Cult of Stephen Kenny

People who sit at home and only watch the "big games" don't realise how utterly depressing it was travelling to the Aviva to watch us play 10 men behind the ball vs the likes of Georgia. But it's great because it's a result business and we scraped a 1 nil lead with a scrappy goal, that's all that matters.

Bishop Brennan's incredulity at being kicked up the arse works for his fanbase too

... and more worryingly for Kenny himself:

Tony O' D: "Conceding again after half time that trend continues"

S. Kenny: "56th Minute - you know that kinda is - it's 11 minutes"

I’m a deluded armchair supporter who was at the game last night, whilst you were at home posting on boards during the match watching presumably from your armchair. You couldn’t make this up.

I’m not even going to respond to the rest of your nonsense. You call me an idiot yet I never once mentioned anything about expectations of beating France or the Netherlands. So in addition to being totally clueless, you’re also a liar. And resorting to calling someone an idiot because you don’t agree with their opinion is the first sign someone has lost any credibility in any sort of debate.

So I’m going to take the win in this case, which ironically enough is something Stephen Kenny hasn’t managed to do in 70% of his games as Ireland manager hence the reason for our little over and back debate. A debate which you’ve clearly lost.

Your first message to me was calling me stupid because I said style of play is important in football, for getting the crowd behind the team and generating an atmosphere.

Then you went on the wax lyrical about the Trapp era. You must have forgotten all the "moans and groans" when we launched our 200th long ball of the night during that period.

A grown man looking for "wins" on a message board, is Boards a result business for you too? 😂😂

Of course there are people that can make this team better. To say otherwise makes you 'deluded' as well? Managers with tactical, nous, motivational skills -something Kenny has lacked.

What did you make of Kenny throwing Duffy up front in desperation? After all his talk of philsophy and the fans going on about Kennyball?

Throwing Duffy up front was not even done correctly, the right ball was not feed into him to make it effective.

The fact you use the term 'hoofball' implies there is only two ways of playing -

1) Passing for the sake of it sideways

OR

2) Like a glorified rugby team

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The fact is in such scenarios neither are effective. It has to be done with a purpose a plan, regardless of style.

Direct quick ball would really suit this irish team, and I don't mean hoofing it for the sake of it - it breeds energy and fire in the bellies. The Irish midfield should just be told to do the basics and get the ball to the fast lads Ogbene. Obafemi etc as efficiently as possible - on the counter

You malign the likes of Jack Charlton implying it was just 'kick and rush' / 'hoofball' - but it was not as simple as that.

Getting the ball into the corners making the defenders turn was crucial as pressure was applied. Teams hated playing against it.

Jack Charlton did Gegenpressing before Gegenpressing was even a trendy phrase. In fact Charton was a bit bemused when teh Danish team won Euro 1992 because he could see they copied his 'pressing'.

Danish Euro 1992 tactics -

The bit where I feel Kenny has gone wrong big style is that the players stand off too much and do not put the players under pressure/gegenpressing. Ironically Kenny got Ireland doing it a bit v the Dutch last night early on - but only half of it. Just the high line. Then he reverted to type giving the Dutch time on the ball, ending with the panicky Duffy up front call.

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I had to loan out my ticket because I've covid if you must know. Dammit, that erases over 20 years of footballing reality!

Anyway, when the next guy comes in and gets us playing ultra negative football, and we still don't qualify (2 campaigns in 20 years apparently means negative football works) try not to be as shocked as you are that we lost to the ranked 7th team in world.

I've never once mentioned Jack Charlton. It was a novel and effective approach at the time. And that time was over 30 years ago. He also had an excellent team.

But for the 100th time of asking, who are these managers with tactical nous that will turn all this around?

Kenny's lack of experience has been lamented by you, so that rules out an Irish manager. Roy Keane is been floated several times, which is just a stupid suggestion. Lee Carsely coaches under 21s, when things inevitably go wrong, lack of experience will be blamed.

So who? I've said it repeatedly, I'm not particularly a Kenny fan, even though Motivator keeps lying and saying I am. But I also think people don't see the reality in terms of the calamity that is the FAI, and the players we have to work with.

So who is there that we can afford that will turn this around.

Is this another "win" that your grown self can add to your collection? 🤣

You said "we may not have always qualified but we were there or there abouts", that sounds like accepting failure.

Very nasty posting style for what is simply a discussion about football.

If they are planning to get rid of him, they should do it now, it'll give whoever takes over a few extra games to settle into the job, get to know the players better, implement his style etc., no real benefit to holding on to Kenny if they are letting him go anyways.

I think you have anger issues, did you have a bet on this campaign or something?

Don’t cry when someone argues back at you when you call them an idiot for disagreeing with your, as it happens totally incorrect, opinion.

You’re as childish as anyone I’ve seen on here. Spitting the dummy out because someone doesn’t agree with your nonsense. Do yourself a favour, get up out of the armchair and go for a bit of fresh air. Get yourself back in the real world.

It's objectively idiotic to say that we play hoofball in your words "no different to that of Trapp and MON" under Kenny. Anyone that knows even the very basics of football know that that is simply a stupid thing to say. And the fact that you're doubling down and saying I'm wrong to point out that Kenny's style is in fact different to those managers is just weird. Again, before you accuse me, I'm not a big Kenny fan, but you clearly don't know a lot about football.

Definitely anger issues, and definitely had money on qualification.

Its the only logical explanation that someone can be so irate after losing to the Netherlands. It's just a game of football man.

Idiot was probably a harsh word to describe someone that tried to make the argument that this team plays the same style as Trapp and MON teams. Maybe clueless is better.

Hang on, your giving Trapp a pass for the difficult opposition in the group but not Kenny for this group? Have you also forgot that our whole remit then was to be difficult to beat and hard to break down? We conceded early in every game, conceded 9 goals in 3 games, and scored 1 from a set piece. It was a managerial implosion of the highest order and on the world stage.

The France game would have taken us to penalties but for Henry, and the players famously abandoned Trapps approach that night to play actual football. We learned that night that he was holding that team back! The very opposite of getting them to play better than the sum of their parts. Referencing the Italian team as 2006 in the context of 2012 is a bit generous considering we should have beaten them and gained automatic qualification in 2010. Again, overly conservative tactics cost us. As it did in the first leg of the play off against a shambolic French team.

Its completely contradictory to call Trapps reign a success.

You presume wrong, I'm not a League of Ireland fan, or even a Kenny fan if you've bothered to read my posts, you also ignored my earlier valid question of who is the man that will raise the performances of this team?