the track record and is a decent manager. He worked wonders with an unfashionable but hard-working Leicester in the 90s, and was shafted by Sunderland and Villa. His Villa side at their best were lovely to watch I thought. He was tipped for the England job before Hodgson got it and linked with ROI job as well I recall. He understands football well and coaching and management.
Keane on the other hand. Whatever one thinks about the man and his character (very little, personally), he has PROVEN himself already that he is a quitter. When the heat got too much at Sunderland and Ipswich he quit. Rubbish manager with zero staying power and a disaster as O'Neill's appointment. It's a pure FAI stunt to get arses on seats. I am ragin'.

Really? and Really? Shafted by Villa how? Because he wasn't going to get another bucketload of money to throw away on average well overpaid players that half the time he didn't even play? Plenty of Sunderland fans too have said they probably would have been relegated had they not sacked him.

He's been tipped for a lot of things, England, United etc etc and as of this weekend he's been out of work. Robertson maybe not being involved is a big blow, it was fairly well known that Robertson did most of the coaching.

I've no problem with O'Neill and Keane, actually looking forward to it. He should get the support like any manager would. Just don't ignore the fact that the 'O'Neill' factor has long since gone. Also hasn't it been noted that O'Neill is the one that wanted Keane?

ctrl-alt-delete

Aenaes wrote: »

Except Trapattoni never dropped Given, Duff or Keane.

Sure some people gave the man a hard time because he wouldn't drop Keane.

Conbhar

aramush wrote: »

I'm glad you've woken up!

Didn't know O'Neill asked for Keane to come in himself until today, ya big grouchy arse

billyhead

It doesnt matter in fairness who takes over as we just don't have the players. I wish the new management team all the best but its not the manager who togs out

10green bottles

Someone on the MNS panel tonight said Roy Keane dosn't coach and never has! He may get his finger out now so.