Cult of Stephen Kenny

Everyone knows that there are huge structural problems. Years of mismanagement by the FAI and it has led to poor player development and a very poor domestic league. This can be true and also that Kenny was an awful manager for Ireland. John Delaney is at fault for a lot of the development problems but also for appointing Kenny. Turning our senior team into minnows does nothing to help promote the game.

There has been some improvement in our development structures over recent years though. A huge number of talented players have been emerging. Better than we've seen in a generation. Stephen Kenny has had no part to play in this development. He has benefited from it! He was u21 manager when a lot of these players were emerging and senior manager when they were making breakthroughs.

He landed in these jobs at the perfect time but has failed miserably to take advantage of that luck. Look at the list of players he used in 2019:

Lee O'Connor

Conor Coventry

Dara O'Shea

Caoimhin Kelleher

Conor Masterson

Adam Idah

Jayson Molumby

Zack Elbouzedi

Darragh Leahy

Connor Ronan

Aaron Connolly

Jason Knight

Liam Scales

Troy Parrott

Gavin Kilkenny

Gavin Bazunu

Nathan Collins

Thomas O'Connor

Daniel Mandroiu

Jack Taylor

Simon Power

Stephen Mallon

Jamie Lennon

Aaron Drinan

Michael Obafemi

Jonathan Afolabi

Canice Carroll

Neil Farrugia

Kameron Ledwidge

Danny McNamara

Josh Barrett

Tyreke Wilson

Conor Kearns

Aidan Keena

Brandon Kavanagh

Michael O'Connor

The number of players from that list who've gone on to play English championship, premier league and play at a high level is unprecedented in Irish football. Usually there's not that many from underage squads.

All this talent (with more coming through) added to the players who were already there, leaves us with a squad with huge potential. Kenny was part of the problem and incapable of getting anywhere near the best out of our squad. His supporters are just going to have to get over it. For the rest of us, we can look forward to a new beginning, finally coming out of the Delaney era. A good appointment now and we can have some optimism about our team and future, no more of managers telling us we shouldn't expect to compete for qualification. We can get second seeds for the World Cup draw and have a realistic chance of qualifying.

mate you cannot be serious listing some of those players lol. vast majority of those havent lived upto expectation for one reason or another. most cant get a game at club level and those that do apart from 5 or 6 dont play at a good level. players like elbouzedi power mallon and oconnor were no where near international level . kilkenny is one of the biggest disappointments on that list, looked like he'd kick on after parker threw him in for b'mouth but the lad hasnt done anything in 2 seasons now

It's a bit disingenuous to list out a load of youth players and say Stephen Kenny hasn't got the best out of them!

How about he did a brilliant job as u21 manager and also had coordinated with u19, u17 manager too to bring these players in and nurture them.

Look at players that he brought in as senior manager - ogbene, omabamadele, Liam scales , Nathan Collins, Ferguson, molumphy, Jason knight, bazunu. Come on give the man some credit.

He's got things wrong as senior manager but one of his big strengths is unearthing young players and I'm sure we'll reap the rewards of what he has done in years to come. Also Nature of young players is they'll be up and down. Lose form, not get games at club level, injuries so can't put it all him either. He can only do so much.

Kenny didn't bring them up through the age groups. He came in at u21 level and senior level when others had developed these players. Look at the list I posted above, that's probably the strongest u21 squad we've ever had, the best group of players in a generation are coming through. Any manager would have brought these players through. McCarthy had even brought through Parrott, Connolly, O'Connor. You and others are trying to give Kenny credit in these areas because his managerial record for the past 3 years has been horrendous.

I give credit where it's due. Kenny doesn't deserve credit for these young players, those in the FAI and coaches who oversee the players development deserve that credit. Kenny deserves credit for bringing excellent coaches on board in Barry and Eustace and for bringing some qualified players on board. He may have a role in recruitment but as our senior manager, he has been awful.

The example has already been given, Staunton brought a larger number of players on board and gave them their debuts. Players like Kevin Doyle, Shane Long, Stephen Ireland etc, he beat Wales and Slovakia, drew with Germany and Czech Republic. He doesn't get any credit for that because his record was so bad. Kenny's record is worse and that's what he'll be remembered for. This is the lowest ebb in over 40 years. A new decent coaching setup can turn things around hopefully.

Do you ever have anything constructive to say?

Apologies, I was looking at the squad from 1999.

Your points about players are very subjective. There is no standard definition of 'making it'. Anyone can say such and such is a better player depending on their point of view. There has to be some definitive criteria. 'Making it' could mean making a PL appearance, scoring a PL goal, having a professional career; it's all relative.

3 starters in the 3 premier league games on so far today and that's with Egan out injured.

Meanwhile, we're down to 58th in the world rankings.

In our last 7 games, we’ve won 2, both wins versus Gibraltar…. Lost all the others.

we’ve scored shag all goals, looked like an away team often at the Aviva.

a team with no midfield, playing 4-3-3….you don’t need to be a genius to know that if you don’t have a quality midfield, having only 3 players in midfield is just dumb.

a lot of Kenny’s success in the LOI came playing 4-5-1…. That’s what this team has to turn to… pack the midfield with 2 energetic ball winners, his best play maker and two wide men and Ferguson up front and see where that gets us…

pointless playing teams better then us with 3 midfielders none of whom are world beaters anyway. At least have the numbers in there, the legs and retain possession, win it back fast when we lose it and be tough to break down…. Might not be pretty but points win qualification….no points for pretty football.

Still falling rapidly in the FIFA rankings because of his inability to coach a team to win matches. That is a major problem.

A squad full of championship players should be beating Azerbaijan and Luxembourg and whatever other teams he has failed against. A cop out to suggest differently.

As long as the GAA have that needy psycho paranoid stranglehold over the government and sports funding… soccer can’t be seen to get anything. And they won’t get anything like they need to propel the league and its teams to the next level. It’s beyond sad… It’s a mafiaesque situation when you think about it… you cannot say the money wasn’t there during the tiger.

there are only 10 teams in the LOI premier division, giving each of these teams say 20 million each for new or upgraded comfortable stadia and state of the art training facilities….get bums on seats, money over the turnstiles. It’s literally the only way to get people in, make the product better, on the pitch, in the stand. Make the stadia somewhere that people want to be before even a ball is kicked,

Its a sizeable investment but would pay dividends for decades…

All the local GAA clubs have seen record investment, both closest to me received money for all weather training pitches which are seriously expensive, six figures, as well as new changing rooms, training facilities, floodlights, and upgraded clubhouses, bars, etc….

domestic soccer needs widespread investment… investment that despite the wealth here during the good times, it never got within an asses roar of getting. What was the last new stand built at an LOI ground ?

the GAA and their arrogant antics are pissing off more than just the soccer crowd…they’ve been criticised by premier athletes and people involved in other sports too for years yet that’s an organisation in very good health financially….reporting multi million budget surpluses the last couple of years…

In 2022 that surplus was as reported by the GAA themselves €6.7m, which was an increase of €4.8m on 2021…

of what they spend they’ve reported €13.3m spent on player welfare, €11.3m on administration and organisational development…. Erm….

And the LOI clubs lucky to get a few bob to fix floodlights or a leaky roof over a stand. An absolute cesspit of a country that allows it.

It’s not an LOI attitude in fairness, I have nothing to do with the LOI / FAI. It’s an observation..

what has the FAI got to do with it ? The FAI don’t run, own or manage LOI teams / clubs ….Funding would and should be given directly to the clubs…based on an application for money backed up with quotes for capital projects and the requirements to provide proof as to what that money is spent on… and suitable verification…. Between government and clubs, NOT government and the FAI.

X club want around 200,000 for replacement LED floodlights…. They get 3 quotes, put in the best quote and bingo…..

a new stand / stadium ? The same…

the domestic game will be in the doldrums still without a dig out. If the GAA get suitable help, they get in fact multiples more, soccer and other sports should too, it’s not just soccer left in a hapenny place it’s a multitude of sports, but politics and the way of Ireland in general ensures that GAA before all…

FFS the the irish government has even committed €500,000 for a revamp of New York's GAA stadium.  Our government spending money on a sports stadium, in a different continent…. Which is bizarre, and soccer teams here having to go cap in hand for everything and anything…

plenty of fraud and corruption going on in the GAA circuit although while reported in the print media, it doesn’t make as big headlines…

I want the government to bankroll the sport. As they’ve done to the GAA, an organisation not without its own financial scandals but of course national media are a bit quieter there. If the government have issues with the current governance of the FAI, get them to put someone in there, a civil servant to oversee everything, to audit everything and live under their finger nails. They do it for private healthcare so why not certain aspects of sport.

the clubs, players fans and sport should not suffer because of the poor governance historically of the FAI…

They wouldn’t be interfering or administering though…

they already give grants to the FAI… ‘ field sport investment ‘. So critical oversight in addition won’t won’t be any harm.

the idea that the government bankrolls the GAA is a humorous idea.

the GAA would be a huge net contributor to the government exchequer. All those folks around the country every weekend travelling to club and intercounty games- filling their cars in petrol stations, eating in restaurants and from burger vans, drinking in pubs, taking trains and buses, staying in hotels. And that’s before you get to the match day staff around the stadiums and the tickets themselves. Plenty of Vat there for the government to cream off. And what does the government give the GAA in return, a few million worth of grant money for the grass roots and every 10 years a big investment in a stadium while most of the stadiums the GAA use are awful.

football is hugely underfunded but so is gaa compared to what they contribute.