Republic of Ireland Team 2023/24 [old thread]

I really don’t think it’s that bleak (although I’m not saying it’s good either)

there has been some really good play, and lots of chances created in (some of) the recent matches, the issue is finishing/goals

Idah looks like he will be a very good player in the coming years, if we can find a pairing with him that clicks, it will be huge. Connolly could be that player, but he needs a move badly

The reason why Kenny gets a handy ride from the media is because most soccer journalists in this country have a grá for LOI and basically he is their man. When Kenny got the job it was seen as a vindication of LOI, that their guy could mix it well with the big boys and their League was coming of age.

To acknowledge Kenny as a failure would also come with the acknowledgement that the LOI is a league of low quality (not the up and coming one it likes to see itself as) and that the best they can produce is only a match for the mighty Andorra.

Crawford should certainly be considered in the future.

Promoting from within the system has certainly worked for England, France and Germany

I guess that might explain why some Kenny fans still excuse him and want "patience" and "long term plan"

If Kenny is succesful in tanking our ranking/seeding good enough we will then eventually end up believing a late equaliser against Azerbaijan is our best ever result.

McClean could score a hat-trick and he'd still be criticised more than anyone else. He's took over the panto villain role from Whelan. The fact Hendrick didnt start either meant McClean got the full panto treatment.

"Not a real football fan". Get over yourself.

This victimhood of LOI is the reason it's the way it is. If it's not plastic fans supporting English clubs instead of their local team (not every town or county has a LOI team), it's the GAA's fault for getting more funding. Never anything to do with FAI making a bollix of everything themselves of course.

The very people always calling kenny a rubbish manager and slating the Irish football team are the ones who would watch man united v burnley over Ireland v Portugal, if the games clashed. Or pay 40 euro to watch bohs v man united pre season friendly over 10 euro to watch an FAI cup final in the Aviva. Then they wonder why our team is so poor and slag off the LOI even though they have never even been to a game, or maybe went to one 10 years ago.

I travel 2 and a half hours to watch my LOI team, its easier than booking a flight to manchester, booking into a hotel and paying 80 euro for a ticket to watch man united v brentford.

LOI is actually a good watch but imagine how good it would be if all the premier league nuts supported their own league.

Most LOI supporters hate the FAI by the way, I am going to the serbia game tuesday, I boycotted Ireland games the last 10 years because John Delaney was involved and I didnt want my money going into his pockets. The FAI have neglected the LOI for years, its not like the FAI is the LOI.

Absolutely, he created alot more than Coleman on the other side but with McLean the negatives are always focused in on and the positives dismissed.

It is different though, the local soccer team v the local drama society. If Irish people spent their money on the LOI games, it would improve the league enormously, we would have Irish teams qualify for europa league every year, maybe even the champions league, we could develop players here instead of sending them to English clubs. watching a play is just for enjoyment but giving your money to Irish clubs will have a knock on effect on Irish football and improve our teams. It is interesting how english clubs send their young players here now to play first team football, while we send our players over there to play u 18 and u 21 football.

Offered more than Doherty also going forward.

He should resign, but you get the sense from the interviews that there is a lot of self righteousness there, a perception of being wronged and unlucky.

He isn’t going to be renewed so the question becomes whether retaining him as a lame duck through the end of the campaign is helpful. I would argue it is not. Further time bedding in his “vision” is wasted time and counter productive for the players.

He should be sacked ASAP after Serbia and the FAI bring in someone who can get more out of what we have.

Crawford should be nowhere near talks for the job and I say that as someone that wanted the FAI to actually go out and appoint another manager to the U21s from outside the association rather than an FAI employee already on the pay roll.

Until we actually take football serious in this country then promoting from within is only going to be a pipe dream. Lads have to go abroad to learn their trade because there's nothing here for them.

One of the best young coaches I've seen working is now down in Cambodia managing full time, and actually doing good because there's no football industry here for lads. Pretty sure he didn't even want to go for his pro license because why spend that money when there's no work here for you to justify the cost.

McLean was creating as much as anyone problem is we've strikers who wouldn't even score in the league of Ireland.

I’m not a McClean fan but I defenitely think he is being slaughtered unjustly on yesterday’s performance.

this forum, and general fan sentiment was slaughtering Coleman for a while and now he’s back in the good books, then it was Duffy who got slaughtered by fans and some elements in the media who said he should be discarded and now he’s back in the good books. Now Connolly is the one getting slaughtered who will likely be important for Ireland in the next few years.

I laugh at Irish fans who see Coleman for instance as the problem in previous years and that he should be discarded. As if Ireland with our great player resources are in any position to discard anyone of that PL standard quality…

We had an xG of just over 2 from 21 shots, and the 1 goal was from a Cullen cross. McClean looked busy as he always does, but as he also always does, he wasn’t creating any chance of note.

He gets stick because he’s always in seemingly good positions and then he wastes it.

The most memorable player in a good crossing position who completely wasted it was Doherty in the first half

It doesn’t matter, any manager at a Championship level should be capable of making us better organised and effective. Kenny may yet manage successfully at that level after Ireland, but I have my doubts. He is failing to hit very minimal standards and expectations.

Yes, the fact that we only created enough to be in a good position to score 2 goals over 90 minutes at home against the bottom seed tells you the entire team was bad.

With McClean though, it’s not a surprise. Over the last few years you know beforehand what you’re going to get. A lot of energy and a lot of frustration. He will put in crosses that hit the first man, he will get booked chasing down a ball he lost himself. So when you’re watching yet another game where he’s playing, and he’s doing the same things he always does, it’s not surprising that people get frustrated with him specifically.

I saw a youth "coach" last year and he was a disgrace, horrible little man who started fights with anyone around, cursing and going on like he was jose mourinho, the man shouldnt have been let anywhere near coaching kids. coaches should be paid professionals who pass tests to manage/coach teams and not some amateur local nut job who hasnt a clue about football.

Probably unlucky, but you still get a lot of win at all costs. My junior club in Limerick was like that. Had no underage teams because no one cared about it anymore. One the lads got a team going at underage and I got involved with him. After a few years (2011 - 2014) you had teams at all age groups from U8s to U16s.

Which then attracted older ex players who now wanted to get involved because someone did the work of assembling an underage. He left Christmas 2013 and I never bothered going back a few months after that. Within two years the underage teams were gone because lads were being screamed at to get rid of it.

I think most people who are Kenny advocates are a fan of what he wants to put in place(myself included).

I want to see a direct path between the underage and senior teams.

I want to see an Ireland team that is always looking to improve rather than see qualification as the end goal.

I want to see Ireland compete in games instead of just trying to not concede.

While the results make it almost impossible to argue for his contract extension, I’d prefer to keep him in place if any replacement is given the brief to simply qualify for a tournament, and to not continue the philosophy that Kenny is trying to create, even if he’s not capable of doing it himself.

He’d be good. Why Swansea got rid of him I don’t know.

He left cause Swansea are fooked financially I think. Probably didn't wanna go through the hassle of constantly rebuilding a team as Swansea would need to sell players to bring money in.