Cult of Stephen Kenny

Ah stop now. Your original reply was disrespectful. I also didn't say "he's a better manager than you". Just pointing out that the guy operates at a very high level and deserves some respect whether or not you think he's good enough for the job (for the record, I don't think he's good enough for the job).

As for saying his tenure is "an absolute disgrace" - well that's just hyperbole. Sadly, some people don't seem to be able to discuss the situation rationally - it's just extreme statements that aren't based in any sort of reality.

Why should he be respected ? He’s been an abject failure as Ireland boss. He’s had every manner of backing and support in order to succeed.

he’s disingenuously spoofed his way through every interview he’s given where results have been poor.

to get respect, you must first give respect and my view is that the manner in which he conducts himself is actually disrespectful towards Irish football fans.

look at this… absolute bollôcks. He can hardly form a sentence, he’s just spoofing, saying nothing, addressing nothing…

I’d respect him if he just quit.

So let's get this straight.

The point we have now reached is saying Stephen Kenny is a much better manager than any poster on boards.ie will ever be?

Is that the point we have reached in his defence?

It used to be -

Kenny will be the future of Irish football - he will change style AND get results. We were told exciting players are there. The aim was to win the nations league - qualify for the Euros

Then it changed to to, it is not about winning games - the fans are behind him. Any slight positive was spun as 'turning a corner'. He blooded players (19?)

(But his was not as much as Steve Staunton's 24 players capped or even the players MON capped).

Then it changed to the FAI are to blame and the players are not there. There needs to be investment in infrastructure.

(That could be said for any Irish manager in the history of Irish soccer!)

Now we have another layer added on top of that in the defence of Kenny. He is a better manager than all the posters on boards.ie!

Is that where we are?

--

Now I have not checked the bookies odds - but the last time I have checked they have not included boards.ie posters as potential options.

Maybe that will change as other candidates rule themselves out ?🤣

A high level is not achieving isolated results. It’s being consistent, winning consistently, qualifying for tournaments consistently, playing well consistently.

League of Ireland isn’t a high level, correct 😉

I think people are forgetting how incredibly lucky MON was to get fluke results against Germany, and Trap getting Estonia in the playoffs. Those teams were just so unbearable to watch.

I'd prefer to have Kenny in charge forever instead of reverting to 10 men behind the ball crap like MON and Trap had us doing.

But that's just my opinion I understand people who would rather go back to that kind of thing in order to qualify for the odd tournament.

Fair enough.

Most of the people that were fond of the Kerr, Trapp and MON eras think that the style of football is irrelevant. I think they forget how dour the atmosphere was in the Aviva was under them, unless we were playing a topped ranked side and actually sold tickets. They see no merit in actually playing well, or giving a good performance, only the scoreline at the end. Even if it is drawing with the likes of Albania, or drawing twice with Montenegro when the group was there for the taking. The style those managers chose to play drew massive criticism and heaped pressure on the teams because nobody liked watching it.

They also forget that struggling against lower ranked teams has been an issue with Irish football for over 20 years.

I think Kenny has been given a fair chance, but the replacement still needs to be more progressive than the the managers named above. Excitement from the fans is important.

Do you honestly think Kenny's team is exciting and playing good football?

The impression I get is the fans are only there because they are being sold a false narrative by the media etc. And no matter what Kenny does the crowd have this pretence of being excited. I think it is more desperation than anything else.

Then the next point is where is this exciting manager go to come from. a fella that is good craic at at parties?

Where are the alternatives? All this ideology stuff is just blather. True MON was lucky to beat Germany but he put himself in the position to be lucky. He made his own luck - Long caught the Germans on the counter an inspired substation when he thought it was the right time to do so. Game management!

Kenny puts him in the position to lose more often than not.

I got to be honest I find Kenny's 'style' not only really ineffective but boring more often than not.

ONeill won how many titles in Scotland, a professional league, managed Celtic in Europe.

Trapp won Siere A titles and managed Italy, a professional league, one of the most decorated managers in the history of the game 😉

A professional, operating at the pinnacle of the sport on this planet…

What utter utter drivel.

LOI players should only be picked if they are good enough. The standard of the LOI has dropped in the last 2 years as the best young (18+) players are being picked up by clubs in the UK and further afield.

Roy Keane should be opposed at all costs as he has proven he cant manage. Theres a reason Keane hasnt managed in what 10 plus years now, its because clubs wont go near him and he'd rather have the bantz on Sky than actually take a real job.

Would you rather not plan for long term success or should we qualify for a tournament where we can challenge Traps record of I think the joint worst Euros record? Open to correction on that.

I would rather try plan for better success. Kenny tried that, failed so we need another manager to build on the work he started.

But what about his bad points ? 🤪

You focused on the rankings but the main point is the 6 major failures. The huge drop in rankings are as a result of them.

First, let's deal with the lies from Kenny supporters. We have not been awful for years. We've had some awful performances and results but also some brilliant performances and results. Under Martin O'Neill and Trappatoni, we qualified for major tournaments. We only ever qualified for 4 prior to Trappatoni so they are excellent achievements. At Euro 2016, we had a very good tournament, drawing with Sweden, beating Italy and giving the hosts France a great game in the last 16.

Under both these managers we got famous wins. Away to France, away to Austria, home to Germany, the playoff win against Bosnia, away against Wales. Some really good draws as well. Kenny supporters would have statues erected if he achieved any of this. Instead, he has a competitive win ratio of only 19%, under half of what was achieved under Trappatoni and O'Neill. Even McCarthy, with a worse squad than Kenny, had a record of played 10, won 5, drew 4 and lost 1. So overall, we haven't been brilliant for years but we've been far from awful. That's until Kenny arrived. Let's look at the 6 major failures:

Failure 1: Had a great chance to get a new manager bounce and qualify for Euro 2020 but lost to a depleted Slovakia team.

Failure 2: Only scored 1 goal and nearly came bottom of his first Nation's League group coming miles behind Wales and Finland.

Failure 3: Got effectively knocked out of World Cup qualification after 2 matches by losing to Luxembourg, came miles behind Serbia and Portugal.

Failure 4: Struggled past Armenia at home after losing away to avoid coming bottom of his second Nation's League, way behind Scotland and Ukraine.

Failure 5: Got effectively knocked out of Euro 2024 qualification after 2 matches by losing to Greece. Sitting just above Gibraltar, miles off the top 3.

Failure 6: Previous results, especially his second Nation's League have made it almost impossible to get a playoff for the Euros.

He has achieved these 6 major failures in 3 years of managing Ireland. He has had 1 good win in that time but also some of the most depressing, awful performances we've ever had. And let's not forget, the only times we've had good performances under Kenny is when Barry or Eustace have been looking after the team formation, set up and tactics for him.

You may not care about the rankings but they are hugely important in what draws we get going forward. So, it's not only the 6 major failures but the drop in rankings have huge ramifications for future managers. It will take a lot of hard work to recover from the damage caused by Kenny. He's been an unmitigated disaster. No amount of lies, revisionism or throwing our players under the bus will change that fact.

Don’t agree with all of this post, particularly the bits about O’Neill and Trap, but well said nonetheless.

Observing this discussion has been interesting. I really don’t understand why people take such extreme views and project some sort of hidden agenda or stupidity on those who make the opposite point. Debate and discussion is dead on the internet and in much of life. It’s just two opposing views trying to shout the other one down.

I didn't read the rest of your post. Ooooo that makes you a liar so. Liar liar pants on fire.

See how very silly the liar stuff sounds.

Look, you hate Kenny, accept that others don't. And many of us will gloss over the post after post after post after post after post after post after post in which you confuse opinion with facts.