Republic of Ireland Team 2023/24 [old thread]

If anything Kenny should taking one or two players away from the U21s for March's friendlies.

Obsessed with hammering Mick for a 0-0 draw in Georgia whilst bending over backwards to tell us we have no entitlement to beat Ajar or Lux at home?

Circumstances were completely different, ignoring that is too simplistic.

The Irish Media seem to be fawning over Kenny since he came out with that aggressive press conference before the Serbia home game.

You'd think Ireland were playing samba football under him.

The football Ireland are producing is slightly better than under Mick McCarthy but this talk of a footballing revolution is laughable.

Kenny was far too rigid with his ethos at the start of his term, too much messing around at the back.

Too much passing just for the sake of it, sideways and backwards , one paced predictable and insipid.

It took him far too long to adapt his style, it was staring him in the face that what he was trying to implement clearly wasnt working.

As others have said it wasnt until Barry came in that the football became more effective.

We still need more variety, play it out from the back but also the option to go long should be employed.

Its also only since he has gone back to playing experienced players in his team like Coleman,Duffy,Stevens,Egan,Hendrick etc that the results have improved.

The decision to discard some of these players early on in his term was silly, epecially considering the alternatives he played were nowhere near the standard.

Kenny looks a nervy manager and that translated to the players in alot of the tight games against decent opposition especially earlier on.

When push comes to shove and it gets to squeky bum time, I think he will mess up in the next qualifying campaign, he doesnt seem to have enough composure.

A bit of revisionist history going on regarding team selection. Dropping Coleman at the start was a mistake but largely Coleman was unavailable because of injury. Hendrick and Duffy were rightly dropped at the time for poor form. Stevens was a long term injury and Egan was never dropped either. Might have missed games with injury but that happens

I think King is dead right.

The Nations League does give Ireland a chance to play against teams of a similar standing.

There can be no "sure we were never going to qualify" excuse in the Nations League, like is being used recently.

And this is the good thing about the Nations League, it's not just friendlies, there can be a competitive edge to it, and people, like Kenny can use it to prove a point.

So let's see how much they have actually improved, and let that be the basis for a new contract.

It's also pointless, for the sake of 500k give him the same T&Cs of the current contract up to end of the Euro qualifying campaign.

If we bombed the Nations league then we can sack him anyway but at least there's continuity and stability leading into the Nations league.

Sounds like a sly dig towards Odubeko too imo.

I hope all these management shenanigans aren't part of some holding pattern being employed by the FAI to wait for Ole to be freed up.

Yeah he's mainly been starting for Cardiff as they didn't have much money to spend on players in the summer. Bennett's contract wasn't renewed after doing his ACL last season and Bagan was seen as his replacement. Fans have felt he's done alright in a poor Cardiff team but that he's not ready to be playing week in week out given the situation they find themselves in.

Yeah LWB is going to be an issue for us. The U19s have Tayo Adaramola who seems highly rated by Palace, Val Adedokun who moved to Brentford's B team, and Sean Roughan whose played senior games for Lincoln City last season but think long term Roughan could be a CB rather than LB.

Short term it just might be Matt Doherty as our starting LWB. When we're not missing CBs through injury I think he'll move over to the left and Coleman on the right. Would probably focus on getting a younger third option in at RWB as there's lads who could be called up and see how the younger LWBs are getting on over the next couple of years.

CB is a position we're sorted in for the next 10+ years. Three young lads who'll be Premier League regulars, McGuinness you'd assume will at least make it as a top championship defender and Jimmy Dunne is doing well at QPR. Sean Dyche rates him and thinks he could be a top championship defender.

That is exactly what I think he does not have the experience when it comes to the crunch. But I am neither 'Kenny in' nor 'Kenny out'. I am unsure in the middle. He is doing OK. Just OK. He gave young players a chance - similar to what Mick did when he took over the first time Mark Kennedy etc. And it eventually worked. It has not been as good as that. But it also has not been as bad as when Staunton attempted the same thing - Joe Lapira etc.

I agree with you on the media fawning there seems to be a desperation for Kenny to do well any ANYTHING that can be grasped as a positive is jumped on. Which I think is a bit OTT at times. But Kenny seems like a likeable fella and people want him to well. So feel giving media sound bites help. Such as Lisa Fallon's 'Hearts and Minds' comment which was plastered over RTE News Now.

Fan's I can understand jumping on the bandwagon - looking for any positive. But as shown on these threads anyone who just not state only positivity about Kenny is immediately classed a troll. Or anti-Kenny or has an 'agenda'. That also includes ex-pros/managers who are unsure on Kenny - such as Brian Kerr/Richard Dunne/Paul McGrath. They are shot down as heretics almost. It has that religious, cult feel about iat times.

I can understand it as I said, especially for young fans in their 20's who want to see a rebranding of the Irish team and something to hang on to. To an extent there is a cohort there that are ready to be won over very easily very susceptible to anything that can be viewed as remotely positive. They are that desperate for change - whether it works or not the 're-brand' is key for them. The rebrand worked a while under the 'dream team' of MON and Roy Keane. Before the optics changed and they became yesterday's news.

The support of Mick McCarthy seemed to be reluctant (yeah safe pair of hands - but not 'fresh'). A lot of thing is based on perception.

Kenny is built up as the future of Irish football the savouir, anything else is heresy.

It is a bit hysterical at times. As I said in another post the hype around Bazunu - Ogbene and Omobamidele remind me of the three amigos from 1994 - Gary Kelly - Phil Babb - Jason McAteer. And the hype really went into overdrive when Ireland beat Germany 2-0 in a friendly prior to the WC. Kelly scored - some started to say that Ireland could win the WC at USA 94!

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So this is the 2021 version (ok the standard might not be as high) - but the hype has started after beating Luxembourg 3-0. The idealistic are daring to dream big (whatever that is relative to the current aspirations of the Irish squad). There is no real objective analysis of the game. The main focus seems to be on the last 20 mins.

But it is no harm in people 'dreaming big' for their team. What is a problem is the shutting down of any other even slightly contrary opinion against the dreamers/idelistics.

The reality is Irish football will never really improve until there is a half decent LOI that is supported by a decent chunk of Irish football fans. Until then it is dependant on the English system of football to develop Irish players, English players who are not good enough to declare for England so switch to Ireland etc.

So each new Irish manager is just a 'rebrand' on the previous manager. Just a short term sticking plaster on the main issues of Irish football.

The actual brass neck of Noel King. A man who continuously failed as U-21 manager but was kept in the job for EIGHT YEARS purely because of his subservience to that crook John Delaney. When he retired the FAI statement of his achievements read:

Even better is that Delaney gave him a new gig after that as the "Player Identification Manager" for the FAI. The fact that a parasite like that feels entitles to snipe at Kenny is quite frankly, remarkable and says a lot about him as a man.

Ya and Cardiff and Apoel turned out well too after. No thanks. If people want an alternative at least make it credible and not someone at the end of their career. Doesn't matter either way as SK will be getting his extension soon by all accounts.

There are plenty of managers out there who could get us playing football and who are available. The likes of Wilder and Cocu would fit the bill, no one seems to be beating down the door down for them. Maybe someone like Valverde who is getting a bit older would take a less demanding international role? There's sacked managers out there like Farke or Pirlo who might want to rebuild their career and would take a step down. There'll always be options out there who are not immediately obvious. Just look at how well Rossi is doing at Hungary, or Sagnol at Georgia.

I am ok with Kenny being given another chance, but to say that no one else is out there is silly.

There isn’t really that many respectable names who’d do the job for 500k so im not totally getting the idea no.

the odd time i’d watch Derby under Cocu it was dreadful dreadful stuff.

david wagner was my idea when kenny looked like a bomb but he’s off the market now and kenny’s reign is looking interesting right now.

im sure this debate will run out of steam, hopefully soon.

Championship managers would be on that sort of money. Also can't imagine the likes of a Rossi or Sagnol at Hungary or Georgia are on big money either.